She started crying again. “I used to say that, jokingly. But you know what? I did that to deflect the pain from hearing it from my mother all the time. One of her many ways to make me feel bad about myself.”

  Tanner leaned forward and brushed some hair away from her eyes.

  “I remember something else you told me too.”

  She lifted a brow. “Oh yeah? What?”

  “‘Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.’ I remember you saying that to me and I thought it was a smart thing for a little kid to say.” He combed his fingers through her cropped hair. “Little did I know it would need to become my motto shortly thereafter.”

  “I suck.”

  “You don’t suck. You were a brave little girl and you got scared. Maybe you got a little too uncomfortable.” He reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers. “You know what my motto was?”

  She shrugged.

  “Stay under the radar.”

  She half laughed. “Well, looks like you finally managed to do that at least.”

  “Yeah, but yours is far more courageous than mine.”

  “I guess sometimes I can be a little too bold.”

  “Like when you leaned over and kissed me last night?”

  She nodded. “Maybe like that.”

  “So how brave would I be if I leaned over and did this?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  It was a surprise gesture, especially considering Tanner was pointed in one direction at the top of the bed and Zoey was aimed in the other, her legs hanging off the edge. Somehow Tanner managed to twist himself around and pulled Zoey’s body toward his, then pressed his lips to hers. She was sure her heart skipped several beats at the unexpectedly sweet gesture. Here she was expecting him to repay her with at least harsh words—because no self-respecting man was going to punch a woman, so that couldn’t be on his agenda even though she deserved it—and instead he kissed her. And the kiss was soft and tender and sweet and lovely.

  He reached down to Zoey’s bottom and pressed her center to his hips as he rolled on top of her and ground his pelvis to hers, making it abundantly clear that while his intentions started out sweet, they were rapidly moving toward sexy.

  “I can’t believe you stopped this cold turkey last night.” Tanner breathed the words into her ear as he caressed the cheeks of her ass.

  “It was one of the stupider things I’ve done in my life,” she said, panting. Boy was it ever. What was she thinking, stopping the train in the middle of the tracks like that?

  “In which case, I think we can both agree we need to make up for lost time.” He shifted up her sundress and slipped a hand beneath the edge of her panties, his fingers quickly finding her wet and needy. Zoey thrust her hips toward his fingers, reaching for what she knew he could give her. She let out a moan.

  “Christ, Zoey, you know how much you kill me?” Tanner said as he swirled his fingers through her juices, then pressed two fingers inside her, his thumb playing with her clit. Meanwhile his other hand pulled the neckline away from her dress and deftly lowered the cup of her bra, exposing a breast. He promptly settled his mouth over her nipple, sucking and biting like a starving man. The pleasure reached deep into her pelvis, right where the beginnings of a climax were taking shape. She spread her legs wide, giving him better access as she pulsed her hips in time with the rhythm of his hand movements. Jesus this felt amazing.

  Between what he was doing between her legs and the way his mouth worked in masterful ways at her breast, Zoey knew she was about to explode. And when Tanner picked up the pace of his fingers, slicking through her moisture, she began to moan.

  “Oh God, Tanner, don’t stop. I’m going to co—” She didn’t even get the rest of the sentence out of her mouth as powerful spasms racked their way through her pelvis, reverberating throughout her body. Starbursts of light sparked behind her closed eyes. It took her a minute to settle down and collect her breath.

  “Remind me why I put a stop to that last night?”

  Tanner shrugged. “Hell if I know. But now we have to make up for lost time, remember?” He shifted himself down her body and Zoey protested.

  “Oh, no. Uh-uh, Tanner. No way can I come again so quickly.”

  But he ignored her and continued kissing his way down her belly, his fingers on one hand plucking at a nipple while the fingers of his other hand pulled the edge of her panty leg out of the way to give him room to work his magical tongue. And it was magical. As Tanner continued to play with her nipple, his tongue traced the soaking wet seam of her center, lapping at her juices and circling her swollen clit. Soon Zoey’s breath came hard and fast and her hips pressed to his mouth as her hand held his head where she needed it to be. She reached for her other nipple and pinched at it.

  Tanner paused to watch her contribute to her own pleasure. “Shit, that’s so freaking hot,” he said, returning his focus to her pussy. While he licked and sucked on her, she pressed her foot against the swell in his pants—he still had his clothes on for goodness’ sake. She did her best to pleasure him, but with much of her body preoccupied with what he was doing to her, it didn’t last long. She felt another low rumble in her belly and she squeezed her nipple hard, helping him do the same with his other hand as she thrust her pussy to his mouth. And soon, she felt the convulsions of her climax tightening and loosening in wave upon wave of pleasure, till at last, her pulse settled down and she stopped, gasping for air.

  “That tongue of yours should be a registered weapon.” She winked at him as she pulled him toward her, leaning over to lick her juices from his face.

  “The better to pleasure you with, my dear.”

  “Is that like ‘Why grandmother, what a big tongue you have!’ Only you’re the big bad wolf?”

  They both laughed. But not for long, because Zoey wanted to get down to business and reciprocate Tanner’s generosity. As her tongue lapped at the juices on his lips, she slid her fingers down and unbuttoned his shorts, quickly lowering them off his hips. She shifted her body, slowly crawling downward as her mouth explored his throat, chest, nipples, and taut belly. When she got to the trail of hair, that happy little road sign sending her due south toward her goal, she tugged his boxer briefs down, pulling them off. And she kissed and licked her way to his hardened cock, that beautiful, thick, long cock she never got to thoroughly acquaint herself with last night.

  Zoey grasped it in one hand and licked the swollen tip like it was a lollipop, circling her tongue around the rim, then dragging her tongue across the sensitive tip. She circled her fingers at the base of his cock, stroking him upward as she sucked and took him deep into her own mouth. Her other hand moved farther down to cup his balls, lightly toying with them. He let out a long moan.

  Tanner ran his fingers through her hair, pressing her head to accept as much of his cock as possible, and she was more than willing to do so, taking him deep down her throat. His balls retracted, his body tensed, and she tasted his salty precum seeping from the tip of his cock.

  “Christ, babe. I’m gonna come,” he said as he thrust hard and his body stilled, before releasing wave after wave of his seed into her mouth.

  It was then that Zoey realized she’d done precisely what she swore she wasn’t going to do with Tanner Eliasson/Cox. Or was it to Tanner Eliasson’s cock?

  Shit. She was hopeless. She couldn’t keep her panties up or her expectations down, and now she was going to pay the price for that. Because in the short time she’d been around this new, improved version of the childhood Tanner, the nice kid whose heart she erroneously broke because of her bad behavior, she realized she was falling for him, like a meteor dropping out of the sky, sure to burn something upon impact.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tanner was hit with such intense postorgasm exhaustion that he must’ve slept for about a year.

  When he eventually turned over and looked at the clock, it was more like half an hour. And he was alone in his bed, no Zoey to be found. Even Suki was missing in action.

  He got up, took a quick shower to rinse off, slung a towel low over his hips, and went in search of the Miracle Mouth. Because damn, she’d done some incredible things with that mouth and he needed to make sure there would be a command performance in the near future.

  He walked across the hall and down one door and quietly knocked on her bedroom door.

  “Go away,” she said.

  Huh? They’d just had this amazing makeup, well, foreplay, and she was already sending him packing?

  “Zo—can’t I please come in?”

  “We’ll talk later. I need some time to think.”

  Well, shoot. Never a good thing when a woman has a sexual encounter with a man, only to shut him out within minutes because she needs to think. Who thinks after sex? Not that they officially consummated things, but still. Christ, the only thinking going on in his brain was reliving how fucking amazing her mouth felt on his cock. And what a turn-on it was when she came in his mouth. And when he came in hers.

  He scrubbed his hand over his face. He needed to see her and not let her apprehensions—or whatever this was—fester till they became debilitating. Because whatever they’d experienced was about the best thing to ever come out of his entire upbringing, and he didn’t want to immediately ruin such a good thing.

  He knew it violated some sort of post-almost-coital code of conduct, but he did it anyhow—gently twisting the handle to the bedroom door, slowly opening the door, and peering in. What looked to be complete vandalism had taken place in there.

  “What the hell?”

  “Tanner! I told you I didn’t want you to come in.”

  He shook his head. “I know, but I didn’t want you getting all freaked out by what happened. Little did I know you were way more freaked out than I assumed.”

  She gave him the side-eye. “It wasn’t me, Tanner. It was Snowball. I mean, maybe I’m freaking out too, but this—” She pointed to the room’s down comforter, which had been shredded by cat’s claws, with feathers still floating through the room. “Argh! I’m so sorry. I’ll pay you back for it.”

  He shook his head, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Man, the subversive power of an angry pussy.” He wondered which pussy he was talking about.

  “Yeah, well, better this than our flesh.”

  He nodded. “So true. But I think she’s telling you she wasn’t happy being locked in this bedroom.”

  “Yeah, but what was I to do? I didn’t want her to ruin your whole house.”

  “I tell you what. Why don’t we get out of the house for the rest of the day? We’ll take Suki with us so that Snowball can feel more at home, and she’ll have a chance to settle in without anyone upsetting her sensibilities.”

  Zoey wrinkled her brow. “What if she does this to the whole house?”

  “If you’d feel better, I can give her a mild sedative. It wouldn’t have any adverse side effects, and it should help reduce her stress. She’ll probably sleep the whole time we’re gone.”

  She frowned. “You’re sure it won’t hurt her?”

  “I promise. Your pussy is in good hands with me.” He grinned. “Or at least it was a little while ago.”

  She heaved a sigh. “About that—”

  Tanner held his hands up. “No discussions right now. Let me get dressed and run over to the office to get some medication for her. You’ll need a bathing suit unless you want to wear Katie’s outfit again.” He smiled but got no reaction from her. “Would it help if I swung by the mechanic’s and grabbed whatever else you might need from your car?”

  She nodded, stroking her scared kitty cat, and Tanner couldn’t help but wonder what had Zoey so fearful. At least she wasn’t likely to tear his place apart while he was gone, although he got the sense she was likely to take a wrecking ball to the sexual attraction between them that sizzled like droplets of water on a hot griddle, and like it or not, he had no way to stop it. Once again, it all came down to what Zoey Richards did.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zoey couldn’t abide the awkward silence that had descended over them as Tanner navigated his truck through some rough back roads on their way to what he told her was his favorite hideaway—a swimming hole with a natural thermal spring that he’d discovered awhile back on a long hike one day. He’d figured out a way to drive much closer to it so they wouldn’t have to hike in since Zoey didn’t even have a pair of tennis shoes along. She wasn’t going to make it far with a pair of flip-flops if they had to hike for two hours to get there.

  The silence was her fault; he was seemingly on a postclimax high when she shut him down after the whole Snowball debacle. She felt so conflicted about everything. First she was mad at herself for not sticking to her guns. And she was mad at herself for being mad at herself. After all, they’d had a fun time, so what was the harm? Then she was mad at herself for being mad at him even though she wasn’t actually mad at him. But since he thought she was, that made her feel bad.

  Sometimes it was hard to be a fickle female. She needed to somehow stir up a conversation—yet she wasn’t that person who could stand in an elevator with one other person and not have words. Especially when the silence was all her fault.

  She pulled out her phone and started checking out pictures on her Instagram account, but that made things worse. It seemed like everyone had pictures of themselves with a significant other being happy together: at picnics, in a bar, in bed first thing in the morning, doing yoga. God, she hated those women who did death-defying yoga poses hoisted upon the twenty-five-inch-biceped arms of some male supermodel boyfriend of the month. Like who does that stuff? No normal male she’d ever encountered would partake of such activity unless they were part of a circus troupe or it was some freaky foreplay.

  Making a mental note to stop looking at Instagram when she felt like shit about her personal life, she decided to text Izzy to see what she was up to.

  “Busy Izzy, what is going on, sister?” She added a smiley emoticon for good measure.

  “Zo! You never called me when you got in!”

  “That’s because I’m still not in. I got stuck in this little cow town in the middle of Montana,” she said. “It’s sort of cute, looks like the Hollywood version of the Wild Wild West. A lot of horse-themed motifs.”

  “It’s just like riding a horse.”

  “Speaking of riding a horse—”

  “Please tell me you did it with some guy on horseback.”

  “??????????????”

  “I’m serious. It sounds so intriguing. Some couple in a book I read did it on horseback and it sounded sexy, but I always wondered if it was far more trouble than it was worth.”

  “Not to mention scratchy. And dangerous. Can you imagine falling off a horse, naked, with horsehair rash on your ass? Nothing about that sounds even remotely appealing to me.”

  “Yeah, but with the motion of the horse walking, that would move the guy’s cock inside in a rhythmic way.”

  “Honestly where do you come up with this stuff?”

  “I told you, it was in a book.”

  “I gotta ask you where you get your reading list from.”

  “I think my mother told me about it.”

  Zoey shook her head. “See, that’s the thing. Can you imagine my mother suggesting an erotic book with people having sex on four-legged animals?”

  “Knowing your mom, it would be people having sex with four-legged animals.”

  “Ewwww.” Zoey attached a vomit emoji to that one.

  “Sorry. I was joking. But trying to get the point across that your mother is a bitch.”

  “Mission accomplished.”

  “So, tell me what is going on that made you get stuck in Montana? Even though I can think of worse places to be stuck.”

  “Some woman rear-ended me, and poor Snowball got thrown into the front seat. I had to find a veterinarian to check her out, and then my car is messed up and they can’t get the parts, so I’m stuck here.”

  “Oh no! How’s my kitty doing?”

  “She’s fine, just a little freaked out by the whole thing.” She added three white kitten emojis for reassurance.

  “Thank goodness. Precious cargo on board.”

  “Aren’t you gonna ask about me?”

  “Oh, goodness. Sorry ’bout that. How are you?”

  “Fine. No harm done to me, only my car. But I am itching to get out of here and up to Banff.”

  “Well, hmmm… Just so you know, I’m heading up there in a few days.”

  “To Banff?”

  Izzy sent her a whole line of heart emojis.

  “Does this mean you’re planning to go to your place and have sex twenty-four seven with the guy from HR?”

  “The thought had crossed my mind.”

  “Does this also mean I’m uninvited now?”

  “I wouldn’t say that.” Izzy typed. “It’s more like I wanted to give you a heads-up that we would be there, in case that made you uncomfortable.”

  “I’m gonna hear everything, aren’t I?”

  She sent a shrugging hands emoji. “The walls are awfully thin.”

  “Annnnd you couldn’t do it on the kitchen counter either.”

  “How’d you know that was my plan?”

  “Izzy, Izzy, Izzy. How long have we been friends?”

  So crap. This threw a big wrench into things. By the time her car was done, she’d no longer have a place to stay in Banff. At least one that didn’t sound like the Mustang Ranch Brothel on a busy holiday weekend. And Lord only knew how long it would be until Izzy and her new man were sexually sated enough to return to LA. At the rate she was going, that could be months.

  “To change the subject, what’re you doing in this cow town to keep busy? And how’s my surrogate kitty, Snowball, faring being stuck there?”

  “Snowball flipped her shit and destroyed an expensive duvet, so that was bad.”

  “What’d the hotel say about it?”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12