One Night Forever (Vacation Getaway)

6. Tanner

CHAPTER 6

Tanner

I 'm trying my hardest to be a gentleman. I truly am, but it's impossible. Arabella looks gorgeous, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes bright with happiness as she eats dessert.

The fucking waiter comes over to the table, he’s been interrupting us every few minutes and it’s pissing me the fuck off.

"Is everything okay, here?" he asks, and Arabella looks up with surprise at his words. Her spoon halfway to her lips.

"We're fine," I grit out, forcing a smile that doesn't reach my eyes. The prick has been hovering around like a vulture all night, always watching Arabella.

Arabella’s brows knit together. "What’s wrong?” she asks. “He's just doing his job."

"I know," I reply tersely. “But he doesn’t have to sleaze over you all night. I am right fucking here,” I snarl.

"Are you jealous?" she asks with wide eyes. “You’re my boss, Tanner.”

My jaw clenches. “Yeah, I am, I’m also the man that’s been so deep inside of you that I can taste you. It’s fucked up, baby, but I don’t want any other man looking at you.”

Arabella's cheeks flare with heat. "You have no right to be jealous, Tanner," she murmurs, spoon dropping back into her desert.

"But I do," I insist, leaning forward and feeling my heart pound in my chest. "You gave me that right when you sighed and whispered my name while my cock was deep inside of that magnificent pussy."

Her face is a mixture of surprise and desire. She wants me, that much is true, but she’s holding herself back from me. I want to knock down every single one of her walls.

"Let's not do this here," she says softly, glancing around nervously.

I’m done being polite. Done pretending that what we had was just an office fling.

"I've been playing nice all night, baby." I lean back in my chair and take a sip of my drink, my gaze never leaving hers. "I think it’s about fucking time someone knew that you're mine."

Her blush deepens at the possessive growl in my words. She looks down at her hands and mutters something under her breath, too low for me to catch.

"What was that?" I ask, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.

For the first time all evening, she meets my gaze squarely. "Why can’t you understand that I’m scared? I’ve worked my ass off to be where I am. Unlike you, I need this job to earn money. I don’t have anything to fall back on.” She shakes her head, reaching for her glass of wine. “I want you, I truly do, you’re handsome, great in bed, and you make me feel things I really shouldn’t be feeling but Tanner, you’re my boss. What happens when HR finds out that we’ve slept together? Hell, what happens when things go bad between us?”

"I've thought about it, Arabella," I reply, my voice low and thick. "I've turned it over in my head, every possible outcome. I don't have a contingency plan for what happens when things go bad because I don't intend to let things go bad."

Her skeptical brow rises. "Every relationship has its ups and downs," she retorts, flicking her napkin against the tablecloth.

"Yes," I concede. "Every relationship has its ups and downs. But we both know that it takes work to make a relationship work. And that's exactly what we'll do. Through open communication and honest effort."

Arabella hesitates before replying, taking a moment to swirl the wine around in her glass. "I suppose," she says finally.

"As for HR, I don’t have a fraternizing policy. If we do this, there’s no repercussions with work," I say honestly. "We work at it. We put in the time and effort. I’m not an asshole, despite what you think sometimes, but I would never jeopardize your job."

She tosses back the wine then sets the empty glass on the table with a clink. "I want more than just a fling, Tanner. Can you promise me that?"

"I can promise you that and more," I tell her, knowing that I want a fuck of a lot more than a fling. I want everything with her, she’s nowhere near being ready for what I want. "I can promise you that you'll never feel like just an employee to me because you're so much more than that."

She looks down at her plate but doesn't reach for her spoon anymore. She seems frozen by my words.

"Can we really do this?" she asks softly, tracing her finger along the rim of her wine glass.

"Yes, but work and our relationship will be separate," I say firmly, reaching across the table to grasp her hand.

"I can't just flip a switch, Tanner," she murmurs, not pulling her hand away. "I can't turn off my feelings when we're at the office and then turn them back on when we're not."

"Well," I say, my fingers twining with hers. "We'll have to find a way. A balance. Because I can't lose you." It’s stupid, I’ve only had her once and yet I’m sunk. I’ve lived forty years on this earth and I’ve finally found the woman of my dreams. I’m not letting her go.

She doesn't reply, her eyes are fixed on our intertwined hands as if they hold the answers to all our problems.

"I'm scared Tanner," Arabella finally admits, lifting her gaze to meet mine. Her eyes are shimmering with unshed tears, and it takes everything in me not to pull her into my arms right there in the middle of the restaurant.

"I know," I acknowledge, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared too. But isn't that part of what makes this worth it? The fear, the risk, the potential for something incredible?"

She sniffles and nods a little before whispering, "I don’t know how to do this,” she whispers. “I’ve never had someone show me how…”

I squeeze her hand. “How to what, baby?”

“How to love,” she confesses. “My parents were toxic, they would scream and fight, and both were arrested multiple times for domestic violence. The day I turned eighteen I left, and I haven’t seen them since.”

My stomach clenches. “Did they hurt you?” I ask, but I already know the answer. She's timid and afraid of being with someone in fear of what happened when she was growing up.

She squeezes her eyes shut as she nods, the tears she’s been fighting so hard to hold back finally breaking free. My heart clenches in my chest as I watch her tears fall freely.

“I’m not them, Bella,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. My thumb strokes the back of her hand, trying to offer as much comfort as I can right now. “I will never, ever lay a hand on you like that.”

Her teary eyes meet mine then, her gaze searching my face. Eventually, she gives a small nod in acknowledgment of my promise but says nothing.

“I know it’s scary,” I continue. “I understand if you want to take things slow. But just know that…that I want you, I want everything with you. I’m sorry that your parents were cunts, but I swear to you, baby, I’m not them and I’m going to show you what it feels like to be cherished just as they should have done for you when you were a child.”

A small smile plays on her lips. "I’d like that," she whispers.

I sit back in my seat, relief washing over me like a cold shower on a hot day. We still have a long way to go and many bridges to cross but for now, this is enough. She hasn’t rejected me and my feelings for her.

“Are you okay with everything?” I ask gently. I need to know if she’s still unsure, if she is, I’ll do whatever it takes to alleviate her fears.

She looks at me hesitantly before offering me a shy nod. “Yes,” she replies softly.

“Then shall we get out of here?”

Her eyes widen and I see them darken with lust. “Yeah,” she says huskily.

I stand up, throwing money down onto the table and offering my hand to Arabella. She takes it, her fingers trembling slightly as they intertwine with mine. As we walk out of the restaurant, I can feel the tension radiating from her body. I give her hand a gentle squeeze, hoping to reassure her.

The cool night air hits us as we step outside. Arabella shivers, and I instinctively wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She stiffens for a moment before relaxing into my embrace.

“There’s no pressure, baby,” I promise her as we walk toward the hotel.

We’ve made great progress tonight and I’m not going to ruin that by pushing her to do anything she’s not entirely comfortable doing.

She’s here with me and ready to move forward and that’s all that I’ve wanted since the night that I brought her home. I’m just praying that after our talk, things are finally looking up for us both.