Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Faith hadn’t made out with someone like this since…ever.
Tanner had started out gentle, clearly testing the waters with her. But she was so ready for more. She laced her fingers behind his neck, kissing him back unabashedly. Her tongue stroked his, and it felt so damned good. Being held. Being wanted. Her body was on fire.
Distantly, she thought of what he’d confessed. Some things made more sense. His nightmare, the incident in his bedroom, his temper at the restaurant. The way he sometimes seemed different from his easygoing self. But she hadn’t seen anything that frightened her.
Faith had been married to someone trapped by addiction and despair for over a decade. Someone who’d refused to open up to her, no matter how much she’d tried. In all those years, Jon hadn’t shown her as much kindness as Tanner had in a matter of weeks.
The unfairness of the world infuriated her. She ached to think of anyone struggling with trauma, but Tanner especially. Was it arrogant or misguided to imagine she could give him some happiness? She wanted to believe it was possible. She’d just be returning the favor.
And wherever this was leading… They didn’t need to define it yet. They cared about each other, wanted each other. For now, that was enough.
Her palm flattened against his chest, which only made her think of how big he was, how much skin and taut muscle he had for her to touch. She’d seen some of it the other night in his bedroom when he’d had his shirt off.
She wanted all of him under her hands, up against her. Inside her.
Their mouths had fused together, tongues licking into each other’s mouths, but she couldn’t slow down.
Tanner put a large hand on her calf and slid it up along the side of her leg, and her clit throbbed in response. She thought she might come from that contact alone, as if every inch of her skin was directly connected to her core.
And the thought of his fingers between her legs, his tongue, his… Ughn.
A car raced by on the road, its engine rumbling and loud music blaring from its speakers.
Faith jumped, shocked back into awareness of the rest of the world. Both of them were gasping for breath.
It was the middle of the night, but they were still sitting on a bench in a public place within full view of the street.
She didn’t care who saw them. But she wanted to get a lot naughtier than this. He seemed to have the same thing in mind.
“Can we go back to your place?” she asked.
Lust darkened his expression. “I won’t argue with that.”
He stood, grabbing her hands to pull her up. Tanner tugged her along the path, practically making her run to keep up with him.
“My sandals are great for walking, slightly less practical for jogging.”
He stopped, cupped his hands around her ass, and lifted her against his hip. She yelped, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms on his neck. He kept one hand propped beneath her. “There. Will that work?”
“It’ll work.” She could hardly get the words out, she was so turned on.
She bounced slightly against him, and his hip bone rubbed right at her clit. Her arousal was climbing to a fevered pitch. Faith kissed his neck, sucking gently at his skin. The vein in his neck pulsed rapidly beneath her tongue.
“You don’t know what you’re doing to me,” he murmured.
“I think I have some idea. Same thing you’re doing to me.”
“And what’s that?”
“Making me want you.”
He walked even faster.
They’d taken at least half an hour to get to the bench overlooking the coastline, but it didn’t take nearly that long for Tanner to make it to his house.
They mounted the steps onto the porch. Tanner set her down to unlock the door.
Faith stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle.
She was taller than average, about 5’8”, and on her tiptoes her head rested perfectly at the base of his neck.
His round ass pressed into her stomach. She felt giddy.
When was the last time she’d touched anyone this much? Wanted anyone this much?
The door opened. She swept past him and went inside. The living room was dark. Tanner switched the light on, shutting the door.
Faith spun around to face him. Tanner’s eyes were hooded.
“You want me to take you upstairs? Undress you?” His voice had dipped.
She walked back over to him and laced their fingers together. Her heartbeat accelerated again. “Yes. That. So much.”
“My room is messier than the last time you were here. I really wasn’t planning on company.”
“I don’t mind messy.”
He studied her like he was deciding if that could be true.
She pulled his hand, nodding toward the stairs. “Trust me, I’m messy, too.” So much more than you know.
The wooden steps creaked on their way up. “Watch your head,” he said as they neared a low rafter, and Faith had to laugh as she passed beneath it.
“I didn’t even have to duck.”
“Guess it’s just me.”
The last time she’d been here, it had been night, and she’d been focused on other things than the room. Now, she studied it more closely.
The ceilings were sloped, and his king-sized bed took up most of the space. Against one wall, a row of paperbacks were lined up on the floor. A laptop and various chargers lay on a nightstand.
The sheets and blanket were rumpled, the pillows half crushed. Clothes were strewn over the floor. A few forgotten water glasses. She couldn’t have cared less. These were all pieces of him, and she didn’t want perfect. She wanted real.
Tanner closed in on her, eyes molten. His tongue swiped across his lower lip. “We can take this slow. You just tell me.”
“I can’t. I need you too badly.”
His hands went to the back of her head. He crashed his mouth onto hers. This kiss was searing. The scruff of his beard scraped her chin, and she wondered how it would feel against her thighs.
His tongue thrust deep inside her mouth, pulling a needy groan from her chest. She grabbed hold of his T-shirt to keep herself upright. His skin was hot underneath. The anticipation was almost painful. She couldn’t remember ever being this swept up in a moment.
“Off,” she said against his mouth, reaching for the bottom of the shirt. He broke the kiss long enough to tug the thin fabric over his head.
Her breath caught as she stared at him—a golden expanse of smooth skin broken by intricate black tattoos, an impossibly broad chest, a wide V of muscle leading down to his waistband. He’d looked like this the other night, too, but now she was allowed to stare all she liked.
His erection was prominent beneath the fabric of his shorts. She heard a whimper, and realized she’d made the sound.
He was big. Really big.
Faith hadn’t had sex in a long time. She liked to think she would remember what to do. It had to be easier than riding a bicycle. Just a different kind of ride.
But that monster in Tanner’s pants would be a lot to handle for her first time back.
She imagined how it would be to take him in her mouth, and tingles broke out over her entire body. Her nipples poked at the cups of her bra.
Slowly, he backed her up until her legs met the bed. She fell onto the mattress, catching herself with her hands, then scooted until she’d reached the middle. Her legs were bent, her dress bunching up around her hips.
He crawled toward her, stopping between her knees to stroke his palms along her outer thighs. Faith lay back. He moved his hands to either side of her head, caging her in. Their bodies weren’t touching as he hovered just above her.
She didn’t know how to interpret the look he gave her. His expression was full of longing, as if she were an impossible distance away instead of inches.
Faith lifted up onto her elbows until their lips met.
Then it was like a switch flipped inside him.
He growled into her mouth and the rest of his body lowered, pressing her into the mattress.
His hips thrust against her. She opened her legs wider, making room for him.
The crotch of her panties was soaking wet against her skin.
She felt the hard length of Tanner’s cock in his shorts, lining up with her swollen clit through the layers of fabric.
His kiss was unrelenting. Her nails lightly scraped over the curves of his back—the angular lines around his shoulder blades, the bumps along his spine. His scent and taste and the solid weight of him were overwhelming.
It was already almost too much sensation to take in at once. How would it be once all their clothes were on the floor, and all of his skin was sliding against hers?
She wanted to find out.