Chapter 22
Tanner
“I think I’m ready,” Hannah informed me as she walked out of her bedroom late on Saturday afternoon with a radiant smile on her beautiful face.
I’d been ready for over an hour, but I’d been content to sit in our hotel suite and wait for Hannah with a tumbler of good whiskey.
It took me a moment to respond because Hannah literally took my breath away.
She was always beautiful, no matter what she was wearing, but in the designer, ruby red dress she’d gotten on Fifth Avenue yesterday, she was stunning.
I’d left my card with the store she’d chosen, and insisted on her not knowing the price of any of the things she wanted.
I’d left with the assistant falling all over Hannah to find her anything and everything she wanted.
My woman had good taste.
She’d chosen a designer gown with sheer sleeves and a plunging neckline.
And, of course, it had to be red.
My cock was already having a field day.
I decided that I was going to have a love/hate relationship with that gown almost immediately.
That silk top barely covered her gorgeous breasts and the entire gown molded to her body like a second skin.
There was also a slit up the side that showed a flirty amount of her long, shapely leg whenever she moved.
Hannah was average height for a female, but she had the legs of a runway model.
I had to stop and reassure myself that she was my woman.
My date.
She was going to draw the attention of more than one interested male glance, but as long as they didn’t touch her, I’d have to roll with it.
She was, after all, dressed up to go out with me .
My possessive streak was soothed a little when those thoughts finally computed in my brain.
I stood, already dressed in a dark suit and tie.
As I moved closer to her, I caught the scent of her subtle but sensual perfume, and I nearly lost it.
This isn’t the time to give in to your cock, Remington.
This night was for Hannah, and I wanted to make it a night she’d never forget.
This was the date she’d never gotten years ago, and I was going to make damn sure it was unforgettable.
I ran my hands down her arms. “You look stunning, sweetheart.”
Those words didn’t do justice to her radiance, but there really weren’t words to tell her how I felt right now.
She smiled broader. Her eyes sparkled as she put a palm to my cheek affectionately. “You look incredibly handsome yourself, Mr. Remington.”
I let her go and swiped a box from the coffee table. “I want to give you something before we go,” I said as I handed her the box I’d picked up yesterday while she was shopping. “You might want to wear them.”
She looked at the box and then up at me again.
The gorgeous smile left her face.
“Harry Winston?” she said breathlessly. “Please tell me that whatever you bought is just in a Harry Winston box.”
Fuck! I hated that look on her face.
I tossed the box back on the coffee table, took her hand, and led her to the sofa.
“I think we better talk before you open the box,” I said gruffly as we sat.
“Tanner,” she said hesitantly.
“Just let me talk, Hannah. I think we need to get a few things cleared up now that we’re starting over again.”
She nodded slowly.
“I’m not a young guy who doesn’t know what my priorities are, and I’m not the man you knew who couldn’t pull his head out of his ass long enough to realize what really mattered. The urge to be a good provider for you was always there for me. Not because you can’t take care of yourself. You did a damn fine job of doing that for yourself in Seattle. But it doesn’t matter. I think every man wants to take care of the people he cares about, and that instinct to take care of you and make you happy has gotten even worse for me with age and maturity. My obsession with KTD started out with me wanting to take care of you, but I got caught up in the game of trying to be the best. That’s not where my head is anymore, and it hasn’t been for a long time. In my mind, I don’t see the point of having the money I have now if I can’t use it to make people happy. I have everything I could possibly want or need. Maybe my obsession with wanting to make you happy, provide well for you, and needing to watch out for your safety is old fashioned, but it is what it is. That’s who I am now. More than likely, I’ll be a pain in your ass in the future, but I can’t change who I am. I’m going to buy you the stuff I want you to have in the future, things I couldn’t afford when we were together last time, and I hope to hell you can learn to just accept that.”
She shook her head. “It’s not really that…”
“What is it then?” I demanded to know.
“I’m used to taking care of myself, Tanner. I’m not used to someone caring about my safety or my happiness anymore.”
“Get used to it,” I grumbled. “As long as we’re together breathing the same air, I’m always going to be thinking about ways to see that gorgeous smile of yours, and I am always going to be protective. We spent years on a tight budget, Hannah. Now I’m obscenely rich and I can give you anything your heart desires. Let me?”
“Has it ever occurred to you that I want you to be happy, too,” she said stubbornly. “I’m not a billionaire, so what can I do to make you happy?”
Hell, there was only so much honesty a man could do.
I didn’t think she was ready for that answer.
“Accept everything I want to give you?” I suggested. “And just be with me. If you do, I promise you that I’ll be ecstatically happy.”
She slapped me on the shoulder. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
I shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
“You’re impossible,” she said with a small smile. “Now tell me what I can do to make you happy if I’m going to readily accept what you want to do for me.”
“I’d think that would be pretty obvious, sweetheart. I haven’t dated anyone since the day we broke up. I just want you . Always have. Always will.”
She let out a happy sigh, and that smile I loved was back on her face again. “You’re an incredible man, Tanner Remington. Have I told you that lately?”
I grinned at her. “No. But you just made my fucking day.”
“Then I’ll make sure I remind you of that every day,” she shot back. “And I’ll figure out how to make you happy without being a billionaire.”
Hell, I was easy. All she had to do was crook a finger and let me know she wanted me.
I’d get her naked and be the happiest guy on earth.
She didn’t crook her finger, but she leaned into me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and put those plump, warm lips against mine.
She hadn’t gotten naked, but this was the next best thing.
My patience snapped almost immediately.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her as close to me as she could get, and took complete control of the embrace.
I wanted Hannah more than I wanted to take my next breath, and I ravaged her mouth in the way only a lover should.
She urged me on, giving back exactly what I gave her, and it made my cock as hard as a pipe.
Somehow, I needed to brand Hannah as mine, and this kiss was my only option at the moment.
I savored the possessive connection with a primitive satisfaction that I’d never experienced before.
I felt like a caveman, but I really didn’t give a fuck.
Hannah was mine, and if I got my way, which I planned on getting, she’d be mine for the rest of our lives.
Reminding myself not to be a selfish prick, I finally eased up.
We had an incredible night planned, and Hannah was going to get exactly what she deserved.
She was panting and my heart was pumping like I’d just run a marathon when I finally released her mouth.
Hannah and I had always had incredible sexual chemistry, but the way I wanted my cock inside her warm, welcoming body to claim her was beyond incredible sexual chemistry right now.
But that obsessive need was going to have to wait.
I’d have to be content with taking her out as my woman at the moment.
The way she was clinging to me soothed those carnal instincts. A little.
I didn’t want to rush this whole dating thing, and I didn’t want to go this quickly. I wanted Hannah to be sure of exactly what she wanted from me before she ended up in my bed.
“Does that answer your question about what will make me happy?” I questioned huskily as I swept my lips along her temple, savoring her sexy scent.
“No,” she whispered. “I think that kiss swept every thought out of my mind for a moment except for the carnal ones. Sometimes I wish you weren’t so damn hot.”
She sounded so disgruntled that I chuckled as I finally released her.
“Personally, I’m glad you think so, because it’s hell keeping my hands off you,” I shared.
She sent me a sensual smile. “Did I ever ask you to keep your hands off me?”
“Hannah,” I growled, warning her that my control wasn’t a sure thing.
“Okay, okay,” she said with a musical laugh as she smoothed her dress out with her palms. “I’ll try to behave.”
Hell, I’d rather she didn’t, and I really needed to change the subject. “Are you ready to open that box now?”
She nodded. “I think so.”
I picked it up and handed it to her.
She took a deep breath and popped the lid.
Hannah gasped, even though I was pretty sure she knew exactly what she’d find.
Since the collection had first come out, she’d covertly eyed the lily cluster necklace and earrings from Harry Winston like it was the most beautiful jewelry she’d ever seen.
I’d known that she’d never expected to own it herself, but she’d admired it from afar.
I’d seen her face every time she saw it in a magazine or an advertisement in New York.
She’d had the same look on her face that almost any guy had when he saw an expensive Ferrari or a Bugatti he knew he’d never own.
She’d viewed it with reverent appreciation but with realistic perception.
I’d made a vow to myself to get her a piece or two of that collection one day.
Today, I was finally making good on that promise I’d made to myself so long ago.
“Oh, dear God,” she said in an awed voice. “I probably should have known you’d go big.”
“No reason not to,” I answered. “And I know those are the pieces that always caught your eye.”
I hadn’t bought a simple pendant and earrings.
The necklace was a series of interconnected, diamond lilies that went completely around the platinum setting.
The earrings were matching diamond lilies and platinum.
The necklace was finely crafted and delicate, and it wasn’t a gaudy piece, which was probably what Hannah had loved about it.
“Tanner,” she said as she gingerly traced one of the flowers. “This was the most expensive piece.”
“It was also the one you loved,” I reminded her.
I took the necklace out of the box and started securing it around her neck.
“You noticed,” she said like she was surprised that I’d paid attention.
“I wasn’t always a dick,” I said jokingly.
“You weren’t, but you were working so hard,” she answered.
“I loved you, Hannah. I hope you never doubted that. Of course I noticed.”
Once the necklace was secure, I handed her the earrings because there was no way I was going to try to stick an earring into her pierced ear.
She removed the earrings she was wearing and deftly put on the earrings without ever looking in the mirror.
It was probably a mystery to most men how women could put on a pair of pierced earrings so quickly without a single hesitation or misstep.
“Let me go look in the mirror,” she said brightly. “I need to fix my lipstick and we can go.”
She swiped a finger over my upper lip as she added, “You have lipstick on your mouth.”
She’d probably performed this task a thousand times in the past, and I instinctively gave her the same answer I’d given her a thousand times before. “It’s your fault.”
She sighed with an unrepentant look on her face. “I have to agree with you this time. I did attack you.”
“I wasn’t exactly complaining,” I said with a smirk.
“Thank you for the gift, Tanner,” she said softly as she pulled her hand back. “It means more to me than you’ll ever know. Not because of the monetary value, but because it was so thoughtful. I’ll always cherish it because of that.”
She lightly kissed my cheek so she didn’t transfer any more of her makeup onto my face before she stood and sauntered into the bedroom.
Damned if her words hadn’t made me feel like the king of the world.
I decided I liked feeling that way, and that she was going to have a lot more to cherish in the future.