7. Tanya
7
TANYA
I’m staring at myself in a full-length mirror in a room that I’m not familiar with. I’m wearing a red dress that hugs my curves and shows off more cleavage than I’m comfortable with. I’m in a pair of matching red heels that have to be at least four inches tall. It’s me in the mirror , but I seem different somehow, almost like a stranger.
I watch the mirror version of me smile as a strong pair of arms wrap around my waist , and when I look up , a man appears behind me, but I can’t make out his face. He leans down to whisper in my ear , and I can feel the heat of his breath on my neck.
“You look stunning tonight, baby. Everyone was watching you the whole night.”
Without so much as a thought, I turn around in his arms and wrap my arms around his neck. It’s like I’m watching from inside someone else’s body as they make the movements. I can feel my lips curl up into a smile. I lean forward and kiss the faceless man as his hands travel up and down my back, pulling me closer to his body until the length of mine is pressed tightly to his.
I let out a moan as his hands travel lower , and he grips my ass in his hands, kneading it as he tugs me against his growing erection. I pull back to breathe and tilt my head back as he trails his lips across my jawline and down my neck. My body is heating up , and I’ve never felt this kind of arousal before.
I’m gripping his shoulders as tightly as I can, hoping that his solid body will help ground me. The sensations that he is bringing out of me are becoming overwhelming.
He pulls back from me suddenly before bending down and lifting me into his arms, bridal style. He walks us over to the bed and gently sits me on the edge as he kneels in front of me and works on taking off my heels. His face is bent down , and all I can see is the top of his head and his dirty blonde hair. Reaching forward , I run one hand through his hair ; it’s soft to the touch.
He finishes taking off my heels and drags his hands up both of my calves. Once his hands reach the edge of my dress , he pauses a moment before continuing up my thighs, pushing my dress up as he goes. His touch leaves searing heat behind , and I feel my head drop back and my eyes close. I can feel my chest rising and falling with my rapid breaths.
His simple touches are making me feel crazy and drunk. I can’t focus on the fact that I don’t know where I am or who he is. All I can think about is how good his hands feel on me.
His hands reach to the edge of my underwear , and he traces each side with his fingers as he leans down and starts kissing up and down my now exposed thighs. I lean back on my hands without a thought , and he moves so that he is nestled between my thighs, still kneeling on the floor in front of me. The bed is high enough that his face is level with my thighs and my feet are dangling off the edge.
Just when I think he’s going to kiss me between my thighs , where I desperately want him to, he backs off and starts over , kissing his way up my other thigh. I can feel the groan of desperation leave my throat. I want him too badly for him to be teasing me.
“Don’t tease me. I need you.”
I can feel his lips form into a smile against my skin as he kisses higher and higher this time , not stopping at the top of my thigh. He moves his face so that I can feel his hot breath through the lace of my underwear. He keeps still for a moment, making me squirm with anticipation, then he lowers his head and gently kisses my center. Even with a barrier between us, heat shoots through me.
I want this man with everything in me. I don’t care that I don’t know what’s going on, something deep within me is desperate to have him.
“I want you.”
He hums against me , and it makes me jerk up. He tightens his hold on my hips to keep me still before he wraps his fingers around the band of my underwear and starts to slowly pull it down my legs, backing up to remove them fully and standing once they are off.
I lean back on my hands and let my eyes roam over his form as he starts to remove his clothes. First his suit jacket , then this shirt. I can clearly see his well-toned body , but I still can’t make out his face. It’s like a film is covering him from me.
Once he’s full undressed , he stops and stares at me.
“Let me watch you undress now.”
I slowly sit up straight and stand from the edge of the bed. My dress is bunched around my waist , and I grip the edge and pull it up to just under my breasts. I realize in this moment that I’m not wearing a bra , and I cross my arms over to pull the dress the rest of the way up and over my head, my breasts exposed to him in one movement.
As I stand fully naked in front of him , it’s the first time I’ve wished I could see his face. He stalks toward me and grips my face in his hands a moment before his lips crush into mine and he kisses me. It’s hard and full of want , and I’m instantly breathless. I spread my hands over his chest before dragging them down his stomach. I want to touch all of him ; I want to make him feel as good as he’s making me feel. Before I can wrap his hard length in my hand , he pushes me back until I’m against the bed again. This time , when he puts me on the bed , he climbs up to follow me.
He crawls forward, pushing me up the bed until we reach the pillows where he gently pushes me to lay back. He leans down and kisses and licks along my neck before he moves to my breasts, circling first one nipple then the other with his tongue. I thread my fingers through his hair, gripping the strands in my hands and pulling him closer to my chest, making him chuckle.
“Patience, baby.”
Something about his voice seems familiar to me, but I’m too lost in my lust to be able to figure out why. I don’t care that I don’t know who he is, or if I know him at all, I want him , and I don’t want him to stop.
“Please, I can’t take anymore teasing, I want you.”
I reach for him and try to tug him down onto me. He resists for a moment, teasing me more, before he lowers his body down to lay along the length of mine , and the feel of his body heat does nothing to calm the flames inside of me. He places his arms on either side of my head and kisses me slowly. I wrap my legs around his waist and pull him against me, creating friction that makes me moan.
He pulls back and lifts up so that he can line his length up with my entrance and slowly pushes inside of me. I moan at the feeling , and I can feel the muscles in his back tense with restraint as he waits for me to adjust to him.
“Please, move. I need you to move.”
I drag my nails down his back , and he lets out a deep groan. I do it again , and he jerks his hips , making me gasp. He pushes up onto his hands and beings a slow pace , pulling out of me before thrusting back in just as slowly. It feels so good to have him inside of me, but if he keeps moving so slowly , I’m going to go crazy.
He lowers his body back down and slides one hand between us to squeeze my breast, rolling my nipple between two fingers. He trails kisses wherever he can reach from his position , and I grip his hair in my hands again.
“Faster, faster.”
He’s driving me crazy with his slow rhythm , and I can’t think straight. He moves the hand that was on my breast and slides it down my body until he pushes down on my clit before circling it. I see stars as I yell out.
“Yes! Don’t stop that. Keep going.”
I can’t catch my breath as I squirm underneath him. I can feel my orgasm building as he finally thrusts into me faster and starts circling my clit at the same speed. I can’t stop my orgasm from building , and as the sensations grow and grow, I wrap my legs and arms around him as much as I can. He starts moving faster and harder as he feels me get close , and when he whispers in my ear , everything inside of me snaps.
“Let go, baby. I can feel you’re so close. Let go.”
My vision goes white as my orgasm washes over me , and for a moment , I lose my breath before I gasp a lungful in and yell out, surprising myself when I hear his name leave my lips.
“Chandler!”
He keeps thrusting into me as I come down from my orgasm, and just before it becomes too much, he thrusts once more and shouts my name as he comes.
“Tanya!”
He collapses on top of me , and once we catch our breaths, he lifts his head and looks down at me ; I can now clearly make out his face. Chandler’s sea blue eyes with the golden ring.
I jerk awake in my own bed, breathless and sweaty.
What the hell was that?
Sitting up in bed, I rub my hands over my face. That dream felt so real, I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream that vivid before. For a moment, I wonder if maybe this was a memory, but I know better than that. If they haven’t come back in nine years, why would they come back now? It’s just because Chandler has been around the last couple of days and my subconscious mind is aware of him.
I shake myself, trying to forget about the dream, and reach for my phone to check the time. There is a message from Chandler confirming the time we are supposed to arrive today.
After he went with me to pick up Sophia from school, we spent some time together at the park, and he took us out to dinner where we told her about him being her dad. She had a lot of questions, and we both did our best to answer them, but I think she is still trying to figure things out. She and Chandler both are. She hasn’t called him daddy yet, and part of me wonders if he wants her to or not.
He stayed the weekend and spent as much time with us as possible. Today though, Sophia and I are going to spend the day with him and meet some people close to him, there’s apparently some kind of party that he wants us to attend. I’m nervous about being in the car for so long. I’ve only ever taken short rides when I didn’t have any other choice, and now I was going to have to spend an hour in the car.
Just the thought of it is making me anxious. I climb out of bed and go about my morning routine before I need to wake Sophia up. I make my way downstairs and into the kitchen to start the coffee pot, but just as I’m reaching for it, a knock sounds at my door. I know it’s Chandler, he’s the only person who would show up this early in the morning, and I can feel my face heat as I turn to answer the door.
I hope he can’t tell that I had a sex dream about him just by looking at me.
It’s a ridiculous thought, I know that, but I can’t help but worry that he’s going to take one look at me and just know. I take a deep breath and slowly walk over to the door and pull it open. I freeze when I see a young, petite woman standing just behind him. She smiles at me with her straight white teeth, her short blonde hair tucked behind her ears. A wave of jealousy washes over me unexpectedly, and I have no idea why. I have no right to feel jealous. There is no reason to believe that she is his girlfriend when he asked me to marry him, even if it wasn’t real.
“Um, good morning?”
I have no idea how to react. Soph and I were supposed to meet Chandler at the café at seven thirty to leave for the city, and there was no mention of another woman. Chandler’s face lights up with his smile as he takes a step closer to me and surprises me when he leans in and kisses my cheek.
“Good morning, we have a change of plans, hope that’s okay.”
He moves past me and into the cabin, leaving me to stand and look between his retreating form and the woman standing on my porch.
“Excuse him, he’s used to me knowing who everyone is and not having to introduce me. I’m Jillian. Mr. Bishop’s assistant.”
She holds her hand out to me, and I take it, relieved that she’s his assistant and not a girlfriend I knew nothing about when I agreed to our fake marriage.
“Hello, I’m Tanya. Please come in.”
She smiles at me again and goes to follow after Chandler. I close the door and make my way into the kitchen, where Chandler has pulled out a tablet from the bag I am just now noticing that Jillian has over her shoulder.
“So, I got to thinking, and I don’t think taking the car back to the city would be a smart move. I had Jillian come down in the helicopter, and I’m hoping the two of you can get to know each other some; she can help you get ready for the party tonight, and we can take the copter back. It’s quicker.”
“The copter?”
I look between the two, confused. Chandler looks up at me sheepishly.
“Uh, yeah. I have a helicopter to get around for business.”
I stare at him, not really seeing him, and blink slowly.
“Right. Anyone want coffee?”
I turn around and face the counter grabbing the coffee pot and filling it with water.
He owns a helicopter? How rich is he?
They both say please, and I make a pot of coffee on autopilot as they talk behind me. I’m too shocked about his copter to really hear what they are talking about. Once the coffee is brewing and I no longer have an excuse to avoid looking at them, I turn and face them, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning back against the counter.
The are both leaning over the tablet and talking about the local stores and what kind of clothes they have.
“Why are you looking at clothes?”
Neither of them look up at me as Chandler answers.
“You and Sophia are going to need something to wear tonight; we need to see what Willow Creek has to offer.”
He glances up at me quickly and smiles at me before focusing back on the tablet.
Would the clothes we already have not work?
“Oh, I can’t really afford new clothes for us right now, but we have things in the closet I’m sure would work.”
Chandler waves a hand through the air.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.”
I don’t really like that he just waves off my concern, and a burning rage fires up in me, causing me to straighten my spine. For a moment, I think about arguing with him. Instead, I just sigh and push away from the counter.
“Well, while you two figure that out, I need to wake up Soph.”
Chandler’s head whips up to look at me again.
“Can I do it?”
My steps falter at his question.
“Oh, um, I don’t see why not?”
His smile is bright as he jumps up from his chair and quietly makes his way upstairs. I watch him go until he is out of my sight. When I turn back to face Jillian, she is already looking at me, her face is curious.
“Chandler told me about what happened to you, and I know you don’t know him enough yet to know this, but he’s a really good man.”
I study her for a moment, trying to see if she seems familiar to me at all.
“Did I meet you before the accident?”
I hate that I have to ask people if I know them. Jillian smiles sweetly at me, and I see some sadness in her expression.
“No, I didn’t start working for Mr. Bishop until after you had disappeared.”
A look crosses her face, and she walks around the counter to come stand next to me.
“You know, being Mr. Bishop’s personal assistant means that I know him better than he knows himself; it’s literally my job.”
I nod my head slowly, not sure where she is going with this.
“What if I become a type of adviser for you? I attend most of the events with Mr. Bishop, and I can be there for you to help you learn who everyone is and how to act. It might make things easier for you.”
Relief floods me, this woman has no idea how much she has just helped me. I drop my arms and have to resist the urge to throw them around her.
“I would greatly appreciate that, Jillian. You have no idea.”
She perks up, and her smile is near blindly at this point. She skips back over to the tablet and starts babbling away about the dresses Sophia and I can wear to the event tonight. I can’t focus on what she is saying, though; I’m too preoccupied that Chandler and Sophia haven’t come down yet.
“Tanya.”
I turn back to face Jillian and realize that she has asked me something and is waiting for my reply.
“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought; can you repeat that?”
“I was just asking your opinion on this dress.”
She points at the tablet, and I lean over to look.
“I’m not going to pretend to understand what you’re going through right now, but I do know that it has to be scary, having all these people know you and having no idea who they are, but I think you should give Mr. Bishop a chance.”
Looking up at her, I cock my head to the side in question. She must take my curiosity for something else because she holds her hands up, palms facing me.
“I’m sorry, I know it’s not my place, but I’ve worked for him for six years, and in that time, I’ve seen what lengths he’s gone for you. I don’t think he’s ever given up on you.”
Before I can reply to her, Chandler comes down the stairs holding a sleepy Sophia in his arms. The sight makes my heart clench as I watch him carefully make his way to the kitchen, one arm supporting her and the other resting against her back and rubbing small circles. It doesn’t even seem like he’s struggling with her weight like I do. My baby girl is getting big, and I’ve been worrying about her outgrowing being held. Her head is pressed into his neck, and her crazy curly hair is messy and all over the place from her sleep. It’s so funny to see how they look exactly the same but light and dark. Her dark brown hair is a contrast against his blonde.
What lengths has he gone for me?
I watch him with our daughter, trying to see what kind of man he is. I turn to look at Jillian and know she’s the best person to answer my questions. She’ll tell me things that Chandler won’t.