Chapter 6 Tannon
Tannon
The kids crash hard after lunch, exhausted from their morning of fort-building and elaborate games. Bentley falls asleep first, curled in a nest of blankets by the fire, while Mia follows soon after, her head on his shoulder. They look peaceful, trusting that the adults will keep them safe.
The sight of them sleeping so peacefully in this small cabin tugs at something deep in my chest. These kids have been shuffled between hired help their entire lives, always wondering if the adults around them actually want them there.
But here, right now, they're just kids being kids.
Dove moves quietly around the cabin, cleaning up lunch remnants. She's changed into one of my spare flannel shirts – sleeves rolled up, hem brushing her thighs.
The thought hits me harder than it should: I don't want this to end.
Not just the storm, not just this forced proximity. I don't want Dove to walk out of my life when the roads clear. I don't want to go back to my empty cabin, my careful solitude, my half-life of existing instead of living.
For three years, I've told myself that alone is safer. But watching Dove with these kids, seeing her fierce protectiveness, I'm starting to think my brother Danny had it right: some risks are worth taking.
"What are you thinking about," Dove says softly, settling into the chair across from me.
I lean forward, suddenly needing to close the distance between us. "I'm thinking about what happens when this storm ends."
She tips her head. "What about it?"
"I'm thinking I don't want you to leave."
The words hang between us, raw and honest. Dove's breath catches. "Tannon."
"I know it's crazy. I know we barely know each other, I know your life is complicated with the Ashfords and your career plans. But I can't pretend anymore that this is just about the storm."
"What is it about?" she asks.
"It's about the way you look at those kids like they’re the whole world, even though their parents treat them like inconveniences. It's about how you turn disappointment into adventure. It's about how you saw past my walls to something worth caring about."
I stand, needing to move, but there's nowhere to go in the small cabin. "It's about how I've been living half a life for three years, and you walked into my maintenance shed and made me remember what it feels like to be whole."
Dove rises too, her hands reaching for me. "I feel it too. This thing between us. It's real, and it's terrifying, and I don't know what to do with it."
"I do." The certainty in my voice surprises us both. "I know exactly what I want to do with it."
"What's that?"
Instead of answering with words, I close the distance between us, my hands framing her face.
"I want to love you, Dove Williams. I want to love you completely, without reservation.
I want to build a life with you. A real life full of pancake breakfasts and bedtime stories and all the beautiful chaos that comes with caring about someone more than your own safety. "
Her eyes fill with tears, but she's smiling. "I want that too. I want it so much it scares me."
"Then let me show you," I murmur, lowering my head until our mouths are almost touching. "Let me show you how much I want this. How much I want you."
This kiss is slower, deeper, like we have all the time in the world. She melts into me, and I feel something click into place in my chest.
This. This is what I've been missing without knowing it.
"Dove," I murmur against her lips.
"I know," she whispers back, understanding everything I can't put into words.
Her hands slide under my shirt, palms flat against my chest, and the contact sends electricity through my entire body. I groan softly, my control starting to slip.
"The kids—"
"Are sleeping." Her eyes meet mine, dark with want. "And we know how to be quiet."
The promise in her voice undoes me. I lift her easily, carrying her toward the bedroom, marveling at how perfectly she fits in my arms.
I set her down gently beside the bed, my hands shaking slightly as I reach for the buttons of the flannel shirt she's wearing. Seeing her in my clothes does something to my brain, some primitive satisfaction I can't explain.
"You're beautiful," I tell her as I work the buttons free. "So beautiful I can barely think."
She laughs softly, breathless. "Good. Thinking is overrated right now."
"But, I am feeling." I push the shirt off her shoulders. "I feel like I've been waiting for you without knowing it."
She's wearing simple cotton underwear, nothing fancy, but the sight of her makes my breath catch. She's real, she's here, she wants this too.
"My turn," she says, her fingers working at my buttons. "I've been curious about what's under all this flannel."
When she pushes my shirt off my shoulders, her intake of breath is satisfying.
When our lips meet again, there's no hesitation. I pour everything into the kiss: loneliness, hope, the desperate need to connect with someone who sees me clearly. She responds just as fiercely, her hands in my hair, her body pressed against mine.
When I trail my mouth down her throat, she arches back, trusting me completely.
"I need you," she whispers. "I need you so much."
"You have me," I promise against her skin. "All of me, Dove."
Her bra falls away, and I take a moment just to look at her – the curve of her breasts, her flushed skin. She's more beautiful than I imagined.
"Don't look at me like that," she says, suddenly shy.
"Like what?"
"Like I'm going to disappear."
I catch her hands, pulling them away from where she's trying to cover herself. "You're not going anywhere. And neither am I."
She makes a sound that's half sob, half laugh, pulling me up for another kiss. This one is softer, sweeter, full of emotion that has nothing to do with desire and everything to do with love.
"Make love to me," she whispers against my lips. "Show me what this feels like."
I don't need to be asked twice. I lift her again, laying her gently on the narrow bed, following her down to cover her body with mine. The feel of her beneath me, warm and willing and completely mine, is almost too much to bear.
I take my time with her, mapping every inch of her skin with my hands and mouth, learning what makes her gasp, what makes her arch, what makes her whisper my name. I trail kisses down her throat, across her collarbone, taking one perfect breast into my mouth.
"Tannon," she gasps, her back arching as I work her nipple with my tongue. "Please."
"Please what, sweetheart? Tell me what you need."
"I need you. All of you. I want to feel you everywhere."
Her words send heat straight to my cock, already hard and aching. But I force myself to go slow, to worship every inch of her beautiful body. I kiss my way down her stomach, my hands sliding her panties down her legs.
The sight of her naked beneath me, flushed and wanting, steals my breath. "God, Dove, you're perfect."
I settle between her thighs, and the scent of her arousal makes my mouth water. When I press my lips to her center, she cries out, her hips bucking.
"Shh," I whisper against her wet heat. "The kids are sleeping. You need to be quiet while I make you come with my tongue."
The words make her whimper, her thighs trembling around my head. I work her slowly, thoroughly, using my tongue to explore every fold. When I find her clit, she nearly comes off the bed, her hand flying to her mouth.
"That's it, baby," I encourage, sliding one finger inside her tight heat. "Feel how wet you are for me? How ready?"
She's so tight around my finger, so responsive. I add another, stretching her carefully, and she rocks against my hand, chasing the pleasure.
"I'm close," she pants, voice muffled by her hand. "Tannon, I'm so close."
"Come for me," I command, curling my fingers to hit that spot deep inside while I suck her clit. "Come on my tongue, Dove."
She shatters with a muffled cry, her inner walls clenching around my fingers as waves of pleasure wash over her. I work her through it, gentle now, until she's boneless and gasping.
"Holy shit," she whispers, eyes wide and dazed. "That was... I've never..."
"Never what?"
"Never felt anything like that. I mean, I've... by myself, but never with someone else. Never like that."
The admission makes something primal roar to life in my chest. She's mine. I'm the first to make her feel like this.
"We're just getting started, sweetheart," I promise, reaching for my belt. "I'm going to make you feel so good, you'll forget your own name."
I strip off my jeans and boxers, and her sharp intake of breath when she sees my cock is gratifying.
"You're... wow. Will it fit?"
I can’t help but be proud. I know I’m a big guy, but seeing her expression makes it so much better. "It'll fit. I'll make sure you're ready for me."
I guide myself to her entrance, coating my length with her wetness, both of us groaning at the contact. She's so warm, so slick.
"Look at me," I command softly, waiting until her eyes meet mine. "I want to watch your face when I make you mine."
I push forward slowly, feeling her stretch around me. She's so tight it's almost painful, but the feel of her taking me inch by inch is the most erotic thing I've ever experienced.
"Breathe, baby," I murmur, pausing to let her adjust. "You're doing so good. Taking my cock so perfectly."
"It's so big," she gasps, nails digging into my shoulders. "So deep."
"And it's all yours. Every inch of me belongs to you, Dove."
We stay like that for a moment, both overwhelmed by being completely joined. Then she rolls her hips experimentally, wanting more.
"Fuck," I groan, my control hanging by a thread. "Do that again."
She does, and this time I meet her movement with a slow, deep thrust. We find our rhythm quickly, our bodies moving together like we've been lovers for years.
"You feel incredible," I tell her, voice rough with pleasure. "So tight, so hot. Like you were made for my cock."
"Maybe I was," she gasps, legs wrapping around my waist to pull me deeper. "Maybe we were made for each other."
The words push me closer to the edge, but I'm determined to make her come again first. I reach between us, finding her clit with my thumb, circling the sensitive nub.
"Come with me," I demand, feeling my orgasm building. I speak low, hushed, even though I want to growl and let the world know that I’m claiming her. "I want to feel you come around my cock."
The combination of my words and my touch sends her over the edge again, her inner walls clamping down on me. The sensation is too much, and I follow her over, groaning as I spill myself deep inside her.
We collapse together, both breathing hard, our bodies slick with sweat. I don’t pull out, wanting to feel her. Even inside of her she feels too far away.
She looks up at me, eyes bright with love and satisfaction. "I love you. I know it's crazy, but I love you, Tannon."
"I love you too," I reply, the words coming easily now. "More than I thought possible."
We hold each other as the afternoon light fades, talking in whispers about dreams and fears and the future we're both afraid to want too much. Outside, the storm begins to weaken, but neither of us mentions it.