He sighed, and looked down. After a moment he said, “I should have protected him.”
“How?” She cleaned the cracked skin on his knuckles.
“I don’t know, but dammit, I should have done something. Made him leave town maybe.”
“Before the end of the semester?” She arched her brow. “That would have generated more speculation. Plus, they might have shut down their operation. You did what you thought was best, Tanner. You had no way of knowing what would happen.”
She finished with more Band-Aids and lifted his hands to her lips, kissing each owie. “There. All better now.”
“Thanks.” He touched his finger to her cheek. “It helps to have you…” He trailed off and looked away, his jaw working. When he turned back, his eyes were gleaming. “You aren’t going to have a panic attack if I tell you I desperately want to kiss you, are you?”
Her mouth went dry. “Ah…no.”
“Good. Then, come here.”
He framed her face with his hands. “What’s between us has nothing to do with Ray or anything else, okay? I need you to know that.”
Her heart quaked, shifting the landscape of her feelings for him. “Okay.”
He lowered his mouth, kissing her softly. Sipping. Tasting. Her lips tingled. Somehow she’d expected him to be rougher after seeing his rage outside. His gentleness made her want to give him more.
She pressed closer, her body pressing hot against his. He nibbled her bottom lip, and she lurched forward, tangling her hands in his hair. Her tongue traced the seam of his lips, and he opened to her. A healthy steam of lust blew through her like an overheated boiler. She gripped his neck, changing the angle of the kiss. He lowered his hands to her waist, tasting her.
Deeper and deeper and deeper.
His fingers tickled the waistband of her skirt. Her eyes closed as she let herself feel the pleasure of that first touch. God, it had been so long. She wanted him to touch her, take her, devour her.
When his hands rose to her breasts and cupped them through her sweater, her head fell back. He kissed her neck, his breath hot against her skin. She tipped her head back further to give him better access and ran her hands along his strong shoulders. He stood and walked her backwards a couple of steps until she hit the counter. The sensation of being pressed against his entire body made her tremble. Their mouths met again, tongues dancing and retreating, all playfulness gone. His heart drummed against her hand as she traced his muscular chest.
When he caressed her butt and pulled her closer to his arousal, she lurched. Their kiss grew wilder, and her hands gripped his waist as the world tilted. She wasn’t sure how she was standing on her feet anymore.
Something vibrated against her thigh, breaking her concentration. Tanner cursed and stepped back, digging into his pocket.
“Damn phone.” He checked the display. “It’s my sister. I called her last night about Ray. I need to take this, or she’ll worry. Shitty timing.” Brushing a thumb down her cheek, he put the phone to his ear and walked away. “Hey, Peg.”
She closed her eyes and savored the lingering imprint of his mouth. Her body raged with heat, but there was something more…A deep, urgent tingling told her she was coming back to life after being numb for so long.
What was the saying about someone having the matches to light the fire inside you? Tanner clearly had the right matchbook for her.
And being with him could just be the biggest story of her life. Had she found her own Nora hero like she’d hoped? He certainly had all the qualities.
Her phone chimed. When she saw her grandpa’s number, she clicked it on and confirmed his hunch that Ray had been Tanner’s source.
When Tanner came back inside, she signed off. “Grandpa wants us to come to the house tonight. He heard about Ray and put two and two together.”
“Good, we can run our plan by him.”
“Do we have one?”
“Peg had some ideas. So do I. It helped to talk it through with her. I was running on adrenaline. You’d better get off to work. I’ll see you tonight.”
She fingered her damp hair, sensing a change in him. “I want to stay.”
He picked up her purse. “You need to go to work like usual, or you’ll raise suspicion. I need to head out too. I’ll see you tonight.”
She frowned as she walked toward him. His face didn’t reveal anything.
Rising on her tiptoes, she decided to test the waters. She kissed his cheek.
He sighed, snuggled her closer, and pressed his mouth to hers. The kiss held the same tenderness he’d shown earlier. Inside her, it was like someone had blown a thousand bubbles, making her float. When he tugged on her lip and drew away, she leaned against him.