I detailed what Father had owned and which I assumed had been coming to me.
“And you have nothing?”
“A car that I’m trying to sell. That will keep me going for a while if I can find a buyer. And there’s the motorbike that’s sitting in your shed.”
“Ahhh I was wondering if you had your own car.”
“I do but I can’t afford to keep running it.” And honestly, taking the bus wasn’t that bad. Sort of. “And while I know how to ride a motorbike, I’d never ride that one of Father’s in case I damaged it. He loved that bike.”
“Tell me about this brother.”
“He’s no brother of mine. I’m sure he’s a con artist.” I put my dishes in the sink and we cleared the table.
Tanner made tea and brought out a tub of ice cream. He waved it in front of me. “In the movies, people always eat ice cream when the shit hits the fan.”
I took the tub from him and my hand brushed against his. I stared at it, not daring to raise my gaze and catch his expression. But he lifted my chin. “I missed you when I woke up.”
My head snapped up. His eyes were studying mine as if looking for an answer. And I gave him one, but not in words. I got on tiptoes and offered him my lips.
8
TANNER
I shouldn’t, but I really really really really wanna
Waking up to find Candrin gone, hurt and had me second guessing if any of it had really happened. Did we fall asleep together, did I wake up with his lips pressed against me and then force myself to go back to sleep, was his body against mine and his cock hard? A quick inhaling where I detected the omega’s scent told me that it hadn’t been a dream, I just slept a little too soundly when I fell back asleep.
He’d slipped out and gone to work. I hated missing him, but also I understood. He wasn’t exactly rolling in money. Knowing he was broke didn’t matter to mybear. He was pacing like nobody’s business, wanting me to go bring Candrin back.
That’s not how humans do things.I insisted.
And even if it was, Candrin was my tenant and I needed to not push anything between us, no matter how much I wanted it. It wasn’t as if he could just find a new place if he felt uncomfortable with my attention. He had to pay me in installments and that was not the kind of tenants most landlords accepted. I remembered someone from work complaining they needed both first and last month’s rent, plus a security deposit, and pet fee to move into their place. Even if he found someplace as inexpensive as this, that would be a bunch of money and he didn’t even have a pet.
No, I had to make sure I made this place as safe and comfortable as I could for him. And that meant ignoring that his lips had been pressed against mine and that just inhaling his scent made me hard again. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Candrin deserved at least that much from me.
I didn’t even bother to brush my teeth, before heading out the back door and taking my fur. My bear had too much pent up energy and I needed for him to let it out before I began my day. He ran out back, nibbled someberries, and kept trying to get me to find Candrin and bring him home. My attempt at pacifying him turned out to be a big old fail. But at least I tried.
Once I shifted back and was at the house, I took a long cool shower and tried to figure out what I needed to accomplish for the day. There was a lot and much of it was errand based and when I was clean and dry, I threw on clothing and headed out the door.
After a plethora of stops, I turned into the grocery store parking lot. There was some food in the house, but with Candrin there, I had this urge to make sure it was abundant. The alpha bear in me was all about providing for him and while it probably wasn’t the most healthy of thoughts given he was a tenant and not my mate, I didn’t try to suppress it. If buying groceries pacified my bear and gave Candrin access to good food, it was a win win in my book.
Every item I put in my cart had a “I bet Candrin would like that” or “I’ve heard him mention that” attached to it. And when I checked out, my jaw nearly hit the floor. I couldn’t remember ever spending that much at the grocery store. But that didn’t stop me from paying, taking it all home or from making him oneof my favorite dinners.
It was fair to say that waking up snuggled with him had impacted me more than I had realized.
Watching Candrin eat the food that I prepared with abandon had been great, but having him open up the way he had, had been everything. He trusted me with the hard stuff and that mattered. That mattered a hella lot. And that was as close as an excuse as I could come up with for what I said next.
“I missed you when I woke up.”
His head snapped up and he watched me intently as if I had all the answers. I had none. I had no idea what I was doing. The line between landlord and whatever it was we had building between us was blurred. All I wanted to do was lean in and kiss him. And I almost did, but he didn’t give me the chance,
He got on his tiptoes and offered me his lips and I took them, unable to resist. Candrin’s scent was surrounding me, pulling me to him as his lips brushed against mine once, twice, a third time. And after they came into contact the third time, they didn’t leave, Candrin deepening the kiss and me loving every second of it.
I hadn’t been prepared for the kiss. I mean I fantasized about it far more than I should throughout the day, but it was nothing compared to the way he tasted, felt, and scented of arousal as we kissed.
It took all of my strength, but I broke the kiss and apologized, rushing straight to the dishes instead of being the bad ass bear I was. I refused to take advantage of Candrin. I refused. He was vulnerable, far more so than I had even initially suspected. He’d been through so much in such a short period of time. I was impressed he was even standing and there he was somehow keeping it all together. He was so much stronger than he gave himself credit for.
Strong.
