I heard the creak of her door opening as I took the stairs two at a time. As soon as I hit the landing, she was there, standing in the open doorway, backlit by the lights from her apartment. The smile she was wearing was so brilliant, so goddamn beautiful, it stole my breath.
“Hi,” she chirped brightly. “How was?—”
I swallowed down the rest of her question, taking her face in my hands as soon as she was within reach and crashing my lips down on hers. That was what she did to me, I had no control over the way my body reacted.
Her mouth opened on a gasp of surprise, and I thrust my tongue inside, tangling it with hers. She tasted like honey and sunshine, and a tiny voice in the back of my head kept telling me I was never going to get enough.
The need for air forced me to break away, but I didn’t go far. With one hand on her hip and the other cradling the back of her neck, I rested my forehead against hers and breathed her in.
She blinked up at me, and the glassy, dazed look in her eyes caused my dick to stir.
“Hi,” I returned, my words moving between us in a quiet rumble.
I felt the brush of her lips as they curved up into another stunning smile. “Hi back. That was quite the hello.”
A low hum rattled in my throat. “Couldn’t help myself. Not when you smile at me the way you were.”
The smile in question grew even bigger. “How was I smiling at you?”
I sifted my fingers into her hair. “Like you were really happy to see me.”
Her hands came up to my chest. Her fingers curved and her nails dug gently into my skin through my shirt. A tremor worked its way over my body as she lightly scratched her way up my chest to my shoulders before locking her fingers together at the back of my neck. It was like she was scratching an itch I didn’t even realize I had.
“I am happy to see you.” Her expression gentled. “I’m really glad you texted.”
Hell, if that was all it took, I’d text her all damn day.
Actually, I was quickly coming to realize I’d do just about anything to see that smile and hear her say she was happy.
Chapter Seventeen
Holiday
Something about the way he kissed me, the way the pads of his fingers pressed into my skin like he was afraid I’d disappear into thin air... it all built up inside of me, like a thread coiling tighter and tighter, desperately close to snapping.
There was an urgency to the way he’d just kissed me. Like he couldn’t have stopped himself even if the wellbeing of the planet was at stake. There was something thrilling about having that kind of effect on a man like Tanner Fine. A man who could more than likely have anyone he wanted. Supermodels, actresses... but it was this small-town bookshop owner who brought him to his knees.
It was more than that, though. None of the men I dated in the past ever made me feel so desired. So...needed. It was like I was air to Tanner, and I was quickly starting to feel the same about him.
Tugging my bottom lip, I looked up at him from beneath my lashes. “Do you want to come in?”
“I’d love very much to come in.”
My yelp ricochetted off the walls, quickly turning into a fit of giggles when Tanner lunged for me and scooped me up. He moved so much faster than I expected a man his size to move and I had to wrap my arms and legs around him to keep steady. He marched right into my apartment, kicking the door shut with a resounding bang.
That sound might as well have been a gun blast signaling the start of a race, because it set off something in both of us that was downright primal. Sex with Tanner was different, and not only because it was so much better. Something was different inme. There was no hesitation or inhibitions. Sex with Tanner made me feelfree. He made me feel safe enough to take what I wanted. And what I wanted in that very moment was him.
I sealed my mouth to his neck, something inside of me dying to leave a mark on him. Something that I could look at and have the fond reminder of how it got there.
“Fuck, you’re wild tonight,” he hissed out as I fisted his hair and jerked his head back so I could get to his mouth. Tanner kept pace with me every step of the way, moving through my tiny apartment to the bedroom.
We managed to break apart long enough for him to strip us both naked, then he gave me a gentle shove and followed me onto the mattress. I felt like I was burning from the inside out as his weight pressed me deeper into the bed. My core throbbed, the emptiness creating an ache that was driving me out of my mind. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so needy. Soalive.
“I want you,” Tanner panted as he peppered the skin of my throat and collarbones. “Christ, I can’t stop wanting you.”
A thrill ran through me at those words, sending a flood of arousal between my thighs. “Yes. Please.” I writhed beneath him, my desperation growing so intense I felt like it could consume me at any second.
“Mm,” he hummed wantonly as he cupped my breast in his large hand. “Does my good girl need something?”
