Meant to be Kept

by Amelia Foster

  She nodded, feeling slightly more confident in her decision.

  Another wide grin settled on Tanner’s face. “Today is day one. Go get dressed.”

  ***

  “What the hell was that?”

  Tanner practically slammed the door to her dorm shut and dropped his duffel bag on the floor. Izzy had her back to him, stuffing papers she needed for class tomorrow in her backpack. A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth, but she schooled her features into a nonchalant expression before turning to face him. “What was what, baby? Did you have a bad practice?”

  He took three large strides over to her, locking an arm around her waist and lifting her against him. He spun them both around so she was caught between the wall and his hard body. She let out a little squeak and tightened her thighs around his waist.

  His blue eyes were stormy with desire. He lowered his head and practically devoured her mouth. Izzy knew it would be the worst possible time to laugh, but she was slightly giddy her plan had worked so well. When his tongue took possession of her mouth, however, any idea of laughing was quickly replaced with her overwhelming need for Tanner.

  “Did I have a bad practice?” He repeated her words back to her in between kisses. His hands quickly pulled her short, thin nightgown over her head and his eyes drank in every inch of her olive skin. “You put a picture like that in my bag and you expect me to concentrate on baseball? Shit, I’m gonna get cut from the team after my performance today.”

  She slid her hands under his shirt and lifted it over his head. Her stomach clenched. Suddenly the idea that had seemed so playful and fun felt like a huge mistake. “I-I’m sorry baby, I never realized—”

  He cut off her words with another hungry kiss. “If I do get cut, it’d be the best damn reason.” His lips made a trail down her neck and shoulders. “Holy hell, Belle, that was the sexiest picture I’ve ever seen and you weren’t even in it. I’m not sure if I’m disappointed by that or friggin’ grateful.”

  When she had found the white matching bra and panty set with red stitching to resemble a baseball, she knew she had to buy them and get his jersey number embroidered on the back. The idea to take a picture of them laid out on her bed and throw it in his duffel bag for the first day of baseball practice had been much less thought out. She chuckled at his comment. Obviously it was going to pay off for her big time.

  His hands moved down from her waist and under her thighs, sliding backward, finding nothing but bare skin.

  Tanner lifted his head from the shoulder where he was leaving a trail of bites and looked in her eyes, a mixture of confusion and need reflecting back at her. “You were seriously sitting in this room waiting for me to come back, wearing only a nightgown, and not a single piece of clothing on underneath?” His hands gripped each cheek tightly as he spoke.

  Izzy couldn’t even remember how they managed to slide his sweatpants and boxers low enough, but it didn’t really matter once he drove deep inside her. She gasped at the passion-fueled force. Tanner always treated her like a porcelain doll. He would spend long moments exploring and tasting every part of her body bringing her to frantic climax several times. Not today. Not this time. And she was so relieved.

  Her grip tightened in the hair at the nape of his neck and she pulled him hard against her. She needed this, she needed him, more than she needed her next breath. The force of each thrust felt like she was going to go through the wall holding them up.

  He dug his fingers deeper into each of her hips, and she was convinced she’d wind up with bruises. She smiled against his lips. She had been waiting for this side of Tanner to show up. If she had known all it would take was one little picture, she would have done that weeks ago.

  She pulled her head back as far as the wall would allow and looked into his eyes. Every other time he whispered words of love and adoration. His eyes reflected the truths to her. But today all she saw was his desperate need.

  Feeling slightly drunk on her passion, Izzy tightened her inner muscles around him as he moved inside her. His eyes widened and he dropped his head against hers. “Shit, sweetheart, I’m not gonna last much longer if you keep that up.” He bit her shoulder a little harder than normal. “Been thinking about your tight little body wrapped around mine all friggin’ day,” he mumbled against her skin.

  His words were the switch to her release, stronger than it had ever been. She pulled his mouth up to hers to silence unintelligible screams and felt a surge in her ego as she felt his deep groan.

  Tanner’s kisses turned soft and less demanding. After several long moments, he seemed to gather his strength enough to pull them both off the wall and gently lay her in bed before climbing in beside her. His gaze washed over her, lingering on the red bite mark on her shoulder and the finger impressions left on her thighs, before he pulled the covers over her body. “Shit. I’m an asshole.” He whispered the words more to himself than her.

  Izzy pulled his face close to hers and brushed her lips across his. “Why would you think that, baby? That was incredible.”

  “That was reckless. Rough.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

  She tugged on his arms until they were wrapped tightly around her. “Baby, that was exactly what I wanted. I’m not an antique vase that will break if you blow on it wrong.”

  His blue eyes, still tinged with concern, grew wide. “Y-you wanted—”

  “I wanted you to know you have me. Any time. Any where. Any way.” She grinned when his mouth fell open. “Although you may need to give me a tiny bit of time to rest if you’re gonna do that again. Which you are, you know. Doing that. Again.”

  Tanner chuckled and held her close against his chest. After a long silence, he finally spoke again. “Belle, there was something I’ve been thinking about.”

  Her eyelids heavy, she snuggled in closer to him. “I told you, baby, just a little rest.”

  When he laughed again, she felt the rumble all the way to her toes and smiled to herself. “Yeah, we’ll get to that, but I was thinking about the summer.”

  Izzy’s eyes flew open. That was something she had intentionally not been thinking of. It was an impossible situation. She had no desire to go back to New York, but there was no way she could afford to stay in North Carolina unless she lived in her car. More than anything she definitely didn’t want to spend three months away from Tanner. Her heart ached at the very idea.

  “I want to get an apartment.” He made the declaration with very little preamble. “And then we can just stay there once school starts again. I mean, we’ve been pretty lucky we haven’t gotten in trouble yet for all the time I spend here, and there really is no way in hell I am going to let you spend every night alone so—”

  “No,” she cut him off. She lifted her head and stared at him. What was he thinking? She worked part-time in a coffee shop. There was no way she could afford to share an apartment with him. And he might hate living with her. He might find her cooking disgusting and her overzealous cleaning habits annoying.

  His eyebrows flew up. “No?”

  She shook her head. “No. Unless I start making way more than minimum wage, I can’t get an apartment.”

  “Sweetheart, I’m working at my dad’s company over the summer. He’s training me to take over once I graduate. Hell, he’s gonna lease office space here so I don’t have to commute or move back home. Trust me, I’ll make more than enough to take care of us. You can work if you want to, but you won’t have to.”

  Izzy jumped out of the bed and grabbed her discarded nightgown off the floor, not willing to do battle sans clothes. She paced the small room a few times before turning to face Tanner, his head propped on one arm, watching her silently. “But what if this doesn’t work?”

  She finally spoke her biggest fear out loud and hated the vulnerable feeling it left. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked at the floor. In less than the space of a heartbeat, her arms were pulled apart and placed around his waist as he drew her close.

&
nbsp; “Belle, you and I are a forever thing. I know you’re scared, but I’m just asking you to take a chance on us and let me do the rest.”

  Izzy laid her head against his chest with a sigh. There really was only one answer she could give. “Okay.”

  Tanner hooked a finger under her chin and gave her a cocky grin. “Now, about that rest time…”

  Chapter Eight

  Tanner

  She’s nervous just sitting in a car with me.

  Tanner called himself every colorful name he could think of and then created a few new ones simply because he deserved it. Belle had been fidgeting with the hem of her white lace tank top the entire ride. As much as he wanted to be hurt or irritated, there was not one part of him that could blame her.

  But as soon as he took the downtown Winston-Salem exit, Belle sat up a little more in her seat and her hands suddenly stilled. Her eyes widened and she turned to face him. “Tanner, are we…”

  He couldn’t tell if she was excited at the idea of going back to WFU or disappointed. Shit. He really didn’t need to screw up their first date. Well, their first date after his epic failure. “Yeah, we’re going back to school.” He managed a small smile. “Happy?”

  A huge smile spread across Belle’s face, and she fixed her eyes on the road in front of them. Before she turned her head away, he caught the sparkle in her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. The first date wasn’t going to fall apart before it started.

  “Happy? This is great! Tanner, we haven’t been back in three years.” As soon as the words left her mouth, her expression fell. “You’ve been too busy to go to games anymore.”

  He opened his mouth to argue. There was no way it had been three years.

  When they were dating, Belle had transformed into a bigger football fan than him, and not just because he was on the team. Ever since they graduated, they had gone to as many of the home football games as possible, and five years ago they started buying season tickets. She even wore face paint and ridiculous faux hair hats. Yeah, he was busy last year, but they went the year before. Didn’t they?

  Dammit all to hell. She was right.

  “I’m sorry, sweet—” He caught himself and covered the endearment with an awkward cough. “I’m sorry.”

  Belle lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug and looked out the passenger’s window. When he took a right and the entrance came in view, she let out a small sigh. “I’ve missed this place.” She said the words so softly, he wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or herself.

  He lifted a hand in greeting to the security guard as they drove through the gate. He kept a light smile on his face, but his mind raced. The words kept repeating over and over in his head. You’ve been too busy. Shit, shit, shit. Maybe he had more to make up for than he’d ever thought.

  Tanner shook his head and threw his truck in park. He needed to stay focused. Focused on their date and completely focused on Belle. He hopped out of the truck and rounded the front as fast as he could to reach her door before she could exit on her own.

  A small smile tugged at her mouth as he offered his hand to help her climb down. She bit down on her lower lip and slid her hand into his. “Thanks, Tanner.”

  Instead of releasing her hand when her feet hit the ground, Tanner intertwined their fingers and felt gratified to have even the small contact with Belle. When was the last time they simply held hands? Heat that had nothing to do with the June sun began to creep up his neck. He couldn’t remember. That was pretty damn embarrassing.

  Belle turned her head and her smile grew as she realized where they were going. “The quad by Trib Hall?” When he only nodded in response, she let out a happy sigh. “My favorite place on campus.”

  Damn, he loved that smile. “It is? I never knew that.” He was ashamed to admit it out loud. Twelve years together, four of them spent right on this campus, and he never knew it was her favorite spot.

  And then she laughed. Tanner felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. It had only been a few days, but it felt like years since he heard her laugh. “Of course it is. It’s where we met.”

  “Well,” he began, pointedly ignoring her sharp intake of breath as they rounded the same tree trunk where he had spent several days of his junior year positioning himself to gain her attention, “there may be a few details about that you don’t know.”

  He had called in a favor with an old professor to get on campus over summer break, then given his youngest brother, Dean, detailed instructions on exactly how to set everything up. When he saw the red checkered cloth spread on the ground and the food laid out to precision, he breathed a sigh of relief. Even Belle’s favorite purple gerbera daisies were laid in the middle of the cloth.

  She released his hand and dropped to her knees, bringing the bouquet close to her nose and inhaling deeply. She looked at the small sandwiches, fruit, and cheese with a mixture of hunger and awe. “I have no idea how you managed this, but I love it.”

  Tanner took a seat beside her before his knees buckled under him at the sight of her light brown eyes glowing. When was the last time he had done something special for her? “Some secrets are meant to be kept.”

  The words left his mouth without a second thought, but when the look in her eyes changed, he realized what he said. And the memory of the first time they made love came rushing back. His body automatically responded by tightening as every kiss and touch flooded his mind. Belle bit her bottom lip and lifted a shaking hand to his cheek.

  Tanner turned his head slightly and planted a warm kiss on her palm. As much as he wanted to do more, he pulled her hand from his cheek instead and held it clasped in his. Just like he did when they first started dating, he had no intention of rushing Belle into anything.

  He cleared his throat. “But you get to hear one of those secrets right now.”

  Storm clouds began to form behind her eyes, and he cursed himself again. Shit. She probably thought it was something bad.

  “I sat here on purpose,” he spoke quickly, hoping to dispel the fear evident on her face. “The day we met? That wasn’t the first day I saw you.”

  Belle squinted at him. “What do you mean?”

  Tanner chuckled lightly and dared to take hold of her other hand. When she didn’t pull away, he slowly released the breath he had been holding. Hell, this is more nerve wracking than our real first date. “I saw you on the fourth day of school. I started sitting here as much as possible to try to get you to come over to me.”

  Her eyebrows shot up, and after a brief pause she started laughing. “What? You did that on purpose? Why? And why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  “I was used to girls coming up to me and I thought you would, eventually.” He dropped his gaze, a light flush staining his cheeks, and rubbed his thumbs across the backs of her hands. “But I didn’t want to wait any longer. I didn’t tell you because…” he shrugged, “…because once you were mine, that was all that mattered.”

  They sat there for a long time in silence, just staring at each other and not finding a single reason to speak. Finally a small smile spread across her face. “So far, you’re pretty good at this, um, whole trial period thing.”

  Tanner picked up a strawberry and held it up to her with a grin. “And you’re pretty damn perfect at this whole loving me thing.”

  ***

  He gripped the square white box a little tighter in his hand and took a fortifying breath before turning the knob to go into Belle’s dorm. Well, their dorm really. He rarely slept anywhere else.

  The wide grin he had on his face evaporated when he saw Belle sitting on her bed, forehead on her knees, sobbing. What the hell? He’d only been gone a few hours.

  He threw the box on the desk and shot over to the bed, collecting her in his arms. “Belle, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

  She curled into his embrace and buried her face in his neck. She didn’t answer. As a hiccup broke free, Tanner wondered if she could even speak.

  Rage started to build with h
is confusion. Whoever did this, whoever made his Belle cry, was in for some serious issues. With him. The most heartbreaking thing he’d ever seen was Belle falling apart in his arms. Someone was in for an ass kicking.

  After what felt like hours of listening to her sob while he held her against his chest, she finally started to calm down. He stroked her hair softly and kissed her forehead. “Okay, sweetheart, now can you tell me what’s wrong?”

  She sniffled and lifted her head from his red shirt, now sopping wet from her tears. His heart fractured at her swollen, red-rimmed eyes. “I-I talked to my dad. I told him. I-I told him about our apartment a-and that he wouldn’t h-h-have to pay for the single room next year because we were just going to keep it when school started again and…”

  Her voice broke as another wave of tears began. Tanner tucked her head under his chin and pulled her closer. He ran his hand down her back and made soothing sounds, as much for himself as for her. He loved Belle with all his heart, and he was pretty sure driving to New York and punching her dad in the nose was not the most endearing thing he could do. He needed to get his anger under control.

  “What’d he say, Belle?” he asked between clenched teeth, bracing himself for an answer he knew he wouldn’t like.

  She shook her head against him. “I can’t tell you.”

  Well, that was irritating. He shifted uncomfortably and adjusted her on his lap. She couldn’t tell him? What the hell was that supposed to mean? He wanted her to tell him everything. Bring him every problem. Let him take care of her. Didn’t she trust him?

  Belle lifted a hand to his cheek and offered a watery smile. “Don’t think that.”

  His brows knit together, and his mouth turned down. “Don’t think what?”

  “Don’t think I don’t trust you.” She spoke his exact thought back to him. “I do, baby. But if I tell you, you’re going to try to fix it. Even if that means doing something crazy.” She planted a soft kiss on his lips. “And I love you for taking such good care of me, but this is something I have to fix on my own.”