It was the first time with his new-found appreciation of her. The first time with their fresh start. The first time after they’d fought the biggest battle of their relationship and managed to come out on the other side, scathed but together.
He turned the key in the lock of the heavy wooden door. He wanted to take this slow and worship every square inch of her body, but when her soft hand brushed against his forearm, he fought the urge to push her against the door right on the front porch of the cabin, far too close to prying eyes.
Tanner bent down and hooked an arm under her knees, easily lifting her and cradling her against his chest. Belle let out a small squeak and her arms flew around his neck as he carried her across the threshold, kicking the door closed behind him.
Her lips melded against his, her tongue dancing in his mouth. She was going to test every ounce of his self-control and set fire to his carefully laid plans.
And he really didn’t give a damn.
Breaking the kiss, he set her on her feet, her body sliding against his and sending him into a tailspin of desire. She clamped down on her bottom lip and began unbuttoning his shirt with shaking hands.
A tiny laugh escaped Belle’s mouth, ending on a huff of frustration. “I’m pretty sure I was more confident the first time we did this.”
He hooked a finger under her chin and brought her eyes from his shirt to his face. “You were perfect then and you’re perfect now.”
She lifted one eyebrow just as she undid the last button. She slid her hands up his stomach and chest to his shoulders and pushed the white linen shirt off his body. “Perfect?”
His hands found the zipper at the back of her dress and he tugged until it hissed its release. “Perfect for me.”
Tanner pulled the wide straps of her dress, sucking in a breath when the material pooled around her feet. “Holy hell, sweetheart.”
He’d seen her in all manner of clothing from the gown she’d chosen for their wedding to the adorable funky pajamas she slept in and everything in between. But tonight, after making so many mistakes and the undeserved gift of her forgiveness, he wanted to fall before her and spend hours kissing, licking, tasting every part of her.
And the skimpy white lace lingerie set he’d never seen before only amplified his desires. “When the hell did you buy these?”
She blushed again. “The day before you came home from Wyatt’s competition.”
His heart stilled and his breathing stopped. “You really did come here ready to forgive me.”
Belle nodded slightly. Then her hands landed on his belt buckle and he stiffened against a fresh onslaught of need. She dragged his belt through the loops and threw it across room. A saucy grin spread across her face as she unbuttoned his pants. “I’ve really missed you, Tanner.”
Well, double hell.
He locked his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet, carrying her to the bed on the far side of the open one-room cabin. “I missed you too, sweetheart. So damn much.”
Tanner laid Belle across the deep red comforter and stood next to the bed, staring at her for several long moments. He had been too close to losing this, losing her, losing everything that meant something.
Her hands started to cover her stomach, and he reached down to move them away. “Oh, hell no, sweetheart. Don’t cover an inch of this gorgeous body.”
Tanner laid down on the bed beside her, commanding his body to stay under control. His fingers trailed up her abdomen, traveling beneath her to unhook her bra, sliding the straps down her arms and tossing the undergarment somewhere in the direction of their clothes.
His lips made a path across the warm skin the material had covered and he grinned at Belle’s sharp intake of breath. His tongue slipped out of his mouth, desperate to taste the familiar sweetness that was Belle.
Tanner turned until he hovered over her, propped up on his elbows and making trails up and down her body. Her soft sighs propelled him on and drove him to the brink of control.
He hooked his fingers under the edges of her panties and slowly slid them down and over her shoes.
“Let me take those off.” She panted out the words, lifting her head and gesturing to the heels.
He grinned and shook his head slowly. “Oh, hell no, sweetheart. I want nothing more than these sexy shoes locked behind my back while I hear you screaming my name. Now lay back Belle. I’m starving for you.”
Tanner ran his facial hair along the inside of her thigh and chuckled at the deep, throaty moan. He tempted her with soft kisses everywhere but where he knew she wanted him the most. He thoroughly enjoyed teasing his wife to brink of insanity.
Finally when she whimpered his name, he darted his tongue into the hot, slick flesh and was rewarded with a soft shriek. He traced different patterns with his tongue and slid a finger inside her, moments later—another.
“Tan-ner!”
His lips curved against her and he slowed the rhythm of his tongue but didn’t stop until her breathing began to slow. He kissed his way back to her mouth, claiming it and her at the same time, both of them moaning at finally being connected.
He broke the kiss and slowly increased his pace, locking his eyes with her soft chestnut ones, dilated with desire and need.
Tanner thrust two more times and, when the familiar tingling sensation began to build, whispered, “I love you, Belle.”
Her thighs tightened around him and her mouth fell open. “I-I-I, oh, Tanner!” She screamed his name as he collapsed on top of her.
Several long minutes later, he rolled off her but pulled her close to his side with the movement. A lot of things were going to happen tonight, but letting go of her was not one of them.
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Izzy
Izzy stretched a little, feeling deliciously sore nearly everywhere. Her sleep-fogged brain tried to remember how many times she and Tanner had made love but lost count somewhere between the shower and the couch in the space designated for a living room. The small size of the piece of furniture resulted in a few new, creative positions.
“Good morning, sweetheart.” Tanner’s voice was soft and rumbly and…There was no way she could possibly be turned on again, was there?
She kept her eyes closed, unwilling to acknowledge the morning or the sun or anything other than more sleep. The thing that hadn’t seemed all that important last night. “Not morning. Sleeping.”
Tanner’s deep chuckle made the bed vibrate. She shot a hand out to pull him down to lie next to her again, but when she connected with flannel instead of bare skin, her eyes flew open and she sat up. “You’re dressed?”
His gaze roamed down his bare chest and pajama-clad legs, then over Izzy and the thin sheet covering her, and he grinned. “Well, maybe more dressed than you, but certainly not fit for public display.”
The smile fell from his face, and he swallowed. “Sweetheart…I…you…” He sighed. “There’s something you need to do. We need to do.”
Her eyes widened. “Aren’t you exhausted?”
He threw his head back and laughed. He got up and dug in the suitcase a few feet away. “No, sweetheart, not that. I mean, yes that, but later.” Tanner held up one of his shirts and motioned for her to get out of bed. “First put this on, because hot damn, Belle, looking at your body isn’t going to help me concentrate.”
She obediently stood in front of him, completely naked, and smirked when he sucked in a sharp breath and quickly dropped his shirt over her head. The hem skimmed the tops of her knees and the neck nearly slipped off her shoulder, but apparently it offered enough coverage he could start to breathe again.
Tanner pulled her hand over to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet. She scrubbed a hand over her eyes and tried to understand. She hadn’t gotten enough sleep to follow his thoughts. “Tanner, you’re gonna have to spell this out for me because I need about a half a pot of coffee to even remember my name right now.”
He leaned over to the sink and pulled something off the co
unter holding it up between them. Her confusion only grew when she realized it was an electric hair trimmer.
“I want you to shave my hair off.”
She felt like she’d been punched in the gut. “Wh-what?” She started shaking her head vigorously and immediately her hands flew into his hair wanting to protect each strand from the very suggestion of being shaved. Tanner had never had hair longer than about two inches, but the thought of nothing was almost unbelievable.
He set the clippers back on the sink and held her hands, looking up at her with earnest, open blue eyes. “I can’t undo what happened, sweetheart, but if you’re willing to give me this gift, the least I can do is try to make it as fresh of a start as possible.” He released her hands and held the electric device out to her again with a wide smile. “It’ll grow back in a few months.”
“And then it’ll be just ours again.” The words barely made it past her clogged throat. She clicked the switch on and jumped at the buzzing sound. Her eyes bounced from the razor to Tanner and back. “A-are…Tanner, are you sure?”
The smile vanished. “Belle, I would lay down my life for you. Do you think losing a few strands of hair is going to bother me in the slightest? And I want you to be honest with me: will this make you feel better?”
There was no way she could answer him. She simply nodded, and the smile spread across his face again. “So I get to have a happy wife and the hottest freaking barber in the world. How exactly is this going to be hard on me?”
Her hand was shaking and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself as much as possible. Was he really offering this?
“Tanner—”
“It’s okay, Belle.”
She swallowed and made a line through his hair with the razor. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on his head.
His hands grasped her hips and he gave a gentle squeeze. “Keep going, sweetheart.”
Izzy had no idea how long it took to shave the rest of the hair from his head. She stopped several times to use the sleeve of Tanner’s shirt to wipe away the tears and clear her vision. When she made the last swipe, she clicked it off and threw it in the sink.
She grabbed a towel from the rack behind her and brushed all the hair off his bare chest and shoulders. As soon as she was done, she sat on his lap, buried her face against his neck, and sobbed.
They sat there for several long minutes before Tanner lifted her against his chest and carried her back to the bed. He stretched out beside her and held her close. She sniffled a few times as the tears began to subside.
Izzy lifted her head and looked in his eyes. A piece of her heart she hadn’t realized was still broken slowly began to mend. “Thank you, baby.”
Tanner’s mouth fell open. “You…you haven’t called me that in a long time, sweetheart. I-I missed that.”
She pressed her mouth against his. “I know. I love you, baby. And I love that you’re mine.”
Epilogue
Tanner
One year later
Tanner ran a hand through his hair and watched Belle out the window. It hadn’t taken nearly as long as he expected for his hair to grow back. He shook his head and grinned. He didn’t give a damn if it never grew back, but it had and it made Belle happy. If anything, she played with his hair even more and it drove him crazy.
There was the added benefit of annoying the shit out of Wyatt since he decided to move back home and was spending more time with them. And desperately trying to get his own second chance with the girl he left behind after high school. Tanner grinned to himself; he’d always liked Georgia, but even more now that she was making his brother jump through half a dozen hoops.
With a laugh, Belle hitched the duffel bag higher on her shoulder and gave her best friend a hug goodbye. Six months ago, she’d gotten her yoga instructor certification and partnered with Caroline at the studio.
Ample promises of private payment from Belle made Tanner all too willing to put his MBA to use to help with their marketing and promotions. He’d been amazed when Belle had taken some of his ideas and made them even better. He offered her a job at his company at least half a dozen times. She was brilliant.
With a little help from Tanner and Caroline and Belle’s naturally magnetic personalities, their memberships had quickly tripled and the two women were considering adding another instructor.
She popped up in the cab of his truck and leaned over to kiss him before throwing her bag in the backseat and buckling herself in. “Thanks for waiting, baby.”
“You’re worth waiting for, sweetheart.” He threw the truck in gear and took off down the highway. One of the positives of having so much family within a few miles radius was the abundance of sitters for Ava and Noah when Tanner wanted to steal his wife away.
Belle tossed her head back and laughed, a few strands of chocolate hair falling out of the messy bun on top of her head. “That is definitely a Prince Charming line.”
Tanner glanced over at her with a wink and smile. He meant every word he promised her; he would never take her for granted again.
She unbuckled herself, slid into the middle seat, and buckled herself in again, laying her head on his shoulder. “So where are we going?”
He planted a kiss on the top of her head and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers between hers. “Some secrets are meant to be kept.”
THE END
Acknowledgements
To my double A team who are the reason I do this.
To all the hashtags that light up my life:
My #RChat backbone of support, advice, handholding, and loving critiques. You girls made every second of this possible. I do solemnly swear to eliminate “felt” from my vocabulary. Well, mostly.
My #MDO lovelies Marit, Meka, and Evie who provide all the dirty pictures and inappropriate jokes a girl could ever want.
My #BoardmanBitches Hannah & Evie who have made putting ghost peppers, pirate bars, and kilts in the same sentence actually make sense.
And finally to Evie, the very best person I could ever ask for, thank you for understanding every worry and giving the tough love I need it and unfailingly being in my corner. You will always be my person.
About the Author
Books, coffee, and chocolate make up both the heart and body mass that is better known as Amelia Foster. She has been a lifelong lover of the written word, both as a reader and an author, and completed her first manuscript at the ripe old age of five complete with illustrations. Sadly, her art was a medium that never improved over time although thankfully her writing has.
From sweet to salacious the only requirement Amelia has in books she reads–and definitely in the ones she crafts–is an excessively satisfying happily ever after…and then a little bit more.
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Meant to be Kept Page 23
