by Dee J. Adams
“That would be me.” Jess faced him. “Problem?”
“No, no. No problem,” he said, quickly back peddling as he opened the second box. “Ah…meat lovers. Now we’re talking.”
Jess hid a smile. Tanner sounded like her brother Eric. “The other pizza has everything on it.” Either Tanner hadn’t heard her or didn’t care. He took a huge bite out of his slice, closed his eyes and chewed. The absolute pleasure on his face made her warm inside. That a simple bite of pizza could make him so happy only drove home how much he’d missed the last seven years. He’d had a similar look on his face when he’d had her pinned against the wall earlier and when she’d been on top of him on the sofa.
A blush heated her cheeks and Jess turned back to the counter, keeping her embarrassment private. She’d had sex with this man.
Unprotected sex.
A giant wave of heat exploded in her middle, resulting in a full body panic flush. He’d been in prison for a long time. Who the hell knew what had happened to him or if he carried any diseases. How the hell did she ask?
“Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked. He’d settled at the big kitchen table and added a second slice of pizza to his plate along with two pieces of chicken.
More than ever, her stomach felt a little queasy and she couldn’t seem to move or make eye contact. The chair scraped as Tanner grabbed her plate and set a pizza slice on the middle. He poured a soda into a cup and placed everything next to him at the table. Then he guided her into the chair.
“Eat,” he told her. “You need to keep strong.”
He was right. Her mother would be brainstorming how to fix the situation, not shutting down. So Jess forced pizza into her mouth. She ate and drank and concentrated on keeping the food down. With a little more sleep, she might even be able to come up with a plan. A way to rescue her family, a way to salvage the current horror flick her life had become.
Of course, she had to add the possibility of a sexually transmitted disease because life wasn’t bad enough without it. God…she was so stupid.
“You’re thinking way too hard over there,” Tanner said before sipping his cola. “What’s going on inside that brain of yours?” for so longatayto
Probably nothing he’d want to talk about, but she’d have to ask eventually unless she wanted to live what was left of her life in fear. “We had sex earlier.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “We had fucking amazing sex earlier. So?”
She swallowed. “So…we didn’t use a condom.” There. She couldn’t get more to the point than that.
Tanner nodded, wiped his hands on a napkin. “You’re not on any kind of birth control?” he asked carefully.
“I’m on the pill, but…”
He waited and when she didn’t say anything else, he tilted his head sideways. “I get it. You’re worried about what Juneau said earlier. You’re afraid you’re going to catch whatever disease I got in prison.”
Jess couldn’t deny it, but she couldn’t affirm it either.
Tanner looked her straight in the eyes. “Contrary to what that asshole said, I never ‘took it’ anywhere in prison. Before this afternoon, I haven’t had sex in over seven years. So if you’re asking if I’ve given you an STD, I haven’t. I went into prison clean and I came out clean.” He squeezed his empty soda can like tissue. “And I’m not apologizing for this afternoon either,” he said, facing her. “It was the best damn twenty minutes of my fucking life.” His eyes were hard and angry, but he tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling. Shame swamped Jess. His anger came from hurt. She’d hurt him. A full minute ticked by as they sat, silent. When he looked at her again, the anger was gone. “Is that it?” His tone softened. “Anything else you need to know?” He spread his arms wide, but not in a threatening way, ready to take whatever she dished out.
“No,” she said stoically. “That was about it. I was just…thinking. I was worried…” Nothing came out the way she wanted. “I didn’t mean to imply that…”
He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, faced his plate, but didn’t eat. “I know. It was a fair question. Forget it.”
But she couldn’t. She’d made him feel as small as Maurice must have. She owed him the same honesty. STD’s worked both ways. “I’m clean too,” she said quietly.
His head turned a fraction. She felt his eyes watching her, assessing her.
“I haven’t had sex in a long time either.” Maybe that was why she’d come like a rocket earlier. Not only had she forgotten the pleasure of sex, but she was pretty sure she’d never had that kind of sex ever in her life. Nothing had ever been as explosive, or erotic. No man had ever made her feel as absolutely necessary as Tanner had. She could just blurt out how many times she’d had sex in the last half a dozen years, but there was only so much a girl could embarrass herself in one day.
“How long?” Of course Tanner had to ask. She’d opened the door wide.
“Since before I started working for Maurice. I had a boyfriend, but we were drifting apart, had different schedules. Working for Maurice basically took over my life.” Jess shrugged. “It seemed worth it at the time. I wanted to be a filmmaker and what better way to get my foot in the door than to work for one. Through Maurice, I could make contacts and meet investors.” She just hadn’t known she’d be selling her soul to the devil.
“You haven’t had sex in over three years?” That would be the topic at the top of his list. He sounded more than skeptical, which would’ve normally made her laugh, but life just wasn’t funny anymore.
“That makes an even ten between us.” Jess took a bite of her pizza, hoping to deflect his question.
But Tanner didn’t smile or grin, much less give any indication that she’d said anything. Finally, he shook his head as if he didn’t really grasp the concept. An awkward silence filled the room and Jess ate her pizza. Tanner grabbed a piece of chicken from the bucket and plopped it on her plate. His narrowed eyes dared her to fight him.
It was easier to eat than to argue, so Jess did. Surreptitiously watching Tanner as he inhaled food, Jess finished her dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. There’d never been this much food left over and it only drove home the fact that she had to come through for her family.
Jess rinsed her glass, stuck it in the drain board and stared at her reflection in the window. She looked like crap. Her hair spiked out in every direction and half-moons darkened her eyes. Obviously the only kind of guy who’d want to have sex with her was a man who hadn’t had sex for most of a decade.
Tanner stepped up behind her, caught her gaze in the reflection. His warmth radiated along her back, sent a hot little chill down her spine. He set his hands on her collarbone, used his thumbs to rub her neck. Gently, he kneaded tense muscles until she relaxed in his grip. Her eyelids drooped like weighted bricks as his warm, calloused hands stroked her.
“C’mon,” he said, softly. “Get back in bed. We’ll come up with something first thing in the morning.” His palms eased down her arms in a delicious caress and a sweet shiver rumbled through her body. Tanner took her hand, linked their fingers, and a strange sense of belonging skittered in her head. It was crazy. Ludicrous. But the way Tanner led her through the house, up the stairs…the way he took control as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Lie down,” he told her. “On your stomach.”
“What?” She narrowed skeptical eyes. “Why?”
His lips curved into a grin. “I thought you might want me to finish that back rub.”
“You just want to get laid again.”
“Do you want a backrub or not?” He lifted his hands and wiggled his fingers and Jess tiredly matched his smile.
Why deny herself this one night? She still had a little time to think of something other than trading the computer. Maybe she could find some over her clit sat money another way. Her brain was too fried to come up with anything at the moment. Her future was practically out of her hands. She had nothin
g to lose. If Tanner wanted her body, he could have it. Jess stretched out on the bed and closed her eyes, not at all naïve to what this would lead to.
The bed dipped when Tanner sat on the edge. He stroked his palms over her back, across her shoulders, careful of the bandage she’d replaced after her shower. Then he was kneading, rubbing sore muscles and making her a big ball of Jell-O.
His fingers edged along her sides, stroking her curves while his hands pressed into her back. An involuntary moan rumbled in her throat. He had magical hands. Warm—even through her shirt—and strong and so damn sure. After working his way down, he eased up underneath her shirt, the contact hot, electric. Another sound vibrated in Jess and she pressed her back against his hands, seeking more contact.
“Lift up,” he whispered. He glided the shirt up and over her head, then went back to work. A few seconds later, he unhooked her bra and peeled the edges back, leaving a trail of goose bumps. His hands emitted heat along her back and rough calluses scraped across her skin like a cat’s tongue. From her shoulders down to her hips, he worked his magic. His fingers digging deep, his palms caressing. Methodically, he pressed along her spine and cracked her back in a few places.
It had been a tough couple of days.
He rubbed her so long, her body actually loosened until she felt like a wet noodle. Then his fingers edged into the low waistband of her sweats and all her senses shot back to alertness.
“Easy,” he whispered. Lowering the cotton, he took her underwear down with it until cool room air kissed her bare butt. Tanner glided warm palms over her ass. She jumped at the shock of his lips on her lower spine. A swipe of his tongue between her shoulder blades.
He let loose an all-out assault on her senses.
His palms played over her skin, his fingers tickled, his lips nipped and sucked. He used her back as his playground. Her sweats and underwear disappeared and he kept her off balance with his hands, his mouth, constantly stroking, kissing, and licking until he ruled her with every touch.
He rolled to the side and the soft rustle of cotton whispered in the quiet room. Then all his weight rested along her back, skin on skin. His erection settled between her butt cheeks, so thick and hard, and his lips caressed her neck, sucked on her ear lobe. Jess barely got air in her lungs. Every new place Tanner explored had her gasping, squirming beneath him.
“You feel so good,” he murmured in her ear, his breath warm. “I want to be inside you again, Jess.” He rubbed against her and Jess squeezed her ass cheeks together, cupping him firmly. He groaned and she reveled in the low rumble against her back.
“You have to finish my massage first.” Where her moxie came from, she couldn’t imagine, but Jess turned beneath him, stroked her palms over his sides as he moved between her thighs. His dark eyes gleamed with heat, desire. Sweat beaded on his forehead as if he’d exerted a ton of energy the last half hour. He probably had. He’d been holding back for her sake. Warm emotion constricted her chest. stripped off his T-shirtin"
Instead of diving in for the sure thing, Tanner sat up, straddling her thighs, his penis, fiercely erect, jutting proudly between them. Still battered and bruised, he looked delicious. He gripped her waist, gently kneading her front, before easing up, cupping her breasts. Jess closed her eyes, the pleasure intense as he plucked at her hard nipples. But he deserted them and rubbed her arms and her good shoulder, leaving her panting for more of his touch.
“Tanner.” She hadn’t planned to say his name, but it came out in a plea anyway. She looked at him, at his intense dark gaze and hot, hot eyes. His hands came back to her breasts and he lowered his head, took a tight nipple into his mouth. Jess nearly exploded on the spot. Pleasure streaked its way through her body to her groin. As Tanner stretched over her, his heavy weight pressing her into the mattress, Jess stroked her hands over his back, reveling in the sleek, corded muscles.
His soft lips trailed up to her neck and Jess adjusted to take his kiss. He hovered a fraction above her lips until Jess opened her eyes. He looked so serious, as if this moment meant something to him. Something more than sex between two virtual strangers. His fingers eased into her hair, then palmed her head, trapping her. Holding her down with the strength of his body, he sucked her into a web of seduction. When his mouth came down on hers, Jess gave herself over to the pleasure, to the mastery of his lips, his tongue, the way he slipped inside and explored, claimed. He did it all so gently. So differently than before. He alternated, teased her with his lips, barely grazing her mouth and then taking her fully, mating his tongue with hers in a sinful dance. Little nips of his teeth followed by soft strokes of his tongue. He held himself up with the arm beneath her and the other touched her, ran along her side, cupped and stroked. For a man who hadn’t done this in so long—with the obvious exception of this morning—he was damn good. He kissed her until she couldn’t think about anything but having him inside her.
Jess lifted her legs, rubbed them against Tanner’s hips as he settled more firmly between her thighs. A groan rumbled from his chest when he pumped his hips two long strokes, rubbing his erection along her clit, forcing a gasp from her lips.
“You’re so hot and slick, Jess.” His lips hovered near her ear before he tongued inside the shell and sent sparks zinging under her skin. “I have to taste you again.” Before she said no, he was moving down her body, licking and nipping, sending her into a frenzy. She wanted him now, inside her, filling her. Instead, he set her legs over his shoulders and licked her, a long slow swipe that separated her before he flicked over her clit with devastating effect.
Okay…this wasn’t so bad either.
Unlike earlier, he took his time. He teased her with long licks and quick lashes of his tongue. He used his thick fingers, stroking into her as he sucked on her clit. A firestorm of sensation swamped her, destroyed her. She gasped for air as she fisted the sheets and arched into his mouth. So close. So ready.
She’d never been this way in bed before. She’d always been reserved, shy. She’d let her partner lead the way and it had never involved any of the things that Tanner did to her or made her feel. When had she ever felt so utterly needed or wanted?
The answer was easy. Never for so longatayto.
Her thoughts fizzled into nothing as Tanner redoubled his efforts between her thighs. His teasing had her on the edge. Her insides hummed at the same time she coiled tighter.
“Tell me what you want,” he murmured, his voice low, sexy. Oh, God. She felt another full body flush creep over her skin. “Do you want to come?” He circled her clit with his tongue, tortured her with the possibilities. “Tell me.”
“Yes,” she panted. “Make me come. Oh, God, please make me come.”
“Oh, yeah.” Satisfaction filled his tone. As if he wanted her begging, pleading for him. “Here ya go, sweetheart. Just what you want.”
Pressure built on her clit, hard and fast. She had no idea what he was doing, how he was touching her, but she zoomed freight train fast into the most intense orgasm of her life. She detonated. No other word for it. She exploded and the resulting ricochets bounced through her body with such intense pleasure she couldn’t breathe. Still he kept going, kept his fingers moving and his tongue stroking until another orgasm followed and decimated her.
When she came down, came back to herself, she couldn’t move a muscle. Her legs felt weak and Tanner was steadily working his way up her body using his lips and that devilish tongue, tasting all of her until he reached her mouth and took that too.
He owned her.
Without any further hesitation, he pushed inside her, moving deep, deeper until he was fully buried. He stretched her, filled her. Instead of moving he stayed still. Except for his mouth which continued to take her lips so brilliantly. He made her oblivious to everything but the heat and strength of his body. He seemed content to take his time, to make every second count.
A shock of realization had her body flushing again, but he was too preoccupied to n
otice. Earlier they’d had wall-banging sex, but this was Tanner making love. There was a clear difference. The demarcation only pointed out how little she knew this man and how much she wanted to change that fact. Beneath the hardened ex-con with intense eyes was a gentle man who had a sense of justice and innate sense of goodness. She felt it with every kiss, with every slow stroke of his hand on her skin.
Slowly, he started moving, barely rocking against her, but making her ultra aware of his size and strength. The minutes ticked by and his movements became more focused. The new friction forced a moan from her throat. Tanner’s too. Slowly, he increased his pace, worked her over with his hard body and killer lips, taking her up when she didn’t think she could go again.
“So good, Jess,” he whispered in her ear. He had her pinned, one hand behind her head and the other below her spine as he pistoned inside of her. Taking her mouth in a rough kiss, he stole what little breath she had, but it felt perfect. He felt perfect. Sweat poured off both of them, made their bodies slick. She did the only thing she could and held on tight.
This was something she’d never known, this kind of passion or pleasure. She’d never participated in anything so carnal. Sex had always been relatively neat in her experience and this was anything but neat. It was hot and dirty. Shockingly primal. didn’t come along that often.d l
Tanner adjusted his grip near her ass and ground down on her. The move raked over her clit and made her cry out. “One more time, Jess. I want to feel you one more time.” He did it again and Jess nearly lost her mind. The third time was the charm as he hammered into her. Tears leaked from her eyes as Jess came undone, calling his name and digging her nails into his back, trying to hold on, to keep her sanity. But it didn’t happen.
With one final thrust, Tanner erupted inside her. The heat of his come bathed her internally and her orgasm milked him of everything he had to give.
Breathing hard, he collapsed on top of her and Jess took stock of the moment, reveled in the wonder of the act. Tanner rolled to his side, but took her with him. The move separated where they’d been joined, but he kept his arms tightly around her. The security she felt wasn’t permanent, she knew that, but she accepted it for now and let herself relax as his hand stroked along her skin.
