“Do you wanna go shorter?”
Tatum Walker watched as Christine Steele lifted up the ends of her dark hair, trying to envision what Christine wanted to do. Try as she might, she couldn’t picture it. How would it make her look? Would it make her more grown up, more desirable? Change didn’t frighten her, but other people’s reactions to changes – especially ones she made – sometimes did. It was always important to weigh the pros and cons. Her dad had taught her that lesson.
“How short are we talkin’? I’ve had long hair for most of my life, I’m not sure I’d know what to do with shorter hair. How to style it or anything.”
Christine sighed and turned the chair Tatum sat in so that they faced one another. Staring her down until Tatum’s eyes met hers, she gave her a pat on the hand and talked to her woman-to-woman. “The reason you’re here to get your hair done a week before the club Christmas Party isn’t because you just finally had the time to do it, am I right? This isn’t some Christmas gift someone’s buying you and I don’t think for a second you woke up this morning and were ready for a change as so many women like to say. Let’s be honest with ourselves here, Tate.”
Tatum squirmed under the older woman’s scrutiny, lowering her eyes to her hands. Her fingertips were freshly coated with a dark grey on her nails, to go with the same color on her feet. Normally when it was time to get her hair done, she came with her mom and older sister. This year, she had her own money since starting to work at Walker’s Wheels during the summer after she’d graduated high school. It was kind of stupid, she had to admit to herself as she tried to work out in her own mind what she was doing and why.
Since turning eighteen earlier in the year, she’d been slowly making changes in her life. Changes she hoped would get the attention of Remington Sawyer – better known to everyone else in the club as Remy. They weren’t huge changes because even at her age, Tatum knew who she was. Sometimes she made stupid decisions to prove a point, she came by her dad’s stubborn gene honestly, but she’d never done anything that she hadn’t wanted to do.
She’d never gone through that stage as a young teenager where she was finding herself, or doing things to fit in with another crowd. Addie, Mandy, and her mom would always be her closest friends. The people she’d go to when she was in trouble would always be her Aunt Roni or her Aunt Meredith, and when she needed a hug there was no one better to call than her dad or her big brother Drew. These are all things she’d never doubted. These were things she’d known since she was old enough to realize how fortunate she was to have the family she did.
Now she wanted something for herself. She wanted something of her own, something she’d chosen. And that choice was Remy Sawyer. More than anything she wanted him to look at her like a woman and not like a kid. He’d called her kiddo more times than she could count, mostly in front of other people, and it grated on her nerves more than she’d ever let on.
On one hand, she would take anything he gave her, because she could build on it. Nobody told Tatum Walker no, and it was about time he realized that. Sure, if he wasn’t really interested, she’d let it go, but Remy was. She knew it. On the other hand, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. Her eyes met Christine’s and she gave a small smile. “You’re right.”
“So let me make sure I understand what you want to do here. You’re finally eighteen, you have your own cash, and your mom and Mandy aren’t here to be in your business. You want to make a change so Remy will look at you like an adult. Did I get it right?”
Tatum hated that she was so transparent when it came to Remy, but at twenty-four he had it in his mind he was too old for her. Anytime they had a moment – and there had been a few – he pulled away for months. Which was why they hadn’t had one after she’d worked up the nerve to kiss him on her birthday. She was sick of tip-toeing around him and their obvious attraction to each other. If there was anything her family had taught her, it was to go after what she wanted. And Remy? She’d wanted him since she’d known what it was to get butterflies in her stomach when someone of the opposite sex looked at her. There wasn’t one thing she didn’t like about him, there wasn’t one feeling he didn’t give her. Whenever she looked at him, she felt it all.
“Okay,” Tatum blew out a deep breath, not sure what she was getting into. “Work your magic. I’m ready.”
Christine flashed her an excited smile. She turned Tatum around, grabbing her dark hair in one hand, cutting it off at her shoulders. “Prepare to knock his socks off!”
She’d much rather prefer to knock his pants off, but at this point, beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“I’m starving,” Remy announced by way of greeting as he walked into his sister-in-law’s bakery and sandwich shop, Southern Delight.
“Hello to you too, Rem,” Harper laughed from where she stood behind the counter.
Taking the liberties only friends and family were allowed, he walked directly behind the cash register and towards where she stood. Opening his arms, he took her into a tight hug, lifting her slightly off the ground.
He did that purposely, because so many people had told him when he was little, he would never be able to be strong. He’d never be able to run, to play sports, to work out, or do any of the normal things other kids his age did. Asthma had all but crippled him but he’d proven them all wrong.
“Where’s Maddy?” he asked, looking around for his niece.
“At the shop with Cash. She got bored here yesterday, so I sent her with him to be even more bored today,” she gave him a saucy smile. “I’ll be glad when the daycare opens back up from the Christmas holiday. Love our little girl, but Mama needs to work.”
“Remy needs to eat,” he took a good look of what was in the refrigerated case, his eyes lighting up at the peanut butter and honey sandwiches already made up.
“Get what you want,” she told him as she grabbed a plate, putting one of the sandwiches there, along with some macaroni salad. “What do you want to drink? I have apple pie in the oven back there, so you can get a hot piece if you want. It’s for Cash, but I don’t think he’ll mind sharing with you.”
His stomach growled. No one he knew cooked better than she did. He and Cash had most definitely gotten lucky when she’d come into their lives.
“What are you out doing today?” she handed him the plate and a can of Coke.
Taking it from her hands, Remy pushed himself up on the counter, crossing his legs at the ankle to keep his legs from swinging. Since it was going on five o’clock – her normal rush was over.
“Charity and Mandy needed some stuff moved over at Charity’s office, so I’ve been there most of the day. Drew told me it’d be an easy job,” he shot her a look. “I was moving furniture by myself,” he laughed. “Easy my ass.”
“Still pickin’ on the new guy, huh?”
He’d been patched for almost a year, but as was custom, he still got a lot of the shit jobs. He couldn’t deny that he loved it, though. The men he rode with were the family he’d always wanted but he and Cash had never had.
He chewed thoughtfully, shrugging. “It is what it is.”
They were quiet for a few moments as he ate, and she went about taking things out of the case, getting ready to close for the day.
“Are you coming to the Club Christmas Party?” he asked, as he finished, setting his plate to the side.
“Cash mentioned something about it. I think we might, but I don’t know how late we’ll stay. Maddy’s been really needy lately. Almost like she can tell we’re trying for another baby,” she gave him a grin.
“Well good luck when it actually happens. She’s been an only child for too long.”
Their conversation was interrupted as the door to the bakery opened and Remy felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. There was only one person in the world who caused reaction in him, and he knew who it was before Harper opened her mouth.
“Oh my God, Tatum, your hair!”
He fought against the need to turn around and see what
Harper was so excited about, but he knew if he did, he’d give away every feeling he had.
“Do you like it?” he heard Tatum ask, and there was real self-consciousness in her question. She was obviously not sure if it suited her.
“I love it!” Harper assured her. Shifting her gaze over to her brother-in-law, she threw down the gauntlet. “Rem, take a look and let her know what you think.”
Son of a bitch.
The sentiment was repeated, and he was damn sure he said it out loud when he turned around and saw her. Gone was the little girl he’d been able to fool himself she still was for so long. In her place was a woman, and damn if he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to hold back. She was fucking beautiful.
Chapter Forty-Five
Son of a bitch. Something in the way Tatum’s gaze met his made him think he’d said those words loud enough she could hear them. But fuck, she looked amazing. Even more than she usually did. Tatum had been gorgeous for a long time, but with her hair in this new cut, she looked sexy, and almost… sophisticated. But this was Tatum. She’d never fully be a lady, not really. She didn’t do dresses unless she had to, she didn’t do caked on makeup, and she could hang with the guys – no matter how raunchy it got.
“Do you like it?” She asked again, this time looking much more unsure than when she’d started out. Very slowly, she ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a tousle.
Remy cleared his throat, not sure how honest he wanted to be, but at the same time knowing he couldn’t help but be honest. If he lied to her, she would know, and it would do nothing to help the situation they seemed to always find themselves in. The two of them always seemed to be either pushing or pulling at each other. The attraction between them was so magnetic, so super-charged, it would be embarrassing if he wasn’t smack dab in the middle of it. And to make matters worse and even more awkward, he heard Harper go to the back area of the bakery.
The angel on his left shoulder said he should let her down easy, give her a bad-boy smile and tell her she looked good ‘for a child’ – call her kiddo and be done with it. The devil on his right prompted him to tell her how sexy she looked. It said to tell her how much he wanted to mouth the smooth skin of her neck, how he wanted to test the sharpness of his teeth against her flesh, how he wanted to suck there and see his mark on her. It was a toss-up, which one he was going to follow through with, but he took a step towards her, and let his hand drift upwards to her neck. He couldn’t help but notice that his hand was shaking, telling him he was going with that fucking devil.
They hadn’t been alone – a calculated move by him – since her birthday. God, her birthday. She’d surprised him, and he hadn’t recovered yet; wasn’t sure if he’d ever recover. Out of nowhere, she’d kissed him, and goddamn if it hadn’t completely changed his life. The notion of keeping her at arm’s length because she’d been a kid up until that point – was completely gone. When her lips had touched his, when her fingers had dug into his hair, he’d stopped being able to look at her objectively. He’d stopped being able to see her as the gangly girl with braces, and a body that was a little too big for her. Instead, she’d lost the braces and grown into the body. Now, he was hard for her, and damn if he couldn’t put her or the feelings he’d had for her back in the box he’d closed off over a year ago. Those wants, those desires were completely out in the open, and he couldn’t seem to keep them in check.
Taking a deep breath, he let the palm of his hand travel up her throat, feeling the swift beat of her heart through her pulse point. Slowly his hand continued its journey upward until his fingers entangled in her hair. What he was about to say was gonna be either the smartest or dumbest decision he’d ever made.
Tatum held her breath as she waited for Remy to speak. She wasn’t sure which words would come out of his mouth, he looked like he wasn’t sure either. Judging by the way his eyes kept sweeping over her face, he was struggling. She had a pretty damn good idea it was with the feelings he had for her, but she’d made the move last time, and she wasn’t sure she could deal with possible rejection again.
“Do you like it?” she asked him one more time, prodding him to answer, even though it made her nervous as hell. Christine had sworn it made her look like a completely different person. While Tatum could look in the mirror herself and see how different she looked, she wanted desperately to know what he thought. His opinion mattered more than anyone else’s, maybe even more than her own.
She felt him tug slightly on the ends of her hair, and she welcomed that tug. It caused a ribbon of desire to start at the top of her head, and roll down to the bottoms of her feet. Maybe he liked the new lighter color of the strands there – they were lighter than they’d ever been. She’d never messed with the color of her hair, but Christine had sworn up and down that lightening the ends a small amount would make a huge difference, and she was right. It had.
“You look beautiful,” he finally spoke.
“Not like a little girl anymore?” She asked, swallowing roughly against the lump in her throat. It felt like her whole life depended on his answer.
“You haven’t been a little girl for a long time.”
His voice was raspy, almost like she’d ripped the words from his throat while he’d been struggling to keep them in.
“But I have to admit,” he trailed his hand back down her neck, and she did her best to keep her eyes open at his touch. “Seeing your neck like this does something to me.”
His touch did something to her too. She could feel her breasts tightening, becoming heavy against the material holding them up. Her nipples pebbling against the lace. She wanted him to pull her into his chest, let her rub herself up and down his body – ease the ache he caused every time he allowed himself to look at her without screening his gaze.
“I hoped you’d see me differently,” she admitted, her voice as hoarse as his had been. Stepping closer to him, she tilted her head to the side, holding her breath. Her eyes closed slowly, but she refused to close them all the way. If he were going to kiss her, she wanted to be present for the whole thing. She didn’t want him claiming later that she didn’t know what she was doing and he’d taken advantage of her.
Remy stepped closer too. Tatum breathed in deeply as she tangled her fingers in his long-sleeve shirt, feeling that she was tugging him into her body. It was easy to let her pull him. He out weighed her by at least seventy-five pounds, and he knew he could resist if he really wanted to, but he didn’t. Finally, he didn’t want to.
She waited, giving him control of the moment, because the last time she took control he’d rejected her. After taking such a big chance in the salon seat today, she couldn’t take another rejection. The slight tilt of her head was the only indication she wanted this. Waiting was killing her, letting him make the first move was killing her. She made a sound in the back of her throat, half-want mixed with half-frustration. Slowly his right hand untangled from her hair and grasped the back of her neck, pulling her close….almost close enough.
“Fuck it,” he whispered before he brought their lips together in a kiss that rocked her world right down to the ground.
She swore angels sang in the background, fireworks erupted in the sky, and she almost wept with joy because she was getting what she wanted. Patience paid off in a big way.
Chapter Forty-Six
Remy told himself to slow down as he grasped her neck, hauling Tatum closer to him. He cautioned his lust-drunk body not to make a fool of itself. He warned his libido not to let this go too far. They were in the middle of the bakery, in the middle of downtown. Anyone could walk through that door from some dumbass off the street, to her brother, to her dad. But he couldn’t stop, couldn’t force his hand not to trail down her body and grasp her tight ass in his fingers. He wanted desperately to pull her lower half into his, wanted to shove his thigh between her legs and feel the heat he knew would be there. His tongue was forceful as it made its way into her mouth, testing how far she’d let him go.
Turned out she’d let him go as far as he wanted to.
His brain tried to warn him that this was progressing too quickly. It was getting too out of control, too fast. If he didn’t watch it, he’d be picking her up and putting her ass first against the nearest wall. He was losing his mind, losing control over his body – and he’d had control over his body since he’s been a seventeen-year-old kid. This was Tatum, he reminded himself. When she pushed against him, and his back hit the cold glass of the refrigerator case, he was jolted back to the present.
Wrenching his lips from hers, he gasped a breath into his air-starved lungs. Tilting her head up, yanking against the strands of her hair, he forced her eyes to meet his. Those damn Walker eyes – such an intense blue they appeared black – stared up at him. They showed a level of desire he wasn’t sure she should have at her age, but fuck if he wasn’t feeling it, too.
“Are you gonna run away again?” she asked, swiping her bottom lip with her tongue.
He groaned, thinking about all the ways he could have put her tongue to good use. He opened his mouth and tried to speak once, twice, three times, before he forced his body to calm down. Finding his voice, he pulled on her hair a little more when she tried to disengage from him. “Run away? I’m trying to protect you. I’m too old for you,” he repeated the same mantra he’d been repeating since she’d grown a pair of tits and he couldn’t help but notice.
“Or you’re scared of my dad and brother,” she taunted.
Irritation flashed across his face and he knew she could see it because she tried to take a step back, out of his personal space. “Wrong kiddo,” he threw the nickname in for good measure. “I respect them enough not to do what you’re positively begging me for. You want me so much I can smell it, I’m doing you a favor, Tatum.”
If he’d thrown cold water on her, he wasn’t sure she would have withdrawn back into herself faster. He could physically feel it. The air around them got colder, and he was pissed that he’d had to force her hand like that.
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