* * *
But this one, Tanner’s canvas, was looking like the final, so it would be the last mock-up they would work on together. Tanner already knew how much he would miss Susanna’s presence in the creative space, the way her energy fired up his artistic sensibilities and made the images really come alive for him. She was a locked vault most of the time, but Tanner found if she was painting, her eyes turned to her canvas, it was much easier to talk to her. She told him about art school, growing up in Oakland, which inspired her to keep painting despite the stresses of her job. Tanner had also deduced that she was single, having broken up with her long-term boyfriend last year after he realized he didn’t want to settle down the way she did.
* * *
As Susanna turned back to their work, Tanner felt the familiar ache in his chest at the thought that as long as he worked at Murals&More—the best damn job he’d ever had—Susanna would never be his. And each day, that thought killed him a little more. He knew she was too good for him, too pure, but it still ate at him day in and day out that he couldn’t have her.
* * *
Tanner had just walked over to the sink to wash his brush, a nervous tic he did whenever he started feeling a little sad about Susanna, when he heard her voice behind him. “Hey, I was thinking, since we’re coming to the end of our tag-teaming this project, would you want to get some pizza and beer tomorrow night? To celebrate a job well done?
* * *
Tanner couldn’t believe it. Was that…nervousness in her voice? Susanna Able, the most cool, calmed and collected woman on the planet, sounded anxious. Tanner turned around and found Susanna gnawing on her lip, looking at him like she wasn’t quite sure what his answer would be. He’d been wearing his heart on his sleeve for this woman for the past half a year, and she actually thought there was a possibility he would say no? Maybe he hadn’t been quite as obvious as he thought.
* * *
“Of course!” Tanner said, making sure to imbue the statement with plenty of enthusiasm, and Susanna sighed in relief, her shoulders visibly lowering and her hands loosening from the tight grip she’d been holding them in.
* * *
“Great! That’s great. Maybe seven at Woody’s? We could walk there from here,” she said.
* * *
Tanner nodded. “Yeah, I love that place.”
* * *
“Awesome. Well, I’d better get cleaned up then. There’s a board meeting at 4:30 I need to attend and then tomorrow I’m at that conference in the morning, so I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow.”
* * *
“Looking forward to it. Have a good night, Sus,” Tanner said, using the nickname everyone at the office called her. Susanna gave him the widest smile she’d ever graced him with before she walked out the door, and Tanner’s stomach flipped at the way everything, from her toes to the top of her head, looked happy. He didn’t care if they couldn’t work, if they would never be a thing, because right at that moment, Tanner had made her feel joy, and that would sustain him for a lifetime. Knowing he’d even in the smallest way improved that woman’s life and made her smile, had him floating on a cloud all the way home.
Chapter 6
Tanner was cleaned up, out of his painting clothes, and in a fresh pair of jeans and a flannel shirt to protect him against the early spring chill, when Susanna walked out of the building entrance. He’d been leaning against the parking lot fence, listening to music, but the beats in his ears faded away as she walked over to him.
Susanna had changed too, out of her work uniform of a V-neck t-shirt and jeans and into a black shift dress made of soft cotton that contrasted perfectly with her red heels and lipstick. Her hair was up in a bun on the top of her head, tied with gold ribbon, and the style exposed her long, graceful brown neck. Gold teardrop earrings brushed against her collarbones, and she had a denim jacket draped over the small purse hanging off her shoulder. Tanner had thought her beautiful in her work uniform, but this was another level of beauty, one that left him completely speechless.
“Hey! Sorry, I’m a little late. Had to deal with some emails and then change,” Susanna said, giving Tanner a shy smile that nearly knocked him off his feet. He loved her big wide grins, the ones that made the whole room light up, but he found he liked this smile even better, the shy one that said she wasn’t quite sure about this, about them. It made Tanner feel like they were on even ground, equally nervous at each other’s presence, equally wondering how the night would go, equally vulnerable.
He cleared his throat and shook himself out of his reverie. “No worries. Ready to head out?” Tanner unwound his headphones from his ears and stuffed them in his pocket. Susanna nodded, and together they began the journey from Murals&More down the street a few blocks to Woody’s Pizza Barn and Brewery.
Woody’s was packed, which wasn’t unusual for a Friday, but Susanna had booked them a table, so they were seated right away and handed long menus listing local beers and 12-inch sourdough pizzas with every topping under the sun.
Tanner and Susanna looked at each other uncertainly over the table. Tanner was about to break the ice when a waitress came by. “Any drinks for you two?” she asked, and Tanner and Susanna both shouted, “Yes!” then laughed.
“Sorry, you go first,” Tanner told Susanna. She nodded her thanks and ordered a glass of the local double IPA and a lemonade. Tanner got a shandy and a glass of ice water. When the waitress left, they both relaxed a little, knowing alcohol—the social lubricant of old—was on its way.
To Tanner’s surprise, even before the drinks arrived, the conversation was flowing. It started in fits and stops, but they soon found a rhythm that kept them talking so much, Tanner forgot to be nervous, forgot to be freaked out that he was sitting across from Susanna in public in a situation that to the outside eye might look like a date.
Outside of work, Susanna wasn’t nearly as closed off. She looked him in the eye as she spoke, something she rarely did at work and laughed more easily at Tanner’s dumb jokes and comments. By the time they ordered food, Susanna had scooted closer to Tanner, their legs nearly touching. By the time their plates had been cleared, and they were both on their third glasses of beer, Susanna was rubbing shoulders with Tanner, her bare skin feeling like heaven against the soft cotton of his shirt.
“So, want to head out? I have a few porters back at my place if you’re in the mood,” she said, and Tanner waited for her to scramble back over her words, to tell him she didn’t mean it like that, but she didn’t. Was she asking him back for a nightcap? With everything it implied? He had to find out.
“Sure thing. You live far from here?” he asked, and loved the slow shake of Susanna’s head, the way it caused tendrils of her hair to fall out of the bun and onto her smooth, silky back, which, if he played his cards right, he might get to see all of in a few hours.
---
“So, this is me,” Susanna said a few minutes later as they walked up the steps to her house. Tanner stood behind her, his breath on her neck as she slid the key into the door and turned. He could feel the hitch in her breath when she felt his proximity, and he was prepared to get pushed back, but instead, Susanna turned around and kissed him.
Tanner was surprised, but only for a moment, and then he was kissing her in return with everything he had, his hands running through her hair, undoing the bun and letting the strands run through his fingertips as he angled her head up so he could take her deeper taste of her.
Susanna turned the doorknob with her hand, and they fell into the hallway. Tanner kicked the door shut and spun Susanna around, pressing her against the hardwood and boxing her in with his forearms planked on either side of her head. He ran his nose up her neck, behind her ear and across her cheek before licking her lips open, inviting himself back into the place he was quickly coming to call his own.
Susanna moaned, her hands reaching up to pull him closer, and Tanner marveled at the way their bodies fit flushed together like a lock and key like they were mean
t to be together. It didn’t matter that he was a werewolf and she was a human, that she was his boss and he, her employee. All that mattered at that moment was the heat between them, the way their lips pressed and parted again and again like they knew exactly how to kiss each other like they were reading each other’s minds.
Tanner could have stood there kissing Susanna all night. He didn’t care if their clothes never came off, if he never felt the slide of his cock into her canal, as long as he could feel her against him, hear her panting with need, her breath coming in short bursts that blew warm air onto his neck.
“God, Sus, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted this,” he breathed into her mouth, and Susanna looked into his eyes. He saw a vulnerability there he never would have associated with her, this strong, sexy woman in front of him who was so usually put together and professional, and he loved that he was seeing this new side of her.
“I…I…” she stuttered, and then she shut her eyes and shook her head. Her hands fell from his back and moved to his front, pushing against his chest. Tanner fell back a step, nearly tripping on the carpet behind him as he watched Susanna smooth her dress down and gather her hair to one side and throw it over her shoulder.
“We can’t do this,” she said, and Tanner saw that the vulnerability had disappeared from her eyes, replaced with the forthrightness he was so used to seeing. The wall she put up around everyone, including him, until that night.
“But…I don’t understand. What’s wrong? Come on, Sus, talk to me,” Tanner said, stepping forward, but Susanna stayed him with a hand.
“No. This was a mistake. I…I need you to leave. Now. And don’t tell anyone about this,” Susanna said, not looking at him as she spoke. She turned and opened the door, still looking at the floor. Tanner shook his head at her, completely bewildered.
When he didn’t immediately walk toward the door, Susanna looked up. “Go!” she said, and Tanner could see that wall breaking a little, letting loose a glimpse of the agony that she was feeling. Tanner’s heart broke for her, for himself, but he did as she instructed, walking through the door and determinedly not looking back as he left behind the best few hours of his life. Whatever he’d done, he knew he couldn’t fix it. He was a wolf, she was a human, and after all, they weren’t meant to be. It was better this way. He kept telling himself that the whole walk home, up the stairs to his room, where he flopped on the bed fully clothed and promptly fell asleep, dreaming fitfully of long brown hair and kisses so hot they seared his skin.
Chapter 7
“What do you mean she left?” Tanner asked Shontelle. He had been in the midst of painting, an angry, dark grey mock-up he was pretty sure he was going to have to throw away when he was done, because no way did Seattle want such a depressing image gracing its buildings, when Shontelle had walked in the room with a message for him. A message from Susanna.
“I don’t know the details. All I know is she came in this morning, packed up all her stuff and turned in her resignation. She told me to give you this,” Shontelle said, taking an envelope from her pocket and handing it to Tanner.
Tanner opened his mouth to ask another question, but Shontelle shook her head. “I’m just the messenger, Tanner. Read the letter. Maybe it’ll explain a few things,” she said and left the room.
The letter explained more than a few things. In it, Susanna told Tanner that over the weekend, she had received a call from one of the board members asking her to leave her position as director of Murals&More. But she wasn’t just leaving her job. She wrote that she was leaving Seattle entirely. “By the time you get this note, I’ll be gone, but know that the other night was the best night of my life. I wish you were mine, Tanner. You have no idea how much I wish that.”
Tanner looked at his watch. It was 4:30. He was supposed to clock out at five, but with no boss in the building, surely he was okay to leave a half hour early. After all, Susanna was worth it.
---
Tanner ran all the way to Susanna’s house, getting there sweating and slightly out of breath. He might be a frequent runner, but he’d never sprinted that hard in his life, and he could feel a stitch developing in his right side as he walked up the steps of the light blue Craftsman house and rang the bell. Please be here, please be here, he said to himself as he looked through the window to see if anyone was home.
He heard footsteps approaching and then the door swung open. Susanna, a backpack on her shoulders and her jacket on one arm, was standing before him.
“Thank God,” Tanner breathed, stepping forward and taking Susanna’s face in his hands. He kissed her once, soft and sweetly then pulled back.
“What the hell is going on?” he asked, searching Susanna’s face for clues. Her eyes were so much lighter, almost golden now, a completely different color, really. They almost looked like...well, they almost looked like wolf eyes. But how could that be?
“I’m a wolf, Tanner. I’m a werewolf, and one of the board members freaked out. They told me that monsters like me shouldn’t be leaders in the community, that it wasn’t right for me to be the face of Murals&More. I don’t know how they found out, but they told me if I didn’t quit my job and give up my life here, then they’d make sure I never worked in Seattle again. So, I’m leaving. Tonight. As soon as you let me through that doorway.”
Tanner shook his head, his hands still on her face as he looked down and into her eyes. “Fuck that! You’re not leaving. This is your home, Murals&More is your business. You can’t abandon that, Sus.”
Susanna’s eyes teared up. “Why are you even still here? Why didn’t you run when I told you what I was?”
Tanner scoffed. “Sus, I’m a wolf. I don’t care. And I’m here to tell you that if me, a reformed ragehead with no prospects, can make it in this town, then so can you. Let me help you. Let me and my friends help you. Please. You don’t have to leave. I…I can’t take it if you leave. I love you too much.”
Susanna looked up at Tanner, and for the first time, her eyes were completely vulnerable. “You love me?” she whispered incredulously.
“Hell yes, I love you. I’ve loved you since that day at the diner, and I’m going to keep loving you through this whole mess that I’m going to help you clean up. There’s no goddamn way you’re leaving. You’ll break my heart if you do, and no amount of Donna’s hash browns will fix it.”
Susanna laughed, a tear sliding down her cheek which Tanner wiped away with his thumb. “God, I miss those hash browns.”
“Well, get your stuff and let’s go get some,” Tanner said, like it was the most logical thing in the world.
“But where will I stay? What will I do? What about my house?”
Tanner kissed her again, lingering on her lips, feeling their smoothness against his, the taste of her against him, before pulling back. “You’ll stay with me, and we’ll figure the rest out over hash browns. I love you, Sus. So, let me help you. Please?”
Susanna nodded, more tears tracking down her cheeks as she put her hands around Tanner’s neck and kissed him, a kiss that was full of gratitude and relief and, if he wasn’t mistaken, a little bit of love. When they broke apart minutes later, Susanna gathered her bags and walked out of the house to the waiting cab Tanner had called. After they packed her stuff in the trunk and settled in the back seat, she cozied up to Tanner, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I love you, too,” she whispered in his ear and didn’t miss the huge grin that spread over his face. Tanner rode to Donna’s feeling like he was on Cloud 9, his woman by his side and hash browns waiting for him. Sure, they had stuff to sort out, but right then, life felt good.
Chapter 8
“Keep going, keep going, Oh God, Tan, just like that,” Susanna breathed, running her fingers through Tanner’s hair as he slid his tongue up her slit and around her clitoris. She couldn’t see him over her pregnant belly, but in a way that made it all the more exciting, her imagination painting a picture of her man between her thighs, loving on her pussy with a skill h
oned from many, many nights in bed together.
“You like that, Sus?” Tanner growled, nipping at her inner thigh before latching onto her clit. He ran his tongue around the sensitive edge, sending Susanna’s hips bucking off the bed. He knew exactly where to touch her to drive her wild.
“You know I do, Tan,” she rasped, her hands coming to grasp her breasts. They were heavy and full, spilling out of her hands, her nipples were so sensitive from the good licking he’d given them minutes ago. Touching them while Tanner licked her was nearly enough to make her come right then and there, but she wanted to wait, to come when he was buried to the hilt inside her. Coming always felt better with Tanner thrusting into her, looking down at her like she was a marvel.
“Tan,” she whispered, and he replied “mmm” from down below. “I need you in me. Now.”
Tanner ignored her for a few minutes, continuing his ministrations on her cunt, adding a finger into her crevice that left her craving him all the more. She loved when he fingered her, but it was nothing, nothing, in comparison to his cock sliding into her, and today, she really, really needed it. Call it a pregnancy craving, call it whatever you want; she needed to get pounded by her man.
“Tan!” she yelled, not caring if Logan heard them. Living with two men had been an adjustment, but Logan was a great roommate, always giving them the space they needed and even giving up one of the bathrooms for Susanna so she could have it all to herself. She knew it was only polite to return the favor by not having excruciatingly loud sex, but she was seven months pregnant, and her boyfriend was denying her his cock. It called for a little raised voices, she thought.
The Baby Shift- Washington Page 3
