by Jamie Pope
And it was another life, because he didn’t feel like he became who he was until he put on that uniform. He had conveniently shut out everything that reminded him of his past, but he could no longer do that, because now he was entering into a new life. And if he didn’t merge the two, he would be nowhere.
“Will you come with me somewhere?”
“I hope it involves food.”
“I will feed you whatever you want.”
“Where are we going?”
“Boston.”
“Boston?” She was quiet for a moment. “Will you take me to Newbury Street? There’s a salon I want to stop in to. We won’t be there more than fifteen minutes.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Come upstairs. If we’re going to Boston, I need to look the part.”
He liked her cozy apartment; somehow it was everything and nothing he had expected at the same time. She portrayed this image of feisty screw-up to her brother, but she was so far from it and he could tell by the meticulous placement of everything in her apartment.
“Shoes off. I almost forgot,” he said when he saw her remove her boots.
“You don’t have to. I just make Teo take his off. That kid can’t resist a pile of mud.”
“No. I want to.” He kicked off his shoes and followed her back to her bedroom, even though he knew he should probably stay in the living room while she got ready. But she didn’t say anything to him. Sometimes he felt she needed to be near him as much as he needed to be near her.
Her bedroom had the same bohemian feel as the rest of the apartment. None of the furniture matched. It was all refinished and distressed. She had a fluffy cream colored throw rug that looked like it would be perfect to make love on. But her bed was the centerpiece of the room. It was large, large enough for him, and piled high with pillows and a huge down comforter. It looked like the kind of bed you would want to stay in all day.
She opened her closet door to reveal black colored clothing. It was her uniform when she worked.
“Why do stylists wear black anyway? I’ve always wondered.”
“There’s a couple of reasons. It’s chic. Stylists want to be seen that way. Plus we use a lot of dyes and products that might stain. Black makes it harder to see.”
“And that’s why you always wear red to break it up. I don’t think you like walking around in all that dark clothing. I notice you never wear black when you’re away from work.”
“Reminds me of a funeral. I think I’ll wear a dress today and some black pattern tights and my booties. What do you think?”
“Do you see what I’m wearing?” He motioned to himself. “It took me a good ten minutes to put this together.”
“I think you look handsome, for a giant, that is.”
He had put on a thin sweater over his plaid button-down shirt and a pair of dark wash jeans that were free of paint, and holes. “Thanks.”
She turned back to her closet and began to take off her jeans. He got hard, immediately. It wasn’t a slow process, but quick and painful. She had the most beautiful ass. Round and perfectly formed. She wasn’t even wearing sexy underwear. No thong. No lace. But cute ones that had the solar system printed on them.
“I like your panties.”
She grinned at him. “They glow in the dark.”
“I would pay good money to see that.”
“One day,” she said, and sounded like a promise he prayed she would keep. She pulled off her sweatshirt and top and walked over to her dresser. It was the first time he got a glimpse of her unclothed body. She was just as beautiful as he expected she would be. Lush. Curvy. Her body covered in rich-looking brown skin. She could be a pinup model. If he had gone to war in the forties, it would be her picture he would have hanging in his locker.
He watched her pull out a different set of underwear out of the drawer. It was basic black and boring.
“What’s wrong with the ones you have on?” he asked seriously.
“I need more structure,” she said to him as if he knew what the hell she was talking about.
She removed her bra, like it was nothing, like she didn’t have a fully aroused man sitting on her bed, staring at her. “You realize that I’m here, right? I’m not a figment of your imagination.”
“Is this bothering you? I figured since you have already seen me naked it wouldn’t be a big deal.”
“I have not already seen you naked. It was dark. I remember expressing how terrible it was that I couldn’t see you.”
“Well, here I am.” She stood still for a moment, swallowing hard as if she were nervous to be appraised by him.
Her breasts were as beautiful as the rest of her. Teardrop shaped and high with small brown nipples that were hard little peaks.
“Come here.”
She obeyed his request and stood in front of him. He touched her. She had to know this was coming, that he couldn’t be in a room with her alone without doing so. He ran his hand down her belly. She was soft; he remembered the intense pleasure he got lying on top of her body.
“See? I’m far from perfect. I’ve got a little pooch. There’s stretch marks on my hips. You should have seen me when I was eighteen. I was the hottest thing on two legs.”
“You’re beautiful.” He kissed her belly. She had given birth. Lived a hard life. This was the body she should have. He wouldn’t want her any other way.
“Don’t start kissing me,” she moaned. “I can’t think when you do.”
“So don’t think.” He pulled one of her nipples into his mouth and gently sucked on it.
“You’re making me . . .” She trailed off.
“What were you going to say?” He blew on her nipple. “Wet?”
She nodded, biting her lip. Big-mouthed Nova was a bit of a shy girl. “The last time we were together . . . That night after I left you, I couldn’t sleep. I throbbed for you. I can’t go through that again all day.”
He pulled down her underwear. She was wet. So ready for him. His manhood was pressing against his zipper so hard he was afraid his pants were going to burst. “I won’t let you go through the day like that. Why didn’t you just touch yourself?” He opened her lower lips and stroked her with his middle finger, sliding his finger inside her. Hot, tight, wet. Just like he thought, like he’d dreamed about.
“I don’t do that.”
He paused and looked up at her. “Why not? It’s natural.”
“I turned off that part of me. I’m not sure if it was ever on. Ever worked properly. But then you came around and you make me feel sexual. You made me want something that I thought it was impossible to want again.”
It was right then he knew he had to have her. Not just her body, but all of her. She needed someone to take care of her, to show her how a man was supposed to treat a woman, and he could do that for her. He could make her happy if she would let him.
“I’m glad to see I’m good for something.” He rolled her on to the bed so he would have easy access to her mouth. She had a set of lips that were hard not to kiss. His hand migrated back between her legs and he stroked her in slow firm movements. He was proud of a lot of things he had done in his life, but being here with the gorgeous Nova Reed, making her moan, feeling her body shake with pleasure was probably one of his best moments.
“Tanner. It’s too much. I’m . . .” She let out a deep earthy moan that nearly sent him over the deep edge. She came hard. She wasn’t quiet about it and he loved every second of it. He held her for a long time, not wanting to let go of her beautiful warm nude body. But he knew he had to step away from her, if only for a few minutes.
He kissed her, as deeply as he could, and then left the bed. “Get dressed. Call me when your clothes are on.” He walked out of the room.
* * *
“Tanner?” Nova called thirty minutes later. “Come in here.” She was seated at her vanity when he walked through the door.
He looked relieved to see her dressed. She smiled at him. He probably hadn’t re
alized how much of a gift he had given her. In those few minutes he made her feel alive, more in tune with her body than she had ever been. And he didn’t even ask for anything in return.
“For a glamour girl, you work fast. I thought it would take you at least an hour to get made up.”
“Did you think I was very high maintenance?”
“I don’t know if I would use the words high maintenance.”
Her eyes met his in the mirror as she placed the last few curls in her hair. “Are you one of those men who think women who don’t wear any makeup are somehow more real and down to earth? That they are better than those who like a little cosmetic enhancement?”
“Hell, no. I like those red lips. I like your long nails. I like your beautiful hair. If you cut your hair short and no longer wore makeup, I would still want you, because you are you. But the idea of walking down the street with an insanely sexy woman on my arm does something powerful to my ego.”
Nova unplugged her curling iron and faced Tanner with a smile. She didn’t know exactly what was going on with him and didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling, but she was glad he had stopped by today. He would have been on her mind all day anyway. She didn’t want him to be, but they had crossed a line the other night and there was no going back.
“I’m ready to go.”
He skimmed his hand down her side and kissed her exposed collarbone. “You look damn good.”
“Thank you. How did you occupy yourself after you left me?”
His lips touched her ear. “I had to go into the bathroom and take care of something.”
The words excited her. She felt breathless and flushed. “I would have taken care of that for you.”
“If you had touched me, we wouldn’t be able to go to Boston today. We wouldn’t have been able to leave this room.” He kissed that sensitive spot beneath her ear. “Let’s go before you start me up again.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“You’re existing.” He grabbed her hand, slid his fingers through hers, and pulled her out of her apartment.
She didn’t like where this was going, how she was feeling. She preferred the bickering. The barbed shots. The walls that were there between them. He had already knocked down a few of them. She needed to stop him, or at least slow him down before he crashed through all of them.
She thought they were going to take his car on the ferry and then drive to Boston, but he drove them to the airport instead. She had never been on a plane before. She hadn’t said anything as they were boarding because she was a little overwhelmed. The short forty-minute flight was nothing to him. Of course it was nothing. He had been overseas. He was a Ranger, a paratrooper. He was highly decorated. He had lived a hundred lives. She had been dragged around the country, but those weren’t memories she cherished. They were tainted by having to follow around a drunk mother.
There was a rental car waiting for them when they landed. A black Range Rover. She wanted to ask how he afforded it all. She knew for a fact that the SUV he purchased when his truck died was used and that he wore his clothes until they fell apart.
But she remembered Teo saying something about him living in a big house on the water. She had thought he was confused, because the man she had come to know, come to like, couldn’t be one of them. One of those people who inhabited those enormous homes in Chilmark that mere mortals couldn’t dream of affording.
“We’re on Newbury,” he said pulling up. “You let me know where it is you want to stop.”
She looked at the numbers of the shops on the busy street. It was so different from the Vineyard with its old brick buildings and high-end boutiques. She was dressed just as good as anyone who frequented these places, but in her heart she was a small-town girl who never got the hang of city life.
“It’s up here. Just on the left,” she told him, feeling a little distracted. “There’s a space right there.”
He pulled in and she sat there for a moment, not at all sure about what she wanted to do. “Why did you want to come here?” Tanner asked softly.
“I just wanted to see what I would have to do to be able to work here. This is the dream for me, to be good enough to work in a place like this.”
“Are you thinking about leaving the island?”
“I think about it all the time. It doesn’t mean I’ll be good enough to ever work here. I haven’t been licensed that long.”
“You’ve given me the best damn haircut of my life. I think you can handle a few stuffy rich broads.”
“That’s not saying much. You have shitty taste.”
“I’ve got a thing for you. My taste . . .” He trailed off. “You’re right. I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.” He gave her a devilish grin before he placed his hand on her knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. You’re talented. Where’s the loudmouthed confidence that I’ve grown to equally hate and love?”
He made her smile. She relaxed a little. “Come inside with me?”
He nodded and got out of the car.
She could go in alone. Maybe she should have gone in alone, but he was here and her entire life she had to be forced to do things by herself. Sometimes she wanted someone beside her.
The inside of the salon was ultramodern. The equipment was state of the art and all the stylists looked so glamorous. It was a far cry from her little salon on the island, which hadn’t been updated since the nineties. Even the receptionist looked like she walked off the pages of a fashion magazine.
“Hello. Welcome to Salon Cara Bella. How can I help you?”
“Um.” She hesitated, hating that she sounded so unsure of herself. “I was just wondering how a stylist would go about applying to this salon.”
“You would have to speak to one of our senior stylists. Magda does all the hiring.” A woman with bright red hair came around the corner. “There she is.”
Nova recognized the woman, who was the best known in the area. She was so successful that she had opened sister salons in New York and Miami, but Boston was her home.
“Magda, this stylist would like to talk to you.”
“You’re Nova Hair MV.”
Nova blinked at the use of her Instagram handle. “You know me?”
“I follow you. You have a very large social media following for working where you do. Your bridal hair is some of the best in the business, but your makeup skills are out of this world. Where did you train?”
“Mr. Roy’s School of Beauty,” she said sheepishly. “But I keep a close eye on trends and try to stay ahead of them.”
“I know.” She glanced over to Tanner. “I saw you on her Instagram page. You’re even better looking in person.”
“It’s the haircut. I look somewhat like a sheepdog normally.”
She grinned at Tanner, her eyes changing slightly. There was interest there, and for one brief second Nova wanted to smack the woman. “You do good men’s cuts too, Nova Hair MV. Can I ask why you’re here?”
“I was just wondering what it would take to work here.”
“You want a chair in my shop?” She pulled a card out of her pocket. “Call me. We’ll find space for you. Just let me know when you want to start.”
Nova walked out of the salon a few minutes later. She was quiet, her mind too busy spinning. Nothing in her life had gone that easily. She had to fight for everything she had. Prove that she was good enough. But all she did was walk through the door and the job had been placed in her lap.
She felt Tanner’s hand slip into hers. “Of course they offered you a job, Mouth. You can thank me for it, too. If I wouldn’t have walked in with you and dazzled them with my good looks and fine haircut they would have booted you out of there.”
She looked up at him, a rush of feeling coming over her. Boston has just been some far-off dream. Something she didn’t think she could achieve so soon. She thought she would really have time to think about how she would get there. Now it seemed the tim
e for thinking was over.
All she had to do was act.
Why wasn’t she more excited?
“What errand did you need to run here today?”
“I’m here to see my father. I haven’t seen him in six years.”
“Oh. I just love a good family reunion.”
Chapter 7
Tanner wasn’t sure how he would be received in his father’s office. There was no falling-out, no one thing his father should be angry with him over. But they hadn’t spoken in so long. They were strangers. They always had been. They probably always would be.
Work was his father’s life. He was a real estate tycoon and as they entered the shiny new high-rise building they saw evidence of that wealth. The name Brennan was everywhere in New England, including big bold letters on the front of the building. He wondered what Nova thought about it. She said nothing to him when they got on the plane, but he could see her eyes go wide and the gears in her head turning. He was career military. He shouldn’t be able to afford it, but she had no idea that he was sitting on an untouched trust fund. She had no idea that he stood to inherit hundreds of millions. No one knew. Not even Wylie.
When he went into the army he had been treated like everyone else for the first time in his life. He wasn’t an outsider. He was part of a group working for something bigger than himself and he had never wanted to set himself apart from it, so his kept his background quiet. He never told his new friends how he grew up or who his people were. The only time anyone found out was when he became decorated and his grandfather came to the ceremonies.
He had lived off of what he made. He put money away. He bought used cars and lived on base housing when he wasn’t deployed and even now he made good money. He could have blown through his trust fund. Spent it all the various stupid shit like other spoiled rich kids do, but he wanted to prove to his father, and to himself, that he didn’t need him for anything. But Tanner wasn’t sure his father had noticed what kind of man he had turned in to. He was probably glad just to be left alone.
