Love Blooms

by Jamie Pope

  Well, that ended today.

  He walked up to the receptionist in the main lobby, Nova at his side. “I need to see August Brennan.”

  The receptionist looked up at him, her surprise clear. It wasn’t every day that people walked off the street asked to meet with the CEO of a billion-dollar corporation. “Mr. Brennan is very busy. You should contact his assistant about seeing if you can make an appointment.”

  “I’m his son. Tanner Brennan. I’m pretty sure if you check on the Brennan Corp.’s Web site, you’ll see a picture of my father and I together. I’m the one in the dress blues.”

  The receptionist looked at him for a moment and then checked her computer. She then picked up her phone and called upstairs. It was less than a minute before she said, “He’ll see you.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  They walked to the elevators. He could feel his body grow more rigid with every step. He hadn’t been here since the building had opened right before his last deployment, but he knew the way to his father’s office. His father had spent most of Tanner’s life in his office. It was one of the fights his parents had over and over.

  If you didn’t leave me alone so much, it wouldn’t have happened!

  I feel like I’m in this marriage alone.

  If this marriage is broken, it’s because you destroyed it when you broke my trust.

  The elevator doors opened to the executive offices and there was a hush in the room when he and Nova walked onto the floor. They all stared, as if they knew he and his father hadn’t spoken in years. Maybe they did know. Maybe August Brennan acted as if he didn’t have a son at all.

  His father’s assistant stood up as soon as they approached. “Tanner,” she breathed. Helga had been with her father for over twenty years. She knew him when he was just a punk kid, doing crazy shit in the hopes of getting his father to notice him. “Look at you. You’re so handsome.”

  “How are you, Helga?” He leaned in to hug her.

  “I’m fine. I heard you left the army. I was surprised you entered in the first place, but you’re a hero and from what I hear one of the bravest men around.”

  He was embarrassed by her description. He was a lot of things. Hero wasn’t one of them. “I don’t think I’m brave. Just too stupid to be scared. Remember that time you had to come bail me out of jail when I got caught base jumping?”

  “Who on earth jumps off buildings for fun?”

  “It made paratrooper school a breeze.” He took Nova’s hand and brought her forward. “This in Nova. Nova, this is my father’s long-suffering assistant, Helga.”

  “Hello,” Nova said quietly, seeming much shier than he knew her to be. But this quiet, gentler person was probably more Nova’s inner personality compared to the brash women he often sparred with. The closer he got to her, the more he saw the side of her she hid so thoroughly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s wonderful to meet you. I was surprised when Tanner showed up out of the blue, but now that I see what a beautiful girl he has brought with him, I know why. He’s never brought a woman home for his father to meet.”

  Tanner didn’t say anything to correct Helga’s notion. It was true that he had never brought a woman home. He had never even thought about bringing a woman to meet his parents. He had never been serious enough with anyone, but he had brought Nova here with him. They weren’t even a couple, but he wanted her by his side today. “Can I go in?”

  “Of course. I think he’s happy you’re here.”

  Tanner nodded, but he wasn’t so sure about that.

  He walked into his father’s office. Not much had changed since he was a teenager. The décor had been reflected to mirror the times, but the layout was the same. A large wall of windows overlooking the busy downtown street greeted him. Various awards and degrees hung on the wall. The smell of musky oak scented the room. If felt like the office of one of the country’s richest men. His father was seated behind his enormous desk. He looked all-powerful sitting there. Tanner would rather have his toenails yanked out than admit that he was intimidated by his father when he saw him here as a kid. But today his feelings were different. His father looked older. He was older of course, but he looked more than his sixty-three years. And Tanner wondered if nearly forty years spent in a bad marriage did that to a man.

  “Tanner.” He stood up. He was average height. Maybe seven inches or so shorter than Tanner. He was missing the large build. The skin that was just a shade lighter than brown.

  “Hello, sir.” He couldn’t bring himself to call him Dad this time. “I want to know, who’s my biological father?”

  “What?” The question literally knocked August backward. He placed his hands on his desk to steady himself; the look of bewilderment that crossed his face was all the answer Tanner needed.

  He hadn’t meant to ask that question. He didn’t wake up this morning with the plan to come here to ask it. But seeing August Brennan again after all these years, up close, it was like all the puzzle pieces finally snapped into place and he couldn’t believe it wasn’t abundantly clear to him early.

  Maybe he had been in denial. Or maybe fifteen years spent in the most dangerous parts of the world pushed those inconvenient family matters out of his head. He had been too focused on his survival and getting his men out alive to think twice about his parentage.

  “I know you’re not my father.”

  “I am your father! Everything I have is yours.”

  “I’ve been lied to my entire life, by my entire family. You could barely look at me growing up. You owe me this. You owe it to me to tell me who I really am.”

  “Sit down. Please.” He motioned to the large leather sofa in his office, instead of the chair in front of his desk. He looked at Nova.

  “She stays,” Tanner barked out.

  “I wasn’t suggesting she leave,” he barked back. “I thought you were here to tell me you were finally getting married. I think I’m allowed to be curious when my son shows up in my office after not speaking to me for five years.”

  “I didn’t speak to you? You were the one who has remained silent for all these years.”

  “That’s crap and you know it! You barely spoke to me when I came to your Bronze Star ceremony. You wouldn’t even look me in the eye. It was clear that day you wanted no part of me, and even after that I still tried for a year to connect with you.”

  “Turnabout is fair play. You wanted no part of me since I was born. You only showed up to my Bronze Star ceremony because it looked good for your company’s image.”

  “I showed up because I was proud of you. I showed up because it was the only time I could see you. You haven’t been back home since the day you enlisted.” August let out a frustrated breath. “And I wanted to tell you, but I promised your mother that I would never say anything to you. This was her secret.”

  “The secret is dead now. How stupid do you all think I am?”

  August was quiet for a long moment, weighing his words. “She had an affair. I don’t know with whom. We were married young. Our fathers were friends. The whole damn world thought we were perfect for each other. Two wealthy families brought together to make a perfect union. I loved your mother. I still do, damn it. She has one of those personalities that sucks you in, but she was in love with someone else. I was blindsided when she told me that she was pregnant with another man’s child. I was angry as hell about it. What man wouldn’t be? It was very hard for me to look at you and her because it was a reminder that everything I thought was real and true was a lie.”

  “Why didn’t you just leave? You would have been happier. We would have all been happier.”

  “And admit I was a failure? That I couldn’t keep my new wife happy? You may not know me very well, Tanner, but I have never failed at anything in my life and I wasn’t going to start with my marriage. Plus the scandal in our community would have been a huge. I did love you, even though it hurt like hell to look at you and know you came from another man. You ma
y not believe it, but I did. You had one of those personalities. I knew you could do great things if you just applied yourself. Why the hell do you think I was so hard on you?”

  “Thank you for telling me.” He was overwhelmed by the truth even though he knew it was coming. But he also felt numb. Not happy about it. Not angry anymore. He just didn’t really feel a damn thing. There were too many thoughts in his head to sort it out. “This is Nova, by the way.” He took her hand. “Come on, baby. I promised you lunch.”

  He turned and walked out of his father’s office, ignoring his call to come back and talk.

  They didn’t need to talk. There was nothing more to say. He finally got the answer he had been searching for his entire life.

  * * *

  Tanner was stonily silent as they left the office. When she set out to Boston with him this morning, she hadn’t been expecting this, to be there at the revelation of a dark family secret. And as uncomfortable as it was to be a witness to it, she was glad she had been there. And now she didn’t think it would be good for Tanner to be alone right now. No one should be alone when they learned that everything they thought was true is a lie.

  His father wasn’t his father. He didn’t know who the man was. He had no idea where the other half of him came from. She didn’t have much, but she knew who her parents were. Both of them. She knew what her father looked like, and smelled like. She knew where she got her skin from and her wicked sense of humor. She knew him and, even though he was a very limited part of her life, she could always say that she had known him, that she had loved him.

  They walked outside and back toward the car, his fingers tightly locked with hers.

  “What kind of food are you in the mood for? There’s good seafood, or I could take you for steak. Hell, I could eat pizza right now if you want to.”

  She stopped and looked up at him. His expression was neutral, but he was hurting. She could feel it, radiating off of him. “I’m sorry,” she said to him.

  He frowned at her. “For what?”

  “I’m sorry your parents are shitheads. I’m sorry they lied to you. I’m sorry you have to go through this. I’m sorry.” She cupped his cheeks and pulled his face down to hers. She kissed his lips. Once. Twice. Half a dozen times, not caring that they were in the middle of a busy street.

  “You have to stop it, Nova.” He shut his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. “I can’t take it anymore.”

  She looked into his eyes. “Then take me somewhere.”

  “Where?”

  “Someplace where I can make you feel better.”

  He looked at her for a long moment and then nodded. They got back into the car and a few minutes later pulled up in front of a very swanky-looking hotel. She was coming to the realization that Tanner wasn’t just some regular soldier. He was one of those Brennans. The ones with their names all over downtown Boston.

  He must have grown up with everything, but he seemed far from one of those über wealthy people, the New England elite that she encountered working at weddings.

  He was hardworking and got his hands dirty and treated her like she was his equal.

  It was a hell of a thing.

  He got a room for them and led her upstairs to a suite that overlooked the harbor. It was by far the most beautiful place she had stayed and she wanted to press her face against the window and soak it all in, but she resisted. She knew Tanner was used to roughing it, but he must be used to this kind of luxury, too. He must have grown up with it. This was probably commonplace for him. While she felt so out of place here, she was afraid someone was going to burst through the door and order her to leave.

  But no one was going to force her out of there. There was a man who wanted her very much.

  She turned to face him. He stood in the center of the room looking taller than his six feet six inches. She swallowed hard as her heart went into overdrive. She realized that she was shaking, ever so slightly. It had been years since she’d had sex. And even then she hadn’t wanted to. She did it because she was married to a man who expected it. Who would mope and rage and pout if she withheld herself from him. But this time was different. She was willingly giving herself to this man. For the first time in her life she wanted to be intimate with someone.

  The knowledge of that was nearly overwhelming.

  “Are you sure you want to do this here, today? We don’t have to. I can wait for you. I will wait for you.”

  Tanner knew how she was feeling, how huge of a deal this was for her, and it made her want him even more. “I’m sure.”

  She closed the distance between them and kissed him, softly at first, but she could taste the need in him, the hunger he had for her, so she deepened their kiss. The heat built slowly, starting in her toes and snaking up her body until it was all the way up to her cheeks.

  “I’m serious,” he said after he broke the kiss. “We can get room service and rent a movie. We don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to do this just because my family is shitty.”

  She thought back to her first time. Elijah making her feel guilty for wanting to wait, him pawing at her breasts. His breath tasting of alcohol. His scent of smoke.

  Tanner’s hands grazed her waist. His breath tasted of mint. His scent of aftershave.

  She pulled his shirt from his pants and then removed the sweater that was over it. She began to unbutton his shirt, growing a little more aroused with each piece of skin that was revealed. “Next time we do this, you’d better come to me with less clothes.”

  “Is there going to be a next time?”

  “That depends on how well this time goes.”

  He flashed one of his devastating smiles at her and her insides completely went to mush. He was the only person who had ever made her feel this way. She really had been in love with her husband at the very beginning, but he never once made her feel like this. What the hell did that mean for her and Tanner?

  She finished unbuttoning and pushed the shirt off his shoulders. He was covered in muscle. His body long, but not lanky. A nice, thick, hard body that seemed almost too perfect for words.

  He had scars. A semi-circle on his stomach, a dozen or so smaller ones on his left arm and shoulder. He didn’t have to tell her what they were. She knew he had been hit with shrapnel. She kissed him there, glad he was alive. Glad she had met him.

  She focused on his pants, her eyes zeroing in on his zipper, which was bulging. She had felt him pressed against her, his hardness never failing to arouse her, but now she was going to finally get to see him and touch him. It felt like a gift she had waited all year for.

  She unbuttoned his jeans, unzipped his fly, and slipped her hand inside. He was large, smooth, hot, and impossibly hard, and with one yank she had his pants down to his knees. “Chair,” she ordered, looking behind him to the big armchair in the corner of the room. He grabbed her hips and kissed her as he walked backward towards it. She felt like she was being swept away.

  He tripped and landed in the chair, pulling her on top of him, but she scurried off and went to his feet, removing his shoes, socks, and pants quickly so that she could see him completely naked.

  He looked like a king sitting in that chair, or maybe some kind of marble Greek statue. His skin was bronzed, every muscle was flexed and tight, and his erection stood proudly waiting for her to soothe it.

  She settled herself between his legs and took him in her hands and just ran her lips up and down his shaft. He smelled clean and felt good against her lips. She kissed him, just slow pecks at first, before she opened her mouth and gave him wetter, hotter kisses. He groaned deeply, which spurred her on. She placed his head into her mouth, her eyes on him, watching his every expression. His eyes were open too and he was watching her with so much emotion she had to look away. She slid her mouth farther down on him, stroking him with her tongue. His breath came out ragged.

  “Does that feel good?”

  “Too good.” He tugged on her hand until she stood up. “I want you nake
d.”

  She kicked off her boots just before he grabbed her and pulled down her tights, taking her underwear with them. He cupped her bare bottom in his hands and squeezed. She loved the way it felt, the possession of it all. She had never wanted to feel owned, trapped again, but there was something different about this. She knew she could still keep herself and be with him. She knew if she walked away right now, he would be fine with it, that he wouldn’t hurt her.

  They were crazy thoughts to be having right before sex, but being with him brought up a lot of things she tried to keep buried.

  “Do you have a condom?” she asked him.

  “There’s one in my wallet. Let me get it.”

  “No. Don’t move.” She backed away from him and bent to retrieve the protection from his wallet.

  He moaned. “Your ass is outstanding. Have I ever told you that?”

  She smiled and walked back to him. “Keep telling me that.”

  With her teeth she ripped open the packet and straddled his lap, rolling the condom down on him.

  “You have too many clothes on.”

  Before she could respond, her dress was pulled up over her head and she was just in her bra. Tanner ran his knuckles over her cleavage, seemingly caught up in the way her skin felt against his hand.

  “There’s more, you know.” She unclasped her bra, dragging it off of her and tossing it to the side. “I like it when you put your mouth on me.”

  He took her nipple in his mouth and gently sucked on it. “Like this?”

  She moaned her answer. He cupped her other breast while he bathed her breast with his tongue. She was so aroused that she knew that if he kept it up she would come.

  “Let me take you to the bed. There are some other places that I have been meaning to taste.”

  “Later. I want to feel you inside of me now.”

  “Are you ready for me? I barely got to touch you.” He placed his hand between her legs and stroked her.

  He made her so wet she was almost embarrassed by it. Almost. She wanted him too bad to think about it too much.