Incompatibly Yours: Charity Anthology Supporting Fertility Research

by A. C. Bextor

  "Tanner," she moans as she pulls her mouth from mine, and fuck if that doesn't shoot more need through me. Her arms finally wrap around me and as her skin connects with mine, my breathing hitches. "What are we doing?"

  I don't let her go. "I'm pretty sure they call this kissing." I blink a few times while I attempt to get my thoughts together again. She's caused them to scatter like loose pages in the wind with that kiss.

  "Smart-arse," she murmurs, not letting me go either.

  "I thought we could practise it some more today."

  "And I thought you were giving me some space today."

  "You don't really want space, Juliette."

  Something I say causes her to stiffen in my embrace before she lets me go and tries to move out of my arms. When I don't loosen my hold, she frowns at me. "I want some space as much as you want some fun." I sense beast mode returning, but I'm clueless as to why.

  Now it's my turn to frown. I'm not sure what she means by that, but before I can ask, a child's voice shrieks from behind me, "Aunt Juliette!"

  I let her go and turn just in time to move out of the way of a little girl rushing towards Juliette.

  The child, who would be no more than four, throws herself at Juliette, whose face has broken out in the kind of smile I want to cause her one day. She hugs her close and says, "Hey, darling, this is the best surprise of my day." I'm struck by the tenderness in her voice; she clearly cherishes this child.

  The girl looks up at her aunt. "The day has just started, silly. You might still get better surprises."

  Juliette shakes her head while smiling still. "No, Danielle, nothing can beat this one. And besides, this is the best surprise of my whole week."

  A woman who I am guessing is Juliette's sister due to the long brunette hair, creamy complexion, and similar facial features, walks up the stairs and stops next to me. Grinning, she pulls her sunglasses off and whistles. "Geez, Juliette wasn't kidding when she said you were hot."

  It's my turn to grin now. "You must be Lesley." I like her already. And I want to keep her talking to see if she reveals more of Juliette's secrets. I need all the help I can get at the moment.

  She nods. "Bingo." Her gaze drops to my arms for a moment. "Damn, that's some ink you've got. Do you have any skin left clean at all?"

  "Not much. I have an unhealthy addiction." Both my arms are completely covered in tattoos, but I do have some skin left to ink on the rest of my body, though not a lot.

  I take in the blush that has crept across Juliette's cheeks and the way she's staring at her sister. It's not often I date women who are as sensitive about things like this as she is, and I love that about her. She's such a complex woman—one moment she's breaking your balls with a lash of her tongue, and the next she's mortified for you to know she finds you attractive.

  "I didn't know you were coming over," she finally says to Lesley, unleashing a degree of beast mode on her.

  Lesley's brows rise. "Last I knew I didn't require an invitation to visit. Plus, I felt like you needed me today."

  Juliette's chest rises and falls as she takes a deep breath. No words escape her lips, though, and she seems grateful when Danielle says, "I need to go to the toilet."

  Juliette takes her hand. "I'll take you," she declares and drags her inside without a second glance at her sister or me.

  Once she's out of sight, Lesley eyes me. "Right, I want you inside and I want to know everything."

  So different to her sister, and yet completely the same. I bet the Taylor sisters have broken hearts all over the place. The only difference would be that while Lesley probably knows it, I don't think Juliette has a clue about the spell she weaves.

  I put my arm out to indicate she should go first. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

  She stares at me for a moment while her lips slowly curl up into another smile. "Oh, boy, you are going to be good for my sister."

  Chapter Nine

  JULIETTE

  I'm going to kill her.

  Slowly.

  With a very sharp object.

  "Star sign?" Lesley's been interrogating Tanner over coffee at my kitchen table for the last fifteen minutes. She set Danielle up with a movie so she could have all the time in the world with him.

  "Libra," he fires back, not even minding in the slightest all the questions.

  Her eyes widen and a giddy look crosses her face. Lesley is all about star signs, whereas I have no interest in them so I don't understand why she seems so happy all of a sudden.

  "A man who was made for love," she murmurs almost to herself.

  His eyes twinkle. "There's nothing better than love."

  Now she frowns. I can't keep up with her changing emotions, but that is my sister—all over the place. "Shit, I bet you fall fast and often."

  With a very, very, very sharp object.

  "Lesley!" I snap. "Stop asking so many freaking questions."

  "What?" She seems genuinely confused, and she would, because she never stops to think how her actions might embarrass me. "I'm just trying to get to know the guy you're dating."

  "We are not dating." My voice comes out a little harder than I intend. "We're just having fun."

  Her lips purse together. "Right, I forgot… this is just a little bit of fun." She's saying those words, but her tone implies that she doesn't believe them.

  My gaze flicks to Tanner and I find him watching me thoughtfully. The world around me blurs for a beat while we share a moment. It's as if he understands the mortification I'm feeling and is saying "It's okay, I'm not judging." When he cuts into the conversation, I could kiss him.

  "What's your star sign?" he asks me.

  "Leo, but I don't follow astrology, so it means nothing to me."

  "Me either," he admits.

  Lesley butts in. "Leos fall hard and completely, and it's an all-or-nothing kind of deal." She looks at Tanner. "You know… just so you know…." Her voice trails off as he chuckles.

  "Good to know, Lesley," he says, and while I am again horrified that my sister would even say that, his easy nature makes me feel okay about it in a way I never have before. Usually Lesley completely embarrasses me and I want the world to swallow me whole.

  "Do you have a job? I mean, it's a weekday and yet here you are," she demands of him and I know where she's coming from. As much as I dislike her style of questioning, I can't be upset with her for looking out for me. After growing up with a father who was often happily unemployed, she and I are both adamant in our need to find a man completely different.

  "I own a tattoo parlour and was able to take today off."

  "I thought you were booked months ahead," I say, slightly confused.

  "I am, but that doesn't mean I work every day."

  "Wow, how old are you?" Lesley asks.

  "Twenty-six."

  "And you've already gotten your business to the point where you don't need to work every day?" She seems impressed and she should be because what Tanner has achieved is impressive. He inspires me and I hardly know him yet.

  Yet.

  I want to know everything about him.

  "Some months I work fifteen to twenty hours a day and then I have months where work is a lot less hectic," he explains.

  "The life of an entrepreneur," Lesley muses before flashing me a smile. "You two seem to have a lot in common."

  Before I can shoot Lesley another dirty look, Tanner stands and announces, "My half hour is up so I'm going to leave you two girls to it."

  Lesley stands, too. "What do you mean your half hour is up?"

  "I promised Juliette I would only interrupt her for half an hour today." He's answering Lesley's question, but his eyes are firmly on me as he speaks. The desire I see there causes butterflies in my tummy.

  "You did," I agree softly, holding his gaze.

  I don't want him to go.

  "Will you walk me out?" he asks.

  Nodding, I direct Lesley, "You wait here."

  She holds her hands up
defensively. "I wasn't even thinking of doing anything but waiting here." She's grinning at me and I can't help it—I shake my head and smile at her. For all her faults, my sister loves the hell out of me and would do anything to protect me. From myself as much as from other people.

  Tanner holds his hand out for me and I place mine in it. The moment his hand closes over mine, an overwhelming desire to have him hold my hand like that all the time fills me.

  You've got it bad.

  Leos do fall hard apparently.

  He leads me down the hall and towards my front door. After he opens the door and steps outside, he pulls me with him and closes it behind us. Pushing me up against the door, he presses his body to mine and threads his fingers through my hair. His eyes search mine for a moment before he bends and kisses me.

  I could get lost in his kisses. I love everything about them. His confidence, his demanding lips, his scent that scrambles my thoughts, his taste, his hands that hold me while he kisses me… everything.

  When he ends the kiss, he rests his forehead against mine. His breathing is heavy and I love how I affect him. "I've been wanting to do that for the last half hour." I also love his honesty.

  My hands are on his chest and I grip his shirt. "Thank you for bringing me coffee."

  "I'll bring you more tomorrow."

  "Don't you have to work tomorrow?"

  "Nope."

  He shifts his face away from mine and our eyes lock for what feels like minutes rather than moments. His patience isn't lost on me. I'm a mess of contradicting thoughts and behaviours, and yet here he is, waiting.

  My heart beats faster as I make a snap decision. "I know you said we should just have fun, but what does that actually mean to you?" I'm going to go completely crazy if I don't know where I stand.

  He frowns. "You make that sound like all I want is a bit of fun with you and nothing else."

  "I thought that was what you wanted. You said last night that you weren't asking for a commitment, just some fun."

  "Fuck, that's why you pulled away," he says as he rubs the back of his neck. "I only said that because you were so serious about figuring this all out in your mind straight away. What I meant was let's hang out and see where it leads, and have some fun together along the way."

  I let go of his T-shirt and press my hands against his chest, trying to get him to take a step back, but he doesn't. "Tanner, I'm the kind of girl who needs to figure stuff out before moving forward."

  He leans one of his hands on the door above me. "Sweetheart, sometimes in life you just have to run with it. Some things can't be figured out. They need to be felt and experienced. Sometimes you need to just live your life without second-guessing the outcome."

  His face is so close and his body is pressing against mine, and I want to do what he says. Desperately. But it's a fight I'm not sure I'll ever win.

  A fight with myself.

  How do you step out of the skin you've lived in for so long?

  "I know," I whisper, my entire body alive with both anticipation and apprehension.

  And then he smiles and sweeps some of my doubts away. "Let me show you how."

  It's like he reads my mind. "Bring me coffee tomorrow."

  He grins, but this is a different grin to his usual one. This is a sexy-ass grin that does more than cause butterflies in my tummy. It causes a freaking avalanche of desire to hit me all at once. Dipping his face to mine, he catches my lips in a long, deep kiss. "Tomorrow, I get longer than half an hour."

  I raise my brows. "Oh, really? Tell me, Mr Ink, how long do you get tomorrow?"

  His eyes twinkle. "I get as long as I want, sweetheart."

  And then he's gone, and I'm left standing on my front porch more breathless than I've ever been over a man.

  Tanner Brady might just ruin me for all other men.

  ★★★

  "Stop it."

  Tanner laughs as I smack him away the next day. He arrived at my front door two hours ago with coffee and doughnuts. Krispy Kreme doughnuts. He now knows the way to my heart.

  "Juliette, no way can I sit next to you on this couch and not touch you," he says as he slides his hand up under my T-shirt. We've spent most of the last two hours making out on my couch, and while I feel the same way he does, I received a message from a client ten minutes ago and I'm trying to stop him distracting me for long enough to answer her.

  I fix what I hope is a bossy glare on him. "So that means you have to move to the other couch while I deal with my client."

  He stops what he's doing. "Fuck, I love it when you unleash beast mode on me."

  "What is beast mode? That sounds awful." I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not.

  Brushing his lips across mine, he murmurs, "It's a compliment as far as I'm concerned. I love a woman who stands up for herself. Beast mode is when you get all bossy on me." He stands and moves to the other couch while adding, "You've got half an hour max to get your client sorted, and then you're all mine again."

  Oh, my. I think I probably love his beast mode more than he loves mine. Bossy looks good on Tanner.

  I spend the next twenty minutes dealing with my client's crisis—she needs a dress for a charity gala tonight—and then I ask Tanner if he wants some lunch.

  "I'd love to have lunch with you." He moves off the couch and follows me into the kitchen. Less than a minute later, his arms are around me from behind while I search in the fridge for salad ingredients.

  "You know, I think I'm really beginning to love the feel of your beard on my skin."

  "You mean you didn't always love it?" His tone is playful and I laugh.

  Turning in his embrace, I slide my hands up and around his neck. He bends to trail kisses along my collarbone. "No, I've never been a beard lover."

  He continues to bless me with his lips, making his way up my neck to my jawline. "If you've ever been with another guy with a beard, now is most definitely not the time to mention it, sweetheart. In fact, never would be a good time to mention it." His voice has changed from playful to growly and desire pools in my belly.

  "Wait, is this jealous Tanner I'm meeting?"

  His blue eyes meet mine and he nods. "You bet your arse this is jealous Tanner you're meeting."

  "Wow, you're so laid-back I didn't think you would have it in you to be jealous."

  "I don't usually, so this is surprising the hell out of me, too." And there's his trademark honesty I'm falling for. He jerks his chin towards the fridge behind me that's still open. "What's for lunch?"

  I grin because I think he's actually trying to change the subject, and so far we haven't stumbled across a topic he won't discuss. But I give him this because I don't want to make him jealous by discussing it further. "Salad."

  He pulls a face. "Salad?"

  "You don't like salad?"

  Letting me go, he takes a step back. "Do you honestly know any man who likes salad?"

  "Trust me, you're going to love mine."

  He crosses his arms over his chest. "Okay, let's see what you've got."

  I grab out all the ingredients I need and assemble a curried-chicken salad I hope he's going to love. Cooking is something my mother taught me from a young age. Because we were poor and often didn't have a lot of ingredients to work with, she had to learn how to be resourceful and create her own recipes.

  Tanner receives a call while I'm getting it ready and leaves me to take it. When he returns, concern is etched across his face.

  "What?" I ask.

  "That was Ana. She needs me to go and pick her up and take her to her house." He answers my question, but he seems miles away, like he's processing something in his mind.

  I move to where he stands and place my hand on his chest. "Tanner, what? What is wrong with her?"

  He blows out a long breath and rakes his fingers through his hair. "Ana has this on-off affair with the drummer from the band Diesel, and he's in town at the moment. They just had a huge fight at his hotel and she's holed up in his room because
the paparazzi are waiting outside."

  My business brain kicks in. "Where's Kadence?"

  "Fuck, I told Ana not to even call her, but turns out she's nowhere to be found anyway."

  "You don't like her?"

  "Hell no. I've been telling Ana to get rid of her for at least a year now. If the bitch isn't causing trouble for Ana, she's snorting coke or sleeping with every asshole they meet instead of doing her job."

  I reach for my phone. "Yeah, I can't figure out why she keeps her around." I search for Anastasia's number, and at Tanner's enquiring look, I say, "I'm just giving her a quick call. Give me a moment before you go."

  "Juliette?" She answers my call and I know instantly that she's a mess.

  "Tell me what happened."

  Her sob tears through my phone and I am furious with the man who has done this to her even though I don't know him. "I had a fight with Joe…. He punched me and then left, and now I'm stuck in his room with a bruise on my face and a torn dress. I didn't want to call Tanner because he may lose his shit when he sees me, but he's all I have. And I really can't afford any more bad press. If the paps see my bruise…." She begins crying again as I clench my fist by my side.

  "I'm coming with Tanner. We'll fix this. You just wait there, okay?" I walk towards my bedroom as I speak; I need my tools.

  In between sobs, she agrees with what I've said and we end the call. I shove my phone in my pocket as I enter my bathroom, and begin dragging what I'll need from my drawers.

  "What are you doing?" Tanner asks from the doorway to my bathroom.

  I don't look at him as I sort through my make-up and pack what I need. "I'm just gathering what she needs and I'll come with you."

  "Juliette, what's going on? Why does she need make-up?"

  I pack the last of my supplies and zip the bag shut before finally giving him my attention. Shit, I'm going to have to tell him what's really happened. He's going to find out anyway, I guess, and at least this way he'll be prepared. "He tore her dress and punched her. She needs something to walk out of there in and make-up to cover the bruise he gave her."