“I agree,” the kind one said. “This would also give her no grounds for future claims against the college.”
Marston nodded. “I’ll let you know the date as soon as it’s set,” he told Ralph.
The suited men left, and Tanner shot his uncle a grateful look. “Thank you.”
Sarah disengaged from his grasp, straightening her spine. She extended her hand to his uncle. “Thanks.” She glanced around the room. “Guess I better start packing.”
Uncle Ralph motioned his head toward the hallway, signaling a private talk. “Be right back,” Tanner told Sarah, and following his uncle out.
When they were halfway down the hall, Uncle Ralph murmured, “I don’t know Sarah’s financial situation, but you mentioned she has no family. If she needs a place to stay until the hearing, she’s welcome at our house.”
The offer touched Tanner. He’d never realized before how much he took his family for granted. They were always there, in the background, ready to support him if he crashed and failed. Until Sarah, he hadn’t known how lucky he was to have their love.
He opened his mouth to accept the offer, then snapped it shut. He wanted Sarah with him 24/7. Only a few months ago, the notion of having the same woman share his life that way—even temporarily—would have struck him as incredibly stifling. “Sarah can stay with me.”
Uncle Ralph nodded. “Thought that was the way of it. For your sake, I hope Sarah didn’t steal that book and is able to prove it at the hearing.”
“She will,” he answered confidently. Whatever it took, he wouldn’t have Sarah hurt like this. Whoever had set her up was going to pay. Dearly.
Uncle Ralph shook his hand. “Call me if you need me.”
Tanner returned to the room, where Sarah was already pulling out clothes and stuffing them in garbage bags. “We’re going to beat this, you know.”
She wouldn’t look at him. “If you say so.”
The defeat in her voice tore at him. Now wasn’t the time to demand she explain about that stupid vow she’d made to the coven. Every day, he grew more convinced they were behind all the craziness. Instead of researching Sarah’s background, he should have been checking out these women. If there was a logical explanation for the trouble, he was sure he could find it.
That was his specialty, after all. Finding things.
“Want me to go round up some boxes?” he asked.
“That’s okay. I texted Claudia. She’s going to grab some after class and bring them over.” Sarah kept her hands busy, moving like a robot. “After that, I’ll find a motel to stay at until the hearing.”
“Stay with me,” he said quietly.
She stopped stacking clothes on the dresser and faced him. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Unless . . . if you don’t want to move in with me, say so. My uncle volunteered his home, if you’d rather do that.”
“How incredibly kind of him. You’re so lucky.”
“Yeah. I realize that now.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you offering this because you feel sorry for me? Because I’m fine. I have a little money to tide me over until I find another job or another college.”
Irritation flushed his neck. “First of all, you don’t have to go anywhere. They’re going to find you innocent.”
“I don’t think so. And even if they do, I’m not sure I want to stay here. It hasn’t exactly been the fun experience I’d dreamed of.”
“You can’t give up that easily,” he protested. “Don’t you want to find who did this to you? Make them pay? Restore your reputation?”
“Actually, no. What I most want right now is to be far, far away from WCS.”
Sarah was used to moving from place to place. Home to home. She’d forgotten what it meant to have roots, to have friends and family. To have someone that loved her.
Tanner blinked. What was he thinking?
“And second of all?” she asked.
“Huh?” he repeatedly stupidly.
“You started off saying first of all, so I assumed you had another point to make.”
Tanner scratched his head. Somehow, this conversation had derailed into an argument, and he wasn’t sure why. “Let’s start over,” he said. “I want you to move in with me. If you don’t want to, just say so.”
Sarah lifted her chin, clutching a T-shirt in her hands. “I’m just letting you know not to feel sorry for me. I have options.”
“Damn it, Sarah, I love you. I want you to move in with me. Okay?”
She dropped the shirt on the floor and suddenly bulldozed into him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
He grinned. “I take it your answer is yes.”
7
He loved her. Her. Unlovable, unwanted Sarah.
She was in awe. It superseded the pain of the past few hours, cocooning her in a new kind of warmth and happiness. All the earlier fear and anger, she put on hold. They would work out everything together. Plenty of time to worry about her problems come morning.
She closed her eyes, momentarily savoring the tang of pepperoni pizza. They sat on the floor by the coffee table, candles and a pizza box scattering its surface. It was like a dozen other nights she’d spent at his apartment.
But this time, she would sleep in his bed all night, awaken with his body lying next to hers. A new experience for her, even if it wasn’t for Tanner. She was nervous and excited all at once.
The significance of tonight created a palpable aura of electricity between them. He gazed at her just a little bit longer, kissed her just a little bit longer.
Sarah started to rise. “If you’re through, I’ll put up the pizza and throw away the plates.”
“I’ll get it.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her to sit back down. “You must be drained after . . . well, everything that’s happened today.”
No. Actually, her body was very much alive. Very ready for this new facet of their relationship. After all these years of guarding her virginity, she ached to be shed of it. She’d found the right man, and this was the right time. They’d come close several times, but something inside her had always pulled back.
But he’d proven today that she could trust him with her heart. Now she could trust him with her body.
He returned from the kitchen holding her mother’s grimoire. “Thought looking through this might relax you after your tough day.”
Tanner loved her. He showed it in everything he did and said. Sarah rose to her feet and held out her hand. “All I need is you,” she said simply. “I want you, Tanner. All of you.”
Carefully, he placed the book on a chair and grinned lopsidedly. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
“It does.”
He took her hand and pulled her against his long, hard body, kissing the top of her scalp. It tingled all the way down to her toes. “Are you sure?” he whispered, his breath hot and exciting.
“Yes.” She’d never been more certain.
Tanner led her into the bedroom and onto his bed. His eyes pinned hers as he stood by the bed and removed his T-shirt, shoes, and socks. As he unzipped his jeans, the metallic ripping sound had her heart thumping.
Slowly, with trembling fingers, she undid the buttons on her shirt and slipped it off. She unhooked her lacy bra and cast it on the floor. Then she stood as well, shedding her shoes and jeans. He’d seen her this way before, but tonight felt different. More deliberate and naked. Sarah felt as if she’d stripped down to her bare soul as she hooked her thumbs on her panties and let them drop to her ankles.
“So beautiful,” Tanner said with that huskiness in his voice that always made her thighs clench with passion.
His hands caressed her shoulders before traveling down to brush against her nipples. Eagerly, Sarah pressed her hips into his, feeling his hard length against her mound. Tonight she would know all of him, would allow him to fill her completely.
Dizziness swept over her, she was falling, sinking . . . no. Tanner was laying her a
cross his bed. She was safe in his arms. The weight of his body atop her own fevered her skin. Sarah drank in his scent, a combination of some earthy after shave and pure male pheromone.
Tanner shifted his body lower, tracing butterfly kisses down the hollow of her throat, her cleavage. Down her ribcage and abs. She hardly dared breathe, wondering if . . .
. . . yes, he went there. His mouth kissed her entrance, his tongue caressed her folds. Sarah’s fingers dug into the bedsheet, and she thrashed in a paroxysm of heat. Every inhibition burned to ashes, leaving only her raw and aching need to have his hard length buried in her core.
Sarah groaned. “Please,” she begged, “I want you.”
“Not yet.”
His hot breath fanned against her most sensitive spot. Mind and body exploded until she feared she’d break into a million teeny pieces.
So be it.
Reason returned, and with it, awe.
Tanner lay beside her, and she curled into the naked length of his body. She hid her face in his muscular chest, unaccountably shy.
He kissed her forehead, and a hand swept the curve of her hip, reminding Sarah that he’d yet to find the release she’d just experienced.
That would be easy to rectify.
She slid down the length of his body, but Tanner firmly clutched her shoulders and pulled her up.
“Next time,” he said gruffly. “Right now, I need to be inside you.”
And, in an instant, passion returned, thundering inside her like a storm. It was what she desired above all else as well. “Yes,” she groaned.
His body shifted on top of hers, his erection pressing against her abdomen and core. She maneuvered her hips until his shaft pressed at her mound.
Tanner gently brushed a strand of hair off her face. “Are you sure? Last chance.”
She’d never been more sure of anything in her life. All the guards she’d built to shield her heart from every new family, from any new relationship—blew away like dandelion seeds in a fierce gust of wind.
I love him.
That miracle even surpassed the wonder of her first orgasm.
“Positive,” she whispered.
“In that case . . .” He opened the nightstand drawer, pulled out a foil packet and swiftly, expertly, sheathed it on his length. How many times had he done this? No, she wouldn’t think of that. This was their time.
Tanner proceeded slowly, filling her with his thick, swollen length. It was strange. Sarah waited for the pain she’d heard could come, but so far, all was fine. She wrapped her legs around his ass. She felt his deep inhalation against her breasts as his chest expanded. And then, one quick thrust, and he penetrated her.
Her body adjusted instantly, and she rocked her hips in an ancient, intuitive dance of passion. Tanner was finally hers. All hers. In every way. That sweet knowledge, coupled with quivering need, fueled her to new, more sublime, heights.
His back muscles bunched beneath her fingertips, and he thrust deeper, quicker, until they exploded together.
A smile lit her lips. If she’d known sex would be so good, she wouldn’t have waited so long.
Tanner abruptly rolled onto his back and gathered her to his side. “Am I responsible for that smile?” he asked, grinning.
“You most certainly are. And you know it.”
“I aim to please.”
Sarah giggled. If that wasn’t typical Tanner. Always the jokester.
He playfully swiped her ass. “You laughing at me?”
“No, silly. I’m just incredibly happy.”
Tanner dropped his grin, eyeing her solemnly. “So am I.”
It was time. Sarah took a deep breath. Courage.
“I love you, Tanner.”
An emotion—relief?—skittered across his face. “Thought you would never say so,” he muttered.
Sarah cocked her head to one side, studying him. Who’d have guessed that Tanner harbored any insecurities?
She loved him all the more for it.
Tanner picked up the computer printouts from the mailroom. Even for Salem, the staff down there had really whooped it up with the Halloween decorations. Fake cobwebs and spiders hung from every corner, broomsticks and witches’ hats lined the counters, a bubbling cauldron foamed and crackled on a back table.
Even though All Hallows’ Eve wasn’t until tomorrow, the table was loaded with candy and homemade goodies. Mike, the mailroom supervisor, spotted him from his glassed-in office and came over. “What’s up in IT today?” Mike asked.
“Same old, same old.”
“Bet those ole fuddy-duddy nerds up there haven’t decorated their offices like we have.”
Tanner grimaced. “You know it.”
Mike chuckled and patted his large stomach. “Help yourself to some candy while you’re here. And if you’ve got no plans tomorrow night, the wife and I are throwing a party, if you want to come.”
“Cool. Let me check with Sarah and get back to you later.”
How quickly they’d become a couple. Only a few days of living together, and he couldn’t imagine life without her.
Mike grew serious and lowered his voice. “How’s she doing?”
“The hearing is day after tomorrow, so she’s stressed. We’ll be glad when it’s over.”
He felt confident there were enough questions around how the stolen artifact ended up in her room that she’d be found innocent.
“Then a party’s just what she needs,” Mike pronounced.
Tanner waved a hand, heading for the door. “I’ll let you know.”
Back in his office, he paced the small area. Mike’s reminder about the hearing niggled at his brain. There must be something more he could do to help Sarah.
The image of Rebecca and the other girls in the coven flashed in his mind. Perhaps there was something there. All this time, he’d focused on Sarah’s background, when he might have been better served checking theirs.
He immediately went to his desk, eager to dive into action, but his fingers paused on the keyboard. She’d been so angry the last time he’d probed, and he’d promised never to do it again.
I’m researching the other students, not her.
Tanner began typing. Yep, he could live with that technical loophole. When it came to Sarah’s safety, nothing was sacred.
He didn’t know their last names, but Sarah had mentioned they all attended the same Special Studies class. Easy to access the college records for the roster.
All four of their names popped up. To ensure he had the correct students, he accessed each of their transcripts and matched names to photos. Now to research their backgrounds . . .
The overhead lights flickered. Tanner jerked his head up to find Mr. Higginboth standing at the door, hand on the light switch. “It’s quitting time,” he said. “Doesn’t look right when an employee stays later than the boss.”
A quick glance at the clock, and Tanner was startled to find it was already 6:00 p.m. “Yes, sir. On my way out.”
Reluctantly, he shut down the monitor and printer. He’d only completed the searches on two of the women. Still, there was plenty of time to finish before the hearing. Sarah was safe at his apartment.
They held hands as they walked in downtown Salem, a town where Halloween season began in September and continued until November 1. Sarah giggled at the dozens of witches dressed in tall, pointy black hats, warts painted on their faces. By far, that was the most popular costume, but there were also a fair share of ghosts and zombies and other creatures of the night.
Psychic stores displayed signage promising everything from miracle fortune readings to hexes to love potion and lucky charms. Juxtaposed to the occult store, a scowling, bearded man wore a huge sandwich board with REPENT painted in giant red letters. “Repent, you sinners, or you will burn in hell,” he warned, speaking into a giant megaphone.
Tanner discreetly took photos of the sights on his cell phone. “My folks in Alabama will get a real kick out of this.”
“Then
we need to get you the ultimate in campy photos.” She tugged at his arm. “Follow me.”
Around the corner, she cut across a manicured lawn and dragged him to a nine-foot bronze statue. Sarah draped herself against the statue of Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery riding a broomstick and framed against a crescent moon. “I’ve heard you haven’t had the full Salem experience until you’ve had your picture made with the TV star.”
A nearby woman pushing a child in a stroller offered to take their photo together. She beamed as Tanner threw an arm over her shoulder and planted a kiss on the top of her head.
“I love you,” she said with a grin.
Those words came so easily now.
“Ditto.”
He picked her up and spun in a circle. The snow swirled around them, and she imagined the two of them were like spinning figurines in a fairytale kind of snow globe, their own little bubble of happiness on which no one could intrude.
“Your phone,” the lady said, extending it to Tanner.
He thanked her, pocketed it in his jacket, and turned back to Sarah. “And I’ve heard no visit to Salem is complete without a visit to the Gulu-Gulu Café.”
She clapped her hands. “I’ve heard that, too, and I’ve never been.”
“Let’s do it.”
The café turned out to be more of a coffeehouse, but it sported an eclectic blend of food, everything from meatloaf and mashed potatoes to moussaka and goulash. Tanner ordered the meatloaf. She opted for goulash.
He winked. “I was hoping for fried chicken and gravy biscuits.”
“At least we agreed on splitting the chocolate crème crepes,” she replied. “Really, thanks for this evening, it almost makes me forget . . . you know, the hearing.”
Tanner took a long swallow of draft beer, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
“What is it? I think you’re more worried about it than I am.”
It was remarkably true. What had felt like the end of the world a short time ago, now seemed like a surmountable problem. She’d been through worse, and she had Tanner and the support of his uncle, who was no less than the college dean.
Charmed by the Salem Witch: A Witch Romance (Appalachian Magic Series Book 3) Page 7