WindSwept Narrows: #22 Erika & Vianne

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  He started around the vehicle, but his girl was nothing if not independent so she was out and slammed the door behind her. But when his palm came out and she placed her hand in his, it was completely for him, along with the brilliant smile that lit up her face and warmed his heart.

  “I need to get this information down on paper and leave a message for Zee,” Vianne tapped lights as they entered the condo.

  “I’ll set the alarms and hit the shower,” he responded, pausing at the arched entry to the hall and watching her cross the room. He stood watching her, taking in a series of procedures that seemed unconscious to her.

  Shoes came off first, then the patio doors were opened a little and then she went to her desk, fingers quickly setting her desktop computer to powering up. He smiled to himself as he continued on to the master bathroom. An outfit that had made her incredibly self-conscious at the beginning of the evening was now treated as a part of her when she settled before the monitor and pulled a paper out for notes.

  Vianne heard the shower start and turned to look at the stack of boxes she’d brought from her office. She located the one she wanted and dug it from under two others. She set it on the floor to her left and lifted the lid, manila folders with printing on the tabs fell beneath her fingers as they tripped over them. She found the one she was after and pulled it free, put the lid back on the box and shoved it back with her toe.

  Vianne leaned back in her chair, her feet drawn up to rest on the edge and the file resting against her knees. Her fingers shook a little as she parted the manila and looked inside at the collection of printed pages, handwritten notes and still photos.

  She was twenty-three when she did the interview with Eric T. Clayton and Gabriel Garrett. Together, they’d created a prototype of the current robotic surgery programs, medical training programs and artificial robotic assistants. Her fingers touched the still photo of a really young looking Tanner. His hair was typical seventeen year old shaggy, his face very lean and his body lanky and awkward.

  She remembered how uncomfortable he was talking with her. She remembered how he stammered and was flustered and she’d made the assumption that he was shy. Gabriel Garrett was four years older than Tanner and picked up the slack, including flirting with her. She’d brushed him off and didn’t connect the name with the man she’d met that night at the club.

  She remembered listening to him talk to his friend when they thought she wasn’t paying attention. His voice, his words held so much confidence when he spoke about their creations and what they wanted to accomplish. And so much…hope, so much heart, she thought with a smile. He talked about changing how deprived countries could have better access and more care from specialists through their programs and how it should belong to everyone, not just big corporations.

  That was when she told him to be careful or the big corporations would take advantage of him because he was far too altruistic and naïve.

  Vianne closed the file and slid it into the top drawer on her desk before laying her head on her knees and closing her eyes. She was the girl he’d spoken about. The mysterious girl he’d been in love with since he was seventeen. The girl he gave up the dom lifestyle choice because he feared she wouldn’t approve. How and why could she have been so unconsciously responsible for a person’s choices like that? And never known?

  “Hey…” Still damp from his shower and wearing a pair of comfortable shorts, he dropped to his heels and ran his palm over her head. “Fall asleep in there?”

  “No,” she replied softly, lifting her face from the darkness she’d been staring into. She unwrapped her arms from her knees and brushed a damp thatch of hair from his forehead. “Just thinking of some things from a long time ago. Nostalgia from dragging home too much stuff I probably should have shredded,” she slowly unfolded and stood up when he moved away. She tapped out the lights and took his hand, leading them both into the bedroom. “Morning shower…I’m just wanting to climb into bed and sleep until noon.”

  “I think we can arrange that,” Tanner agreed with a grin, tugging on the tie that held up the bandeau of her dress. He had the blankets arranged by the time she returned from the bathroom wearing a very loose, very well-worn shirt that stopped at the tops of her thighs. It was the only thing she wore as she climbed into bed and snuggled against him.

  “Good-night,” Vianne closed her eyes but the image of Tanner at seventeen still played in her mind as she slept.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  He really expected to wake up next to his wife.

  Given the bright sunshine outside though, he wasn’t surprised that she was up and out of bed. The fresh scent of coffee finished his brains run to being awake even though part of him was fighting leaving the comfortable bed. His wife knew how to get to him.

  Tanner shoved his legs over the side of the bed, two palms up and rubbing over the night’s growth on his face before standing up and stretching. And listening. Wearing his shorts, he wandered into the living area a few minutes later, cursing the chill beneath his feet. At least she didn’t have the patio door open, infusing the condo with fresh, brisk ocean air.

  His gaze went to her desk, the computer still off but a piece of brightly colored post-it in the center of the monitor, his name at the top. Tanner dropped into the chair and pulled the note free with a residual yawn.

  “Tanner – gone off to run the beach. Too many things to think about right now. V.”

  He thought about his wife and those amazingly long legs for a woman only five-five and sighed. Well, he decided, a quick cup of coffee and he’d hit the workout room. And leave her a note…he cast a quick glance at the desktop and frowned.

  Who didn’t keep pens on the top of their desk? Obviously, his wife, he mused, really liking the sound of those two words in his mind. He leaned back and opened the middle drawer. His fingers closed around a pen at the same time his eyes caught on the name scrawled across the tab on a manila folder.

  His name. The one Vianne had only met once over ten years ago.

  “Shit,” came the whispered curse, his fingers shaking as he forgot about leaving her a message and lifted the folder from inside the drawer. He laid it out, opening the faded manila and staring down at his own face peering back at him.

  She knew.

  Damn. Too many things to think about, he read again on her note.

  Was this one of the things? Was he in trouble? Why wouldn’t she come to him, call him on it; rant if she needed; demanded an explanation! Why would she leave? He’d be damned if he was going to let her run this time. He was no longer seventeen.

  He was still in the middle of trying to second guess her actions and reaction to her discovery. He glared at the phone that abruptly bounced on the surface of the desk. Pulling himself back, he lifted it and sighed at the readout.

  “Tanner here,” he said flatly. “What’d you need, Zee?”

  “Gee, you’re sounding all kinds of fun this morning,” Zee drawled lazily.

  “Vianne remembered where we initially met,” Tanner said, his voice level and aching. “She kept a file with photos and her original interview. She’s cleaning out her office and brought them home.”

  Zee pushed a long breath between his lips, his free palm up and rubbing his neck as he paced the living area of his apartment.

  “Where is she? Are you alright?” Zee winced at the sharp curse from the other end of the phone. “Alright, bad question.”

  “She left me a note. She went running on the beach. I was going to tell her I was in the workout room and found the file in her desk drawer.” Tanner recapped quietly, staring out at the sun shining down on the long stretch of beach.

  “So you haven’t had a chance to talk to her,” Zee relaxed a little. “I put my money on you.”

  “I won’t let her go,” he said firmly, snapping his gaze back to the condo. “I take it you got a text from her?”

  “Yeah…advising me to be careful. That they probably wouldn’t go after Erika first. What’s up
?” Zee watched Erika moving around the kitchen, whipping up chocolate chip pancakes. She’d banned him until she was finished.

  “Jesus…what’s up…” Tanner pushed against the desk and crossed to the patio doors. He slid them apart and stepped into the shade, his gaze sweeping first down one end of the beach and then the other. Searching. “She thinks they’ve tried to push the marriage thing so Vincent can get control of the stock her grandmother left her. The codicil in the will is that whoever Erika marries, controls the voting block. Vincent and Erika have evidently been at odds over some votes.”

  “She’s talked about that.” Zee puffed out his cheeks. “I guess that means I’m the one ruling the votes now.”

  “Which is why Vianne sent you the warning to be careful. Seems to be a lot for the three of them to be losing,” Tanner gripped the heavy rail of the patio. “A political career and control of a multibillion dollar corporation. Add to that, a few reputations since Vianne also discovered that Vincent plays at an uptown club with a domme named Mistress Louisa.”

  “Christ, Tanner, who’s writing this fucking story?”

  “I married a reporter,” Tanner responded dryly. “She manages to find answers that don’t really fit what people want to know. I think we’re going to visit Bound and Tied tonight to talk to Mistress Louisa. I’ve got to find Vianne, Zee. Be careful, okay? I’ll let her know you got her message.”

  “Thanks and good luck,” Zee closed his phone and went to talk to Erika and hopefully do something about the growling in his stomach.

  Vianne glistened with sweat. She had marked out her running length when she first moved into the condo and was on her way back when she saw the figure jogging toward her. She began slowing because his movements were familiar. She wasn’t far from home, she could see the patio from where she was and half expected to see Tanner sitting on the rail watching for her.

  She came to a stop, leaning on her knees and bent in half, drawing in long steadying breaths. Why was he out on the beach?

  “Hey…” she straightened slowly, smiling at him. “You told me you hated pounding on sand. Everything alright?” She asked quickly. “Erika?”

  “She’s fine,” Tanner stopped several feet away. “And Zee’s been warned. Tell me you love me.”

  Vianne looked at him oddly. “I love you. I only went for a run, Tanner. Why in the world would I not love you?”

  He moved to stand in front of her, his hands on her waist firmly.

  “Again,” he ordered gruffly, the thumping of his heart having nothing to do with the brief run he’d taken to reach her.

  “I love you, Tanner,” she said clearly, going to the toes of her shoes and wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned up to brush his lips with hers, her words whispering against his skin. “I love you. What’s wrong?”

  A yelp left her lips when his hands moved to her ass, lifting her against him in a way that her legs naturally gravitated to wrap around his waist. He held her up and peered into the shining green eyes. Sunshine flickered through the trees as it rose slowly. It was barely eight in the morning but Tanner saw nothing but brightness.

  “What are you doing?” Vianne looked around anxiously. “We’re on a public beach,” she hissed when he began walking back toward the stairs leading up to the condos.

  “Taking you home and holding you and really, ungodly glad you still love me,” Tanner spoke from his heart, from the bottom of his heart and still it felt filled beyond belief.

  “You were sleeping when I left for my run,” Vianne said very slowly. “When we went to bed, I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any doubt about how much I loved you. And I’m also pretty sure you haven’t managed to do anything reprehensible in your sleep,” she paused teasingly. “Have you?”

  Tanner slowly lowered her to stand on the stairs but his hands never left her waist. He couldn’t take his eyes from her face, the heightened color in her cheeks, the sparkle of love in her eyes along with the slightly baffled, amused expression.

  “I found your note,” he began quietly, his stomach still clenching. “I was going to grab a cup of coffee and head to the workout room. I had to look for a pen…”

  “I don’t have anything secret in my desk, Tanner,” she laughed softly, leaning down and kissing him. “You’re welcome to search my desk anytime you need something. It’s mostly notes and writing stuff. Files and maybe sources.”

  “I found the file you had on me, Vianne,” he waited, holding his breath. “I can explain.”

  “And here I thought I was the one who needed to explain,” Vianne pressed against him, her arms lying along his shoulders, fingers toying with his hair as she shook her head slightly. So much inside his dark eyes, she thought, and it was all for her. “The girls you spoke of…the changes you made because of a woman…I was that woman, wasn’t I?”

  “I knew I’d find a way into your life, Vianne. I had to, no matter how long it took.” He inhaled slowly. “That day you showed up at the garage to do the interview…Gabe must have slapped me upside the head a dozen times when you weren’t looking because all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. None of the thousands of words that made up the explanation for what we’d created would come to me when I needed them. All because you were there. All because the only thing bouncing around in my head was what it would feel like to kiss you. I swear, Gabe laughed for two days after that interview. And all I could think about were your eyes and voice. Every word you spoke, I had committed to memory. Every tone and inflection,” his palms came up and framed her face, his mouth on hers as if he needed to desperately convince himself she was still there, still in his arms, still listening and looking at him with love shining for him.

  “Tanner…” his name breathed from her lips when his mouth moved over her face, dropping kisses over flesh cooling from her run and the light breeze coming at them from the Sound.

  “When you said you needed to think…”

  “Too many things vying to space in my head,” she told him. “I was thinking of the young man I’d met all those years ago. How altruistic and giving…there was so much hunger inside you to make the world better. I was so afraid for you…and so flattered when you asked me to go out with you.”

  “You thought I was a kid with a big brain.” He accused with a half-smile.

  “I thought I was too messed up from a cheating ex-husband who said I just wasn’t enough for him,” she corrected sadly. “That if I wanted him, I had to learn to share. In my head I wasn’t good with…I knew I was a good journalist. But I didn’t trust myself with men, Tanner. Did I think you were a little young for me…yes…I thought you deserved a girl your age for dates and fun things and one who didn’t already have a bad relationship behind her and still pressing on her self-esteem. So I made myself focus on writing and reporting and learning.”

  “And what were you thinking about this morning on your run?”

  She heard his hesitance, glimpsed a hint of doubt that had her looking past his shoulder to the ocean softly flapping at the sands.

  “Are you sure you want to know?”

  Tanner groaned. “Vianne…I’ve done nothing but work on how to keep you from leaving me.”

  “Would you allow that?”

  Tanner inhaled sharply, only then hearing the laughter in her voice.

  “I’d tie you to the bed first.”

  Vianne laughed. “I was thinking that I couldn’t imagine tomorrow without you, I was thinking of how we would arrange our offices and how we’d go about documenting and captioning the photos that had already been collected. I was wondering how to arrange the living area for a big Christmas tree and hanging tons of lights around all the windows and if you would mind facing the malls for shopping season,” she laughed again when he abruptly lifted her from her feet and held her against him. “Oh, and I was thinking about how very, very lucky I am to be in love with such a resourceful man and wondering where in the world he found that outfit last night and what will I be wearin
g next time?”

  Five minutes passed before they breathlessly broke apart at the voices from above them.

  “Lock yourselves out?” Faith leaned over the rail at the side and grinned brightly, long blond hair dangling from the ponytail high on the back of her head.

  “Go away, Faith,” Tanner called over his shoulder but stepped away from Vianne with a reluctant sigh. “You owe me breakfast.”

  “You distracted me,” she tossed back, running out of his reach and up the stairs, pulling her key from her wrist and opening the condo to quickly duck inside.

  It was over an hour before food was actually on the table and they’d both made it out of the shower to find clothing and have lunch.

  “Is this club in Seattle like Independence?” Vianne twirled the pasta around her fork and took a big bite. She felt the heat filling her cheeks when he looked at her, her gaze dropping to the plate of creamy noodles.

  Tanner stabbed a thin strip of the chicken coated in the white sauce.

  “It’s similar but different,” he said carefully. “Similar theme, but a very different type of clientele. More singles play at the Bound and Tied. More…casual people…people tiptoeing through the motions,” he searched for the right words to describe the other club. “Some people believe it’s a fun thing to try once in a while but don’t bother learning the basics or even the rules.”

  “Posers.”

  “Playacting,” Tanner grimaced at the word. “Part time players and people exploring,” he amended her one word a bit. “There’s something appropriate for you to wear in the bedroom.”

  He had to admit to the jump his cock gave when her eyes flew up, brimming with a little trepidation, acute arousal and excitement. For him. All his, his heart shouted with long contained euphoria.