by Melody Anne
This was a new one for him. Who held hands anymore, except maybe old married people? What was the point? Okay, there was a pulse nearby, so maybe if you pushed at it cleverly, it would serve some automotive function and send a babe you wanted into overdrive. He’d have to check that out on the Web.
But sex hadn’t been what he was thinking when he lost his hand-holding virginity as a grown man in his thirties. For some reason, he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from their joined fingers, and couldn’t ignore how right it felt.
This woman — a woman, he reminded himself, whom he’d known for a couple of weeks — was starting to dominate his thoughts, even in his sleep. She was quickly getting underneath his skin, and, oddly enough, that didn’t terrify him as much as it should.
He should have been running from her as fast as he could, but instead, he found himself seeking her out, offering his help, and enjoying nothing more than her company. So far, all she’d allowed him to do was kiss her.
Hell, he hadn’t even managed to get the woman’s shirt off yet, and still, he felt content. He’d never worked so hard before to close a deal, and he’d certainly never enjoyed spending so much time in a woman’s presence.
In the past he’d grown bored after taking a woman out once or twice. Maybe his fascination with Kyla stemmed from the fact that he hadn’t bedded her yet. That had to be it. It really was time that he stop this juvenile madness. He had work to do. It was time to grow up.
But he hadn’t seen Kyla all day, and he missed her, missed her tremendously, missed her touch, her voice, her wit, her little jokes. So he found himself walking from his apartment and standing in front of her door.
Damn. More of her cookies and their heavenly smell. Was this planned? Did she know the way to his…stomach? His hand lifted, made a fist, and rapped on her door, almost against his will. He should go back home — sheesh, was he calling this place home now? — but…hell. He knew it was futile even to think that thought. He wanted to see her, wanted to pull her in close for another kiss — even if that’s all he was going to get from her.
“I missed you today,” he blurted out when her door opened and she appeared, looking scrumptious enough for him to take a bite.
Her hair was tied back, a few escaped tendrils lying softly against her face, and she had flour smeared across her nose and forehead. Wearing an apron that was also covered in flour and had the motto Cooks do it hotter, she looked better than if she’d been standing before him in the finest lingerie.
Yeah, he had it bad.
“Invite me in?”
She replied with a lift of her eyebrow and a slight smile on her lips as she waited for him to continue.
“I want to taste your…cookies,” he said with a wolfish smile.
Some women might have gotten huffy. Not her. Kyla laughed and, much to his surprise, opened her door wider so he could step through. That was another thing he loved about her, the fact that she could take what he dished out and even give it back most of the time.
“You look so pathetic standing there with drool on your chin; how could I possibly send you away without getting…a taste?”
His heart rate jumping up by at least fifty beats per minute, Tanner couldn’t stand it any longer. He cornered her in the kitchen and, without giving her time to resist, pulled her against him as he lowered his head. He had to have a mouthful before he died of hunger.
Kyla didn’t hesitate; she lifted her flour-covered hands and clasped his head, kissing him back with a hunger of her own. It was almost as if they were both breaking a long, torturous fast.
Driven almost mad with his desire for her, Tanner lifted her up and set her on the counter, his hips quickly seeking out relief between her thighs. He drew her forward and cradled her sweet, hot core between his legs. He leaned in, needing her to know how desperate he was for her, if she didn’t know already.
She tugged on his hair and pressed against him; both of them groaned as their tongues danced. Tanner ran his hand down her back, slipped his fingers beneath the hem of her shirt and moved it upward.
Silk.
That’s what her skin felt like — pure silk. He trailed his hand up, caressing the fine muscles of her back, splaying his fingers wide against her flesh. As she whimpered into his mouth, he leaned back just a bit and moved his hand around her rib cage, his thumb brushing the underside of her breast with his thumb.
Yes! Yessssss…
Without further hesitation, he cupped that luscious mound, feeling her soft skin through the tiny lace bra she was wearing.
Perfect.
She was absolutely perfect, fitting just right in the palm of his hand. He wanted the fabric out of his way, wanted to taste the sweet peaks of her breasts, needed her to be lying beneath him. He reached down, preparing to pull her shirt over her head, when a loud beeping startled him. Kyla edged away, staring at him sightlessly.
“I’m sorry. That got out of hand,” she whispered.
Tanner found himself leaning against the counter, his body throbbing as he looked at the space she’d been filling only moments before. Turning toward her, he saw her hands shaking as she pulled a hot pan from the oven and set it on the stovetop.
“Why don’t you just turn off the oven so we can continue what we started?” he said, coming up behind her and running his hands down her sides to rest on her hips.
She shuddered in his arms, then bent forward and gripped the front of the stove. Tanner took the opportunity to slide his mouth seductively down the curve of her neck.
“I can’t,” she said, wriggling out of his embrace and turning around to look at him.
“I don’t understand, Kyla.” He wasn’t going to let her off the hook without an explanation.
“I don’t want to have sex, Tanner.” She couldn’t be any clearer than that. “If you want to leave, I understand.”
At first, he had to contend with the slightest edge of irritation. She was lying. It was more than obvious that she did indeed want to have sex. Why was she fighting him so hard? It wasn’t as if either one of them was a virgin. When two people felt a mutual attraction, shouldn’t they just do what their bodies were meant to do? Get naked and get it on, right?
“Yes, you do,” he finally replied when the silence had stretched on for too long.
“No. I know you probably think I’m nothing but a tease, but I don’t want to have sex. I just…”
She trailed off as if she didn’t know what she wanted. But he wasn’t worried. He knew what she wanted. He could think for the both of them.
He leaned against her, taking her chin with his fingers and lifting her head so she was forced to look at him. “If you want to wait a while longer, I’ll wait.”
He was bowled over when those words exited his mouth. That hadn’t been what he’d intended to say. But when a shocked but grateful expression entered her eyes, he knew he’d said the right thing. He leaned down and kissed her chastely, and then backed up. He absolutely couldn’t keep touching her right now or he would quickly have her back up on the counter.
“I brought wine,” he said, going back to the door and grabbing the bottle he’d left just inside the door, where he’d hastily set the bottle his assistant had brought to him at his request.
Kyla looked a little unsure, but after a couple of seconds, she went to her cupboard and pulled out two glasses.
“I don’t have fancy wineglasses, but I’m sure it will taste the same no matter what we drink it from,” she said with a self-conscious giggle.
“Of course it will,” he said, though some experts claimed that the shape of the glass could influence wine’s flavor and aroma. No need to point that out. Could he taste or smell anything but her? Not bloody likely. So he poured the wine and asked, “What can I do to help?” He leaned against the counter as she began taking the cookies off the pan and setting them on wax paper.
“You can stay out of the way so I can finish up in here.”
“Have you forgotten that I’m a
master chef, Kyla?”
“I haven’t forgotten that, but this is my cooking time, and I don’t like to be shown up.”
With a grin, Tanner grabbed a couple of the cookies, taking a big bite from one and groaning his approval. “Oh, this is good,” he mumbled. Once he’d swallowed, he popped the rest of the cookie in his mouth.
He saw the delight in her eyes at his compliment, and though she scolded him, telling him to quit eating all the cookies, she put a glass of milk in front of him and said he needed it to wash them down. Cookies and wine just didn’t have the same flair.
“Who taught you how to bake?” he asked when his mouth was finally empty.
“My mother,” she said quietly, and her eyes drooped.
He shouldn’t, but he really wanted to know her full story, know what had happened a couple of years ago. Yes, he could look it up, find out the information from a second party, but that’s not what he wanted. He wanted her to tell him, to share with him. She’d given him only a small snippet so far.
“You know you can talk to me about it if you need to.”
“Why would you want to listen to my drama?” Kyla was trying to make a joke here, but it was falling flat.
“Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone you don’t know real well, someone who wasn’t there.”
“I may eventually take you up on that offer,” she said before pausing. “If you’re still around.”
She said that last part with a disappointment that lingered, and Tanner suddenly felt himself wanting to be around long enough for her to trust him.
But he wouldn’t be. They both knew that. Tanner wasn’t the type of man who stayed in the trenches too long. Yes, he’d had his moments in his life when he found himself among the masses, but those times didn’t last. There were a couple of kinds of people in this world, and he was certainly on the top of the list.
He didn’t know where Kyla stood. Yes, she was down and out right now, but he had a feeling it wasn’t a place she would stay too long, either. Did the two of them have more in common than he’d originally thought? She couldn’t have the kind of money and influence he had, even with all the billionaires now on the ground, but she could certainly be a powerhouse of her own. But what did all of that matter anyway? The rich bitches he’d known had been just that, really — bitches. Not that he was any prize when it came down to it.
Shaking off the mood-killing thoughts, he popped another cookie in his mouth.
“Let’s watch a movie,” he said as he watched her take out her last tray of goodies.
“A movie?”
“Haven’t I said this before? You really like repeating what I say, Kyla.” He chuckled, then stood up and moved over to her DVD stand.
“You just change subjects so quickly and so often that I’m trying to keep up,” she told him.
“I like to keep you off kilter. It’s fun.”
“That’s not very nice, Tanner,” she told him with a mock glare.
“Baby, I’m all kinds of fun,” he replied, snaking his arm around her and tugging her in close to his heated body.
“Tanner,” she said in a warning tone, but her breathing had already accelerated and he hadn’t even kissed her yet.
“I’ll break down your walls, sweetheart; you can trust me on that.” Tanner’s mouth moved dangerously close to hers. He felt immense satisfaction when her eyes widened. “But I’ll be good for now. Okay, not as good as I could be…”
With that, he released her and picked out a DVD, not even caring what it was as the two of them sat on her couch to watch the flick.
“This is my favorite one,” she said as It’s a Wonderful Life began playing.
He rolled his eyes. “I’ve never understood why everyone loves this movie so much. His life is completely destroyed.”
“That’s the point, Tanner. He has to see what effect taking his own life could have on those he loves. Before that happens, he can’t truly appreciate the good of what he is and what he does.”
Although he disagreed with her interpretation and still hated the film, Tanner shut up and watched the movie with her. As it continued to play, he scooted closer and closer to her on the couch, draped his arm around her, and began stroking her neck. But he kept his eyes focused on the TV.
She was a bit stiff at first, but she soon relaxed, raising her hand to rest on his chest. Then she snuggled closer and sighed at parts of the movie she particularly liked.
When the movie ended, Tanner looked down and noticed that she was so relaxed, in fact, that she’d fallen asleep in his arms. Carefully cradling her to him, he lifted her up and proceeded down the short hallway to what was obviously her bedroom.
He managed to pull back a handmade quilt while still holding her, and then laid her down on the soft sheets. After covering her up, he stared down at her face, so beautiful and at peace.
Turning and walking away – God, it was hard — he switched off her lights and made sure her front door was locked. Now this was frightening. In less than three weeks, this woman had become more than just a conquest to him.
The question was, what did he want to do about that?
When he stepped back inside his apartment, feeling pretty great, if still confused, his foot suddenly slipped out from beneath him and he went flying into the air, a resounding oof coming from his lungs as he landed hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Once he caught his breath, he realized he was flat on his back and in at least two inches of water. If he’d been paying attention, he would have noticed the water leaking out into the hallway.
Jumping up and feeling a nasty ache run down his back, he sloshed his way through the water and made it into his kitchen, where he could hear the distinct sound of gushing. When he opened the cupboard below the sink, he was immediately sprayed in the face. He jumped back and found himself staring at a burst pipe.
He was drenched by the time he located the shutoff valve, and the language he was using about this building and all its problems wouldn’t have gone over well with the cute little kiddies at the mall. This was hell, pure damnation, and suddenly the rest of his sentence in this building seemed like it would stretch an eternity.
He snatched up his phone and woke his assistant up to demand that a plumber be sent over right freaking now. This was going to cost him a fortune. Because of the judge’s orders, now that he had to repair the pipes in his own worthless apartment, it looked as if the entire building would be getting new ones too.
When he called the police to explain that he needed to change apartments, they were less than sympathetic, offering to bring him a pair of hip waders. After slamming down the phone, Tanner sloshed to his bedroom, his good mood long forgotten as he prepared himself for a “holiday” week without even a remote chance of comfort or joy.
Chapter Sixteen
Are you freaking kidding me?”
With the light from his phone, Tanner had finally found a flashlight, and he flipped it on. Then he went back to cursing into his cell. He was barely able to hear the voice on the other end past the rushing sound in his ears; it was born of pure fury. “What do you mean, there’s nothing you can do? If I say get down here, I mean it!”
The person at the other end of the line continued speaking but was absolutely no help whatsoever. Slamming the phone’s End button as hard as he could, Tanner dropped the device on the counter and ran his hand through his hair.
“How in the hell does anyone tolerate this damn building?” he shouted into the air. Yes, he knew he sounded like a crazy person, but if it wasn’t one problem then it was another. His pipes had burst, mice ran around rampant, and now the damn electricity was out.
The guy said it was most likely a breaker, that too many circuits were being used now that the heating was back on. They couldn’t come in until the next day. Of course they couldn’t. And it was going to be a major expense, another one, to update the wiring of the building and bring the electrical boxes up to code.
Why did he give a flying
whatever? He should just let the tenants live in darkness. Then maybe they’d take a hint at long last and finally leave so he could hire that bulldozer to come in. At this point, he would sit on the ball while it smashed through the walls. The injuries to his body would be worth it — he’d be feeling the damn building crumble beneath his feet.
“Tanner?”
Stopping his pacing, he shined his light over toward his front door, where Kyla was standing, shifting on her feet and looking nervous.
“What?” he growled, and when she flinched, he felt immediately ashamed of himself. “I’m sorry, Kyla. I’m just frustrated.”
“It’s okay,” she told him as she stepped inside. “I knocked, but I don’t think you heard, so I tried the knob and it was open and…” She was fighting to control her voice. “It’s just that the dark sort of freaks me out.”
“What? It’s the same place, just a little…darker. And anyway, you have a flashlight, too.” He moved toward her now, until they were standing right there together, facing each other.
“I know that logically, Tanner, but it doesn’t help much. I don’t like not being able to see who or what is around — me except for in this stupid, narrow beam of light.”
“In this damn place, who knows what that might be?” he said without thinking, and he felt the shudder pass through her body. “Sorry,” he said again, and this time he was mumbling.
“No. It’s true. Bad things can happen in the dark,” she said, edging a couple of inches closer. She was practically pressed against him now.
His bad mood quickly deflated. How could he be angry when her warm body was next to his?
“I know the breaker box is in the basement, Tanner. I…uh…just don’t want to go down there by myself. I mean, someone else might be thinking the same thing, but then again, everyone might be thinking everyone else is going to go down there.” That rush of words was almost amusing.