I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t say we didn’t do other things, but we didn’t do that.”
“What other things?” A wide smile broke out across her face as she smacked my arm. “Tell me. Tell me now.”
“Stuff. Things. Use your imagination.”
She folded her arms and waited. “My imagination sucks. I need help.”
I glanced at the stairwell. “It involved his hands and my mouth. How about that?”
“Oh!” she chirped. “You dirty girl. He’s a dirty boy. You all are getting dirty together.”
“Oh my God,” I moaned, tucking a stray curl back. “You shouldn’t be talking. I know the dirty things you and Kyler do.”
“Hells yeah,” she replied, giggling. “The things we did last night were pretty freaky. Loved every second of it.”
I simply stared at her.
She tilted her head back and laughed, and I shook my head. “We spent most of the time just hanging out, to be honest,” I admitted after a moment. “It was really nice.”
“I’m sure it was.” Sincerity filled her words. “Tanner is a really good guy and you’re awesome. So it had to be nice.”
I wanted to deny that last part. Tanner was an awesome guy, and I was…well, I wasn’t sure what I was on most days.
“You two have always been circling one another,” she continued, drawing my focus. “It’s about time that you let go of what happened freshman year and he recognizes what’s been in front of his face a lot longer than he even realized.”
My heart stuttered and then sped up. I thought about the way he’d looked at me last night. “I don’t know, Syd. I’m…” I was afraid to open myself up, to expose myself to all that hope.
She touched my arm. “Just don’t stress out about it, okay? And if you feel up to it, give it a chance. Give it one shot. Use your time alone with him and see what happens. Kyler and I aren’t planning to come back until tomorrow evening. You two will have all day today and tomorrow.”
Understanding seeped in. “You guys are going camping because of us—”
“We’re going camping because we want to.” Her sly grin said otherwise. Footsteps sounded from above, nearing the stairs. She hopped off the stool and then leaned in, kissing my cheek. “Have fun.”
I said nothing as she danced off toward the stairway. Sitting there, I stared into my mug as my pulse began to race. Sweat dotted my palms, but I regulated my breathing, taking deep breaths before the overwhelmed feeling could take hold and spread like a virus.
When I heard Kyler’s deep voice, I looked up and closed my eyes. In a lot of ways, I was a coward. And I didn’t like that about myself. Not at all, but it was scary—the idea of giving us a chance when I wasn’t even sure Tanner would be on board.
But there’d been last night, and there’d been the time in the pool. He had said it meant something to him, and maybe…I wasn’t seeing what I thought I saw in the way he looked at me. Maybe I was reading too much into that and not enough into what he was actually saying. I opened my eyes, I decided that I could at least try.
I would try.
Tanner
I normally wasn’t a suspicious man, but I had this distinct feeling that Kyler and Sydney’s impromptu camping trip reeked of a hidden agenda. With them gone, Andrea and I had the whole place to ourselves.
And I totally wasn’t complaining.
When we got back to Maryland, I was going to buy Kyler a drink, or maybe one for Sydney—for whichever was the mind behind their deviously brilliant plan.
The two of them had left about three hours ago, and I was still giving Andrea some space. She was downstairs for the most part, at least not hiding, and neither was I. I’d plopped myself in the living room and had been flipping channels for a while when she reappeared in the room.
My thumb paused over the remote as I glanced over at her. Her red hair was pulled up in some kind of twist so there was no hiding the pretty flush creeping across her cheeks.
Fingers clasped together in front of her, she shifted her weight from one foot to the next. The skirt of her lavender dress swung just above her knees. She was barefoot, and I noticed that the paint on her nails was a different color than before. They were now a pale blue.
I had never, in my entire life, noticed a chick’s toenail polish until now.
“I was going to go outside.” Her gaze met mine and then flickered away. “I wanted to see if you wanted to, um, to join me?”
What I wanted to do was jump to my feet and thrust my fist into the air, but I managed to calmly turn off the TV, place the remote on the couch, and stand. “Yeah. I can do that.”
Her smile was quick, but beautiful nonetheless. As she turned around and walked toward the glass doors, I trailed after her, wanting to start spewing poetry and shit. Rubbing a hand along my jaw, I shook my head as we stepped outside. She went to the side of the pool, sitting down and dipping her feet into the water. The rain last night had raised the levels, and the water nearly reached the edge.
Following her, I rolled up the legs of my jeans and did the same. Since the storm yesterday, the temps had dropped. While it was still warm, it was bearable—we could sit outside and not have sweat pooling in uncomfortable places.
Andrea stared at the slowly rippling water. “So…when you leave for the police academy, how long will you be gone?”
The question caught me off-guard, because I was surprised and glad that she wanted to know, but I recovered quickly. “It’s about six months.”
She glanced at me quickly, eyes wide. “That long?”
I nodded. “But we do get time off. We can leave after a little while, and people can visit us on assigned days. It’s not like no contact for six months.” At first I wasn’t sure why I was telling her all of that, but then I realized I wanted her to know that I’d be around, available. For her. “So, I’ll still be around.”
Andrea seemed to mull that over. “Are you excited?”
“Yeah,” I admitted, splashing my feet. “It feels like I’ve been working toward it since forever.”
“You don’t have to go to college to enter the academy, right?”
I shook my head. “No, but it gave me a foot up on those who didn’t. Plus, having a degree in criminal justice and having experience on a police force will allow me to move more easily into federal positions.”
“That’s what you want to do? Federal law enforcement?”
“Eventually,” I nudged her with my arm and grinned. “Because while I know I’ll look damn good in a police uniform, just imagine what I’d look like in a suit.”
Andrea tipped her head back and laughed. “I can second that.”
“Damn straight.”
Smiling, she paddled her feet in the water. “When you end up pulling girls over, they’re going to willingly accept whatever ticket you’re giving them.”
I chuckled, admittedly basking in the compliments she was paying me. Fuck. I was ready to roll on my back and let her rub my stomach.
“It’s so dangerous, though. The job.” She started to toy with the hem of her skirt. “Does that scare you?”
I thought about that for a moment. “I think I’d be stupid or reckless to say that it’s not scary. I think there’s a healthy level of fear. It keeps you on your toes.”
She nodded slowly. “That’s an interesting way to think of it.”
“What about you?” I asked. “You have to be terrified, too.”
Her lips turned down at the corners. “How so?”
“You’re going to be working with kids,” I explained. “Nothing more terrifying than that.”
Andrea giggled. “But you know what? I don’t have to take those kids home with me.”
“And I won’t take the job home with me,” I admitted, meeting her gaze and holding it. “It’ll be hard, but I refuse to do that shit.”
She didn’t look away. “Did…did your dad do that?”
I raised a shoulder. “I don’t think he knew how to separate
the two, but that was the least of his fuck-ups.”
“Do you have any contact with him?” she asked.
“Not really. I’m cool with that, though. I still see my mom.” I leaned back, resting on my elbows. “What about you? Are you close to your parents? You’ve never really said before.”
“I am. We get together every other Sunday for dinner. All of us. Mom likes to cook, so it’s a grand affair for her.” A loose curl blew across her cheek. “I kind of look forward to it.”
My gaze traveled across her face. “That’s good.” Sitting up, I reached over and caught the curl with my fingers. She stilled as I tucked it back behind her ear. Her wide eyes latched onto mine. “Your brother, if I remember correctly, isn’t a redhead. How about your parents?”
“My mom is,” she answered, swallowing. “My dad has brown hair and blue eyes. Brody takes after him.”
The tips of my fingers had minds of their own. They trailed down the smooth curve of her cheekbone. “So you take after your mom?”
Her lips parted. “Yes.”
“Then she must be beautiful.”
The hue of Andrea’s eyes deepened. “You know what?”
“What?” I grinned as my finger reached the corner of her lips.
“You can be a real charmer when you want to be.”
“And I want to be.” Leaning toward her, I replaced my finger with my lips, kissing the corner of hers. “With you.”
Andrea pulled back slightly, ducking her chin as she peered up at me through thick lashes. “I don’t know what to do…with you.”
I didn’t let her get very far. Curling my hand around the nape of her neck, I brought our foreheads together. “Yeah, you do, Andy. Just do whatever you want.”
Her eyes squeezed shut. “What I mean is, I don’t know how to do this with you.”
My heart thumped heavily. “You’re doing just fine.” I paused. “Most of the time.”
The corners of her lips quirked up. “Yeah, maybe about fifty percent of the time.”
Placing my other hand on her cheek, I smoothed my thumb along her jaw. With Andrea, I never really knew where I stood with her. One minute, she was sweet as sugar to me. The next, she had a bite more venomous than a copperhead. But I had great instincts. Always have. I knew she liked me, and I had a feeling that like ran deeper than friendship or lust. I was going to have to be the one to take the first step, to really put it out there so there was no mistaking what I wanted or expected from this.
I pulled back just a little, cupping both sides of her face. “When we leave this cabin at the end of the week, I want to see you.”
Her lashes fluttered up. “We’ll see each other.”
I grinned. “I know, but that’s not what I mean. I want to see you, Andrea. You get what I’m saying?”
Andrea’s gaze searched mine, and I was seriously hoping I wasn’t going to have to write it down. Like those notes back in grade school—Do you like me? Circle yes or no. But then she drew in a deep breath and said, “I get what you’re saying.”
Thank God. “So, what’s your answer?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I want to see you, Tanner.”
Chapter 13
Andrea
“You’re not paying attention at all.”
Fighting a grin, I denied the truth. “I am totally paying attention.”
“Liar.”
I was a total liar, and I barely smothered a giggle as I refocused my attention on the movie Tanner had found after dinner in the stash inside the cabinet. All I knew was it was a Transformers movie, but I had yet to see a Dinobot.
Today had been one of the most…chill days I’d had in a long time. After our talk by the pool, when I thought I could float right up to the sun, we’d hung out there for a few hours, talking about nothing in particular until we were both starving. Yeah, we’d picked at each other, but it was teasing instead of fighting or being mean. It was almost like we were together, like really together. And it had been years since I’d felt that way.
At some point, around five minutes after the movie had started, Tanner had gotten hold of my legs and placed them in his lap. And that was pretty much at the point where I’d gotten distracted. It wasn’t my fault.
Totally all Tanner’s fault.
He started off with his arms folded across his chest, not touching my legs while I rested against a pillow I’d shoved between my back and the arm of the couch. But then his hands had dropped to my ankles and I’d jumped a little at the contact. All he’d done was cast a sly grin in my direction, and my tummy had tumbled a bit. His fingers had curled loosely around my ankles at first, and as I pretended to pay attention to the movie, he pretended not to be doing anything.
I bit down on my lip when his thumbs started to move in slow circles around my ankles, and I almost tasted blood when one of his hands traveled up my calf. Those fingers worked deftly, easing the tension out of my muscles, but creating a whole different kind of tautness throughout the rest of me. When he reached the sensitive spot behind my knee, I swallowed a moan that would’ve embarrassed me.
Each pass of his fingers, each touch sent waves of heat licking up my leg. Blood simmered in my veins as I desperately tried to curb my body’s reaction. There was really no point, though. By the time his hand had reached the inside of my knee, I was having trouble sitting still and not squirming.
Tanner’s gaze was fastened on the many explosions occurring on the TV, and it almost seemed like he had no idea what he was doing to me, but I doubted his innocence and I also doubted how I’d be able to successfully pretend I wasn’t affected.
But the most amazing thing that was happening had nothing to do with the pleasure he was slowly creating inside me, but everything to do with the fact I was even sitting there. I was trying, like I’d said I would, and I wasn’t letting my head get in the way or allowing all the self-doubt to pile up on me. I was just there—right there and no place else, and I wasn’t letting myself go anywhere else. And there were no outside influences. Well, other than the rather major influence Tanner was turning out to be.
His hand reached the spot where my legs were pressed together, and I swore my heart skipped a beat as I stared at where his hand rested. Slowly, I lifted my gaze. He was no longer paying attention to the movie. Our eyes locked, and even in the low light of the living room, those bedroom eyes of his were full of heat.
I caught my lower lip between my teeth as I opened my legs to his wandering hand. One side of his lips tipped up in response. He didn’t look away as he slid his hand further up, the tips of his fingers nearly reaching the sensitive crevice near the apex of my thighs.
My heart was pounding as his hand moved underneath the skirt of my dress. I could barely catch my breath as he turned his attention back to the movie. I was completely lost, though. No pretending. My eyes drifted closed and then my head fell back against the thick cushion. His touch was featherlight against the inside of my thigh, but it was still driving me crazy. With each pass of his fingers, he came dangerously close to my center. He never quite reached there, and it was the sweetest kind of torture. A tingling warmth invaded me, quickening my breaths. He touched, he explored and caressed all without touching me there, but my desire was ramped up. A fine tremor danced over my skin. I wanted him, needed him to touch me where I ached.
Unsure of how much time had passed, I opened my eyes and found him watching me. For a moment, I couldn’t move, couldn’t even drag in a deep enough breath. Then I was moving without thinking, and there was something beautiful in that, the freedom.
I shifted onto my knees, and Tanner must’ve been thinking along the same lines, because he gripped my hips and hauled me into his lap. A heartbeat passed before our mouths came together, and there was no slow seduction in that moment.
We devoured each other, and when I pressed down, I felt how affected he was. He might’ve looked like he’d been paying attention to the TV, but he’d been focused on what he was doing.
&nbs
p; His hands slid down my hips, under my skirt. The rasp of his calloused palms over my skin was probably one of the most sensual things I’d ever felt. “I was wondering how long it would take you,” he said, his lips brushing mine. “I was starting to get disappointed over here.”
I laughed softly, but it ended in a moan when he raised his hips against mine. I clasped his cheeks, loving the way the bristle along his jaw tickled my palms. “You were driving me crazy.”
“Were?”
I kissed him. “Are.”
“That sounds better.” His hands smoothed over my bottom and squeezed, causing knots to form low in my belly.
My body rocked against his as he broke free from the kiss and blazed a path down my throat. His hands moved deftly, sliding back down my legs, and then they were at the top of my dress. Before I could take my next breath, he’d tugged the top part down, exposing me.
The dress had one of those built-in bras, so now there was nothing between me and his hungry gaze. I cried out, my head falling back as his mouth found the way to the tip of my breast. He licked and nipped as he teased and taunted me.
There was another explosion on the TV, and I was close to exploding myself. He sucked greedily once his mouth clasped down, and a riot of sensations floored me. I moved on him, riding him in a way that made me wish there were no clothes separating us.
One of his hands—I couldn’t keep track of which one—made its way under my dress again, and I really loved where it was heading. His fingers slipped under the band of my panties, toyed there for a few moments, and then slipped out. I didn’t have a chance to be disappointed, because the next thing I knew, I was on my back on the couch and his hands were on my knees.
“I want to taste you,” he said, voice rough, and I shivered.
My mouth dried, and there was no mistaking what he meant when he said that. I didn’t protest when he eased my knees apart. This was so intimate, almost too intimate. Air lodged in my throat, and I fought against the urge to close my legs.
Thick lashes lifted as his eyes met mine. “You want this?”
Nervous and excited, I could barely get the word out. “Yes.”
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