She narrowed her gaze, hating that he was right. She was an independent woman who’d been taking care of herself for longer than most people. She held a difficult job that often came with risks. And she’d never been afraid. Until now.
Tanner lowered himself into the seat beside her, moving in closer, bracketing her with his body heat. “I’m going to repeat, you don’t know who you’re dealing with. We do. I already blame myself for not protecting Levi. I couldn’t handle it if anything happened to you because of me.”
She might have been able to fight the first part of his statement. Every defendant she dealt with was dangerous given the right circumstances. But she couldn’t handle the second part of his pronouncement. The emotional part. The self-recrimination and blame he felt were something she understood. She felt them about her brother. The inability to protect the person she loved.
But Tanner didn’t love her. They weren’t even close to being a couple. So why did he feel so protective of her? And why did she feel the same way about him and want to do as he asked so he didn’t punish himself for things that weren’t his fault?
But to move in with him? She glanced at Faith. “How did you do it? How did you just–”
“Move in with a man I didn’t know?” Faith grinned. “Something about him was trustworthy. And he didn’t give me a choice.” She looked at Jason like he was everything she needed in her life.
And a part of Scarlett she hadn’t known existed twisted with jealousy. Not over Jason but over the fact that Faith had someone in her life who meant so much to her … and that she reciprocated those feelings.
Scarlett turned to Tanner and her stomach twisted with an emotion she was too afraid to dissect. “You really think Victor is after me?”
“I know I don’t trust him not to hurt you to get to me. Or to us.” Tanner’s gaze encompassed his partners. “I have no idea what’s going on in that sadistic brain of his.”
“I’m going back to watching Faith twenty-four seven,” Jason said. “If that makes you feel any better.”
Faith grinned when she looked at Jason. “I like you watching my body twenty-four seven.”
He slid a hand up the back of her shirt. “It’s certainly not a hardship, sweetness.”
“Oh, Jesus.” Landon rolled his eyes.
Chuckling, Tanner looked at Scarlett. “So what’s it going to be? I have a house in Queens.”
She blinked in surprise. “A house?”
“Yeah. He didn’t want to be confined in an apartment,” Landon said before Tanner could explain.
“Fuck,” Tanner muttered. “I spent some time behind bars. It was enough for me. I wanted space. So sue me.”
Her heart squeezed inside her chest. Moving in with him seemed extreme … and yet when she thought about Victor’s cold eyes, maybe not. From the moment Tanner had been honest with her about his past, she hadn’t had a chance to truly process her feelings for him. Instead she’d had one hit after another, from Victor being the one who threatened her to the menacing note sent to her office to moving in with him now.
Scarlett prided herself on being rational, and given that fact, she realized Tanner was a good man who’d overcome his past. And that meant he deserved a second chance. And he obviously wanted to take care of her now.
“I have to be at the office on time every morning.” It was her way of letting him know she was agreeing to his demand.
He released a relieved breath. “You will be,” he promised.
“And how long will this be for?” She curled her hand around her purse.
The men glanced at each other.
“Until we find proof against Vic and get him behind bars. We have a private investigator working on it.” Tanner met her gaze, gratitude filling his expression.
He really was worried about her, she realized, her heart softening toward him even more. That same heart told her that when it came to this man, she was in a lot of trouble.
Chapter Eight
After the meeting, Tanner took Scarlett in his Range Rover to her apartment to pack her things. Rain came down heavily as he drove, requiring his concentration. She was silent, so he left her to her thoughts, knowing he’d sprung the move on her and she was coming, if not under duress, then somewhat hesitantly.
He approached the street, taking in the neighborhood as he always did, with a sense of pleasure and pride. He had always wanted a place of his own. A home, not an apartment that felt temporary. Once he and the guys opened the club and the business took off, he felt comfortable investing in a piece of property. Unlike his friends, who had apartments in Manhattan, he wanted to look outside and see green grass. Trees.
And thanks to the apartment above the club, he’d never had to bring a woman home to intrude on his solitude and private space. Which had worked for him until he’d laid eyes on Scarlett. To his shock and surprise, he’d been wanting to show her his house. To have her in his home, so her scent lingered and he could envision her there even when she wasn’t around.
As he pulled up to the house, he realized he cared what she thought of this place he loved. It was a classic Tudor-style home on one third of an acre in Forest Hills Gardens, and he took satisfaction in the manicured gardens he paid a fortune to keep up.
“This is it.” As he approached the house, Scarlett pushed herself upright in her seat, focusing on the Tudor in front of her.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said as he turned into the long driveway. “I have to admit I never pictured you in a neighborhood.”
Hand on the steering wheel, he turned his head and met her gaze. “I hope I continue to surprise you in all the best ways,” he said with a wink.
She blew out a breath. “If all but demanding I move in with you is your idea of a good surprise, I can’t imagine what’s next.”
He chuckled under his breath. “I merely encouraged you.”
“By using emotional blackmail.”
I already blame myself for not protecting Levi. I couldn’t handle it if anything happened to you because of me.
He didn’t bother denying it. Instead he shrugged. “Every word was true. And it worked.” This way he knew she was safe under his roof and with him when she wasn’t at work.
He pulled into the garage and put the SUV in park. “Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour.”
“Looking forward to it.” She hopped out of her side, and he grabbed her suitcase and carried it into the house, leaving it by the main-floor stairway.
He showed her around the bottom floor. An arched doorway led to a main entry with the original hardwood floors. “This is the living room.” He gestured to a large room that opened to a banquet-sized dining room. “Dining room. Which obviously never gets used…” He grinned and cast a glance her way.
Her eyes were wide. “I love the warmth of the house and the wood accents. And the neutral colors with pops of burgundy? It’s beautiful.”
“Decorator,” he admitted as they stepped into a breakfast room and beyond was the French-style kitchen. “It was recently renovated when I bought it, so I left this room alone.”
“Good call.” She smiled. “I am not a cook but someone who is would love to work in there.”
“Takeout tastes just as good as homemade food in my book,” he assured her. He wasn’t throwing her out of his life because she didn’t prepare meals. So far she seemed to have forgiven his past, though they hadn’t had a deep conversation about it yet either. His status was still tenuous.
As they walked through the rest of the downstairs, a library he’d turned into a man-cave and the big den with a huge-screen television, her compliments continued, which pleased him. He didn’t understand the warmth in his chest or why he cared. He’d gone all his life without approval from his father, the people who should have given it unconditionally, but what this woman thought meant something to him.
“The master is on the top floor and there are three rooms on the second level.” He turned by her suitcase and she stopped short, very litt
le space between them. “The question is do you want to sleep alone? Or with me?”
Her luscious lips parted in surprise.
“Are you still unsure about me?” He leaned against the bannister, eyes focused on her. And if his desire was evident by the tenting in his pants and the pounding of his heart, hers was visible in the way she looked at him, her darkened irises and intent expression.
“No. I’m not unsure.”
At her words, relief spread through him.
“Everyone has a past and I can see that you’ve overcome yours.” Her gaze warmed along with her words and he moved in closer.
“Do you trust me enough to give us a try?” When she didn’t answer immediately, he swept a finger over her parted lips. “You have to admit this takes care of your ‘no time for anything but work’ problem. We’ll be together before and after hours.”
“Don’t you have work?” She raised an eyebrow. “Work that involves you spending evenings at the club?”
“I would if something else didn’t take priority. Like your safety. I have partners who are more than willing to step in. I did it for Jason when he needed to be with Faith.”
She darted her tongue out and licked his finger, his cock perking up at the not-so-innocent gesture. “You’re making it very difficult to say no to you.”
“Only because I’m so tempting,” he said with a grin. “And because our first couple of times were so hot you’re dying for a repeat performance.”
She smiled, clearly having relaxed around him. “Someone’s getting cocky.”
“Because someone’s not saying no.”
She stepped forward and laced her arms around his neck, pulling him close until his erection rubbed against her. “That’s because you’re a hard man to turn down, Mr. Grayson.”
He grinned and lifted her into his arms.
“Tanner! What are you doing?” she squealed holding on to his neck.
“Settling you in my room,” he said as he started up the stairs. “I’ll come back for your bag.” Right now he wanted to focus on getting her into his bed.
Once in his room, he deposited her on the mattress with a bounce and she grinned. Climbing to her knees, she pushed herself to the edge of the bed and grabbed his jeans, popping them open and unzipping his fly.
He stilled as she proceeded to wriggle his pants down over his hips and thighs, taking his boxer briefs along with them, freeing his cock. He was so fucking hard, pre-come seeped from the head.
“Come lie down,” she said, gripping him in her fist and pumping her hand up and down, causing him to groan.
But she scooted backwards and he did as she said, stretching himself out on the bed. “You’re going to kill me before we get started.”
“You’ll enjoy it though.” She bent her head and licked his shaft and an electric current seemed to run through him as his body jerked at her wet touch. Then she opened her mouth and took him inside.
He slid his hands into her hair, doing his best to watch her sexy lips moving over his dick. He wrapped the long strands around his hand and tugged as she sucked him deep into her mouth. The suction felt so good his eyes nearly rolled back in his head, and he closed them, giving himself over to her sexy ministrations. But he couldn’t stop his hips from bucking, pushing himself deeper into her mouth with every pass.
Heaven couldn’t come close to what he was experiencing now. As one of her hands ran up and down his cock, her mouth followed. His dick was bathed in warm, wet heat and pulsing waves of desire washed over him. This might as well have been the first blow job he’d ever had the way his body was reacting so quickly. For damn sure it was the best, and he knew it was because it was Scarlett’s lips sucking him deep. Nothing had ever felt as good.
He was lost in sensation, aware of only the pulsing in his dick that told him he was seconds away from coming. His balls drew up and his spine tingled, both warning signs. This time he tugged at her hair for a different reason, to warn her. But instead of releasing him, she hollowed her cheeks and sucked him harder and faster until his climax hit with unreal force as pleasure rocked him to his core. And she kept up with him, swallowing as his orgasm peaked and finally ended, leaving him wrecked in the best possible way.
He released his tight hold on her hair and ran his fingers through the strands as she lifted her head and met his gaze, a satisfied smile on her wet, swollen lips.
“C’mere,” he said in a gruff voice.
She scooted up into the crook of his arm and he pulled her up and kissed her, tasting himself as he thrust his tongue into her eager mouth. Gratitude felt stupid but that’s what he was. Grateful for what she’d given him. She’d showed him that she accepted him, all of him, who he’d been and who he was now.
He pulled back, meeting her gaze. “That was fucking amazing.”
“It was, wasn’t it?” She grinned.
“Someone’s pleased with herself.”
She laughed, then pushed herself up to a sitting position and began to strip out of her clothes. She lifted her camisole off and tossed it to the floor. Her lacy bra followed.
And though she reached for the button on the back of her skirt, he sidetracked her, sitting up and capturing one nipple between his teeth.
“Aaah.” She moaned as he tugged, then pulled that same tight bud into his mouth and licked, nibbled, and lapped at her until her hips were making unwitting circular motions, desire getting the best of her.
He gripped her waist, holding her still as he switched to the other side and gave it equal sensual treatment. As he devoured her breasts, he reached around and unzipped her skirt, which pooled around her knees. He released her nipple with a pop, then helped her out of the rest of her clothes, lay down on the bed, looked at her beautifully naked body.
“Straddle me,” he said, eager to get a taste of her. Frankly he wanted to fuck her, but even he needed a few minutes to catch his breath.
She placed her legs on either side of his waist and he chuckled. “Not what I meant, sweetheart,” he said and crooked his finger toward her.
Eyes opened wide, she shimmied upward, sliding forward as he continued to coax her farther until she was positioned where he wanted her, over his mouth. Grasping her thighs, he urged her to lower herself and she did, so he could swipe his tongue over her sex. Her taste turned him on and he felt the tingling in his cock. Yeah, he’d be ready in no time. Meanwhile, he was going to take her on a ride.
He slid his tongue over her again and she moaned and gave in, dropping her body lower so he could devour her. And he did. As he licked, sucked, and slid his tongue over and around, she rocked herself against him, grinding her sweet pussy against his mouth. She must have been primed and ready because it didn’t take long before he recognized the telltale signs she was close.
Her body trembled, a low, throaty groan echoed around him, and she shook as he stiffened his tongue and thrust inside her. She cried out, her body tightened, and her inner muscles contracted around him as she came, her soft cries of pleasure combined with calling his name.
He waited until she’d ridden out her climax, then lifted her up and off him and rolled her to her back, coming over her, his cock stiff and aching. Unable to wait another second, he slid into her, her wetness making it a smooth glide as he entered her completely.
The second he was inside her, he knew. From the intimacy of bare skin to bare skin to the incredible way she felt around him… “Fuck. Condom.” He immediately pulled out, cursing himself. He never screwed around without one.
Not that anything he felt for Scarlett was remotely like the cold, distant sex he’d grown used to before her.
“Come back. I’m on the pill,” she said, moaning at the loss.
He met her gaze and something warm and wonderful passed between them. “I’m clean. I’ve been tested since the last time I… Well, I just know I’m safe. But are you sure?” Because he knew from that one pass inside her, sex without a barrier between them meant more.
She threade
d her fingers through his hair and nodded. “I’m sure.”
He pushed back into her, taking his time. Now that he was aware, he wanted to savor every second of this first time. And it really did feel different. Her inner walls clasped him tight and he groaned.
“Fuck, Scarlett, you feel like heaven.” He raised his hips and pulled out before gliding home again.
Her eyes glazed over. “Do that again,” she said in a sexy, husky voice.
Bracing his hands beside her, he slid out and in, her heady moan not only encouraging him to keep up the motion but arousing him to the point of desperation. He began to thrust into her, over and over, a constant arch of his back and slam of his hips.
She raised her legs and hooked them around his back, the position enabling him to take her harder and deeper with each pass. She was with him every step of the way, her body in sync with his, her slick wetness coating his cock.
He’d never felt emotion during sex. Hell, he didn’t think he’d ever felt anything like this before in his life. This woman had a vise-like grip on his heart as strong as the one she currently had on his dick. Which meant she had the power to break him, he thought.
Before he could panic over that, she began to shake around him, her climax sudden and clearly huge. He let her ride out the waves before giving in to his own, the rush of feeling that poured through him in that moment overwhelming.
* * *
The next morning, Scarlett and Tanner showered separately, agreeing that if they walked into the room together, she’d never get to work on time. Because she’d already been up all night having the best sex of her life.
It had been more than just sex, she thought, as she stepped into the steaming shower and began to wash, using his masculine-smelling soap. She mentally tacked a trip to the store to buy her own brand of products onto her to-do list because she couldn’t go around smelling like Tanner. As much as she liked being wrapped in his familiar, musky scent.
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