by Joss Wood
Yeah, this...
He didn’t understand dresses or vintage or ballet or why she was back in his life, but he didn’t care. This he understood.
Levi’s brain shut down when their mouths crashed and clashed. He tasted the flavor of her lip balm and swallowed her tiny moan when his tongue twisted around hers. Needing to feel her, he dropped his crutches and then his free hand was on her back, covering a good portion of her creamy, exposed skin. He danced his fingers up and down her spine, pushing under the fabric to palm her butt cheek.
God, he loved this dress.
Tanna pressed closer to him and he relished the feel of her, chest to thigh. She was a fragrant armful, a taste of heaven, the temptation of sin. Her lips were soft, her smell divine, her ability to make him as hard as titanium was a revelation.
He needed her, he wanted her...now. In this room, surrounded by mirrors where he felt overwhelmed by her, but in the best way possible.
Levi, reluctantly, pulled his mouth off hers and his hand from out of the band of the skirt. He cupped her face with both hands, his thumbs tracing the ridges of her cheekbones.
She offered him a tremulous smile. “I take it you like the dress?”
“I do.” He pulled the words up, wanting to reassure her. “You’re naturally stunning, Murphy. You don’t need a fancy dress to look great.”
The smile grew bigger and brighter, and Levi’s chest tightened.
“Trust me on this, you can pull off the dress, Tanna.” He sighed and rested his forehead on hers. “It feels like I’ve been fighting the urge to rip the clothes off you since we stepped into this house.” Another sigh. “That’s a lie. I’ve wanted to strip you down since you walked back into my life a couple weeks ago... It has been two weeks, right?”
So much had happened and it felt like the weeks had been condensed into thirty-six hours.
Tanna’s green eyes turned wicked and her mouth curved sensuously. “I’ll make you a deal...”
Oh, God, his brain didn’t have enough red blood cells to negotiate with this sharp-brained Murphy. He was probably about to be fleeced but he’d seen Tanna in this dress, kissed the hell out of her and could die a happy man.
“I strip for you—no ripping because this dress is, after all, couture—and then you can do whatever the hell you want with me.”
Holy hell.
* * *
Levi watched as Tanna carefully removed the ivory-colored dress, revealing her wonderful skin inch by inch. The silky fabric fell down her chest and he saw, for the first time, her beautiful breasts, her taut nipples a deep, dark, rich pink, touched with spice. The fabric skimmed slim hips and as Tanna stepped out of the skirt, he noticed she was wearing a black thong. His eyes skittered over her hip and his thumb traced the long, wide scar.
“It’s so ugly,” Tanna whispered.
Levi shook his head. “It’s your survival badge, baby.”
Tanna gave him a grateful smile. Gripping the barre behind him, Levi watched through slitted eyes as Tanna draped the dress over the barre next to them before coming to stand in front of him, her hands on his hips. She stared up, and up, into his eyes and it took everything Levi had not to drag her into him, to take control of what was about to happen.
Because this had to be her decision, every step of the way.
“Do you know how often I’ve thought of this over the years?” she asked him, her voice, low and sensuous, sliding over him. Not as often, surely, as he had.
“I deeply regret not making love to you, Levi,” Tanna said, her voice husky. “I need to know if the reality is as good as my imagination.”
He did too.
Tanna played with the buttons on his shirt and he wished she’d get on with it and rip it off him. “Can I make love to you, Lee?”
It had been years since she’d called him that and it sounded good on her lips.
Maybe too good.
Levi released his grip on the barre to push a curl behind her ear. “I’ll cry like a baby if you don’t.”
Tanna nodded but made no motion to get this show on the road. He arched an eyebrow at her. “Problem?”
“Well, yeah. You have a busted knee and a strained shoulder,” Tanna said, sounding worried. “How are we going to do this? All the beds are upstairs but there are a couple of couches close by.”
He didn’t want to wait that long; in fact, he couldn’t wait another minute. But, because he was touched by her concern, he smiled. “You don’t weigh more than a feather and if you grip my hips with your legs, and I hold you with one arm, we should be able to get it done.”
Levi winced. Crap, so romantic. Try harder, Brogan. This was Tanna, not a quick fling who was well aware of his no-commitment policy.
Instead of taking offense, Tanna giggled. “It’ll have to be quick.”
Levi’s voice dropped to a smoky rumble. “Honey, I’ve wanted you for so long and so hard that being quick won’t be a problem for me.”
Tanna’s smile flashed and then she turned her attention to his button-down shirt, slowly pulling it apart to run her hands over his chest. Levi sucked in his breath when her fingers explored his flat nipples, surprised by how sensitive they were to her touch. Inspired, he lifted his hands to her breasts, rubbing his thumbs, slowly and deliberately, across her nipples. Her eyes, still connected to his, fogged over and her breathing quickened.
Yeah, this first time wouldn’t take long at all. He was already as hard as a brick and he could feel the heat wafting up from between her legs. Every inch of skin he could see was tinged with the heat of desire, her nipples were hard points begging to be touched and her eyes were full of take me now.
He’d done that. Levi felt awed and proud, ridiculously masculine and strangely humbled that this woman, this amazing, strong woman, was falling apart in his arms.
And they hadn’t even gotten to the good part yet.
Levi hooked his finger under the thin cord around her hips and pulled her thong down her legs. When the lace lay on the floor, he looked at her perfect form and sighed. He could see her reflection in all the mirrors and each version of Tanna was better than the last. This was a memory he’d never forget.
He couldn’t take the time to get properly naked. He wanted her right now; he couldn’t wait a second longer.
He pushed down his pants and underwear, and Tanna immediately reached for him, but he caught her hand before she could make contact. “Don’t. If you touch me, I’ll blow. I’m that close.”
She nodded and gripped his hip, her eyes wide with impatience. “So, what now?”
“This.” Levi banded his good arm around the backs on her thighs, lifted her up and groaned when her hot mound dragged over his penis. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to concentrate. “Lock your legs behind my back and rest your calves on the barre.”
Tanna did as he asked, and Levi kissed the corner of her mouth. “I’m going to slide into you and when I am deep inside you, I’m going to kiss you senseless.”
Tanna’s eyes flashed with hot, potent desire and a little mischief as she wound her arms around his neck, her breasts pushing into his chest. It was so hot that she was naked and he was not.
“Hell of a lot of talk happening, Brogan, not so much action.”
Goaded, but also amused, Levi positioned his cock at her entrance and scraped his knuckles over her feminine folds. He saw the shock ricocheting through her eyes and she pressed down on his hand, sliding her core across the head of his penis. So...
Damn...
Good.
First times together could either be awkward, tentative or hesitant—or a combination of all three—but nothing in the way they touched, in the way they took, suggested any of that. Tanna moaned and pushed his hand away, and Levi groaned as he pushed into her warm, wet heat. God, she felt so amazing, a million times better than he’d imag
ined.
Reality kicked imagination’s ass. And if this was revenge, he’d have more of it, thank you very much.
Needing to kiss her, to have her as close as he could get her, Levi trapped her mouth beneath his and, to hell with his shoulder, held her tight and close. He couldn’t thrust, his balance was too precarious, but Tanna, obviously on the same wavelength, took control, making tiny hip movements devastating to his self-control.
He didn’t need much friction, didn’t need a lot of foreplay, just holding her like this, being so deeply embedded in her was enough to make his balls contract, for concentrated pleasure to build at the base of his spine.
He’d spoken the truth—this was going to be quick.
Levi gripped Tanna’s butt, pushing his fingers into her soft skin. He moved from her mouth to her neck to her shoulder, sucking on her perfect skin. “Please tell me you’re close, Tanna, ’cause I’m not going to be able to hang on much longer.”
“Me neither.”
Tanna lifted her hips, dropped back down and released a tiny scream. Her internal muscles rippled, and she clenched around him, pulsing against him. Levi lifted his head to watch her face, to watch her come, thinking he’d never seen anyone as beautiful in his life. Her skin was flushed, her lips were red from his kisses and her eyes were the fiery green of a Mogul’s prize emerald.
She was utterly exquisite.
Then Tanna’s channel clenched again and her small movement was it all took to release his contained pleasure, allowing it to rocket through his system, up his spine and to blow his head apart. He released a roar, angled his hips, drove deeper and smiled when Tanna orgasmed again, harder and faster than before. Yeah, he’d thought that making love to Tanna would be good, but he hadn’t expected dissolve-his-knees spectacular.
Levi held her as she trembled in his arms. As his orgasm faded, his shoulder and knee were quick to remind him he’d just had sex after surgery, not even three weeks after his accident.
He didn’t care.
He’d have sex, with Tanna, anytime and anywhere.
That was why they made kick-ass painkillers.
Nine
“Relax, Murphy. I’m not dead yet or even close to it.”
Tanna, sitting on a chair with her elbows on her knees, immediately straightened. She hastily picked up a magazine off the floor and waved it around. “I was just reading an article on French gardens.”
Levi opened his eyes to glance at the cover of the magazine. “Funny, last I heard they don’t have French gardens on yachts.”
Tanna looked down at the yachting magazine and silently cursed. She was so busted. Yes, she’d been watching him sleep, embarrassed by her brazen behavior in the dance studio and terrified he’d reinjured his shoulder. Or his knee. Or pulled another muscle. She didn’t, after all, weigh nothing.
When they’d left the house and returned to Levi’s home on the Lockwood Estate, she could see he was in pain. Instead of his normal swinging style, he’d shuffled to the car. It was her fault. She was the medical professional. If she had been thinking straight, she would’ve put his rehabilitation above her sobbing libido.
“Don’t you dare apologize,” Levi warned her, his deep blue eyes flashing with irritation. “I was an active participant in that madness, and I could’ve, at any time, called it off.”
Tanna sucked in her right cheek. “Why didn’t you?”
“I needed to have you.” Levi touched her cheekbone with the tips of his fingers, his touch light but reassuring. “Stop feeling guilty, Tanna. It doesn’t suit you.”
Maybe, but she and guilt were best buddies.
“But your shoulder, your knee...”
“Are fine,” Levi reassured her. He must’ve seen the doubt in her eyes because he released a frustrated sigh. “Okay, I’m in pain, but I know I didn’t do any more damage.”
“Maybe we should take you to the ER to make sure?”
Levi’s wicked smile turned her stomach to mush. “And how are you going to explain how I reinjured myself? Yeah, Dr. Bryce, we had wall sex.”
Tanna blushed and Levi’s smile widened. “Stop fussing, Murphy. I’m fine. Let’s move on to another consequence of our unforgettable actions.”
She wasn’t sure she could deal with much more. “Okay, shoot.”
Levi folded his arms across his massive chest. “We didn’t use protection.”
It took a few moments for his sentence to make sense. When it did, her mouth dropped open and heat rolled over her. She closed her eyes and cursed.
“I’m judging, from your reaction, that you aren’t on the pill.”
Tanna shook her head. “Nope.”
Levi nodded, looking remarkably sanguine. “So, you could, maybe, become pregnant?”
Tanna ran through her cycle and lifted her hand to rock it back and forth. “I think I’ll be okay. We’re just out of the window.”
“So, there is a chance?”
“A small one,” Tanna conceded. “But, if your sperm is already charming my egg, I’m up the river without a paddle.” Panic flashed in her eyes, chased by fear.
“Okay, the look on your face is starting to scare me,” Levi said.
“I can’t be pregnant, Levi. I don’t want a baby! If I’m pregnant, I’ll be tied to you, tied to Boston.”
Wow.
He didn’t think he could still be hurt by Tanna, but yep, apparently he was wrong about that.
Levi tipped his head to the side. “Is being pregnant really the worst thing that can happen, Tanna? Being a mother, living in Boston...”
Being around me? Seeing where this is going?
What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he walking down this road again? Tanna had made her feelings clear a decade ago and nothing had changed.
He hadn’t understood her then, and ten years on, he was still fumbling around in the dark.
“Maybe I should explain,” Tanna quietly stated and it was only then that Levi realized he’d spoken out loud. “I need you to understand...it wasn’t you but me.”
This crap again? “Isn’t that the standard line?”
Tanna spread her hands. “Maybe. But, in my case, it’s pure truth. When I left Boston, I flew to London and I moved in with Padma, my godmother. I was a bit of a wreck.” Tanna paused. “I know you won’t believe me, but leaving was hard for me, Levi.”
Yeah, he didn’t believe it. Or maybe he didn’t want to believe it. Who knew?
Tanna started to speak, stopped and pushed her hand into her long hair. She stared at the TV set on the wall opposite and he waited for her to continue.
They might as well get this done and out of the way.
“So, I was in London, missing you, missing my brothers, missing my home. After a week of crying, Padma, who is as tough as she is sweet, told me I couldn’t just lie about, I had to do something. So, I went traveling. When I returned to London two years later, Padma sat me down again and demanded to know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, where I was going, what I was going to do when I got there,” Tanna said. “You never met Padma but I know you’d love her. And she’d flirt with you.”
Her eyes met his and her smile pushed his world off its axis, shifted magnetic north. God, that was another thing he’d forgotten...the way her eyes lightened, her face brightened, how her smile dimmed the power of the sun.
“I knew I couldn’t return to Boston or join Murphy’s.”
“Couldn’t? Why not?”
Tanna took a long time to answer. “It felt frivolous. It still feels frivolous. Back then, I couldn’t see myself going back to Murphy’s when everything else had changed. I also couldn’t stop thinking that, if you hadn’t called 911 when you did, if the EMTs weren’t as quick as they were, I might have, like Addy, died that night. It really worried me that I didn’t know what to do in an emergenc
y if someone needed my help. So I decided to do a first-aid course. I loved it, so I did another. Within a few years, I was pretty highly qualified.”
Levi listened, fascinated by her story. He’d had first-hand experience of her determination, so he could easily imagine Tanna applying her mind to her studies. “I finally felt like I was contributing, like I was doing something important, and then I joined HART.”
“Heart?”
Tanna enunciated the individual letters. “H-A-R-T is the Hazardous Area Response Team. They recruit and train selected emergency personnel who respond to major incidents.”
Levi frowned. “What sort of major incidents?”
“Train crashes, large-scale motorway accidents, building collapses or significant fires. Terrorism incidents, bomb blasts, that type of thing. HART doesn’t respond to your normal, run-of-the-mill accident,” Tanna explained. “Basically, we go into all the hot zones.”
His worst nightmare. Levi couldn’t think of anything worse than one of his loved ones constantly walking into danger and being unable to protect them. Thank God, and all his minions, he and Tanna weren’t together anymore.
He’d wouldn’t be able to function knowing she was walking into a situation out of his control.
“I was the youngest, and least experienced, recruit in fifteen years. They looked at my injuries and told me there was no way I’d pass the fitness exam, but I did. They told me they doubted I’d pass the psychological exam, given the trauma I experienced, but I did. The survival drills were the toughest—white-water rafting, abseiling, crawling through a tunnel in the dark with my kit—but I got through it.”
He could see she was waiting for him to say something, to praise her efforts, and he should; her achievements were incredibly impressive, especially given how broken she’d been just a few years before. But he couldn’t form the words because the urge to pick her up and shake her, to demand to know why she was putting herself at risk—after barely surviving a bad accident—was like a hot, violent river of lava.