Bailey
“Tanner!” I yell, hoping he can hear me in the next room.
I’m frozen in fear, unable to move as I stare up at my enemy.
“Tanner!” I scream again.
Summoned by my shouts of terror, Tanner bursts into the room. His muscular body is tense, his arms raised and ready to fight. But then he catches sight of my mortal foe and relaxes into a relieved grin.
“Seriously, babe?” he asks in a teasing tone, shaking his head. “A spider?”
I glare at him, finally taking my eyes off of the eight-legged freak that’s been making itself at home on the ceiling of our brand new living room. “What?” I snap as he struggles not to laugh at my predicament.
“Bailey, you fought a literal demon. And now you’re afraid of a little bug?” he chuckles.
“It’s not little,” I huff, but his mood is contagious, and I can’t help but crack a smile. He’s right. It is pretty ridiculous. Nevertheless, he scoops the arachnid up in a cup and carries it carefully outside, releasing it in the driveway as I watch from the safety of the hallway.
“Better?” he asks as he slips back through the front door.
“Much,” I confirm, sealing it with a kiss.
He follows me to the living room where I’ve been unpacking a box of books. My mom was kind enough to bundle up all our worldly possessions and ship them over to Florida as soon as we’d found a place.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve made it this far. It’s only been a few months since we fled from the old Gregory place in my car, leaving Hahnville far behind us. We drove for hours, not daring to stop until we pulled up outside of Layla’s. She and Dalton let us stay for a while, and we took the time to search for a place to call our own.
And now we have it.
I beam at Tanner, who smiles warmly in return. His eyes, once cold and distant under Amos’s influence, sparkle with life. He had no problem moving his company to our new state. He’s already gotten licensed, picked up a ton of new jobs, and even has one coming up where he’ll be working with Dalton to restore a crumbling old mansion to its former glory.
Tanner hasn’t been the only one finding work these days. Layla put a good word in for me with the care center she contracts for, and they took me on right away. I love the job and have even made a few new friends since the move.
“Are you finished in the kitchen?” I ask Tanner as I stack some more books onto one of the empty shelves by the television.
“Yep,” he nods, settling on the arm of the couch. “Everything we need for tonight is ready to go.”
I chew on my lip, suddenly anxious. “Even the silverware?”
“Even the silverware,” he assures me easily. He swoops down from his perch to capture my mouth with his. “Just relax, Bailey. Tonight is going to go great. And even if it doesn’t, we’ll look back on it later on and laugh.”
His words have me melting into his arms as love wells in my chest. Still, I mumble, “I just want everything to be perfect.”
I stare down at the shiny new ring adorning the ring finger of my left hand. Tanner got down on one knee yesterday as soon as the movers left. Overcome with happiness, I was barely able to speak, but I showed him my resounding yes in other, more physical ways. And now tonight, we’re having Layla and Dalton over for dinner to give them the great news.
Tanner kisses me again, longer and more passionately than before. When he breaks away, I’m panting. “Everything is already perfect,” he murmurs as he nuzzles the soft curve of my neck. “You’re perfect.”
A soft moan tumbles from my lips. This man has me coming undone with just his voice alone. As though he can feel the effect he has on me, Tanner chuckles against my skin and traces a burning trail of kisses over the arc of my collarbone.
I watch Tanner’s southerly progression through my lashes. I’m going to marry this man. The realization hits me hard in the best possible way. We haven’t talked about a date or anything yet, but soon, he’ll be my husband, and I’ll be his wife. I can picture us growing old here in this cute little house. Imaginary children swirl through my mind, promises of what’s to come. Every vision just cements my surety.
“I love you,” I breathe as Tanner’s hands gently ease the straps of my sundress off my shoulders.
“And I love you,” he replies, accentuating his words with another searing kiss. Meanwhile, his hands are busy unzipping the back of my dress.
The thin fabric falls away, and I’m suddenly glad that I chose not to wear a bra today. Tanner drinks in the sight of my exposed flesh like a man thirsting in the desert before he dives in for a taste.
“Tanner!” My hands weave into his hair as his mouth closes over one of the tender peaks of my breasts. I writhe beneath him, wanting more. Ever obliging, Tanner’s rough palm courses up my thigh and between my legs. He strokes one finger against the damp cloth of my panties, and I shudder at his teasing touch.
Frustrated, my hands roam down his muscular shoulders to the buttons of his shirt. I’m barely able to focus on the task at hand, not with his tongue swirling around me like that. Finally, I manage to get his shirt open, revealing the firm planes of his chest.
Tanner growls at my touch, and the sound ignites my blood to boiling. Emboldened, I let my fingers wander lower, following the coarse hair trailing down his stomach until I find the zipper of his jeans. Without breaking away from his ministrations, I part the stiff fabric.
“Fuck,” Tanner groans as his cock is freed from the confines of the denim. “Fuck!” he repeats as my fingers wrap around his girth and begin to move. His hips tip forward in time with the pumping of my hand as I tease him with the promise of what’s to come.
After a few breathless moments, Tanner closes his fingers around my arm, stopping me. “Bed. Now,” he pants.
He doesn’t wait for me to agree. Instead, he scoops me up off the floor and carries me, bridal style, into the bedroom. I giggle as he tosses me onto the mattress.
“Now, where were we?” he grins as he lowers himself down on top of me. His legs nudge my knees apart, and he settles between my thighs. His cock strains against the thin fabric of my panties as his mouth claims mine with feverish abandon. I lift my hips to meet his and moan at the friction.
It’s not enough.
“More,” I beg, clutching at Tanner’s broad shoulders.
“More?” he teases, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Like this?”
His hand finds my center again. This time, he slides my panties to one side and dips a finger into my slick heat. I cry out in pleasure and then watch, my chest heaving, as he brings the finger to his lips and sucks it clean. It’s the single sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“Or did you mean, like this?” he continues. His fingers hook around the edge of my panties. I lift my hips eagerly, allowing him to slide them off me completely. Before I can even consider what he might do next, his tongue darts out for a taste.
“Tanner!” I moan.
His mouth is too busy to reply. I squeeze my eyes shut against the onslaught of pleasure as his tongue works against my cunt. For a minute, the only noises in the room are the sinful mewls tumbling from my lips and the lascivious, wet sounds from between my legs.
Tension builds in my muscles as I feel my orgasm approaching. Tanner, sensing the change in my body, picks up the pace, drawing me closer and closer to the edge.
I shatter against his mouth as a wave of pleasure engulfs me.
He doesn’t give me any time to recover. There’s only a short pause as he kicks off his jeans completely, and then he’s on top of me. The feel of his skin against mine quickly reignites the spark inside of me. My nerves sing as he positions himself against my entrance.
“Bailey,” he breathes as he slides inside of me, inch by agonizing inch. The way he utters my name like a prayer has me clenching around him, and he groans wantonly into my ear. “You feel fucking amazing.”
I crane my neck up and catch him in a kiss. It’s slow and heady but quickly deepens as Tanner begins to thrust in earnest. Every stroke reawakens me, drawing me back toward the perilous edge.
My breath comes in short gasps as Tanner’s cock hits just the right spot inside of me. His eyes are locked on mine, his gaze hot and unrelenting. Just when I think I can’t possibly last any longer, he tilts his hips at the perfect angle, and I’m undone beneath him.
“Tanner!” I cry as my orgasm crashes over me.
“Fuck,” he groans, speeding up as his rhythm becomes more erratic. A few seconds later, he growls, “Fuck, Bailey.” He spills himself inside of me, and I moan again at the sensation.
Tanner’s weight rests on top of me as he catches his breath. His presence is comforting and sure. We could stay here forever, wrapped in each other’s arms until the end of time.
“I love you,” I whisper, placing a gentle, almost chaste kiss on his brow.
Nuzzling his head into the crook of my neck, he replies, “I love you, Bailey. More than you’ll ever know.”
I want to linger there, ensconced in the feel of him, but Tanner reluctantly rolls onto his side and sits up.
“Where are you going?” I ask as I admire the unobstructed view of his broad shoulders.
“We can’t lie in bed forever,” Tanner shrugs. “We’ve only got fifteen minutes before Layla and Dalton get here.”
“Shit!” I squeal. I’d been so caught up in the pleasure of the moment that I’d completely forgotten about our guests. “I haven’t even started dinner yet!”
Tanner chuckles as I spring up. He wraps a strong arm around my waist and draws me back into his lap. His cock, still hard, presses tantalizingly against the curve of my ass. His tongue swipes at the shell of my ear, and I shiver.
“Then again,” he murmurs wickedly. “There’s a lot we could accomplish in fifteen minutes.” He punctuates his words with a heavy thrust of his hips.
Fifteen minutes.
Something tells me we’ll make the most of them. Layla and Dalton will just have to wait, southern hospitality be damned.
After all, what’s fifteen minutes out of forever?