Tanner shudders under my touch and slowly moves his mouth along my collarbone, his tongue dipping between my breasts.
My body is alive for the first time in forever, and his touch alone, has my breasts swollen in arousal with the beads of my nipples throbbing for his touch. Between my legs, my panties are soaked with my need for this beautiful man. I shouldn’t even be looking at him, but I don’t have it in me to care right now. Not when I’m feeling things that I’ve never felt before.
“What are we doing, Tanner? You’re engaged.” I question him...question myself.
“What we crave more than our next breath.”
I totally agree.
“Tanner…”
He groans and his lips brush against mine as he begs, “Say my name again.” His eyes blaze into mine, and I know I’ll spend the rest of my life being haunted by the memory of him and the heat for me that’s currently alive on his face. Only me.
I whisper, “Tanner,” seconds before his mouth claims my lips, his arms crushing me against him.
Whatever calm I had is shattered with the hunger of his kisses as his tongue plunges into my mouth, sending shivers of desire racing through me.
My hands cling to him while I try to get closer still, feeling his arousal against my belly when I do.
His tongue contin
ues to explore the recess of my mouth while I give myself freely to the passion of his drugging kisses.
I feel his hand gently outline the circle of my breast through my silk dress. When his thumb scrapes over the swollen bud of my nipple, I loudly moan, throwing my head back.
He moves his large hand from my breast to the slit in the side of my dress, and grabbing my thigh, he brings it up to his hip, allowing his arousal to settle against my panties. His other hand holds me tightly against him while his hips rock.
His lips latch onto my neck and quickly move toward my sensitive breasts. His teeth nibble on a hard bud through the thin fabric and that’s all it takes.
Groaning, I shudder against him, feeling heat rush into my cheeks at how easily he brought me to climax. The blush soon disappears when I glance down and see just how hard and swollen his penis is. It’s arousing seeing him fully clothed like this while he throbs against my panties.
“That must hurt,” I mumble, unable to catch my breath.
His eyes close while he breathes deeply through his nose, and then he tenderly brushes a kiss across my forehead. “It aches to be inside of you. I ache for you,” he confesses, letting my leg drop to the floor as he steps slightly away to straighten my dress.
Unhappiness clouds his face before it’s gone, his voice firm as he says, “I can only offer you one night, Charlotte.” He covers my mouth with a quick kiss. “I wish I could offer you everything, but I can’t.”
I bury my face into his neck and breathe a kiss there. “I’ve never had a one night stand before, and I wish that wasn’t going to happen now…except I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.” I hesitate before I admit, “That scares me because I’ve never felt this way before.” I hold his gaze and see the relief crossing his features, following closely with sorrow.
He brushes a gentle kiss across my forehead—our fate is sealed.
60
Tanner
8 months later
Knocking back a desperately needed longneck with my best friend Bo feels damn good. It has been a month of hell out at the ranch and I’m enjoying a break at the bar. The whole town is ready for one of the largest snowfalls to be seen this year, but I’m sure as hell not looking forward to it.
Emma, my fiancée, has hinted more than once that she’d be happy to keep me company at the ranch but I told her no. For one, once the storm hits, the ranch is going to get cut off from the main highway. For two, the last thing I need is having her underfoot.
Sighing heavily into my beer while I peel the label off the bottle, I ignore the looks Bo keeps passing in my direction.
He knows there’s something wrong with me, and he also knows the only thing making me continue with my upcoming wedding is duty. Everyone has expected it for years, and it’s what I thought I wanted as well. Maybe I had at one point but not anymore.
And it’s been a long engagement—four years—and I’d been surprised that Emma hasn’t pushed for a wedding date before she did. It was agreed in passing, not really discussed. I just wish I’d stopped to think about where I was going and what I wanted out of the life I’ve been given. It certainly wouldn’t have been to marry the girl I’ve been with since I was a fifteen-year-old boy full of hormones.
Emma was...comfortable...and I just went along with whatever she wanted to do. It was easier. Twelve months ago, she’d decided to get all sweaty with a trucker who got stranded in town during a snowstorm. I’d used it as an excuse to walk away—breaking off the engagement. Except, before we could make any kind of announcement, she’d bulldozed her way back into my life. Out of duty, I’d stayed with her. My heart had been left in Lexington though, and that hurt more than I thought possible.