Tanner stared at me for another half second with that breathtaking smile of his before he turned to look at Merit. “Dad said you might be able to help out with a situation I presented him with.”
Merit’s eyes darted over to mine, then back to Tanner. “Yes. It’s simple to do. No different from when they pieced off the two parcels of land for Brock. From the quick look at the survey Dirk just showed me, I’d say the one road used now would work perfectly with your parents still maintaining ownership of it. Just like with Brock’s house now. The piece of land that Ty and Kaylee have is completely separate from the ranch, since it was on the outer edge of the property, but with the land purchased up to the easement and with the next ranch over, you could purchase a parcel of land from them and put in your own road. Although, I don’t see the need for it, and I doubt your parents would either.”
Tanner nodded and pulled me closer to his side. I wasn’t sure if he’d even noticed he’d done it. I couldn’t help but look up at him. His brow was pulled in slightly. Was he planning on building a house on his parents’ ranch?
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he said.
Merit smiled. “Let me know if you need any help with permits and such. I’m more than happy to help.”
“I will. Thanks, Merit.”
Dirk gave me a wink and then said, “Merit here is a civil engineer.”
“Oh, wow! Libby didn’t say that.”
My mouth instantly shut tight at my slipup. Merit raised a brow, then glanced across the room, most likely searching for Libby.
“I’m so sorry, Merit, she wasn’t gossiping about you at all. She simply saw you talking to Stella and Ty Senior and mentioned you had left Hamilton after graduation and went to NYU for a business degree. That’s all.”
“It’s fine. Originally I was going for business, but changed my major. I’ll have to get used to the small-town gossip mill again,” she said with a wink. I felt my body relax, but I still kicked myself internally.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Timberlynn. Tanner, good seeing you again.”
Her body stiffened when she turned to Dirk. “Thank you for showing me that, Dirk.”
He nodded and gave her a smile. “My pleasure. I’ll, um, see you around.”
Merit’s smile was genuine. “Well, with you bull riding, I doubt we’ll see each other much.”
“We do live next door to each other.”
Merit gave a half-hearted laugh. “Well, lots of land separating us, so I doubt it.”
“I may want some…strawberries.”
It was like I was watching a tennis match. Tanner and I both looked at Merit for a follow-up response to Dirk’s ridiculous reasoning.
“You like them now?” she asked, her smile now forced. “I seem to recall you picking them on the farm only to get Kaci’s attention.”
Dirk physically flinched.
I looked at Merit, who turned to Tanner and me. “I’m going to go track down my parents and say hello to some of the other guests. Happy New Year’s, Tanner and Timberlynn.”
“Happy New Year’s,” we replied in unison.
I glanced back to Dirk and watched his face as Merit walked away and blended into the large group of people who were now gathered in the living room. The tension in the air was palpable.
“She’s beautiful,” I said as I glanced in the direction Merit had just walked.
“Yeah, she is.” Dirk nodded toward Tanner’s possessive grip around my waist. “Hold on to her tight. the good ones can slip away easily if you don’t,” he said before turning and walking away.
I stared at him, then turned to Tanner. “What in the world was that?”
He shrugged. “About earlier,” Tanner started to say.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall to his father’s office.
With a quick look behind me, I opened the door, motioned for him to go in, then shut it. Before Tanner had a chance to talk, I pushed him against the door, then pulled his mouth to mine.
We both moaned and I wrapped my arms around his neck, falling easily into the kiss.
“Tanner,” I whispered as he softly placed kisses down my neck. With a deep breath, I dropped down and started to unbutton his dress pants.
“Timberlynn, what are you doing?”
I unzipped them and pulled his boxers down until his semi-hard cock sprang free.
“Timber, I—”
His voice was cut off when I took him into my mouth.
“Christ,” he cried out and grabbed onto the coat rack that stood next to him.
I worked him with my mouth and hand, and when he touched the side of my face, I couldn’t help but smile. I could hear the way he was panting. I looked up and saw his eyes closed and a look of utter pleasure on his face.
He opened his eyes and looked directly at me. “Baby, stop, or I’m going to come.”
I took him deeper and moaned. Tanner jerked a few times, and I felt the warmth of his cum hit the back of my throat. I swallowed it as fast as I could while still working him. This was my first time doing this, and I definitely wasn’t a fan of swallowing, but I wanted to show him that losing control earlier was exactly what I had wanted.
When he stopped, I slowly took him out of my mouth.
“Holy shit.” He gasped. “I need to sit down.”
I smiled and wiped the corners of my mo
uth as Tanner stumbled over to the sofa and fell into it.
“I can’t breathe. That felt so damn amazing. Why did you do that?”
“Because I want you to know that in this relationship, we’re both in control, Tanner. I don’t want you to feel like you have to worry about treating me like I’m going to break.”
He frowned.
“You thought by taking me upstairs you did something wrong. I know if I had said no, you would have stopped. I wanted you just as much, and knowing that you had that reaction turned me on.”
He smiled. “It did?”
“Yes, very much so.”
He took my hand in his. “I’m just glad I had the wits about me to wear the condom this time.”
I looked down at my hands and then at him.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look like you want to say something?”
“I almost told you not to put one on.”
A soft chuckle came from his lips. “I almost asked not to.”
We both laughed. “I will be getting on birth control ASAP.”
“Good!” he said. Then he stood and cupped my face with his hands. “But it’s not just about the crazy hot sex we have, or the fact that you just gave me a blowjob in my father’s office.”
I laughed and dropped my head onto his chest.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Timber.”
My breath caught in my throat and tears pooled in my eyes as I looked up at him. “What did you just say?”
Tanner took my hand and placed it on his chest.
“Do you feel that?”
I nodded.
“It beats only for you. I knew it the first time I saw you, and I know it even more now. Some people don’t believe in love at first sight, and I think at one point in my life I was one of those people. But I’m a believer now.”
“Me too,” I softly whispered.
“I’m about to ask you something, and I’m not sure what you’re going to say.”
I laughed. “What is it?”
“Move in with me, Timberlynn.”
I was positive my eyes nearly popped out of my head. “You want me to move into your bedroom with you? In your folks’ house?”