“Don’t say anything. I just wanted you to know. I fucked up, Jos. I seriously thought you were better off without me.”
“How?” she demanded, suddenly pissed. “How could you possibly think I would be better off without you? I was in love with you.”
Goddamn it, I didn’t like that she was saying “was.” I ached for her to still love me.
“When you got to Creswell Springs that last time, your mom called Uncle Chaz. He was in his office, and I overheard her bitching at him,” I said. “She said you were turning down a summer internship in LA to come visit with your dad and grandpa. She said the MC was fucking up your life all over again, and that everyone was being selfish. There was a lot more bitching, and then she said if we cared about you, we would let you have a life away from the trouble that follows the MC around.”
“I can see my mom doing that,” she muttered. “But you should know that it was all bullshit. There wasn’t an internship. I wasn’t even talking about college or anything at that point. I wanted to stay here and help out Grandpa. Not just because I wanted to be closer to you—although that was a huge part of it—but because I love it here. I’ve never really felt like I belonged anywhere but here. My mom couldn’t care less about me being around, Tanner. She just doesn’t want my dad to get my attention.”
The sadness in her voice destroyed me. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have pulled that shit.”
“You crushed me that morning,” she whispered, her voice catching. “The night before was amazing, and I thought you really wanted me.”
“I did. I fucking do!” I half shouted in my need for her to believe me. “Jos, baby, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. That first night with you was hard to get over, but that last night was so goddamn perfect, it ruined me.”
?
?Tanner…” My name came out breathy, making my body respond as if she’d physically touched me.
And then the phone went completely silent.
Chapter 17
Jos
As soon as Raider stopped the car in front of the hospital, I was running.
Nothing short of death could have kept me away after what Tanner said earlier. I asked Raven to watch Reid for the night then stopped the first brother I came to in the parking lot and begged him to take me to the hospital.
I ran through the lobby and punched the elevator call button repeatedly until it finally opened for me. Pressing the right floor, I shifted impatiently from one foot to the other until the doors slid open, and then I was running again.
Spider saw me coming, his eyes wide at the sight I must have been. “Everything okay?” he asked, concern on his handsome face.
I stopped in front of him. “I decided to spend the night here. Don’t let the nurses bother us.”
A sly grin lifted his lips. “Will do.” With a wink, he pushed open the door. “Yo, T. You got company, man.”
“Who is it…” His voice trailed off when he saw me, and he sat up straighter. “Jos. Fuck, you just hung up on me and wouldn’t answer when I called back. I thought you were pissed at me.”
“Nope.” I stepped into the room and waited until Spider closed it again before pulling off my jacket. And my T-shirt.
Tanner’s throat bobbed when he swallowed as he watched me. With each step that brought me closer to his bed, I took off another piece of clothing. My bra fell to the floor, followed by my pajama pants and then my panties.
“Holy fuck,” he groaned. “You’re so damn beautiful, baby.”
I climbed up on the narrow bed, straddling his lap, but before I could kiss him, he was already cupping the back of my head, pulling me in closer. His lips were hungry, ravishing my mouth. His casted hand skimmed down my back until his fingers squeezed my ass, pressing me down into the hardness of his cock.
“Shit,” he growled. “God, you taste so good.”
I kissed a path from his lips down his throat to his chest. I felt possessed, unable to stop until we were both satisfied. My hands trailed lower, cupping him through his sweats and stroking twice before diving under the material and pulling him free. I licked my way down his hard stomach until I reached his cock.
“Jos,” he grunted, his fingers tangling in my hair as I swallowed half of him.
I sucked and licked until he was drenched then got back on my knees and positioned myself right over him. Wrapping my fingers around the base, I guided him into me slowly. The tip had barely entered me before he was cursing, his head thrown back in ecstasy.
“You feel so good, baby,” he groaned. Catching the back of my head again, he forced my mouth to crash down on his. He thrust his tongue into my mouth, teasing, playing with me as I sat down fully on his cock, taking all of him inside me.
I felt stretched almost to the point of pain, but it felt so damn good. Tanner kissed me, distracting me until my body was able to adjust to his size invading my body. When the slight pain eased, I began to move my hips, riding him slowly. Feeling his groan vibrate in his chest, I pulled back, worried that maybe he wasn’t ready for this yet.