Five minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of a huge Victorian house. Her mom’s bungalow could fit in it three times without blinking. It was one of the old-style two-stories, with a wraparound porch and a brick chimney standing proud from the slate-tiled roof. The kind of house she used to dream of when she was a kid.
Because that kind of house always had a mom who took care of you and a dad who came home every evening and played games with you until bedtime. Or at least it did in her childhood imagination.
“Fairfax thinks the owner might be willing to sell it after the six month lease is over.” Tanner inclined his head. “Ready?”
She was already halfway out of the car. He laughed at her enthusiasm, locking the car up and following her along the brick-lined path.
Even in the dark it was beautiful. There was a tree in the expansive front yard with an old rope swing tied up to it. If it wasn’t completely dark, she would have launched herself on it.
“Later,” Tanner said, as though he was reading her mind. “Let’s go inside first.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her up the steps. There was an old rocking chair on one side of the wraparound porch, and a wicker love seat and coffee table on the other. The kind of place where you could sit out in the evening with a glass of iced tea and watch the world go by.
Tanner unlocked the door and pushed it open, stale air escaping through the crack. “It’s been empty for a while,” he told her. “Fairfax didn’t even show it to me at first. He thought it wasn’t modern enough.”
Van followed him inside, her footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. It stretched for two floors, a grand staircase curving around the right wall, with enough room for a grand piano beneath it.
“You’re going to rattle around in here,” she murmured, as he flicked a lightswitch. A chandelier lit up, casting patterns across the tiled floor.
“I’m hoping I won’t be here on my own much.”
She smiled at him. “I guess your family will visit.”
“And you?” he murmured, tracing her collarbone with his outstretched finger. “Will you be here?”
“If you buy some furniture.”
“I’ll take that for now.” He brushed his lips against hers, sending a shot of electricity through her body. “Come on, let me show you around.”
The house was everything she thought it would be. Full of character, from the old sanded floorboards on the upper level, to the gas stove that dominated kitchen. But it was the living room that took her breath away. Even without furniture it was impressive, with its high ceilings, beautifully carved molding, and huge wood-and-glass doors that led out to the backyard.
“It’s an acre in all,” Tanner told her. “There’s a brook at the end that leads to the creek. The neighbors tell me there’s a herd of deer that sometimes run along it.”
“And it’s all yours.”
“For now.” He was looking at her with dark eyes. The smile had melted from his lips, replaced by a hungry expression that made her thighs clench together. He reached out to trail his fingers along her jaw, tipping her head up so he could press his lips to hers.
“I’m hoping it will be yours, too. Sometime,” he murmured, his mouth moving against hers. Then he deepened the kiss, making her toes curl with delight as he pulled her close against him, their bodies arching together.
She slid her hands into his hair, scraping her fingers against his scalp as he moaned softly against her.
She could never get tired of kissing him. It was like he’d flipped a switch and brought her back to life.
His hands slid down the back of her jeans, cupping her behind as he plundered her mouth. She pushed her hands inside his shirt, feeling his warm skin against her palms, her fingers tracing their way to the hard ridges of his stomach, then to his chest.
He moaned again. Lower and rougher this time. It sent a thrill through her, pleasure knotting in her stomach as he moved his hands to the hem of her shirt, pushing it up.
He cupped her breasts, his thumbs brushing against her nipples. It was her turn to gasp as he pushed the lace cups down.
She pulled her t-shirt over her head, exposing her sensitive skin to the cool nighttime air.
“You’re beautiful,” Tanner told her, reaching out to trace the swell of her breast. Then he was leaning down, capturing a nipple between his lips, and she had to bite down as to not let out a cry.
It took everything she had to keep standing as he kissed and caressed her, moving from one breast to the other as if he couldn’t get enough. His tongue was slow and sensuous, his lips hot and demanding, and every time he pulled at her flesh she felt her legs tremble with desire.
“Can I undo your jeans?” he asked her.
She nodded. It was crazy that he even asked. He had to know what he was doing to her.