Tahoe Blues (7 page)

When she grew older
, she developed an interest in science. The day Cara burst into her father’s office and proclaimed that when you added yeast to a simple sugar solution that alcohol was formed, he walked her over to the laboratory and directed the technicians to teach her the finer points of testing the acidity of the grapes.

Over the next
several years Cara learned the ins and outs of wine making, but she never had the touch. Finding the perfect balance and blend was just as much art as it was science, and Cara’s artsy side was sorely lacking. By the time she left for college, she’d saved up enough money so she didn’t have to work and study at the same time.

Every summer she
went back home and put in her obligatory hours in the lab.

Her life changed forever when one spring a professor
invited her to spend the summer out on Lake Tahoe. He offered her the chance to take part in a new study he just received a three month exploratory grant to pursue. The idea appealed to her, and the more she thought about it the more she knew it was an offer she couldn’t refuse.

Cara called her dad and h
oped he would understand. She’d known for years that he wanted her to take over the family’s small vineyard, but something had stopped Cara from accepting her father’s offer.

Oliver
Greene heard the nervousness in Cara’s voice and went on and on about how excited he was that she would be home soon. When she finally blurted out that she wasn’t coming home Oliver pretended to be hurt and disappointed. Then Cara heard her mother slap his arm and call out in the background that her dad was just messing with her.

Oliver
laughed and congratulated her on her new venture.

Looking back
, Cara saw that she took after her dad in more ways than one.

She spent the next three months
rooming with six other girls in a cramped dorm room, but she didn’t care. Cara had found her passion. Being out on the water and feeling the crisp mountain air on her face had released endorphins she hadn’t known existed. She continued on with her education, earned her master’s degree, and Cara had lived in the Tahoe Basin ever since.

She met Duncan at a University fundraiser and believed that her every dream had come
true. A short time later, the University hired her on fulltime, and she was over-the-top with happiness.

After she and Duncan married
, she learned that Duncan’s family had pulled a few strings at the University. She and Duncan had become serious, but Cara received a job offer from the Lake Shasta Water District in Northern California. If she’d taken the job, it would have taken her well out of the area.

Believing
she had earned the job at the University on her own merit, Cara had been extremely upset for a while. But when the promotions began to come in rapid succession, and the family began to put pressure on her to quit, Cara realized they hadn’t expected her to succeed. They hoped she would fail so she would be content to stay home and pop out a few new heirs to the Cascade Bay throne.

Cara would have none of that.
Her eyes had been opened, and she recognized the family for their true manipulative, power-hungry, selves. Her marriage was already in trouble, and there was no way she was going to bring one of Duncan’s children into the world. He would have made a horrible father, and the rest of the family wasn’t much better.

When she filed for divorce, the first pe
rson she went to see was the school’s Chancellor. Dr. Granger assured her that her job would not be jeopardized by her decision. Her classes were popular, and each semester her classroom was filled to capacity. It galled her to have to turn away any worthy applicant who wanted to assist her out on LOLA. These young minds were not just the future, they held the fate of the lake and possibly the world in their hands. Cara wanted to ensure that as many students as possible had the information necessary to make sound ecological choices.

Tanner opened her door and when she stepped out of the truck, he was there to take her hand. His steady intent bore deep within her soul. “I can’t wait to feed you.”

At the sound of his voice Cara sucked in an excited breath
. She let the nerves slip away and boldly rose up onto her tippy toes and tugged gently on his lower lip with her teeth. “Good, because I have an insatiable sweet tooth.”

The
sexy half-smile which ensued and the look in his sultry indigo eyes sent a need pulsating throughout Cara’s body. He gripped her waist tightly and groaned, “I’ll do my best.”

Cara hadn’t
been in Tanner’s place before and was instantly drawn to the mantelpiece. It was made of gray ash and it was obviously very old. It was knotted and twisted, but the top had been made flat to hold a few photos and candles. She liked the personality of its shape and the contrast between it and the river rock hearth. “I love this.” she said, running her hand across the top.

Tanner grinned mischievously. “I bought it
down in Capitola. It was made by the same guy who made your front door.”

Cara cocked her head. Brett had nailed it. Capitola was just sou
th of Santa Cruz. The same woodworker must have made the doors at the hotel he had been talking about.

Cara grimaced at her
faulty conclusion. Brett said the hotel was built in the nineteen-twenties. There was no way a modern day woodworker could have made her door and the doors at the hotel. That would have made him over a hundred years old, unless her door was actually a valuable antique. “Is the artist famous?”

Tanner
took her coat and led her to the couch. “To a very small circle of people who happen to have unusual taste.”

“So
the door has some value to it.”

Tanner smirked. “I haven’t had it appraised recently
, but when I acquired Granite Gates Estates it was estimated to be worth about twenty thousand dollars. That door alone almost put me over my budget. Luckily, the previous owner was motivated to sell, and I had the best offer on the table. Now get comfy, and take off those wet shoes. I’m going to go make our dessert.”

He placed a sweet
kiss on her forehead.

N
ot wanting him to leave, Cara pushed her head into his lips. “I hope you have chocolate, Tanner,” she whispered breathlessly, “or there will be a price to pay.”

Tanner squeezed her hand
and turned towards the kitchen. “I’ll just be a minute, Cara Lee.”

Cara
Lee? There it was again. Cara was delighted she remembered to call him Tanner instead of TJ, but the more the delicious Tanner Reed called her Cara Lee, the more she kind of liked it.

Listening intently as he messed around in the kitchen, Cara
heard the freezer door open and the silverware rattle. A moment later she heard the whirl of the microwave and finally the sound of some slicing and dicing.

“Do you need some
help in there?” Cara called out.

Tanner did not reply.

Just as she opened her mouth to shout another offer, Tanner turned the corner with a giant bowl. Inside was a mound of ice cream. The banana slices that decorated the top were drowned in a vat of hot fudge.

He carried one bowl and two spoons.

Cara held out her hands and Tanner gave her the bowl. “Thanks,” Cara grinned mischievously. “Where’s yours?”

Tanner laughed and bonked her nose with one of the spoons. “If you can eat all that
, it’s yours.” He wagged a spoon under her nose. “Better yet, I’m going to fill that smart mouth of yours so full you won’t be able to talk back.”

Cara loved the challenge
of their playful banter and giggled.

He
scooched her over and settled down beside her on the couch. “Make room. This could get messy.”

Cara folded one leg up under her a
nd grinned. “Seriously, Tanner. Where’s yours?”

Tanner shut her up by snatching the bowl away and s
cooping a gigantic spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. “Cara Lee,” he scolded lightly. “I won the bet. This is my house and my dessert. Now be nice, or that’s the only bite you’ll get tonight.”

Cara tasted the cold ice cream and warm fudge. When it began to melt
, she let it slide down her throat. Her eyes sparkled. She had his number and this was one game she didn’t mind playing.

Bi
te after bite, Tanner alternated between feeding Cara and then himself. She could not believe that gluttony could be such a turn on. Her body was churning and burning with every bite he spooned into her mouth. As they neared the end of the bowl and the ice cream became soupier, Tanner dribbled some down her chin. He was quick to wipe his thumb below her lip and steal the sweet remnants into his mouth. Cara’s eyes were glued to his hand as his tongue licked the ice cream off his thumb.

When he caught the look on her face
, he set the bowl on the table and leaned forward. “Let’s share the last bite.”

Cara watched him scrap
e the last bit of ice cream from the bowl and hold the spoon up for her. The moment he emptied the soupy decadence onto her tongue, Tanner bent over and found Cara’s lips. His tongue searched her mouth, and Cara began to hunger for more.

Her hands reached up
and Cara let her fingers run through his hair. She gripped his neck and pulled him closer. The couch creaked as Tanner’s weight came upon her, and their bodies eased down into the cushions.

They had been dancing around this moment all
evening, and Cara rejoiced in its arrival.

Tanner broke their kiss and touched her face. “
You are so beautiful.” His lips were feather light upon hers. Firm fingers held her chin and pulled her face close. Tanner paused and stared deeply into her shining hazel eyes.

H
is nose brushed hers and ran across her cheek. He nuzzled her ear and drank in her scent. “Cara Lee,” he whispered.

T
he desire in his voice sent throbs of passion throughout her body. Every fiber of her being was wound tight and begged for more.

Tanner’s
hands moved down her blouse. Each button he released was followed by a kiss to the skin he revealed. Soon the silky material slid off her shoulders, and his fingers ran warmly down her arms. He savored his way down her breastbone, and the front clasp of her bra came undone. The moment her breasts were free, he began to devour her. He licked and dragged his teeth against her nipple, first one and then the other. He played, pulled, and rolled each one between his fingers. Every movement was slow, precise, and full of want.

The build gre
w stronger. Passion and fire consumed her. She gave her body full reign to do as it pleased, and her fingers tangled themselves in his hair while her pelvis pushed against his heat and beckoned for more.

Tanner kissed a line down her stomach until he fo
und the waistband of her skirt. She was dying, and she ran an encouraging foot along his leg. Tanner’s lips pressed directly at her core through her lacy black panties. A groan of pleasure slipped through her lips and her legs automatically opened a little wider. His kisses moved down along the band of elastic between her legs and he slipped a finger inside.

His breath
touched her, and it was almost as erotic as his enchanted fingers.

Cara was ready to burst. She wanted nothing more than to feel all of him, on her, in her, with her. She called out his name
, and he continued to work his magic.

Tanner
pulled back and looked into Cara’s eyes. He brought his glistening finger to his lips and tasted her nectar. “The sweetest dessert by far.”

Cara could take
no more. She pulled him to her and they locked together in a fierce kiss. He fumbled with her skirt and dragged her panties down her thighs. The moment they were removed, Tanner chucked the clothing across the room.

Cara’s
fingers stepped their way down the muscles of his stomach. When her fingers reached the edge of his shirt, she gripped the material and pulled it off over his head.

With
her body completely bare, Tanner scooped her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on tight as he carried her down the hall towards his bedroom. Each step he took ravished her core, and Cara arched her back in abandon.

Cara startled at the coolness of the sheets when he laid her upon his bed
, and her skin pebbled with the intoxicating sensation. Tanner took a small step back. The look of appreciation and desire upon his face made her feel even more amazing. Cara drew in a deep breath and stretched her hands up under her head.

She
didn’t feel coy or shy under his scrutiny. She felt like a goddess.

When
Cara could tolerate the space between them no longer, she sat up and brushed her knuckles across his stomach and chest. “You make me feel beautiful.”

Tanner gasped when her
fingers moved across his skin. The curls of his hair tickled her nose when she kissed the center of his chest. Her hands ran down his firm biceps. She wanted more. She needed more. She demanded more.