Tanner's War (10 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Beth walked away from the ER with
nothing more than a lecture about not taunting wild animals. The king snake had
bitten her, not the coral snake, and by the time they reached the hospital the
only tell-tale mark was a faint, tiny bruise on her arm.

Wolf’s wound was more messy than
serious, but when a cute ER nurse insisted on keeping him in under observation,
he didn’t argue. Tanner was privately glad. He wanted Beth to himself, wanted
to pour all his attention on her, and he waved Wolf goodbye without hesitation.

“We’re going home,” he told Beth,
wrapping his arm around her as they walked out of the ER. “And I’m never
letting you out of my sight again.”

She laughed, but it was weak. Maybe
the snake bite had been nothing, but she’d still been through a hell of a time,
he thought. Not just today, either. “We can go back for your family,” he said
as he helped her into the truck. He’d loaded his and Wolf’s bikes in the back
before they left the Church—it only occurred to him now he’d probably left Nash
and Judge stranded by doing so.

Oh well. They could both take care
of themselves.

Beth bit her lip and shook her
head. “They wouldn’t come. Hannah, maybe … But she won’t leave the other
girls.”

“We’ll work it out,” he promised
her. Even if Abram left Beth alone now, there was still a whole village of
people for him to abuse and torment. Tanner didn’t think he could live with
knowing that and doing nothing.

They drove back to his place in
silence, but Tanner kept his hand on her knee the whole time and she covered
his hand with hers. He glanced at her occasionally as he drove, each time
feeling a massive rush of relief that she was okay, free, safe, alive.
His.
Because she was his, had been since the moment he
almost damn ran her down. He wanted to wrap her up and lock her away. And at
the same time he wanted to throw her on the back of his Harley and show her the
fucking world.

And another part of him wanted to
throw her down somewhere else entirely and show her that
she
was his fucking world.

Too fast?
Too soon?
Yeah, of
course, but that was how he lived, wasn’t it?

The only question was
,
did Beth feel the same way?

****

There was a sleek blue car parked
in the driveway of Tanner's house, and Beth tensed when she saw it.
"Who—"

"Relax. It's my
sister's." Tanner helped her out of the truck, squeezing her hand
reassuringly.

"Will she be okay with me
being here?" Beth remembered what he'd said about never bringing home
strangers.

"Fuck yeah, she's
gonna
love you."

He sounded so confident, Beth had
to believe him. She followed him into the house, flushing as they crossed the
porch. It really wasn't that long ago that they'd sat here and ... Her cheeks
burned. How was she going to face his sister when she and Tanner had all but
had sex on her doorstep?

She didn't have time to think about
it. Tanner swept her inside, calling his sister's name. "Melissa!
Where you at?"

The rich scent of cooking beef and
wine hit Beth and she was surprised to find she was starving. After everything
that had happened today, food seemed absurd, but the aromas were irresistible.

"In the kitchen!" a woman
called back.

Tanner took her through to a sunny
kitchen decorated in a rainbow of colors. A tall, slender woman stood at the
stove, poking a steaming pot with an expression of satisfaction. Even if she
hadn't known already they were twins, Beth would have guessed. Melissa had the
same dark hair and olive skin as Tanner, the same strong features. And when she
turned to smile at them both, she had the same fiercely warm smile.

"Alex! And this is?" She
looked Beth over, smile never slipping. Any worries Beth had about invading her
home disappeared.

"This is Beth." Tanner
pushed her forward. "She's ... uh ... staying with us?" He glanced at
Beth as he finished the sentence, looking for her agreement.

A fizzy sensation filled her,
making her blush again. He wanted her to stay! All the way home she'd worried
about what happened next. It didn't matter that her plan had always been to
keep moving—that idea seemed crazy now because it meant leaving Tanner. But how
could she assume she had a place in his life after the trouble she'd brought?

But there was no doubt he wanted
her. His face was full of hope, worry, and raw need. She'd never expected,
never dreamed anyone would look at her like that, let alone a man like this. A
man who'd fight for her, protect her without wanting to trap her. Her heart
swelled.

"Yes," she said, taking
his hand. "I'd like that."

Melissa gave her brother a
searching look. "I guess you'll need to make up the spare room then?"

"No," Tanner said
quickly, then added more calmly, "I mean ... of course.
Obviously."

Melissa smiled knowingly and winked
at Beth. "Dinner's going to be about an hour. Why don't you go show Beth
the spare room?"

Beth was certain her head was going
to burst into flames, she was so embarrassed. Tanner all but dragged her out of
the kitchen and upstairs, leaving Melissa chuckling quietly to herself.

The house was much cozier and more homely
than Beth had expected—warm colors and soft furnishings everywhere. When Tanner
opened the door to his bedroom, she was almost relieved to find it stark and
masculine. Black and chrome furniture, photos on the wall of bikes and bikers,
and that compelling scent of leather and musk that was all him. On the wall
over his bed was a mural in black and white—a wolf howling against the full
moon. She recognized the image from a patch on his vest.

"It's the club logo," he
said, sitting down on the big bed. "Melissa painted it."

"It looks cool," she
said. "She's very talented."

"She's amazing," Tanner
said. "I know a lot of amazing women. Guess I know one more now." He
took her hands and pulled her down into his lap.

A flood of desire and excitement
hit her. It felt strange, after all the fear and violence of the day, but it
felt right too. She cupped his jaw, feeling a faint trace of stubble there. He
turned his head to kiss her fingertips.

“I
wanna
tell you why I was in prison,” he said.

“I know. Norse told me.” Beth
almost wished she hadn't said it—there was a brief look of surprised
disappointment on his face. “It doesn't matter to me,” she added quickly. “I
thought it did—or that it should, but it doesn't. You protected your sister.
You were ...” She smiled, unable to resist.
“Quite the white
knight.”

Tanner grunted, and then his
expression softened. “Our parents didn't do great by us. Melissa was all I had
for a long time, and I was all she had. When I saw her hurting so badly, I did
the only thing that made sense to me.” He twirled a lock of Beth's hair round
his fingers. “And it's the same with you. What I feel ... It's fucking intense,
Beth, and maybe I'm nuts, but I can't help it.
Can't stop it.
And I'll fight for you the same way I fought for my sister.”

Beth's heart tripped. She didn't
think she had words for what she was feeling, so she didn't try. She just
kissed him. He responded hotly, crushing her to him, kissing her back as he
couldn't—wouldn't stop.

"I don't want to rush you into
anything," he said, breaking away. "But you
gotta
know how badly I want you, Beth, and I'm not good at waiting."

Feeling wildly daring, she reached
down and placed her hand over his cock, found it hard and waiting. "I
know," she said. He stiffed at her light touch, eyes fluttering closed.
She felt powerful and vulnerable at the same time. He was such a big, strong
man—if he wanted to, he could overpower her easily.

But he wouldn't. She could dictate
how he used his strength. She could choose what happened next. She'd never felt
freer in her life.

"I want everything from
you," she said.
"Everything."

It was as if she'd let a wild
animal out of its cage. Tanner grabbed her round the waist and swung her onto
the bed, then straddled her, all before she could draw breath. He leaned down
over her, pinning her wrists down on the soft bedding. He brought his face in
close to hers, until she could feel his warm breath on her lips.

"After this, Beth, you're
mine. All mine. You got that? You can handle that?"

"Try me," she said.
"Find out."

He kissed her,
bruisingly
,
possessively, sending heat racing from her lips down to her core. She pushed
her hips up, straining for contact. Tanner nipped her earlobe and released her
hands, shifting down the bed to unzip her jeans.

"I've been
wanting
to taste you from the second I saw you," he told her, pulling them off and
leaving her in just her panties. "You okay with that?"

She nodded frantically. Her clit
throbbed so fast and hot, it felt like her entire body was pulsing with need.
She could feel herself growing wetter as Tanner stared at her, his face hungry.
"Yes," she said, realizing he was waiting for an answer. "Yes,
please ..."

He spread her legs, running his
lips up the inside of her thighs, making her twist and gasp. When he reached
her panties, he growled something unintelligible and pushed his face into the
cotton. His teeth grazed her delicate sex through the material, a shockingly
arousing sensation. She moaned, grabbing fistfuls of the bed sheets. He tugged
her panties down and paused for a second.

"I
wanna
make this good for you, but goddamn I
wanna
fuck you
so badly."

"You can't do both?" she
asked breathlessly.

He laughed and ducked his head,
giving her clit one quick, teasing flick of his tongue. Beth bolted upright, a
cry of surprise leaving her. Her heart raced and butterflies exploded in her
belly.
"Oh God."

"Yeah," he answered her.
"I can do both."

Then he went to work with a
passion, using tongue and teeth to torment her into
a frenzy
.
He swept his tongue round her clit, sending almost unbearable waves of pleasure
through her. Every now and then he punctuated his motions with a hard bite to
her inner thigh, switching out the pleasure for a bracing flash of pain. Beth
found herself in a state of almost panicked anticipation, never sure if he'd
bite or caress her with his tongue. It was insane. It was heavenly.

"Take your top off," he
told her. "Let me see those tits."

She was past blushing, way past
self-consciousness. She sat up while he held her thighs and tugged her top off.
Her borrowed bra was simple white cotton, like her panties, nothing alluring.
But Tanner stared up at her like she was a prayer answered.

"Off," he ordered.

She pulled the bra off, watching
the heat flare in his eyes.

"Touch
yourself
,"
he said. "Touch them while I touch you, Beth."

In her wildest fantasies, she'd
never imagined a man talking to her like this. It was filthy—and oh, she liked
it. She cupped her breasts, running her fingers over her aching nipples. Tanner
wet his lips and got to his knees. He pulled his T-shirt off, revealing a
hard-muscled chest decorated with tattoos.
A wolf's head
across his left pectoral, an antique-looking compass on the right.
She
reached out to touch them, but he caught her hand and pressed it back to her
breast.

He reached down between his legs
and popped his jeans open to kick them off. His cock hung heavy and thick
between his legs and she was seized with a desire to touch it, to make him as
frantic and desperate as he'd made her.

He reached across to the bedside
table and grabbed something. She heard a rustle and realized he was putting a
condom on.

"Keep going," he
said,
his voice a guttural growl. He pushed two fingers into
her, hard, and she squealed. "Keep going, Beth."

She
obeyed,
rubbing and pinching her nipples. He gripped his cock in his free hand, pumping
his fingers up and down his shaft. "I want you doing this," he told
her, his fingers moving in and out of her. "I want to fuck your pussy and
your mouth and your ass. You want that?"

She couldn't speak. She could
barely think, barely breath.

"Answer me, Beth."

"Yes," she said, closing
her eyes as he pushed a third finger in her, stretching her beautifully. It
hurt, but it hurt so
good
, she didn't want it to ever end.

"Yes what? Look at me."

She opened her eyes, tried to
gather her wits, but he'd scattered them. "I want ..."

"Tell me what you want."
He pumped his cock harder, his breath growing ragged. His fingers inside her
seemed to be going deeper and deeper, and she had no idea how he expected her
to speak when he was making her feel so mindlessly good.