Worth the Risk (10 page)

Intent on what he was doing, heal most missed the fact that she’d gone still. He dared a glance to gauge her reaction. Her focus stayed riveted on what he was doing, her eyes wide, her pupils large and dark. She seemed to be holding her breath. He dropped his gaze back down, and the sky lit up again as he slid his finger into her ass, mesmerized as he watched it sink past the second knuckle. Her gasp brought his attention back to her face, fearful he’d hurt her. Captivated, he watched her eyes roll back and her jaw drop open, her expression one of unadulterated pleasure.

He eased his finger out then drilled it back in again. She reached with her hips to meet him halfway. He put his tongue back to her clit, laving her slit while he finger-fucked her ass.

She began to pant, thrusting her hips in time with his movements. Shivers raced along her body, making his fingers tingle where they made contact with her skin.

“Oh. My. God.” Her words escaped as a gasp.

Faster and faster, they moved in a synchronized dance. A clap of thunder drowned out the groan rising through her. She thrashed against him, begging him for more, until finally, she bowed her body, arching away from his touch, and a strangled cry was ripped from her throat. She exploded, her come spilling out to coat his hand.

Slipping his finger out from the tightness of her ass, he grasped her hips and licked her pussy through the throes of her climax. Little by little, her body began to relax, and her breathing returned to near normal. His body continued to thrum, impatient for release. He relaxed his grip and retrieved a condom. His hands shook. He sat up and pulled her astride his lap. He had never been so fucking turned on. This woman sucked the breath right out of him. He couldn’t wait to feel her wet heat surrounding his throbbing cock.

Biceps bulging, he lifted her over his straining erection and slowly lowered her onto his shaft. His jaw clenched tight, his muscles straining as he fought the impulse to ram into her.

When he was finally sheathed in her tight channel, he stilled and drew in a lungful of air, desperate to gain control over his intoxicating need to pound into her. She wriggled around him.

“Fuck.” He grasped her hips and began moving her up and down the length of his cock. “You’re so freaking hot.” The glove-tight sensation of gliding the flesh on his cock back and forth against the smooth walls of her vagina sent ripples of pleasure running through his body. Hot, slippery fluid warmed his dick. He rocked his body into hers, grinding his groin against her pelvis, pressing to fit himself as deep as he could get.

“Oh, God, I’m going to come again. Go faster.”

“Oh, yeah, honey. I can do faster.” His arms trembled as he shifted her up and down on his lap. Sweat dripped from his brow. The smack of her ass hitting his thighs was erotic as hell. He muttered between clenched teeth. “I don’t think I can. I can’t hold on, honey. You feel…tight and so fucking hot, babe.”

She moaned deep and guttural in the hot, closed-in space. Her breaths came in hard pants. She raised her hands to her nipples. The sight of her pinching and pulling her pert tits kicked his craving up another notch. He growled like an animal. Swooping forward, he nudged her hands away with his chin and licked and sucked at each breast. Moving between the two, he rocked his hips faster.

“Tanner.”

“I’m almost there, honey. Just…another…minute.”

Then she put her hands on his chest, tugging at
his
nipples. The sensation stunned him. He let her breast fall from his mouth and threw his head back against the headrest, his jaw slack. Ah, God. His balls and spine tingled. His cock was hard as steel inside her, ready to detonate.

The pressure began to build, spiraling tight. Seconds from blowing, he somehow managed to increase the pace, thrusting deep as she rode him hard, searching for that sweet spot. She reached behind her, arched her chest, and cupped his sac in her hand, closing her fingers around him. She tugged and squeezed with just the right amount of pressure.

Lightning flashed. Thunder crashed. She screamed and he roared as he erupted. His body jerked as he held her in a bruising grip and drove his cock home one last time, stopping when he bottomed out against her womb.

With a long, throaty groan, spasm after spasm ripped through his core. How could so much fluid come from one man? He slumped back against the seat of the car, drained, sated, and euphoric. How in God’s name could he ever live his life without this woman in his bed, by his side, sharing the good times—and the not-so-great times?

* * *

Molly collapsed against Tanner’s chest, both working to get their breathing under control. His heart kept time with hers. Holy shit. Sex, even with Tanner, had never been this intense. She lifted her head, but had to will her arm to lift so she could clear a small area of condensation off the glass. The storm had stopped, and a gentle rain fell now. The fogged-over windows would ensure their retreat remained private for a while longer yet. He cascaded his hand over her hair and stroked down her bare back.

“Wow.” His voice was deeper than normal, husky, sexy.

“Yeah.” Her heart blossomed with love. Wild fantasies of a happy ever after flashed through her head. She had decided long ago that she wouldn’t find love again. Not one as she’d had with him all those years ago. After seeing him again, making love with him, baring her pain to him, she wondered if it was possible for her to be with him again. Could she take the risk? Did he even want her? She reflected over the weekend, remembering the tender glances, the soft-spoken words, the gentle touches.

While her internal struggle continued, he caressed her back with soft lazy strokes. She sighed and settled against him, her arms reaching to loop around his neck. She lifted her head to gaze into his eyes. Excitement mingled with hope at what she believed she saw staring back at her.

He leaned in and kissed her. “I’ve never stopped loving you.”

“But—”

“I want you back. I don’t want to pick up where we left off. I want to start over. I want to get to know the beautiful, sexy woman you are today. I want us to have a life together.” When she opened her mouth, he placed a finger against her lips. “Just listen. I want you in my life. It’s the reason I came home. It’s the reason I’m buying the restaurant. I can make you happy, I promise. If we’re fortunate enough to have children, that would be wonderful. And if not, well, there
are
other ways.” He stopped, but she waited, sensing he had more to say.

“I spent the last ten years separated from you. Part of that time, I was angry. After a while, I discovered I was more hurt than angry. I didn’t understand then, but I do now, at least some of it. I’ve never found another woman who even came close to being somebody I wanted to share my life with. Please, give us a chance.” He eyes shimmered with pent-up emotion.

“I love you too. I don’t know if I’ll have other problems with getting pregnant or the pregnancy itself, but I do know that I want to be with you, regardless of whether we can have a child of our own or not.” She paused. “I’m scared, but I’m willing to try. I think you’re worth the risk.”

He enclosed her in his arms. Molly laid her head against his chest and released the breath she’d been holding for what felt like forever. Savoring the moment, they lay wrapped together, basking in the afterglow, while she listened to the light patter of rain on the roof.

In the wee hours, he made love to her again, this time unhurried, but no less powerful.

Chapter Eleven

Molly hated saying good-bye to her friends. Although most of them lived within driving distance, they didn’t get together often enough. Breakfast was a relaxed, quiet affair. She sat with Tanner at one end of the picnic table. At her age, it was hard to believe shyness still existed, but she found herself casting quick peeks in his direction, somewhat fearful that the previous night had been a dream.

When his glance swung to meet hers, the emotions displayed on his face and the hungry heat in his eyes left her mouth dry and her heart thumping double-time. His arm snaked around behind her to rest against her lower back, before moving to caress up and down her spine. He seemed happy and content—a man in love.

They spent the remainder of the morning dismantling tents, packing clothes and bedding, storing food, and clearing the site of waste. Molly multitasked, using the time to replay the events of the past few days in her mind. In less than four days she had fallen in love. Or had she every really fallen
out
of love? So much had changed. Tanner was home, and he wanted her back. The guilt she had been living with for the past ten years didn’t run so deep anymore. She discovered that with the right person at her side, she could be strong enough to take any risk
,
because that person would share it with her.

She gazed over to where he stood by the cars joking with the other men. He glanced up, and he curved his lips into a slow smile. The warm feeling that filled her almost made her dizzy. At the end of the day, right or wrong, the past was the past and with a shared history, and a shared pain, they at least didn’t need to start from scratch. She could now move forward from here.

Colleen drew Molly aside, her eyes wide with curiosity. “What’s going on between you and Tanner?”

“Nothing. Why?”

Colleen narrowed her eyes and scrunched her forehead. “Don’t give me that innocent crap. You’re my best friend. I know you. Something’s up. Spill.”

“Um…I don’t really want to talk about it right now or right here.”

“Why not?”

Molly widened her eyes.

“You guys had sex, didn’t you?”

She dropped her gaze down to the chipped polish on her toes.

“Let me see your face.” Molly raised her head. Colleen let out a tiny squeal. “When?”

She offered a teasing grin. “The first time or the last time?”

“Oh, my God!” This time, her shriek captured the interest of their other friends.

“Can you keep it down please? You’re attracting attention.”

“Details.”

“Not here. Besides, I want to keep things low-key for a while.” She kicked at a stone. “At least until we know where this relationship is going, until it’s more stable.”

Serious now, Colleen studied her. “I can understand that. Are you OK though, honey?”

“Yeah, I’m very OK.”

“What happened? It’s been ten years. What happened then? What happened now?”

“This really isn’t the place for me to go into the details. But I will tell you. I promise.”

“Fair enough. What about what happened this weekend, between you and Tanner.”

“Let’s just say we’ve discussed the issues that separated us long ago and want to see where things can go from here.”

“Was the sex hot? Can you tell me that at least?” Colleen had a wicked gleam in her eye.

Molly fanned herself.

“Oh, we so have to schedule a girls’ afternoon—real soon.”

Molly chuckled. “Tanner still has to finalize the restaurant deal. While that happens, he’ll be going back and forth between his parents place and mine. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure I keep my schedule open for you too.”

Colleen had tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. “I’m happy for you.” She gave her a long, tight hug before moving away to finish packing.

Long before the others had started the day, Tanner and Molly, cuddled in the back seat of the car, had discussed plans for the summer, striving to work those plans around their budding relationship. He planned to go back to town with Brad and spend a few days with his parents, but promised to drive to Ottawa to see her the following weekend. She would have to settle for some heated phone sex until then. She’d never had phone sex before, but the concept thrilled her.

Both agreed to take their time. They wanted to do this right. Molly strolled over to join the others standing by the cars.

“It sure was a surprise to see you this weekend.” Violet placed a hand on Tanner’s shoulder. Turning to see Molly approach, she grinned. “A nice surprise, I believe.”

Tanner shifted his stance when Molly come up beside him, hooked an arm around her waist and hugged her close, treating her to a special smile. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Brad studied them for a moment and grinned. “Hey, man, we have some more catching up to do on the ride back to town.” She felt her cheeks heat as Tanner gave her a squeeze.

“Let us know if you need some help with the renos.” Matt was stuffing a cooler into the back of his SUV. “And don’t forget to invite us to your opening.”

Tanner chuckled. “You can expect personal invites. Once I finalize my plans, I’ll let you know how you can help, and we’ll set up a private event to celebrate. Dinner will be on me.” He moved away from Molly and walked over to give Sam a pat on the back before he pulled Olivia into his arms. “Congrats again. You’re going to make wonderful parents.”

Time to leave. With a few tears, Molly wished them well and backed away to stand beside Tanner and Brad as the others drove away in their respective cars, waving until they disappeared around the bend.

Brad hugged Molly and then climbed into his car. Tanner swiveled to face her. He hauled her close and pressed his lips to hers. “I can’t wait to see you again. It’s going to be a very long week.”

She leaned into him. “It’s four days. I’m sure you want to spend some time with your parents. Count yourself lucky if you manage to get away on Friday.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I will be in your apartment by dinnertime. Wear something special for my arrival.” He winked.

“How about heels?”

“Just heels?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” She felt alive, ready to take on anything the future tossed her way. With a growl, he gave her a final hug and a deep, searing kiss that singed her lips.

“Get in your car before I change my mind about visiting my parents. Brad and I will follow you out of the park.”

She hesitated, looking down at his chest rather than in his face. “Tanner?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you came back, and I’m glad you don’t hate me. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve missed you.” The last came out on a near sob.