Page 8 of One Night Forever
Relief washes through me. Fuck. This is what I want. Ever since I had her in my bed, all I’ve wanted is her.
“Bella. I want to take you to dinner, talk without the constraints of the office. And then..."
My voice trails off suggestively, and I feel her shiver against me. Her hands are still fisted in my shirt, as if she can't bear to let go.
"And then?" she whispers, her eyes dark with desire.
I reach for her chin, tilting her head and forcing her to meet my gaze. "And then I want to worship every inch of you. Show you exactly how much I want you, how much I need you."
Bella's breath catches, her pupils dilating. "Tanner, I..."
"No more excuses," I say firmly. "No more hiding behind professionalism or fear. We both want this, Bella. Let's stop pretending otherwise."
She nods slowly, her resolve visibly crumbling. "You're right," she whispers. "I'm tired of fighting this."
I lean in, capturing her lips in another searing kiss. This time, there's no hesitation from either of us. Bella melts into me, her arms winding around my neck as she returns the kiss with just as much passion and want.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathing heavily. I rest my forehead against hers, savoring the closeness.
"We should probably get back to work," Bella murmurs, though she makes no move to step away from me.
I chuckle, placing a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. "Probably. Though I'm not sure how productive I'll be for the rest of the day."
She giggles as she turns to leave.
“Tanner,” she whispers as she reaches the door and turns to face me. “Please,” she begs. “Don’t hurt me.” She exits my office before I can answer.
Fuck. I never want to hurt her. I knew from the moment I saw her that she was it for me. I’ve never had that feeling before and I know I never will again. Arabella Fox is mine and I’ll be damned if I ever hurt her. Fuck, I’m not letting her go.
CHAPTER 4
Tanner
I’m beyond pissed. I thought we had agreed to give it a chance, but when it was time to leave, she didn’t want to come with me. As much as I want her, I'm not going to force her to do what she doesn’t want to do. I’m going to bide my time, and play it right, and once she realizes that we’re good together, it’ll work out okay.
“Tanner,” James says, strolling into my office. “I’m glad I caught you. I have some news.”
I raise my head to look at him. He’s dressed down today, in a long sleeve Henley and jeans. “What’s that?”
“I got a call from Tyler Bennington, he wants you to fly out to Fiji and talk at the conference.”
I feel my brows practically hit my forehead. Tyler hosts the biggest tech conventions in the world. The man makes millions in doing so. I hadn’t expected to get a call and ask to be a speaker.
“When is it?”
James grins. “Next week and it’s for four days.”
Fuck that’s short notice not to mention a long time to be out of the office.
“I already told him you’re going and that you’ll have your assistant along with you. You’re going to talk about the business and Arabella can be on hand if you need her.”
I nod slowly, my mind already racing with the implications of this trip. It would be a huge opportunity to network with some of the biggest players in the tech industry, but it also means having Arabella with me, maybe I can get closer to her while we’re away.
"Thanks for letting me know, James," I say, trying to keep my tone neutral. "I'll get started on preparing my presentation right away."
As James leaves my office, I lean back in my chair and close my eyes, trying to come up with a plan. Maybe there’s a way to get her to open up to me. I know she wants me just as much as I want her. It would be the perfect chance to show her a different side of my life, to let her see the world beyond the office and the asshole she thinks I am.
But I know that Arabella needs more time to figure out what she wants, and while bringing her with me is the only option, because James is right—if someone has questions or needs anything while I’m there, Arabella is the only person who can help—I can’t help but feel maybe pushing her isn’t the right way to go.
