Page 81 of Let Me Be the One
“Stay put,” he whispered. “I’ll be right back.”
Still, she didn’t speak. Wasn’t sure she could anyway.
When he returned a minute later with a damp washcloth, she was barely awake. Even when he rearranged her, tucking her under the quilt and climbing into the bed beside her, all she could do was drift on the residual pleasure. A gal could easily get addicted to something so phenomenally satisfying. Maybe she already was.
Pulling her against him, Tanner breathed in her ear, “Sleep.”
After the day she’d had, that sounded like a grand plan.
* * *
CALLIE SLEPT FORa few hours, then woke with a start. Tanner held her closer, reassuring her with a murmured, “Easy.” Knowing she might have forgotten, he said, “Lights are still out—and I’m still with you.” In fact, he never wanted to move.
“Mmm,” she whispered sleepily. “Sorry I dozed off.”
“You could have slept through the night and it would be okay with me.” She’d gone out so quickly, he knew she had to be exhausted. Apparently, the sleep she’d gotten had rejuvenated her, because she immediately got busy seducing him.
It was a uniquely pleasurable experience to be the recipient of Callie’s sexual greed.
A man could get addicted.
This time, he was a little more thorough, a little less rushed—but Callie still raced to the finish line. She was so sexually explosive that he couldn’t hold back as long as he would have liked.
Not that it mattered. It was still the best carnal experience of his life. Would always be, in fact. He had to wonder if he’d ever be the same. Doubtful.
Warm and sleepy, her fingertips drifted over his chest. “Could I ask you something?”
Since he’d passed the point of keeping much from her, he replied, “Anything.”
Her long hesitation warned him, and then she whispered, “What the Garmet brothers said early on about Addie almost losing her house because of you… They made it sound like you’d done something wrong. Not that I believe them,” she assured him, tightening her hold as if she thought he’d surge away in anger.
The question was so far removed from their current position—naked and entwined in bed—that for a moment, it stymied him.
“Tanner,” she persisted. “I trust you.”
“I know that,” he said, stroking her in reassurance. From the start, even when he’d been standing there with a roaring chain saw, Callie had trusted him. It had defied reason, and started the deconstruction of his resistance.
“I shouldn’t have mentioned it,” she said, and pressed a kiss to his sternum.
Knowing it was bound to come up sooner or later, Tanner had considered different angles to dodge the question. In the end, he’d known spitting out the truth was the only way to go. Now, here with her in the dark, seemed like as good a time as any. “I was accused of killing my father.”
Anger brought her upright, but he tugged her back down. Nice that it was anger on his behalf. He didn’t have a single doubt about that.
“I was a suspect for a while,” he explained. “Something like that gets around, especially in a town this size.”
“Tanner.” She hugged him tight. “I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“I’m not.” It would be better to clear the air, especially if she’d be staying.
“Good,” she stated firmly. “I don’t want any secrets between us and I don’t want you to ever worry that I’ll believe rumors.”
Take-charge Callie. That’s what he should call her. Sharing one of his biggest shames was never easy, but with her, it wasn’t as difficult as he’d imagined. “Relax.”
Gradually, she eased, her body melting against his again.
He loved how they fit together. Few things had ever felt so right. “Addie had already claimed me, and now that you know her a little you can imagine how she reacted.”
“I’m sure she was fierce.”
