Carter’s vibrations at my side grew significantly. My fingers flexed at his side, before shifting to his ass. I squeezed, which immediately stopped his movement. The sound of his breath catching was perfect and urged me on. I grinned. “Mrs. Carlisle, I’m pleased you asked.” Her brows lifted in expectation. “Thegood dochere and I were just about to head back to the clinic. But not before I took him to the local lookout”—I had no idea if there was such a place, but there usually was one in every town—“where I planned to make him all hot and sweaty by kissing him thoroughly, get that sexy blush covering his sweet cheeks, before letting him go on his merry way to work.”
I was desperate to look at Carter, sure his mouth would be gaping and he’d be impersonating a fish. Instead, I offered Mrs. Carlisle the most innocent smile I could and waited.
She nodded, seemingly pleased. “Good. Now get that horny dog of yours away before I let Belinda in there for a run. All the damn dogs are after a piece of her tail.” She turned to step away, then paused and looked back at us. “And make sure you use protection. You seem like a nice young man, if not a little wicked. Just make sure you wrap up.”
Sure my eyes were going to pop out of my head, I stood frozen. How the fuck was I to respond to that? I couldn’t, so instead, I remained silent.
“Bye, Mrs. Carlisle,” Carter called as he released me and went to call Rex over.
I still stood there when Carter returned with Rex on his lead. Laughter lit his eyes.
“Who the fuck was that?”
He just laughed and shook his head. “Welcome to my world.” He snorted. “Where every client has something to say about how you live your life.” He took my hand and tugged. “Come on, youwickedman. You need to get me back to work so I’m not late.”
Chapter Fourteen
CARTER
Tanner’s progresson the house was impressive. Already parts of the house were transformed, and I could finally use the staircase without fearing for my life.
I held the newly replaced banister as I headed upstairs to grab a shower in my new en suite. Tanner had called someone in to replace and tile it, and it was finally finished. After just three days of its sparkling newness, I was nowhere near close to no longer being excited to use it, or simply step in and stare at it for a while. Admittedly, Tanner had already caught me having three showers in one day. Though two of those times had involved him joining me, so he didn’t tease me so much about those.
I’d had a long and busy shift at work with an early start and a midnight emergency call out. I’d managed to come back home by about two before having to return for six. I thought I’d be too hyped and awake to sleep, but once I was in bed and Tanner wrapped his big body around me, before I knew it, he was waking me with a kiss on my nose and coffee in his hand.
Life and work, and definitely my love life were pretty awesome, and I hoped it stretched out indefinitely. There’d been no more work dramas since the confrontation between Scott and Tanner a few weeks back, which was a blessing, and things were progressing naturally with Tanner and me.
That night we were actually having dinner with Davis. I was looking forward to finally meeting him and Libby. I’d heard a lot about them already and knew how important they were to Tanner. But it was that knowledge that also made me nervous as heck.
I looked at the time and checked the oven, even knowing the chicken wouldn’t be ready yet.
“You know, that’s the third time you’ve checked in ten minutes.” Tanner’s heat pressed against my back as his arms wrapped around my waist. “There’s nothing to be nervous about, you know that, right?” Gentle lips touched my neck, his stubble grazing my skin and successfully distracting me.
“Uh-huh,” I managed, angling my head, granting him better access.
His soft chuckle brushed warm air across my skin, before his lips rested against me again. Immediately I sighed, and my tension eased a little. “It’s just—” His lips traveled up my neck. “—Davis.” Breath swept past my ear and I shuddered, loving the feel. When his mouth landed on my earlobe, I groaned and then gasped when he took it between his teeth and tugged gently.
My groan turned into one of frustration when he pulled away. But I needn’t have worried. He turned me in his arms and then heaved me close. “You know, we have twenty minutes.” Firm hands clamped on my butt and he pulled my groin to his. “I could distract you. Christ, I could make you so fucking boneless that by the time they get here, you won’t give a flying fuck.”
I swallowed hard and was so tempted to take him up on the offer. “Twenty minutes?” I raised my brow in question.
He nodded, a grin that looked far too smug and sexy lifting his lips. Giving my ass a squeeze, he tilted his head in offer.
With a frustrated groan, I sighed, pecked his lips and then wrangled myself out of his arms. “There’s no way I’m going to be a hot sweaty mess when Davis gets here. Especially since your niece is going to be here too.” I shook my head in horror and then frowned at him, shooting him a disapproving look when he burst into laughter.
“You know Libby’s not even crawling yet, right?” He snorted before heading to the fridge and removing a beer.
I twisted my lips at him and raised my brows, waiting for him to stop laughing.
“What?” He paused, beer bottle an inch from his lips.
“You finished?”
He looked confused for a moment, looked at his beer a second before he rolled his eyes at me. While his laughter had stopped, a smile still tilted his lips. “I know you’re nervous.” He stepped toward me, placed his bottle on the surface behind me, and threaded a finger through one of my belt loops. “And, it’s… sweet that you’re trying so hard and want to make a good impression.” He tugged me to him, pressing his lips gently to mine before easing back slightly. “But, babe, honestly, Davis is my best friend, my brother, you know this, and with that, he’s happy as long as I’m happy.”
I swallowed, nerves bubbling in my chest. I cleared my throat. “Are you happy?” While I pretty much figured he was, since, well, everything was amazing, I needed to hear the words. I tried not to be needy and rarely made demands, but sometimes I genuinely needed to hear stuff like this. While our physical connection was intense and passionate—and I seriously had not experienced such magnificent sex with another man like I had with him—Tanner wasn’t great at sharing his feelings. There was the occasional moment when he’d let his guard down for words to spill out. But they were rare.
On the flip side, I was sure he was honest when he showed me how he felt. Each touch, kiss, and caress, both in and out of the bedroom, meant something. I just wasn’t sure what the “something” meant to him. And while we’d shared some bits from our past as well as looking to the future, we hadn’t reached the point of sharing the big stuff. Yet. God, I was there already, on the edge of shouting to him, to the world that when he’d said that he needed me, wanted me that first time, I was his, and I loved him.
