I could only guess at how hard dating had been for him and how difficult it was to keep putting himself out there for me. I hugged him tight before relaxing my hold and nodding. “I’d love that.”
Hiding what I wanted would only make things awkward in the long run.
Tanner smiled and I could feel the last remaining tension fade. “We need to figure out a way to take one car next time.”
Pleasure shot through me at his casual mention of our next date.
“I agree.” I kissed him tenderly, keeping it almost chaste, and relaxed my hold on him. “I can follow you to your place or you can come to mine. But keep in mind, my family is insane and I can’t guarantee we won’t be bugged at some point.”
Tanner chuckled. “As much as I’d like to meet your family, I think that can wait until another night.”
I let the white lie pass by, but the flash of tension as he mentioned my family gave it away. Not that I blamed him. My family was a lot to take in and they weren’t subtle. “Okay then, I’ll follow you.”
Smiling, Tanner nodded, then surprised me by giving me a quick peck as he stepped away. Work Tanner was no-nonsense, focused, and incredibly sexy, but this Tanner was sweet and cute…and still incredibly sexy.
Tanner moved back, his hands stroking against mine until he was too far away. I could see his brain starting to whirl again as the immediate passion started to fade. Smiling at him, I did my best to show him how much I was enjoying our night together. “Thank you for being honest with me and taking a chance on us.”
That he was the one taking most of the risks was hard to ignore. Sure, my job might end up being precarious if something happened and we didn’t work out, but he had his reputation and everything else to consider.
Balls of steel.
Tanner smiled, shy but still confident. “I’m glad you didn’t ignore it. I know it can’t have been easy to wrap your mind around.”
“Not easy, but definitely worth it.” Then I straightened and watched as he opened his car door. “Definitely worth it.”
Part of me wanted to open the door and help him in, but there was a bigger part that knew my control was only so good. Our first time together would not be in the back of his car.
The drive to Tanner’s house wasn’t long, but it felt like forever before I pulled into his driveway. The house was huge, but smaller than what he could have afforded and a lot less pretentious than his father’s. That one had been in countless design and architectural magazines, so there probably wasn’t a single person who hadn’t seen it.
Tanner, on the other hand, was incredibly private and had never let any cameras inside. There had even been a heated debate about that with his father just after I’d started working for Tanner. Reginald Wright wanted Tanner to let in some design website and Tanner had put his foot down. The biggest issue was that Reginald had already promised the company access.
Tanner hadn’t appreciated it.
As I stepped out of the car, Tanner was already waiting for me. It was dark enough that his blush was almost invisible as I approached, but I could see the way he fidgeted even if I’d missed the other signs of his nervousness.
With anyone else I would have stayed back and treaded carefully, but with Tanner, I walked up and wrapped my arms around him. The long driveway and high fence around the property gave us enough privacy that I wasn’t worried about anyone watching, so I let my worries fade away and focused on chasing every fear from his mind. He needed to know I wasn’t afraid of his submission.
Taking his mouth in a heated kiss, I swallowed the moan that escaped him as I palmed his ass and tugged him close. I wanted to feel his body against mine and I needed there to be no question about how much I wanted him.
Tanner melted against me and gave a needy gasp as he started rubbing against my erection. He seemed to be pouring everything he was feeling into me, and I wasn’t sure if he knew he was grinding against me or not. When we finally broke apart, desperate to catch our breaths but neither one of us willing to move apart, all I wanted to do was throw him down and make love to him.
But that would have to wait.
He needed to see firsthand that I could handle the domination and submission. He needed to know that not only could I accept it but that it would turn us both on. He’d never stay in a relationship where he thought he was the only one getting what he needed.
I kept kneading his ass as I fought for control, trying to plan the next step. I kissed him again gently without letting it swell out of control. “I need to know what your limits are tonight. I know there’s a lot we have to talk about, but for now, what do you want?”
His eyes were still glazed over with desire, but he swallowed several times, trying to force the words out. His hesitation seemed to be gone for the moment with everything in him focused on getting more. It had to be an incredible feeling after having waited so long to get what he really wanted.
“I…” He swallowed again and seemed to be fighting to find his brain. But worrying and thinking wasn’t in the plan.
So I smacked his ass.
It was the barest of spankings—just to get his attention, not to actually cause him pain—but it was like fireworks shot through him. He gasped, his muscles tightening for a long moment before he sank into me. It was like every muscle in his body went limp at the same time. “Yes…I…”
I’d broken him.
It was hot.