She’d had no idea.
No idea that two people could be as close as she and Tanner had just been. The things that lawman could do with his hands and lips ought to be illegal.
And was she supposed to have known that there were spots on her body—innocentspots on her body—that he could use against her so succinctly?
The backs of her knees.
The spot just below her ear.
Her navel.
And he’d found—and paid attention to—every single freckle she had.
She was never,evergoing to be able to look at her body the same way after what they’d done.
And they hadn’t even had sex, technically. When Tanner had laid her on the bed and told her there was a lot more he wanted to show her tonight that didn’t include intercourse, she’d been skeptical. Thought it was just another way he was trying to keep distance from her.
She’d been so wrong. He’d definitely not been trying to keep his distance from her.
Afterward, he’d carried her exhausted, sated body into the shower. The water had perked her up a little, and she’d convinced him to show her whatheliked.
It was only after the hot water started to run out that they’d finally left the shower. Tanner had dried them both off and tucked her body next to him in the bed, turning out the light.
Curled up next to him, she’d drifted off to sleep cognizant that she’d never thought she’d ever have this sort of intimacy with someone, much less someone she cared about as much as Tanner. Never thought she would feel as cherished as she did right in that moment. She’d fallen asleep happier than she’d ever been, Tanner wrapped around her like her own personal blanket.
But when she reached over for him in the bed now just a few hours later, he wasn’t there.
She waited a couple of minutes to make sure he hadn’t just gone to the bathroom, but it didn’t take her long to realize that wasn’t the case.
She glanced over at the clock. It was almost 4:00 a.m., too early for him to be out doing any chores or getting ready for work. Maybe he’d gotten hungry. Shegrinned again. They’d certainly burned enough calories. She wouldn’t mind a bite to eat herself.
But when she came out of the bedroom, she found him asleep on the couch. And not just in the accidentally-sat-down-and-fell-back-asleep stance. He had taken out a pillow and a blanket and made himself a little bed.
Away from her.
“Tanner?”
He’d been a cop for too long to wake up groggy. Even in the dim light, she could see awareness in his eyes. “You okay, freckles?”
“Why are you out here sleeping rather than in the bedroom with me?”
Suddenly everything she’d been feeling—all the closeness and intimacy she’d been celebrating—melted away. Obviously, he didn’t feel the same connection between them, or he wouldn’t have come out to the couch to sleep as soon as he could untangle himself from her.
He shook his head. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop. This isn’t what it looks like.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to fortify herself. “It looks like you were sleeping out here rather than sleeping with me. Is that not the case?”
He let out a sigh. “Yes, but not because I didn’t want to be next to you. Believe me, there is nothing more I wanted than to sleep with you tucked against me, especially after the things we just did together.”
Honestly, she wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not. Tanner wasn’t a liar. She knew that down to the very marrow of her bones.
But years of insecurity and knowing how bad she could be at interpersonal situations ate at her. All thepossible mistakes she could’ve made and not even have been aware of it.
“Did I do something wrong?” she whispered. Except for in the shower, she’d definitely been more on the receiving end of pleasure than the giving end. “Was I too selfish? I didn’t do enough for you?”
He flew off the couch and pulled her into his arms. “No, Bree. Hell, nothing like that. It was amazing for me.Allof it—especially watching you come apart in my arms like that—was amazing for me.”
She could hear his heartbeat under her ear, but it didn’t reassure her the way it had when he’d pulled her against him a few hours ago.
