AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER2
The moment Tanner saw her, he knew she was the one he wanted to connect with. To finally blow the soot out of his sex engine. The last time he experienced lying in a woman’s arms had been before he left for Iraq five years ago. Five long, dusty years of trying to put that god-awful war behind him.
Five years of reliving every battle he thought he would die in. All the artillery fire, the exploding of mortars, the crackle of his radio telling him help from the air was on the way while he thought he was going to die.
He only hoped and prayed that tonight his PTSD took a hiatus and let him have a good time. He only hoped that this woman, Emily, would give him the honor of having sex with him.
Sure, it was a lot to ask and he was not normally into one-night stands, but he also knew he would never subject his trauma to a permanent relationship. He was broken, and until he felt certain that he was healed, he would never marry.
No woman should have to put up with a man who fought almost a nightly battle. Or at least one every few days. There was no rhyme or reason to when they appeared. Only, suddenly, he was spiraling back in time, fighting a battle once again for his life.
Regardless of what anyone told him, he was not fit for “forever after” or even longer than one night.
Glancing at the clock, he slipped his billfold into his jeans and put in a couple of condoms. More than one, praying for two, ecstatic if they used three, hoping that tonight, they would do it more than once.
What if she told him no?
Then he would return home still yearning for a woman’s touch. The feel of her arms as she clasped them around his neck and her sweet moans in his ear.
No, he would never resort to paying for a woman, but he hoped that tonight, he and Emily could find satisfaction in each other’s arms. Maybe she was just as lonely as him and wanted the same thing.
He’d seen no wedding band. No outward signs of commitment. He would never get involved with someone married. Not even for a one-night stand. They were off-limits.
The woman was beautiful and when he’d seen her blonde hair and soft blue eyes gazing at him, he’d known. She was the one.
Rubbing on cologne, he checked the creases in his jeans making certain they lined up with his boots, made certain his shirt was tucked all nice and neat in his pants and he’d removed the stubble from his chin.
At this moment, he couldn’t wait to get her back upstairs and explore every inch of her luscious body. Her soft lips, her bountiful breasts, and that tiny waist his hands could probably reach around.
If he was looking for a relationship, she’d be on his radar, but he knew that was impossible. Until he found some kind of help that would end his episodes of war, he would never commit to anyone.
With a sigh, he knew it was time. Tucking his hotel key in his shirt pocket, he glanced around the room one last time.
One last test of his breath and he was ready to go.
Whatever room they chose, he wanted her to see he was a neat freak and that he was prepared to pull out early in the morning.
Time to go back to work.
Closing the door, he hurried down the hall and got on the elevator. In a matter of seconds, he was on the ground floor.
He saw her sitting at the bar, in a summer dress with strappy sandals on her feet. Slowly she sipped on a drink and he hoped she wouldn’t get drunk. That would be a complete turnoff, because if and when they had sex, he wanted her fully functional to enjoy what was going on.
“Good evening, Emily,” he said, walking up to the bar.
With relief, he noticed she was drinking a soda. Maybe there wouldn’t be anything in it.
“What can I get for you, sir?”
“Water,” he said.
Her brows raised.
“Normally, I don’t drink.”
“Good,” she said. “I’m having a Coke to pick me up for the evening.”
He grinned. He’d been right.
