AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you have any idea how sexy you are?” he whispers, placing his finger beneath my chin and raising my face, his lips hovering over mine.
“No. I don’t think I’m even remotely sexy. You, on the other hand…” He silences me with a kiss as he lowers me to the couch, his body pressed hard to mine. I part my legs, like I did before, and he nestles between them, grinding his hips. It’s like he wants me to know what I’m doing to him, and I wish there was some way I could do the same thing. There’s no outward sign of my need for him, but it’s there, burning away at me.
He leans back, tilting his head, both of us trying to catch our breath as he shifts over and lies beside me, turning me to face him and pulling me into his arms. “Would now be a good time for me to cool things down a little?”
“In what way?”
“By telling you I won’t be able to see you tomorrow.” My disappointment is overwhelming, and although I know it’s pathetic, I can feel a sting of tears behind my eyes. Tanner pulls me a little closer. “In fact,” he says, “I won’t be able to see you until Sunday evening, after I take Nash home.”
“Of course.” I can’t believe I forgot. He has responsibilities, and even if I hate the fact that there’s going to be an enforced break in our budding relationship, I can’t begrudge him the scant time he gets to spend with his son.
“Would it be okay if I came straight to your place afterwards?” he asks and I nod my head, leaning up to kiss him. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, babe, but I can’t introduce you to Nash just yet.”
I lean back, although he holds on to me. “You already have… outside my classroom, remember? And I spoke to him today.”
It’s Tanner’s turn to pull back now.
“You did?” he says.
“Yes. I helped him cross the street outside the school, and…”
He leans up on his elbow, looking down at me. “Excuse me? Why did Nash need help to cross the street?”
“Because Dean didn’t wait for him.”
Tanner twists around and kneels up now, pushing his fingers back through his hair, his face a picture of confusion.
“Dean was there? Again?”
“Yes. He even introduced himself.”
“That was big of him,” he grumbles.
“Don’t get mad, Tanner.”
“I’m not mad at you.”
“Maybe not. But you’re mad about Dean.”
“Wouldn’t you be?” he says. “I don’t know why he can’t be more responsible… or why Sabrina even lets him collect Nash in the first place. She knows I’ll do it, if she asks.”
“I agree with you, but what can you do?”
“Talk to her, I guess. I doubt it’ll go well, but I can’t just stand by and watch while her boyfriend neglects our son.” He huffs out a breath and I wait, giving him time to calm down. His brow is furrowed, his eyes filled with worry, and I wonder if I should say something. He seems upset, and I want to help. I’m about to open my mouth when he snaps out of his trance and focuses on me again, his expression softening. “Sorry,” he whispers, lowering himself down, and lying beside me again. “I’m grateful to you for taking care of Nash. Honestly, I am. And to get back to what we were saying before, I hadn’t forgotten that I’d introduced him to you. The thing is, I haven’t introduced you to him… not with any kind of explanation of who you are to me. And for now, that’s gonna have to wait.”
“It is?” I thought I felt disappointed before, but that was nothing compared to how this feels. “Because I’m a teacher at his school, you mean? You think he might find it confusing?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
“Is… Is it because you need to be sure about me? About us?” That prospect is even more painful than anything that’s gone before, but what else can he be thinking?
“No, baby. Of course not. I’m already sure about you, and about us. I may be waiting to make love with you, Zara, but I’m about as joined to you as I can be, and I know we’re right together.”
My heart skips a beat, my head spinning as his words filter through my stunned mind. Did he really say all that… and mean it, too? He’s sure about me? He’s sure about us? That’s a relief, because I’m absolutely certain about him.
“In that case…” I murmur, more confused than ever by his reticence.
“It’s Sabrina,” he says. “I don’t want Nash to tell her about you before I do, and I don’t want him to feel like he has to keep secrets, either. When she moved Dean into her place, she told Nash not to mention him to me, and it made him uncomfortable. I won’t do that to him.”
