With one word, Bea gets it. She knows exactly why I’m a mess.
“You have to overcome your insecurities, Piper. Just because Sara thought she couldn’t compare doesn’t mean he has an unrealistic vision of you. Does Tanner look at you like the rainbow sprouts from your ass?”
I cringe.
“Yes, but so what? He knows what lies beneath his quest.”
What she’s saying sounds logical, but for me, it’s too foreign.
She stops the teeter, holding us in a spot where she can make sure I see how serious she is. “I’m telling you this straight, Piper. You’ll lose him if you don’t let this issue go.”
Bea is rarely ever serious, so this is one of those aha moments, and I need to pay attention to her.
Looking back at Tanner, all I see is his smile, and the girls flocked around him are now gone. His lips are spread so wide in excitement, showing off his perfect white teeth. Then, as though he senses how much I need the reminder, he shoots me his classic wink.
“You’re right. I’m being stupid,” I relent.
Bea unhooks her hands from me before standing up. “About time you figured it out.”
She leaves me, going to her bag to dig out her swim cap. When she returns, I’m bent over, touching my toes.
“Now, go out there, and swim your ass off, so your drop-dead gorgeous man has no choice but to pour champagne over your body and lick it off tonight.” She laughs, wandering to lane eight.
Coach walks the line, directing all of us to be ready for positions, so I go to my bag and grab my goggles. As my hand reaches in, my phone flips, and I catch the screen light up.
Tanner: You got this, babe. Steady and stealthy through the last lap. Then, imagine I’m waiting for you at the other end of the pool. ;)
Me: What’s my prize if I win? You?
Tanner: You already have me. :) Win and find out!
Happy, I place the phone back in my bag. I’ll be cooling down my cheeks from the blush Tanner ignited. When I give one last look up in the stands, the exact opposite happens to me. Tanner’s encouraging eyes calm my nerves. Taking a deep breath, I prepare myself for the sound of the starter pistol.
A bang rings in my ears, and I dive into the water.
Stroke, stroke, breathe.
Stroke, stroke, breathe.
My rhythm immediately kicks in, and weightlessness starts to flurry in my chest about my chances of winning first place. Visions of Tanner play in my head, and soon, I’m no longer fixating on my swimming strokes. All of Bea’s advice before the race mingles in my thoughts. How right she is. If I want this to work, I need to trust him until he takes my trust away, and hopefully, he never will. But I’m not giving him my complete self if I continue to doubt him.
When my fingers touch the black plus sign, I emerge from the water with cheers erupting. I look up at Tanner in the bleachers. He’s standing up, clapping his hands and then raising his hand in the air to cheer. In this moment, I vow to myself to give Tanner all of me tonight—heart, body, and mind.
I TOSS MY KEYS ON the kitchen table and drop my bag to the floor. Before I can reach the fridge, Tanner’s arms are wrapped around my waist, and his head is nuzzled in my neck. Holding his head exactly where I want it, I revel in the butterfly kisses he’s casting across my shoulder. The fridge door slips from my hands, and I sink back into his hard body while his lips tenderly nip at my skin.
Tanner backs us up. His hand grips my hip, and he spins me around into his arms. “Congratulations.” He slides my hair off my shoulder and pierces me with desired eyes.
“You said that already.” My hands circle around his waist. I raise his thin T-shirt to splay my hands on his back.
“I’m proud of you.” His head dips to the hollow of my neck as his fingers move lazily down my spine, raising goose bumps in their wake. “Watching you anytime makes my body want you, but watching you swim drives me crazy with want every damn time.”
I smile against his shoulder from the compliment of what seeing me swim entices in him. “I could say that exact same sentence.”
He cups my face with his palms. “Let’s stop talking then.”
“Okay.” I lick my lip, sensing this will be a different type of coming together than usual.
When his lips brush along mine, they’re gentle and sensual and loving.
His hand glides down my rib cage until he grips my hand in his. He leads me to the bedroom, and I follow through the doorway before he shuts the door.
“I want to take off your clothes painfully slow, reveling in every inch of your skin.” He sits down on my mattress, positioning me in front of him.
It’s intimate and intimidating mixed together.
His fingers leave shivers on my skin as they roam up my ribs, pushing my shirt up. Casting short kisses up my stomach, he rises to his feet, and in one fluid motion, he discards my shirt up and over my head. The thin fabric hits the floor at the same time his hands slide behind my back, expertly undoing my bra hook. Once it’s unhooked, his fingers guide the straps down my arms while I stand as still as a mannequin. My heart pounds so hard that it might pop out of my chest.
Swiping my nipple with his tongue, he sucks my breast into his hot mouth. My hands grip the bottom of his shirt, raising it up his body. Without breaking from my skin, he grabs his shirt from the collar, and my nipple pops out of his mouth when he finishes pulling it off and tossing it across the room. He goes right back to circling my nipple with his tongue, and my head tips back as I close my eyes at the arousal pooling in my core.
“God, Piper. I love your body,” he murmurs against my skin. He switches to my other breast while his fingers undo my jeans. “I’ll never get my fill of you.”
His sweet but seductive words only make the waiting for him to be inside of me unbearable.
Pushing my jeans down, his touch is so ginger and caring. Tingles erupt across my whole body. Stepping one foot out of my jeans at a time, I stand in front of him in a pair of purple satin panties, and my hands clench to stop the urge to shield myself. When I catch his craving eyes roaming up and down my body, my skin sears. He inches forward, his tongue swiping along the seam of my panties, and my breath catches in my throat. Right as I’m about to release the constricted breath, I suck in deeper when his hands roam up my thighs. My eyelids droop as his thumbs slide under the satin of my panties on either side, and he hooks them down the fabric, dragging my panties down my legs.
“Stand up.” I say, taking a step back to give him space.
“Let’s trade.”
Inching off the bed, his hands move up my legs until he grabs a hold of my ass.
I screech when he picks me up, spins me around, and positions me on the bed. His jeans bulge in front of me, and this time, I can’t control my hands. My fingers manipulate the button, and his stomach sinks in from his deep intake of breath. Carefully, I lower the zipper and push his jeans down his muscular legs, leaving him in his black boxer briefs. I lean back on my elbows, admiring his body. The ripples, the bulges, the smooth lines from his shoulders down to his feet have me salivating at this creature in front of me.
“You didn’t finish the job,” he kids.
A small smile crosses my lips, and I sit up straighter, leaning toward him again to relieve the last piece of fabric between us. But he beats me to it and places his thumbs into each side of his briefs before shoving them down his legs. Our eyes feast on each other’s bodies, and again, I’m struck by how much I love this man.
I crawl backward up the bed, and Tanner follows me each inch of the way. After I sink into the mattress, he lowers himself on top of me, his face nuzzling in my neck and his hands threading through my hair. He’s not demanding or rough. Rather, he’s worshipping and sensual. My legs part to grant him access, and his hardness presses at my opening. Unable to hold off, I clench and grind against him, my back arching, as his lips feather kisses along my skin. Once his mouth is on top of mine, he slides into me, and I raise my hips off the mattress.