Izzy
When her alarm rang at five o’clock in the morning, what felt like twenty minutes after she’d finally fallen asleep, Izzy reached one hand out to slap it off. She rolled over and buried her face in Tanner’s pillow, drifting back to sleep surrounded by his scent.
When Tanner’s normal wake-up call sounded an hour later, she pushed the off button and pulled the covers over her head with a groan. Just a little longer. She’d stay in bed just a little longer, then she’d be rested enough to get up and smile in front of the kids.
But when the smell of bacon wafted in the room some time later, Izzy sat straight up in bed with a frown. Her feet hit the floor, and she padded over to the bedroom door, cracking it slightly. Was that maple syrup?
She crossed her arms over the tank top she had slept in and glanced down at her shorts. They had coffee cups with little wings and clouds printed all over them. Two days ago she would have thought nothing of it.
But today? She suddenly and irrationally wondered what she had worn. Did she wear skin-tight jeans and a low-cut top held up by thin spaghetti straps? Or a white strapless western dress with brown cowboy boots?
The thought made her stomach churn and, despite the fact she hadn’t eaten yet, she felt certain she’d be sick. Instead, she squared her shoulders and marched down the stairs resolutely. If Tanner thought one stupid little breakfast was going to make her forget that he had his lips on someone else and his hands on someone else, he was definitely…
Her eyes fell on the virtual buffet laid out on the kitchen island. A single plate surrounded by dishes of pancakes, French toast, bacon, sausage, and nearly every piece of fruit she could dream of was laid out before her. A steaming cup of coffee and a small glass of orange juice sat beside the empty plate.
“What?” Her voice sounded tight even to her own ears. “What is this?”
Tanner spun away from the stove, carrying a dish piled high with scrambled eggs. “Good mornin’ swee—I mean Isabelle.” He offered a small smile. “Did you sleep well?”
Izzy shook her head, both as a response to his question and in disbelief of the scene before her. “Tanner, what is all of this?” She repeated the question, unable to think of anything else to say. Just then the realization they were alone struck her. “Where are the kids?”
“Breakfast,” he answered with a smile, “for you. And they are with Uncle Connor.”
She quickly swallowed the mouthful of coffee before she spit it out and plopped on one of the high stools at the island. Tanner was the oldest of the four boys and, while Wyatt was easily the least concerned with safety, none of his brothers could be labeled responsible. “Uncle Connor?”
Tanner held up a hand. “Don’t worry. They are going to breakfast and then going swimming at my parents’ house. There will be actual adults there to keep him in line and the kids safe.”
“W-why aren’t you at work?”
He shrugged and propped his hip on the opposite side of the island. “I’m taking some time off. There have to be some perks to being the boss.”
Izzy’s eyes grew wide for a moment before she shook her head and looked down. Honestly, the more time she spent in his presence the more confused she became. It would be better if he just went to the office. “Tanner, I—”
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the counter. “Just give me five minutes before you say anything.” He nodded his head toward the plethora of food laid out before her. “And eat while I talk. You didn’t eat anything yesterday.”
Her mouth opened to argue until she thought back over the day before. He was right. As if the realization kicked her body into action, her stomach growled and she slowly started putting food on her plate. She held it up once it was full to show Tanner. “Happy?”
He regarded her solemnly for a few seconds. “I have a proposition for you.”
She nearly choked on the eggs in her mouth. Is that the pick-up line he used on her? She closed her eyes against the thought, wondering if she could ever have a normal conversation with Tanner again without these thoughts assailing her. “Okay…”
“Keep eating.” He nodded toward her still full plate. “Our anniversary is coming up.”
Izzy rolled her eyes and chewed on a strawberry. Of course she knew their anniversary was soon. “Yeah, I know. Next month.”
“It’s in forty-three days,” he recited immediately. Tanner had never forgotten their anniversary, but she had to admit the fact he knew the exact number of days was impressive. And, if she let herself be honest, it tugged at her aching heart. “So I’m asking you for forty-three days.”
Her fork, laden with a syrupy square bite of pancake, stalled halfway to her mouth and she stared at him. “You’re asking for forty-three days for what?” She stuffed the bite of food in her mouth and set her fork down. Any appetite she’d had disappeared.
“To show you that, in spite of my,” he shook his head and dropped his gaze, “behavior, you and the kids mean the world to me. To show you that I love you with every part of me. To show you that you can trust me again.”
Tanner rounded the island and stood beside her. “Belle, if I woke up tomorrow and found out I lost the company, the house, and that yellow truck you love so much, but I got to keep you and Ava and Noah? I wouldn’t miss a thing. I know what I did undermines that, and maybe even before that I wasn’t showing you the way I should have, but you and the kids are my top priority.”
Cautiously he reached his hand out and laid it on top of hers. “So I’m asking you not to make any decisions one way or another for forty-three days. I’m asking you to take a chance on me and let me do the rest. At the end of that time if you want me to leave, I’ll go.”
Izzy closed her eyes against the conflicting emotions rolling through her. Why did Tanner have to be—Tanner? She swallowed a few times and tried to summon as much strength as she could to open her eyes and meet the sapphire ones staring back at her. There really was only one answer she could give. “Okay,” she answered softly.
A mixture of relief and trepidation washed over his face. “Okay?”
She nodded, feeling slightly more confident in her decision.
Another wide grin settled on Tanner’s face. “Today is day one. Go get dressed.”
***
“What the hell was that?”
Tanner practically slammed the door to her dorm shut and dropped his duffel bag on the floor. Izzy had her back to him, stuffing papers she needed for class tomorrow in her backpack. A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth, but she schooled her features into a nonchalant expression before turning to face him. “What was what, baby? Did you have a bad practice?”
He took three large strides over to her, locking an arm around her waist and lifting her against him. He spun them both around so she was caught between the wall and his hard body. She let out a little squeak and tightened her thighs around his waist.
His blue eyes were stormy with desire. He lowered his head and practically devoured her mouth. Izzy knew it would be the worst possible time to laugh, but she was slightly giddy her plan had worked so well. When his tongue took possession of her mouth, however, any idea of laughing was quickly replaced with her overwhelming need for Tanner.
“Did I have a bad practice?” He repeated her words back to her in between kisses. His hands quickly pulled her short, thin nightgown over her head and his eyes drank in every inch of her olive skin. “You put a picture like that in my bag and you expect me to concentrate on baseball? Shit, I’m gonna get cut from the team after my performance today.”
She slid her hands under his shirt and lifted it over his head. Her stomach clenched. Suddenly the idea that had seemed so playful and fun felt like a huge mistake. “I-I’m sorry baby, I never realized—”
He cut off her words with another hungry kiss. “If I do get cut, it’d be the best damn reason.” His lips made a trail down her neck and shoulders. “Holy hell, Belle, that was the sexiest picture I’ve ever seen and you weren’t even in it. I’m not sure if I’m disappointed by that or friggin’ grateful.”
When she had found the white matching bra and panty set with red stitching to resemble a baseball, she knew she had to buy them and get his jersey number embroidered on the back. The idea to take a picture of them laid out on her bed and throw it in his duffel bag for the first day of baseball practice had been much less thought out. She chuckled at his comment. Obviously it was going to pay off for her big time.
His hands moved down from her waist and under her thighs, sliding backward, finding nothing but bare skin.
Tanner lifted his head from the shoulder where he was leaving a trail of bites and looked in her eyes, a mixture of confusion and need reflecting back at her. “You were seriously sitting in this room waiting for me to come back, wearing only a nightgown, and not a single piece of clothing on underneath?” His hands gripped each cheek tightly as he spoke.
Izzy couldn’t even remember how they managed to slide his sweatpants and boxers low enough, but it didn’t really matter once he drove deep inside her. She gasped at the passion-fueled force. Tanner always treated her like a porcelain doll. He would spend long moments exploring and tasting every part of her body bringing her to frantic climax several times. Not today. Not this time. And she was so relieved.
Her grip tightened in the hair at the nape of his neck and she pulled him hard against her. She needed this, she needed him, more than she needed her next breath. The force of each thrust felt like she was going to go through the wall holding them up.
He dug his fingers deeper into each of her hips, and she was convinced she’d wind up with bruises. She smiled against his lips. She had been waiting for this side of Tanner to show up. If she had known all it would take was one little picture, she would have done that weeks ago.
She pulled her head back as far as the wall would allow and looked into his eyes. Every other time he whispered words of love and adoration. His eyes reflected the truths to her. But today all she saw was his desperate need.
Feeling slightly drunk on her passion, Izzy tightened her inner muscles around him as he moved inside her. His eyes widened and he dropped his head against hers. “Shit, sweetheart, I’m not gonna last much longer if you keep that up.” He bit her shoulder a little harder than normal. “Been thinking about your tight little body wrapped around mine all friggin’ day,” he mumbled against her skin.
His words were the switch to her release, stronger than it had ever been. She pulled his mouth up to hers to silence unintelligible screams and felt a surge in her ego as she felt his deep groan.
Tanner’s kisses turned soft and less demanding. After several long moments, he seemed to gather his strength enough to pull them both off the wall and gently lay her in bed before climbing in beside her. His gaze washed over her, lingering on the red bite mark on her shoulder and the finger impressions left on her thighs, before he pulled the covers over her body. “Shit. I’m an asshole.” He whispered the words more to himself than her.
Izzy pulled his face close to hers and brushed her lips across his. “Why would you think that, baby? That was incredible.”
“That was reckless. Rough.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She tugged on his arms until they were wrapped tightly around her. “Baby, that was exactly what I wanted. I’m not an antique vase that will break if you blow on it wrong.”
His blue eyes, still tinged with concern, grew wide. “Y-you wanted—”
“I wanted you to know you have me. Any time. Any where. Any way.” She grinned when his mouth fell open. “Although you may need to give me a tiny bit of time to rest if you’re gonna do that again. Which you are, you know. Doing that. Again.”
Tanner chuckled and held her close against his chest. After a long silence, he finally spoke again. “Belle, there was something I’ve been thinking about.”
Her eyelids heavy, she snuggled in closer to him. “I told you, baby, just a little rest.”
When he laughed again, she felt the rumble all the way to her toes and smiled to herself. “Yeah, we’ll get to that, but I was thinking about the summer.”
Izzy’s eyes flew open. That was something she had intentionally not been thinking of. It was an impossible situation. She had no desire to go back to New York, but there was no way she could afford to stay in North Carolina unless she lived in her car. More than anything she definitely didn’t want to spend three months away from Tanner. Her heart ached at the very idea.
“I want to get an apartment.” He made the declaration with very little preamble. “And then we can just stay there once school starts again. I mean, we’ve been pretty lucky we haven’t gotten in trouble yet for all the time I spend here, and there really is no way in hell I am going to let you spend every night alone so—”
“No,” she cut him off. She lifted her head and stared at him. What was he thinking? She worked part-time in a coffee shop. There was no way she could afford to share an apartment with him. And he might hate living with her. He might find her cooking disgusting and her overzealous cleaning habits annoying.
His eyebrows flew up. “No?”
She shook her head. “No. Unless I start making way more than minimum wage, I can’t get an apartment.”
“Sweetheart, I’m working at my dad’s company over the summer. He’s training me to take over once I graduate. Hell, he’s gonna lease office space here so I don’t have to commute or move back home. Trust me, I’ll make more than enough to take care of us. You can work if you want to, but you won’t have to.”
Izzy jumped out of the bed and grabbed her discarded nightgown off the floor, not willing to do battle sans clothes. She paced the small room a few times before turning to face Tanner, his head propped on one arm, watching her silently. “But what if this doesn’t work?”
She finally spoke her biggest fear out loud and hated the vulnerable feeling it left. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked at the floor. In less than the space of a heartbeat, her arms were pulled apart and placed around his waist as he drew her close.
“Belle, you and I are a forever thing. I know you’re scared, but I’m just asking you to take a chance on us and let me do the rest.”
Izzy laid her head against his chest with a sigh. There really was only one answer she could give. “Okay.”
Tanner hooked a finger under her chin and gave her a cocky grin. “Now, about that rest time…”