“I love her, like . . . love her, love her. You’d better not mess this up.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I say as the door behind me opens, and I turn to watch Cybil come out. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it was the girl who runs my website. She just wanted to give me a heads-up about a glitch on my site that might mean I receive some weird emails until she gets it sorted.”
“Got it.” I drag her down to sit on my lap, and instead of trying to move, she gets comfortable. As the mood lightens and everyone including her falls into the ease there’s always been with our group, I hold her a little tighter, wondering how the fuck I’m going to be able to let her go and starting to doubt I’ll be able to at all.
Chapter 18
CYBIL
I stand under Tanner’s arm and wave as Mav, Blake, Cammy, Margret, and Mason head off down the lane. It was a great night, even with the ever-present undercurrent of tension that seemed to fill the air. As Tanner leads me back into the house and shuts the door, I open my mouth to tell him that I like his friends but end up squeaking when he turns me to face him and presses me against the wall in the entryway.
“Time to finish what we started earlier.” He grins at me before dropping his mouth down to mine. I don’t hesitate to kiss him back; then it’s a race to get each other undressed as we make out, our hands roaming over each other as we pass the living room and kitchen and head down the hall. When we reach the bedroom, Tanner pushes me back onto the bed, where I land with a bounce.
“Hand above your head, sunshine, and don’t move it,” he orders, and I instantly comply as he crawls up the bed and kneels between my legs. Startling me, he spreads my legs wide, then uses his fingers to hold me open and ducks his head to suck on my clit. Never having experienced anything like this in my life, I don’t know if I should push him away or beg him to never stop. But as the sensation of bliss hits me, I hold on to his hair with one hand, making sure to keep my damaged hand above my head where he told me to keep it, not wanting to give him any reason to stop what he’s doing. A task that is almost impossible as my toes curl and my insides turn liquid.
“Tanner.” His name comes out on a moan as his tongue circles my clit and his fingers pump in and out of me in a rhythm that is maddening. As I lift my hips to get closer, to get more, my head bows off the bed and my core begins to clench. I thought I knew what an orgasm was, but standing in his bathroom earlier, he showed me I was wrong, and now he’s proving that what I felt earlier wasn’t some kind of fluke: a buildup of sexual frustration that meant I came harder than I ever had before within minutes, if not seconds, of him touching me.
“Oh God,” I whimper as his lips wrap around my clit and he sucks. Tapping that hidden spot, he sends me into a tailspin. My breath catches, stars start to dance behind my closed eyelids, and my body seems to vibrate from the inside out. Dizzy and panting for breath, I fall flat on the bed and cover my face with my hands as I fight the urge to laugh and cry at the same time.
“You did good, sunshine.” I feel his smile against my belly button before his lips trail up my stomach, then between my breasts. When his knee bumps my legs farther apart and he makes room for himself between my thighs, I remove my hands and stare into his beautiful eyes that are dark with lust and warm with some emotion that makes me feel hot all over. “Cybil.”
“Yeah?” I place my hand on his bare shoulder, lift my leg up over his hip, and use it to pull him closer.
“You okay?” he asks gruffly, sweeping my hair off my forehead.
“Better than okay,” I admit truthfully. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am right now. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more connected to another person, and that should scare me, given how long we’ve known each other, but it doesn’t freak me out. Not anymore. Now it just feels like this is how it’s supposed to be.
“Are you okay?” My breath hitches when I feel the head of his cock bump against my entrance.
“I’m with you, your taste is on my tongue, you’re naked in my bed, and it’s too late for visitors. So, yeah, I’m good.” He brushes his smiling lips across mine before he deepens the kiss and cups my breast, pinching my nipple and causing a zip of heat to spread between my legs.
Pulling my mouth from his, I reach between us and wrap my hand around his length. “I need you.”
“You have me, all of me.” He bends, which means I lose my hold on him but gain his mouth on my breast and his thumb on my clit. I thread my fingers through his hair, arch my back, and wrap my legs around his hips when he moves to my neglected breast. Not sure how much more I can take, not when I’m on edge once again, I tug his hair until he lets go, leaning up enough to place my mouth against his. But I only get it for a second before his hand reaches over to a drawer next to the bed and comes out a moment later with a condom.
As he leans back and rips the black packet open with his teeth, I trail my hand down his torso, fascinated by how he can be so smooth and hard everywhere at the same time. I watch in complete fascination as his muscles bunch under his smooth skin when he slides the condom down his length. When he has the condom on, his body forces mine back onto the bed, right before his hand wraps around my hip and his mouth catches mine. Lost in the weight of his body, the smell of his skin, and the deepness of his kiss, I whimper as his hand slides between us and dig my nails into his flesh as he begins to enter me in a smooth stroke. Full, so full, his body stills, and he pulls back just far enough to rest his forehead against mine while his eyes squeeze tight.
“Tanner.” I wrap my hand around the side of his neck, and his eyes open as his ragged breath brushes my lips.
“Give me a minute, baby,” he says, and I lift my hips, listening to him groan right before his fingers dig into my thigh. “I’m really trying not to lose myself, but you’re hot, and tight, and you, which means if you move, there’s no guarantee this won’t be finished before it’s even started.”
“Sorry.” I bite my bottom lip and will myself to stay still, not sure I’ll be able to—not for very long, at least, and the fact that he wants me so much is making me powerful. I’ve never had anyone crave me the way he does, and it makes it all the more clear that what Galvin and I shared wasn’t what it should have been. Thankfully, I don’t have to wait long, because he pulls out slowly, then slides back in, the sensation causing the muscles in my lower belly to tighten and my core to pulse. It shouldn’t be possible to orgasm from just this, from just having him inside me, but just like that, I’m close once again.