Page 2 of His Sassy Little

It hadn’t taken long to go over all the basics and for Tanner to find himself wrapped up in a pretty little blonde who smelled inexplicably of cherries. Tanner’s body was tingling everywhere she touched, his thoughts were racing with what might’ve happened, and his cock was busy ignoring every stern warning he tried to send it.

This woman was obviously troubled and needed a friend, not a horny bastard trying to get in her pants. The problem was he didn’t have any friends who were women. He hardly bothered to get a name from most of the women he met, and they were generally out of his life by morning. He didn’t know where to start with the whole ‘being a friend’ thing. All he really knew was that he’d do whatever it took to keep her from ending up back on that railing. He drove around town for a while, pointing out views as they went. There weren’t really any spectacular sights in this area, but Arabella made noises that he felt more than heard, and squeezed him just a bit tighter in acknowledgement.

They’d seen the whole town and for some reason, Tanner was still reluctant to let her out of his sight. He told himself he was just worried about her safety, but he knew that was a lie. He was intrigued by her and wanted to know more. Where was she from? He didn’t recognize her. Tanner knew almost everyone in town and had at least seen the rest. There was no way she was from Lilton. So, why was she here? How long had she been here? And why had she been on that bridge?

Chapter Two

Tanner pulled in front of a building with a dilapidated exterior and a faded sign proclaiming it “The Hellhole.” Next to the name was the same image of the devil surrounded by flames that was on Tanner’s leather vest. He didn’t speak as Arabella reluctantly dismounted, wondering why he’d brought her here. And who the fuck had she accepted a ride from? Not that it really mattered. He’d been more right than he knew when he’d told her she had nothing to lose. Everything she could have lost was already gone, taken by a man hellbent on finding her. Arabella felt responsible for those losses, but how could she have known the lengths he would go to track her down?

Tanner took the helmet from her head and hooked it to the handle of his motorcycle. He grasped her hand in his big one and led her toward the door. Arabella was grateful for his help on the bridge and was more than willing to follow his lead if it meant spending more time with the sexy-as-sin biker with eyes the dark green shade of rare emeralds. Was this where he was headed when he’d found her? Was he in the habit of helping damsels in distress or had she just gotten lucky?

The inside of the building was sparse and old, but it was obviously a bar. Dart boards lined the back wall. A walled-off room to the left held pool tables. The bar as a whole was smaller than Arabella had expected given the size of the building and she thought it was run down enough to fit its name exceptionally well. She was curious what the rest of the building was like. She had so many questions for this man. As he ordered beers and found a table, she prepared to ask them all.

Before she got a chance, Tanner asked a question of his own. “So, how’d you end up on that bridge?” Of course, he would ask the one thing she least wanted to answer.

“Why’d you bring me here?”

“Why are you deflecting?” He set his chin in his hand, green eyes staring her down with expert ease.

“Why do you care?” Arabella figured that was a valid question. They’d just met. There was no reason Tanner should care about anything to do with her.

“Call it savior syndrome. Or, it could be just being a decent human being. Take your pick. How’d you end up on that bridge?”

Damn, he wasn’t going to let it go and she wasn’t willing to risk it. They were at a stalemate. “Well, big guy,” she began, rising from her seat, “it was nice meeting you. Thanks for the drive and the beer. Maybe I’ll see you around.” As she turned to leave, he took hold of her hand.

“I won’t force you to stay here. If you really aren’t ready to talk about it, I’ll drop it for now. But you seem like you could use a friend. I’m applying for the position. Please stay.”

She still wasn’t sure why he cared but she was compelled to stay with him. “Fine. That topic is off limits. I decide how much you get to know, and as my newest friend, you get to help me find a place to stay in this tiny town.”

“Deal. For now. But don’t get used to bossing me around, sweetheart. I don’t take orders. I give them.”

Holy hell, why is that so hot?

“I bet, big guy. Not many people would defy a six-foot-six, tatted bad boy, would they?”

“So far, only a five-foot-two blond hurricane.”

Arabella took her seat and prepared to dodge a barrage of questions. To her pleasant surprise, Tanner seemed to take his word quite seriously. He didn’t ask anything but basic get to know you questions. She answered some and passed on others. They spent a pleasant three hours together. And she didn’t think about her problems even once.

“Yo, Spike!” the guy behind the bar yelled. “Chick’s gotta go! Closing time.” Tanner made to stand, and Arabella followed suit.

“I doubt you’ll find any place to stay this late at night. Small towns and all. You can crash at my place tonight and we’ll get to work on the finding a place condition tomorrow. Sound all right, darlin’?” She wasn’t sure how she could trust this man so easily when she hadn’t trusted anyone, especially not a man, in over three years.

With good reason.

She began to question her judgment but honestly, she had nowhere else to go. Hell, she didn’t even currently have a car to sleep in. She’d fled Little Falls so fast, she didn’t have anything with her besides the clothes on her back.

“Sure, let me use the ladies’ room and I’ll be ready.”

“Not a bad plan. Think I’ll use the restroom too. I’ll show you the way.”

He led her to a door in a short hallway near the bar before continuing on to the next door. Arabella did her business, then stood in front of the mirror above the sink, asking herself what the hell she was doing. She couldn’t go with him. It didn’t matter if she had nowhere else to go, just being near him was like painting a target on his back. Tanner seemed too nice for her to put him in danger. He might’ve looked like a big, burly, tough guy biker but from what she’d seen so far, he was a nice guy.

Arabella looked around the bathroom, wondering if she could sneak out a window or something, but there weren’t any good exits in the space. She peeked her head out the door and glanced both ways down the hall. Seeing the coast was clear, she headed for the door, hoping to make her escape before Tanner found her. She didn’t get far before she heard voices in the midst of a conversation that obviously wasn’t meant for her.

“Jane’s still dealing with shit, man. I’m the only one she trusts to help her with it. I can keep watch tonight but you need your shit squared away by afternoon. I’m not kidding, Spike. No later than one o’clock, you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you. Thanks, Ham, I appreciate it.”

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