Page 3 of His Sassy Little

Footsteps moved away before Tanner’s voice filled her ears again.

“You gonna keep lurking there, Hurricane? Or, are you gonna get in here so we can hit the road?”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping.” Arabella rounded the corner and made her way to him.

“Sure you weren’t, little lady. Don’t know why I expected a woman as skittish as you seem to be to wait by the bathrooms.” He chuckled, and the sound reverberated through her, causing a full body shiver. “Come on then, let’s get out of here.”

“After you, big guy.”

“Oh no, after you. I’m making sure to keep my eyes on you.” It was Arabella who laughed this time as she sidled up next to him and walked toward the exit, her escape plan completely forgotten.

Chapter Three

Tanner had pegged Arabella as a runner long before she’d exited the restroom. The placement of his meeting with Ham was no accident. The lady might be small, but no one was going to be silent in the shoes she was wearing. Heels were not exactly stealthy; he’d known as soon as she stopped that she was listening, but he’d known the risk when he’d dragged Ham there.

Tanner didn’t know why he had this reluctance to let Arabella out of his sight. He wasn’t sure why he felt this insistent need to protect her. He also didn’t understand the instant attraction he’d felt upon seeing her. Hell, he didn’t know enough about her to be able to tell if she’d even fit into his world and yet, his entire being was already screaming Mine. It didn’t make sense.

As Tanner followed Arabella out the door to his bike, he had to pry his eyes off her ass more times than he wanted to admit. He couldn’t wait to have her wrapped around him again. Nothing had ever felt so right as having her holding him, trusting him, accepting his lead. He wondered briefly how a relationship with Arabella would go, which led to pictures in his mind of that ass of hers naked and draped over his knees. He was just at the part where that rear started to pinken from the smacks of his hand, when the woman herself jolted him from his daydreams.

“I’m sorry, what did you say again?” He asked, when he realized she was waiting for a response to something he hadn’t heard.

“I kind of have to wait for you before I can get on. So, I was wondering if you planned on doing so before dawn.” The impish light in her eyes made him want things he shouldn’t, so he didn’t respond except to get his ass on the bike.

Tanner was contemplating driving by his house to extend the trip, to feel Arabella wrapped around him just a bit longer, but he decided that it was probably best he didn’t. Decision made, Tanner pulled into his driveway. Once they’d both dismounted, Arabella put her hands on her hips, turned a full circle taking in her surroundings and declared, “Not what I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?”

“I don’t honestly know, maybe a cheap bachelor pad apartment. A rundown shack or industrial building. Maybe a mansion on a hill. All I really know is I wasn’t expecting Mary Poppins’ dream home.”

Tanner watched as Arabella took in the well kept, colorful flower beds and well maintained exterior, freshly painted a pretty pale blue with yellow trim. He’d been meaning to change that since he moved in, but hadn’t gotten around to it.

Had it been waiting for her?

The home didn’t seem too big but also wasn’t as small as one would imagine a cottage to be, yet it still managed to give off the cottage vibe. He could see where it wouldn’t be what she pictured for a big biker.

Her words caused Tanner to let out a full-on bark of laughter, though. He laughed until tears came from his eyes and his stomach ached. It was several minutes before Tanner was able to get breath enough to say, “Little Hurricane, did you just disparage my manhood?”

The shade of pink that spread over her face was the exact shade he’d imagined her bottom would turn. Tanner stopped laughing and sucked in a breath as a wave of desire so strong, it almost knocked him flat, took over. He stepped closer to her, cupped his hands around each of her cheeks.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” Arabella sucked in her own breath at his words, “if you don’t want that, now’s the time to say stop.”

He took his time lowering his head, giving her plenty of time to reject him. When his lips touched hers, going slow went out the window. He licked the seam of her lips, eliciting another gasp of surprise. He took advantage of his opportunity and drove his tongue into her mouth. There was no gentle easing in, there was no slow build up. He simply ravaged her mouth, doing his best to devour her. She tasted somewhat bitter from the beer but also had a sweet taste all her own; he committed it to memory, in case this was his last chance to taste her.

Tanner palmed Arabella’s ass and lifted her up his body so he could deepen the kiss. He started walking to the porch and pinned her against the closest support post. With her now positioned so perfectly, he couldn’t resist the urge to grind his hard cock against her pussy. Her moan fueled his need. He squeezed her ass with one hand while sliding the other under her shirt.

When Tanner encountered the lace of her bra, he flicked his finger over her pebbled nipple through the fabric. She tore her lips from his, gasping for breath. He continued to kiss her skin, along her jaw, down her neck, the sensitive spot on her collarbone. Tanner kissed everywhere his mouth would reach.

“Inside,” Arabella panted.

That one word jolted him back to reality. He withdrew his hand from her shirt, gently placed her back on her feet and took a step back. Tanner forced himself to take a breath and think this through.

“I guess I shattered the moment, huh? Too bad. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted a man.” She sounded genuinely disappointed.

“I didn’t mean for it to get out of hand like that. Little Hurricane, you can drive a man past reason.”

Tanner was running a hand through his dark brown hair and mentally kicking himself for losing control, for even a minute, when her words finally registered.

“Wait, how long is ‘a long time’?”

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