Page 5 of His Sassy Little

She headed to the table as she’d been told and found it already set with her seat right next to his. She knew it was her seat because there was a thick book on it. Arabella figured he was trying to make a dig on her height, but the joke was on him since most of what height she had was in her legs, she’d actually need that book to sit at the right level. She left it there and sat atop it.

Tanner came over a moment later, carrying a platter topped with enough food to feed an army. Arabella gaped at the offering, causing Tanner to laugh.

“I’m starving. Don’t worry, it will all get eaten.”

Arabella shrugged at his words and proceeded to reach for her plate. Tanner reached over as if to grab her hand and she flinched away. He immediately retreated and held his hands up.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, Little Hurricane. I just wanted to make your plate for you.”

Arabella nodded, her heart was racing too hard, her breathing was erratic at best. Actually, she couldn’t breathe. At all. Her heart raced harder; she felt it was going to beat out of her chest. Her lungs were starting to hurt, but she couldn’t force herself to breathe. Her ears were ringing, and black was edging her vision. She saw Tanner’s lips moving, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. His panicked face was the last thing she saw before the world went completely dark.

Arabella’s eyes fluttered and she heard Tanner speaking to someone. As her lids lifted, she realized he must have moved her to the couch. Turning her head, she saw him on the phone. “She just passed out… Wait! She’s waking up. What should I do? Okay… Mmhmm, alright. Thank you.” He hung up the call and was by her side faster than she thought possible. He took her cheeks in his hands, gently turning her face more toward his. Looking her directly in the eyes, he asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine.” At his skeptical look, she rushed to reassure him, “Really. I promise I feel fine. It was just a panic attack. A bit of a headache but that happens. Nothing to worry about.”

“Do you get them often? Panic attacks.”

“Often enough to know what it was. It’s just something I live with. Normally, I’d take the meds but I left them behind when I ran.”

She immediately realized her mistake and rushed to cover it, but it was already too late. She couldn’t get a single word out.

“Ran from what, Arabella?”

“Look, I can’t tell you, okay? It isn’t because I don’t trust you, or that I don’t want to, but people who know me tend to end up dead. I’m trying to protect you.”

“What the fuck? Dead? Arabella, please, tell me. I can keep you safe. You can trust me.”

“I can’t.”

Her whispered words had barely passed her lips when she was up and on the run. She didn’t know where she was going; she just needed to get away from this amazing man. She couldn’t keep putting him in danger like this.

Her life was complicated and had only gotten more so in the last few months. If only she hadn’t gotten so comfortable. If only she hadn’t called her family. If only she hadn’t changed her hair back, wanting some semblance of her old self. She’d done this by getting complacent. She already felt too at home here and that was dangerous. That got people killed. She had to get away.

Arabella had been running fast but came up short when she spotted the tall, broad barrier between her and the door. Arabella had no idea how he’d beaten her there but Tanner was standing with his arms crossed, giving her a commanding look.

“I don’t think so, little girl. You’re not leaving until you tell me what the fuck is going on.”

Oh, shit.

Chapter Five

Arabella tried to feed him some more bullshit about it being dangerous, that she couldn’t tell him anything, that he should let her go and forget about her. Tanner was having none of it. He wanted answers and he wanted them right then. He was done waiting.

Tanner took two big steps, reaching her in an instant. Wrapping his hands around Arabella’s little waist, he lifted her easily up over his shoulder and carted her off to his room.

Arabella had to have been in shock because she didn’t fight him. His Little Hurricane would never let something like this go without a fight. He may not have known her long, but he knew that without a doubt. When he reached his room, he gently set her on her feet and then reached over to lock the door.

“You…. You…” she sputtered, obviously recovering some of her spitfire and sass, “Did you just caveman me?”

“Little Hurricane, you ain’t seen caveman yet but if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on, you just might.”

Tanner was holding on to his temper by a thread. One thing he had gleaned, from what little she had spilled, was that his girl was in danger. Wait, his girl? She wasn’t his girl… yet.

“Listen to me, Tanner… I. Can. Not. Tell. You. It’s for your own safety! The people I am running from are extremely dangerous!”

“Little One, if you don’t spill in the next five seconds, I am going to take you over my knee and paddle that ass until you do.”

Tanner wasn’t joking around with her. If she didn’t come clean and quick, he was fully prepared to follow through. When her face paled, however, her breathing quickening, he knew he’d made a grave error.

---