Page 2 of Only for You: Tap and Taryn
“Okay. Call me back if there’s anything I should pass along. They’ll be onsite within ten.” Becky’s voice lowered, her tone taking on a careful timbre as she said, “You take care of you, too, Tap.”
“Tap?” Watery and weak, the word had his head snapping up and he looked at Taryn, forcing himself to take in a breath, then another. She asked, “Is it really you?”
“Yeah, Taryn. Hang on, let me get in there.” He put a foot on the shredded front tire, heaving himself onto a flat section of the hood. It took some maneuvering, and a wicked gash in his thighfrom a moment’s inattention, but eventually he was inside the cramped cabin of the car, less than an arm’s length from her. “Yeah, It’s me.”
He gathered her wrist in his hand, fingers pressing against the pulse point. She didn’t resist, didn’t even seem to notice his grip, her gaze focused on his face. He watched as her eyes flitted back and forth, seeming to be tracking each of his features and he was vain enough to wonder what she saw. Gray flecks in his sideburns and beard, a couple of new scars from shrapnel, nose broken from running face-first into his roommate’s fist one night—he knew he didn’t look the same.
But neither does she. No, she looked better.
Skin still smooth as a baby’s behind, her hair was still a thick, lush mane, and from what he could see of her body she hadn’t changed much there, either.
He told himself he was staring at her chest to count respirations, but medical observation didn’t need to include a catalog of how her nipples had tightened behind her sweater and bra, obscured but still visible.
“Let’s look at that leg.” There was no blood pooled in the footwell, and he couldn’t see any scrapes or lacerations beyond the tiny nosebleed from taking 200-miles-per-hour of latex in the face. Leaning closer, he settled her arm on the seat and slipped his hand across her thigh, quickly finding the reason. “The armrest has you pinned in a little bit. If you can slip towards the center console, we might be able to get you loose without ripping it off.” Relief flooded through him with the knowledge that she truly was uninjured. To distract himself from the rush of emotion, Tap looked around the inside of the car. “Not that it matters to the vehicle’s value at this point.”
“Yeah.” Her shaky laugh fell flat. “Pretty much totaled.”
“Scoot this way.” She tried and made a frustrated sound when she failed to gain any leverage. “Loop your arm around my neck and pull, see if that helps.”
Taryn’s head turned and she stared at him. Her bottom lip trembled, and she bit down on it, the grip of her teeth brutal.
“Come on, you’re not going to hurt me. Let’s get you more comfortable.” The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on him and he forced down the remembered pain.
I coulda moved away first time I saw her drive past and realized she’d moved back. I didn’t. Was my own choice to stay.
Like him, she’d come back to their hometown. He’d heard whispers about her reasons, but tried to ignore them, shutting Becky and the others down each time the topic arose. “You’ll feel better. Emergency services will be here in a few minutes, but even if we can’t get you out of the car, it’ll be better.”
Her hand lifted and wrapped behind his neck, nails digging in the tiniest amount before smoothing past so her elbow was crooked around him. Her muscles tightened and she pulled, Tap stiffening in resistance, giving her a solid anchor to haul against. With a cry she lurched across the seat, freed from the grip of the car.
Immediately his hand returned to her thigh, fingers probing to determine any hidden injuries. He rucked her skirt up on that leg, slipping his fingers over the silk of her hose, surprised when he found clips holding it in place about mid-thigh. Jesus, a garter belt. The erotic images caused by that recognition made his chest hitch, breath stuttering at the idea of the Taryn he’d known dressing like that for him.
“Okay. You’re okay, Taryn.” The rising wail of sirens in the distance intruded, and he cleared his throat, shuffling back in the seat only then realizing she’d retained her hold on his neck. Her hand slipped to his shoulder, then settled in the center of his chest, directly over his heart.
It was a position his Taryn had held hundreds of times, and his lips longed to give her the same words he’d always said. A promise his teenaged self had held to, even as he’d moved through life without her.
It beats only for you. Forever and always.
Tap lifted his chin and looked into her eyes, now welling with tears he refused to think of as anything other than relief. She couldn’t be sad about how things had wound up. He couldn’t let himself consider she might have regrets.
“You’re going to be okay.”
But as the sirens grew louder, pulling him back to the present, Tap felt the old ache stir in his chest, a coiled desire that had never truly died. Taryn’s touch burned like a brand, and in that moment, he wondered if “okay” was even possible for either of them anymore.
Chapter 2: Ghosts in the Rearview
The sirens crested the hill like a wave, red and blue lights slicing through the morning haze, and Tap forced himself to pull away from Taryn’s touch. Her hand lingered a second too long on his chest, fingers curling as if to hold on, before she let go. He ignored the way his skin tingled where she’d been, focusing on the job. That’s all this was—a job. Rescue the damsel, patch her up, send her on her way.
Just like any other call.
The fire truck rolled up first, followed by the ambulance, tires crunching on the gravel shoulder. Doors slammed, voices shouted orders, and Tap climbed out of the wrecked car, waving them over. “Driver’s conscious, leg was pinned but I got her free. No visible bleeding, vitals stable from what I could check. Airbags deployed—possible powder irritation.”
One of the firefighters, his buddy Mike from the volunteer crew, clapped him on the shoulder. “Tap, man, you beat us to it again. You okay, dude? That’s a nasty cut on your leg.”
Tap glanced down at the gash in his thigh, blood soaking through his jeans. “Deer season casualty. I’ll live. Focus on her.”
They set to work with the efficiency of men who’d seen too many wrecks on these back roads. The Jaws of Life hummed to life, metal groaning as they pried the door open. Taryn winced at the noise, her face pale under the reddened skin, but she didn’t complain. When they helped her out, she leaned heavily on the paramedic, limping on that leg. Tap watched every step, his gut twisting at the way she bit her lip to stifle the pain.
“Easy there, ma’am,” the paramedic said, guiding her to the stretcher. “Let’s get you checked out.”
