Page 133 of Keeper
Tonight was, after all, going to be our last night together for three weeks. And I was hoping it would bethenight. Hence the reason I wore the gown, which I’d been saving for a special occasion,wink wink. I hoped Tanner received the message loud and clear, because I swear, I might spontaneously combust if he doesn’t rip me out of this thing tonight and have his way with me …
Tanner led me through the crowd and to our balcony seats.
“Not bad, eh?” he asked.
“Great view!” I said as I took my seat next to his.
While I was caught up in all the action going on around us—the cacophonous sound of the orchestra warming up, the people below us filing into their seats—Tanner was transfixed by something else entirely: me. From the moment he saw me in the dress he’d picked out, in fact, he couldn’t keep his eyes off me.
I turned to Tanner, a permanent smile fixed on my face.
“I love this!” I said. “Thank you so much for taking me out. Katerina says we’re in for a real treat.”
“Did she?” he asked.
I related to him everything Katerina had told me about tonight’s performer, Khatia Buniatishvili. She was a Georgian pianist who was known for having a flare for the dramatic—which was a bit of a fun little contradiction, considering the melancholic aura that colored her play. Tonight, she was going to play renditions of pieces by Stravinsky, Liszt and Chopin.
Tanner interjectedohh’s andhmm’s andI see’s in all the right places, pretending as if he were interested in the words coming out of mouth. But in reality, his hand had covertly entered the slit in my dress and was discreetly inching higher up my thigh.
Suppressing a moan, I wrapped my fingers around his thick forearm, keeping him from going any higher.
“You’re so bad,” I whispered, even though I ached for for his touch between my thighs.
He nodded. “Sure am. Know why?”
“Why?” I asked huskily.
He leaned closer.
“Because you were all I could think about all week long,” he said, the rasp of his sexy voice sending a shiver down my spine. “And I can’twaitto get you out of that dress. Tonight, Ainsley, you’re mine.”
Gulp.
Before I could reply, the audience rose to their feet and burst into applause.
Khatia walked onstage, took a bow, and claimed her throne at the piano. The crowd fell silent, a pregnant pause hanging in the air. At last, she began to play, and her soul came pouring through her fingertips.
The lovely music tamed the bad boy—at least for now, anyway—and Tanner sweetly reached for my hand as we gave Khatia our attention.
45
Ainsley
After Khatia’s amazing performance, Tanner took me out for a delicious full-course dinner. He wanted to take me out for dessert after dinner, but as far as I was concerned,hewasdessert. Besides, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and I think we were making the other people around us sick—so I told him he should take me home.
Hand-in-hand, we stepped off the elevator on my floor.
“Thank you for a perfectnight, Tanner,” I said with a whimsical sigh. “That was byfarthe best date I’ve ever been on in my life.”
“Really? Even though I was bad?” he teased, referencing all the times tonight he’d secretly grabbed me or groped me or pinched my butt.
“You were far from a perfect gentleman, true.” I giggled as we stopped at my room. Turning my back to Tanner, I opened my clutch and fished out my room keycard. “But I think I can forgive you.”
“Thank you,” he said, pressing himself against my rear. His mammoth hands slid up and down my exposed back, tracing my tingling spine. “That’s very kind of you.”
“Well, it’s only fair,” I said, my voice wavering. “You’ve been a good boy for so long.”
He nibbled at the sensitive skin of my neck, making my knees weak. His hands went to my hips, steadying me.
