CHAPTER64
LARISA
Ifrowned when I realized the driver was taking a route I wasn’t familiar with. It had been a few minutes since we’d left Tanner’s mother’s house, but I was only now realizing we weren’t going back the same way we’d come.
“Excuse me.” I sat up and leaned forward, meeting the driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Where are we going?”
“The house, ma’am,” he replied curtly. “Mr. Harris left me with specific instructions to take you there.”
I realized the mistake. “Oh, no. He must’ve meant my house, not his. The apartment where you picked me up.”
He studied my face for a moment. Then he nodded and started signaling a turn. “Of course, ma’am. I’ll take you there right away, but are you sure that’s correct? Mr. Harris was quite clear with his instructions.”
I smiled reassuringly. “It’s just a misunderstanding. I’m supposed to be going to my place, not his. I apologize for the confusion.”
“It’s no problem, ma’am. As long as you’re sure that I’m taking you to the right place.”
“You’re taking me to the right place,” I confirmed. Then I leaned back in my seat when he corrected course and the route became more familiar again.
The rest of the drive passed in silence while I mulled over my first encounter with Tanner’s mom. She had become one of my new favorite people in just that one dinner, and I was already looking forward to seeing her again. We’d gotten along like old friends, and since she reminded me so much of my own mother, I’d even forgotten to be nervous.
A smile that was starting to feel like it was going to be permanently etched on my face was still on my lips when the driver dropped me off at my building. I headed upstairs, feeling like I was floating again as I let myself into my apartment.
Humming softly under my breath, I went to my bedroom to change into my pajamas. Once I’d washed my face and brushed my teeth, I went to find my purse so I could send Tanner a message thanking him for the evening. I was so curious to know if his mom felt the same way about me as I did about her, but I also just wanted to let him know that I was home safe.
My purse was on my bed, but as I rummaged through it, I didn’t see my phone. Turning it upside down, I emptied the contents out but still couldn’t find my phone. Fuck.
Jumping up, I went to the window to see if the car that had brought me home was still parked outside, but it was gone—and my chance of getting him to take me to Tanner was gone with it. Thinking back, I realized I’d probably left it in his childhood bedroom. I’d taken it out to take the picture of the photo of him in his baseball outfit as a kid, and I vaguely remembered tossing it on his bed to kiss him back.
Since I couldn’t remember using it again, that was where it had to be. Groaning, I decided to handle it tomorrow. If the driver had still been downstairs, I could’ve asked him to take me back and to call ahead to tell them we were coming, but I couldn’t very well head back there with no phone. If something happened on the way, I’d have no way to contact anyone and no one would know where I’d gone.
Also, I didn’t want to barge back in there with no warning while they were talking. I could go one night with no phone. It just meant I’d have to wait until tomorrow to speak to him again and to find out what his mother had thought of me.
As I headed for my closet to grab my pajamas so I could get changed, I decided to take a bath before bed. The warm water lapped over me, almost lulling me to sleep as I lay in the tub without a phone to distract me.
Drowsy and more than ready to go to sleep, I eventually climbed out of the bath and finally changed into comfortable satin pajamas. I switched off my lights and decided to keep the TV off as well, not really in the mood to watch something as I dozed off.
Alone in the dark, I got into bed and lay back on my pillow, closing my eyes and replaying the events of the night in my head. His mother really was lovely, and Tanner was so darn sweet to her. It was almost impossible now to think that there had been a time, not even so long ago, when I’d seriously doubted he even had a heart.
He definitely had one. A huge one, and it was clear that his mother took up a great big part of it. As I kept thinking about the night, I thought about the kiss and how it had been right on the verge of getting out of hand when his mother had called us for dinner.
Half-asleep as I was, I still felt my body responding to the memory of that kiss. Whenever Tanner touched me, I seemed to lose all control of myself. All I wanted was more. It had been no different back in his bedroom, regardless of the fact that I’d known that his mom had been right down the hall.
Even now when I wasn’t totally awake and halfway to dreaming, I felt my panties getting damp when I thought about his lips on mine and his hands on my ass. A soft moan escaped me when I brushed my thumb over the smooth material covering my breast.
My nipples were hard and begging for attention, and my clit was definitely more awake than the rest of me. Pressing my thighs together, I shivered as a tiny burst of pleasure shot through me. How it was possible that he did this to me when he wasn’t even here, I didn’t know, but in my near dream state, my head put him in bed with me.
I had more than enough memories of us together in this very bed that it was easy to imagine him being here with me now. I even knew what he would’ve done if he had been here and realized I was this painfully turned on for him.
Before him, I hadn’t considered myself a particularly sexual person. Months had gone by when I hadn’t even thought about sex or orgasms, but with memories and thoughts about him swirling around in my head, I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep completely when I was this wound up.
Giving in, I pushed my shirt up and brought my hands to my breasts, moaning when I took my nipples between my fingers and squeezed. My skin felt electrified, goosebumps rising on it as I dragged my fingertips over my sides and along my stomach.
I went back and forth between toying with my breasts and just touching my abdomen, knowing that Tanner wouldn’t have moved too fast. I imagined his hot mouth closing over my nipples and kissing his way down, hearing my breathing speed up as I teased myself.
When I pressed my thighs together again, my panties were completely soaked and all my most intimate parts were aching. I hooked my fingers into my waistband and ran my fingers through my slick heat but not applying any pressure just yet.
I was breathing so fast now that I was practically panting as I writhed under my own hands, moans spilling freely from my lips. After dragging it out for a few more minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore.
Finally allowing both hands to dip into my panties, I spread myself open with one and used the other to dip into me. I released a shuddering breath, already tensing up as I played with myself just like he usually did.
Once I touched my clit, I couldn’t stop or even slow down again. I tried, telling myself that I could hold out just a little while longer, but I couldn’t. My body took over, my fingers dancing over myself until an exquisite orgasm washed over me.
I moaned his name and my eyes squeezed shut as I stroked myself through it until my muscles relaxed and my breathing evened out again. Drifting off before I’d even properly righted my clothes, my body was as sated as I could get it and I welcomed sleep when it came for me. What felt like only a few minutes later, I woke with a start and the feeling that someone was watching me.
My eyes flew open, and in the darkness, I could only just make out the shape of someone standing over me. A scream ripped out of me and I groped around for something to use to defend myself. My fingers closed around the edge of my pillow, and I grabbed it, throwing it at the person as I tried to leap out of bed.
I got tangled in the sheets, my terror making me unable to move or even think clearly. A sob tore out of me, and another scream pierced the silence when a hand came down on my shoulder. Shit, and I never even got to tell Tanner that I love him.