Page 45 of Beckon

Over the cake she’d decided she would redefine their relationship, she would explain to Chandler, and he would understand.

But then he had to go and cut in on Chester and her dancing and ask about number four. She was already in too deep, so was Chester. When… if… he left, no matter when that was, it would destroy them so why not enjoy what was right there for the taking?

Pulling him into her room, however, was nowhere in all the scenarios that had plagued her that day. It wasn’t even in the same zip code as any, but when he dropped a good-night kiss on her lips at the door… she didn’t want it to be good-night.

Tami threw caution to the wind, which was so not her, and pulled the man she loved and who had earlier confessed his love for her into the room by the lavender tie she’d chosen to match her dress.

If the evening had ended then, the look on his face would’ve been almost worth it.

Almost.

Tami didn’t release control of his tie until they stood at the foot of the bed. She was afraid when she turned and looked into his warm-brown eyes, she’d lose her nerve and start backtracking. Instead, the barely banked fire burning in his bolstered her courage.

Chandler caught her around the waist, pulling her into his body. She felt the calluses on his hands drag along the satin as he caressed her torso. Sliding slowly up to her breasts where he barely danced his thumbs along the sides. Returning down to her hips where he reached back ever so slightly to squeeze her there.

His touch made her feel drunk. More intoxicating than the few glasses of Prosecco she’d had at the reception. Her eyes drifted closed as she relished the moment. A clip of time she would never forget.

When he leaned forward and dragged his nose along the side of her neck and nipped her earlobe, it ripped a moan from her throat. “Are you going to say the words I want to hear or am I going to have to fuck them out of you?”

Holy Queen Mother.

That was a side of Chandler she’d sensed existed, but not one she’d seen before. Her body responded, her brain did not. Something about his words not only set her ablaze but they called to parts she’d never explored before.

Instead of screaming the three words he wanted to hear, she pushed the suit coat from his shoulders and gave him a gentle shove.

She had no delusions that she’d actually forced him to the bed when he landed with a bounce. He wanted to be there.

Tami toed off her shoes as she reached behind her to unzip the dress. As she did, Chandler came up to his elbows. He loosened his tie and undid a few buttons while never taking his intense gaze off of her.

The breath sawed in and out of his lungs, Tami stared at the rise and fall of his chest. The tanned skin exposed through his now open shirt looked downright edible framed messily by his tie.

Tami stepped out of her shoes and let the dress fall to the floor. Thewhooshit made as it puddled on the carpet seemed obnoxiously loud.

“You’re absolutely stunning.” The words were low and husky. It was like he was speaking to himself and not her. Chandler’s weight shifted to one elbow, and she tracked the movement of his free arm when he adjusted the bulge in his pants.

She reached between her breasts and unsnapped the clasp there. She’d thanked God she’d worn sexy underthings. Before she could chicken out, she dropped her arm and along with it the unlined lace bra that matched her dress.

The confidence she’d been riding high on since she pulled him into the room faltered when his eyes shifted to hers and he said nothing.

“What am I doing?” She slapped her hand over her mouth before she finished the thought out loud.

God, just kill me now.

Chandler sat with his knees apart, not breaking eye contact and extended his hand. He said nothing, just waited patiently until she took it, stepping into the space between his knees. That action alone helped some of her nerves. It was one of the things she loved about him, he got her. For all her oddities and quirks, Chandler embraced them and didn’t push her. So many people throughout her life told her to just get over it, move on, just don’t do it, control your impulses. But Chandler understood her differences weren’t something to simply be controlled. They were who she was, always had been. Only a few people accepted her as she was. Not just in spite of her differences but loved her, flaws and all.

It was then, for a split second that Reese entered her mind. Not in a sad way or even a longing way, but in a goodbye kind of way. Not that he would ever fully leave her, but it was like she could let that last part of him go. The part that accepted her and made her feel comfortable in her own skin, because she didn’t need the strength that had given her any more. She’d found it herself with the help of her family, and its new incarnation… and Chandler.

She felt warm lips on her pouch and threaded her fingers through Chandler’s short but silky light-brown hair. A part of herself she hated, she suddenly loved as he lavished it with kisses.

“You asked what it is you’re doing? You’re giving the man who loves you a gift he doesn’t deserve.” Kiss. “But one he has no intention of turning down.”

His mouth moved across her hips along the waistband of her lace underwear. She was lost in him when she felt a momentary pain above and just inside of her right hip. It was followed immediately by a tongue that promised naughty things to come.

The rumble of his laughter caused her to shiver as her skin pebbled. “I told you I was going to bite it,” he answered with a laugh of his own. The rasp of his five o’clock shadow against her overly sensitive skin put her on edge in the best possible way.

“Chandler, please?” What she was asking for she wasn’t sure. She needed more, or it was too much, or maybe both at the same time. His eyes held a wickedness that she understood. His tongue remained on her skin as he hooked a finger into the light-purple lace and ripped it down.

She stepped from her underwear and straddled his hips with her knees.

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