Page 57 of Trusting Tanner
Mariah:Always. Us girls need to stick together.
She’d never considered Mariah anything more than an acquaintance—until now. Now she was a friend, and that warmed Juliana’s heart. Smoothing her hands down her hair, she blew out a breath.
She couldn’t hide out in Tanner’s bathroom all night. Nor did she want to.
“Hey, you okay in there?” Tanner’s muffled voice snapped her attention back to the moment.
With another deep breath, she left the bathroom and walked into the living room. “Yeah, sorry, I…” Her words faltered, and all coherent thought packed up and left. Tanner was propped up in the corner of the sectional, half sitting, half lying down. He had one hand tucked behind his head, the other resting naturally on his chest. He’d changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt that was stretched deliciously over his broad shoulders. God, he made those clothes look good. If she tried to pull off sweats and a T-shirt, she’d end up looking like a hobo. His dark hair was messy, and she had the sudden urge to run her fingers through his hair. She clutched her phone tighter, willing the sensation to pass.
“You were what?” Amusement colored his tone, and his lips twitched as if he was holding back a smile.
“Um, I was, uh, texting.” She held up her phone and waved it at him like an idiot.
“You hid in the bathroom to text?” One corner of his mouth lifted, and his dimple peeked out at her.
“No, I went to the bathroom to pee.”Yeah, that’ll turn him on. Keep talking, moron.She rolled her eyes at how unsexy she sounded right now. “But then Mariah texted to see how I was.”
“I see.” He nodded. “And how are you?”
“I’m good.” She’d be a hell of a lot better if he took his shirt off, though. Not that it did anything to hide his upper body. She could still see the definition of every muscle.
“Good. You’re not planning to stand there all night, are you?” His gaze darted to the empty spot next to him on the couch then back to her. Then he lifted his hand and crooked his finger, beckoning.
Her heart tripped over itself trying to get to him, to give itself to him fully, regardless of how hard she tried to stop that from happening. She set her phone on the coffee table. “Has anyone ever told you that you should’ve been a model?”
He laughed, the sound like tiny tendrils reaching out and wrapping around her. “No, but I’ll keep it in mind if the whole med school thing doesn’t work out.”
Heart racing, she straddled him. His stomach clenched slightly, and his eyes darkened, but he didn’t move. He lay exactly as he had been, and he watched her. Was it possible to orgasm from a look? Because she was damn close to the edge. “You’re going to be a great doctor.” She rested her hands on his abs.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you have a way of calming people. You can’t teach that kind of bedside manner.”
“Is that so?” He moved his hand from his chest to her thigh, rubbing his fingers in swirly motions, which were anything but innocent. Sensations ricocheted inside her.
“Mm-hmm. You’re also ridiculously hot.” She eased the hem of his shirt up until her hands found bare skin. “Seriously. How does anyone get a body like this?” It was absolute perfection.
“I go to the gym every day.”
She tilted her head. “You do?” Of course he did. She felt sort of foolish for not knowing that.
“What does any of that have to do with me being a good doctor?” His hand moved up her thigh, his thumb coming dangerously close to her sex.
She held her breath, waiting to see if he’d touch her. When he didn’t, she exhaled slowly, trying—and failing—to ignore the intense throbbing between her legs. “Because your residency will be like a real-life version ofGrey’s Anatomy. The female doctors and nurses will be all over you. They’ll probably nickname you Dr. McSexy Abs.”
He roared with laughter, and it vibrated through her in all the right places. She bit on her lip to keep from moaning. But she couldn’t stop herself from pressing down on him, letting his length settle snuggly between her thighs.
“Dr. McSexy Abs, huh?” His eyes danced with amused delight, stealing her breath and turning her bones to mush. It was a damn miracle she was able to sit upright. But that look right there, that’s how she wanted him to always look at her. With honesty and desire and respect. Like she was the only woman in the world.
“Yup. There will be more hooking up than healing patients.”
“Oh really?” He propped himself on his elbows, bringing his torso upright and his face within inches of hers.
His stomach muscles rippled and tightened beneath her palms, and she dragged her hands up over his pecs and hard nipples, causing him to groan. An unexpected zap of pleasure shot straight to her core.
“Wanna know a secret?” he whispered in a deep, raspy bedroom voice.
“Yes.” She licked her lips, her gaze lingering on his mouth.
