Page 32 of Endurance
What a smug bastard, thinking he can come into my flat and start barking orders at me.
But bark he did. And like a dog, I am lying here begging for more.
I didn’t mean to get so fixated on my appearance. I like my body. I do think I’m beautiful.Most days.Sure, there are the odd jiggly parts I really wish didn’t exist. And there are some things I can’t get away with, like prints. If I wear certain prints, I come off looking like a sofa cushion instead of a fashion icon.
But if it’s a choice between eliminating chocolate from my life or a softer landing on my arse, I’ll pick a soft landing every day and twice on Sundays.
Perhaps I was searching too hard for a reason for Tanner to cast me away like he did. But if what’s happening now is the result of enduring a couple months of suspense, I have three words to say.
Worth. The. Wait.
Tanner between my legs is hot in that knuckle-dragging caveman sort of way. How he picked me up as if I weigh nothing and dropped me on the table like a feast he was desperate to devour…Sign me up for seconds of that meal, please.
I hate to admit it because I’ve chosen to loathe him from here to eternity, but the entire time his tight, firm body pounds into mine at a punishing, hateful pace, I can’t help but think it’s been forever since I was fucked this well. Perhaps it was all the pent-up aggression between the two of us. Or perhaps it’s the fact that the last great shag I had was four years ago with my old med school fling. We used each other on a regular basis to relieve stress. There was absolutely no chemistry between us during the day, but at night we helped each other learn exactly what buttons needed pushing for maximum pleasure. We attacked our sex life the same way we attacked a surgery: with careful precision and textbook research.
Tanner is the opposite of that in every way.
He’s wild and messy and dirty. Even the long stringy hair on his head makes me wet. His taut jaw is rugged as his eyes pin me with complete possession. He says and does whatever comes to his mind without any thought of holding back. I mean, for God’s sake, we’re fucking on my dining room table next to our half-eaten Chinese food. If Indie decided to come home right now, she’d probably pass out from germophobe shock.
Maybe I’ll buy a new table tomorrow.
Regardless, I’m enjoying this ride more than I should. By the time Tanner gives me my second mind-shattering orgasm, my lungs ache from all the screaming and heavy breathing. He follows closely behind with his own guttural release, moaning out his promised words and confusing the hell out of my natural hatred for him.
But I won’t get this twisted. It’s fucking. Not sex, not love-making. It’s just two people fulfiling each other’s needs as they are required in order to work closely together. Like me and my med school partner.
Seconds later, he pulls out of me and flops back down on the chair he vacated earlier. Our breaths are loud and I can hear the sound of him pulling off the sticky condom.
“You weren’t kidding about superior endurance,” I murmur, my voice hoarse from the crazy adrenaline high.
A soft laugh rumbles from somewhere deep inside of him. “I’d never kid about that.” He stands up. “I’m going to pop into the loo.”
He walks over to the nearby bathroom while I manage to peel myself off the table and haphazardly put my nightie back in order. One of the straps is trashed and the other is hanging on by a thread. I knew wearing this would get a rise out of him, but I honestly didn’t expect all of this.
I’m spraying down the table with disinfecting cleaner when he comes out and our eyes meet.
“Hungry?” I ask with a laugh and drop the surface cleaner bottle beside the Chinese.
“For more food or more you?”
His heated gaze pins me to my place. I wasn’t sure if we’d go back to hating each other or if sex gave us a somewhat common ground. A peace treaty, so to speak. I watch him thoughtfully for a moment and we exchange a slough of silent questions. Questions I’m not sure either of us have answers to yet.
“Let’s start with Chinese and go from there,” I reply.
He simply smirks and a glimmer of a dimple forms on one side of his lips.That mouth will be my ruin.
We sit back down and begin eating as if nothing happened. It’s quiet but not awkward. I’m trying to work this all out in my head but, to be frank, all I can think about is the delicious ache between my legs and how truly satisfied I am.
As I take a drink of my beer, I see Tanner’s eyes flick to the spot where I was lain out moments ago. I assume his mind is where mine is until he turns to me with a grave expression.
“You don’t think Cam and Indie have fucked on this table, do you?”
I spit liquid out everywhere, including on Tanner’s face. He flinches, his eyes pinched tightly as he reacts to the onslaught. He wipes the dew from his eyes, slowly opening them.
“Is that a no? Or a yes?”
“It’s a—”
“Wait,” he reaches out, his warm hand gripping my arm firmly. “Just lie to me.”
