Running in Place (Mending Hearts) (20 page)

After my request was denied, Trace gave me a look to let me know we would be discussing everything that went down today in detail very soon. I had already briefed him about Cash and what happened Friday night while Harlow was handling Tatum in her room. I also let him know that I
took care
of that fucker and that he didn’t need to worry about Cash coming anywhere near her again. This earned me a slight, but prideful grin, which was lost as soon as Harlow slammed the front door on her way out of the house. If I wasn’t so worried about Tatum and feeling a tad guilty for baiting him into the whole situation, I would have laughed watching Harlow rip Trace a new one because honestly, well — it was
funny
.

Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I reach for another napkin, finally taking my first glance at Mrs. Harris who is wearing a shit-eating, know-it-all grin on her face. I place the napkin directly in front of her while she speaks.

 “Well, well, well,” she laughs. “It seems you’re a little distracted this evening, not that I can say that I blame you.” After scooping ice into the silver shaker in front of me, I snag the ingredients for her Cosmopolitan while I watch mother fucker’s hand moving slowly up Tatum’s leg. She throws a glance at me from over her shoulder, grins, then rises to a standing position. Pivoting around, she pulls a cherry sucker from her pocket and pops it into her mouth, sauntering her way over to Mrs. Harris in the process.

“Helen! How are you?” she asks. I’m momentarily mesmerized with the movement of Tatum’s gorgeous mouth as her plump lips come together, closing themselves around the red candy. Holding the stick between her thumb and forefinger, she places her free hand on her waist, cocking her hip to the side, and slowly pulls the sucker from her mouth. As she draws her tongue across her lower lip, my dick decides it’s time to start paying attention, practically giving her a full salute in appreciation.

“Well, I’m definitely doing better than some people around here.” Mrs. Harris smiles at Tatum and they both direct their stares in my direction as I unsuccessfully try to readjust Mr. Happy back into place while pouring the vodka. Tatum raises a brow and then proceeds to place the sucker back in her mouth, sealing it once again with her pouty lips, maintaining eye contact with me the entire time. It’s quite possibly the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

But, when a scheming smile spreads across her face, it clicks.

She
wants
to get a reaction out of me.

She wants me to get pissed off and lose control.

After shaking the concoction in my hands, I pour it into a martini glass and set the drink in front of Mrs. Harris before offering her my apology. “Please excuse us, Mrs. Harris. There’s something I need to
discuss
with Tatum. We’ll be right back.” With an amused expression, she takes the drink and reclines back into her seat as I round the corner, coming out from behind the bar.

“Oh, you two don’t worry about me. Take your time.” She continues to shrewdly watch our interaction as I approach Tatum, grabbing her under the arm and pulling her close to me as I lead us off the main floor of the bar.

 “Noah! Where the hell are you taking me? What is
wrong
with you?” I refuse to look at her, but I swear I hear laughter in her voice. I do note that she tosses the sucker into a trashcan as we pass by. Thank God for that.

We make our way through the kitchen, wading through a sea of questioning glances from the staff until we arrive at the silver door of the walk-in cooler. Taking a brief look around to make sure we’re alone, I lift the handle and shove her inside as I follow close behind.

She faces me as the door slams shut and the light above us shuts completely off, along with every single one of my inhibitions.

The beast has been awakened, but instead of fury and rage, he now feeds off of my desire. My need. My lust. Every single one of my emotions that I’ve been warding against since Tatum whirled into my life.

“Noah, what are we doing in the coo-”

Her words are cut off as I slam my mouth against hers. She lets out a surprised gasp, parting her lips just enough for me gain the access I need. The sweet taste of cherry floods my mouth as she then opens further, releasing a sigh as she relaxes into our kiss.

Grabbing her underneath her thighs, I hoist her legs up and around my waist, just as her arms fold around my neck, pulling me closer. My fingers dig deep into her soft skin as I continue to step forward until her back hits the wall of the cooler, our tongues now entangled in greedy frenzy. Squeezing me tightly with her legs, she draws me flush against her body urging me to press Mr. Now Extremely Happy harder between her thighs. Once we make contact, her soft moan radiates throughout my entire body, the effect increasing my rigidity, so much it’s almost painful, but as our bodies begin to grind against each other, pure ecstasy is all I feel.

There is no cold air around us. We’re completely enveloped in our own inferno, the heat stemming from our ravaging mouths and the friction between our bodies. Releasing her legs, my fingers trace their way along the side of her body, her waist, the sides of her breasts, her neck, until I reach her hair, pushing it away from her face as my mouth once again captures hers. Her hands move the opposite direction of mine, falling away from my head, down my neck, coming to rest on my chest where she grabs handfuls of my shirt just as my fingers interlace with her hair, pulling her head back to expose her neck. Completely lost in the moment, my mouth releases hers and trails down her neck, tracing her skin with my tongue the entire way to the hollow and then back up the other side.

“Noah,” she clears her throat. “Noah, we have to stop. Someone is going to need to get in here eventually.”

Damn. She’s right.

After one last peck to her soft skin, I press my forehead into the crook of her neck and open my eyes, the dim lighting from the strip in the back of the cooler barely illuminating the space between us.
Our heavy breaths visible like puffs of smoke as they escape our mouths, we cling to each other tightly, neither one of us ready to let go.

“Well,” I sigh. “I think it’s safe to say I’m going to have to stay in here for a while. For a very,
very
long while. Walking in public isn’t exactly a possibility at the moment.”

Giggling, she releases my shirt and presses my chest away from hers. Wide grin on her face, she places her hands on my cheeks, splaying her fingers along the sides of my face as she leans forward, darting her tongue across my lips before giving them a light, chaste kiss. Stepping back, I grab hold of her waist as she unwraps her legs from around me, setting both feet on the ground. And goddamn if she doesn’t reach into her pocket, pull out another sucker, and pop it into her mouth.
 
“Fuck no, Tate.” I grab hold of the stick and tug it from between her lips, still red and swollen from our frenzied kissing. Leaning forward, I slowly run my tongue along them, taking my time to savor the sweet sugar before stepping away from her. I just can’t help myself. She tastes too fucking good. “You’re going to kill me with these damn things.”

I’m rewarded another giggle as I place the sucker in my own mouth for safe keeping. I really hope she doesn’t have any more, or my heads will explode.
Both of them.

 Jerking my chin toward the door, I smile at her as I drape my arm around her waist, pulling her close into my chest, and guiding her safely toward the exit as she places her cheek against my body and her left arm swings around my back. Removing the candy, I lower my lips to the top of her head, kissing her gently before I reach for the latch to open the door.

“I’m going to hang out in here for a while and take inventory.” Laughing, she nods and turns to leave. The restless beast inside me is pacing back and forth, not ready to release her.

And neither am I.

Stepping forward, I hook her arm, softly urging her to turn and face me. With my other hand, I gently graze my fingertips down her cheek, then across her lips. “Come home with me tonight, Tate. For no other reason than I just want to be with you.”

Her stare breaks from mine as I continue to speak with my head shaking back and forth as I finally throw down my gauntlet. “I’m tired of denying myself the
only
thing in my life that I’ve ever really wanted. And I want you. Every part of you,
flaws and all
.”

Her eyes glisten as they dart up from the cooler floor to meet mine.

With her chin trembling, she asks in a hushed tone, “What are we doing, Noah?”

Reaching toward her, I take her hand and lace her fingers with mine while moving in closer to her body. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything other than I have absolutely no fight left in me when it comes to you. I have no walls, no defense, no safety net, no plan. I just
am
when I’m with you. And as selfish as it may be, I want you for as long as I can have you.”

Tears cascading slowly down her face, she quickly pushes up on the balls of her feet and presses her lips gently against my cheek. On a light whisper, she responds, “Then I’m just as selfish as you are.”

Lowering herself away from me, she turns and leaves me standing alone in the cooler.

As soon as the door shuts behind her, my cell buzzes in my pocket. Removing it, I almost laugh at the name displayed and his impeccable timing. In frustration, I rub the back of my neck with my hand, the idea of sending him to voicemail at the forefront of my mind. Unfortunately, it would be pointless. I have to talk to him eventually.

“Father.”

“Son, how are you?” The sound of the intercom in the background tells me he’s still at the hospital.

“Fine. You?”

“I’m well. I was just calling to remind you that you need to stop and pick up some things from the house before you leave for Harvard. We can’t have you going unprepared can we?” He pauses in thought. “Speaking of which, did you get the study materials I sent you? I hope you’ve been reviewing them and not wasting your entire summer doing nothing. I didn’t pull strings for your acceptance to have you embarrass me in front of my colleagues when you get there.”

The words fly out of my mouth before I even have a chance to think.

“Heaven forbid I embarrass you, Father. We both remember what happened senior year in baseball. I’m sure you’re still recovering.” The memory is clear in my mind. Because I struck out during play-offs, he struck me repeatedly when we got home for losing the game. It really
was
the highlight of my senior year, but it’s not like that shit didn’t happen all the time when I was a kid. My father pretty much ruled with an iron fist, and when I fucked up in any way, he made sure it would never happen again.

“Don’t take that tone with me, boy. I’m not too old to teach you a lesson or two. What kind of lowlifes have you been keeping company with over the summer? Do I need to come get you myself and put an end to this nonsense?”

Thoughts of Tatum fly through my mind. There’s no way I am going to let him ruin the precious time I have left with her.

“I apologize, sir. It won’t happen again.”

“That’s good, son. I shall see you in a couple of weeks then, yes?”

“Yes, sir.” And the line goes dead.

Love you too,
asshole
.

Sliding the phone back into my pocket, I let out a defeated laugh as I open the door to the cooler.

As soon as I step out, my eyes make contact with Sadie’s, who’s obviously in deep conversation with Tatum. Neither looks happy, so I start to head over when Tatum glances back at me and motions for me to stay where I am as she shakes her head.

Okaaaaay.

Turning in the opposite direction, an icy chill runs down my back. I’m not sure if it’s a latent response to the phone call with my father, or the look of extreme displeasure on Sadie’s face when she saw me.

Or it could just be that I’ve just been inside a cooler for the last fifteen minutes.

Turning off all the alarm bells going off in my mind, I choose the last of the possibilities.

Besides, there’s absolutely
nothing
that could go wrong with something that seems so right.

Right?