| Treasure By Ladybug |
| Chapter 11 “What do you mean we aren’t going after the plane now?” They were in a small motel in Key Biscayne. Tanner had taken them back to Nassau and he’d had a friend fly them to Key West on a small plane. From there he’d rented a car and driven them to Key Biscayne where they’d gotten a motel room so they could clean up and rest for a few days. “Just what I said. I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he explained. “I’m not risking your life over something that we will most likely never find.” “But you promised to help me, Tanner! Frank Dunlap had my father killed and the reason is on that plane along with the treasure he’d bought for my mom and myself and it’s all buried at the bottom of the ocean!” Tears streamed down her cheeks as Tanner pulled her into his arms. She struggled against him briefly, then settled against him. “And that is the whole point, babydoll,” he whispered against her hair. “That plane is most likely broken into a hundred pieces, spread out across miles and miles of ocean floor. It’s been down there for years, Gabby. More than likely it’s buried and the chances of us finding whatever it is that Dunlap is hiding or the treasure is nil. I knew this from the beginning and I was a idiot for letting all of this go this far, but I would have done anything to remove the pain and sadness of your father’s death from your eyes.” Gabby raised her head to look into his face. “But we can’t let Dunlap get away with killing Daddy.” He raised a finger to trace along her bottom lip. “I said we are not going after the plane, I didn’t say we were giving up completely.” Tanner let his words sink in a moment before he bent his head and nibbled at her lips. Gabby sighed softly, but refused to be deterred. “So then what are we going to do?” “We are going to sit tight here for a few days while I try to figure out what our next move will be,” he answered as he nibbled his way along her jaw line. His hands moved to her hips and skimmed up along her side allowing his thumbs to brush lightly along the outer swell of her breasts. Gabby breathed in deeply, arching into him, pressing her breasts against his hard chest. Encouraged, he increased the pressure of his mouth along her throat, his teeth nipping at her sensitive skin then soothing it with a stroke of his tongue. “Tanner,” she groaned as her hands clutched at his shoulders, holding on for dear life. When he didn’t respond, she tried again. “Tanner, we need to talk.” “After,” he growled softly against her throat. “No.” She shoved at his shoulders. “Before. Now!” Tanner sighed and stepped back, releasing her. He ached, but she was right. They did need to talk. He scrubbed his hands roughly over his face and sat down at the foot of the bed. “Okay, babydoll.” His heart raced as his palms began to sweat. Nervously, he rubbed them against the tops of his thighs. “Tell me again.” She stood before him, demanding, beautiful and sexy, causing his heart to swell with the love he felt for her. A smile twitched around his full lips. “I love you.” It was easier the second time, he thought. Gabby sighed, closing her eyes, savoring the wonderful feeling that flowed through her. She didn’t think she would ever tire of hearing him say it. “I never thought I would ever hear you say those words to me. I never imagined that you would ever feel the same way.” “I was a fool.” Her eyes opened at the disgust in his voice. She began to shake her head in denial. “You were afraid, Tanner and rightly so. Mariah-” “Mariah was an excuse to keep you at a distance.” He stood again and began to pace. “I knew the moment I set eyes on you again in my office that you would be trouble for me. Actually, that’s not true. I knew long before then that you would be trouble.” “I don’t understand.” “Not long after I came back to Miami, Jacob showed me a picture of you. It was a fairly recent one. It was with some article done on you in a photography magazine highlighting your career and your success.” He stopped his pacing and looked right at her. “It stole my breath. You stole my breath!” He tore his gaze away and began pacing again. “Why do you think I never got in touch with you, Gabby? Why do you think I never came to see you?” His heart stuttered in his chest when he stopped to stare at her again. Tears were streaming down her face. He took a step forward raising his hand towards her. “Ah baby, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” Gabby swiped at the tears and straightened her shoulders. “It’s okay, Tanner, I’m okay. I need to hear this. I want to hear this. I want to understand.” Their eyes held for a moment longer, then Tanner nodded and continued his pacing. “I knew that if I ever saw you again, things would change between us. You would no longer be the skinny, pigtailed kid I called Geek. You were grown up.” He laughed suddenly. “My God, how you grew up!” His hands were shaking badly. He shoved them into his pockets to keep them still. “I was quite happy and content with my life the way it was. No complications, no commitments. I saw who I wanted, whenever I wanted and I didn’t have to answer to anyone.” “I heard you had quite the reputation with the ladies.” Tanner stopped and grinned at her. “And that’s all it was, Gabby. A reputation. But it was one I chose to let people believe.” Gabby gave him a skeptical look. “You telling me you were not with all those women?” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Depends on what you mean by “with”. Did I date a lot of women? Yes. Did I have sex with all of them? No.” “Why? Why would you let them say all that stuff about you then if it wasn’t true?” “Why not? Look, Gabby, I wasn’t out to impress anyone. I certainly had no intentions of coming within breathing distance of you, so what did I care?” “I see. So when I showed up that day in your office to tell you about Daddy, I guess I really messed things up for you, huh?” Gabby wasn’t sure if she should feel flattered or insulted by what he was telling her. His eyes softened as the pain of losing Jacob washed over him again. “At that point, it stopped being about me. At least for a while I was able to shove my feelings aside. Then you had to go and demand that I help you and with the damn scuba lessons . . .” He laughed again, shaking his head. “I tried to fight it. I fought like hell against it. When I still couldn’t keep my hands off you, I tried to piss you off so that you would stay away from me.” He stopped his pacing and approached her. His hand came up to cup gently against her cheek. “But what happened in Nassau that day, what I said…” He shook his head in disgust. “I never meant to hurt you. Make you made as hell, yes, but never to hurt you. I lost control that day because you were right. I was in denial and I struck out without thinking.” They both stood there reliving that scene in their heads. Tanner pulled her closer and pressed his lips to her forehead. “God, I was such a bastard to you, baby, I don’t understand why you don’t just walk away, why you didn’t just walk away!” Gabby cuddled closer to him as his arms came around her, his cheek resting against the top of her head. “Last night on the boat . . . I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to get a glass of water. When I passed my door to go back to bed, I heard you. You were outside my door talking and I heard what you said.” Tanner let out his breath in a slow hiss. “You heard that, huh?” He felt her head bob up and down under his chin. “Was that the reason behind the change of attitude this morning?” “Yeah.” Tanner raised his hands up to frame her face. He used his thumbs under her chin to tilt her head back so he could see her face. “I love you, Gabrielle.” He bent his head and brushed his lips against hers. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making up for what I did. For how I’ve treated you.” “Oh Tanner, you don’t-” He cut her off with his lips against hers. His tongue came out to stroke along her lower lip. “Will you marry me, Gabby?” He felt her stiffen, heard her soft gasp before her head pulled back from his. She stared long and hard at him, trying to determine how serious he was. “Boy, you don’t mess around, do you?” “What’s the point?” His dark eyes bore into hers. “You’re the only one I want.” Gabby’s smile nearly blinded him. He felt his knees weaken and his heart picked up speed as he waited for her answer. “Now how can a girl resist that?” She grinned. “Yes, Tanner, I’ll marry you.” Tanner closed his eyes and sighed in relief. “Thank God! I was afraid you might make me grovel.” Gabby laughed. “Well maybe-” She shrieked as Tanner began tickling her. Before she realized what he was doing, he lifted her up and tossed her on the bed. She landed with a bounce and another shriek, then he was there, kissing her, pushing her back until he was stretched out on top of her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “He was good at covering their tracks, but I found them.” “Where are they?” “Key Biscayne.” “Good. Don’t do anything, I’m gonna take care of this myself. So far your men have been useless.” He was furious. He was beyond furious. “Just make sure they don’t leave. I’ll be leaving in the morning.” The man on the other end of the phone wisely held his tongue and his opinions. Frank Dunlap hung up his phone and stared off at nothing. By tomorrow night, Graves would be dead and Gabrielle would be his. He smiled as he headed off for dinner. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Tanner took his time. He kissed her thoroughly leaving no part of her mouth untouched. It felt so good to hold her, kiss her, and make love to her without the guilt hanging over his head. He gave her everything that was in him and she gave right back. Slowly, he worked each piece of clothing off her, replacing it with kisses. He spent a considerable about of time worshiping her breasts. He played, teased, nipped and suckled his way around them, enjoying the taste and their firm softness. Every whimper, every gasp, every sigh, every moan that escaped her lips spurred him on, drove him further to reach that peak for both of them. He worshiped her body with his hands and with his mouth. Skimming across her belly, his fingers glided through the patch of dark curls and found the hidden treasure within. Parting the twin petals like a flower in bloom, he dipped his finger in to stroke her. She moaned loudly, thrashing beneath his onslaught. His mouth latched on to a nipple and drew it deep, suckling it. Dear God, he was drowning and he had no wish to be saved. Gabby’s fingers dug into his sweat-slicked back. Her hips arched up of their own accord as each stroke of his finger sent her higher and higher. “Tanner-” Her voice broke off with a sob as her body shattered into a million pieces. Tanner lifted his finger that was glistening with her essence and stuck it in his mouth to suck the juices from it. “Jesus, you’re sweet.” He rolled quickly off the bed then and removed his pants. He was back moments later, his body covering hers, his knees parting her thighs wider, his mouth demanding on hers. “So sweet,” he whispered against her lips as he surged deep inside her. He was riding the edge of his control, and as he slid inside the velvety softness of her sheath, he shattered. Her name was a soft plea on his lips as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and started a frantic rhythm with his hips. Gabby could only hold on. Already sensitized from her first orgasm it took only seconds before her next one hit. It rocked her world as her body convulsed under his. He followed seconds later, his body tensing up as he exploded inside her, pouring everything he had into her. He collapsed on top of her. It was several minutes before either one of them could move. Tanner rolled over on his back, bringing her with him so that she was sprawled on top of him. He wasn’t ready to separate from her yet, content to just lie there, buried within her warmth. “I love you, Tanner,” she finally whispered the words he desperately needed to hear. She hadn’t said them until now. Even when she’d agreed to marry him, she had held back, but now they needed to be said. Tanner sighed softly in contentment. “I love you too, babydoll.” He stroked her hair, her back, until he knew she was asleep, then he closed his eyes and drifted off into the first peaceful rest he’d had since she’d walked back into his life. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Treasure - Chapter 12 |