| Treasure By Ladybug |
| Chapter 5 An hour and a half later Gabby pushed through the doors leading into the pool area of the PADI school where Tanner worked. While they had eaten, Tanner had explained to her what they would be doing at the pool. He needed to know her swimming skills, teach her about neutral buoyancy and let her get familiar with having a mask, snorkel and flippers on in the water. She froze as she watched Tanner dive off the diving board. He was wearing black swim trunks and her breath caught in her throat as she watched his hard muscled body gracefully slice through the water as he began to swim laps. She nearly swooned. That same body was going to be parked on her couch tonight. She blinked back to the present and found Tanner standing in waist deep water staring at her. Christ almighty! Tanner thought. Gabby was wearing a coral colored bikini. The cups were scalloped shaped and formed over her breasts with a thin string leading up around each side of her neck to tie at her nape and another thin set of strings tying around the middle of her back. The bottoms were cut high at the waist and had that same scalloped design on the front. It was a simple bikini. No thong, it covered everything pertinent, yet Tanner felt as if he’d just been kicked in the gut. Her skin was tanned and looked silky soft. Tanner forced himself to breathe in as his body hardened. Tanner realized too late that this had been a bad idea. Gabby moved through the water towards him. “What first?” she asked, hoping her voice sounded normal and not breathy. “I want to see how strong of a swimmer you are, so why don’t you swim some laps for me.” There, that will keep her away from me until I can get myself under control, he thought. Then he groaned softly as he watched her push off and begin her laps. Christ, she has long legs! He imagined those long legs wrapped around him and stifled another groan. “Damn it, Tanner, get your dick back in your pants,” he muttered under his breath. After completing five laps, Tanner told her it was enough. “You swim good, that will help. Now let’s work on neutral buoyancy.” Gabby stood in front of him waiting for him to explain. Tanner struggled with keeping his mind off the water glistening off her skin, her hair slicked back away from her lovely face. “Neutral buoyancy is a state in which the individual neither sinks nor floats. It’s a state of weightlessness, where a diver conserves energy and air.” Gabby couldn’t help it, she giggled. Tanner stopped his lecture and frowned. “What’s so funny?” “You,” she laughed. “You sound so text book.” Tanner bit back a smile and scowled at her. “Gabby, this is serious!” She laughed harder. Tanner couldn’t hold the scowl any longer and grinned at her. In his attempt to keep his wandering mind off her body, he had begun quoting from the textbook directly, rather than just explaining in simple terms. “All right, you finished making fun of me?” Gabby sobered up and nodded, her eyes twinkling. “Sorry.” Tanner gave her a mock frown. “Yeah, I bet you are. Now go get your stuff over there and put it on.” He pointed over to the side of the pool where her mask, snorkel and flippers were. “Neutral buoyancy is better practiced with tanks, but for right now, I just want you to learn the procedure and get the feel for it.” “Okay,” she answered as she sat on the side of the pool and put the flippers on. A few minutes later, she was making her way back over to Tanner with the flippers on her feet and the mask and snorkel in her hand. “Now, lets get the mask on.” He helped her place it properly on her face and told her to put the snorkel in her mouth. “Okay, I want you to just swim along the surface and practice breathing through the snorkel. Don’t use your arms, just kick with your feet. Once you feel comfortable with it, then I’ll have you move to the deep end and show you the difference between floating and neutral buoyancy.” Gabby nodded her understanding and pushed off. She felt awkward at first. The flippers felt strange on her feet as she kicked and the mask felt tight against her face. It was cool though, being able to see clearly under the water. She moved into the deep end and something at the bottom of the pool caught her eye as she passed over. Without thinking, Gabby tucked her chin down to look back at it and the snorkel dipped into the water, causing her to breath the water into her mouth. She floundered and choked and when she tried to gasp for air, more water rushed into her mouth and into her lungs. Dear God, she was drowning! Suddenly strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up out of the water. Her mask was torn away from her face. “What the hell are you doing?” Tanner roared at her as he hauled her to the shallow end. Gabby threw up the water in her lungs and stomach and breathed in the precious air. She coughed until her throat hurt. Tanner held her against him, taking her weight. “God damn it, sweetheart, don’t ever do that again. You scared the shit out of me!” When the coughing spasm was over, Gabby relaxed against his chest and just concentrated on breathing. “I’m sorry,” she finally whispered. Tanner held her tight and willed his heart to settle down. Finally he held her away from him and looked down in her face. “What were you thinking?” he chided her roughly. Gabby frowned, but reined in her temper when she realized he was reacting out of fear for her life. She had nearly drowned. “I didn’t do it on purpose, Tanner. There was something at the bottom of the pool that caught my attention and I just reacted without thinking.” Tanner breathed in deeply and pulled her back in his arms. “Don’t ever do that again, you hear me?” He was shaking, Gabby realized. It had really scared him. She pulled her head back and looked up at him. “Tanner-” She was cut off when Tanner bent his head and kissed her. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and in a near frenzy, dueled with her own. He groaned deep in his throat as he kissed her over and over. Gabby wrapped her arms around his neck as he lift her up so that she was more even with him. She wrapped her legs around his hips and gasped when she felt his hardness press against the juncture of her thighs. Need roared through her as she rocked her hips, rubbing against him. She felt Tanner shudder, and with a growl, she felt his hands move over her ass and yank the strip of material to the side that covered her honeyed chamber. He dipped one finger into her wetness, stroking her as his tongue stroked the inside of her mouth. She shivered, the ache building. “Please Tanner,” she begged against his mouth. She was close to her release. She rocked her hips as his fingers worked their magic. Then she felt the head of his sex replace his fingers as he pushed into her. His hands gripped her hips and held her still as he thrust his hips forward and buried himself inside her. He filled her completely, stretching her with the size of him. “Oh God,” Gabby cried out as she tore her mouth from his. The next stroke and she climaxed hard. The muscles of her sheath contracted and sucked him in. His release nearly brought him to his knees. Their hips slammed together as they rode out the intensity of their releases. Tanner struggled to remain standing as he made his way over to the side of the pool. He could still feel the tiny pulses of her hidden muscles contracting around his sex and he nearly stumbled. Gabby’s face was buried in his neck, her arms wrapped tightly around him. “Are you alright, sweetheart?” he whispered in her ear then placed a kiss on her neck. He felt her trembling and suddenly realized she was crying. “Gabby, honey, did I hurt you? Come on, baby talk to me.” Gabby pulled back slightly, her eyes slightly red from crying. “I don’t want to be another one of your conquests, Tanner, and you’ve already made it clear that there can be nothing between us.” Tanner sighed. Gently he lifted her up until they were no longer connected physically. The sudden emptiness was so overwhelming he nearly thrust back into her. Instead he set her down on her feet, pulled his trunks back up, took her hand and led her out of the pool. He led her over to some chairs and told her to sit. He went over and grabbed a couple of towels and came back, handing one to Gabby and using the other to dry himself off. His mind raced with what to tell her. What could he say to her when he was so unsure of his own feelings? Just be honest with her, Tanner, he told himself. Sitting down next to her, his dark eyes met her lighter ones. His breath caught in his throat. God, she is breathtaking! he thought to himself. His heart pounded in his chest as he began to fidget with the towel in his hands. He felt like an idiot. “I can’t promise you tomorrow, Gabby. Right now, I am struggling with my feelings for you. Ever since you showed up in my office last week, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. I’m attracted to you and I care for you, but just thinking of letting you get close is scaring the shit out of me. I don’t know that I can do it.” He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek with his fingers. “I love you.” It was said simply. She was declaring her feelings in three words. Nothing more, nothing less. “I know you do, baby,” he answered softly, his heart constricting. “That’s why I have been trying to stay away from you. I don’t want to hurt you.” “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” She reached up and took his hand in hers and brought it down to her lap. He stared at their fingers laced together and somehow it felt right. He was scared to death, but it felt right. “Like I said before, Gabby. I can’t promise you tomorrow yet, but I can give you now.” He swallowed hard. “Let’s get through this mess with Dunlap first, okay? When this is over, we will talk some more.” Gabby gave him a brilliant smile that nearly killed him. “I can accept that,” she answered and leaned forward and kissed him. Tanner groaned as he immediately deepened the kiss, his hands coming up to frame her face. “Let’s get cleaned up and go back to my apartment,” she suggested softly, the hidden meaning quite clear. He would not be sleeping on the couch tonight. Good Lord, he had never moved so fast in his life. Tanner quickly showered off in the men’s locker room and was dressed and waiting impatiently for Gabby five minutes later. Damn it, he felt giddy with the anticipation of making love to her again. He was so hard it was nearly painful. “Damn it, what is taking her so long?” Tanner paced back and forth outside the women’s locker room. “Keep your pants on, stud, I’m right here,” Gabby laughed as he turned and glared at her. Her eyes twinkled up at him and she gave him a little grin that nearly made him climax in his pants. Tanner groaned, “Aahh, baby you know I have a couch in my office. It’s quite comfortable!” Gabby threw her head back and laughed. “I am not having sex on the couch in your office! You can wait the fifteen minutes it will take to get to my apartment.” She walked passed him, letting her hand graze against the bulge in his pants. Tanner jumped. “Not bloody likely if you keep pulling shit like that,” he grumbled and followed her out of the building. He locked the door behind him and they headed over to his Jeep. It was the longest fifteen minutes of his life, but somehow Tanner made it. When they entered her apartment, he shut the front door and locked it. Dumping his duffel bag with his clothes in it on the couch, he swung her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He stood her next to the bed and it was a race to get their clothes off. Seconds later, Tanner was pushing her onto her back on the bed as he moved over her. Christ, he couldn’t believe this intense need to be inside her. It shook him to the core and he trembled as he kneed her thighs apart and settled between them. He kissed her hard as he drove his hard length into her heated chamber. Gabby cried out at the sudden intrusion. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around him as he rocked his hips between her thighs, pulling almost completely out then driving into her again and again. He was lost in the sensations that swirled inside him. Sweat broke out across his forehead as he felt his groin tighten, his body readying for its release. Gabby clutched at his ass, trying to bring him in deeper. She widened her legs to allow his hips more room and when he sank down deep, it triggered her release and she cried out as she began to convulse beneath him. Tanner’s hoarse cry followed hers and they both froze, both hanging on the ledge between pleasure and pain. Then he collapsed on top of her. Gabby held him on top of her until their breathing evened out. Finally she kissed his temple and whispered, “Tanner, sweetheart, I need to teach you a word called ‘foreplay’.” Tanner chuckled softly as he slipped his arms around her and rolled over on his back, bringing her along until she rested on top of him. Her long hair fell around her face and brushed his shoulders. “Sorry baby, I usually have better control than that, but you drive me crazy.” So crazy, he thought, that twice now they’d had sex without protection. Gabby laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. His sex still rested snuggly inside her warmth and she sighed softly and drifted off to sleep. It was a while before Tanner could relax enough to fall asleep. His thoughts were on the lady in his arms and what he was going to do if something happened to her. He stroked his fingers up and down her back, enjoying the feel of her weight on top of him. He had to keep her safe from Dunlap and pray that he himself wasn’t the real monster. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Treasure - Chapter 6 |