Tempting Tatum (23 page)

I reach for her hand and lay it flat on my chest, over my heart. “You make my heart beat a little faster,” I tell her.

Her beautiful green eyes light up at my admission. Not only are my words affecting her, but she can feel the steady rhythm against the palm of her hand. She does that to me, only Tatum.

I run my finger down her cheek. “Lay with me?” I don’t wait for an answer; I pull back the covers and motion for her to climb in. I climb in after her and pull the comforter up over us. I have blackout blinds in my room for nights I’m up all night on a run with the department. The room is in complete darkness since I shut the door when I came back from the kitchen.

Tatum rolls over, facing the window, her back to me. I place my arm around her and bring her back against my chest. Immediately, all tension leaves my body. This feels right. It hits me that Tatum is the first girl to ever be in my bed, in my home. I bought this place after Beth and I broke up. I’ve never brought anyone here, just family and Grace, of course, but she falls into the family category. This is my home; it’s sacred. The thought of using it as a place to “hook up” taints the idea of home for me. Heather and I were usually at hotels since she was traveling; if not, we were always at her place. She never wanted to come here, and I never invited her.

No one meant enough to me to share my home with them. Tatum is stiff beside me. I want to reassure her she’s different. That I’m different with her.

“You’re the first,” I say into the darkness.

“The first for what?”

“The first in this bed, in my home. I’ve never brought anyone here.” I let that sink in before I say, “You’re different, Tatum. I will fight every day until you understand what you mean to me. I know this is fast, but my heart tells me this is right.”

She doesn’t respond for a long time. I feel her relax in my arms and her breathing evens out. We lay in silence for so long I’m beginning to wonder if she’s fallen asleep, but then I hear her sweet voice.

“The last few months have been hard for me. There were days when I would have to force myself to get out of bed and keep moving.” She pauses. “Then I met you and your family. Your mom reminds me so much of my own, and your dad, he’s great. Ember and I have so much in common, and Asher and Grace always make me feel welcome.”

I wait for her to mention me; she doesn’t. She named off each member of my immediate family and how amazing they are, but nothing about me. Not one to avoid the elephant in the room, I ask, “And me?”

“You…” She stops and I feel her take a deep breath, her chest rising and falling. I try to pull her closer to me, I can never get her close enough, and my hand slips under her shirt. I know I should move it, but I can’t; well, I don’t want to. Instead, I trace my fingers across her flat belly. Releasing her breath she says, “You’re changing me. We seem to have this connection I can’t explain. I wake up excited to see if I’ll run into you. The future doesn’t look as lonely and scary as it did before. You make me feel better about life. You make life better,” she tells me.

I don’t say anything. Not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t. The raw emotion in her voice. The conviction that she really feels her life is better because of me. I swallow hard against the lump in my throat. I tighten my hold on her and kiss her cheek. This is what I’ve been missing. Never again will I give Asher a hard time about his protectiveness with Grace. I get it. When you meet “the one,” shit gets real.

This is crazy. This intense feeling of peace and satisfaction I get just from being with her. I’ve only know her a few months, and I’m sure many might think I’ve lost my fucking mind, and in a way I have. It belongs to her. All of me belongs to her. I want to shout it from the rooftops, but I won’t. I need her to catch up before I go pouring my heart out.

I feel her breathing even out and her body relax. She’s asleep, here in my arms. That’s the last thing I remember as I drift off to sleep.

I waken by the sound of a muffled curse. “Shit.” I sit up in bed and my eyes adjust to my surroundings. There is faint light seeping in from the hallway. I blink a couple times and focus my gaze on Blaise. He’s tiptoeing around his room, obviously trying not to wake me. He stubs his toe, I can only assume, for at least the second time and a whispered, “Fuck,” falls from his lips. I can’t help but chuckle.

Blaise whips his head in my direction. I’m able to make out the smile on his face even through the dim lighting. “Hey you,” he says softly, making his way to the bed. He sits down next to me and places his hand on my hip. “I’m sorry I woke you. I was really trying not to,” he says.

I cover my mouth as I yawn. “Where are you going?” I ask. He’s fully clothed. I guess that means it’s my time to leave.

I throw the covers off and start to scoot to the end of the bed. Blaise places a hand on my leg to stop me. His touch against my bare skin sends shockwaves through me. “What are you doing?” he questions me. He sounds pissed off. Really? He’s the one leaving.

I gesture to his now fully clothed body. “I assume it’s time for me to go,” I tell him while scowling at his shirt and jeans.

Blaise is shaking his head in protest. “Tate, I have a run.” He holds up his pager. “There is a field fire just out of town. I’m on call, remember?” He gently runs a finger down the curve of my jaw, then his big hands are cupping my cheeks. He runs his thumb over my bottom lip. “Today is the first time I’ve ever had ill thoughts toward my status with the department. It took everything in me to leave you in bed alone.” He places one hand behind my neck and brings my lips close to his. “I was hoping I could be back before you missed me and slip back into bed with you.” His lips claim mine. The kiss is gentle; he doesn’t push and I’m happy to just feel his lips against mine.

Pulling away, he rests his forehead against mine. “Stay,” he whispers.

“I shouldn’t. It wouldn’t feel right without you here,” I tell him. I can see the disappointment in his silver pools. I hate that I’ve disappointed him. “Call me if it’s not too late, and maybe we can grab dinner.” The words slip from my tongue effortlessly.

He releases a heavy sigh. “I’ll take what I can get.” He hands me his phone. I quickly program my number.

“I really need to go. I’m going to have to meet them at the scene as it is.” He gives me a quick chaste kiss. “Thank you for today. I like you in my bed.” He winks. “Stay as long as you want; help yourself to whatever you need. I’ll call you as soon as I can.” Dropping another kiss on my temple, he turns and walks out the door.

I throw myself back on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. What am I doing here, in Blaise’s bed in nothing but his t-shirt? One look from those silver eyes and I’m weak in the knees. He’s says I’m the first one to be here. I can’t help but smile at that.

Climbing out of bed, I slowly remove his t-shirt and put my clothes back on. I look at the bed, and I swear I can still feel his arms around me. I decide to make the bed. Blaise was exhausted before this; I can only imagine how tired he will be when he gets back. I make my way into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water. There is a small dry erase board hanging on the fridge. I decide to leave him a note.

Back at the apartment, I find Ember curled up on the couch with her Kindle. “Hey, how was your day?” she asks me.

“Good. I actually went to the firehouse this morning to meet with your dad about marketing ideas, but he had another meeting. Harry told me to just drop in, so he wasn’t expecting me,” I tell her.

Ember beams. “I love going there; as kids, Dad would take us all the time. Asher and Blaise loved it just as much; they both always said they would volunteer one day.”

“Yeah, so I saw Blaise while I was there.” I decide to just get it out there.

“Really? And how is my big brother?” she asks.

I shrug. “He seemed exhausted.” I dig my phone out of my pocket when I feel it vibrate. Maybe it’s Blaise. Swiping the screen, no such luck, just an e-mail.

“Did you talk to him?” Ember asks me.

“What are you reading?” I ask changing the subject.

“Vision of Love. Did you talk to him?” she asks again.

I can’t lie to her. “Yeah, he um…well, he actually called Harry and told him he had some marketing ideas he wanted to discuss with me as well. Harry said to meet with Blaise and then take the rest of the day off.”

Ember looks at her watch. “I guess that’s why you’re home early. Blaise must have talked your head off. You said you went to see Dad first thing, right?”

I nod my head. I can’t keep skirting around the details when I know she will find out sooner rather than later, especially if Blaise calls when he gets home. I decide to say it. “Blaise actually asked me back to his place.” I try to sound casual.

Ember quirks an eyebrow. “Really?” I shake my head yes.

“He’s really into you, Tatum. Blaise doesn’t invite anyone to his place, ever.” Her voice is serious.

Again, I nod my head. “Yeah, he told me that as well.”

“So, what happened? Don’t worry about it being my brother; I can see you’re dying to talk about it. I like the idea of the two of you together. Spill it,” she says, shaking her finger at me.

I release the breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. “So, Blaise basically said that after holding me in his arms Saturday, he couldn’t sleep last night. He said he was exhausted and asked if I would come home with him and lay with him until he fell asleep,” I say in a rush, staring down at my hands. Relieved it’s out there, but still nervous of Ember’s reaction.

Ember doesn’t say anything. I look up to see her sitting there with a dumfounded look on her face. She opens and closes her mouth a couple of times to reply, but nothing comes out.

“Ember?”

“Tatum, my brother’s in love with you,” she says pointedly.

“What? That’s crazy talk. He just had a hard time sleeping, that’s all,” I try to reason.

She’s shaking her head no before I even finish. “Blaise doesn’t do stuff like that. This is a side of my brother I have never seen before. Well, I have, but only from Asher.” She sits up and pats the couch beside her.

I take the invitation and join her on the couch. “Tatum, Blaise is different with you. He touches you every chance he gets. He follows you with his eyes, like you’re his last meal. I’ve never see him this way. Asher used to be the same way; no outward displays of affection, until he met Grace.”

“Okay, I can see that, but saying he’s in love with me, that’s a little farfetched, don’t ya think?” I ask her.

She chuckles, “When the Richards men know, they just know. Our dad swears he fell in love with my mom the moment he met her. Asher has a similar story with Grace.”

“He can’t…I’m not…”

Ember places her hand on my shoulder. “Take your time; you’ll get there,” she says with a knowing smile.

My phone vibrates and I quickly swipe the screen. It’s Leah letting me know she’s going to e-mail me a few websites for destination weddings to look at.

“Is there something else going on?” Ember asks. “You jumped when your phone went off, and you seem disappointed at whatever it is.”

I can feel my face heat with embarrassment. “Blaise was called out on a run. He said he would call if it wasn’t too late. I also left him a note telling him to call if he wasn’t too tired. I just…How do you and your mom handle it? How do you not drive yourselves crazy over worrying about their safety?” I ask her. I know I pretty much just laid my cards out on the table, too late to take them back.