16. GraceTanner

SIXTEEN

GRACE

I sit on the edge of the dock, kicking my bare feet as I look out over the water. After Riggs interrupted Tanner and me last night, I pulled myself together long enough to go downstairs and eat dinner with our families. I sat quietly, pushing the food around my plate as I listened to my brother blather on about all the college girls that were home for the summer and wanted to hang out with them. We exchanged a few secret glances, but other than that, we didn't speak at all. When I couldn't take being around him and not feeling his body near mine any longer, I quietly slipped away to my room and tossed and turned all night, barely getting a wink of sleep because every bad scenario of what he could be doing played on a loop in my head.

I'll admit, I was jealous. The thought of Tanner spending time with anyone but me made me irrationally upset, considering we agreed that this was just going to be a physical thing for the summer. But that's not where I'm at anymore. As much as I tried to stick to the plan, I think it was inevitable. There was no way I could've stopped it.

I fell in love with Tanner Lake, and I want him to be mine and mine alone. I don't care what I have to do or who we have to piss off to make it happen. Nothing else matters to me right now. Just us. I know he's feeling it, too. I can tell by the way he kisses me. The way he takes care of me. The way he makes love to me. He doesn't have to say the words out loud because I can feel it.

At the beginning of the summer, when we first started this, I had everything planned out. Then life happened. He happened . What was important to me then, seems absolutely trivial now that I'm considering a future that may include Tanner and me actually being together for real.

That's why I'm considering alternative options for what I'm going to do in a month when it's time to leave for school. I know it's crazy, and I shouldn't derail all of my plans just because I fell in love, but I don't care. I've waited my whole life to get Tanner to see me as more than his best friend's little sister, and now that he does, I can't just pack up and leave him behind.

I've had my apprehensions about going to CCA since the day I got accepted, but I wanted to give it a try. I wanted a change from the boring life I was living here in Hope Harbor. I wanted to hang out with friends and go on dates with guys who didn't know their arms and legs were in danger of being ripped off their bodies if they touched me. I wanted something new.

But all of that has changed now that I've fallen for Tanner. Do I still want to be a fashion designer? Yes. I can't imagine waking up one day and not wanting to make clothes. Nothing makes me happier than losing myself in the feel of different fabrics, and finding ways to make them into unique pieces that make whoever wears them feel beautiful and confident. I'd never give that up, but staying closer to home doesn't mean I'd have to. I got into schools in Boston and New York, but chose California because I didn't have a reason not to. Now, I might.

I'm not saying I'm going to just throw it all away and follow Tanner wherever he goes, but if he's willing to give this thing between us a real shot, I'm okay with rearranging some of my initial plans to make it work. In the end, I'll still be designing clothes, so how I get there doesn't really matter to me.

I hear the gravel behind me crunch under the tires of Tanner's car as he pulls down the driveway to the lighthouse, and my stomach does little flips of excitement. I'm kind of nervous to have a talk about our future with him, but we need to do it so I can think carefully about my next move. I know he'll look for me here, so I try to calm my nerves as I continue dipping my toes into the cool water, watching as it ripples away from me in large circles.

"Bunny," he says, walking toward the dock. I stand, wiping the dirt from the back of my shorts as he approaches quickly. He doesn't slow down, crashing into me and digging his hands into my hair before taking my mouth in a searing kiss. I'm caught off guard, stiffening at first, but it isn't long before I'm melting into him, pleading without words for him to keep going. Unfortunately, he pulls back, but slides his arms around my waist and leans his forehead to mine. "Thank God you're here. You didn't answer my text. I was afraid you wouldn't show up."

"I was with my mom when it came through, so I just read it quickly then shoved it in my pocket. I guess I forgot to reply. I'm sorry," I tell him. The truth is, by the time I got to my car to drive here, my mind was racing in so many different directions, I didn't even think about it.

"It's okay, baby," he says. "I'm just glad you're not pissed at me. I swear I didn't talk to any girls last night. I didn't even drink. I just waited until Riggs was occupied, then I snuck out and went home. I didn't want to wake you by calling or texting, so I waited until today."

I can't say I'm not relieved to hear him say that, because part of me was a little worried that maybe I'd been reading him wrong and that he doesn't feel the same way I do. But the other part of me, the part that is completely connected to his mind, body, and soul, is telling me that there's no way he doesn't love me the way I love him.

He leans down, ghosting his lips over the delicate skin of my neck. I tilt my head, giving him full access as I grip onto the fabric of his t-shirt.

"I want to fuck you all night long," he mumbles before licking a hot line across my throat. "I want to be so deep in your pussy, you'll feel me there forever."

Forever.

The word echoes in my head, warming me all over as it flows through me. I want forever with him so badly; I don't give a single fuck what I have to do to get it. I don't care that I'm only eighteen or that my brother is going to be mad that we went behind his back. I don't care that it's reckless to change my college plans to be closer to him while we start building our life together. I can still achieve all of my goals right here in Massachusetts with Tanner by my side.

"I have—" I stutter as he sucks at the sensitive skin under my ear. "I have something I want to tell you."

"Okay," he mumbles as his lips move across my shoulder like he can't decide where he wants to taste me the most. "Can it wait until after? Or should I stop?" He brings his hand up my body, stopping at my breast to pinch my nipple through my shirt, and all of a sudden, nothing else matters right now. I can tell him my plans later.

"It can wait," I whimper. "Please take me inside."

TANNER

I don't know what my deal is tonight, but I'm feeling like I can't get close enough to Grace. My hands aren't touching her body as fast as I want them to. My kisses aren't hard enough to make her lips swell. I'm so goddamn needy for her, and everything feels like it's happening in slow motion.

Maybe it's the way I felt at that party, wanting desperately to get away from all the girls that begged Riggs to bring me along so they could try to hook up with me. Maybe it was having to leave Grace at her parents' house, knowing she might've been worrying about whether or not I would be with someone else. Or maybe it was because she didn't respond when I texted her and I was terrified that she was going to be so mad that she'd call this whole thing off.

Whatever it is, it's got me all the way fucked up.

"Lie the fuck down," I say, shoving her backward onto the bed. She lands on the mattress with a soft thud , looking up at me as though I'm the only man in this world that knows what she needs. It makes the beast inside me rip at the bars of his cage, begging to be released. Because I want to be the only one. I want her to need me the way I need her right now. I'm desperate for it.

I waste no time tearing her clothes from her body, forgoing all of the pleasantries that I usually take. Normally, I spend a while kissing her body and getting her ready for me, but I can't even see straight right now with the need to get inside her as fast as I can. Her breathing is shallow and ragged, and I know seeing me like this is doing something to her, too.

"Tan, baby," she whines, making me pause for just a split second because that's the first time she's ever called me that. I fucking love it. I want to be her baby tonight. I want to be her everything. "I need you so fucking bad. Please."

I pull my shorts and boxers down in one go, reaching behind my neck and pulling my t-shirt off with one hand. I give my cock a few tentative strokes, but I don't need it. I've been rock hard since before we even made it to the bedroom. It feels so good to touch myself while Grace looks up at me from below, that I have to squeeze my tip because I could blow all over her body without even being inside it.

I practically face plant into her cunt, inhaling deeply before shoving her thighs as far apart as they'll go. I'm sure her muscles are burning, but I want to taste every part of her. Every inch of her skin needs to be touched, and I'm not leaving this room until I'm sure it has been.

I flick my tongue on her swollen clit, earning beautiful gasps and moans. Saliva is gathering in my mouth because of how good she tastes, and I let it roll down and drip onto her hot pussy. I don't even bother trying to swallow because I want to make her as messy as I feel right now. Sucking her sensitive bud between my teeth, I give her everything I have. Her back bows off the mattress and she reaches down, gripping my hair roughly and pushing me into her.

"Dirty girl," I mumble without so much as removing my mouth from her. "Fuck my face." She does, reaching her other hand into my hair and slamming down, groaning loudly when I push my tongue into her. We're rough and frantic, and it's making me feel free of the heart-twisting thoughts that were going on in my head a minute ago.

My cock has never been this reactive to another woman before. I feel feral, humping against the mattress, surely rubbing the precum that's leaking from my slit into the sheets below me. But it's not enough. Not even close.

"You want to be my little slut tonight, Grace?" I ask, looking up at her. "Let me use that body."

"It's yours," she says, barely able to catch her breath. "I'm yours. Do whatever you want to me."

Hearing her say that out loud while the taste of her is still on my tongue snaps the last of my self-control. I don't say a word as I grab roughly at her hips and flip her over onto her stomach. She gasps when I yank her back, pulling her ass up in the air and positioning myself on my knees behind her. Without any warning, I thrust inside until my pelvis is pressed tightly to her ass. I can't think of anything other than being buried so deeply inside her, she'll feel me long after I'm gone. I can hear the breath whoosh loudly from her lungs as she fights to adjust to my intrusion, but I can't stop myself from brutally fucking into her.

I know I should slow down, or at least check in to make sure she's okay, but it's like I'm not even myself right now. It's as though I'm outside of my body, watching like a voyeur as the last of Grace Valentine's innocence is greedily taken from her. She's moaning and screaming in ecstasy, gripping the sheets so tightly that the corners pop up from where they'd been tucked under the mattress. At least I have the wherewithal to read her body language and sounds enough to know it feels good to her, too.

I focus on the way her body bounces with each of my thrusts, noticing how perfect her ass looks as I slam into her. I can't stop myself, rearing my hand back and landing my open palm roughly on her creamy skin. A red handprint blooms to life in front of my eyes as she moans loudly.

My Bunny likes to be spanked.

"Feel good, baby?" I say, rubbing my hand over where I struck her in an attempt to soothe the sting.

"So, so good," she replies, prompting me to do it again. And again, each time harder than the last. Her moans turn to whimpers as her body begins to shake. She's practically vibrating with the way she's trembling as she nears the summit.

"Come for me, Grace," I order, picking up my speed. "Squeeze me. Milk me dry. I want to fill you so deep, you'll taste it on the back of your tongue."

She comes on a loud scream, every muscle in her body tightening as she does. I slap her ass again because I can't fucking help it as I get impossibly hard, feeling my balls draw up tight. Fire licks up my spine and spreads throughout my body, and I bust inside her, convulsing wildly as I thrust one, two, three more times until I'm completely spent.

I can't speak. I can barely keep my eyes open as I wrap my arm around her waist and roll us onto our sides without pulling out of her warmth. I know I need to check on her and clean her up, but I can't even move. I just hold her tightly to me, feeling her deep breaths slowly even out before we both fade away from exhaustion.