Chapter Eighteen

Tanner

I don't know whether it's the stress of yesterday, or worrying about what's going to happen with Nash, or that I came so close to losing Zara, but I've struggled to sleep. As a result, I've been lying awake for ages, just staring at her, grateful that Ezra's email arrived when it did, and I got here before she had the chance to finish packing and get out of town.

I'd have tracked her down if she had, and I'd have brought her home again. But I don't have to, because she's here… and so am I. Even if I am exhausted.

That's Sabrina's fault, really. Just like the rest of this whole sorry mess.

I know her appeal to the court can't possibly work, but I've gone up against her before. I'm well aware of how ruthless she can be, and how she's not averse to playing with the truth to get what she wants. Hell… she's shown that already in the story she concocted about Zara.

I brush away a stray hair from her beautiful face, which makes her flinch slightly, although she doesn't wake up, and I wonder if I'm being fair to her. I love her with every fiber of my being, so should I be putting her in Sabrina's line of fire? It's not really an option. But I know that protecting her will take just as much strength as fighting Sabrina.

I'll do it, though.

I'll do whatever it takes to keep that look of fear from her eyes.

That's why I need her to move in with me. I already wanted her to, but it's even more important to me now, so I can show her every day how much I love her, and prove to her I can keep her safe. Besides, I can't do any of this without her. Like I said to her, she's my world. She's my rock, and I need her to ground me through whatever lies ahead.

I let out a sigh, just thinking about it, and Zara stirs beside me, opening her eyes and smiling up at me.

"Good morning," she says, sounding drowsy.

"Hi."

"How did you sleep?"

"Not great. But I guess I've got a lot on my mind."

She nods her head. "Sorry I crashed out on you last night."

I smile, recalling how we sat on the couch for a while, and then cooked some pasta, which we ate at her dining table. After we'd cleared away, we packed a few of her books. In other circumstances, we might have made more of that… especially given that some of the titles were ludicrous, and the covers extremely revealing. But I don't think either of us was in the mood, and we'd only finished a couple of boxes when Zara said she was too tired to do any more, and we came in here to bed. We got undressed, and I went to grab a quick shower, surprised to find she was fast asleep when I got back. I didn't mind. Her day had been just as stressful as mine, and in a way, I was relieved she'd been able to close her eyes. It was something that took me a lot longer.

"You don't need to apologize."

"I was just so tired," she says, rubbing her eyes.

"Does that mean you're still tired now?" I ask, smiling when she shakes her head. "You're not?"

"No." I roll her onto her back, nestling between her legs, and she gazes up at me. "I thought you said you didn't sleep well."

"I didn't."

"Then are you sure you've got the energy to—"

"I'm positive. I need this, babe."

I raise myself above her, palming my cock, and she lets out a slow sigh as I slide inside her, feeling her hands come around to rest on my ass. She pulls me in deeper, shuddering against me, and I start to move, taking it slow. I'm in no hurry, and I don't think she is, either. This isn't about reaching goals. This is about loving each other, in the best way possible… proving that we're one, and that nothing can part us.

"I'm sorry I nearly left," she whispers. "I shouldn't have done that."

I shake my head, leaning down to kiss her. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that we're together… and I love you so damn much." My heart aches with how much I love her, and I grab her hands, holding them above her head, pinning her beneath me as I move a little faster.

"I love you, Tanner."

A tear falls from her left eye onto the pillow, and I stop, releasing her hands and dropping to my elbows. "Don't cry."

She shakes her head. "It's just so hard."

"What is?"

"Being in the middle of all this."

Fear courses through me, and I put my arms around her, holding her close, although I do my best not to crush her.

"Is it too hard?"

"No. You don't have to look so scared. I'm not gonna leave, or give up on you, or anything like that. It's just difficult to be part of something we can't control."

"I know, babe. I know. And I'm so relieved you said ‘we'." I lean in and kiss her, flexing my hips as I raise myself above her again. "Do you wanna stop?"

She shakes her head. "No. You said you needed this, and…"

"Hey… it's not just about me."

"I know. But I don't think I can come. There's too much going on in my head. That doesn't mean you can't…"

"I'm not gonna use you like that," I say, although I don't stop moving and she frowns slightly. "Just let me give you something normal in all this chaos… if I can."

She hesitates, then nods her head. "I'm not making any promises."

"Neither am I." I up the pace slightly, feeling her grip my cock as I kneel up and stare down at her. "Put your legs up on my shoulders," I tell her and she does, her eyes widening when I clutch her ankles, lifting her ass clear off of the mattress and supporting her weight, my cock going deep inside her.

"I love how good you feel inside me," she says, her eyes never leaving mine as I take her.

"I love the way your pussy clenches around my cock from the tip to the base… and how your lips are so swollen they're like a pillow… all soft and welcoming."

She gasps as I circle my hips and raises her right hand, touching her fingers to her clit. I smile, unable to help myself. Despite everything she's just said, she wants this… and needs it, too. Just like I do.

"Keep talking," she says, struggling to breathe.

"I wanna lick your clit, and taste your sweet juices. I wanna drink you down, babe, while you suck my cock…"

"Oh, God… yes." She brings up her other hand, tweaking her nipple, her fingers working their magic, her eyes widening… pleading with me.

"I wanna fuck you so damn hard, babe, and I never wanna stop."

"No… don't stop… don't stop."

"Come for me, baby. Come on my cock."

"Come with me," she says, and I nod my head, taking her a little harder, my climax building.

"Give me everything you've got, Zara. I want all of you."

She throws her head back, letting out a long cry as I plunge deeper than ever, joining her in a whirlwind of ecstasy, her body writhing as I lose myself inside her.

"Better?" I whisper as we both catch our breath and I lower her legs, leaning over her.

"Everything's better when I'm with you."

I smile and dip my head, kissing her, rolling us onto our sides. "You're mine, baby. Whatever happens, don't forget that."

"I won't," she says, resting her hands on my chest.

We lie still for a while, just enjoying each other, until Zara remembers the time… or at least the need to check it.

"I might not have a job, but you do," she says, and I roll us over again, so she can look at her phone. "It's two minutes after seven."

"I should probably get up."

"I think you mean we should get up. Just because I'm unemployed doesn't mean I'm gonna lie around in bed all day."

I smile down at her. "I like the idea of you lying in bed all day… but I'd be a lot happier if I could lie here with you."

"So would I."

"Shall we take a shower?" I suggest, and she tilts her head to one side.

"Together?"

"Yeah. I get that your shower is tiny, but we'll manage."

She looks up at me. "We always do, somehow, don't we?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

She shakes her head, but I don't give her time to disagree and instead, I pull her out of bed and into the bathroom.

"Do you want me to stay here tonight while you speak to Nash?" Zara asks, looking at me over the rim of her coffee cup.

Our shower was lovely, even if all we did was wash… and kiss, and touch. There wasn't space in there to do anything more. There wasn't time, either. We both knew that.

"No. I want you to finish your packing and come over to my place whenever you're ready."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive. I talked it through with Dawson yesterday, before I heard from Ezra, and he agreed you should be with me when I tell Nash about us. The way he put it was that Nash needs to see how happy I am with you."

"How does Dawson know you're happy with me?" she asks, tilting her head, and putting her cup on the breakfast bar. "Did you tell him?"

"I didn't need to. He knows me better than anyone… except you."

"You can't say that. We've only been together for a few days, and you've known Dawson all your life."

"Even so, that doesn't mean he knows everything."

"And I do?"

"Yeah." I twist around in my seat and cup her face in my hand. "I think that's how love works… when it's right." She gazes up at me for a moment and then leans forward until her head hits my chest. I place my finger beneath her chin, raising her face, and kiss her deeply, only pulling back when I absolutely have to. "There's nothing I'd love more than to stay here and take you back to bed, but I'm afraid I've gotta go."

"To see Ezra?"

"After I've opened the store for the day, yes. I'll have to tell Katie where I'm going, too. I can't expect her to manage by herself without even so much as an explanation."

"No. I guess not."

I get to my feet, bringing Zara with me, and we hold hands, walking to the front door.

"Oh… I left my clothes in your room. And my bag."

I pull away from her to go fetch them, but she grabs my hand, shaking her head and looking up at me. "Don't worry. I've got some laundry to do, so I'll put your things in with mine."

"You will?"

She smiles, looking a little embarrassed. "Don't sound so shocked. You've invited me to move in with you. Doesn't that mean she should get used to living like a couple?"

I push her back against the wall, holding her there, her breath catching in her throat.

"Living like a couple… I like the sound of that," I murmur, lowering my lips to hers.

I like the sound of doing anything with Zara and it takes all my willpower to drag myself away from her, although I manage it eventually, waving to her from the sidewalk before I turn and make my way to the store, letting myself in through the back door.

There's no sign of Katie yet, and we're not due to open for another fifteen minutes, so I fix a coffee and contemplate my day. It won't be an easy one, that's for sure, but knowing I've got Zara's support will make all the difference.

"Hi, boss." Katie comes into the kitchen, pulling off her cardigan and tilting her head at me as she hooks it over the back of the chair. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, and no. Everything with Zara is pretty damn perfect." I can't help smiling, and she smiles back, although I shake my head, my frown returning within seconds.

"Then what aren't you telling me?" she says.

"I got a message from Ezra yesterday. Sabrina's threatening to apply for full custody of Nash."

"Is that why you ran out of here?"

I nod my head and sit down, letting out a long sigh as she steps forward, completing the job of preparing the coffee, and putting a cup in front of me.

"She's saying I can't have access to Nash all the while I'm seeing Zara."

"Why on earth not? She's a schoolteacher. Trust me, there's no-one more reliable."

I look up to find her smiling down at me.

"That's Sabrina's point. Zara's been fired."

"What for?"

"For dating me… evidently."

Katie checks her watch, and while we both know it's getting close to opening time, she sits opposite me, frowning. "She can't have been fired for dating you. That's not…"

"According to Miss Montgomery, the two of us seeing each other was affecting the reputation of the school." I shrug my shoulders. "It's bullshit, of course, and it's not even the reason Sabrina's lawyers have given. They've invented a story about Zara losing her job for negligence."

"So, Sabrina's saying one thing and Miss Montgomery is saying another?"

"That's about the strength of it."

"But none of it makes any sense," she says.

"I know."

"How's Zara taking it?"

"Not well. She was getting ready to leave town when I got there yesterday afternoon."

"To leave town? And leave you?"

"Yes."

"Why?" she asks.

"Because she didn't want to come between me and Nash."

"Why would she think she could?" she says, frowning and shaking her head. "She didn't even know about Sabrina's latest move at that stage, did she?"

"No, but Sabrina seems to be have been behind Zara's dismissal from the school. It was obvious to Zara my ex was looking to cause trouble, and I think she felt I'd be better off without her."

"Can I assume you persuaded her otherwise?"

"You can."

"And everything's okay now? Between the two of you, I mean. You just said…"

"Yeah. Everything's okay. Except Zara's scared, and hurt, and confused. She's been fired with no legitimate cause, so she's got no job, no money…" I glance up at Katie to find she's raised her eyebrows and is staring at me. "It's okay. She's gonna move in here later today."

"Good. We can keep an eye on her."

I smile. "Speaking of keeping an eye on things, can you watch this place while I go to see Ezra?"

"Sure."

She gets up, making it clear I need to leave, and I suppose she has a point. It's Friday, and the last thing I want is for Sabrina's games to mess with my plans for the weekend. Knowing her, she'll try to stop me from collecting Nash this afternoon, and there's no way I'm going to let that happen… which means I need to act fast.

"It's good of you to see me without an appointment," I say, sitting opposite Ezra. He waves away my comment, leaning back in his leather chair and examining me over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

"How are you, my boy?" he asks, resting his hands on his rounded stomach. His clothes look to me like they're handmade, but I guess he must lie to his tailor about his size, because the buttons on his waistcoat look fit to burst, and rather than focusing on that, I concentrate on his rosy cheeks and impressive mustache, which is slightly whiter than his gray hair.

"I've been better."

He nods his head. "I'm sure. That email must have come as a dreadful shock."

"That's one way of putting it."

"I didn't realize you'd met someone," he says, raising his eyebrows in an inquiring way.

"Yeah, I have."

He looks down at his hands, twirling this thumbs over each other. "Did you know about her dismissal?"

"Not until yesterday afternoon… and before you say anything, she wasn't fired for negligence. She was fired for dating me."

He frowns. "I'm not sure that would be grounds for dismissal."

"According to Miss Montgomery it is."

He sucks in a breath. "I suppose she's at liberty to make her own rules."

"So it seems."

"Does it bother you that Miss Howell kept this from you?"

"Kept what from me?"

"Her dismissal," he says, like I'm being dumb.

"She didn't. I went to her place yesterday afternoon, after I'd received your message, and she told me all about it." There's no need for me to tell him Zara was leaving. He doesn't need to know.

"But surely…" he says, looking confused.

"Surely what?"

"She must have known before then."

"No. Miss Montgomery spoke to her after school yesterday."

He sits forward, his movements surprising me. "That's very odd."

"What is?"

"The timing." He clicks on his keyboard, squinting at his computer screen, and then turns it around. "Look…"

He's pointing and I study the screen, immediately seeing the problem.

"Sabrina's lawyers contacted you at eleven-forty-five yesterday morning?"

"Yes," he says. "I'd have forwarded their message to you sooner, but I was out of the office until late in the afternoon."

I don't care about that. I'm more concerned with how Sabrina knew about Zara's dismissal before she did.

"What does it mean?" I ask.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it means something, and we need to work out if we can use it to our advantage." He sits back again, studying me. "Although first you need to decide how you want to act. What do you want to do about her threat, Tanner?"

"What options do I have?"

He sighs, tilting his head one way and then the other.

"We can write back and say we know the truth about what happened with the school… the real reason Miss Howell was dismissed, and that it has nothing to do with negligence."

"What about the timing element?" I ask.

"I think it might be best if we hold back on that. We might need it later."

"Okay, but what you're suggesting feels kinda tame. Do I have any other options?"

"You do. We could write back and say all of the above, leaving out the timing issue, and tell them that, with that in mind, Mrs. Pope has no grounds to revert to the court for a change of custody, but that if she goes ahead, we will issue a counter-claim for full custody ourselves."

I hate this. I hate using Nash, or even involving him. But what choice do I have?

I should head back to the store, but I need to talk to Zara, so I walk to her place, wondering all the while, what might happen next.

I've left Ezra to compose a suitable response, and he's promised to keep me informed of any reply he receives, either from Sabrina or from her lawyers.

"If she contacts you directly, I'd suggest you ignore her," he said as I was leaving.

It seemed like good advice, and to be honest, Sabrina's the last person I want to talk to.

I ring Zara's doorbell, and she answers within seconds, stepping aside for me to enter.

"How did it go?" she asks, looking scared… so scared I have to pull her into my arms. I hate her fear, or that I'm even partly responsible for it.

"Okay, I think. Ezra's gonna write back to Sabrina's lawyer."

"Saying what?"

"That we know she lied about the reason Miss Montgomery dismissed you. There's a timing issue too, but Ezra thinks we should hold back on that for now."

"Timing issue?" she says, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yeah. Sabrina's lawyer wrote to Ezra yesterday morning… several hours before Miss Montgomery fired you. So, how did he know? How did Sabrina know?"

Zara's brow furrows. "I guess if she was the one who spoke to Miss Montgomery about us, then maybe Miss Montgomery told her what she was gonna do."

"I can't see Miss Montgomery confiding in Sabrina like that, and besides, she offered you a way out."

"One she probably knew I wouldn't take."

"Either way, it still doesn't add up. Sabrina doesn't have that kind of relationship with Miss Montgomery. She might have been able to…" I stop talking, realization finally hitting me.

"Might have been able to do what?" Zara asks.

"I was gonna say Sabrina might have been able to persuade Miss Montgomery that our relationship was affecting the school's reputation, but even that's a bit of a leap… unless you factor in Anita Knox."

"Why? What has she got to do with any of this?"

"Miss Montgomery's her aunt. Remember?"

"So?"

"If Sabrina wanted you gone, she'd have worked out that the best way of doing that would be to get her oldest friend to drip poison into Miss Montgomery's ear, rather than doing it herself. The family tie would have carried more weight, and because there's no obvious connection between you and Anita Knox, Miss Montgomery would have treated her complaint as that of an impartial parent, worried about her son being taught by a…" I stop talking, unsure what to say next, or how to say it.

"A subject of local gossip?" she says.

"I'm pretty sure Anita Knox will have called you something a lot more colorful than that."

Zara lets out a sigh, shaking her head. "I don't care what Anita Knox calls me, but do you really think she's behind it all? You don't think it's Sabrina?"

"Oh, Sabrina will be the one loading the gun. She's just using Anita to fire it." I pull Zara closer, holding her body tight against mine.

"So Ezra's gonna tell her lawyers we know she's lying?" she says.

"Yeah, but he's also gonna say that if she insists on going back to court to apply for a change of custody, then I'll counter-sue for full custody myself." She nods and I move my right hand up, capturing her cheek. "You get what that means, don't you?"

"Yes. If it went that far and the court decided in your favor, Nash would live with you all the time."

"He'd live with us, baby." She stares into my eyes. "Are you okay with that?"

"Of course I am."

"It's a big step."

"I know, but it's one I'm happy to take with you."

"You mean that?"

She nods and I brush my lips over hers, making her moan, her arms coming up onto my shoulders, her fingers knotting in my hair. I don't deepen the kiss, just keeping it soft and delicate, and after a while, I lean back, looking down at her.

"I probably should have checked with you before I instructed Ezra."

"Why? I was never gonna say ‘no'. Nash is your son, and you have to do whatever's best for him."

"I get that, but it's not just about Nash or me. Not now. If we go to court, Sabrina's gonna drag your name through the mud. It's a lot to ask."

"Maybe it is, but while you've been gone, I've been doing some thinking."

"Have you reached any conclusions?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna share them?"

"I've decided we can't let your ex walk all over us. She's taken my job – either directly or indirectly – and I'm damned if she's gonna take your son."

I lower my head, my lips barely an inch from hers. "You wanna know something?"

"What?"

"I really fucking love you."

The store is quite busy when I get back, and it's nearly an hour before Katie and I get the chance to talk. She's on tenterhooks, waiting for our most recent customer to leave, and turns to me the moment the door closes.

"So?"

"Ezra's gonna go back to Sabrina's lawyers, telling them we know her stories about Zara are bullshit, and that I'll go for full custody of Nash if she keeps this up."

"Good for you," she says, patting me on the arm.

"I'm pretty sure she'll back down, but if she doesn't, it's gonna mean some big changes."

"It'll be worth it."

"Yeah. Although I hate using Nash as a weapon."

"You're not. Sabrina is. You didn't start this, Tanner, but you need to be the one to finish it."