Flawless Surrender (The Surrender Trilogy, #2)(21)

He held his hand out in a gentlemanly fashion to help her down the steps and she giggled but accepted it. “Zoey, aren’t you looking beautiful. I actually had to take a quick trip to Chicago to pick up my brother. He managed to hurt himself and needed a place to stay for a bit while he recovered.”

“I didn’t even know you had a brother, I’m sorry to hear he’s injured. What happened?”

“He plays pro football, and he took a hard hit. Tore the ligaments in his shoulder, so he’s down for the next eight to twelve weeks,” Mack answered.

“Ryker and Sawyer make quite the pair exchanging moans and groans over their injuries,” Hudson said as he came out of the barn and stepped closer to the three of them. “Hey, Zoey, I didn’t realize you were with Tanner today.”

“Hey yourself, handsome. I’m just tagging along. I have to go to the Merc, Tanner doesn’t exactly keep his cupboards stocked. So Ryker, huh? I’ll have to make up a casserole for you two bachelors and drop it off to say hello,” she said, smiling up at Mack.

Beside her she felt Tanner tense from head to toe, and she had to bite back a laugh. Maybe there was something to what Rachel said. Tanner seemed slightly jealous of the attention she was giving Mack, and she wondered how he would feel if she actually pursued the big man.

“Ryk would love that I’m sure.”

“Good, then I’ll stop by one evening later this week. I better go now before Tanner turns purple. I seem to be frustrating him to no end lately. Bye, guys.” She headed for the truck without saying another word to Tanner and hefted herself up into the seat while he said his goodbyes.

They were nearly to town before either of them spoke.

“Do you have a thing for Mack?”

Zoey was stunned that he asked, and she turned to stare at his profile. His knuckles were white where he gripped the steering wheel, and his jaw was clenched, but otherwise there was no expression on his face.

“I don’t know. He’s good looking that’s for sure. Why do you care?”

Tanner grimaced, “I guess I don’t.”

After a few more moments he turned and met her eyes. “I care.”

Just like that, he stole all of the air from her lungs. She felt warm and cold all over, and her stomach flipped over. “Why?”

“Zoey, I didn’t mean to hurt you at Robin’s that night. You were drunk, and it wouldn’t have been right for me to take advantage of you. You deserved better.”

Zoey’s back went up, “I deserved to be shot down? Embarrassed? Shamed in front of half the county? Yeah, great, thanks. I’m so glad you were trying to do the right thing.”

“Stop, don’t be like that. I really was trying to be a decent guy.”

“You wouldn’t even look at me, Tanner. How is that being a good guy?”

Tanner’s eyes flashed golden and he gave her a hard look before turning his eyes back to the road and parking the car. Zoey reached for the door handle, but stopped when he grabbed her chin.

“If I had looked at you, you would have been able to see the truth on my face. You would have seen how much I wanted to scoop you up in my arms and cart you away to my bed. You would have known that I was desperate to peel those skintight jeans off your sexy ass and taste you. That all I could think about was sinking my cock into your tight pu-ssy and fu-cking you until you screamed my name. That’s why I didn’t look at you. I had to be strong, because in that moment, you were weak.”

Tanner’s hand dropped and he flung his truck door open launching himself out of the cab. Zoey watched as he extracted a credit card from his wallet and stomped into the small grocery store with it. Once he was out of view, she slowly climbed out of the truck herself, wobbling on legs that were distinctly unsteady.

Tanner wanted her. Not just for a housekeeper and cook, he said he wanted to sleep with her. It was music to her ears, and yet she had no clue how she should proceed. Should she beg him to carry out his illicit fantasies, or pretend he never spoke them?

She was just stepping into the shop when he reached the door to leave. “I took care of whatever the bill is already with Hal, so just get whatever we need and I’ll be waiting in the truck when you’re done.”

Then he was gone, disappeared down the sidewalk to The Garden Hut. Leaving her stunned and horny in the middle of the only grocery in town as though he had never spoken those life changing words. What a disaster her life was turning out to be.

Sighing heavily, she forced herself to complete her shopping, grimacing as the total appeared on the cash register. The owner of the Mercantile, Hal McCrite, gave her a wink and a smile as he input Tanner’s payment information and helped bag her purchases.

“So you’re living on the Triple T then, are ya?” Hal was a portly man in his late sixties who had a handlebar mustache and three chins. He was kind, but nosey, and everyone knew he had a thing for Dottie who owned the Ice Cream Shoppe.

“Yes, temporarily. My building was one of the ones bought up by Schmidt.” She turned away to help put the groceries back into the small cart, hoping he would drop it.

Of course he didn’t, and Zoey felt a hot blush creep over her cheeks when he said, “I didn’t realize you and Tanner had taken up.”

“We haven’t “taken up”. He’s just a friend helping another friend out of a tight spot.”