Justice Healed (10 page)

"Is he a police dog?" 

Tanner laced his fingers in hers and led her into the kitchen.  "Retired, although every now and then he helps out.  He's got hip problems that keep him from active duty on a daily basis.  Now he's just part of the family."

Madison knelt down and rubbed the silky fur.  "He smells good.  Did he just have a bath?"

"If a lady is coming to dinner, then every member of the family has to clean up.  It wasn't a pretty sight, let me tell you.  He was royally pissed at me this afternoon for bathing him.  He pouted in front of the fireplace until I gave him a treat."

Laughter bubbled up.  "I think I know who's in charge around here."

Tanner winked.  "He let's me think I am.  Can I get you something to drink?"

She looked into his glass.  "Is that tea?  That sounds good."

He poured her a glass and she sat at the table.  "Did you have a good day?  You said you had a full day of patients scheduled."

They'd gone out on Wednesday night and
seen the latest blockbuster movie.  He'd been so tired he'd fallen asleep and then spent the rest of the evening apologizing for it.  He told her about the drug route war and the vigilante, in addition to a bout of flu that was keeping his deputies from work.  She'd known all about that flu bug as it had filled her waiting room all week. 

"I did.  I'm exhausted.  I hope this flu bug has wound its way to the end.  I had my first patient at seven this morning."

Tanner was pulling items from the refrigerator.  "It's good we're having a low-key evening in tonight.  I was planning to broil a couple of steaks.  How do you like yours?"

Just how low-key was he planning to keep it?  She'd worn her best underwear but she wasn't sure she was ready to sleep with him tonight.  Although her body was definitely not against the idea.  Just the sight of his wide shoulder
s and handsome face made her warm.  Her brain, on the other hand, was the one dragging its feet.  She really liked Tanner.  A lot.  If they made love and then he dumped her, it would hurt. She'd never been hurt by a man before and she wasn't all that keen for it to happen now.

"Um, medium."  She finally remembered to answer.  "Can I help?"

He shook his head, pulling the broiler pan out of the oven.  "Everything is under control.  I've got baked potatoes to go with the steaks, salad for a starter, and ice cream for dessert."

She smiled.  "What kind of ice cream?"

"Chocolate fudge.  My daughter told me all women love chocolate."

"It sounds delicious.  I think I like having a handsome man make dinner for me."  She wanted to sound relaxed and normal.  He leaned down, his palms resting on the table. 

"Handsome, huh?  For that you get a kiss."

His lips were firm and warm, and the kiss was over way too soon.  She was breathless as he turned back to the kitchen counter. 

"So, how's the drug thing going?"  She sounded like an idiot.  Awesome.

"No more dead bodies which is always a plus."  Tanner slid the broiler pan in the oven.  "We're working with the DEA so I'm hoping to get news very soon."

"We?"

Tanner started setting the table.  "
There are some guys I meet with once a month.  Other lawmen like myself of smaller towns.  We share information and work together if we need to.  Most of them are affected by this."

"And the vigilante?"  Madison helped h
im with the flatware.

"And the vigilante.  They're good men.  I'd trust them with my life."  He smiled.  "I'd trust them with your life."

Her stomach fluttered and at first she thought she had ringing in her ears. Tanner was looking at her expectantly.  "That's you, right?"

Her phone.  Shit.  "Yes."  She grabbed her purse from the floor and rummaged for her cell. 

Sherry. 
This better be damn important.

"Hey, Sherry.  What's up?"

Madison listened with growing alarm.

"Tonight?  You want to fly out tonight?"  Her voice sounded squeaky but she couldn't help it.  "Hold on
. I'll ask him."  She looked up at Tanner.  "I don't suppose you know of any place in Vegas where Sherry and Dan can get married?  Apparently Dan has agreed to it and Sherry isn't taking any chances that he'll back out.  She wants to fly out tonight.  Like now."

Tanner grinned.  "As a matter of fact I do.  Can I talk to her?"

Madison handed him the phone and listened to his end of the conversation.  When he hung up, he turned the stove off.  "Looks like we need to pack a bag and head for the Billings airport.  We'll stop by your place on the way.  We can pick up some takeout and eat in the car."

She was having a hard time taking all this in.  "Billings?  Bag?  I think I've missed something."

"Your best friend is getting married, Maddie.  You're her maid of honor and I just promised Sherry I'd get you to the church on time, so to speak."

"Now?" she croaked.  "This minute?"

"Not a moment to spare."  Tanner sported a wide smile. "They want to get married as soon as possible.  I'll make the reservations while you pack a bag.  It will only take me a couple of minutes to get my things together, but I know women don't like to be rushed."

She was going to Sin City with Tanner Marks.  With a name like that, sinning with this gorgeous man was probably a given.  She didn't know whether to shout for joy or run in fear.  Deciding
to make up her mind later, she stood and squared her shoulders. 

"It sounds like a great trip.  Let's go."

It had all been a whirlwind. 

Tanner had taken Scout to Deputy Sam's house
, and Madison had informed her father of the impending nuptials in Vegas.  He’d been amused but happy for the couple.  She and Tanner had hit the road for the Billings airport, meeting Sherry and Dan there along with Dan's brother Jim and his wife Karen. 

The plane ride had been uneventful, and n
ow they were checked into the Mirage Hotel on the Vegas strip, heading to their rooms.

Scratch that. 
Room.  Singular. 

Apparently while Tanner made airplane reservations, Sherry had been making wedding chapel reservations.  That left Dan to book the hotel rooms.  He'd booked three, which just showed that men couldn't be trusted to make travel arrangements. 

They were walking down a long corridor and Madison's heart was beating so fast she might as well have been walking to her own doom.  She was that damn nervous.  The fabric under her arms was damp and she'd licked her lip gloss off six times since the plane had landed. 

"This is it."  Tanner stopped and set down the suitcases.  She slipped the card into the slot, the light flashing green before she pushed open the door.  He had insisted on carrying the luggage and she stood back to let him pass. 

The room was large with a king sized bed on one side and a large flat screen television on the other.  The wood was dark and the bed linens luxurious.  She tugged the curtains aside and the lights of Las Vegas twinkled in the night sky. 

"We have quite a view."  Her voice managed to sound natural.  Pretty much.

Tanner came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, nuzzling her neck. 

"I won't complain.  I think the best view is right here in this room."  He dropped a kiss on her shoulder and walked over to the hotel directory.  "Are you hungry?  We can go downstairs to one of the restaurants or order room service."

Trying to slow her racing heart, she shrugged as casually as she could manage.  "I wouldn't mind getting something to eat and exploring the hotel.  I seem to have gotten my second wind sometime around one in the morning."

It was three
in the morning now and she should be exhausted, but the thought of slipping between the sheets with Tanner was keeping her wide awake.

"It might have been the multiple cups of coffee you drank on the way to the airport and during the flight."  Tanner was smiling as he flipped open his suitcase.  "Suits me to walk around.  Like you, I should be tired but I find I'm
not sleepy.  Just let me change shirts and we can head out." 

Nothing had prepared her for seeing Tanner's bare chest.  She was a grown ass woman.  A doctor, for heaven's sake.  But her body went into overdrive as he stripped off his shirt revealing a muscular torso Michelangelo would have been proud to sculpt.  Her gaze trailed down from his impressive pectorals taking in each individual ridge of his abdomen.  Holy crap on a cracker. 

By the time her gaze wandered back up to his face, his eyebrows had shot up but his expression was amused.

"Honey, if you don't stop looking at m
e like that we're not going to get out of this hotel room all weekend."

She lifted her chin, tired of denying what she truly felt.  "Maybe I don't want to leave this room.  Maybe I want to do something else."

He came close and his clean, male scent surrounded her.  "Maybe right this moment isn't the time."  His hands massaged her shoulders.  "You're tense.  And nervous.  Honey, there's nothing to be worried about.  I want you more than I want my next breath.  If you want to make love, well then, we'll make love.  But let's go relax.  Have a bite to eat and just enjoy being with each other.  This room–and that big bed–will be here in an hour or two."

She took a deep breath and felt the knot in her muscles loosen.  "I don't have a ton of experience."

"Do you think I give a damn about that?  It will be good because it's you and me.  Trust me, Maddie."

His voice was like a silken caress, soft and soothing.  She smiled for the first time in hours.  "I do trust you, Tanner.  For the first time in a long time, I trust someone."

"Then let's go have some fun.  We need to loosen you up a little bit.  This is Vegas, baby."

She giggled and let her hands slide around his lean middle.  "Show me Vegas, cowboy."

He was right.  The bed could wait.  But she knew it wouldn't wait long.  She was going to make love to Tanner.  It was only a matter of time.

Tanner tugged on a fresh shirt and they were out the door.  The hotel was breathtaking and after a quick meal in one of the restaurants they explored every inch of it.  It was five in the morning by the time they returned to their room.  There was nothing she enjoyed more than spending time with Tanner.  She hoped he felt the same.

Suddenly shy, she grabbed her small suitcase.  "I need a quick shower."

He nodded and switched on the television while she ducked into the bathroom, setting a
new record for showering.  She shaved her legs and armpits and brushed her teeth.  She debated whether to leave her hair in a braid or let it loose, finally deciding that lying down on a braid would be uncomfortable.  Wearing a short blue nightshirt with penguins on it, she padded into the main room.  She didn't have any sexy nighties and of the things she slept in, the shirt was the newest and fit the best.  At least she had a pair of her new panties on underneath. 

"I, um, saved you some hot water if you wanted to shower." 

Tanner was lying on the bed, leaning against the headboard with his jean clad legs crossed, his shirt unbuttoned, and his feet bare.  He tossed the remote on the mattress and grinned. 

"Damn, you look good
."  He hopped up from the bed and strode to where she was standing, burying his nose in her neck and making her heart gallop.  "Smell good, too.  Give me five minutes."

He darted into the
bathroom and she took several deep breaths to calm down before slipping between the sheets.  She leaned back against the headboard and started to give herself a pep talk. 

She'd had sex before.  It hadn't been anything to write home about, but she'd done it.  She was stressing about a perfectly normal biological function.  People all over the world were probably having sex at th
is very moment and they weren't having a cow.  She was thirty damn years old and she wanted this.  She wanted Tanner.

She simply didn't want to disappoint him. 

"You're frowning."  Tanner was standing at the end of the bed wearing nothing but a hotel towel wrapped around his waist, his dark hair wet.  A few trickles of water were sliding down his shoulders and along his muscled arms.  Suddenly she was finding it very hard to breathe, especially since her stomach was performing a Cirque de Soleil performance in her abdomen. 

"Was I?  I'm just tired, I guess."

His expression softened.  "We've both been up twenty-four hours straight.  What time are you supposed to meet Sherry to pick out dresses?"

"Noon for lunch, and then we shop afterward
.  I think she wanted all of us, including you guys, at lunch as well.  What will you guys do while we shop?"

Tanner laughed.  "Bachelor party?  Seems like he needs a send-off into matrimony."

"Sherry will kill you.  She thinks Dan's had plenty of years to be a bachelor.  I can't say I disagree, honestly."

Tanner came and sat on the bed next to her.  "By the time I was his age, I'd been married for almost twelve years with two kids.  I'd seen combat.  So you may be right.  Maybe we'll take him to the blackjack tables."

Her fingers itched to feel his skin under her palms.  She gave into temptation and leaned forward, letting her hands glide up his arms, over his biceps, and onto his solid shoulders.  "She'd approve of that."

"Aw, honey."  Tanner cupped her chin.  "If you're tired, we can wait.  We don't have to do this now."

One glance down at the towel told her a different story.  An impressive tent dented the terry cloth material and her entire body started humming.  He was as aroused as she was.  She shook her head.  "I'm not tired.  I mean, I'm not too tired.  Make love to me, Tanner.  Please."

"Yes, ma'am."  He pushed her back onto the bed, his hard body hovering abo
ve hers.  "And just for the record, you never have to say please."

* * * *

Madison's body against his felt like heaven.  Tanner's cock was painfully hard and he had to recite baseball stats in his head to cool down.  He needed to take this slow and easy.  She was obviously nervous and he couldn't say he was completely calm.  He wanted this to be good for both of them.  The relationship was amazing and the sex needed to match. 

His tongue traced her full lower lip before he captured her mouth in a deep kiss.  She tasted sweet and spicy, a flavor he could easily become addicted to.  He explored the warm cavern of her mouth, never hurrying.  Her hands were clutching his shoulders and he slid his palm under her nightshirt so he could trace the curves underneath. 

Madison moaned in response and he broke the kiss reluctantly, wanting to feel skin on skin.  "Let's get rid of this, honey.  It's in the way." 

His hands pushed up the hem and she obediently lifted her arms so he
could pull it over her head, and toss it aside.  She was wearing nothing but a lacy pair of pink panties and his cock jumped under the towel that was now twisted between them.  He threw the towel across the room, heedless to where it landed.  He couldn't tear his gaze away from the beautiful, womanly form before him.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you are gorgeous."  His voice sounded like gravel, his throat tight from the rush of emotion he felt being with Madison like this.  It had never been this important, this right. 

She blushed from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, every inch turning a rosy pink.  He swept her into his arms for another kiss, enchanted by her sexy shyness.  He almost jumped off the bed when her soft hand encircled his cock.  He cursed as his balls pulled tight, and she snatched her hand back as if she'd been shocked.

Her eyes were wide and he placed her hand back on him.  "I was just surprised, honey.  I'm so excited I could blow like a teenage boy on his first date."

To his surprise, she smiled.  "It makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one."

"You are definitely not the only one.  Damn, that feels good."  Her
soft hands were stroking him teasingly, and then she reached down and cupped his balls, wrenching a groan from his throat.

She slid
off the bed and onto her knees on the floor.  Her gaze locked on his cock.  "You're beautiful."  Her fingers traced a pulsing vein.  "The skin feels soft and smooth but underneath is hard like steel." 

He sucked in a breath.  She was testing every bit of control he had.  "I'm sure it's not the first you've seen."  She was a doctor, after all.

"It's the first I've wanted to do this with."  She dipped her head and swiped at his cock with her tongue.  It was as if her saliva was electrified.  He felt the vibration down his cock, through his balls, and straight to his spine.  Reflexively, his fingers tangled in her silky long hair. 

"Holy shit.  Are you trying to kill me?"

She looked up at him and it might have been the same look Eve gave Adam in the Garden of Eden.  Just like that, Madison had gone from a nervous, unsure woman to a seductress.  She ran her tongue around the mushroom head of his cock and he hissed as heat swept through his body.  She engulfed as much of his dick into her mouth as she could, her tongue teasing the sensitive underside. His fingers tightened on the back of her head. 

Each stroke of her lip
s and tongue sent him closer to the edge and heaven.  It was only with supreme will that he was able to pull slightly away.  "Honey, you need to stop.  I can't hold back anymore."

His words had the opposite effect.  If anything, she sucked and licked harder and this time there was no stopping the tide.  His balls pulled up close to his body and the pressure in his lower back was unbearable.  He came hot and hard, his seed shooting out and into her waiting mouth.  He watched in fascination as she swallowed every drop.  When he was done, his body was wrung out, and he collapsed
back on the bed.

Madison crawled up his body and snuggled with him while he caught his breath.  He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, smelling the floral scent of her shampoo and skin. 

"I should spank you for that, young lady."

He felt rather than heard her giggle and his heart did a flip in his chest.  "I didn't know you were kinky, Sheriff.  What else don't I know?  Do you want to tie me up, too?"

He quickly rolled on top of her, trapping her underneath him.  His hands held her wrists by her head.  She was completely at his mercy and appeared to like it.  Her eyes were glowing, her nipples were hard points digging into his chest, and her lips were parted in excitement.

"I might like doing that.  I could take my time and make you come over and over."   He nibbled on her collarbone.  "I can see your father never disciplined you.  You're out of control."