A Special Kind of Love (13 page)

Kamani
reached into a cabinet and pulled out
coffee mugs. She filled them and turned to Tanner. “Grab a cup and sit down,”
she said.

He
took two of the mugs and set them on the table. Pulling out a chair for Sharon,
he gestured for her to sit. She sat and smiled up at him, pulling one of the
mugs to her, she looked around the table for cream and sugar. She spotted the
sugar bowl, just as Tanner leaned forward and drew it toward her.

“I’ll
get the cream,” he said, turning to the refrigerator.

He
remembered how she took her coffee. Why did that fact make her so happy?

Kamani
set her cup on the table and addressed
Aaron. “I’ll show you your room and you can put your stuff away while we have
our coffee.”

She
crossed the room. Aaron,
Annebelle
, and Josh followed
behind her like little ducks.

Kamani
returned alone and sat at the table
with them. Sharon sipped her coffee and reveled in the peace of the moment.
Good coffee, good friends, and a beyond sexy man. Could life get any better?

“Is
there anything I need to know about Aaron? Does he have any allergies? Is there
anything special I need to do for him to feel comfortable?”

“No
allergies. You don’t need to treat him in any special way. Just keep an eye on
him. If he starts counting his fingers, or rocking back and forth, it means he
is stressing about something. If that happens, try to distract him. Focus his
attention on something else. Give him a project or something to look up on the Internet
and he should calm down. You can always call me if you need anything.”

Kamani
shook her head. “I’m sure we will be
fine. I want you to have a good time and not worry. I have been a mother for
over thirty years. I’m sure I can handle one little boy.”

“I’m
sure you could handle any
regular
little boy just fine. You need to understand that Aaron is different. Most of
the time those differences aren’t hard to deal with. However, if Aaron gets too
stressed he can have…episodes. I don’t want to scare you, because they rarely
happen. Usually, something has to happen to trigger an episode, something that
scares Aaron or upsets him. If by some odd chance he would have one, leave him
alone. Don’t try to touch him and call me right away.”

“How
will I know? What does he do if he has an episode?”

Sharon
shrugged. “It can be different things. But, trust me you’ll know. He could
completely withdraw. Refuse to make eye contact and rock, or he could become
manic. Get really loud, talk continuously and pace.”

Kamani
nodded sagely. “I can handle that. Tanner
said he is never violent, right?”

“No,
Aaron would never hurt anyone. He is very gentle. His demons are all on the
inside. The only one he hurts is
himself
and that’s
not physically.”

Kamani
stroked Sharon’s cheek. “You have not
had an easy life, have you child?”

“No
one’s life is easy,” Sharon said. “I wouldn’t change mine. I love my son.”

Kamani
nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. God
never gives us more than a mustard seed.”

Sharon
smiled. That was one of her favorite Bible verses. It warmed her heart to know
that
Kamani
understood.

The
children
came
running back into the room.

“Nana,
Aaron brought a puzzle. Can we put it together? Please, Nana, please?”
Annebelle
asked.

“Sure.
I think there’s a card table in the garage. Tanner, why don’t you get it and we
can set it up in the family room. That way we won’t have to move it when it’s
time for dinner.”

“Great
idea, Mom.”
Tanner rose from the table. He kissed first Sharon’s cheek and then
Kamani’s
. “Be right back.”

Annebelle
crawled onto
Kamani’s
lap. “You are the best nana in the whole wide world.”

Kamani
laughed. “And you are a little bug,”
she said tickling
Annebelle
and eliciting screams of
laughter.

“Stop,
Nana. Stop!” she squealed.

Kamani
ceased her tickling and gave
Annebelle
a hug. “I love you, little bug,” she said.
Sprinkling her face with kisses.
Annebelle
clasped her cheeks and pushed her face back. “I love you too, Nana,” she said.
Her little face a mask of sincerity.
She clambered off of
Kamani’s
lap and walked over to Aaron. She looked up into
his face. “I love you too, Aaron,” she said shyly.

Aaron
stared at her for a moment, and Sharon feared he would either ignore her
statement or answer inappropriately. He looked up at Sharon, and then returned
his attention to
Annebelle
.

"I
love you too,
Annebelle
,” he said somberly. He bent
down and kissed her cheek.

“Hey,
what about me?”
Josh cried. “Doesn’t anybody love me?”

Kamani
wrapped him in her arms and kissed the
top of his head. “You know I love you, Joshua.”

“Me
too,” said
Annebelle
.
“Even if you
are a big jerk.”

“Hey!”

“It’s
not nice to call names,”
Kamani
and Aaron both said
at once. Sharon laughed. They were both on the same page. No doubt about it.

“Sorry,”
Annebelle
mumbled.

Josh
smiled with satisfaction.

Tanner
stepped back into the kitchen, holding a small folding table. He weaved his way
around the kitchen table and headed to the family room. The five of them
followed. As Tanner set up the table, Aaron went to retrieve the puzzle.

Aaron
returned and dumped the puzzle pieces onto the table. He began to turn all the
pieces so that they were facing up. Totally engrossed in his task, he ignored
everyone else in the room.
Annebelle
and Josh started
helping him.

With
the children occupied, Tanner turned to his mother. “We’re going to get going.
Okay, Mom?”

“By
all means.
Go ahead. It looks like we’ll be busy for a while.”

Sharon
knelt down next to Aaron. “We’re
gonna
go, baby. Can
I have a kiss?”

“Not
a baby,” his automatic response. He lightly
bussed
her
cheek and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“We’ll
see you tomorrow, Aaron. Okay?” Tanner said.

Aaron
was back to straightening
puzzle
pieces.
“’Kay.”

Tanner
and Sharon made their goodbyes to
Kamani
and left for
their night alone.

Chapter
Six

The
drive to Sharon’s house was accomplished in companionable silence. Her hand was
clasped in his on the center console. His thumb idly stroked the back of her
hand. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of the gesture stroke her lonely
heart too. Her thoughts drifted to the night ahead. She was nervous, but the
good kind of excited nervous. Well, mostly.
A tiny part of
her worried about taking the next step in their relationship.
John
hadn’t been her only lover. They had met in college and there had been a boy in
high school. But that was a long time ago. She wasn’t eighteen anymore. Or even
twenty-two. No, thirty-two wasn’t old. But she’d had a child, put on a little
weight, and there were tiny creases—she refused to call them wrinkles—decorating
the corners of her eyes.

Tanner
was so handsome. So fit. There didn’t seem to be an extra ounce of fat on his
body. The small lines at the corners of his
eyes,
only
made him more attractive to her. What would he think when he saw her without
her clothes and her makeup?

She
opened her eyes and snuck a peek in his direction. He chose that moment to look
her way and their gazes collided. His smile was soft and sexy. He tossed her a
wink and focused his attention back on the road, but it had been enough. With
one look, he had made all her fears vanish. He liked her. She liked him. He had
made it clear on more than one occasion that he desired her. Hell, he was
downright wicked in some of the things he’d said during their late nightly
conversations. She let the anxiety fade away and anticipation took its place.

She
imagined peeling the clothes from his body and exploring every inch of skin.
Sliding her tongue over the hard plains of his chest, caressing his
strong shoulders.
Heat bloomed between her thighs and she squeezed them
together to assuage the ache. She shifted in her seat, unconsciously moving
closer to Tanner. Mentally she cursed the console that separated them. If he
had bench seats, she could snuggle up to his side, kiss his neck, rest her hand
on his thigh, and see if those muscles were as hard as they looked.

Damn,
she better get her imagination under control or she was going to be in trouble.
She stole another glance in his direction, her eyes locked onto the bulge in
his lap
. Well
lookie
there. Maybe I’m not the only one having carnal thoughts.

Tanner
made the turn into her driveway and parked. He squeezed her hand briefly and
released it, exiting the SUV and then coming around to her door. Sharon smiled
up into his handsome face. She took his extended hand to help her out of the vehicle.
Damn, I could get used to this.
She
dug her keys out of her purse as they walked up the porch steps, with Tanner’s
hand resting warmly on the small of her back. She opened the door and stepped
inside, Tanner on her heels.

She
looked over her shoulder. “Are you hungry?”
Her voice husky
with desire.

He
used the hand on her back to turn her toward him and closed his arms around
her.

“I’m
starving,” he said and descended on her lips, proving his assertion. He kissed
her ravenously, thrusting his tongue in to duel with hers. His hand slid from
her back down to cup her butt. He squeezed, pulling her closer and pressing his
impressive erection against the softness of her belly.

He
turned them, pressing her back against the wall and lifting her off her feet.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, which put the swell of his cock snug to
her throbbing center. Her panties were drenched.

She
ran her hands up to the back of his head, pulling the leather thong from his
hair. She sunk her fingers into the thick dark mass. She loved his hair.
Smoothing her fingers through the silken locks, she tugged slightly, pulling
back to stare into his dark chocolate eyes.

“I
think we should move this party to the bedroom.”

Tanner
nodded.
“
Mmm
, good idea.”

He
turned and stated walking to the bedroom, still holding her ass in his hands.
She clutched his shoulders tighter. “Tanner, put me down! I’m too heavy for you
to carry.”

He
somehow managed to retain his hold on her with only one hand and smacked her
ass with the other. “You are not heavy. You feel perfect in my arms.”

Sharon
giggled and snuggled her head to his shoulder. “Well, it’s your back. If you
put it out, I’m going to be very disappointed.”

He
growled and leaned down to nibble her neck. “Are you impugning my manhood, you
saucy minx?”

She
laughed and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead in imitation of a swoon,
“Never, my dark warrior. I am most impressed with your manliness.”

He
chuckled and squeezed her tighter to his body.
Pressing the
proof of his desire against her.

They
had reached the bed and he unceremoniously dropped her onto the coverlet. Then
he slowly crawled onto the bed after her, stalking like a predator. The
lightness of a moment ago was gone, and dark desire filled his eyes.