Page 42 of Grip Me Tight
“No, I don’t, actually. But if you slept with that woman, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
His fingers tangle gently in my hair. “I didn’t sleep with Natasha. I didn’t do anything while her boyfriend watched. I didn’t even know she had a boyfriend. We weren’t even in the same room outside of filming the documentary. She seemed cool and interested and I knew…” He takes a breath. “I kind of thought I needed to blow off some steam. My moods were all over the place, I couldn’t write, I couldn’t think. And she started texting me.”
“And you texted her back.”
Tanner nods. “I did. At first it was general conversation, but she got intimate pretty fast. I played along.” He shrugs. “It was hot and writing the words on the screen were almost like lyrics, at least for me. In some way, I could pretend she was someone else.” His dark gaze meets mine.
I want to ask who, but do I really want to know? He tilts his head, searching my face. His eyes land on my lips.
“I needed the fantasy.” He looks away. “She got intense, sending me photos, wanting videos of me touching myself, saying her name.” He shrugs. “Now I know why.”
“You aren’t embarrassed?” Jake wanted to take videos of me, pushed for me to send him raunchy pictures of myself but I couldn’t do it. I know the internet lives forever, no matter how deep someone tries to bury it.
He grins, a slow, sexy smile. “Not really. I’m a bit of a control freak, so when she leaked them as her ‘proof’ I hated the invasion of my privacy, but have you seen the clip? I have nothing to be embarrassed about.”
I blush. “You just want me to admit I stalk you online.”
The grin slips from his face and he lets go of my hair. “Anyway, my point is, it’s a crazy story and even though there isn’t a shred of proof, people believe what they want to believe. The crazier the story, the more attention it gets.”
I release a shaky breath, his nearness making me want to crawl into his lap and curl up, blocking out the world for a few days. “I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but who makes up stuff like that?”
“And that’s exactly why you have your job. Lots of people exaggerate, or spin it, or write absolute fiction and people kind of go, well that’s so crazy, no one would lie about it.”
My eyes narrow as I think about his words. “You’re not wrong, but still. Why haven’t you publicly disputed it?”
“Because any comments I make will only fuel the fire. The more voices added, the worse it gets.” He pushes off the bed, stalking around the room. “This is exactly why I should stay away from you. There will be more stories like this. Something will happen and you’ll get hurt and then what? Noah beats the shit out of me? Don and Emma never want to see me again? Bands don’t last long when everyone is fighting.”
I fold my arms under my chest. “I must have missed the memo. Why, exactly is the band going to break up? Because youdidn’thave an orgy and get some woman pregnant? You think I’m not smart enough to know the difference between reality and fiction?” I blow out a breath. “Look, Tanner. I get my family is over-protective, but what I do for a living is spin stories on social media. For example, do you really think Gordon has a rockin’ book list he curates for vacation?”
A smile tugs on his lips. “Well, it got me to read the Immortals After Dark series.”
I pause, wrinkling my forehead. “You follow Gordon’s Instagram?”
“Well, I’ve seen it.” He scratches his nose. “I might have sent Stella some of the recommendations from Gordon’s bookclub.”
“You sent myNanabooks from Gordon’s list.” I shake my head, trying not to be shocked. “They’re all hot and steamy romance! That’s why his bookclub page has an age-limit!”
“Yeah, and last time I checked your Nana is over eighteen. Have you met your grandmother? She’s not exactly a shrinking violet.”
“I know! But Mom says I shouldn’t encourage her.”
Tanner sends me a knowing grin. “Listen, her wishlist has stuff that would make Gordon blush.”
I put my hands over my ears. “La, la, la. Whatever. My point is you follow Gordon’s account. Why? Aren’t you too busy to pay attention to that stuff?”
“Your family may be over-protective, and Don might still want you to go law school, but they’re also over-the-moon proud of you, Silver. Noah frequently forwards links to your stuff.”
“Oh.”
He scrubs a hand over his chin. “And, well, maybe I follow it too. You’re funny and creative. Not too many people can build the type of followings you have.”
I meet his gaze but there’s only warmth there. Why does he have to make this so hard? I clear my throat. “Thank you. But you’ve just made my point. I’ve never seen your name or your blue check in my comments, so you must use a finsta. I know the stuff that goes up on social media is mostly fiction. Even if it’s not, it’s curated for content. A picture of an ice cream cone against the sunset? Maybe it’s a sweet moment, but what is happening around it and isn’t captured by the photo? Ice cream dripping on someone’s hand? A child screaming because they decide they want a different flavor after they picked strawberry? Someone spending more time finding the perfect photo than enjoying the ice cream with their date? I get it more than other people.” I shrug. “Anyway, let my brother know I’m not going anywhere today. I’m here to meet with Avery and figure out everything I can for the upcoming tour. If you guys aren’t flying other employees out early, there isn’t any reason to single me out.”
I am going to be casual about all this, even if it kills me. I need to show him he’s wrong about me. This is the closest I’ve gotten to Tanner ever and I’m not going to screw it up by giving him any other reason to back away. All I need to do is play it cool until we’re on tour next month.
“You’re hardly just another employee.” He stretches up, grabbing the top of the door frame, putting his muscular body on gorgeous display, and playing it cool seems impossible. I want to climb him like a tree and have him whisper all the filthy things he wants to do to me in my ear. My heart thumps high in my throat and I swallow hard, wanting to reach for him, to tell him it will hurt me more to never have his hands on me again. “What am I then?”
He swings his arms down and a muscle twitches in his jaw. I desperately want him to walk back to me, grab me and tell me he needs to blow off some steam with me, but he shutters his expression. “If you’re staying until tomorrow, work it out with Noah and Laird.” Then he turns and leaves me alone in the bedroom, blinking at the empty door while the ache between my thighs pulses.
