The Heart's Domination (Touched By You 3) (3 page)

Natalie didn’t know what to say. Tanner’s generosity and good heart had rendered her speechless. “I don’t kno
w how to thank you,” she sighed, feeling some relief, and a bit of hope, about her mother’s condition.

“You have no reason to thank me. I want to take care of you
, and that includes those you care about. It’s that simple.”

As usual, Tanner didn’t see his good side. Natalie had argued, unsuccessfully, the other night that his passionate support of the orphans was clear evidence of his kind heart. He wouldn’t hear of it, claiming that charity support was good for his image, and image plays a big role in business.

“My uncle Gene will be there in the morning. He has a busy schedule but he will do this for me. I’ll have him flown by private jet, and housed near the hospital, to make the trip as efficient as possible,” Tanner told her.

“I didn’t know you had an uncle. You never talk about your family. I didn’t know you had other family, bes
ides your stepmother Gabriella, of course,” Natalie said.

“
My uncle and his wife, Carina, are my only other family. They never had children. He is top in his field and never wanted any part in our business. That’s best. The world would lose a valuable doctor. He is where he belongs and I support him in his work.”

Doctor Gene
showed up, just as expected. He was tall and thin with graying hair which gave him a distinguished look. His fatherly bedside manner put Emma at ease and she warmed to him immediately.

He
proceeded to do a physical and completed a detailed interview, accessing her overall condition, eating and lifestyle habits and mental attitude. He seemed to leave no stone unturned, wanting to know everything about her condition, in depth. He admitted that, without tests, he couldn’t say positively if he could help. But, he found no reason to assume he couldn’t.

Plans were made for Emma’s treat
ments. In true Tanner style, he arranged comfortable lodging in New York for Emma, close to Natalie. She was to have a full-time nurse and transportation to treatments at the clinic. Emma was so pleased that color came back into her face, just at the prospect of treatment.

She didn’t want to be a burden
but desperately wanted to get better. Plus, she’d be near Natalie again. Emma was concerned about paying for her care, so Natalie assured her that she was in business with Tanner and everything would be fine.

It was the best she could come up with. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to be burdened with financial pressures. Natalie had no idea how she’d repay Tanner but she’d figure out something. Right now, taking care of her mother was her top priority.

Emma was deeply moved by Tanner’s gesture and told Natalie, “He’s a special person to do all this for us. You’ve got a gem, don’t let him go.” Everyone seemed to see that about Tanner.
Why couldn’t he?

Natalie was concerned about Jazzy
and how she’d react to all these changes. Although, Tanner had arranged a large enough apartment so she could be with Emma, it was still a drastic move. Moving away from Oakland where she’d lived all her life might be unsettling, especially, going to a big city like New York.

Natalie spotted Jazzy on the phone in the cafeteria and realized she’
d been on the phone a lot – to Ellis. It was as if he were there with them. For sure, he was being filled in, moment-by-moment. Natalie had been so busy working with Tanner to make the arrangements she hadn’t had the attention to spare to talk with Ellis yet. There was a lot to fill him in on. She realized that Jazzy already had.

“Okay, I’ll call you later
,” Jazzy said and closed her phone, looking up cheerfully. “Isn’t it great Natty? Mom told me about moving to New York.”

“Yes, it is wonderful. It will be so good for her… what about you?”

“Oh, me, it’s the best thing that could happen. I’ll be with Ellis. It’s not like my job at the Apple Tree is a lifetime career. Without mom here, I have nothing to hold me. And Ellis already talked to his boss. I’ll be able to wait tables there. Imagine, he will be sous chef and I’ll be serving.”

Her delight made Natalie smile. “Yes, honey, it’s all working out.”

The
hospital stay had been stressful for Emma. Natalie was glad her mother would be in New York soon. She just had to wait one more day for the doctor’s release. Tanner would have Emma flown out the following day with medical equipment on board. He’d thought of everything.

Natalie had missed Tanner terribly. She wanted his arms around her, wanted to feel his strength and feel safe. He’d missed her just as much and was waiting for her at his penthouse. All her exhaustion vanished when she saw his handsome face
. A surge of desire flooded through her.

Tanner held her in a tight embrace
, like he thought she’d vanish if he let go. “I missed you,” he confessed. Natalie gave him a delighted smile.

“I’m taking you out. You need to relax. I know how hard this has all been for you,” he said, kindly.

Wanting to inflame desire in Tanner, she chose her gold spandex cocktail dress. She’d bought it on impulse. It was perfect. The dress was a bandage style, and fit her so tightly that it looked like someone had taken gold bandage and wrapped it around her. Her hips were accentuated, curving into her tiny waist. The bodice pushed her breasts together and held them high, creating maximum cleavage.

She looked in the mirror, admiring the tight bodice and the gold shoulder straps. The dress zipper was in the back and ran the entire length of the dress. What man could resist unzipping and watching the dress fall free. She’d had to do the zipper before pulling the dress over her head
, and stretching it over her body, but it was worth the effort.

She was always forgetting to breathe around Tanner. Well, this time he’d be the one gasping for air.

The dress deserved nothing less than her four and a half-inch, gold heels designed by Christian Louboutin. On a special shopping spree, the fashion consultant had insisted she buy them. The shoes were covered in gold crystals and the description said “will even have the Queen nodding in approval.”

The sparkling gold
shoes fit like a glove and even had red rubber soles, making them easy to walk in, even for Natalie. She hadn’t had any notable mishaps, since that fateful day when she’d fallen into Tanner’s arms, in an attempt to model a dress for him. But, one never knew.

Taking one last look in her full length mirror, Natalie exited her room-size closet. Tanner was adjusting his tie
, and when he caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye, he dropped what he was doing and gaped.

“You can’t go out like that,” he said, not quite yelling, but wanting to.

Natalie stepped toward him, swaying her hips intentionally and smiling coyly. “Of course I can. This is a dress to go out in, not one you wear at home. It was made to be seen,” she taunted.

Tanner continued to gape. “But it doesn’t cover anything. You’d show less, fully naked. Every man in the room will be starring at you, the way the fabric is wrapped so tightly around every curve you have, and some you don’t have…”

“Precisely,” Natalie grinned.

Tanner thought of ordering her to change, then did a quick rethink. He might be overstepping his bounds. After all, he didn’t really own her, although he’d like to. She t
ended to have a mind of her own and Tanner knew instinctively how to pick his battles.

“Well
, at least wear a long coat,” was his parting remark. “It’s cold out there.”

In the back of the limo, Tanner
’s body language was tense. Natalie knew he was still fuming. For some inexplicable reason, it delighted her. She knew she’d made him angry. Yet, she was getting some perverse pleasure at doing so. Or, was it just that she hoped he’d punish her. She wasn’t sure.

Tanner took her to La
Bernardin, knowing her love of seafood. It made her feel special that he’d remembered since the first lunch they’d had together, after her fateful fall into his arms.

He’d reserved a room for private dining. The room was large enough to hol
d just under one hundred guests, but a romantic table for two had been set up, at Tanner’s request. The room had an understated luxury, enclosed in etched glass with a recessed-wood ceiling.

They had their own private dining team to service their every need. The menu was created for them by the chef.
Under the soft lighting, Natalie’s gold shimmery dress gleamed.

She’d tied her lon
g hair up in a huge gold ribbon and Tanner couldn’t take his eyes off her. Nor, could the wait staff. This did not go unnoticed by Tanner who gave one poor waiter a look that could kill when his eyes lingered a moment too long over Natalie’s cleavage, bulging above the tight bandage dress.

The subtle textures and flavors
of the scallops and oysters were rivaled only by the artistic presentation. It was as if the chef had elevated the fish to a new level of respect.

The delicate morsels were tender, and
paired with a Chateau de Beaucastel Blanc, the meal was perfect. The white wine, the Blanc, came from sixty-five year old vines, Tanner informed her. That must be good because the wine smelled like flowers and tasted like honey.

Before dessert, Tanner informed the waiter that they’d like to be alone to finish t
heir bottle of wine. That might be a while, considering that half a bottle was left to be consumed. The waiter nodded, knowingly, and left them.

Tanner took a sip of the delicious wine and looked at Natalie with a possessive, hot look that she’d grown to
love. She squirmed in her seat and took another sip of her own wine, maintaining what composure she could. When he looked at her that way….

“So, you want to be the center of attention tonight,” he declared. “You’ve certainly succeeded in that dress. I’ll have to speak to my fashion consultant. She must have
misunderstood my guidelines.

You’ve surely garnered the admiration of the service staff here tonight, including the women I might
add, who are green with envy - or possibly, desire. Who’s to say?”

Tanner’s eyes sparkled and Natalie knew that he was enjoying his teasing.

“Maybe they’re admiring my shoes,” she offered, playfully trying to throw him off. Tanner just rolled his eyes.

She could sense that
he intended to make her pay for her act of defiance - somehow. For the moment, she had the upper hand. Any sense of security was dissolved by Tanner’s next words.

“What are you wearing under the dress?” He asked, threateningly.

How could he know?
But then, of course, she wouldn’t get away with it.

“Nothing,” she answered
and blushed. How did he do it – always get the upper hand?

“As I thought,” he smirked. “The dress is so tight, nothing would fit under it. Any
undergarment would be outlined and I don’t see any. So, you’ve come to dinner with me, virtually naked. Is that what I’m to understand?”

Natalie wasn’t sure how to respond. Her intention had b
een to drive Tanner crazy. Clearly she had. But, maybe she should have thought it through.

Tanner moved closer to her on the tufted bench. He put his arm around her shoulders, and goose bumps rose on her arms. “Now,” he continued, “since you want to flaunt it tonight, I want you to do as I say. Do you understand?”

Natalie looked into his blue eyes, now dark with intent. She thought better of defying him. He looked so strong and chiseled, his hard body outlined, even under his evening jacket. She just looked back at him, not saying a word.

“I want you to reach to the hem of that short, too short dress. And, I want you to pull it up higher. You’ve taunted me with its shortness, sashayed around so the male staff can get an eyeful. Don’t think of getting timid now. Pull it up so
your bare butt is on this seat and do it now.”

Natalie looked at his stiff jaw
and the unrelenting expression in his eyes. Was this turning him on? How could she just sit half-naked in a public restaurant? Wearing a boldly sexy dress was one thing, but…

“Now,” he commanded in a punishing tone. He didn’t even have to say anything else. She got the impression that he’d turn her over his knee
, if she got rebellious.

She couldn’t
believe her hands were doing it but she reached to the hem of her dress. Tanner looked at her, coldly, and nodded.

She pulled the dress up her thighs and lifted off the seat to get it over her bottom. She
was naked below the waist, except for her stunning shoes, boldly glittering on her slender feet. Her face heated with embarrassment.

“Feeling pretty bold now?” Tanner said.

He went on, “I want you to play with yourself.”

What? Natalie’s eyes widened
but Tanner only nodded again.

“
Take your pretty little hand and place it between your legs. Do it now.”