The Heart's Domination (Touched By You 3) (8 page)

Tanner reached across the table and placed his hand over hers, affectionately. Natalie tilted
her head, imploring him to tell her what was on his mind. He seemed different but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly how.

“I’ve learned some news today that is significant,” he started and then stopped to look into her loving eyes. He sighed. “Whew, it’s been quite a day. What if I told you that the whole story about how I abused that young woman years ago when I was drunk
…was false?”

He watched Natalie’s eyes widen. She didn’t say a word.

“I talked to my stepmother today. It’s a long story and I’ll fill you in on everything, but I don’t want to take up our time with it tonight. I’ve spent most of my day on it already, and that’s enough. But, Gabriella set up Salina Wells, the injured woman, to tell the lie, say I abused her. In exchange, Gabriella knew that my father, William, would pay her off to keep it out of the papers and out of court.”

“Why?” W
as all Natalie could think of to say.

Tanner gave a sardonic laugh. “Why?” He repeated. “As it turns out, she was having an affair with a man named Dustin Martin. Who, as fate would have it, was also having an affair, with…drum roll…
Salina Wells. I’m sure you’ve figured out that Gabriella is the jealous type, and didn’t take the news of Dustin’s affair lightly.

She had him followed. She knew ever
ything that happened that night - even had the incident on film. You can figure out the rest. She could have used it against Dustin but it was an opportunity to discredit me in William’s eyes. She’d never pass that up.

Her plan failed. But…”

“But what?” Natalie asked.

“She didn’t discredit me in William’s eyes
as she intended. But…although I’d never give her the satisfaction of knowing…she did discredit me.”

Natalie
looked at Tanner, not needing to voice her question.

Tanner continued, “She did discredit me…in my own eyes.
All this time I believed I’d abused Salina that night.” His eyes locked onto Natalie’s and she noted that a certain distance she’d always seen there before, was gone. Tanner was more relaxed in his own skin. The pure evil of what Gabriella had done impacted Natalie.

“Anyway,
Gabriella claimed she was lonely. My father travelled a lot and on and on. Thus, the affair,” Tanner ended and leaned back in his chair. He took a large sip of his wine and sighed with exhaustion. The emotional hoops he’d jumped through today had taken more inner strength than even
he
had.

“Or…,” Natalie started.

“Or?” Tanner echoed.

“Or, she hoped if William didn’t get her pregnant that another man would. You know she wanted her own biological son to be heir
to the Clarke fortune, not you. And since William had never had any children of his own, it would be logical to think that their problem in conceiving was with him, not her,” Natalie explained.

Tanner stopped cold. “And if she did get pregnant, she could have pretended it was William’s child.
There’s nothing he wanted more. Plus, she had enough money to pay off any real father to keep quiet.”

Chills ran up Natalie’s spin.

“You want to get out of here? I feel like being alone with you. I’m not really hungry,” Tanner said.

“Me either,” Natalie agreed. “Let’s go.”

Tanner and Natalie bundled up in their winter coats and scarves. The bodyguard walked dutifully behind, keeping a respectable distance. They ended up at Pont des Art, a bridge with a view
of Paris in every direction. At night, the city lights sparkled like jewels.

Tanner put his arm around Natalie and pointed out key sights such as Ile de la Cite, Notre Dame, and the Louvre. They stood gazing at the stunning view, surrounded by the dancing colors of the river Seine. Standing close, Tanner
enclosed Natalie in his arm, holding her close to him protectively. It was very quiet, so peaceful, and beautiful.

“It’s so lovely,” Natalie said.

“It pales against your beauty,” Tanner whispered in a sexy voice. Natalie knew that every woman wanted to hear such words. It was a confession of desire, and very flattering. Yet, it was the look in Tanner’s eyes that captivated her. He was different, more relaxed. More intimate.

She reached up to touch his cheek and he grabbed her wrist. He pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her hotly, plunging his tongue alongside hers. Kissing and loving and tend
erly embracing.

That was it – the kiss
– expressed love. Tanner’s emotion radiated through her. His kiss revealed his heart and Natalie kissed back letting him know her desire matched his.

“Let’s go home,” she whispered.

Heat flooded Tanner’s body. His desire for Natalie was as hot as if she’d lit a match. They barely made it back to the limo before he held her again for another kiss, exceeding - if that were possible - the passion of the first kiss.

At the villa, stripped down to their underwear in the warmed main room, Tanner held Natalie on his lap. He kissed her and kissed her, over her arms and breasts and along her neck. He leaned his back against the sofa and gazed at her.

Tanner wasn’t his usual commanding self. His desire ran high. That was clear. His hard cock pressed underneath her as she sat across his lap. But Natalie could sense he was at a loss.

For s
o long, he’d thought that he’d abused a woman. He controlled sex as an instinctive protection of his female sex partner. He’d domineered, kept the upper hand, and made sure he never went too far.

She now saw it was his way to take charge of the situation. In a way, ensure he didn’t lose restraint, never really trusting himself.

The news had been a great relief to him. Natalie could see that. Yet, it was a big change. It struck her that Tanner didn’t know how to behave. The new insight into his personality, the destruction of the old lie, had disoriented him.

Natalie
stood, and with a come-hither look in her eyes, she walked seductively, slowly upstairs – willing Tanner to follow her. And he did.

The news
of Tanner’s innocence rang true to Natalie. She’d always known it didn’t make sense that he’d abused that woman. Plus, the romantic kiss on the bridge had stirred the love she felt for Tanner into a roaring blaze of passion. She couldn’t explain it. She didn’t need to.

Tanner followed her to the bedroom where she disappeared into her closet. She stripped and p
ut on her pink, silk negligee with nothing underneath. The filmy garment did little to cover her, but in its skimp and lace, was blatantly seductive.

She padded lightly over the carpet, noting Tanner’s reaction to her attire. He sat on the bed letting her approach. She reached to the nightstand to turn on music she’d been listening to earlier, a sensual, operatic piece.

Without saying a word, she proceeded to undress Tanner. He didn’t resist. Slowly, she peeled off his clothing, enjoying his pretended submission. She ran her hands over his bare skin, admiring his strong shoulders and formed biceps. Even his neck and jaw were erotic to her and she leaned in to kiss him.

The first kiss led to another, and Natalie quickly lost control. She wanted Tanner and could do nothing to hide it. She kissed him wildly, fisted his hair and reached down to grab his hard cock, squeezing and rubbing.

Tanner stood and pulled her close. His hot kiss sent heat through her loins and she thrust her tongue deep into his mouth. He touched her breasts, his desire clear.

Natalie’s clit tightened
and she pressed against Tanner. He stood, strong and solid, like a beautifully carved statue. She nibbled at his neck and bit his earlobe, tugging.

Tanner moaned at her display of need. His cock bulged with his own desire. Before he could do anything to take events in hand, as he knew he normally would have, Natalie took control.

No woman had shown such a fertility of sexual strength with him, always preferring to be dominated. Her lack of inhibition
transfixed him and he let her take the lead, at least to see where she would take it.

She put her arms around his waist and straddled one of his legs. He felt her
wet pussy rub on his leg. It took him a minute to realize what was happening. Natalie panted faster, and with her slender legs, straddled one of his lean thighs. She rubbed her sex up and down. She moved just enough, her sex rubbing on his thigh.

He could feel her wetness on his leg, and heat flushed his body. She was rubbing her clit against the muscle of his thigh and moaning. Her desire ignited his. He was stunned by her actions. No longer was she submitting to him, but taking what she wanted. She kissed and bit his
nipples.

Natalie
rubbed on his leg a little faster and Tanner put his hands on her ass, feeling her up and down motion – excited that she was pleasuring herself. He buried his face in the top of her hair, breathing in her scent. The feel of her wetness on his leg had pre-cum dripping from his dick.

He heard her scream softly as she came, wrapped around his leg. She continued to rub
her sex against his leg until the orgasm expired.

Instantly, with his hands still on her ass, Tanner lifted he
r up and in the heat of passion – passion, like he’d never experienced before - he walked forward until her back was against the wall.

She wrapped both legs around his waist and he kept one hand under her. With his other, he gripped his huge cock and plunged it inside her
wet pussy. He was like a wild animal, stirred beyond reason. He held her high against the wall and fucked her hard.

Natalie panted and whimpered. She clawed at his chest and pulled his hair. Her violence sent him into the oblivion of want. He plunged his swollen cock inside her, over and over, faster and faster.

They both panted. Sweat beaded on their bodies. Loudly, they moaned together, and with Tanner holding underneath her, he moved her body up and down and plunged his dick into her sweet pussy. Natalie felt her lower body tighten and an orgasm, more powerful than the first, exploded.

The strong muscles of her vagina convulsed around Tanner’s cock. He fucked with wild abandon and yelled like a wounded animal. His cum spurted, his hot cock still deep inside her. He fucked her until he felt weak, relaxed from fierce orgasm, and had to set
Natalie on her feet. She fell into his arms, and he held her tight, with a new respect for the lovely, little wildcat he thought to possess.

The next day, Tanner took Natalie to meet with Suzanne
Dumond, owner of several exclusive boutiques in Paris. Suzanne was a petite French woman with straight, dark hair. She dressed in clothes that accentuated her figure and wore understated jewelry that screamed good taste.

Natalie liked her
, immediately. She was unpretentious and friendly.

Natalie wasn’t sure if it was because of Tanner’s position in the business world or not. But, she suspected that Ms.
Dumond wasn’t one to falsify her opinions. She didn’t rise in the world of fashion by betraying her sense of taste.

For that reason, when she told Natalie that she was intrigued by her designs and wanted to talk about an agreement to sell them in her shops, it seemed authentic. The new line Natalie had been working on was a new concept of
shape wear as part of an outfit. Women often wore an undergarment to smooth bulges and accentuate curves. The concept of creating the precise undergarment for each individual dress impressed Ms. Dumond.

“Yes, of course,” she said in accented English. “Every woman wants to know that she looks as beautiful under her clothing as she does on the outside. One never knows when a romantic moment may occur. Knowing that the undergarment doesn’t let you down, but only adds to the allure of the dress is so sensible. It’s brilliant.”

Encouraged, Natalie elaborated on her concept. “Each dress has a particular contour. It accentuates specific body features, maybe the hips, another the bust-line, or even the back, as in an open back design, and so on.

Each undergarment should make the right alignment underneath. Whether to push up the breasts for cleavage in a low-cut dress or smooth the hips in a tight skirt, the undergarment has a particular function.
In this new line, each outfit has unique, matching shape wear designed for just the right effect.

It’s not a one garment does all. As we know, a garment that tries to do everything, even an undergarment, fails. Specialization,
that’s the secret,” Natalie finished, almost breathlessly. She was so excited over Suzanne’s understanding and interest in her concept that she didn’t notice that she was talking a bit too fast.

Ms.
Dumond, or Suzanne as she wished to be called, laughed delightedly. “I admire your enthusiasm. But, I assure you the only reason I’d like to carry these designs in my boutiques is that they will sell. It will make the customer more beautiful. Women will wear the designs and look as beautiful as they expect to. My customers will gladly pay for that.”