Authors: Emily Jane Trent
Jet lag was not a luxury Tanner could afford. He was on t
he phone from the airport and left for his office, in the early dawn hours. Natalie felt the loss of his full attention. When he’d worked in Milan, he’d been more relaxed and seemed to be with her, as much as he could. Their relationship had advanced to a new level, and Natalie found her need to be with him was stronger.
While eating breakfast one morning,
with Tanner already in the city, Natalie heard the bell ring. Carmela, the housekeeper, went to the door and a lovely woman, under the age of forty, stepped into the foyer. She stopped short upon seeing Natalie.
“I’m sorry. Is Tanner at home?” she demanded
, not even bothering to introduce herself. It didn’t go unnoticed that one of the security guards had stepped inside with her. Natalie got the impression they intended to keep her under watch.
Natalie looked more closely at the woman. Her overly full lips and thin, arched eyebrow
s gave her an unfriendly look, although her long, dark hair, and perfectly made-up face, exuded beauty. Noting the expensive designer wear and abundant jewelry, Natalie knew the woman was wealthy. Tanner hadn’t mentioned that he was expecting a visitor.
“Hello, I’m Natalie,” she began the introductions, now very curious.
“Gabriella Clarke. I’m Tanner’s stepmother,” she clipped, and strode past Natalie toward the main room.
“Tanner’s not here,” Natalie said, following after her
, with the burly guard right behind them.
“I didn’t know he’d hired anyone new,” she stated coldly. “Bring me some black tea, no cream or sugar.”
Natalie realized Gabriella thought she was in Tanner’s employ. Embarrassed, she corrected her, “I’ll have Sara get that for you. I’m sorry, Tanner didn’t mention you were going to drop by. I’m his girlfriend, Natalie Baker.”
Natalie felt awkward over describing her position. Girlfriend seemed as good a description as any
, but she felt herself blushing with no reason, thinking of the nature of their relationship.
Tanner had never spoken of family
, except to mention his father, William Sheldon Clarke. It occurred to Natalie that she should have asked. She’d been so intimately involved with him that she’d overlooked asking the normal questions one asks when dating. But then, what experience did she have to go by?
“Girlfriend,” Gabriella spat. Natalie felt intimidated by this tall, slender woman
, who clearly took control of any conversation.
Natalie sat on the chair across from Gabriella
, unsure how to proceed. “Will you be staying here long?” She asked, not wanting to give the impression she wasn’t welcome, but definitely flustered.
“I’m not staying here,” she said. “I’m at the Essex House
while I’m in New York. I live in Paris. I’m here to see to some legal matters. Tanner didn’t tell you about me, did he?”
Natalie felt as if she’d committed some crime to which she couldn’t put a name. “No,” she said in a quiet voice. “He didn’t tell me.”
Gabriella’s blue eyes registered the lack of Natalie’s preparation for this visit. She saw an opportunity, one she could not pass up.
With the security guard by the door, ready to come to Natalie’s rescue at the slightest indication, Gabriella took it upon herself to fill Natalie in on everything she ought to know about Tanner.
Natalie sat with wide eyes, listening intently, repulsed by the woman’s vindictive nature, yet, unable to pull herself away. She had a void of knowledge about Tanner that needed to be filled. He’d become the center of her life. And Gabriella was uninhibited about telling anything and everything, no matter how sordid. The fact that Natalie had only known her for minutes, didn’t dissuade her at all.
By the time Gabriella left, Natalie found she was in shock. It was a lot to take in without preamble. She’d kept her composure, knowing that if she broke out crying the guard would have escorted Gabriella out
, immediately. From his demeanor, he’d had prior experience with the woman. Clearly, Natalie was at Gabriella’s mercy, not having been prepared for this attack, but she didn’t want to show weakness.
Now that Gabriella had gone, all in a flurry of expensive perfume and the click of
designer heels, Natalie sat frozen in the same chair where she’d heard the electrifying description of the dangers of Tanner. She’d discovered in this awkward encounter that Tanner had been adopted by William Tanner Clarke, who married Gabriella, a woman much younger than he, shortly thereafter.
Gabriella was ill-suited to motherhood and had clashed with Tanner from the start. He’d only been 5 years old at the time of adoption
, and Gabriella had never understood William’s attachment to the boy. Caitlyn Eloise Cassel, Tanner’s natural mother, had passed away from cancer, a complication that had resulted from physical abuse.
Tanner’s biological father, Kenneth C
assel, was an alcoholic, and violent toward his wife when drunk, which was often. Kenneth worked as a mechanic and Caitlyn had been on William Clarke’s service staff for many years. From the time Tanner was born, Caitlyn had taken him to work with her, with the permission of William, who knew of the difficult situation at home and didn’t want Tanner to be at risk.
Caitlyn kept Tanner protected and took the bulk of the abuse from her bullying husband. As Tanner grew, he tried without success to protect his mother
- he loved her dearly. Being under the age of five, he couldn’t stand up to his brute of a father, although, he’d accumulated his own bruises in the effort.
The sad tale continued
, and Gabriella told her that Ken Cassel was finally imprisoned for domestic abuse. Fearing for her young son, Caitlyn had finally pressed charges. Ken found his match among the inmates, who had a low opinion of wife-beating. Murder, theft, and other respectable crimes gave status among ones friendly felons. But, beating on women, was something only a gutless man would do.
Ken survived in prison a mere
two months before dying. He was stabbed to death by an inmate who outweighed him by fifty pounds. Caitlyn felt relief, not the grief one might expect. She’d long since stopped loving her husband. His death meant that he would never find his way back to her, and could never harm her young son.
Before the story could take a turn for the better, Caitlyn was stricken with internal cancer, a lump that appeared just above her liver
, and spread too deeply. It was inoperable, as it had already compromised the liver. Fortune finally smiled on her when she died a quick death, avoiding any long, painful illness.
At age 5, Tanner was alone in the world
, but not for long. William Sheldon Clarke had never married. The creation of his massive fortune had usurped any personal life he might have hoped for. He became fond of Tanner, having seen him almost daily when his mother brought him to work with her. In a sweep of generosity, according to Gabriella’s version, William adopted young Tanner, who became Steven Tanner Clarke, heir to the Clarke fortune.
Gabriella did nothing to hide her disgust over the adoption. Tanner was not a rightful heir in her mind, adoption or not. And
, the fact that Gabriella had never conceived, only furthered the insult. William had been generous to her in his will, but she wasn’t placated. The bulk of the business and fortune went to Tanner, who was not even a true son of William’s, in her assessment.
As if telling her all that wasn’t enough, Gabriella proceeded to
attack Tanner’s character, claiming he had the violent tendencies exhibited by his biological father, and implying she had evidence of such. She warned Natalie that if she knew what was good for her, she’d dump Tanner before it was too late.
Gabriella’s intention had been to drive a wedge between Tanner and Natalie. Any happiness he found, served as a personal affront to her. She’d hoped to do irreparable damage. For Natalie, it had the opposite effect. Gabriella’s revelations had only served to further endear Tanner in Natalie’s eyes.
Knowing what he’d been through, help
ed Natalie understand him. The story was hard to listen to. It was all about Tanner’s pain. At the same time, it offered the possibility of understanding, and thus resolving, Tanner’s fear of intimacy.
Gabriella claimed to have gotten the story from William, at the time he adopted Tanner. Natalie wondered if she’d relayed the facts correctly, as told to her by William, but it did all seem to make sense.
Natalie expected to see Tanner after his work day. He proved her wrong by showing up within minutes of Gabriella’s departure. The security guard had not only watched vigilantly, but had discreetly called to inform Tanner of the unannounced visit. He’d rushed home to save the situation, only to find Gabriella had already gone. Instead, he found Natalie alone on the patio, looking pale and unsettled.
He feared the worst and was furious at Gabriella. She was a ruthless woman. Tanner felt rage
, knowing that she’d gained access to Natalie and taken undo advantage.
Natalie gave him a weak smile and Tanner walked over and put his arms around her. “She lives in Paris,” he said
rubbing his temples. “I had no idea she was coming to New York, or I never would have left you alone.”
Tanner sat i
n the chair across from Natalie. “Did you talk to her?” he asked, already knowing the answer, because Gabriella would never have passed up such an opportunity.
Natalie nodded. “It’s okay Tanner. I could never think badly of you. You were only a child,” she started.
Tanner fumed. He stood and began pacing, back and forth, in front of her. “What did she tell you?” he demanded in cold fury.
Natalie relayed the details in full, trying to assess from Tanner how much of it was true. He didn’t dispute the facts
, but continued to be enraged by Gabriella’s revelation. It seemed there was more to it. Natalie tried to discern what Tanner was holding back, but just didn’t know. She was smart enough to perceive, it was not the time to be asking more questions.
Neither of them had any appetite for dinner.
Tanner’s body radiated anger. He was stiff and rock hard, his expression violent. How he planned to deal with Gabriella, Natalie didn’t know. She wasn’t going to ask until he calmed down.
Tanner opened a bottle of wine from his cellar
, and after only one glass, he stood, abruptly, and reached for Natalie’s hand. “Come with me,” he barked. Natalie’s heart raced. The recent revelations had touched her heart and she wanted to be close to Tanner. He was leading her upstairs and her hope swelled. They needed to be close to each other.
Tanner ordered her to get naked and she was happy to comply. He ripped off his clothes, still upset. She stood by the bed and looked into his icy eyes. Something was wrong.
Without kissing her, Tanner picked her up and positioned her in the middle of the bed.
Taking a wide, silk ribbon, he tied her hands together. Then, he turned her over, onto her stomach, and tied her hands to the rail of the headboard.
Natalie wanted to comfort Tanner, knowing the shock of Gabriella revealing so much private history was
distressing to him. Yet, she began to feel uncomfortable. He was rougher than usual and she didn’t know what he had in mind. For some reason, she was nervous.
She felt Tanner’s warm hands st
roke down her spine and warmed to his touch. Still, he was quiet and she couldn’t find words to pierce the invisible barrier between them. His hands stopped at her round buttocks and he caressed them fondly, squeezing and pressing. Natalie felt a warm flush in her lower body.
With one hand still on Natalie’s ass, Tanner reached into his drawer for a couple of items. He found the lubricant he sought and smeared some on his hand to warm it. “Hold still,” he said
, and then found her tight little asshole with one finger and proceeded to lubricate her there. Natalie wasn’t yet alarmed, although this was something new. She was curious.
Tanner began to massage her asshole and Natalie was surprised that it created pleasure sensations. She began to relax. Without warning, she felt one of his fingers plunge in
side her tight opening, and she gasped. It didn’t hurt exactly, nor was it comfortable. Tanner moved his finger, in and out, to spread the lubricant along the passage and get her used to the sensation.
He took the hard rubber butt plug that he’d set on the bed next to him
. With his other hand he warmed it and lubricated it. Without preparing her, he removed his finger from her asshole and plunged the plug into her, instead. The suddenness shocked her. She tried to relax, thinking it would help, but remained tense. Tanner massaged her buttocks, leaving the butt plug in place to stretch her opening.
Keeping one hand on her, he
rubbed his heavy cock with his other. It was partially lubricated with pre-cum, but he took some of the other lube and greased it up further. He moaned with the pleasure sensation as he rubbed his fully greased erection.
“I’m going to fuck you,” he choked out. Natalie wasn’t prepared for what came next. She felt a temporary release of pleasure when the butt plug was removed
, that was replaced by a horrendous sensation when the hard knob of Tanner’s huge cock pressed part of the way into her tiny asshole. She froze and tensed, the opposite of what she knew would help, but she couldn’t relax.