Putting one arm on her hip whilst keeping a firm hold of the lash with her other, Tamsan explained. “Nothing’s wrong with me. I just don’t take kindly to mouthy brats thinking they can say what they like without consequences. You’ve been picking at me all day, missy.”

The last part was true. Anna had been at Tamsan all day, but she hadn’t expected any real retaliation. Certainly not with her pants down.

“Is this how people deal with disagreements where you’re from?”

“If we were dealing with this the way people deal with it where I’m from, your little ass would be bright red and you’d be standing in the corner until I said otherwise.”

“Oh, so you come from the dark ages,” Anna snapped. “Need help finding your way back to your time machine?”

“You are such a smart ass,” Tamsan said, taking one slow step forward.

Anna held her ground. She wasn’t entirely sure what Tamsan was planning to do. All she knew was that she was caught in an intense gaze that made her stomach do flips. Funny how a few years age difference suddenly seemed like a chasm. Funny how she suddenly felt so small… so squirmy. Funny how her breath came short and the regions nearest the seams of her jeans tightened with anticipation as Tamsan closed the distance between them. She was beautiful, always beautiful, that tanned skin, those little crinkling smile lines around her eyes and mouth, the cheekbones, the dimple on her left cheek. She had one of those rare faces which only improved with being lived in, each little flaw highlighting the grace and beauty nature had endowed upon her.

“That mouth is going to get you into trouble,” Tamsan drawled.

Unsure of what to say, Anna resorted to sticking her tongue out. It was a gesture that aptly conveyed her defiance, whilst saving her the trouble of having to put an actual sentence together. It was also a mistake.

Tamsan’s fingers moved almost as quick as the fiery tail of her leather did. She caught the tip of Anna’s tongue between thumb and forefinger and held it firm, leaving Anna to flail inarticulately in her grasp. Brat in hand, she pulled gently until they were toe to toe and nose to nose, Anna’s swelling breasts pressed against Tamsan’s chest.

“The worse you behave, the worse it’s going to be,” Tamsan said softly. “Why don’t you try telling me what’s really bothering you instead of acting like a little bitch? I mean, brat.”

She let Anna’s tongue go, but it didn’t matter by that stage because Anna was dissolving into tears. The word struck harder than any leather ever could.

“I’m sorry,” Tamsan apologized quickly. “I didn’t mean to say bitch.”

“Yes you did,” Anna sniffed, hiding her face as she turned away.

There was a sigh, and then two strong arms wrapped around Anna’s waist and drew her back against Tamsan’s body.

“I didn’t mean that,” Tamsan murmured into Anna’s hair. “I’m really sorry.”

Anna squeezed her eyes shut. “It was what you meant.”

“Not in the way you’re taking it,” Tamsan tried to explain. “I don’t mean bitch in a mean way.”

“Oh, you mean the nice kind of bitch,” Anna said. “Oh, okay.” Sarcastic through her tears, she tried to pull away but Tamsan’s arms cinched tighter, keeping her right where she was.

“Poor choice of words,” Tamsan said. “Freudian slip, maybe. I really didn’t mean it.”

“Just let me fucking go.” Anna pulled away roughly. With tears in her eyes, she grabbed her hat and stormed out of Tamsan’s little house. The word didn’t sting nearly so much as the feeling that Tamsan was probably right. She was being a little bitch. She couldn’t help it. Being a bitch was easier than being vulnerable. It was easier to snap and find fault than it was to admit that she was more scared than ever before. Tamsan was attractive. Assured. She’d never lost a lover to sheer fickle disinterest. She didn’t know what it was like to be dumped for no reason than the fact that somebody had just stopped caring.

The closer they got, the more scared Anna became. One day soon, Tamsan was going to wake up and realize how disposable she was. And that day was going to hurt like hell. Rather than face it, Anna was tearing away at the edges of their relationship, pulling at the band aid so that it would not be ripped off all of a sudden.

Just as she got outside, strong hands caught her, wrapped around her upper arms and turned her around.

“You’re not going to run away.” Tamsan’s voice was low and serious, stern and sincere. “You’re going to come back inside and you’re going to tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

A tear rolled down Anna’s cheek. “I can’t.”