“It looks like you’re doing a great job of that to me,” she smiled. “They adore you, they’re wonderful, and you clearly work hard.”
“Everyone can always work harder,” he said without a hint of jest. “And I don’t want to fall into the trap of taking it easy.”
“Is that why you wanted the extra work?” she asked.
“It’s why I do everything I do,” he said. “I want to make sure we have enough money to get by, and also, to be able to get the hell out of here if we ever need to.”
He looked down at the floor and she could see there was a concern there for him. It was as if he was hiding something.
“Their mother?” Jess asked, unable to hold in her curiosity anymore.
“She won’t be bothering us again,” he said with a sneer. “She never wanted to be a part of this family.” He looked off into the distance and then he shook his head and continued. “All she was ever bothered about was living the party life and never getting any older. She didn’t take to being a mother, and she never bonded with Ella or Jacob. I gave her an out and she took it. None of us have ever seen her since… the last I heard, she was in Vegas.”
There wasn’t any sadness to him as he said the words, it was just as if he were repeating a fact. As if he had forced himself to cut off any emotion to do with the situation.
“I’m sorry,” Jess said sincerely, she felt tears welling in her own eyes.
“Don’t be,” Tank said, and he smiled. “Who would want a mother like that for their children? We’re better off without her, and have been better off without her for a long, long time.”
Jess nodded, but she still knew how hard it must have been for them all.
“No… it’s not her who worries me,” he said as he raised the bottle to his lips. “It’s all the other crazy stuff we have going on around here. Being in a gang like I am, you get to learn a lot of things you would rather not know about.”
She felt the small hairs on her arms stand on end.
“Like what?” she asked in whisper.
“I don’t know if your pop has told you much, but all of us business owners in town have had to band together and form an alliance.”
He hadn’t told her anything, but she couldn’t wait to hear about it.
“There’s been some trouble around here over the past year. Outsiders trying to muscle in on the land out here and the economy. It’s been hard for us all trying to keep the wolves from the door.”
“Really?” she asked, barely daring to listen. The last thing she wanted to know was that her dad was potentially in trouble.
“Don’t worry about your dad,” he said. “He isn’t involved with us too much for it to be risky for him, but we all have to be on our guard. We don’t want these Russian mobsters muscling in on our home and turning it into something it isn’t.”
Russian mobsters.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
“That’s why I won’t put the kids in another nursery after school,” he said. “The one they were in, they didn’t just close for a training day, they’ve gone and shut down altogether. It’s like the very fabric of the town is falling apart through fear… and there’s no way I’m putting them elsewhere. The closest one apart from that one is in Iron Hill, and I’m not prepared to have my kids in another town, surrounded by strangers."
He loved them so much, he really, really did. She smiled and took a step closer to him.
“And that,” he said as he got to his feet and crossed the room so that he was closer to her, “is why I appreciate you and all you’ve done for us over the past couple of days.”
Jess looked up at him and into his dark, sad eyes.
Tank had lived a lot more years than she had, and he had clearly seen a lot in that extra time. He was a man of the world, he had been hurt and he had been put back together. He had responsibility and he had pride.
She held her breath as he took another step closer and they were so close their hands were almost touching. She could feel the energy between them and she couldn’t make herself look away. Her heart was racing so hard she was sure that he should be able to hear it, and the tingling sensation that was thumping through her entire body was so raw and exciting she felt as if she could unravel without him even touching her.
He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear before he smiled and traced his thumb across her lips. She gasped and nuzzled into his hand. She reached out and took hold of his belt and he let his hands settle on her neck and in her hair before he pulled her face to his and kissed her so hard and passionately it took her breath away.
His kiss was strong, experienced and intense, and he slipped his tongue up against hers and made her go weak at the knees.
She was dizzy and all she could hear was a ringing in her ears. His mouth was hot and heavy, and he pushed her up against the refrigerator door and kissed her so hard she felt even weaker and on the verge of collapse, as if having his energy mix with hers in such a way was going to be her undoing. The sensation of having a man’s hands on her again was so good she was on fire and aching for him.
When they broke apart, Tank looked down at her with brooding eyes and she gasped and didn’t know what to say. Their eyes never left each other’s, and he was the one who took the first step back, as if what he had just done was wrong.
She flattened her hair down at the back and then he turned around and looked at her.
“I’m sorry, I…” he began, but Jess smiled and shook her head.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “There’s a lot of emotion in here tonight.”
He stopped and rubbed at the stubble on his chin before he went to move closer to her again.
“No, I mean… I…” he dived towards her again and pulled her back to him. She melted into his arms and let him kiss her, she let him open her soul with his tongue and explore her there and then, she wanted him so badly, she really did, and this was why she had to stop it. The children were just in the other room… they were in the house.
She reluctantly broke their kiss and smiled up at him, letting his eyes drink her in and just wishing that she hadn’t had to call time on such a passionate encounter.
“I better go,” she smiled.
He looked momentarily wounded, as if he was going to ask her to stay, but she didn’t give him the chance. She blew him a kiss and turned on her heel before she headed out the kitchen and into the living area. Her mind was a mess and she didn’t know where to look or what to say. She wanted him so much.
“See you soon, kiddos,” she smiled as she picked up her gym bag.
“Aww, are you going, Jess?” Jacob whined as he jumped up and looked over the back of the couch.
“I am,” she smiled. “But I will see you anytime you like, just give me a shout.”
Tank appeared at the door to the kitchen with his hands on the back of his head and a look of mischief in his eyes.
“What about Monday?” he asked with a wry smile. “It looks like I’m going to need a regular babysitter if I’m going to get these hours at the shop in.”
Jess bit her lip and smiled as she turned back to him. They stared at each other and she realized that if she wanted him badly, then and he wanted her more. But the children were there, and Jess knew she would have to leave. They couldn’t do all the things they wanted to do in that environment at that moment in time.
“Sure,” she said. “Just text me the details.”
And then, she waved goodbye to the kids and headed for the door. Her heart was bouncing with excitement and joy, and she couldn’t wait to get home so she could call Kiara and tell her all about it.
She had just been kissed by a biker. A hot older man, with whom she had a connection, that she knew she would never be able to explain to anyone.
And it felt fucking amazing.
9.
She woke up the next morning to the brightest sun of the summer, and the urge to go on an adventure. She picked up her cell phone and looked at th
e screen with delight as she saw that Tank had texted her.
All night, she had tossed and turned and thought about what had happened between them. Their conversation had been so charged and raw, and when he had come closer to her and taken hold of her, she had never wanted anything more. He was one hell of a man, and she knew he could teach her things she could only dream of.
She held the phone in her palm and tortured herself by waiting a little bit longer before she opened the message, but when she did, she wasn’t disappointed.
T: Good Morning, Jessica…If you’re still open to the role of cook, cleaner and superwoman, then please let me know before Monday. T x (08:34am)
T: Oh who the hell am I kidding, I’ve been thinking about you all night… I want to see you. (09:01am)
She grinned and started to type a reply.
J: I’m more than open to that role, like I said, I’m happy to help wherever I can. And I’ve been thinking about you too. J x
T: What are you doing this weekend? X
J: Being good ?? What about you? X
T: Hopefully being bad… x
J: No, no, no… Good is the way forward x
T: You’ll have to teach me all about that then. I look forward to the lessons x
Jess smiled and put the phone down. He was a killer flirt, and it was turning her on but also making her nervous. She didn’t know how she would handle a man like him. All she had ever been used to was silly boys her own age that acted like complete jerks. None of them were so cool, aloof and as in control as Tank was.
“He’s going to tear you apart,” she whispered with a little smile to herself.
But the truth of the matter was, she didn’t mind one bit.
As Monday rolled around, Jess found herself wandering about on top of the clouds. She had spent the whole weekend in a bit of a daze, moving from one task to another. Tidying her home and doing a spring clean, throwing out old clothes that she knew she was never going to wear again, texting and chatting with Kiara and filling her in all about Tank and of what she thought she should do.
“He sounds hot as fuck,” Kiara had said down the phone breathlessly. “I am so insanely jealous; you have no idea.”
“It’s so complicated, though,” Jess had replied. “I mean the age gap, the children, the fact that he works for my father.”
“The fact he’s an outlaw,” Kiara had laughed. “Screw it. Who cares? When you have a connection with someone, you have a connection. You can’t fight that kind of thing.”
And even though Jess knew she was right, she still wanted to keep her feet on the ground and she didn’t want to build anything up.
Ella and Jacob had to come first. They were her priority. Not her own feelings and not his. She was going to have to be selfless to ensure this situation didn’t escalate in all the wrong ways.
On Monday morning, she rose like she always did, got ready, and headed downstairs to the kitchen where she drank coffee, ate fresh fruit and turned on her laptop to start her working day.
The big boss had already emailed and had sent her a small list of things to do, he had wished her a good day and told her he was heading off to Boston the following morning. Jess typed a hasty reply and reassured him that she would have everything done, and then she went back for her second cup of coffee for the day and started to work her way down his list.
By the time it hit noon, she was done with work, and she was pacing the house from one end to the other. All she could think about was Tank, and she had nervously waited for him to contact her all weekend.
She could feel the way they were both dancing around each other, and she knew they maybe both had the same concerns. There was a lot between them that would mean them hooking up could spell disaster, but at the same time, the way they were clearly drawn to each other was too big to ignore.
She remembered back to the first day they had met and the way her heart had almost stopped when he had appeared around the doorway in the car shop. He had stared at her with a look she had thought was disgust, but now when she thought about it she knew it wasn’t. He had been as startled as she was, and he had felt something that same way she had.
And it had disarmed him.
He hadn’t been expecting it, and it had shaken him to his core, just like it had shaken her.
The following day in the diner, he had done his best to avoid her.
But this wasn’t because he didn’t like her or he didn’t know who she was. It was because everything was the complete opposite. He knew he could potentially like her too much, and he didn’t want to be involved with a woman who had the power to break his heart.
He had been damaged in the past.
A woman had left him and their children to live a wild life on her own, and it must have cut him deep.
Now, more than anything, Jess wanted to prove to him that she wasn’t the same and she never would be. She was loyal and she was as protective as he was. She just wanted to feel loved and to be able to give out the love she had stored up inside her.
She stopped and she reached for her phone and scrolled down her contacts list until she found his name. She pressed dial and held it to her ear and waited with her heart in her mouth for him to answer.
When it had hit the third ring, she had convinced herself he wasn’t going to pick up, but suddenly, she heard the click, the roar of an engine in the background, and his familiar voice saying, “Jessica?”
“Hi, Tank,” she breathed as she tucked her free hand into the back pocket of her jeans and began to walk around again nervously.
“Hey,” he said. In the background, the noises were getting smaller and it sounded as if he was moving somewhere quieter so they could talk.
“Are you busy?” she asked.
“No,” he half laughed. “Well, yes, but I sense that this is important.”
“I just wanted to say…” she started to speak but as soon as she realized she was about to put herself all on the line and out there for him to do with as he pleased, she didn’t know whether she could go through with it. She reached up to her forehead and rubbed her temple and then she leaned in against the wall and stared down at the floor.
“Yes…?” he asked.
She could feel the tension coming from him, and she knew she wasn’t alone in this. He wanted her to continue, but she just didn’t have the guts.
“I… umm…” she thought fast. “I realized that I didn’t know what time you wanted me to collect Ella and Jacob from school today?” she said.
He stayed silent, as if he was disappointed that she hadn’t said more.
“Erm, yeah sure,” he finally spoke. “Well, Jacob has some activities after school until five, but Ella needs to go to her dance lesson at Angelica’s at three-thirty. I didn’t know if you still wanted to help out, that’s why I didn’t contact you.”
“Are you kidding?” she half laughed. “I told you…”
“I know, I know, but…” he trailed off.
She could sense he was the kind of person who would never push anyone. He liked them to come to him. Already, him texting her, was probably a big step for him and she knew it must have been damned hard for him to get close to anyone over the years. He clearly had his guard up thick and strong.
“I’ll be there to collect Ella at three fifteen,” she said. “And I’ll take her to Angelica’s, watch her dance, and then go and get Jacob. Deal?”
“Thank you, Jessica,” he said sternly but with warmth. “I know I keep saying it, but you really are helping me out here. I appreciate it.”
“And I keep telling you, it’s not a problem. I’ll see you later.”
She smiled to herself and then she hung up the phone. Her heart was beating fast and she felt as if she were about to explode with lust and desire, but she also knew she was going to have to keep good control and not get in over her head.
This was all going to have to be on him.
Tank was in control and she was going to wait for him to come and take
her.
The elementary school was nestled between some of the planted woodland that had been landscaped back when Jessica had been a kid. She had watched the tress grow and the way that the people of the town had nurtured them to make sure they had the best possible chance of thriving out there in the desert. It was like a mini oasis in the middle of Slate Springs, and as the bell for the end of classes rang, Jess was momentarily transported back to her own time at the school all those years before. It seemed like several lifetimes ago, and she found it hard to believe that it was now her waiting at the gates ready to collect someone. A little girl who reminded her so much of herself.
“Jess! Jess!” Ella shouted as she came running out toward her and threw herself into Jessica’s arms. The two girls hugged, and then Jess took hold of her hand and started to walk with her away from the school and toward Main Street.
“I hoped you were coming today,” Ella said with a wide grin. “Daddy didn’t say so this morning, but I had a feeling.”
“I told you I wouldn’t let you down,” she smiled. “And your dad needs to work, so it makes sense for me to help out when I have nothing else planned.”
They wandered hand in hand and passed through the bustle of Main Street before they turned off down one of the side streets and made their way toward Angelica’s Dance Studio.
“Did you have a good weekend?” Jess asked.
Ella nodded her head and then she looked up at Jess with adoration in her eyes.
“I wanted you to come over, but daddy said we shouldn’t ask too much of someone new.”
Jess affectionately and playfully rolled her eyes. That seemed like classic Tank to her. She smiled.
“I would have come if you had invited me, for sure,” Jess grinned. “You can tell your dad that later.”
She winked at Ella and then the two girls continued forward, the door to the dance studio looming up ahead of them.
TANK_Forsaken Riders MC Romance Page 8