“I haven’t been here in a very long time either,” Jess half laughed. “I’m looking forward to seeing you dance.”
“I can’t wait to show you!” Ella said as she bounced inside and started to make her way up the stairs. “When you get in the room, try and find a seat near the front mirrors.”
Jess made her way up slowly, and when she pushed the door open to the studio, all the memories of her own ballet days came flooding back. She saw the graceful and elegant Madam Angelica warming up at the front of the room, and Ella running over to her, pulling off her t-shirt and revealing her pink little leotard and matching tights.
Jess sat down at the side of the room and watched them all lining up and getting ready, and she was so entranced with them all, she didn’t even notice the door open again and another person come inside. When she heard the footsteps coming toward her, she knew it was him, but she barely dared move.
She waited until he was standing right beside her, and then he lowered himself into the seat next to her. Her heart was pounding and she was smiling. And she bit her lip and cast her glance finally in his direction.
“What are you doing here?” she asked mischievously.
“I heard there were two beautiful girls inside,” he said without missing a beat. “I thought I better come and check it out.”
Jess rolled her eyes and slapped him playfully on the arm.
“Daddy!” Ella called from the front of the room when she turned around and saw him, realizing he was sitting there too.
He waved back to her and blew her a kiss and then he crossed his arms over his chest and sank down in the seat so he could look at Jess from the corner of his eye.
“I thought you were supposed to be working?” she whispered as the music started up at the front of the room and Madam Angelica took her position.
“I was,” he smirked. “But I’ll make it up later. If you think I’m missing my daughter pirouette her way around town then you’ve gotta be crazy.”
“So you tricked me into coming?” Jess cocked her head to one side and flashed him a mischievous grin.
“I wouldn’t call it outright trickery,” Tank mused. “But I just wanted to be sure I got to see you too.” He seemed to shift in his chair so that he was closer to her and Jess felt everything inside her clench. Being so close to him again was sending her hormones into overdrive, and all she could think about was diving on him and ripping his clothes off right there and then.
Have some self-control Jessica, she coached herself. Let him come to you…
“I got the feeling maybe you didn’t want to see me,” she said bravely as she thought back to what had happened when they had shared the hot and steamy kiss in the kitchen. Just remembering it made her body begin to quiver and her pussy ache.
God, did she want him badly.
“I wasn’t sure how you felt,” he whispered as the girls began to dance around at the front of the room and they both watched them while continuing their conversation. “You ran out on me so fast my head was in a spin.”
“You moved away,” she said, trying not to grin. “I thought you’d decided you’d made a mistake.”
“Never,” he said sternly as he reached down and took hold of her hand.
He gripped it so tight a little whimper escaped from her lips and she had to cross her legs the other way to stop herself from moaning. Each little touch he placed on her was awakening her body in a whole manner of new ways, and she was finding it hard to control herself.
She turned to look at him and he held her gaze. He was still holding her hand and she felt the passion and the power behind his eyes. They were telling her all she needed to know.
“I have waited a long time to feel something like this,” he whispered, his hand not leaving hers. “I didn’t think I wanted it. But then you walked into my life.”
Jess gasped and squeezed his hand back. She looked into his eyes and smiled and she knew something big was going to happen. She had felt it the moment they had met, and now she was feeling it all over again.
Tank pulled her back slightly and wrapped his arm around the back of her chair and they sat there together watching the girls dance. The two of them completely at ease with each other, and feeling things that neither ever had before.
Even the age difference between them clearly couldn’t break them apart or keep them away from one another.
Their minds had been made up.
This thing, it was very real indeed.
10.
“You did so well,” Jess said as she rested her hand on Ella’s shoulder. The class had just finished and they were all on their way back to Durrett’s so Tank could make up for his lost time and Jess could see her pop for five minutes before she took Ella to collect Jacob.
They walked together, and Jess could feel Tank’s eyes on her. He had barely been able to tear them away for the entirety of the dance class, and it felt so good to be that desired.
She glanced at him and gave him a warm smile, and then they turned the corner and moved into the alley that led onto Durrett’s.
As they were approaching, Jess couldn’t explain why, but she knew something was wrong. Her senses suddenly went into overdrive, and she felt a prickle of terror roll up her spine. She stopped in her tracks and listened, and Tank slowed beside her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he took hold of Ella by the top of the arm to stop her from walking on.
“Listen…” Jess whispered.
She strained to hear, but she knew that she was right. It was her pop. He was talking to someone, but his voice was afraid.
It was higher pitched than normal and a lot more shaky.
“Who did you leave him with?” Jess asked as she started to walk again.
“No one,” Tank said, realizing the concern on her face and catching up to her. “Stay here with Ella,” he said, and he picked up the little girl and put her in Jessica’s arms.
Jess was so nervous, she didn’t know what to do with herself. She didn’t want to leave Ella there on her own, but at the same time, she had the terrible feeling she knew who was in there with her pop, and she knew that if she was right, then something bad was potentially about to happen.
“Come on,” she whispered to Ella as she walked with her. Ella gripped her arms around her neck tightly and she moved slowly and cautiously, not wanting to get into view of whoever was in there with her father.
“I know you’re the reason she won’t see me,” Zack’s voice was cold and sharp. His bitterness was apparent even from around the corner and Jess’s heart began to hammer away in her chest with nerves.
“Oh God,” she whispered as she took another step closer.
“Who’s this?” Tank’s voice cut in and stopped Zack mid-sentence.
“And who the fuck are you?” Zack spat, and Jess could already picture the sneer.
She placed Ella down on the floor next to the wall and told her to stay still.
“I’m just going to be right here,” she said as she pointed to the pathway that led down to the opening of the garage and the courtyard. “You’ll be able to see me the whole time, okay?”
Ella nodded her head and did as she was told. The wall was blocking any view she could potentially have of what was happening on the other side of it, but Jess moved slowly around it and came face to face with the scene beyond.
Zack.
Full of rage and pumping his fists.
He looked so angry and menacing that it was frightening, and she could tell that he had backed her pop into a corner and was threatening him.
“Zack,” she said slowly. “What are you doing?”
“Ha,” he said as his eyes snapped up to her. “And here she is.”
His eyes went from Jess to Tank over and over again, the clogs in his brain turning and figuring out that they had just arrived at the garage together.
“No,” he said with a look of disbelief on his face. “You’ve moved on already?”
Jess scowle
d at him and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m doing some work for him,” she said. “Not that it’s any of your business. What are you even doing here, Zack? You have no right to be hanging around.”
Her pop began to back away from him while he was being distracted and he moved around the side of a car and out of the way so that he was closer to Jess and Tank.
“I came for you,” he said meanly. “I’m not letting you leave me like that.”
“That isn’t your choice to make,” she said quickly. “And I don’t know who the hell you think you are, turning up here and causing trouble like this when you’re the one who acted so terribly in the first place!”
She turned and checked that Ella was still standing where she had left her, and she was glad to see that she was. She’d covered her ears and was humming a song, looking at the ground and kicking at some small rocks.
“You could have killed me, Zack! Why would I want to be with you after that? You’re crazy!”
Tank breathed out deeply and clenched his fists.
“He did what?” he said sternly as he took a step closer to Zack.
Her pop was beside her now and he put his hand on her shoulder.
“What are you talking about, Jess?” her dad asked with a hint of panic. “What do you mean he could have killed you?”
“It was him, Dad,” she said finally, wishing that she didn’t have to, but knowing all the same that if she didn’t then this madness would never end. The world needed to know what Zack had done. “It was him that tampered with the car and made it so that I broke down. He wanted to teach me a lesson. Something about him trying to prove how much I needed him.”
Tank’s fists bunched up even harder, and he breathed deeply, stepping closer to Zack which caused him to step back nervously.
“Who’s the gorilla?” Zack asked with a nervous laugh. “What, so you’ve hired a body guard or something?”
Without missing a beat, Tank lurched forward and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. He pushed him with force against the wall behind him and slammed him up against it so hard that is caused Zack to cry out.
“If you ever so much as look in her direction again, I’ll kill you,” he said sternly, his face only millimeters from Zack’s. “Do you hear me?”
Zack’s legs were trembling, and any ounce of bravado he had had when he’d walked in there was well and truly gone.
“And that goes for this place too, and Rich. If I see you anywhere near here, around town, or you give me a look that I think’s wrong, you’re going to know about it. Do you understand?”
Tank looked so huge and intimidating next to Zack, it was clear he was certainly going to be listening to him.
“Yes,” Zack said with a croak in his voice. “I… I didn’t…”
“Get the fuck out of here,” Tank said as he pushed him back again and then turned away from him.
Zack sighed and slid down the wall and then he picked himself back up and took a deep breath.
Jess moved back and picked up Ella, and then Zack ran past them nervously and disappeared out the alley and away from Durrett’s.
“Are you alright?” Tank said as he came closer to the two girls and wrapped a protective arm around both of them.
“Yes,” Jess said breathlessly as she looked up and into his eyes. “Thank you. I don’t know what we would have done if you weren’t here. He’s dangerous.”
“Well, he won’t be bothering you anymore,” Tank smiled. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Jess sat down on the corner of Jacob’s bed and tucked him in. It was already getting dusky outside, but the sun was up and peeking in underneath a crack at the bottom of his blackout blinds.
“Thanks for looking after us, Jess,” Jacob smiled as he rolled onto his side. “That goes for my dad too.”
Jess smiled and ruffled his hair before she rose to her feet.
“Well, thank you for letting me,” she said as she walked toward the blinds and lowered it in inch further to stop the light from creeping in. “I think you guys are great, and I think we all get on pretty well.”
“You’re the best,” he grinned.
“Good night,” she said as she dimmed his light and clicked it off. “Do you like the door open or closed?”
“Halfway,” Jacob said, and she waved to him and started to close it to where he wanted it.
As she tiptoed down the hallway, she looked in on Ella who was already fast asleep, and she felt another big swell of pride in her heart.
They were such a lovely family, and everything really did feel so easy around them.
When she got downstairs and walked into the living area, she heard the roar of a bike engine as one came screaming down the street. Her heart fluttered when she saw him sitting astride it and it took her back to the day they had first met, when he had wheeled out of the garage at Durrett’s and flipped her whole world upside down.
She bit her lip and tried not to breathe.
He looked so damned good on it. It was as if the bike had been made for him.
He stopped at the end of the driveway and pulled up onto it slowly. When he stopped near the steps to the front door, she still couldn’t tear herself away and she watched as he climbed off and ran his hands through his hair.
Those hands.
They were everything.
He caught sight of her through the window and he smiled, the tiny creases around his eyes making him look even sexier and more handsome than ever.
She turned and held her thumb to her mouth, biting the tip of it and waiting for him to walk through the door.
It felt as if she had been waiting forever for this moment. Since the moment she had set eyes on him, she had wanted to experience this. She had wanted to be there with him, she had wanted to see him come home. She had wanted to know what it felt like to be close to someone again, even if it also terrified her.
But with Tank, it wasn’t anywhere near as scary as she had feared.
In fact, it just felt right.
“Hey,” he said as he stepped through the doorway and threw a heavy black bag down on the floor.
He crossed the room and came straight for her, he wrapped his fingers in her hair and pulled her face to his and kissed her hard and deep on the mouth. Her breath was taken away as she reached back for him and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling tiny in his arms and wanting so much more from him.
She wanted it all.
“I’ve done nothing but think about you since you left,” he smiled at her as their foreheads rested against each other’s.
“Me too,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re here. Earlier was… intense.”
“I know,” he said. “But like I told you, he isn’t going to be bothering any of us anymore.”
“Us?” she asked with a cheeky look on her face.
Tank smiled and slipped his big hand into hers and led her to the kitchen. He looked so big and tall from the back that she felt completely eclipsed next to him and was almost unable to hold her composure.
“Are they both asleep?” he asked as they stepped inside and the door closed quietly behind them.
Jess nodded, and waited, she could feel the tension between them. Her whole body was reacting to him and she didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to keep herself away from him. Her eyes flickered from his massive arms, down to his groin where she could see an impressive bulge in his pants.
She swallowed and smiled.
The air between them was fierce with passion, and she found herself breathing quickly as their eyes found each other’s again and he breathed in deeply.
“This is torture,” he said quietly as he took a step closer to her.
“It doesn’t have to be,” she whispered, and she joined him by stepping closer too.
Tank grabbed hold of her waist and grunted as he pulled her up against him and stared at her deep in the eyes. He was hot for her, and she could feel his arousal pressing into her
side so hard and good that it made her gasp.
“All fucking day,” he said as his lips grazed hers. “I’ve done nothing but think about this.”
She whimpered as he reached up and took hold of her face with his big, rough hands. It sent a tingle all over her entire body when he touched her, and he kissed her again, pulling her close and lifting her so that he could wrap her legs around him and walk with her toward the island.
“The kids,” she breathed, not wanting to break the moment, but knowing there was no way she could stop this. Her body needed him. Her heart longed for him. And her pussy was already wet and ready for him.
“Once they’re out, they’re out,” he whispered as he reached for her top and pulled it off over her head. When he saw her breasts, he groaned as he took hold of them and pushed them together. Jess threw her head back and wrapped her legs tightly around him as he trailed kisses down her neck to her chest, licking her nipples and taking them into his mouth roughly. She moaned as he sucked them and bit them gently. He knew exactly what to do to make the sensation feel so incredible she didn’t experience a hint of pain. She arched her back and pressed her pussy against him, already engorged and desperate to have him inside of her, but wanting to prolong the agony of the wait.
She reached down and ripped at his belt, pulling it off quickly and moving his jeans down. She let her hand search for him, and when she took hold of his gigantic cock she gasped and her eyes went wide. He was so big and hard, so completely perfect and solid. She knew that once she took him, she was never going to be the same again.
“All for you,” he said as he reached down and slid his hands into her jeans. He unbuttoned them, stood her up as he pulled them down, and then he lifted her back up onto the island and took her all in.
“Your body,” he gasped. “It’s incredible.”
And then, he pulled his own t-shirt off over his head and kicked off his jeans. She waited for him to come to her, and when he took hold of her knees and pulled them apart, she was already finding it too much to take. He kissed her and took hold of his cock and rubbed it up and down on her pussy. He moaned as he felt how wet she was, and he slipped a finger inside of her, before he lifted her hips and pushed himself right up inside of her.
TANK_Forsaken Riders MC Romance Page 9