God, he hoped not.
But that wasn’t possible.
She’d been asleep, he was sure of it.
Right?
bookmark: 14
Chapter 14
z
Tana relieved Frannie and right before she disappeared into the bathroom to shower, her papa paused in the hallway to remark on her dress.
“Looking kinda grown up in that fancy get up,” he said with a twinkle that made her heart ache. “Where are you going all dolled up?”
She bit her lip and went with a variation of the truth. “I went on a date, Papa.”
“A date?” Papa’s bushy brows rose in question. “I don’t recall being introduced to a young man.”
“It’s not like that, Papa. He’s mostly just a friend. Nothing serious.”
Papa gestured to her dress with knowing. “That’s no dress for a friend. That’s a dress designed to get a man’s heart rate going, if you know what I mean.”
She blushed. “Papa!”
“I’m just saying.”
“And I’m just saying, it’s not like that,” she said, shaking her head. “Besides, I don’t see him sticking around for long.”
“That’s a shame. You’ve got pretty peaches in your cheeks. Reminds me of your grams when we used to sneak to see each other at night. Ask your grams about that night at Bassmouth Lake. We did things that scared fish.”
“Papa,” she groaned with a half-laugh. “I don’t think I need to know those things.”
He chuckled and went on his way, leaving her with the disturbing thought of her grandparents skinny dipping and the sad ache knowing that he thought his wife was still alive and able to share stories.
Standing under the spray, she was aware of the distinct soreness in private places and she felt the heat in her cheeks flare.
But even so a secret smile followed when she allowed the memory of their night to creep into her thoughts.
Reece Buchanan was an expert lover, there was no disputing that fact.
He made her body do things she hadn’t even been aware it could do.
To be honest, she’d always thought multiple orgasms were a myth.
An urban legend circulated by porn stars.
But nope.
They exist.
Good Lord, do they exist.
And he had certainly made good on his promise to leave her “dick-drunk” because she still felt a little muddled in her thinking.
With all that said, yes, the sex had been fantastic and the ambience to die for, but that wasn’t what remained with her.
What remained was that brief glimpse through the window into Reece’s genuine soul — a soul that was hurt by having to give up a dream.
She knew that pain.
Her structural engineering degree was close enough to grab but still so far it might as well be on Mars.
It killed her to sling drinks at Nos when she’d spent so much time in college for a career that was never going to happen.
Had he meant to share something so personal? Something told her he’d been just as surprised as she that he’d opened up like that.
There was still so much she didn’t know about Reece.
Tana knew how to make him moan, how to pleasure him until he lost control.
But she didn’t know him as a person.
Did she want to?
The coward in her warned her to steer clear. But there was a stronger part of her that was urging her to dig deeper, to brave getting hurt.
Could she actually risk real feelings with Reece or was she stupid for even thinking it?
She’d never felt so complete than when tucked in Reece’s arms.
As if they were meant for one another.
That’s romantic rubbish, she scoffed. Good sex has curdled your brain.
Good sex? Try, P-H-E-N-O-M-E-N-A-L sex.
Okay, fine. It’d been earth-shattering, bone-melting, panty-dropping, sloppy, dirty, sinful, all-together-wrong-in-the-best-way sex.
So what did that mean?
Tana couldn’t trust him.
He was a Buchanan. Sooner or later, he’d do something awful and break her heart.
Wow. Reece was right — you are a pessimist.
Tana shook her head as if that alone would stop her internal dialogue.
She needed to think. How was she going to convince Reece that saving the Tamarack was a good enough idea to go against his entire family for her?
She winced.
Even to her own ears that sounded like an impossible goal.
Gypsy was wrong, her breasts didn’t have super powers.
Because Tana’s damn brain wouldn’t let her use a man to get what she wanted!
But her integrity wasn’t going to save the Tamarack.
Closing her eyes and bending beneath the spray, she prayed for an answer. Or more like, pleaded, because she was so lost.
The worst part?
She just wanted to forget everything and cuddle up to Reece.
And that was downright bad.
***
It was time for a little more recon.
Good as his word, Reece delivered five thousand dollars into Gypsy’s hand the following night at Nos before Tana arrived at work but he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to pry for a little intel.
“Thanks for helping us out,” he offered with a charming smile. “Money well spent in my opinion.”
Gypsy’s gaze widened at the cash, then stuffed the wad in her purse and zipped it for good measure before stashing it beneath the counter. “That’s a lot of money to be packing around. You could’ve written a check. I think you’re good for it.”
He grinned. “I appreciate that but I wanted to be sure. I figure cold hard cash is always acceptable.”
“I’m sure as hell not turning it down. So, how was it? I mean, I’m sure it was very romantic, right?”
“I’m not the kind to kiss and tell but I think she had a good time.”
“Hmm, a gentleman. Intriguing.”
“Surprised?”
“A little.”
He affected a curious expression. “Yeah? How so?”
She appeared apologetic as she replied, “Well, you know, you and Tana haven’t been on the best of terms, I mean from the beginning. Obviously, not now. I was just surprised to find out that you’re not the devil.”
“I swear I usually leave my tail and pitchfork at home. Hard to hail a cab carrying those things around.”
She laughed. “And funny, too. Okay, so what gives? You seem like a decent guy, why are you so hell-bent on tearing down Tana’s family’s building? You know that will kill her.”
“It’s not me, but my cousin who is hot and bothered for that building. If it were up to me I’d let her keep it. But, I’m not the CEO so I don’t get to make those decisions.”
“Must suck to be powerless within your own company.”
You have no idea.
He forced a smile. “There are more than enough perks to make up for any supposed loss of power. Besides, I don’t care for that nonsense. I like to have fun, not spend my life in boardrooms. There’s more to life than mergers and acquisitions.”
“So what are you going to do?”
That was a loaded question, wasn’t it? He knew she was referencing the situation with the building but it felt like so much more. He shrugged. “What I have to do.”
Her expression dimmed with lost hope. “You’ll lose Tana.”
“Darling, I don’t suffer any illusions that I ever had Tana. What we have is ephemeral and not destined to last. I think we both know that.”
Gypsy stiffened. “Of course. I just don’t want to see my best friend hurt. She’s a good person and she’s trying to save that building for a good reason. If her grandfather wasn’t losing his marbles—“
Reece looked up sharply and Gypsy stopped short, realizing she’d given away too much and there was no graceful way to cover her tracks.
“I should go. Thanks for the cash.
I’ll put it to good use.”
And then she scuttled off but Reece was chewing on the tasty bit of information Gypsy had given up.
Tana’s grandfather had dementia?
That’s why she didn’t allow him to come into the brownstone when he dropped by, he realized. She knew that as soon as he realized Harold Morris wasn’t operating on a full-deck he could give that information to the lawyers and they’d make mincemeat out of that Power of Attorney.
The plot thickens.
He had what he needed to win.
And yet, he felt no elation. No sense of victory.
Instead, there was a cement stone in his gut.
Reece had planned to greet Tana when she arrived for work but he thought better of it.
He needed to think.
There was no turning back once he gave that information to the lawyers. Everything set in motion by that one piece of intel would change everything.
No more smiling Tana.
No more waking beside her.
No more laughing naked and eating strawberries into the wee hours of the morning.
Hell, no more anything.
And that didn’t sit well with him.
In fact, it made him downright grumpy.
So don’t give up that information, just yet. This is infatuation and it’ll fade. Just wait it out and then toss out the information when you’ve tired of whatever this is between you.
Sounded like a solid plan.
And yet that lead balloon in his stomach remained.
bookmark: 15
Chapter 15
z
Tana finished her shift at Nos at midnight, exhausted and ready to call it a night.
Tonight had been bustling with college kids and she’d been hit up by no less than five drunk frat boys thinking they could land the “hot bartender” as she’d overhead them say.
For one, she was shocked to learn that such a moniker had been applied to her and two, she was flattered and bemused by how men were suddenly noticing her when they never noticed her before.
Maybe it was the Buchanan effect.
Gypsy had tried to call her earlier but she’d been slammed and unable to answer the phone and now she was too tired to call.
She’d call her first thing tomorrow.
Knowing Gypsy she wanted details on how the evening on the yacht had gone — and when Gypsy said she wanted details, she wanted down to the nitty-gritty stuff; the girl was an unabashed pervert.
Tana sighed and shook her head as she exited the bar, climbing the short stairs to the street level to find Reece standing beside his Towncar, waiting.
Tana couldn’t help the tired smile. “What are you doing?” she asked, trying to disguise the happiness in her tone.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you hail a cab at this hour. This is when the crazies come out.”
“I’ve been hailing cabs since I was fourteen and I’ve been working at bars since before I was actually old enough to sling beers. I think I got this.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
Reece shocked her when he pulled her into his arms to steal a kiss. “Before you were mine.”
Tana sucked in a wild breath as she struggled to tame her rapidly beating heart. “Careful now. We wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea.”
“Which is what?”
“That we’re a thing.”
“We are a thing,” he returned, ushering her into the warmth of the car. Once inside, he said, “stay with me tonight.”
“I can’t do that,” she protested but the thought of falling asleep in Reece’s arms was very appealing and she was too tired to fight it. “I have to relieve the night nurse.”
“At seven a.m., yes, I remember. I promise to have you out the door tomorrow morning in enough time to relieve the nurse. I’ll even promise you’ll get a fair amount of sleep this time.”
Her cheeks heated but she bit her lip as an elated smile took over. “Is that so?”
“Well, I’ll do my best,” he amended with an impish grin that was both adorable and dangerous. “However, you’re not ending this night until I’ve been inside you at least once. Helps me sleep.”
At that she laughed, saying with playful derision, “Glad I could help.”
“Are you saying, you don’t want me inside you?” he asked in a silky tone that immediately changed the temperature from warm to boiling. “Because that’s all I’ve been thinking about since I saw you last. You. Naked. Making you come. Tasting you.”
Her heart fluttered desperately like a bird with a broken wing and she knew she was going home with him.
Because the truth was, she’d been thinking of Reece entirely too much and her thoughts were decidedly racy or downright X-rated.
He was in her blood.
It was pointless to fight it.
“Fine. But I need at least four hours sleep if I’m going to function the next day,” she said breathlessly before launching herself at his mouth, her hands going straight for his crotch where she found a delightfully hard shaft beneath his zipper.
“What are we going to do with each other?” she murmured against his lips when they came up for air.
“Anything we want,” he replied with dark promise.
Sounded good to Tana.
At least for now.
***
Sweat still drying on their naked bodies, Reece struggled to catch his breath after his wildcat had left scratches and bite marks on his back and shoulders.
Damn that woman was hot.
“Sex with you is never boring,” he said, grinning.
“I don’t know what came over me,” Tana admitted sheepishly, covering her face with embarrassment. “That was…yikes.”
“But good.”
“Oh, so good,” Tana answered with a groan. “I think I might’ve broke something with that last orgasm. That was intense.”
Reece couldn’t help the pride that puffed his chest. He liked knowing he was at the top of the food chain in Tana’s sex history hierarchy.
The deep night surrounded them, the sounds of the city subdued behind the thick walls of Reece’s loft. For the first time in a long time, Reece felt completely at peace.
Tana, tucked into the cove of his arm, draped her arm around his chest and sighed. “Thank you for helping me with my grandfather.”
“Of course,” he said, tightening his arm around her even as his conscience began to squirm. “It’s the least I can do.”
“Can I make a confession?”
Please don’t.
He wouldn’t want to start a trend that would culminate with him spilling his guts in some misguided attempt to make up for the wicked things he’d been doing behind Tana’s back.
But he couldn’t exactly say that, now could he?
He covered his discomfort with a lecherous quip. “Is this where you confess that you’ve always wanted to have a threesome? Because if so, I’d be honored to participate.”
Tana gasped and scowled up at him. “Dream on, perv. No, I’m being serious.”
Of course, you are.
“My apologies. Please continue.” Reece sobered and waited for her to continue even though he felt like a complete fraud for allowing her to deepen her trust in him enough to share confidences.
Tana settled for a long moment, as if she were screwing up the courage to bare her soul and Reece could only privately cringe, feeling less and less worthy of her trust with each quickening heartbeat. Finally, she spoke.
“I was so suspicious of you and your intentions that I’ve spent half of our time together secretly questioning your every move. You’ve been nothing but sweet and kind and genuine to me and I’ve been a total shrew. I’m sorry for not believing you were capable of being different than your family.”
If only you knew how right you are.
The information he needed to give to Dillon weighed on him, crushing his chest like an anchor.
&nb
sp; Reece forced a soft laugh and shifted away from her. “Don’t mention it. We all make quick judgments.”
“But it’s important to me that you know that I’m sorry,” she protested, not willing to let it go. She rose on her elbow to meet his gaze, saying softly, “You’ve been…pretty awesome.”
“Stop, or I’m going to become full of myself,” he joked but there was a desperation to his request.
The fact was, he was a special kind of evil.
He was using her to secure his wealth because Dillon was making him.
How could he possibly explain that money meant more than his integrity?
Let’s get real.
He didn’t know how to be poor.
Nor did he wish to learn. And he wouldn’t put it past that dickhead Dillon to do exactly as he threatened.
So there really wasn’t a lot in the options department.
Besides, it would be ridiculously stupid of him to throw away his entire future for a woman he probably wouldn’t be with after the novelty wore off.
But even as he tried to assure himself that he was making the right decision, something railed against his hasty assurances.
There was something about Tana that pulled at him unlike any before.
“You’re very good in the bedroom department,” Tana said, surprising him out of his dark thoughts.
Her finger drew tiny, aimless circles on his chest, teasing the tight nipple with a giggle.
“Do I want to know how many women you’ve slept with?”
He warned. “Probably not.”
“Okay, that’s probably true. So what was Reece Buchanan like before he became a sex God?”
Reece laughed. “What makes you think I wasn’t always like this? I am a Buchanan after all. Inherent sexual prowess is in our blood.”
Tana gasped and playfully pinched him in the side, causing him to yelp. “Careful, Buchanan or else you won’t be able to fit through the front door with your big ol’ head.”
Reece rolled her to her back, pressing against her soft warmth, her naked breasts, pale in the moonlight.
“You want the truth?” he asked, teasing her with a feather-light kiss. She nodded with a beautiful smile that lit up his soul like a Christmas parade.
In this, he could be honest. “I was oblivious. Sports were my life. Girls were a distraction. Most times I didn’t know if a girl liked me until a friend told me. I wasn’t very good at the social thing.”
Pushed (Billionaire romance): Pursued By The Billionaire (Buchanan Romance Book 2) Page 11