by M. Malone
“Or you could stop teasing me and make love to me in our new room.”
I lift her and carry her to the bed. “Happy to oblige, my love.”
We fall on top of the covers in a tangle of limbs, kissing and touching everything we can reach. Josie cries out with abandon, shamelessly riding my fingers, her little cries exciting me until I’m so hard I could drill through the bed.
We’re finally free to make all the noise we want and I love it. When I finally pull her panties off with my teeth, I can tell she’s already on the edge. Unable to wait any longer, I pull her beneath me and thrust hard.
It barely takes two strokes before she comes, her loud scream pulling me into ecstasy with her.
I roll over and gather her into my arms. Facing each other, we rest quietly until we’ve both caught our breath. I can’t believe this is my life and that we can do this whenever we want. It feels like a dream and I take a moment to be grateful.
Then Josie’s stomach growls loudly. Her eyes widen and we both burst out laughing.
After that, I take pity on my poor, overworked baby and we indulge in a naked midnight snack. Rissa left sandwich fixings and an assortment of fruits and cold pasta salads for us to choose from. There’s also wine and champagne. Finn wasn’t kidding when he said the woman was thorough.
We share a glass and toast our new home.
Then suddenly Josie looks over at me. “I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you, too.”
After I show her the clothes I brought for her, she changes into sweats and a T-shirt and then puts her coat back on. She grabs the car keys from the kitchen counter and I watch from the doorway as she retrieves a large wrapped canvas from the trunk.
“When did you put that in there?”
“This morning. You’re not the only one who can plan a surprise. Although I have to admit, it’s kind of perfect that you’ll be unwrapping it here.”
I follow her back up to our room and she drops her coat on the floor again. Then she pats the side of the bed, motioning for me to sit beside her. Then she hands me the canvas.
“This is for you.”
I unwrap it carefully, leaning it against the side of the bed when I’m done. It’s one of the pictures she didn’t put in the show. I thought the only ones she held back were nudes, but in this one I’m asleep and half covered by a sheet. It’s beautiful.
I’m completely speechless.
She leans over and trails a finger over the canvas. “This picture represents everything I wanted but thought I’d never have. You willingly in my bed every night.”
She runs a hand through my hair. I close my eyes and then turn into the caress, kissing her palm.
“I’m definitely willing. And grateful. But I’m surprised you didn’t use this in the show. It’s amazing.”
“I couldn’t. For me, this is too personal. This is what I used to dream about. I wanted nothing more than to curl up next to you each night and get to wake up with you each morning.”
She looks over at me and her eyes shine with happiness.
“Now you’re here and this is really my life. Dreams really do come true.”
“You’re my dream too, Josie. But the reality we create together is going to be so much better than anything we’ve ever dreamed.”
Josie sighs. “Thank you, Zack. I’m going to love making this a home with you.”
†
“Now this is the life.”
Tank accepts the beer that I hand him and takes a seat in one of the folding chairs arranged on Gabe’s back lawn. He bumps fists with Finn, who arrived ten minutes before and has his bad leg stretched out on another folding chair in front of him.
It’s been a few weeks since Josie’s show and we’ve spent the time enjoying the freedom of having our own house. For a while we completely ignored the outside world and just stayed in our own little nest, christening every part of the house just because we could. I think Josie is just happy that she doesn’t have to hold back anymore. There’s no one to hear her scream. And making her scream never gets old.
Now that Gabe is feeling better, he wanted to have us all over and for that, Josie and I were willing to come up for air. After I told him about my visit with Max, he’s feeling the same way I am. Life is short and there are no guarantees about tomorrow. It’s great to get everyone in one place and celebrate all the things that are going right in our lives.
The girls, Josie, Sasha, Rissa and Emma, are standing under the gazebo Gabe had erected just for this event. Josie and Sasha were really happy to have a chance to spend more time with their future “sisters” as they’ve started calling themselves.
Luke arrives then and we all stand to greet him. Our youngest brother is biracial so he looks slightly different than the rest of us but the family resemblance is still strong. He looks like a tanned version of Tank sometimes.
“You guys remember my mom, Anita.”
His mother stands behind him nervously holding a pie plate. Her long braided hair is pulled back from her face and she’s wearing an elegant black skirt and jacket. Luke mentioned that she finally allowed him to spend a little money on her and buy her a few presents.
“Hello everyone. It’s nice to see you all again,” she says.
Finn is instantly on his feet. He kisses her cheek effusively. “Is that my pie? You are an angel. A goddess. Run away with me.”
Luke pushes him away. “Dude, again with the hitting on my mom.”
Finn takes the pie plate reverently. “It’s this damn crackberry pie. It makes me do crazy things.”
Debbie and Paula come over and welcome Anita with hugs. Their boisterous enthusiasm seems to be putting her at ease and in that moment I love them more than I ever have. A lot of women would be weird about welcoming their sons half-siblings and assorted family members into the fold but our moms have taken it completely in stride.
Tank shakes hands with Luke. “Glad you made it.”
Luke looks uncomfortable. He was reluctant to get too close to us at first but Gabe says we all wore him down.
“Now that you’re all here. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
We all get quiet as Tank takes a deep breath. “Finn has already agreed to be my best man at my wedding. But I want you all to be my groomsmen. I think it’s fitting to have my brothers stand behind me while I make vows.”
Gabe holds up his beer. “We’d be honored to. And I hope you’ll all do the same when it’s my turn. We could do it for Finn if he hadn’t snuck off with his bride and gotten married in Vegas.”
We found out Finn and Rissa were married when he sent us the pictures. Rissa was a gorgeous bride and they both looked really happy in the shots. I have a feeling that her happiness is all that mattered to him.
Finn takes the razzing with a smile. “I didn’t make my move fast enough years ago and she got away. I wasn’t taking any chances this time.”
“Congratulations, man. Wow. In sickness and in health, it’s pretty deep stuff.” Luke claps Finn on the back. “Better you than me.”
We all laugh.
Tank sets his beer on the ground next to his chair. “I can’t believe that I’m about to vow to the death with someone but I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
“I’m happy for you guys. All of you.” Luke glances over at me. “But it looks like Zack and I are the only sane ones left.”
Gabe chuckles. I punch his arm, hard now since I know he’s fully healed and can take it.
“Actually I’m not,” I admit with a smile.
Josie chooses that moment to come up behind me and wrap her arms around my waist.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey. What are you guys talking about over here?”
She’s blossomed over the past month, more secure in our love than ever now that we’re not hiding from everyone. It’s been an adjustment, living together so soon. All our years of bickering means we know each other’s weak spots. We used to use that information
to annoy each other but now we use the knowledge to avoid hurting each other. Being the steward of someone’s heart is a responsibility that we both take seriously.
Luke laughs. “Oh it’s like that, huh?”
Josie kisses me on the ear before going back to the other girls. Luke makes kissy faces at me as soon as she’s gone which make us all laugh. I flip the row of steaks on the grill before sitting next to Tank. He has a tense expression on his face as he looks out over the yard.
“What are you thinking about?”
He tips his head in the girls’ direction. “That we’re some damn lucky guys.”
I snort out a laugh. “That we are.”
“And that in a weird way Max is responsible for all of this. He brought us all together, as fucked up as it was, but he’ll never even know he did it.”
Max left the country again right after I saw him that day. He hasn’t called, written or tried to communicate with any of us since. The only connection we have to him are the wire transfers that showed up in all of our accounts over the past few weeks. A total of a billion dollars each.
“When he told me he was going to distribute his estate early, I never actually thought he’d do it.”
Tank groans. “He’s a crazy old bastard. Now he has me feeling guilty for not going to see him again.”
Gabe is quiet, picking at the label on his beer bottle. “I kind of wish I’d seen him one last time, too. It’s hard to miss what you never had but I was sort of getting used to the idea of having a father.”
Luke doesn’t say anything. Independently wealthy since he started writing software as a young teen, he was the only one of us who could afford to ignore Max’s initial offer. The rest of us needed the money for some reason or another but Luke never went to see him. Not even once. He was convinced that Max was trouble from the start and as it turns out, he was totally right.
But he has to be feeling some kind of loss right now anyway.
“He came back that time just because I asked him to but he’s not going to be the one to reach out again. In his mind, leaving us alone was the greatest gift he ever gave us so if you want to see him, you have to make the first move.”
Luke makes a face. “I don’t have anything to say to him.”
“I didn’t think I did either, until I was there. But I was mad at him for a lot of years and there were a lot of things that I wanted to get off my chest.”
“I wouldn’t even know where to start.” Luke looks glum.
“I told him all the reasons I was pissed off growing up. To Max’s credit, he let me say what I needed to say even though it had to be hard to hear. I think you should talk to him. Not because he just dropped a bunch of money on us either but for you. He’s not going to be around forever and once that opportunity is gone, there’s no going back.”
“I hear you, man. I’ll think about it.” Luke promises.
Tank leans forward. “I heard about the wing of the hospital you and Gabe are building. That’s awesome.”
“Thanks. We’ve been consulting with experts on pediatrics and neonatology for information on what’s needed. It’s a lot of work but it’s more than worth it.”
Gabe and I share a smile. He knows that I got the idea while trying to impress Josie’s parents but he was happy to help me make it a reality. He was right there with me as I suffered through the horror of substandard medical care as a child so it’s a personal cause for him as well. We want it done right so the kids in our town will have access to some of the best medical care on the East Coast.
“If you want, my lawyer can send over what he’s been doing for us. Finn and I have been funding a lot of cancer research lately. Our mom is in remission after a long battle but I don’t think either of us will ever feel safe until there’s a cure for cancer. Hopefully we’ll see it in our lifetime.”
Luke smirks. “Look at us. Making the world a better place.” He’s being sarcastic but I know he’s got plans for his windfall too. Finn told me Luke plans to provide technology education for underprivileged kids.
“Making the world a better place sounds good to me. Here’s to being better.” Tank raises his beer.
My eyes meet Josie’s across the lawn. Being better is a motto that I can get behind because it’s how I feel about my life with her. She soothes my fears, challenges my assumptions and makes me strive for more.
Every day.
We all raise our beers and the sound they make as they connect floats above us. Like we’re ringing in a new era.
“To being better!”
THE END
You just finished reading the fourth book in the USA TODAY bestselling Blue-Collar Billionaires series. Stay tuned for an excerpt of TANK’s book after this.
Tank Marshall has an anger problem. He exercises iron control to keep it in check. But his mother was just diagnosed with cancer and the deadbeat dad he hasn’t seen in years is back demanding air time with a billion dollar trust fund as an incentive. The only person that brings him peace is Emma Shaw. But the only woman he trusts is the last woman he should.
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TANK
is available now!
Years ago, Tank Marshall swore off fighting. He exercises iron control to keep his anger in check. But his mother was just diagnosed with cancer and the deadbeat dad he hasn’t seen in years is back demanding airtime. Worst of all, a billion dollar inheritance hangs in the balance if he doesn’t do what his father wants.
There’s only one person that keeps him anchored in the midst of the chaos. One person untouched by violence and money and lies. Emma Shaw. But the one thing that Tank hasn’t learned yet is that when billions are at stake, there’s no such thing as innocent.
Money. Changes. Everything.
Buy TANK now
EXCERPT of TANK
© MAY 2014 M. Malone
TANK
Darkness hasn’t always been my friend. There was a time when I would have been at home asleep in my bed in the middle of the night. Instead I’m prowling the streets, restless and edgy, looking for an outlet for the anger roiling inside.
I glance to my left and right. I’m standing in an alcove that’s slightly hidden off the street. It’s easier this way. People tend to get nervous if I just hang out. No one stares outright. But there's always a tell. A glance. A step to the side when we pass so our bodies don't touch. Everyone has a “look” about them and mine apparently says trained killer.
A group of people spill out of the bar across the street, music and the sound of their voices carrying to where I stand in the shadows. This part of Virginia Beach is a mecca for local college kids looking to blow off steam on the weekends so I rarely have to go looking for trouble.
Trouble usually finds me.
I see the girl first. She has taken her shoes off and is walking barefoot on the concrete. She’s beautiful and dressed to score in a short black minidress that shows off long, tanned legs. It doesn’t take long for one of the guys in front of the bar to break off from his friends and follow her. I push away from the wall and follow them at a discreet distance. He hooks an arm around her neck. She looks up at him in confusion but grins blearily. He smiles back, with an expression like he just hit the lottery. My blood pressure spikes a notch.
Oh yes. Trouble you miserable bastard, you always find me.
I step out into the road to cross to their side of the street, pulling the hood of my jacket up and over my face.
A horn blares and a taxi screeches to a halt a few inches from me. The driver’s side door opens and the cabbie steps out. “What the hell! Look where you’re going!”
I glance at him and then back to the couple. Oblivious, they turn down a side
street and out of sight. If I wait any longer, I’ll lose them. I haven’t slept in forty-eight hours and if I don’t make sure the girl is all right, then I won’t be able to sleep again tonight. Knowing, seeing, is the only thing that gives me some peace. I run across the street, leaving the cab driver gesturing and cursing behind me. By the time I turn the corner, the street is dark. Empty. Then I hear it.
Crying.
He has the girl pressed up against the wall behind a dumpster. She’s struggling, pushing at his shoulders while he’s working the dress up her legs. He has his other hand over her mouth. Her stiletto shoes are a few feet away from me, abandoned.
That’s all it takes for my veins to turn to ice. This is what happens to me right before. It’s like a red haze that settles over me, blanketing me with the righteous fury necessary to do what needs to be done.
I don’t speak; I just yank the guy off her. The first blow stuns him and all the color drains from his face as he doubles over clutching his gut. My mom’s words from earlier today ricochet through my mind, shredding my sanity as surely as bullets.
The cancer’s back, Tank.
He raises his arm to protect his face or maybe to strike back; I don’t know. I hit him with a rib shot, plowing my fists into him over and over. With every connection, I feel stronger.
I need surgery and I don’t have the money.
After a while, I don’t hear anything. I don’t see anything. There’s just me, some random dirtbag in an alley and the sensation of fists hitting flesh. All I can do is feel. Hatred. Power.
Purpose.
A whimper pulls me from my adrenaline frenzy. The girl is slumped against the wall, one hand on the grimy stone behind her as she watches me with horror in her eyes. Slowly, I remember where I am. My breath puffs in front of my face, a cloud of white in the frigid night air. The guy is slumped on the ground, his face a bruised, pulpy mass.