Page 17 of Overstaying His Welcome

CHANCE

Bruno “Tank”Conti set my blood boiling every time I saw him. A single glance his way could tear down my carefully crafted persona.

As Chance Sheppard, I was a family man with a strong moral compass.

Tank’s version of Chance Sheppard was a man who resembled a feral animal.

My time with him walked the line between arguing to rile him on purpose and tearing his clothes off. We rarely ever met without at least one of us getting off. It was fucking impossible to ignore the chemistry we had.

The first time I met him, I thought it was a one-off thing. Figured I’d get him out of my system after a night.

But then I woke up and realized I was wrong. There was no getting over him. I was utterly addicted after one time and it’s only gotten worse since then.

I ran my lips over his jaw, breathing him in. His scent, a mix of leather and something deeply masculine, always drew me in. If left to my own choices, I’d be huffing it all day long, my neck buried against his skin instead of working all the time.

He made me that crazy for him.

“It’s good to see you too,” he said when I didn’t immediately pull away.

I hummed, my mind too stuck on the feel of him to register I needed to step away. In my mind, the door was closed and that was all that mattered.

Besides, I suspected my assistant knew about me and Tank. He’d never said anything about it outright, but his looks when I had Tank on the schedule for a visit spoke volumes.

Maybe the soundproofing in this office wasn’t as good as I thought it was.

Or maybe Tank just always looked too fucking sated after he left me.

Either was a possibility.

It took everything I had to finally let him go. When I stepped back, I kept moving until my ass hit the desk. The space between us was much needed after getting myself so worked up.

Tank grinned at me as he locked the door behind him. He practically strutted over to the chair across from me.

“Mr. Sheppard,” he said slowly. “Pleasure to see you, as always.”

“You too, Mr. Tank.”

His grin shifted into a smirk. Couldn’t he cut me a fucking break? He knew what that look did to me.

“Mr. Tank.” He chuckled. “That will never not be funny.”

I rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms. Even though Tank wasn’t his first name, everyone called him that. In fact, I doubted most people even know his legal name anymore. He’d made sure to rebuild his image after he got free from his family.

It didn’t help that he was named after his piece of shit father. I’d never met the man, but I hated him all the same. If he hadn’t been killed before I came along, then I’d have gone after the piece of shit myself, Sheppard legacy be damned.

I hated him that much.

The bastard didn’t deserve the family he was given. Just thinking about him made me feel homicidal.

“What made you turn into a dragon just now?” Tank asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“A dragon?”

“Yeah. Flame breathing and all that. You were about to blow, but your gaze was unfocused.”

I didn’t want to tell him it was about his father. There was nothing that would make him clam up as quickly as a discussion about his father.

“Nothing to worry about. I need to calm down. What brings you by so late in the day?”

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