Page 41 of Tank
“I’d ask to borrow something,” I said, my breath blowing over her skin causing her to shiver in the sexiest way. “But as sexy as these would look on me, I don’t think they’d hold everything in.” My fingers danced along the edge of her panties.
“No,” she said shaking her head as her body trembled with another laugh, only this one she was doing her best to hold back. Her body at war with itself, torn between being relaxed and being turned on.
I continued to tease her flesh just below her panties. My finger moving from the curve of her hip, down around her thigh, then just under her perfectly thick ass cheek.
“Noah,” she breathed out as her head fell back to rest on my shoulder, her hair tickling my chest.
I pulled my hand back before it went too far and placed it back around her waist as if it naturally belonged there.
“I’m sorry,” I said, regret apparent in my tone. I cleared my throat before I continued. “I didn’t…didn’t mean to lose control like that. I don’t know what came over me. I respect you and I never should have…” My words died in my throat. I felt sick and weak.
“Shhhh,” she whispered as she turned in my arms. “Don’t. Don’t make it something that it wasn’t.”
She cradled my face in her hands, her thumbs brushing over my bushy beard in a tender way. Her lips pressed into mine in a soft kiss. God, I loved her mouth. It felt so warm against mine, so perfect.
“Come,” she commanded and I found myself loving the way she demanded me around.
Her hand slipped into mine as she walked us the three steps to the bed. I watched as she slid in and scooted to the far side. There was definitely not enough room for me to fit in the space behind her, but I tried anyway. My ass hung off the edge as I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. My hand fell right above her breast and I could feel the steady beat of her heart against my palm. It lulled me to sleep with ease and I didn’t dare to fight it.
In the darkness, I felt her slip away from me. Blindly, I reached out to hold her but I was too late. My mind struggled to pull itself out of the best sleep I’d had in a long time. The sound of her bare feet hitting the floor brought me closer to the surface. By the fading sound, I could tell she was headed to the bathroom. Moments later she emerged again and I kept my eyes closed hoping that she would return to the bed and wrap me in her warmth. Only, that didn’t happen. Instead, her steps grew even more distant. The refrigerator door opened and my eyes shot open.
“Oh, no!” I playfully barked as I all but jumped up out of the bed, taking the sheet with me.
“What?” she asked in a husky, sleep-laced voice. Fuck it was sexy.
“I got it,” I said as I struggled to wrap the sheet around my waist while stalking towards her. “You are not allowed in the kitchen.” I smiled and pulled her into me. She came willingly, falling against my chest like it was normal. My fingers tangled in her hair as I bent down to kiss her forehead, and if I wasn’t mistaken, I heard a soft sigh slip out of her mouth.
“I’m not that bad,” she swatted my stomach and I pretended to flinch with pain.
“Um, yeah you are. No offense, but I don’t think I can stomach another one of your so-called meals, Angel.” Her face softened at my name for her. I gave her a small smile and nicely slid her out of the way.
“Fine,” she said with a shrug like she wasn’t even bothered that I’d just called her cooking shit.
“I don’t even know how you live on your own. How do you survive off of that? Or do you just have no taste buds?” I joked.
Her arms crossed over her chest, amplifying her amazing cleavage. And yes, my eyes drifted down to take in the sight, thankful that her shirt dipped low in the front.
“I’m not a big cooker. I usually just eat peanut butter sandwiches.”
“What? Just peanut butter? No jelly? Or even banana?” My mouth dropped open out of shock. The thought of eating bread slathered only with peanut butter had my mouth turning dry as a desert and a sudden urge to drink a huge glass of milk.
“Nope. I don’t like jelly. It’s too…sticky, like sugar sticky.” She shuddered like it was the worst thing in the world. I chuckled, finding this new side of her absolutely adorable.
Something broke last night. Not only in me, but also in her. We were on some new level and I wanted to explore it further. I wanted her to keep her guard down around me. I felt desperate to know the woman hidden behind the hard mask and I wondered if she was even aware of the new change. I only feared that if she realized it that she would freak out and run from me.
“Tell me something,” she said as she settled into the chair across the room.
I moved about, searching for something I could make with the limited ingredients she had in her place. There wasn’t much, but there was definitely a huge jar of peanut butter and a fresh loaf of wheat bread. I shook my head and pulled out eggs and bacon. I debated on showing her what real eggs tasted like but thought better of it. I didn’t want to be too mean. I opted for French toast instead, knowing I could whip it up pretty quickly.
“I grew up surrounded by incredible women. My mom is strong as well as kind. I have three sisters. I’m the only boy.” I kept my eyes on the task at hand as I spoke. Talking about them had me missing all of them like crazy. I’d been a pretty shitty brother and son all these months.
It hit me then, instead of running, I should have stayed. I should have realized sooner that I was surrounded by love and that I had people who’d be there for me through the bad times. And not to mention that they were feeling the same hurt and loss that I was.
“Really? Your sisters, are they older or younger?” she asked in a light tone. She wanted to know more about me and I fucking smiled at that.
“Two older, one younger. Cresta is thirty-one. Darcy is thirty. Then there is me. And Veda’s the baby at twenty-one.” Cresta, Darcy, and I were close together in age. With the almost seven-year difference between Veda and me, I often wondered if she was an accident. A welcomed one, but still one. Or maybe it could have been that my parents just needed to take a break. After all, three kids was a lot to handle, and I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to add another.
“What about your dad?”
