Motorcycle Man

Chapter Seventeen Foregone Conclusion

It was my luck the next morning at eight o’clock when I drove into Ride to deliver my resignation letter that stated I’d be giving no notice, Tack was working on the red car. He was the only one there.

Seeing him and watching his head turn my way even as he stayed bent over the opened hood of the car, I should have been used to the pain my heart clenching caused. It happened enough times the last two days. But I wasn’t.

I looked away, parked, jumped out of my car and hustled up the steps to the office. I unlocked it with the key I’d already taken off my chain and hurried in.

Drop the key and the letter on the desk and get the hell out of there.

That was my plan.

This plan was thwarted seeing as I barely made it through the door when Tack came through the door that led to the garage.

Damn.

I ignored him and went straight to the desk. I dropped the key and envelope on it. I also ignored the sound of the lock turning on the door to the garage.

Damn!

I turned and, eyes directed at my feet, I started to hurry to the outer door, escape the only thing on my mind.

I caught movement in my peripheral vision and my head came up.

Tack was at the door to the outside and he was locking that too.

Damn!

I stopped moving.

“Tack,” I whispered. “Don’t.”

His head turned and his burning, blue eyes pinned me to the spot. Then his body turned.

At this point, I understood my mistake. I should have mailed my letter with the key.

Definitely.

“Please,” I kept whispering, “don’t.”

He held my eyes.

I held his.

This lasted a while, both of us staring at each other three feet away.

Finally, I could take it no longer.

“Please, Tack, move away from the door.”

Tack moved. He just didn’t do it away from the door.

He came at me.

My heart started hammering in my chest and my feet took me back. I bumped into the desk and scooted to the side, still retreating. Then my thigh bumped into the chair and it went flying, such was the hastiness of my retreat.

Tack kept coming at me and my retreat might have been hasty but his advance was far more rapid. My thundering heart skidded to a halt when his arm shot out, hooking me at the waist right before I would have slammed into a file cabinet. He jerked me to the side but kept coming until I was back against the wall. Then his arm around my waist tightened, yanking me against the hard wall of his frame.

My hand went to his chest to try to force him back but he stood firm as his other hand came up, palm at my jaw, fingers curled around my neck and ear.

“Please,” I whispered, bracing as his head descended toward mine, “don’t.”

Just when I thought his lips would hit mine, they veered to the side opposite where his hand was at my jaw. His fingers dug in, his arm around me tightened even further, plastering me against his body and his lips went to my ear.

“You fucked up, Red,” he whispered.

I closed my eyes tight and pushed against his chest, my other hand going to his waist and fisting in his tee, pushing there too.

“Made the wrong decision,” he went on in a whisper.

I opened my eyes.

God, I had to get out of there.

“Please, let me go.”

“You been asleep, baby.”

My body went still at his words.

Tack kept talking.

“Green tea. Yoga. No TV. Placemats for your coffee table. Thursday night takeaway. You got a night for takeaway. Scheduled. A narrow, little world. Fuck me. Crazy. Fuckin’ whacked. I woke you up, opened your eyes to a bigger world and scared you shitless.”

Oh God.

This was not good. He had me figured out.

“Let me go,” I begged.

His arm tightened even further and his lips stayed at my ear.

“You give it good, darlin’, that attitude. So good, I thought that was you. That isn’t you. Not all of you. I got on my hands the girl at the party who looked at me like I was the only man on the planet even when she was in a sea of people, took my hand with all the trust in the world that I was gonna make things good for her and followed me to my bed. You fucked up making the wrong decision Friday night. But I fucked up forgetting about that girl.”

I closed my eyes. I liked that. I liked that he saw that. And I liked that he admitted he fucked up. I didn’t think he had it in him but I liked it that he did.

Oh hell.

“Please, let me go,” I pleaded.

“So much to you, never had a woman who has so much that makes her. Every day, more comes out and all of it is a surprise.”

Ohmigod!

If I wasn’t wrong, that was a compliment. A good one.

I opened my eyes on the word, “Tack –”

“Day in, day out, you peel the layers back for me. Smart mouth, funny, sweet, wild in bed. Chattin’ with bikers like they were insurance brokers. Holdin’ my girl’s hand, givin’ her strength when her Mom’s bein’ a bitch. Keepin’ your chin up when your people show in the middle of a full blown drama. But so fuckin’ vulnerable, you’re scared shitless of livin’ life.”

“You don’t know me, Tack.”

His head came up and his eyes pierced mine. “I know you, Tyra.”

“You don’t.”

“Life’s a roller coaster. Best damn ride in the park. You don’t close your eyes, hold on and wait for it to be over, babe. You keep your eyes open, lift your hands straight up in the air and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts.”

Seriously?

When did he become a sage?

He was beginning to piss me off mostly because he was making sense.

“Some people aren’t roller coaster people, Tack.”

“And you’re tellin’ me you’re one of them?” he asked.

“Damn straight,” I answered.

“Bullshit,” he replied.

I glared.

He grinned his sexy grin.

I pushed at him with my hands but this only made both of us rock two inches then Tack pushed back and he was stronger so I ended up not only plastered to him, I was also plastered to the wall.

“Let me go!” I snapped.

“No,” he shook his head, still grinning. “No fuckin’ way. Did it once, not doin’ it again.”

“You did it twice,” I reminded him and his brows shot up.

“Twice?”

“That first night. Though it wasn’t letting me go. It was kicking me out of your bed.”

He grinned again, the jerk!

“See that stung,” he said softly.

See? Total. Jerk!

“Truthfully?” I asked then didn’t wait for an answer. “Yes. I’ll let you in, handsome, just a little bit. Jumping into bed with a man I don’t know is not my style. Getting kicked out of a bed I’d jumped into was something that never happened to me. So yes, that stung. But you know what else has never happened to me?”

“Tell me,” he ordered, still… freaking… grinning.

“Seeing him just a day later in a clinch with a brunette.”

“You knew me, you’d know she didn’t have staying power and you’d know you do.”

“And how’s that?” I snapped.

“She’s dark, you’re red. I’ll fuck dark, I’ll fuck sun but only red has staying power. Considered sun once. Lost her. Now it’s you.”

He was still kind of grinning and I was still definitely glaring. “I suppose I’m supposed to take that as a compliment.”

“Just laying it out, babe.”

“I see this isn’t sinking in, handsome, but I don’t want you to lay it out. I don’t want anything from you except for you to let me go.”

“Right back at you, Red, seein’ as it’s not sinking in that I’m not gonna let you go. We’re talkin’ this shit out.”

“There’s nothing to talk out!” I cried. “We’re done.”

Suddenly his face dipped close, the room filled with his badass biker vibe and he was all I could see.

“Truthfully,” he shot my word back at me, “you were funny, you were sweet, you’re gorgeous, you have great fuckin’ hair and a great fuckin’ body and I had fun with you, darlin’, in bed and out. But you didn’t show me all that’s you so all I knew was the parts of it I wanted and I know that shit stung and this is gonna sting too, there were only parts. And I’ll warn you, babe, this is gonna sting as well but you were too easy. A man like me can get easy, easily. So that’s not what a man like me wants.” He paused, I kept glaring though I suspected my glare was more heated then he went on, “Until you squared off against me. That first night, I didn’t have it all. And I still don’t have it all but every piece you give me, baby, I like. So now I want it all and I’m gonna fuckin’ get it, Tyra. You aren’t gonna hold back, you aren’t gonna retreat, you aren’t gonna push me away and I sure as fuck am not gonna let go.”

“You’re unbelievable,” I hissed.

“You said that before, babe, what you need to get is you like exactly that about me. You’re just too fuckin’ scared to admit it.”

“Oh,” I started sarcastically, “so now you’re in my head and you know what I’m thinking?”

“Yeah, I do. You may not have lived your life suckin’ it dry but I have. I’ve jumped into bed with more than my fair share of women and I’ve spent time outta bed with more than my fair share of women and I know that a woman does not go wild for me in bed and that woman is not wild in life. You want wild, babe, because you are wild. You’re just too fuckin’ scared of it to embrace it.”

“Wrong. You just happen to be an excellent lover, Tack. The problem is, outside of bed, you’re mostly a jerk.”

“You like that too, all of it,” he shot back.

“God!” I yelled. “Seriously?”

He was losing patience. I knew this when he growled, “Seriously.”

“News flash, Kane Allen, women do not go ga-ga over men who brag about their exploits and replace them within a day.”

“Tyra, do not shit me or yourself. There was nothing to replace, not back then. You came to a party, got drunk and got laid. Same as me. The minute you gave me more of you, I took it, wanted even more and I didn’t keep that a secret, babe, and you fuckin’ know it. And you kept givin’ it. You coulda walked away and you didn’t. And along the way as we’ve been playin’ our game, you got your hooks in me and I got mine in you and you know that too.”

I definitely did if the heartache I’d experienced the last two days was anything to go by.

But I wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Your hooks aren’t in me.”

“Then why’d you drop that shit at the office instead of droppin’ it in a mailbox?” he asked, jerking his head back to indicate the desk.

Fuck.

He totally had me figured out. Even I didn’t know until that moment that was my play.

Fuck!

I gritted my teeth and glared at him.

He grinned again and gave me a squeeze.

Total jerk!

“You wanted this,” he said quietly.

“I want closure,” I returned, at this point mostly lying in order to save face.

“You want me.”

Whoosh.

There went my breath.

Tack waited but I didn’t reply.

Then Tack stopped waiting.

“You know how I got my name?”

“Does it matter that I don’t want to know?”

There it was. Another lie. I totally wanted to know. I’d been curious since he gave it to me.

“No,” he answered.

Figured.

I glared at him.

“Sharp as a tack,” he stated.

I blinked.

Then I found my mouth asking, “Pardon?”

“That’s what my Dad said about me. Sharp as a tack. Said it so much, they started callin’ me that. Tack.”

“Fascinating,” I muttered sarcastically though the sarcasm was all for show. It actually was fascinating. And it was also true, regrettably.

“Clue in, Red. What I’m tellin’ you is that you are not pullin’ shit over on me. I’m a biker but I’m not an idiot. You entered this game, you knew it was a game and you made the decision, conscious or unconscious, to play it with me. And you’re playin’ it with me. I won’t allow you to throw in the towel, babe. We’re seein’ where this goes because we both want that. And we want that because what we got is hot and parts of it are sweet and parts of it are wild and parts of it are frustrating as all fuckin’ hell but all of it is alive.”

God, he was so annoying when he was right.

“You hurt me,” I reminded him and damn, his face got soft, his eyes flashed with remorse and both looked really good.

“Yeah,” he whispered.

“I’d had a really bad day and you hurt me.”

His hand at my jaw tensed and he kept whispering when he said, “I’ll probably do it again, Red, because I’m a man and any man can be a dick. But I won’t do it like that, not again. I know you got soft under that attitude and I’ll have a mind to that.”

“I don’t trust that to be true.”

“Then you’ll have to wait it out while I prove it to you.”

“I don’t have to do anything, Tack.”

The pads of his fingers pressed into my skin, his eyes changed and the way they changed, I could do nothing but stare.

Not remorse.

Not intensity.

Determination.

Steely determination.

Crap.

“Tyra, get me right now. You are not gonna slip in a movie about love and redemption and cry by my side because, even though you’ve seen it before, it still moves you and then rip that shit away from me. You are not gonna ride my fingers, whisper to me to fuck you and take my cock the way I wanna give it to you, panting for more and then rip that shit away from me too. You are not gonna clash with me, toss your attitude my way when most every other woman shies away when I’m me then rip that away. And you are not gonna expose that soft spot you got that I like and I wanna protect and take that away from me either. Babe, I told you, you didn’t get it and you need to get it.” His fingers pressed deeper into my skin. “You are Chaos now. I am Chaos. You think you got the option but you don’t. There is no goin’ back. I’ve claimed you.”

He wanted to protect my soft spot.

And he’d claimed me.

Oh boy.

“You let me go,” I whispered.

“Does it feel like I let you go?”

No, one could say it absolutely did not since he had me in his arms pinned to a wall.

Still.

“It doesn’t work that way, Tack.”

“Try me and see.”

I was right.

Determination. Steely.

“I don’t want to live in your world,” I informed him.

“You took my hand and walked with me to my bed.”

“A bed you kicked me out of.”

“And a day later, you walked right back into my world and demanded to stay there. You knew the risks, babe. And you took them. And here we are, here you are and this is where you’re stayin’.”

“You’re scaring me again,” I said softly.

His palm slid to below my ear, fingers in my hair, thumb pressed to the side of my face and his face dipped closer. “No, baby, I’m not scaring you. You’re just scared. You give me a little more, you’ll see I’ll protect it. More, I’ll protect that too. More, I got that too. When you give it all to me, if it works with us in a way that lasts, you’ll never be scared. You’ll feel safe enough to have your eyes open, your arms up and you’ll enjoy the fuck outta the ride. I’ll see to that, Red, and that’s a promise.”

God. Seriously. Totally annoying when he was right. And, I decided just then, when he was being sweet. And reassuring. And protective.

Damn.

I kept at it.

“Your whole world scares me,” I admitted. “In fact, your entire life scares me.”

“Like I said, baby, you give a little, you take my hand again like you did that night, I’ll guide you through the nightmare. We’ll make it to the other side and I promise, along the way, you’ll enjoy the ride.”

Oh hell. He was getting to me.

“I need to think about this,” I told him.

“That’s exactly what you don’t need to do. But still, I’ll give that to you.”

I felt my back straighten as the words came out of my mouth sharply. “Well, thanks. Big of you.”

Tack grinned.

“You know,” I started, “it’s annoying when you grin all know-it-all.”

“This isn’t my know-it-all grin, Red. This is my I’m gonna get me some later grin.”

I felt a couple of quivers that were on the high end of pleasant scale.

Still, I shared, “That’s even more annoying.”

“Don’t know why since me gettin’ some means you’re gonna get some.”

More quivers that were climbing the scale of pleasant but that didn’t mean I didn’t roll my eyes. I rolled them back when I heard and felt Tack chuckle.

“I told you I needed to think about this,” I reminded him then went on, “What I decide isn’t a foregone conclusion.”

“Uh, yeah it is.”

I had a strong feeling he was right partly because he wanted to protect my soft spot, a spot he liked. Partly because he was hot. Partly because he looked good grinning and he felt better chuckling. And partly because, even as he was annoying, he was kind of amusing.

But mostly because he was treating me like I mattered and he was making it clear he was not going to let me go.

Uncle Marsh said I should expect that and there it was, holding me tightly in his arms.

I didn’t let Tack in on this information. Instead, I declared, “That’s annoying too.”

He grinned again.

“Tack! Stop grinning!” I demanded.

He didn’t stop grinning but said through it, “You got the day. I’m rippin’ that shit on the desk in half too. Tonight, I’m at your place. Tomorrow, your ass is back at your desk but it’s gettin’ there on the back of my bike. Now, you’re gonna kiss me so I can get back to work, you can go home and come to a foregone conclusion.”

Totally annoying but kind of amusing. Again.

I didn’t share that.

“Actually, I was thinking more that my day would include a visit with my best friend to ascertain she’s all right after being kidnapped and interrogated by the Russian mob.”

His grin died a quick death and he returned, “Actually, you are not gettin’ anywhere near your girl or her fuck up of a man. Phone communication only until I got that shit locked down in a way that makes me comfortable for you to pay a visit.”

That didn’t sound good and my heart clenched again but a different way this time.

“Lanie isn’t safe?” I asked.

“Lanie’s safe and so are you, you stay away from Lanie.”

I studied him closely, noting, “So, reading between the lines, Lanie is only kind of safe.”

“Lanie’s as safe as I can make her seein’ as she won’t leave him and he’s not safe. You’re nowhere near either of them and you’re gonna stay that way. You also don’t know where either of them are and you’re gonna stay that way too so you can stay completely safe.”

“This is not making me feel warm and fuzzy, Tack,” I said quietly, still studying him closely.

“You made your decision, sparrin’ with me, takin’ up the challenge and playin’ the game. She made hers reclaiming her man. Friday, she became intimately acquainted with the risks that involves. She still made that decision. She hooked herself a fuck up of a man. You did not. You hooked yourself to a man who will not, under any circumstances, allow you to be in harm’s way. It sucks you don’t feel warm and fuzzy but that’s not on me, babe. That’s your girl. Her choice. My choice is to keep you safe and I’m takin’ it. You get me?”

Okay, well that… that made me feel warm and fuzzy.

“Do I have a choice not to get you?” I asked and his lips twitched.

Then he answered, “No.”

My eyes slid to the side and I muttered, “I didn’t think so.”

“She’s learning,” Tack muttered back and my eyes slid back to him.

“FYI, that’s annoying too.”

His lip twitch turned into a big, white smile surrounded by a sexy, dark goatee.

Shit.

“FYI, baby, havin’ your attitude back is so far from annoying, it’s not fuckin’ funny.”

And he proved his point by pressing his hard body deeper into me, sliding his hand back into my hair and dropping his eyes to my mouth.

“I think it’s time for me to go home and come to a foregone conclusion,” I whispered as my stomach started to melt when his eyes didn’t leave my mouth.

“Wrong, it’s time for that kiss you’re gonna give me,” he whispered, his face getting closer, his lips a breath away, his eyes lifting to mine and they were again determined but a different way this time.

More pleasant quivers and they were way, way up the scale.

“How about you get that kiss when I come to my conclusion?” I suggested as my heart started beating faster.

“How about, seein’ as that conclusion is inevitable, you kiss me now.”

“Tack –”

“Red, quit fuckin’ around.”

“I’m not fucking around. I have a lot on my mind. I’m not in the mood to make out with a man who may or may not end the day being kind of my boyfriend.”

His head came up and his brows drew together. “Kind of your boyfriend?”

“The conclusion is only foregone to you, handsome,” I lied.

“Babe, I’m not anyone’s boyfriend.”

I blinked again but this was so I wouldn’t flinch.

“What?” I whispered.

“You have a boyfriend when you’re sixteen. You fuck a man casually, you don’t have anything except, if he’s good, a supply of orgasms. You got what we’re building, you got everything. But bottom line, I’ve claimed you. This means you’re my woman which in turn means I’m your man.”

Whoosh.

There it went again, my breath.

“You’re my man?” I forced out.

“And you’re my woman,” Tack confirmed.

“We haven’t even been out on a date,” I pointed out.

“Babe, I also don’t date.”

I blinked again but this was so I wouldn’t scowl.

“What?”

“I don’t date.”

“So I’m your woman and you’re my man after only a couple weeks of arguing, confusion, misunderstandings, game playing and breaking bread a few times, most of them with other people in attendance?”

“Yep.”

I felt my eyes narrow. “Is this another part of being in your world?”

“Nope,” he returned. “This is another part of being with me.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you’re not going to treat me to dinner or any attempts to woo me.”

His lips curved and he asked, “Woo you?”

“Woo me!” I snapped.

His lips curved deeper into a full on amused smile. “No, Red, I’m not gonna attempt to woo you.”

“Not liking that,” I clipped and his brows went up again.

“Are you shittin’ me?”

“No!” I cried. “I deserve to be wooed!”

“Right, then I’ll amend my statement. I’ll woo you by gettin’ you off as many times as I can with my mouth, fingers and cock, cookin’ for you when I have time, not firin’ your ass when you fuck shit up, which is often, and puttin’ up with your bullshit. Bullshit like now when you’re playin’ even more games because you know I like it when you also know what you really wanna do is kiss me.”

“Actually, handsome, I don’t want to kiss you. I want to kick you.”

His smile came back. “Bullshit games.”

“No, seriously, Tack, if I could land one right now, I’d kick you. Unfortunately, you have me pressed to a wall so I don’t have room to move.”

His lips came back to a breath away but his eyes stayed locked to mine and he went on quietly, “While I cook for you, while we eat it and after I fuck you, I’ll also listen to you when you tell me about that roller coaster you jumped off and why you haven’t had a man before me that you tied yourself to. That’s another way I’ll woo you, baby, but that’s all you’ll get from me. That said, that’ll be enough for you because you’ll like it just like you like it right now.”

“Correction, Tack, I don’t like it right now. I’m pissed right now.”

“Feel good?” he asked.

“No!” I snapped.

“You feel alive?”

I closed my eyes.

Seriously. I hated it when he was right.

I felt his lips brush mine and I opened my eyes to look right into his.

“You feel alive,” he declared quietly.

“Annoying,” I muttered.

I felt his lips smile against mine as I felt his hand shift down then slide up under my top so his fingers could curl around my side, skin against skin.

I held my breath.

Tack held my gaze then his lips slid from mine down my cheek to my ear as his fingers lightly stroked my skin at my side.

“Straight up, baby, no excuse but that night, after they took you, hooded you, bound you and held you for three hours, I was not in a good state. I already had issues with these guys. But I was pissed. I was worried. I was feeling things bigger than I expected when it came to you but mostly you being in danger and I took that out on you. I shouldn’t have. I let you go because I fucked up and needed to give you time. You had your time. Now your time is up.”

I was feeling things bigger than I expected when it came to you...

Oh God. That seriously got to me and the foregone conclusion was cemented in my brain. So much, my body relaxed and melted into his.

Tack kept talking as his fingers slid up, up, up until they were stroking me at the side of my breast and my quivers went into overdrive, setting a new level on the pleasant scale. “Now, we gonna explore what we’re buildin’?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

His head came up and his gaze captured mine.

“Good, Red,” he whispered back, “now fuckin’ kiss me.”

“Okay,” I said softly, my hand at his chest moving up to curl around his neck and sift into his hair. My hand at his waist becoming an arm around his lower back. And my feet rolling up on my toes.

I pressed my lips to his.

That was all I had to do. Tack pressed me back into the wall, his hand in my hair moving so his arm could curve around my shoulders and hold me close as his tongue thrust into my mouth. I liked that, the feel of it, the taste of him and I melted fully into his body.

Tack growled into my mouth and held on tighter, his tongue thrusting deeper, faster.

I liked the growl. I liked what his tongue was doing. So I returned the gesture of holding on tight.

It was going from good to really good when we both heard the doorknob rattle.

Tack tore his mouth from mine on another growl, this one annoyed, and his head snapped around to look over his shoulder at the door. I tipped my body to the side and looked around him, also at the door.

“Locked,” we heard a woman say from the other side of the door.

“What? Why? Says right there, office hours, eight to five,” another woman snapped.

“It may say that, Elvira, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t locked,” a third woman pointed out.

“Fuck,” Tack muttered, his arms giving me a squeeze just as an imperative knock came at the door.

“Hello!” the second woman’s voice shouted. “Anyone in there? Open the door!”

“Fuck!” Tack clipped tersely, let me go but grabbed my chin between thumb and finger and tipped it up to him as he bent his neck. His mouth touched mine then he released my chin and stalked to the door.

I watched.

Seriously, he looked good in jeans.

And tees.

And motorcycle boots.

And moving.

He also looked good standing still.

And holding me close in his arms.

Hmm.

Yes, the conclusion was most definitely foregone.

I watched him open the door and then I watched in surprise as three women surged in, practically bowling over scary biker dude Kane “Tack” Allen in order to do so.

One was a gorgeous, curvy blonde. Another was a gorgeous, curvy brunette. And the last was a gorgeous, very curvy black woman.

The blonde smiled broadly at Tack and said, “Yo.”

The brunette smiled more timidly at Tack then her eyes slid to me.

The black woman didn’t even look at Tack. Her eyes came straight to me then shocking words came straight out of her mouth.

“Looks like Tack was in the middle of givin’ the business.” She finally looked at Tack. “Early Monday mornin’ nookie during office hours. You biker boys know how to live.”

I blinked again. The blonde’s smile got broader. The brunette’s giggled quietly.

Tack did not giggle, not that he could giggle. He also didn’t chuckle. And further, he didn’t smile.

What he did was level annoyed eyes on the black woman and demand to know, “What are you three doin’ here?”

“Uh, Hawk rescued your girl,” the black woman replied, jerking her head in my direction. “Then he told Gwen you’d claimed a woman. This is juicy and you ain’t stupid. You had to know we’d be here to check her out, schedule the test then, if she passes, bring her into the fold.”

Tack glared at the black woman then his eyes went to the ceiling.

Then they went to the blonde. “Peaches, never thought I’d regret that day you strutted your ass into Ride. But right now, I’m regretting that day you strutted your ass into Ride.”

Test?

Bringing me into the fold?

Peaches?

“Can’t go back. Have to go forward,” the blonde replied, still grinning huge.

“Fuck me,” Tack muttered.

“Um… hi,” the brunette said to me. “Don’t be alarmed. We’re harmless. Or at least Gwen and I are. I’m Mara.” She pointed to herself. “This is Gwen, Hawk’s woman.” She pointed to the blonde and I could see this. Hawk was hot therefore it was not a surprise that Gwen was stunning. “And this is Elvira.” She pointed to the black woman. “We’re not really here to test you. We’re more like a welcoming committee.”

Uh. What?

“No, we aren’t,” Elvira contradicted, eyes narrowed on Mara. “She doesn’t have sass, she’s not in the club.”

“I don’t have sass,” Mara returned.

“Girl, what you been smokin’? You totally have sass,” Elvira shot back.

Gwen leaned toward Mara. “It’s the quiet kind of sass. It’s different but it’s good.”

“Fuck me,” Tack muttered again.

“I wish,” Elvira muttered back, eyes on Tack then she looked to me. “That’s part of provin’ you got sass, lettin’ us know how he is when he’s in action. But, I’m warning you now, I don’t do too much information. Just enough to confirm he’s not only hot on the outside but he’s also got the moves. I can’t function around a man if I know his ability to give pleasure.”

I stared at her and I was pretty sure my mouth was open.

Was this actually happening?

Finally, seeing as no one was speaking, I figured it was up to me to respond so I mumbled, “Um…”

“Elvira, you’re scaring her,” Mara warned.

“I scare her, she don’t have sass,” Elvira retorted.

“Then that proves I don’t have sass because I know you and you’re scaring me,” Mara returned.

“Whatever,” Elvira murmured and looked at me. “Cosmos. Tomorrow night. Club.”

“That doesn’t work for me,” Tack put in, moving in my direction. “Tyra’ll be at my place tomorrow night.”

I would?

“We get that. It’s new. Things are intense when it’s new,” Gwen allowed.

“Tyra,” Mara said, smiling at me. “That’s a pretty name.”

I decided I liked Mara.

“Thanks,” I replied, smiling back.

“Right. Cosmos. Wednesday night. Club,” Elvira threw out an alternative.

Tack made it to me and pulled me partially away from the wall so he could slide an arm around my shoulders and tuck me into his side, a maneuver he conducted under the avid gazes of all three women and while speaking. “That doesn’t work for me either.”

“My man, you gotta let her up for air,” Elvira advised.

“No I don’t,” Tack returned.

Oh boy.

Another quiver way high up on the pleasant scale.

Elvira grinned then she asked, “Okay, macho man, so when can we have her?”

I felt Tack’s eyes and tipped my head back to look up to see them on me. “You wanna have a drink with these women?”

“Um…” I mumbled.

“Sho’ she does,” Elvira answered for me.

“Uh…” I mumbled again.

“Babe, Elvira’s a nut but Gwen and Mara are good people. You wanna expand your girl base, they’re good additions,” Tack shared.

“I take no offense to that, by the way,” I heard Elvira say then she went on in a mutter, “not that you care.”

I didn’t know these women or what this was about. What I did know was that Gwen’s man rescued me. I also knew they knew Tack. And, lastly, he’d asked me to trust him.

I figured I should probably start that now.

“Okay then, yeah. I’d like to have a drink with them.”

“Awesome,” Gwen whispered.

Tack looked at the women. “You can have her Wednesday.”

“Done,” Elvira agreed. “Now, we’ll be gettin’ on so you can resume the festivities. Later.”

And with that, she took off.

Gwen and Mara didn’t.

“See you Wednesday. And don’t worry, it’ll be fun,” Mara assured and I smiled at her.

“Look forward to it,” I replied.

“Little black dress. Or little anything dress. And heels,” Gwen advised and I turned my smile to her, finally looking forward to this. I hadn’t dressed up in a while and I loved to dress up so even though drinks with the girls was a crapshoot, at least that would be fun.

“I can do that,” I told her.

She smiled, both waved, I returned the wave and then they followed Elvira.

The door hadn’t closed on them when Tack turned me into his front and both of his arms closed around me.

“Is it me or was that weird?” I asked.

“It’s not you. Like I said, Elvira’s a nut. Gwen’s a nut too but the cute kind. Mara, I don’t know very well but what I do know of her, she’s solid.”

“And what was that all about?” I went on.

Tack’s eyes roamed my face and the way they did I wasn’t certain I liked.

“Right,” he said softly. “A while ago, Gwen had a thing. Like yours, it involved kidnapping. Unlike yours, it also involved drive-bys.”

Holy crap!

Tack continued. “I got involved in her thing. I wanted to be more involved with her. That didn’t work out which, at the time, sucked for me.”

Peaches.

Gwen was blonde. Gwen was the “cute” kind of nuts. This meant Gwen was the “sun” he said had “staying power”.

Now I got it, all of it, and I didn’t like it.

Tack’s arms gave me a squeeze.

“At the time, babe,” he said quietly. “Now, it doesn’t suck for me at all.”

I remained silent as I considered all this information.

Tack’s arms squeezed me again and stayed tight.

“Baby,” he started, still talking quietly, “her thing was intense. We got close during it. And we stayed close. But she’s Hawk’s and, a man like Hawk, she… is… Hawk’s. They’re not only married, they’re tight. I got that a long time ago but that didn’t mean somethin’ didn’t keep growin’ for her and me. It did. We still got that and I hope we always do. And part of us havin’ that is, she heard about you and although Elvira looked like the ringleader of that sneak attack, Gwen was the brains behind the operation. Hawk told her I’d claimed you and she wants to be sure it’s all good for me. It’s sweet. It’s friendly. And that’s all it is.”

Okay, to trust him I had to trust that. I still didn’t like it but… whatever.

Moving on.

“And Mara?” I asked.

“Mara’s a long story that I’ll tell you while I’m makin’ you chops tonight.”

I didn’t know if that was good. What I did know was that chops sounded great.

“Pork chops?” I queried.

“Are there other kinds of chops?” Tack queried back.

“I don’t think so.”

He grinned then confirmed, “Yeah. Pork chops.”

“Do you make good chops?”

“Cooked for you twice, Red. What do you think?”

That answered that. He made good chops.

I hadn’t had breakfast and my mouth started watering.

But I had to know.

“Did you get… involved with Mara too?”

“Fuck no. She’s bangin’ a cop.”

Well, that was firm. It was also good to know.

“And last, Elvira?”

“Elvira works for Hawk. She’s in Gwen’s posse. She lassoed Mara into Gwen’s posse. The shit that went down with Gwen meant four men were involved. One of them was Hawk. One of them was me. One of them was Mara’s man, Lawson. And one of them was a man named Lucas who claimed himself a woman named Tess and it’s likely she’ll be wearin’ a dress and heels at Club come Wednesday night. I don’t do chick so I have no clue what’s in store for you. All I know is, Gwen’s got a big heart. Elvira’s is arguably bigger. And Mara’s is off-the-charts big. Gwen’s drama started that posse and with each new drama, that posse grows. They wanna suck you in, worse things could happen.”

“Right,” I whispered, intrigued but I’d let it go until chops. “So, I’m at your house tomorrow night?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you think of maybe asking if I’d like to be at your house tomorrow night?”

His lips twitched.

Then he said, “No.”

“Annoying,” I muttered.

“Yeah, you say that, baby. What you didn’t say was that you aren’t coming to my house tomorrow night.”

Damn. I was totally figured out.

I sighed.

Tack chuckled.

Then he squeezed me with his arms and dipped his face close.

“Give me that mouth again, babe, then get outta here.”

“Is the word ‘please’ in your vocabulary?”

“No, but you throw more attitude at me before givin’ me your mouth, tonight, that word is gonna be in your vocabulary and I’m gonna make you use it often.”

Oh boy.

That didn’t cause a quiver. That caused a quake and it shook me from top-to-toe.

“Babe,” he growled, “mouth.”

“Oh, all right,” I muttered, saw humor light his eyes then I gave him my mouth.

He took it and the way he did, that caused a quake too.

He’d let me go, turned me, scooted me toward the door with a hand at my ass and I was wandering there, slightly dazed by his kiss, slightly dazed by the girl posse’s visit but mostly dazed in a happy way I was hoping I was right about when I heard Tack call, “Red.”

I turned to him and my hand shot up automatically as he sent the key to the office I’d dropped on the desk sailing in my direction. Dazed, it was a miracle I nabbed it in the air but I did.

Then I stood at the door watching him pick up the envelope that contained the resignation letter I’d laid on the desk. Then I watched him rip it in half. Then I watched him toss it in the trash.

Finally, I watched his eyes settle on me.

Heated but it was again there.

Steely determination.

Instead of clenching, my heart grew light.

That felt a whole lot better.

I smiled at him and waited for Tack to smile back.

He did and it was great.

Then I walked out the door.