When she found him alone with Dad, she rethought that plan, deciding privacy was the better way to go. By coming to her place, he could simply leave if her feelings weren’t reciprocated, and she could sob into the Ben and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chuck she’d added to her Instacart delivery this morning.
Surely, she’d heard him wrong, so she went ahead and delivered the speech she’d been practicing since waking up this morning with an un-fogged brain for the first time in days.
“I’ve gotten my heart broken by every guy I ever cared for, and I guess, after Eddie, I let it cripple me. I know you’re not a relationship guy, Tank. And sex is just sex for you, but this thing between us…” She drew in a deep breath, aware her cheeks were flaming red. “It was never fake for me.”
“Are you kidding right now, Mouse? What you and I shared was not just sex, and it sure as hell wasn’t fake.” Tank cupped her cheeks, his smile so wide, it deepened the laugh lines by his dark brown eyes. “I’m so in love with you, I can’t fucking breathe.”
This time, it was McKenna’s turn to smile, then laugh. Because holy crap!
Tank frowned. “That’s funny?”
“That’s wonderful,” she gushed, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him with all her might. When she loosened her grip, she pulled away until their faces were mere inches apart. “The first few times I said those three little words, I said them to the wrong men. This time…I want to say them to the right man. I love you, too,” she said.
Tank gave her a hard kiss. “I wanted to ask you out after the gala, but you kept saying you wouldn’t date a hockey player or a coworker. So when Benny suggested the fake dating and you were clearly on board, I took advantage of the opportunity. I know my reputation leaves a lot to be desired, and I said a bunch of stupid shit when we first started working together about not wanting a relationship, but I was wrong, Mouse. You make me want everything—dating, marriage, kids, a lifetime.”
McKenna had never heard anything more wonderful in her life. “I want all that too. With you.”
They kissed again, but this time they went slower, savored it.
When they pulled apart, neither of them sought to move away. Instead, they looked deep into each other’s eyes, grinning like lunatics.
“I was so afraid you didn’t feel the same,” she confessed. “When you walked into the pub with Lara, I realized just how deep my feelings ran. I was so jealous I couldn’t see straight.”
Tank lifted her from where she sat on the cushions, pulling her onto his lap. “I’m going to be a jealous boyfriend, too. I swear to God, I nearly threw a punch at Hunter Maxwell just because you blushed when you talked to him. I’m going to hoard those blushes of yours like a dragon with gold, Mouse.”
She giggled. “God knows you make me blush more than anyone else.”
He ran the back of his finger over her cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”
She started to roll her eyes, but Tank gripped her chin tightly between his thumb and forefinger.
“Don’t roll your eyes, Mouse. I mean it. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
His eyes and tone were so sincere, McKenna had to swallow down the lump forming in her throat.
“I can’t believe this is real,” she whispered. “I’ve spent weeks lying to myself—and you—about this all being make-believe, trying to convince myself I could do the casual-sex thing. Turns out, I really suck at that.”
“Thank God.” He drew his lips along the side of her neck, placing a hundred tiny kisses there. “FYI. There’s nothing casual about the way I feel for you.”
McKenna turned toward him, her breasts pressed to his chest as she captured his lips with her own, drowning in his drugging, amazing kisses.
They parted briefly as Tank pulled her glasses off, placing them on the end table, before drawing her shirt over her head, his expert fingers flicking her bra open with ease. He wiggled his eyebrows as he dramatically tossed it over his shoulder and onto the floor.
“Such a slob,” she teased.
Tank didn’t laugh, but that was only because he’d already lowered his head, sucking one of her nipples into his mouth.
McKenna threw her head back, gasping. Tank had discovered early on that she liked the rough edge to his touches, loved the way he came at her like the world’s sexiest, most ravenous beast.
He treated the other nipple to the same as she gyrated on his lap. His cock was thick and hard and oh so inviting. She rubbed against him like a cat in heat, so ready to move to the next part.
Tank, on the other hand, was in no hurry, now that he’d freed her breasts. He nibbled, sucked, licked, and kissed the taut tips, groaning against them as if she was feeding him some delicious feast.
“Tank,” she said, gasping. “Please.
He lifted his head, giving her a quick kiss. “Patience, Mouse.”
She narrowed her eyes. “It’s been five days,” she barked out. They hadn’t shared a bed since Sunday, and it was now Friday. While the McKenna she’d been pre-Tank was capable of going months without an orgasm, this new version of herself was far more greedy and needy.
