“Riding on the back of his motorcycle is how a biker tells the world you’re his woman and he’s your man,” his father explained.
Leah met Tank’s gaze, a new intensity rising in her eyes. “Okay. But I need to talk to the girls first.”
They went into the living room and found Gunner and Baz on all fours, giving Rosie and Junie rides on their backs.
“Stallion wides, Mama!” Junie giggled.
“I cowgirl!” Rosie exclaimed.
Leah laughed. “Are you having fun?”
“Yes!” They giggled.
“Tank and I are going to go out for a little while,” Leah said. “Gingy and Con will watch you, okay?”
“Okay!” they yelled.
“And Baz and Gunny?” Junie asked.
“You bet,” Baz said, and winked at Tank and Leah.
“Want to give me a kiss goodbye?” Leah asked.
The girls kissed the air and shouted, “Bye!”
Tank draped an arm around her shoulder. “Still worried?”
“No.” As they walked out of the living room, she said, “Now I’m getting excited. Does that make me a bad mom?”
“Hell no.” He drew her into his arms. “But I’m having fantasies about you being a naughty mom.”
“THOSE AREN’T FANTASIES. They’re memories of the last four nights,” Leah whispered as they went into the kitchen.
“Don’t fool yourself, darlin’.” He flashed a wolfish grin that made her stomach flip-flop. “I’ve got lots of dark fantasies, and you star in every one of them.”
“Hush. You’ll get me all revved up,” she whispered, but it was too late. She’d spend the whole ride wondering about those naughty fantasies.
She tried to tamp down her curiosity as she borrowed one of Ginger’s helmets and thanked her and Conroy again for watching the girls. Tank gave her a lesson in motorcycle safety, and by the time she climbed onto the back of his bike, she felt fully prepared, and a little nervous. But as they cruised out of his parents’ driveway and onto the main drag, the brisk wind whipping through her sweater sleeves and the world racing by clearer than anything she’d ever seen through car windows, Leah realized how wrong she’d been. Nothing could have prepared her for the thrill of the ride or the heat pooling between her legs at being pressed against Tank’s thick body, riddled by the titillating vibrations of the engine.
The longer they drove, the more her nerves gave way to exhilaration. She’d thought Tank had gone on long rides as a way to bond with the guys, but now she understood that the camaraderie was only part of the experience.
She clung to him as he turned off the main road and drove down one road after another until the ocean appeared in the distance. He cruised into the nearly empty parking lot and parked near the beach. The sun had just started its slow descent, leaving gorgeous trails of oranges, pinks, blues, and yellows in its wake.
Tank cut the engine, but her body continued vibrating. He climbed off the bike and took off his helmet, pushing a hand through his dark hair. Leah had always thought he was hot, but now that they were together, now that she knew how caring he was, how it felt to be held, touched, and kissed by him, she saw him much more clearly. She saw the lonely places that Ashley had left behind—the places she wanted to heal—his loving heart that was so big she had no idea how it fit in his chest, and the honesty he gave her and the girls, all of which made him even more beautiful.
He helped her take off her helmet, and the scent of the sea swirled around them as he put their helmets on the pavement and straddled the bike, facing her. His arm circled her, and he hauled her closer. “You were too far away.”
His eyes took on a familiar sensual hunger that made her want to straddle him. He used the backs of his fingers to brush her hair away from her face and closed his hand around her thick mass of curls, using it to bring her in for a kiss. Oh, how she loved that! He kissed her deep and slow, the way he knew made her come untethered, and he did it so thoroughly, when their lips parted, she was leaning forward, clinging to his thighs with both hands.
“How did you like it?” His voice was low, drenched with desire.
“The ride?” she asked breathily. “Or the kiss?”
His eyes narrowed, and his fist tightened in her hair. “You know what you do to me when you talk innocent and sweet like that.”
She knew exactly what she was doing to him. He’d told her two nights ago that when she spoke like that, it made him want to do dirty things to her, which was precisely why she’d done it. She swallowed hard, her pulse quickening, and licked her lips, knowing what that did to him, too, and was rewarded with another heat-thrumming kiss that drew her emotions like water from a faucet.
“The ride was so much more than I thought it would be, but I know it wasn’t just the motorcycle that made me feel free and safe at once, or made the world look brighter and more inviting. It’s you, Tank. I can’t believe I was ever scared of what I felt in you.” He was holding her so close their noses touched, and she felt a shift in his energy, knots unfurling. “You’re the most compassionate, strong, loving man I’ve ever met. And I don’t mean just because you’re built like a beast.” He smiled, and she touched his cheek, wanting to feel his emotions. He turned slightly, kissing her palm, then rested his cheek there. “You share your strength with me, and it makes me feel whole. You give me space without disappearing, and you understand when I feel like my heart is being torn to shreds over thoughts of my brother. The way you hold me, the way you look at me and the girls, the way you’re there for us…”
“Lee,” he practically growled, full of emotion and restraint.
Feeling and seeing all those delicious muscles fighting his urge to devour her emboldened her. It was like he’d become one big aphrodisiac, body, mind, and soul, and she wanted to swallow him up. She threw caution to the wind and crushed her mouth to his. He held her there, kissing her harder, belting his arm around her so tightly, their chests touched as they feasted on each other. “Skip the sunset,” she said between kisses. “Take me home.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. Only they didn’t go to her cottage. He drove to his house.
“It was closer,” he gritted out as he lifted her off the bike and into his arms. Her legs circled his waist as their mouths came together, and he carried her up to the door. He fumbled with the lock. She sealed her mouth over his neck, sucking and kissing, earning one sexy growl after another, amping up her arousal. He threw the door open and kicked it closed behind them, taking her in another ferocious kiss on the way to the bedroom.
He lowered her feet to the floor, and they tore at each other’s clothes. Their shirts flew through the air between urgent kisses. “I should feel guilty about this,” she panted out as she stripped off the last of her clothes.
“Like hell you should.” He picked her up and tossed her on the bed, making her laugh as he came down over her. “The girls are in good hands, and so are you.”
He dipped his head, sucking her nipple into his mouth. She arched off the bed, digging her fingernails into his back, trying to stifle her moans.
He lifted his face with a wicked grin. “You don’t have to be quiet, darlin’. Nobody’s going to hear us.” He pinned her wrists on either side of her head and continued driving her out of her mind, rubbing his cock against her center, grinding it against her clit as he trailed tantalizing kisses down her arm, lingering in the crook of her elbow. They’d discovered that surprising erotic zone two nights ago. She panted and whimpered, and he recaptured her mouth, hands groping, bodies grinding. She felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin if she didn’t get more.