When she’d first shown up in Perkins City, their curvy spitfire was thin and quiet with a wild look about her. Now that she was eating regular meals, she’d filled out to be the enticing woman neither he nor Zander could ignore. The sprinkle of freckles across her nose and across her cheeks made him ache to find out where else she had them. That led to wanting to trace them with his tongue, which sent him down a dark road of need that ended with him rubbing one off in the shower every night. Hell, he’d even been known to jerk off in the bathroom at the shop after seeing her bending over to stock a shelf in Heavy Trinkets.
Now, standing in front of her in her clean but rundown apartment, Tag realized he’d pushed too hard. Damn! He’d only planned to make sure the apartment was empty and safe and maybe kiss her. Claiming her as theirs hadn’t been smart, but after tasting her, feeling her against his body, Tag lost all control. He didn’t lose control, period.
Hell, there was no changing what he’d done now. Forward was the only way to go.
“I’m leaving, Tessa, but this isn’t over. You know we would never hurt you. Nor would we treat you less than the intelligent, sexy woman you are. Women aren’t doormats in this town. You should know that by now,” he said, watching the myriad of emotions pass through her eyes.
“I know that I’m not looking for a man, or two for that matter. I don’t need one to take care of me. I can do that myself,” she told him. Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
“It’s not about having someone to take care of you, Tessa. It’s about having someone to care for you. It’s about having someone to share life’s pleasures and pains. Give it some thought, baby girl. Zander and I have waited for you to get on your feet again after whatever you’d been dealing with, but it’s been nearly a year. I think that’s enough time. Don’t you?”
He took another step back as her mouth opened and closed without saying anything. His little Tessa was struggling to continue fighting, but he could see the exhaustion in her from trying to keep that wall up around her. The warmth and friendliness of the people in Perkins City was picking away at the mortar between her bricks faster than she could shore them up. He had no doubt that the walls would fall, but would she still be there when they did? The thought of her running scared him when nothing ever had before.
He took another step back then turned and unlocked the door. When he turned around to close it behind him, he paused. She hadn’t moved an inch from where he’d left her. Her chest still heaved with her too-fast breaths.
“Come lock the door behind me, Tessa. I’m not leaving until I hear the locks,” he said.
She gave a jerky nod but still didn’t move. Tag sighed and closed the door, remaining right there until he heard her quick steps to the door and the grating of the deadbolt into place. The sound seemed to release him, and he was able to walk over to where he’d left his bike. Climbing on, Tag started the engine, backing up a few steps in order to turn around. He gave one last look at the shoddy apartments before riding out of the parking lot back toward the business section of town. He normally wore a helmet, but when Zander had called and told him Tessa was walking home, Tag hadn’t stopped to grab one, his only intent being to reach her before she’d gone too far on her own.
Now he allowed himself to enjoy the feel of the wind in his hair. With it tied back, it didn’t get in his face quite as much. He needed to settle down some before he crashed in on Zander at the bike shop. His friend was going to meet him there after closing Naked Ink down. The other man wasn’t going to be happy with how Tag had pushed Tessa tonight.
When he parked his bike outside the shop’s bay area in the back, Zander opened the door leading into the shop and waited on him to dismount and come inside.
“Did she let you give her a ride home, or did you have to walk the bike all the way behind her?” Zander asked with a grin.
“She rode,” he said, walking through the door into the break room behind the sales area. It closed behind him, automatically locking.
“And?” Zander probed.
“I probably pushed a little too hard,” he admitted. Tag walked over to the fridge and grabbed a couple of cold ones. He tossed one to Zander and popped the top on his.
“What the hell did you do? We talked about needing to go easy with her. She’s liable to run, Tag.” Zander opened his own beer and took a drink.
“I was just going to kiss her. Let her know we were interested in her, but fuck me, Zander. She tastes like pure sin. I lost it, man. I totally lost control. I never lose control.” He kicked the garbage can, knocking it against the wall.