* * * *
Tuck stared at the downpour that streamed by the window. Behind him, the radio talked about the increased threat of tornados and he shook his head before picking up his radio.
“That’s it, guys, we’re done for the day. Pack it in, go home and be safe.”
He waited for everyone to leave before doing one last walk-through of the place, ensuring all was as secure as he could make it. There was just no point in continuing to work at a site that had so many projectiles if they were talking tornado.
Standing near the front, he dialled Richard and told him he’d sent the men home. Then he dashed through the downpour to his truck and hopped in. After passing the gate, he jumped out and locked it before getting back into his vehicle, soaking wet. It wasn’t pretty out there, that was for sure.
He hadn’t seen Ariel yet and he knew she’d been back a day at least. Tomorrow was their date—he’d put the note on her door last night and when he’d left this morning for work, it had been gone. He was looking forward to it.
After stopping off at the grocery store, he made it back to his place. The skies had got even darker and the rain came harder as he ran inside, carrying the bags. Shaking his head to remove some of the rain, he eyed the elevator and got in with a couple from the third floor. They exchanged pleasantries then he fell silent.
He got off on his floor and went to his apartment, casting a look over his shoulder to her door. It was shut tight.
Inside his place, he changed into some dry clothes before putting away the groceries. He heard laughter outside the door and went to look. Ariel stood there soaked from head to foot with another woman. He almost didn’t recognise her but did after a moment. She’d been at Prometheus Protections behind the front desk. Then, she’d looked severe. Now, in jeans and a T-shirt she seemed more approachable.
“Hello, Ariel,” he said, leaning against the doorframe, hooking his ankles and crossing his arms. “You look a bit wet.”
The women shared a look and snorted. “Just a bit,” she quipped. “Tuck, this is Connie. Connie, this is Tuck.”
Connie grinned at him and he wondered if he’d just passed some kind of test. “So nice to meet you again, Tuck.”
“And you. So, what are you ladies up to this stormy afternoon?”
“We’re going to have pizza and continue talking about sex like we did at dinner last night.” Ariel gave him a smirk. “Care to join us?”
Now, he might want to spend as much time with her as he could, but even he knew better. “I think I should pass.”
“Are you sure?” Connie asked. “We’d love to get your opinion on things.”
Yep, Ariel had told her friend about them.
At least I ranked important enough to do that.
“Again, I think I’ll pass. I have some work of my own to do.”
Ariel shrugged. “Suit yourself. Not sure what there’s to be scared of, but hey, if you are…” She blinked. “You are.”
He walked across to stand before his dripping goddess. “I would be insane to claim otherwise. Talking sex with two women—no thank you.” He kissed her, revelling in the taste of her. “Don’t forget about tomorrow.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” she muttered.
“You two have fun now.” He strode back to his apartment and shut the door before his cock overruled his good sense. “Pizza sounds good, though.”
Tuck searched their freezer and pulled one out for himself. As it cooked, he got to work on his house—Richard had asked him to finish the plans so he could see them. The man was still talking about helping him get off the ground with his own business. Tuck was going to take advantage and see what happened.
Occasionally, however, his attention and gaze drifted to the door, as if he could see through into Ariel’s apartment and whatever the women were doing. His perverted mind had them having pillow fights and other things, clad in very little clothing, if any.
He pulled the pizza out when Steve came in, as soaked as everyone else seemed to be this day.
“Hey, man.”
“What’s going on at Ariel’s?” he asked.
“She and a co-worker are having pizza and talking sex. Or so that’s what they told me when they invited me to participate in the discussion.”
Steve shook his head. “I see you made the right choice.”
“Man, even I know better than to do that. But the pizza sounded good so I made one.”
“Let me get into something that isn’t like I fell into the Gulf of Mexico and I’ll be right back.”
Ten minutes later, they were eating in the living room.
“So how are things going with the new venture?” Steve asked.
“I’ve been working on finishing up the house this afternoon. Richard asked to see the completed plans. He’s been on me nearly daily since he took me out to see that parcel of land. So I don’t want to keep him waiting anymore. Don’t get many ops like this to have part of the day off. I’m taking advantage of it.”
“Excellent. I looked into the building for you and brought back the details.”
Tuck leant forward. “Do you think it will work?”
Steve was a realtor but also had the benefit of being a real estate attorney.
“I liked the area and the building looked sound from a contractor’s point of view.”
“I personally don’t like the lease they’re trying to sign someone to but I brought it for you to look at. After you go over it, we can talk about the points which strike me as wrong and something you’d want to have changed.”
Tuck ate some more of his pepperoni and sausage pizza. “I trust you, Steve. If you say there are problems, I’m not going to argue that. You know the terminology so much better than I do.”
Steve reached for his beer and thunder cracked overhead. “They may be willing to renegotiate so it’s still an option.”
“I want what’s best, not something that’s doable.” He was utilising Steve’s expertise in locating a building for his own business. “There are only a few more for you to look into that I’d even consider buying.”
“Okay. We can still go over it and see what you think. Or I can move on to the other properties.”
“Good idea.”
“Any thought as to why he showed you that other piece of property?”
“None. Did you find out anything on it?”
“Just that Richard owns it. There’s almost two hundred acres there in his name. He owns a lot of property scattered around this state.”
Tuck hadn’t known about that—apparently there were a few things he didn’t know about his boss.
“He’s also got a lot of buildings for rent, Tuck. We could look at some of them, too. The list is also in the stack of papers there.”
The lights flickered a few times then went out. “Damn,” Tuck said, getting up to find some flashlights. Even though it wasn’t night out, the sky was too dark to offer any visibility.
Rumbles shook the building and once he’d found the flashlights, he went back to the living room. Steve was standing there with one as well.
“Should we check on the women?”
Thank God, Steve had recommended that because he didn’t want to look like a sucker who couldn’t stand being away from Ariel. “Sure.”
“Yeah, that sounds like you’d not been thinking about it at all. Come on, you lovelorn puppy.”
They left and crossed the hall to knock. Ariel opened the door and he switched off his flashlight. Her place was well lit, or at least the living area was—two lanterns offered light.
“Hello,” she said. “Come to check on us?”
“Yes.”
“Sweet. Hi, Steve. Come on in.”
They entered and she shut the door behind them.
“Connie, this is Steve. Steve, Connie. And you remember Tuck from a while ago.”
Connie walked into view from the small kitchen holding a pitcher of margaritas. “Hello. At least the drinks were finished before we lost power. Are you two joining us?”
He shared a glance with Steve. “Yes.”
Ariel cocked an eyebrow. “Even if we’re talking about sex?”
“Still?” he questioned.
Both women laughed. “Oh, you poor deluded man. We can talk that all day and then some.” Ariel gestured them to join them and he took a chair while Steve took another. The women sat together on the sofa.
Connie was a cute little thing but it was Ariel who continually captured his attention. She wore a pair of shorts that did intense things to his libido and a white tank top that showed off her darker skin to perfection. Connie had dressed something similar. Both women had their hair up in ponytails and he found himself staring at the muscles in their arms. He knew about Ariel’s strength, but Connie was a bit of a surprise to him. He’d written her off as a petite little thing—now he wondered.
They ate and drank as the storm raged around them. Thankfully there were no tornados. It was after ten that night when they finally broke it up and headed to their apartment.
“Thanks, Ariel,” Steve said giving her a hug. “Lovely to meet you, Connie.”
“And you.” She waved at them and Steve propelled him to the door.
“Let it go, man. You have your date tomorrow.”
So he did. And he had a sleepless night and a restless day. When he left his apartment that night for their date, he took a deep breath. In one hand he held a bouquet of flowers and he rapped sharply on the wood with the other. He hadn’t seen her since he’d left her apartment the previous day.
“Come on in,” she called out.
He pushed in then closed the door behind him. Her place was spotless, no trace of the drinks they’d had yesterday or the food they’d eaten. The lanterns were nowhere to be seen either.
“I’ll be right there, Tuck.”
“No rush. Where’d you get those lanterns you had last night?”
“Marine Corps.”
He should have known. He licked his lips and tried to calm his nerves. It shouldn’t be bothering him so much but he felt as he had taking Wendy Mackrel to prom. All nervous and unsure. He wanted to wipe his hands off on his pants so his palms wouldn’t be sweaty.
Her heels sounded on the floor and he looked towards her bedroom. One second there was just the doorway, the next, Ariel stood there. All the air rushed from his lungs.
“Holy shit. You’re beautiful.”
His words brought a small smile to her face, erasing the uncertainty there. “Is this okay?”
He could barely find the words. “Perfect,” he croaked.
Her dress was a changing blend of purple and blue. The cowl neckline and halter top offered him a tantalising sneak peek at her full breasts beneath the material. He knew the asymmetrical skirt would be the death of him tonight—it was knee length on one side and floor length on the other. She had on stilettos that criss-crossed up her calves. Small stones added sparkle when the light hit the material. Sexy goddess. Her hair was unconfined and flowed around her shoulders.
“Wonderful,” she replied. “Shall we?”
“Yes.” Lord, he needed to manage more than one word responses or the evening would be rough. He shoved the flowers in her direction. “Flowers.”
A smile graced her face, a real full one this time. “Those are beautiful, thank you.” She walked towards him and took the lilies. “I’ll just put them in water and we can go.”
He couldn’t talk, he was too busy watching her ass in the dress. When she returned to stand before him, he raked his gaze over her once more.
“Ready?”
She picked up her clutch. “Let’s go.”
“One thing first.” He finally was able to get the words out.
“What’s that?”
He turned her to him and kissed her. Thrust his tongue deep into her mouth. A moan slipped up from her throat and he took that as well. His cock pressed insistently against his slacks and he drew away from her, knowing he had to or they’d not make it to dinner.
“You’re absolutely gorgeous, Ariel.”
Chapter Six
Ariel glanced askew at Tuck as they made their way to his truck. His black suit, classically handsome, amplified the width of his broad shoulders and emphasised the leanness of his waist and hips.
Damn, he’s fine.
His hair was sexily disarrayed, giving him the appearance of someone who’d run their fingers through the silken locks—an act she would love to do. And the offer nearly slid free of her mouth.
He held the passenger door for her and she brushed against him as she stepped up. She’d been in his vehicle maybe twice before. It was totally him—a ball cap on the dash, some ticket stubs on the seat between them. She was glad he hadn’t tried to make it perfectly clean before she got there, it wouldn’t have been him. Not that it was dirty, but it wasn’t spotless.
“Where are we going?” She buckled her seatbelt.
“Hanson’s.” He closed his door and started the truck.
Staring out of the window, she nodded. “I’ve heard they have really good food.”
“So you’ve never been there?” He got them out of the parking lot and onto the streets of San Antonio.
“Nope.”
“Good.”
“Have you? Wait, why good?” She canted her head to the side so she could see him better.
Pure sex rolled off the grin he sported. “I was there once, for a business dinner with some clients. And it’s good because then your first time is with me.” He met her gaze head on and the heat in his eyes sent an influx of desire through her. “I happen to like it that way.”
Lordy, she was ready to melt into a puddle. He was already a first for a few things.
Not telling him that, though.
“I see,” her response fell.
The ride to the restaurant was completed in silence aside from some soft classic rock he had on. Pulling up to the front of the restaurant, she smiled at the valet who opened her door for her as she undid her belt.
“Good evening, ma’am.”
“Good evening.” She allowed the young man to assist her out.
Moments later, Tuck strode around the hood of his truck, gave her a smile and offered her his arm. She took it willingly and relaxed along his side. Together, they entered the establishment and went up to the maître d’.
“Name, sir?”
“Pierce Carter.”
She smiled over the use of his full name. It was difficult for her to imagine him as anything but Tuck.
The man made a mark on his paper and waved over a woman who also wore a tuxedo. The words they exchanged were two low for her to overhear.