Unleash Me, Vol. 1 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (12 page)

“
Done.
 
And if there
’
s time, before you
leave, maybe a chicken curry soup that will curl your toes.
”

“
I
’
m glad you
’
re here, Lisa.
”

“
I
don
’
t
want to pressure you, but I can
’
t
imagine not having you here for two weeks.
 
It
’
s
going to kill me.
”

“
We
’
ll get through
it.
 
We
’
ll Skype, we
’
ll text, and we
’
ll talk on the
phone.
 
I think both of us are going
to be so busy that the time will pass quickly.
”

“
I hope
you
’
re
right.
”

“
I
hope I am, too.
 
Did you enjoy last
night?
”

“
I
’
d like several repeats
of that before you leave.
”

“
That,
I can do.
”

“
And
so can I.
 
It
’
s not one-sided, you
know.
 
Apparently, last night was
all about me.
 
You wouldn
’
t let me do anything.
”

“
I
wanted to treat you.
”

“
You
’
ve never been like
that.
”

“
I
just revealed a part of myself to you last night.
 
I
’
ve been warming up to that moment.
”

God, I loved him.

“
But
I need to have my moment,
”
I
said.

“
Maybe
you can have it tonight.
”

“
All
right
—
then
expect it.
”

“
So,
”
he
said.
 
“
Let me make
breakfast.
 
When do you meet with
Boss?
”

“
Two
o
’
clock.
”

“
Good.
 
Then you have plenty of time to go home
and change into something that will suit him, if that
’
s even possible.
”

“
Do
you think it
’
s
going to be that bad?
”

He turned to look at me, and on his
face was a mask of tension.
 
“
I will never lie to
you.
 
I wish you
’
d gotten someone
else.
 
I don
’
t like him
—
never
have.
 
He
’
s arrogant, and he can
be cruel, as you found out yesterday.
 
But he also knows that you
’
re Jennifer
’
s
best friend, who happens to be Alex
’
s fianc
é
e.
 
So, if I
’
m guessing right, it could go one of two ways.
 
He could be ruthless with you because he
knows that he could land a senior editor
’
s job somewhere else with just a few phone calls.
 
Or, he
’
s going to be tough on you, but also sly and professional
about it.
 
He
’
ll wear a smile while
he slashes the hell out of your book.
 
But if he pulls anything with you that isn
’
t professional while I
’
m gone, I expect you to tell Blackwell and me about it.
”

“
I
’
m not about to be
abused,
”
I
said.
 
“
Believe me.
 
If he mistreats me, I can take care of
myself.
 
He doesn
’
t intimidate me.
”

“
Don
’
t let him.
”

“
I
won
’
t.
 
My zombies will eat him.
”

He smiled at that while I sipped my
delicious coffee, but his smile didn
’
t reach his eyes.
 
He was worried for me.
 
I
could see that in his expression.
 
After getting almost no sleep, I was thankful for his concern
—
and
I knew that I was damned lucky to be in a relationship with him.
 

I watched him move around the
kitchen, which seemed like a lover to him.
 
He knew exactly where everything was.
 
I watched him drop the toast into the
toaster, the eggs into the simmering water, and then squeeze us fresh orange
juice into a decanter.
 
The
croissants looked divine and flaky beneath the domed pastry dish he
’
d put in front of me,
and the bagels were fresh.
 
Did he
go out and buy them while I was asleep?
 
I
’
d
put nothing past him at this point.
 
Next to the croissants and the bagels were two white plates, silverware,
napkins, two juice glasses, and a dish with butter softened to room
temperature.
 
He put on another pot
of coffee, and stood by the eggs while they cooked, turning them and tending to
them until they were perfect.

While I watched him, I wondered why
it was his grandparents who had raised him.
 
That was a revelation to me
—
he
’
d never shared that
with me before.
 
I had a feeling
that he would tell me in time, so I wouldn
’
t press.
 
Still,
I was curious.
 
What had happened in
his life that his parents hadn
’
t
raised him?
 
Had he gone into the
military seeking structure?
 
Back at
home, I had many friends who came from rotten backgrounds who fled to the armed
services for just that reason.
 
And
it did most of them well.
 
The
strongest ones flourished.
 
Was that
Tank?

Is that the reason he joined the
Marines?

I didn
’
t know, but I wouldn
’
t ask.
 
He
’
d tell me more about
his past when and if he was comfortable, safe, and ready to do so.
 
I would wait for that day, even if it
was years from now.
 
When and if he
felt he wanted to share it with me, I knew that he would.

I watched him move around the kitchen
with ease, and I couldn
’
t
shake what he
’
d
shared because I loved him.
 
Why had
his grandparents raised him and not his parents?
 
What critical piece of information didn
’
t I know about him?

When Tank was finished, he poured two
glasses of orange juice, removed the dome from the croissants and bagels, and
then plated the dishes with bacon, toast, and two poached eggs each with a
thick slab of butter wedged into them.
 
He served me and then sat beside me.

“
Dig
in,
”
he
said.

“
It
looks fantastic.
”

“
Try
it to make sure.
”

I did.
 
The yolk from the eggs oozed over the
toast.
 
It was cooked
perfectly.
 
I tasted it to make
sure, and then I knew
—
my
man knew how to cook.
 
I leaned over
and kissed him on the cheek.
 
“
It
’
s fabulous,
”
I
said.
 
“
Thank you.
”

“
No,
thank you.
”

“
What
for?
”

“
For
being you.
 
For being with me.
 
I know that I
’
ve been a cold
start.
 
I apologize for that.
 
It
’
s just who I am.
 
Partly, it
’
s
because of what I
’
ve
been through.
 
I needed to
completely trust you before we went further.
 
And I do.
 
I trust you with everything, Lisa.
”

I kissed him on the cheek and
squeezed his knee.

“
It
’
s only five-twenty,
”
he
said.
 
“
And I need to be to
work at nine.
 
I started brewing
that coffee early for a reason
—
I
knew it would wake you.
 
And all of
this protein?
 
I knew it would give
you the energy you
’
d
need.
”

“
For
Boss?
”

“
Not
just Boss.
”

I got the undercurrent.
 
“
You
’
ve
set me up.
”

“
Is
that a bad thing?
”

“
Let
’
s see?
 
No.
”

“
I
figured that after we finished breakfast, we
’
d have a good two hours in us.
 
What do you say?
 
I know last night was a lot for most to
handle, but
—
you
know
—
you
’
re tough.
 
Why not a bit more?
”

I put my hand around his shoulder
while I ate my eggs, and sipped my coffee and juice.
 
“
I say that you are one shrewd man.
 
Now, let
’
s eat up.
 
I
want you in that bed ASAP.
 
Only it
’
s going to be me
running the show this time.
”

“
You
think so?
”

“
You
had your way with me last night.
 
This morning is mine.
”

He put a hunk of toast and egg into
his mouth, and sipped his juice.
 
Then he cocked his head to the side, reached for my hand, and placed it
firmly between his legs, where I grasped his erection.
 
“
Game on,
”
he
said.
 
“
Let
’
s see what you
’
ve got.
”

After we finished breakfast, I showed
him that and more in the bedroom, to the point that each of us came twice
before he needed to hurry to get ready for work
—
and I needed to get home to get ready
for my meeting with Marco Boss.

CHAPTER SEVEN

When we left Tank
’
s building and moved
deep into January
’
s
cold embrace, a car was waiting to take me home, and to take Tank to Wenn.
 

All I had to wear was what I wore the
day before, but that was fine.
 
I
pulled my coat around me, and quickly got inside the car.
 
Tank followed after me, and soon we were
at 800 Fifth, where Jennifer and I still shared one of the penthouse
apartments.