“Really? You seemed to have made up for lost time. You, Mr. Buchanan, are quite charming now.”
“True,” he admitted with an unabashed grin, for some reason those words coming from Tana, felt like a true compliment. “Well, once I discovered girls could be quite…enjoyable…whenever I wasn’t training, I was falling in and out of love.”
Her smile softened as her gaze became inquisitive. “Have you ever been truly in love?”
“No,” he answered, but right here, in this moment, with the darkness covering them in a blanket of privacy, he could’ve easily imagined that he was falling in love for the first time…with Tana.
But that was stupid and naive, not to mention foolhardy. Let’s face it, once Tana found out the sheer depth of his deception, cuddling with him would be the last thing she’d want to do with him.
He sighed with a touch of self-pitying regret to quip, “I’m not sure love is in the cards for me.”
“Why is that?”
She of the tough questions.
How could he tell her that he loathed himself for what he was doing and for how he’d given up on the only dream he’d ever known because he’d been too weak to do anything but quit?
How could he possibly love anyone when he didn’t love himself?
“I’m just not cut out for the deep stuff, sweetheart.”
Before she could say anything else, he brushed a quick kiss across her lips and turned her around, pulling her against him. “Time for sleep. I promised I would make sure you got at least four hours sleep and I keep my promises.”
Her sweet rump pressed against his naked groin and he tried not to shudder with pleasure as she wiggled against him, settling into a comfortable spot.
Tana must’ve sensed he wasn’t going to delve any further into that particular conversation and within moments fell fast asleep but Reece wasn’t so lucky.
No, it was a long time before sleep found him, which was probably fitting.
He didn’t deserve sweet slumber, curled around a terrific woman with a banging body and an even sharper mind.
He didn’t deserve shit.
Oh boo-hoo. Stop your whining. You can console yourself on the banks of Greece with an Italian hottie wrapped around your dick.
But what if he didn’t want anyone but Tana?
You’ll get over it…you always do.
bookmark: 16
Chapter 16
z
Tana awoke to Reece’s kisses along her collarbone and a sleepy smile curved her lips as a delighted sigh followed.
“A girl could get used to this,” she murmured, her smile deepening as he disappeared beneath the covers to graze her pubic mound with his stubble.
She giggled as he tickled her purposefully but soon enough he was burying his face between her folds, making breakfast out of her sensitive flesh and she could barely contain the shrieks as she tumbled into a sweet orgasm before she’d even had a cup of tea.
He reappeared to kiss her hard, leaving the scent of her own musk on her lips.
Tana groaned as he turned her roughly to her belly, palming the twin halves of her ass with a hungry growl of appreciation that made her blush from her head to her toes.
“I will fuck that ass,” he promised, causing her to hide her face as she grinned secretly with excitement at the taboo act. “Oh yes, my cock will split that virgin hole and it’ll be mine. How does that sound?”
Incredibly scary and arousing, she wanted to admit but she clamped her mouth shut.
She’d never contemplated anal sex before but with Reece she wasn’t afraid to try anything.
She trusted that he wouldn’t hurt her and she supposed if she were going to be sexually adventurous, she ought to do it with someone experienced.
But not today.
She lifted her head and cast him a sultry look, reminding him, “I have to get home, remember?”
“Ah yes, to relive the night nurse. And what if I told you, you didn’t have to relieve the night nurse and that I’d already paid for the night nurse to stay for another shift, leaving you all to myself?”
Tana wanted to be irritated that he would take such liberties with decisions he had no right to make but it felt good to be pampered, at least for once.
Since she’d taken over the care for her papa, she’d had precious little time to herself and all the decisions, good or bad, had fallen to her.
It was a blessed relief to let someone else make the decisions.
But Tana couldn’t make it so easy for Reece.
“What makes you think I want to spend all day with you,” she countered with a playfully dismissive look, knowing he was staring at her ass and practically salivating. “I mean, I do have a life, you know.”
Reece laughed at her reply and answered by slapping her ass, eliciting a yelp on her part, before he yanked her to her knees, drawing her hips up and opening her for his entry, which he did with brutal sensuality, stealing her breath.
Burying himself deep, he leaned over her body to whisper in her ear, “Let’s see how sassy that mouth is when my cock is stuffed in it. But first…I need a little something to take the edge off.”
And then he proceeded to fuck her like a man possessed and all she could do was brace herself for the onslaught of pleasure that buffeted her from all angles.
God, he was a master with that cock.
Never in her life…holy-freaking-shit…maybe he was a demon from hell whose evil talent was to leave women forever pining for something they should never have.
“That was…intense,” Tana gasped, her heart threatening to burst from her chest. “You’re ruining me for other men.”
“Good,” he said with an exhausted grin. “That was my plan all along.”
“It’s working,” she returned with a chagrined laugh. “And how exactly is that a good thing for me?”
She expected playful banter but when Reece rolled from the bed and strode to the bathroom, she was a little taken aback by the sudden action.
Don’t be ridiculous. The man had to pee.
Tana contemplated remaining in the bed but it didn’t sit well with her to act the part of the besotted clinger, desperate for any crumb of Reece’s attention.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she found her clothes and started dressing when Reece returned. “What are you doing?” he asked with a rapidly forming scowl when it was all but apparent. “I told you there’s no reason to run off. I’ve taken care of your caregiver problem.”
“Yeah, and that was sweet — I think — but honestly, I don’t know what’s going on between us and I’m not going to play the hot and cold game. I’d rather just go home and let you process through whatever bit you in the ass and caused you to turn sour. Frankly, I don’t have the time for that kind of drama.”
Quick as a snake strike, Reece was pushing her to the bed, a hungry expression sharpening his handsome features.
“Oh, come on now, you don’t want to leave so who’s the one playing games?” he asked with a subtle taunt to his tone.
She held his gaze, refusing to show either arousal (because why the hell did it excite her to push his buttons?) nor fear (because no matter how hard he played, Reece would never truly hurt her).
“I think you want me to beg you to stay, apologize for being a moody prick and then fuck you sidewise until you’re left bowlegged.”
Her cheeks flared with heat. “You have a vivid — and perverted — imagination.”
“I do,” he agreed with silky heat coating his voice. “And I know you love that about me.”
God, she did. How did he know her so well when she’d been completely ignorant of what made her clock tick until now?
“Are you finished?” she returned with cool boredom that was a complete act.
She deserved a fucking Oscar for the performance she was churning out.
“Because I have things to do. And babysit an emotionally stunted billionaire playboy as he cycles through his sullen and
petulant behavior is not high on my priority list.”
“Sullen and petulant?” he repeated with a small grin. “Harsh. Your tongue should be listed as a weapon of mass destruction.” He held his hands up. “I surrender.”
“Oh stop,” Tana said, exasperated. “You’re hot and cold. One minute you’re being the sweetest, most generous lover and the next you’re being a royal dick. I can’t take the roller coaster. I have enough in my life that sucks the energy out of my soul, I don’t need my fuck-buddy to do it, too.”
“Is that what we are?” Reece asked, as if genuinely intrigued by her assessment. “I mean, I suppose that’s an inelegant way to put it but if you’re okay with it, I’m fine with it.”
Something pinched her backside.
No, she wasn’t fine with it. But what was she hoping for? An actual relationship with Reece Buchanan?
What a fucking joke.
“Fine.” Tana shrugged, as if it made no difference to her. “Fuck-buddy it is.”
How she managed to suppress the immediate cringe when the word fuck-buddy fell from her mouth, she’d never know.
But Reece seemed to buy her act so that was all that mattered.
Neither wanted to delve into a hot and heavy, potentially emotionally deep conversation with one another.
For crying out loud, they’d be idiots to even try to make something real out of what they were doing.
Talk about different worlds.
Tana wasn’t sure they orbited the same planet.
She was on planet REALITY and Reece was permanently traipsing around UNICORN LAND.
Reece rubbed his hands together with entirely too much glee as he said, “Great. So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s bang out a quickie, shower and then start our day. I have big plans.”
“Plans? What sort of plans?”
“Ahhh, ahhh,” he warned, coming toward her, his cock already hard and ready. She tried not to stare but that thing was difficult to ignore. “No questions until after the aforementioned quickie. As you can see, my miniature is ready to play and I’m ready to bend you over the bed and fuck you so hard your teeth rattle.”
Ohhh, how was she supposed to say no to that enticing offer?
Like she said, the man had a gift.
Whether or not he used it for evil or not…remained to be seen!
***
That was close.
Reece nearly fucked everything up with his sudden attack of conscience.
So, he wasn’t used to second-guessing his motivation or admitting when he was wrong.
And so it’d caused him to react in a manner that was out of character.
As in…with true emotion.
The truth was, he was hot and cold with Tana because when he let his guard down, he was truly happy to be with her for no underhanded reason, just to be with her.
Huh.
Yeah, that was an occupational hazard, right?
If he were smart, he’d deliver his bomb and then cut ties, walking away from the fall-out.
But he couldn’t quite do that.
Not yet.
Showered and fresh as a summer daisy, Tana smiled and brushed a sweet kiss across his lips as she sashayed past him, that perfect ass teasing him as she knew it would.
Ahhh, the little vixen.
He couldn’t help the smile as he watched her dress, taking great pleasure in knowing that she would bear his love marks as well as the sore muscles from their epic sex-fest.
Fuck-buddy or not, she was his.
At least for now.
Shaking off his rapidly souring thoughts, he turned a dazzling smile toward Tana and said, “Today, I want to show you something.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Not really?”
Reece laughed. “Smart girl.”
Locking the loft, he guided Tana at the small of her back, the light touch a conduit between them that channeled the energy that flowed without obstacle.
He shouldn’t feel possessive but when men noticed Tana, a growl threatened to pop from his throat.
He must’ve been blind when he’d made the judgment about Tana not being classically beautiful because she was a fucking smoke-bomb and every man that crossed her path seemed to see it clear as day.
Reece was only too happy to funnel her into the awaiting Towncar, eager to have Tana all to himself and away from the fucking oglers staring at her shapely ass.
Late autumn was beautiful in the city but it was cold as a witch’s tit, too.
And it didn’t escape his notice that Tana was woefully dressed for the weather.
“You need a coat where we’re going,” he told her.
“Well, we could swing by my place. I have a wool pea coat I found at a thrift store that’s very warm.”
“Thrift store?”
“You’re such a snob. There’s nothing wrong with thrift store finds. Some of my favorite outfits I paid less than twenty dollars for.”
“Frugal and sassy. What a package deal.”
“I’m serious,” she said, laughing. “Once I found a Hermes scarf tossed in the dollar bin and it was practically new. Top that.”
“A Hermes scarf? Maybe it was a knock-off. You know New York is filled with con artists. There’s a man claiming to sell Coach bags on Fifty-fourth out of a rolling cart but you and I both know, they aren’t the real deal.”
“I’m telling you, it was the genuine article.”
He wasn’t inclined to believe it but since Tana seemed so invested in the belief, he decided to let her win the argument.
“I stand corrected. But I can’t say I see the appeal of digging through dollar bins, no matter what treasure might be found at the bottom.”
Tana shrugged. “Your loss. It’s fun.”
“Indulge me. What’s so fun about it?”
Tana settled against the plush leather. “Well, first, I like doing my part for the environment. Makes me feel slightly less guilty for the plastic bags that I secretly still use. When you shop at a thrift store, you’re keeping that item out of the landfill and that’s always good thing. Have you seen the floating barge of trash? It’s disgusting and if you’re not being part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
Reece had never given two thoughts about the environment. “Admirable,” he murmured, encouraging her to continue.
“Thank you. We can all do our part, you know? And second, I think it’s ridiculous to pay the prices that — no offense — the ultra rich pay for items that they really don’t need anyway. Why pay thousands of dollars for a purse when you can do something so much better with that money?”
“Don’t you believe in treating yourself when you’ve worked hard?”
Tana took care with her answer, showing she’d given this very topic a lot of thought as of late. “Sometimes life makes you realize that what you thought was a treat was just a useless waste of resources.”
Reece sensed she was thinking of her grandfather. He couldn’t imagine how it felt to shoulder the full responsibility of a loved one’s care and bearing the additional burden of a terrible secret.
“Everyone deserves a treat now and then,” he told her, knuckling her cheek gently. “What would you want if money were no obstacle?”
But Tana just shook her head. “Reece, the things I would wish for, money can’t buy.”
Reece knew that pain. When the doctors told him he’d never play lacrosse again…the agony of his loss was more than he could stomach.
At that moment, his wealth had meant nothing.
As if realizing she’d revealed too much, she forced a smile. “But I have what I need so that’s all that matters.”
“There’s nothing you would wish for?”
“All I want is to be able to tell my grandfather that his legacy is safe.”
Tough request. He didn’t need to tell her he couldn’t make that happen. “Nothing else?” he queried, almost desperately. “M
aybe I can rope the moon for you instead. That seems a helluva lot easier to make happen.”
Tana nodded, trying to hide the dejection. “I get it. It must be difficult to go against your family.”
“You have no idea,” he grumbled, wishing he could just tell Tana that Dillon had him over a barrel. Maybe she’d understand. Maybe not. He wasn’t willing to take the chance.
“So what is this surprise?” Tana asked, redirecting the conversation.
“Ah, yes,” he said, grateful for the reprieve. “I want to share with you something from my past that isn’t something that would make you cringe.”
“Intriguing,” Tana said with a slow smile. “And what exactly is that?”
“We are going on a field trip.”
She laughed, her eyes twinkling. “To where?”
“Duke University, where I went to college.”
“And what would we do there?”
“I’m going to show you what college-age Reece was obsessed with.”
“Good lord, are you taking me a strip joint?”
He leaned in for a kiss, murmuring against her soft lips, “The only body I’m interested in seeing naked right now, is yours.”
“Sweet talker,” Tana returned with a throaty laugh that thrilled him to his curled toes. “And how exactly are we getting to North Carolina with our time constraints?”
“Fly, of course. The Buchanan jet is waiting for us at the airfield. We’ll be there in time for lunch.”
He was ready to counter every excuse she might throw at him but to his surprise Tana just smiled and snuggled up to him, a happy smile curving her mouth.
Reece wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
He’d never understood that saying.
He wouldn’t want to look into any horses’ mouth.
bookmark: 17
Chapter 17
z
Tana settled into the buttery cream-colored leather of the captain’s chair and tried not to be visibly overwhelmed by the mahogany luxe cabin of the private Buchanan jet.
Pushed (Billionaire romance): Pursued By The Billionaire (Buchanan Romance Book 2) Page 12
