Tagged For A New Start Read online

  “Thomas.”

  His name was like a prayer on her lips and he held one arm open for her. She straightened the luggage and then went, surprising him by burying her face against his chest. He suppressed the urge to kiss the top of her head.

  “I have something to make your day better,” he stated and she groaned.

  “Now is not the time to offer up your supposedly golden dick,” she replied and he laughed. Oh yes, usually that would be exactly the thing he’d say, but frankly with her he hadn’t even thought about spilling that line.

  “No.” He stepped back to pick up the bottle of wine he’d placed on the ground when spotting Leila, and held it out to Evy. “It has a screw top for easy access.”

  She stared at him, and then stared at him some more before tearing up.

  Instantly Tank felt as if he’d done something utterly wrong.

  “I’m sorry, I thought—”

  He didn’t get further as she threw her arms around him again and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Jesus, Heaven sent you,” she declared, grabbing the bottle and taking a few sips while Tank looked at her daughter, trying to ignore the warmth in his cheeks. He was pleased he’d made her happy, and with something as small as this.

  “You know,” he commented and she looked at him. “I also have this,” he then announced and pulled out a chocolate bar.

  She stayed silent while her daughter cuddled onto him, her small head resting against his shoulders, her eyes getting heavy.

  When he glanced at Evy, a tear was running down her cheek. “I don’t know what to say. It’s perfect,” she whispered.

  There, Mom, take that, Tank thought, and for once the ugly voice in his head had nothing to reply.

  Evy got into the passenger seat as Tank held the door open for her, and she couldn’t wrap her mind around the guy who’d picked them up.

  Yes, she’d seen him before, and she’d talked to him before, but he was totally contrary to the person she’d met the last time.

  This guy here was caring, kind, and considerate. Hell, he had a car seat for Leila in his truck; a thing she’d not even thought about when coming here.

  “What happened?” she asked when he got in, too, and he stared at her blankly.

  “Happened?”

  “You’re not an ass today. You know, all that pussy talk and everything you always bring?”

  She watched him grit his teeth as he started the car and no longer looked at her. “I was never like that with you,” he pointed out and it was almost true.

  “Remember that call we had about a month before I came for Christmas?”

  He lowered his head briefly, letting her know he remembered. “I was drunk and you called me at a bad time.”

  “A bad time? You were taking a woman against the side of a bar—”

  “Club,” he corrected.

  “Club,” she picked up the word, “and talked to me for minutes while pounding into her.” Evy had been irrationally jealous and smug at the same time.

  “You called, I answered. She didn’t mind. She was drunk, too.”

  Evy took a deep breath. “Doesn’t matter, because it wasn’t fair to her.”

  He glanced at her. “What’s she to you? And what does it matter to you when I talk to you? You called me up, I answered the phone, and I even recall you saying the world sucked.”

  “You told me it doesn’t have a dick, so it cannot be sucked.” Not that the sentence had made much sense in her mind.

  “It can’t. Either you’re on top, Evangeline, or you’re the one being fucked. Remember that.”

  She glanced back at her daughter, asleep in the car seat. It had been a long few hours with a horrible layover in Vegas, so she wasn’t surprised Leila was exhausted.

  She herself was nervous about seeing everyone.

  Which reminded her of the fact that Tessa had promised to pick her up and had been a no-show.

  “Your life philosophy sucks,” she snapped, angry suddenly. Not at him, but at the best friend who hadn’t even managed to make one hour free.

  “What’s up, buttercup?”

  He had an impeccable talent of picking up on her moods. “Don’t call me buttercup,” she replied. She didn’t need him to give her nicknames.

  In fact, she didn’t need Private First Class Thomas Michaels to give her anything, not even when in the dark of night, during the witching hour when you couldn’t fight your thoughts, she’d imagined him taking her against the club wall. She wanted to be wild and carefree, and be desired so strongly he couldn’t wait until being in a rather private place.

  Not that Tank took the women where he did because he desired them so much.

  Nope, Tank just needed his release.

  “Honey pie?” he suggested.

  “No.”

  “Sweetie bun?”

  “No.”

  “Cupcake?”

  She realized then he wanted to make her smile and it worked.

  “No. Just don’t give me nicknames. Those are reserved for people you care about,” she decided and then sighed. “Tessa didn’t even bother telling me she couldn’t come.”

  He glanced at her, and then focused back on the road before briefly checking on her daughter in the rearview mirror.

  “John is running a fever. Jazz sounded worried and they wanted to take him to the doctor, but they’ll be at Hilary’s soon, okay? She wanted to be there, Ev, I promise.”

  He sounded genuine.

  “What gave you that idea?” She didn’t mean to sound bitter, but ever since their first trip to the US, things between her and Tessa had been strained, hard. Somehow Evy had ended up being the bad guy even though all she’d wanted was to keep her best friend from heartache. Granted, it had been a lost cause right from the beginning, but how in the world had she been supposed to know Jazz and her were in it for the long haul?

  “She bought a car seat for your daughter, got you a cheap car so you can move around town, and she and Hilary took their time redecorating the bedroom you’d sleep in. How do I know that? Jazz and I had to fucking assemble the furniture.”

  Disappointment settled in her stomach. “You didn’t get the car seat?”

  His brow furrowed. “Me? Of course not. What in the world gave you the idea I knew anything about children or thought far enough ahead to be prepared for them?”

  Right. He wasn’t one for a family.

  “Well, the thing is in your car.”

  He nodded, turning into the neighborhood Evy almost recognized as familiar. “It was a delivery and I picked it up. Tessa and Jazz were supposed to get it beforehand, but somehow didn’t manage. So I was lucky really.”

  “Seems that way,” she muttered.

  He groaned. “What did I do wrong now?”

  She shook her head.

  Nothing. He’d done nothing wrong, but somewhere along the line, during their many Skype calls in the last months, her heart had started to turn on her, and now it was holding out hope someone like Tank could be changed for the better.

  Her mind knew better though.

  Guys like Tank never changed.

  The house was a flurry when they arrived. Evy didn’t get a chance to take her daughter out of the car because Hilary had torn the door open, cooing at the sleeping girl. She picked her up while Tessa came out, beaming.

  Jazz was nowhere to be seen and Evy wondered if that was because of her or because he was taking care of his son.

  “Evangeline! Oh my!” She hugged her tight. “I love your hair! It’s incredible.”

  Yes, straight and black, unlike before. Evy loved it, too, mainly because she felt as if with her hair she had changed, too, ready for something new.

  Tessa had been tagged for life, so maybe Evy had been lucky and was tagged for a new start.

  “I’m sorry we couldn’t come. Johnny has been running a fever for a few days and I thought it was going to be okay, but this morning it skyrocketed and I panicked. It’s just teething though.” She rolled h
er eyes and Evy nodded.

  She remembered well the nights Leila had been up, screaming, without anything really helping.

  “He’s asleep inside now since twenty minutes ago.”

  So Jazz wasn’t watching his son.

  Just that moment the guy in question came out, carrying a tray with glasses filled to the brim with something bubbly.

  “It’s just white wine spritzer really,” Tessa whispered conspiratorially, but Evy didn’t mind. She was already sporting a buzz because of the wine she’d drunk earlier, and the fact that she hadn’t eaten in more than twelve hours, but no one needed to know that.

  “Evy, hey!” Jazz had handed the tray off to someone else and now came over, hugging her. He still wore the same cologne he had when she’d first met him, and she was transported back to the guy he’d been then, on the bed of his truck, holding Tessa without really knowing her.

  He’d probably loved her then already and what those two shared was a one-in-a-million thing.

  Not that it kept Evy from wishing for the same.

  Grabbing a glass of the spritzer, she downed it. Jazz and Tessa were watching her, but neither commented.

  “Leila’s down and in bed,” Hilary reported. The woman was more efficient with a child than anyone else Evy knew, present people included. “That means it’s time for you to come inside and celebrate.”

  Evy glanced at Tessa. “Celebrate?” She thought they’d started that outside already.

  “And you, couldn’t you change at least?” Hilary asked toward Tank, arching her brow and placing her hands on her hips.

  “Chicks dig uniforms,” Tank informed her. “I even picked one up at the airport who jumped at the opportunity to get close to me.” He winked then.

  Evy smiled. “She’d been so excited and kept repeating your name on the plane,” she stated, dimming the glimmer in his eyes. He’d meant her, and she knew that, but she considered it best to not flirt with him or encourage him.

  Tessa grabbed her hand and drew her inside, hugging her over and over while people shouted the moment they entered the living room. She recognized Jazz’s sister and mother, and a few of the guys from base. Staring at them and their excited faces, she couldn’t help but feel as if she should be running far away from them.

  Tessa had organized a welcome party for her, had made sure her daughter would have everything she needed, and here Evy was, wondering how best to beg her friend to use her connections and score the event for her.

  Someone stepped up behind her, warmth seeping into her as the person leaned in, brushing her side.

  “Welcome to your new life, Ev,” Tank whispered and only then, after hearing those words, she exhaled and finally smiled.

  Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all, and Tessa might be happy to help.

  Maybe, just maybe, Evy would end up happy here in the US, so far from home.

  And maybe unicorns really existed in the world and would be jumping out of a cake at any given moment.

  It was close to midnight and Tank considered leaving. The girls had gone all out, inviting Seb and the rest of the crew, along with Jazz’s family, and the kids were sleeping peacefully while the adults drank and ate.

  He stepped around the side of the house, away from the street lights and into the shadows to rest his back against the side of it, the stones’ coolness seeping into his overheated body. He hadn’t been drinking because he still needed to drive back to base, but he’d watched Evy and knew she was sporting a nice little buzz.

  Or maybe a bigger one. He couldn’t say when exactly she’d decided to ditch being proper, but the alcohol seemed to have hit her hard at some point.

  “Would you do it to me?"

  The words were soft, round around the edges, but not slurred yet, and still, when Tank turned to Evy, she was resting one hand against the side of the house, swaying slightly on her feet.

  "Do what to you?" he asked, his mind muddled.

  There, in the dark, it was almost as if the rest of the world didn’t exist, didn’t taint who he was, who she was.

  As if they were strangers with no history and all the possibilities in the world.

  “Take me the way you took that woman against the side of the club.”

  His dick stood to attention at the thought of picking her up, driving into her, being close to her that way, but he still shook his head. “You’re not that type, Evy,” he pointed out, wanting to pass her, but her hand on his chest stopped him.

  Her face lay in shadows and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

  “You have a condom on you. I know you do.”

  He did, and he wasn’t going to lie about it. However, he certainly wouldn’t confirm her suspicion, either.

  “Just once, Tank. Please.” She stepped closer and he swallowed.

  “Evy…”

  God, how much he wanted it, and if he’d had a few beers, just two or three, he’d probably be easily convinced, but because he wanted it too much, and because he hadn’t been drinking he knew this was the mother of all bad ideas.

  “Just… I need to know how it feels. The meaningless sex, the walking away afterward,” she explained and he glanced away from her, unable to step around the warm palm pressed against his pecs.

  They wouldn’t walk away. They knew each other, shared the same friend circle, or mostly at least, and they’d see each other again on a regular basis.

  And Tank wanted it that way. He wanted to see her, wanted to talk to her, and be around her.

  Maybe he’d find out how a guy had to be to win her over. Maybe he’d find the magic formula to—

  She rubbed her palm over his pants and now there was no denying that he wanted it, wanted her to be exactly where she’d asked him to take her.

  “You will regret that,” he assured her.

  “Just show me what you can do and I won’t. I don’t have anyone else I can ask for that and I want it, Tank. Right here, right now. Rush it, because the danger of being caught just edges me on more. Here.” She grabbed his hand, rubbing it over her pants before pulling them away to slip his hands inside.

  By God, she meant it. She wanted it.

  “Listen, I’m—”

  He wanted to say something, but she was kissing him, and really, that was what made the decision for him.

  Backing her up so they were a little further from the edge of the house, he pressed her against the wall, fumbling with the button of her pants before stripping them down so she could step out of them with one leg, then he opened his own pants and picked her up.

  She’d asked for it and he was going to give it to her.

  All he had left to do now was hope he wouldn’t go to hell for it.

  Evy felt the cold stone of the side of the house press into her back while the hot-blooded soldier in front of her held her with one arm, rubbing her over the material of her panties until she was soaked.

  Watching Jazz and Tessa she’d decided that maybe, just maybe, she didn’t need the cuddling and all, but could use some hot sex to get her out of her weird mood, and she knew Tank was the guy for no strings attached.

  Her head was pleasantly swimming and she enjoyed the way he tasted, of spices and cold Coke. The way he held her, pressing her against the wall so she wouldn’t slide… damn, it was sexy.

  She’d gotten the buzz with the sole intention of finding her bravery to ask him what she’d asked him.

  The thing was, she’d have never asked anyone else, never would’ve dared to. And deep down he was the one she was picturing during those nights she allowed herself fantasies that would make her come to the edge she craved.

  Her fingertips played through his hair and she pressed her forehead against his while he worked her with the hand that wasn’t holding onto her.

  And boy, he knew what he was doing. She was trembling in no time, moaning, but he hushed her.

  “Please, Ev, as sexy as the sounds you’re making are, if your best friend catches me, this is the last time my
dick will see any action at all.”

  She wanted to reply, but then he was holding her up with his leg, her ankles crossed behind his ass, and he rolled on the condom.

  “It’s now or never,” he whispered, his voice sounding almost strained.

  Worry engulfed her suddenly at the worst possible time, and she tugged on his hair until he was looking at her in the darkness.

  “You want this, right?” There’d be nothing worse than him telling her he did it because he wanted to do her a favor and he didn’t care whom he was banging.

  His answer was to rub the top of his steely erection over her middle. “This, sweetheart, is me wanting you so very much.”

  “Good,” she replied and then arched into him as he pushed into her, pausing for a second to give her the time to adjust, and then he was moving his hips. She longed to be kissed by him again, but remembered he’d told her he never kissed the girls he banged like that.

  She’d asked why and he’d said something about emotional connections and how no one needed those.

  He tickled all her sweet spots and she dug her nails into his back, moaning again and again until suddenly she had no more air to breathe.

  Tank’s lips were on hers, and his tongue dancing with hers before he pulled back. “Damn, you’re vocal. I wish we were doing this right now in a bed so you could call out my name, moan it like you mean it,” he whispered against her lips, and before she could react to that surprising revelation his mouth was back on hers, swallowing up every sound she made.

  “Evy? Are you out here?” Tessa called from the front of the house.

  Tank wanted to pull back, but Evy kept him from it, digging her heels into his ass, urging him on. She was so close and knew he was, too. She doubted he could get any harder inside of her.

  “Keep going,” she whispered. “Take me, Tank. Come on, you want it.”

  She was surprised with every word leaving her lips, but this was Tank. He probably knew worse talkers than her.

  For a brief moment she wondered if he picked his girls that way, after how filthy they talked to him, but then pushed the thought away because each and every faceless beauty made her stomach drop.