I finished my fajitas, put my plate on the end table, grabbed my wine and drained the glass, deciding that was a good excuse to escape to the kitchen. I could tell them I needed a refill then wander to the back deck, sit there, drink wine and plan my escape. They probably wouldn’t even know I was gone or, at the very least, I could manage a head start.
At this point, Tabby was on her back, knees bent, the soles of her feet in the couch, head on the armrest, eyes on the screen so I had a direct shot in front of the couch to the kitchen.
So I took my shot.
“Need a refill,” I muttered, standing. “Anyone need anything?”
“I’m good,” Rush mumbled from the floor.
“I’m okay, Tyra, thanks,” Tabby said distractedly.
Excellent. They both were into the movie. A good start.
I walked across the front of the couch and was passing Tack’s armchair when I was stopped and what stopped me was Tack catching my wrist in a firm grip. I looked to him to see him standing.
Then I heard him announcing, “Tyra and I are off-limits for a while.”
“Cool,” Rush mumbled from the floor.
“’Kay,” Tabby said distractedly.
My head jerked back to look at Tack but his hand slid from my wrist to curl around mine. I found the wineglass not in my hand but on the end table by Tabby’s head. Then I found myself being pulled down my hall to my bedroom. Then I found myself in my bedroom. Then I found the door to my bedroom closed.
I jerked my head back again to look at Tack, my mouth opening, my mind deciding I didn’t care if his kids were just down the hall because when I finally made noise, it was going to be loud. But I found my mouth clamping shut because my body found itself in the air. Automatically I grabbed onto Tack’s shoulders, his hands at the backs of my knees swung my legs around his h*ps and then he took three long strides and I was flat on my back in my bed, Tack on top of me.
I blinked up into his handsome, goatee’d face.
Not this again.
“Tack –” I started, his name vibrating because I was so… freaking… pissed.
“Now that I’m not pissed, baby, we need to take some time to talk shit out,” he said gently.
Oh no, we did not.
I unwrapped my legs from his hips, shoved my feet into the bed and bucked up at the same time I pushed against his shoulders but Tack didn’t budge.
When this didn’t work, I hissed, “Get off me.”
He had a forearm in the bed beside me and his other hand came up to cup my jaw, his thumb moving out to sweep my lower lip. I fought back the urge to bite him as he spoke.
“Just settle, Red, and be quiet. I got something to say and I need you to listen.”
“You do not have anything to say that I want to hear,” I whispered irately.
“You’re gonna hear it anyway,” he replied.
I stopped pushing against his shoulders and glared at him. “Of course I am,” I stated sarcastically. “You want to say something, you say it. You want to do something, you do it. And who gives a shit what I want? Is that the jist of what you were about to say?”
His eyes held mine. “Not exactly.”
“Right, well, carry on, Tack. You’re going to anyway.”
“I see you’re pissed –”
“Mm hmm,” I cut him off. “Good call on that, handsome.”
“Babe,” he murmured and I could swear his mouth was moving like he was fighting a smile.
Oh. My. God!
“Do you find something funny?” I snapped.
“Well… yeah,” he answered.
“Interesting,” I replied. “See, I don’t find anything funny. Because, this afternoon, I was innocently working and the next thing I knew, I was on my back on my desk. That is not cool, Tack. That scared the holy hell out of me.” I ignored his face changing, his eyes changing and what the way they changed communicated to me and kept right on talking. “And just now, I was innocently intending to walk to my kitchen and refill my wine and I find myself flat on my back in my bed, something else that’s not cool.”
“I needed your attention then and I want it now,” Tack returned.
“Well done, handsome, you found a definite winner. You got my undivided attention then and you have it now.”
“You pissed me off earlier, Red, and you been pissin’ me off for a while. It wasn’t a good play to take your shit out on me this afternoon.”
I stared up at him a beat then asked, “I’ve been pissing you off for a while?”
“Yeah.”
My head tilted on the pillow “How?”
“Jesus, Red, don’t act stupid and don’t think I am.”
Um… what?
“Pardon?” I asked.
“I don’t know how it works in your world but I’m guessin’ in your world you can lead a man around by his dick by actin’ sweet then turnin’ on the freeze and ignoring his ass for days. Then you think you can shovel shit at him and he’ll eat it for a chance to get another taste of your sweet pu**y, but baby, I’m tellin’ you now, that’s not how it works in my world.”
“Ig… Ig…” I stuttered, “Ignoring your ass?”
“Ignoring my ass.”
“I… I don’t even know what to say. That’s insane.”
“Red, you got my numbers in your phone, all ‘a them. And your car has been at my garage for days and I haven’t once seen your face until I walked into our office today. I left you sweet and smiling in this goddamned bed and I don’t see you or hear your voice for four days? Then I walk into your office and you give me attitude and tell me to kiss your ass because you’re in a pissy mood about some shit you refuse to share? No. You gotta know, darlin’, that shit don’t play with me.”
“Well, Tack, that goes both ways because you showed and were all about biker charm and warm looks and then I got nothing from you for four and a half days. Then you walk in my office and tell me to buy you a sandwich! No. You gotta know, handsome, that shit don’t play with me.”
He studied me a few beats, his eyes flashed then his thumb swept my lower lip again and he murmured, “Well, f**k me.”
“I see the light’s dawning but I don’t care,” I announced. “Too late. I don’t understand the rules to your game but what I do understand, I don’t like. You have got to listen to me, a game is supposed to be fun and this is no fun for me. This isn’t fun at all. When it isn’t infuriating, it’s frightening and I don’t like either of those. I like your kids. They’re good kids so what I’m going to say next reflects on you, not them. I want you to let your kids finish their movie and then I’d appreciate it if you’d get yourself gone and take them with you. And, by the way,” I finished, “I don’t care if you accept my resignation or not. I won’t be in tomorrow and I’m not coming back. Now, please, get… off… me.”