Part 2 (1/2)

”My name is Shelby,” I forced through clenched teeth. For some obscure reason he never got my name right. This would be hilarious, if it weren't so annoying.

”Yes, Shelby, of course,” I pictured him pus.h.i.+ng his gla.s.ses up the bridge of his nose. ”I called because I have made a discovery and wondered if I might stop by your office tomorrow.”

The fine hairs on my arms rose straight up at the thought of Regis cornering me in my office. I'd take Tank over him every day, all day before that happened. Time to nip this baby in the bud. ”I won't have time, my calendar is quite full. Is this all you called about?”

”I'd hoped you would consent to dine with mother and me one evening this week.”

I heard his bowtie spinning and the crack of his mother's whip. ”Regis, we talked about this before. I'm going to say no, again. Call Penelope. She's anxious to show you...” Geez, what did Penny have again? ”Whatever it is she's growing in her garage. You'd have a lot in common.”

”Sh.e.l.ley, Mother has-”

I hung up and gave my body a shake, like a kid at school who got cootie germs. Regis phoned me on a regular basis asking me on dates, with his mother. He'd latched on to me when we were kids and I could only handle him in small doses. There was a slimy, ick factor about him and it had nothing to do with the three pounds of Brylcreem in his hair.

Putting away groceries, I sighed when I noticed I'd purchased most of Tank's favorite foods. I stared at the can of whipped cream before putting it in the fridge beside the pecan pie. I may have told him to go to a motel, but I knew he'd stay here.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. Why couldn't I move on? He had. I was positive he left me for another woman. Why else would he leave what seemed, to me at least, a wonderful, loving marriage?

Wanting nothing more than to relax I headed upstairs and threw my purse on the bed. Maybe long hot shower would wash my heartache away. A girl could hope.

Tank let himself into Shelby's house and heard the shower. There had been a time when he'd have joined her, but all that was gone. His rights as her husband were on hold until she was apprised of the whole situation. Only one other person close to Shelby knew he was a Federal Agent, and she'd sworn on a stack of cream filled donuts, she wouldn't give away his secret.

This case with Harrison couldn't end soon enough for him. The slimy little worm wouldn't give them the information needed to close in on Big Boss. He did let slip there was someone else involved. Someone from this town.

Tank knew he was close to closing the case, he could taste it. Nervous energy thrummed through his veins and if he were superst.i.tious, like his partner Rodi, he'd bet everything on them discovering who Big Boss was.

Thinking of Rodi made him realize his inside man hadn't contacted him in a while. Not unusual when you work deep undercover, but Rodi always tried to leave an encrypted message every two weeks.

Tank paused outside the master bedroom door before taking a step inside. Nothing had changed much, except anything that belonged to him was hidden or thrown away. A wry grin tipped his lip. Most likely thrown out or burned. Maybe both.

He walked to the dresser and picked up a bottle of her favorite perfume, drawing in the scent. Immediately he was transported back to the first time he met her, at a party on the beach. Across the fire he'd been mesmerized by the woman with hair the color of ripened wheat, cascading down her back in soft curls. And when they'd come face to face, one of the first things he did was kiss her.

Turned out to be a wrong move, but he couldn't help himself. When her gaze met his, he knew right then and there he'd marry her. It took a few months to convince Shelby of that, after he'd located her. The little minx gave him the number to a funeral home when he asked for her number.

The shower shut off and he heard the sounds of Shelby moving around the bathroom. He stood by the walk-in closet door and leaned one shoulder against the door jamb. Within minutes she opened the door, looking flushed with her hair twisted up into a clip and a warm, fuzzy housecoat wrapped around her body. She hadn't seen him yet, so he waited until she stopped in front of the dresser and looked into the mirror, catching his reflection.

Her eyes widened and then closed. He pushed away from the door. ”Hey, darlin'.”

My thoughts over the past few hours had been all about Tank, and then I stepped into bedroom and saw him. A sense of dej vu washed over me and I closed my eyes so he couldn't see my pain.

Tank's hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him, surprised me. I thought he'd step away, but instead he cupped my face, held my gaze and smiled a lazy smile. The one that made me fall in love with him the first time. He slipped a finger under my chin and caressed my cheek with his thumb. I wanted to press into his hand and rub my cheek against his palm. It took everything inside me to remain still.

He lowered his head and took possession of my mouth. Love, hurt, and anger combined and spread out from my heart and through my body. I stood, bathed in all these conflicting emotions and knew I still loved him. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on mine.

I had to be realistic. He might be here for only a few hours. Could my heart take him leaving again? The cold answer was, no.

”Tank-”

”Shh.....” He silenced me with a finger on my lips. ”I don't mean to complicate things, but I can't stay away. And G.o.d knows I tried.” He walked over to my king-sized bed and lay down, making it look like a doll's toy. He stretched out and, long legs crossed at the ankles, linked his hands behind his head and watched me. His biceps tensed and flexed with perfection.

I turned toward the dresser and grabbed a handful of underwear, shoving them into the cavernous pocket of my housecoat before Tank could see them. ”You can't waltz into my bedroom-”

”Our bedroom,” he corrected.

”-and think we can go on like nothing happened. You made your choice.”

I glanced over to the bed where he looked like the poster boy for Tall, Dark and Dangerous. Did he get my meaning? Marital relations were not going to happen. Not tonight, not tomorrow, maybe not ever. He'd left me for another woman, and my stomach clenched at the thought of him touching her. Loving her. Tasting her- The taste of bile was bitter in my mouth as I turned toward the dressing room. I'd spent countless nights, crying myself to sleep at the thought of him loving another woman the way he'd loved me. It had taken everything inside me to crawl out of that hole of self-pity and I wasn't going back.

I grabbed the closest tee s.h.i.+rt and a pair of jeans. With my skin still being moist from the shower, the jeans wouldn't s.h.i.+mmy up over my hip as far as I'd like, but I couldn't leave Tank alone any longer. I re-entered the bedroom, and stopped cold in the doorway.

My purse lay open and Tank was reading my notes from the Grant family meeting. He held up the open book and raised one eyebrow in question. ”Grocery list?”

I stomped over and s.n.a.t.c.hed the notebook out of his hand before grabbing my purse. Everything spilled out, which ratcheted my frustration up another level. I threw the purse back onto the bed.

”Get out!” I hissed, pointing to the door. ”You have no right to go through my private papers. And you're staying in the guest room, not here.” Clutching the notebook to my chest, I crossed over to the bedroom door and held it open. ”Out!”

He pushed off the bed and strolled out of my bedroom. But not before he paused, lightly touched the exposed skin where my jeans had refused to go further, and leaned in. His warm breath feathered my ear, ”Glad to see you still have your tattoo.”

Chapter Four.

Ah, yes, the tattoo. On my right hip I had a tattoo of a small 'T' with a stylistic heart wrapped around it. During a wild, crazy holiday in Cancun with Tank I'd gotten it to show how much he was in my heart. That promise of love walked out my front door, but the tat was forever. Lucky me.

I wandered into the ensuite bathroom and perched on the edge of the tub. I tried to have a backbone when it came to Tank but he was my Achilles Heel. This was the twenty-first century. Tank could have s.e.x with whomever he wanted and, technically, so could I, except Tank had been my first and only lover and I wouldn't betray the bonds of marriage.

I stood and started blow drying my hair. Staring at my reflection, I gave my 'self' a pep talk.

”You're a strong woman. You don't need Tank to validate who you are. Get the job done and don't let him get under your skin.” Firm with resolve to distance myself emotionally from Tank, I wandered down to the kitchen where I found him making coffee. Without turning he said, ”That wasn't nice, what you did out at the Grants. You could have warned me about the guard troll.”

How quickly I'd forgotten about Hannah. I choked back a little giggle. ”What's the matter Tank, couldn't handle a little old lady?”

”Do you still take your coffee black?” He reached into the cupboard and brought down sugar for his coffee.

Tank continued to move around the kitchen with ease and I watched him. I longed to reach out and rub his back like I had in the past. To know that with one touch, he'd turn around, gather me into his arms and kiss me senseless. My hand rose, but then dropped back by my side.

This camaraderie in the kitchen brought back a lot of memories I chose to forget. Tears formed and my eyes burned. My firm resolve was melting as fast as the sugar in his coffee.

”What did the Grants want to see you for?” He took my cup and poured coffee into it. Quickly, I dashed the tears away with the back of my hand. I reached around and grabbed the mug.

”Nothing much. They want me to track down a cousin or something. She has to sign some papers for their business.”

I hated lying. It went against every Sunday school lesson I'd learned and Pastor Nolan's preaching. Whoever said lying could be cathartic for a bruised psyche was dead wrong. He shook his head, turned around and poured a third spoonful of sugar into his mug.

Coffee in hand, I walked into the living room. I set the coffee down and flopped into my easy chair before turning on the television. Tank stayed in the kitchen and set up his lap top at the kitchen table.