ACCORDING TO PLAN by Sue Barr

first time with Tank’s arm around me, not
from anticipation.

Chapter Twelve
    “Ow, ow, ow !”
    “Stop being a baby, it’s just a splinter.”
    “No it’s not. It’s the size of an HB pencil and it hurts.”
    I sat at the kitchen table while Tank crouched before me and
removed the offending sliver of wood with a pair of tweezers. With a satisfied
sigh I looked up and found him watching me. Eyes smoldering, lower lip caught
between his teeth, he scorched me with that one quick glance. Never taking his
eyes off me, he slowly released his lower lip before raising my palm to his
mouth.
    Oh my.
    Heat pooled low in my belly when he pursed his lips and softly blew
on the tiny, open wound. The hairs on my arm stood on end and an electrical
energy shot straight from my hand to the center of my feminine core. Fascinated
by his lips, I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
    He leaned toward me. Would he kiss me? My lips parted in
anticipation. Flickers of disappointment stung my pride when all he did was
reach around and grab the first-aid kit. He applied some ointment and a Blue
Dinosaur Band-Aid. Had I finally pushed him completely away? Utterly
embarrassed, I tugged my hand, but he wouldn’t let go.
    His firm lips pressed above the Band-Aid and I closed my eyes.
Kisses feathered the inside of my arm and my breath hitched when he paused at
the nape of my neck. The warmth from his body was tangible, the scent of his
aftershave and cologne tangy sweet with a hint of musk.
    When I opened my eyes, Tank filled my vision. He was a hair’s
breadth away from my mouth. If I moved even an inch I’d touch his lips with
mine. I started to sway forward then caught myself. Tank was not who he said he
was, and I needed a lot of answers to a lot of questions.
    I scrambled to collect my thoughts as I pushed at his chest. “Slow
down, cowboy. We have to talk.” I stood and eased around him, toward the
kitchen island.
    Tank remained in a crouched position for a few seconds more before
rising to his feet. There was visible evidence he’d been affected by our
closeness. Towering over me, he took up a lot of space in my little kitchen and
I was sorely tempted to drag him up to our bedroom. Instead, I busied myself
putting away ointment, and Band-Aids and… stuff.
    I hesitated when he came up beside me, but instead of hauling me
into his arms, he started washing the dishes, which had been left so abruptly
this morning. I grabbed a towel and began drying. While we worked in
companionable silence, my mind whirred into overtime.
    I kept replaying what Neil said. “You blew your cover. I hope she
was worth it.”
    Was cover had he blown, and was I worth it to him?
    As I put away the last dish, I heard the fridge door open and
turned to see him holding a beer. He grabbed a second bottle, silently asking
me if I wanted one. I nodded and took it from him. Drink in hand, I followed
him to the living room where I curled in the big easy chair and waited while he
paced.
    He took a long draw from his beer, pushed a hand through his hair
and rubbed the back of his neck. The last time I’d seen him this jumpy was
right before he met my family. Finally he stopped pacing and faced me.
    “You’ve obviously figured out I’m not a P.I.” He chuckled when he
saw me roll my eyes.
    “Duh!”
    “I can’t give you a lot of details, I work for N.S.U.” He must have
caught my puzzled look. “Name’s not important. It’s a small agency within a
larger government branch. They recruited me right out of the military. Three
years ago I came here on a job with my buddy Caleb and ran into Ben Grady. We’d
all gone through basic together.”
    He finished his beer and set the empty bottle on the coffee table. “Ben’s
the one who insisted we go to the beach party where I met you. You kinda fell
into my arms and I couldn’t let go.”
    At this beach party, Regis once again stalked me. When I’d gone to
leave, as in run screaming, I’d stumbled into a solid wall.