Reckless Hero (Savage Soldiers Book 5) Read online

  Tucker and I hadn’t spoken of a romantic relationship between us since he found out about Garrett; it seemed we were both afraid to broach the subject.

  Despite my efforts, my heart had become hooked on him again. I didn’t think I could stand hearing him say he didn’t return my feelings, so I left the subject alone.

  Our tissues were thrown in the bin and our ice-creams devoured when I looked at Tucker and nodded, seeing the question in his eyes asking, Is it time?

  Clearing my throat, I looked toward Garrett. “There’s something we would like to tell you,” I said. I tried to keep my tone calm, but judging from the way he curiously cocked his head to the side, he knew this was serious.

  “Tucker is your daddy,” I blurted out.

  After a whole week of carefully contemplating how to deliver the news, that’s how it came out.

  Even though we were in the middle of a park filled with people, everything seemed to go completely silent as both Tucker and I watch Garrett carefully for his reaction.

  He seemed to be mulling it over in his mind. Finally, he said, “Is that why we have the same last name?”

  I wasn’t surprised that he noticed the fact. He was a smart child.

  I nodded. “Yes. That’s why.”

  His fist pumped the air. “Yes, I knew it!” he cheered. His smile lit up the whole world.

  Tucker’s smile was just as bright.

  Their happiness brought tears to my eyes.

  Tucker stood and went to Garrett’s side of the table, kneeling so that their eyes were level. “Buddy, I promise to be the best dad I can be to you if you will have me,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. “What do you say? Do you want to have me for a dad?”

  “Oh yeah,” Garrett said, and then threw himself into Tucker’s arms. When he pulled back, his gaze went from me to Tucker. He grinned. “Are you and Mommy going to get married now? Like Kenya’s mom and dad?”

  Tucker shot me a surprised look.

  “Oh no, Garrett,” I said quickly. “We’re not getting married. Sometimes mommies and daddies don’t get married, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t love their little boys and girls with all their heart. Do you understand?”

  “I think so,” he said after taking a moment to think it over.

  Tucker and I both sighed with relief.

  I ran my hand through my hair, glad the awkward moment was over.

  The rest of the day passed happily, with Garrett and Tucker enjoying getting to know each other better. It filled my heart with joy to watch them together even though I was fairly certain there was no longer any hope of a relationship between Tucker and I, at least not romantically.

  That ship had sailed.

  CHAPTER 21

  Anna

  The last few weeks had been life-changing.

  Tucker and I had settled to co-parenting and managed our scheduled so that Garrett had plenty of time with both of us. And Tucker and I had even resumed being study partners.

  With final exams quickly approaching, we were hitting the books at his place.

  For once, Garrett wasn’t around. He and Tucker had been attached at the hip for the most part, but he was spending the night with my dad so that Tucker and I could study.

  I stared down at my textbook without registering any of the words. All my senses were wrapped up around Tucker; it was killing me to have him so close yet be unable to touch him.

  We sat at his kitchen table. He was next to me, and his cologne created a heavy fog around my brain.

  Our relationship now was that of friends, co-parents, and study-partners. We hadn’t screwed around at all in the weeks that had gone by. Though Tucker’s flirtatious nature was back in full swing, I didn’t place any hope in it since I recognized it was just part of his personality.

  It didn’t mean anything to him, but it meant so much to me.

  I was in love with him. It had been a long hard road, but I was finally able to admit it to myself. Yet, it hurt every second of every day to keep that knowledge to myself.

  Having him close all the time and seeing what a great dad he was to Garrett had me tied up in knots.

  The silence in the room caught my attention and I looked up from my books to find him watching me. He had asked me something, but I hadn’t heard a word he’d said.

  I blushed. “I’m sorry. What did you just say?”

  He put down the pen he’d been holding down. “You seem distracted tonight. You all right?” he asked.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine,” I said quickly, wanting to deflect his attention from my emotional state.

  “Are you sure nothing’s bothering you?”

  “Tucker, I’m fine. Just nervous about finals, I guess.”

  “How are things with Brandon?” he pressed.

  “Great,” I said, grateful to have the focus off me. “He and Dad are trying to work on their relationship. And he’s with that girl—the one he saved from the abusive guy. I’m proud of him.”

  We talked a little more about Brandon, and I slowly began to relax.

  Until Tucker changed the mood with his next words.

  “I’ve missed you these last few weeks,” he said.

  I frowned, confused. “But I’ve been right here.”

  “I know, but I want more…”

  I swallowed.

  Was this really happening?

  Tucker stood and pulled me to my feet.

  “Y-you do?” I stuttered. “But I thought for sure…”

  “Having you close to me and not really having you is eating me alive, Anna.” He pulled me closer with his hand behind my head and kissed me. “I want to be more than just Garrett’s dad to you. I want to be your lover, your friend, your everything. Please say yes.”

  “Yes,” I whispered against him lips and then kissed him.

  He groaned and I clenched my fingers in the collar of his t-shirt to keep him where I needed him. His hand pushed my shirt up my back before going back down to dip into my pants, cupping my behind through my lace-trimmed cotton underwear. I kissed along his jawline and he groaned again when I nipped his chin.

  Unable to contain himself, he ripped my shirt off and threw it aside. He then proceeded to stare at my bare flesh for so long that old insecurities reared their heads for a tiny second before he demolished them with two words. “You’re gorgeous.”

  His hands kneaded my breasts and he latched onto my nipple through the fabric of my bra. I tossed my head back, enjoying the sensation.

  He started slow, his head moving in time with the stroke of his tongue, making me feel each tug low in my core. He then moved to the other peak but pulled the cup down before engulfing as much of me as he could.

  Fire rushed from where his mouth suckled and spread quickly. Colors burst behind my eyelids. The ends of my hair touched my back and I shivered, leaning into the warmth of Tucker’s hands.

  My head rolled back to the front. When I opened my eyes, he was looking up at me, his long lashes fanning over his eyes. He pulled stronger on my nipple and I moaned. He then let it go with a wet smacking sound, only to flick his tongue in a slow circle.

  Pulling his face up to mine, I pushed my tongue into his mouth. His hips jumped beneath mine and he groaned, matching my aggression.

  My hands traveled down his chest, tearing at his clothing until his shirt fell to the floor. Before I could undress him any further, he lifted me and carried me to the bedroom.

  When we got there, I switched our positions, getting on top of him.

  Too impatient, I struggled to unzip his jeans and he had to do the honors himself. I then took over again, pushing his jeans down along with his underwear. When the task was done, I nipped his lower lip before licking it in the process.

  His hips arched off the mattress.

  I smiled to myself, loving the fact that I knew what movements made him tremble, and which ones made his breath shudder.

  His head moved back and forth on the wall, yet his eyes were zeroed i
n on me and his hands clenched my hips.

  “Oh shit,” he groaned.

  In a movement almost too quick for me to process, he had pressed my back against the bed and blanketed his own body over mine. I fondled him as he hovered over me and leaned down to engulf my bare nipple. At the same time, his hands worked to unfasten my pants.

  There was a tearing sound as his fingers entered my undies and slid through my wetness. He then knelt and pulled my shorts and panties down.

  Instead of returning to his previous position, he placed his head between my sprawled thighs and spread me with his fingers.

  Pausing for a moment, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. I blushed, but felt no embarrassment, only heat as I tittered on the edge of something elusive.

  “I’ve been dying to do this,” Tucker said in a low voice. His finger brushed against my clit, his touch light.

  My breath whooshed out in a trembling exhalation and moisture coated my inner thighs as he stroked them before withdrawing.

  Caressing my slick skin, he gave my clit that same fleeting touch and entered me again. His tongue and mouth drew patterns on the insides of my thighs, moving closer and closer to my center as his finger started a slow rhythm.

  “I can feel you.” His teeth scraped no more than an inch away from my puffy lips. My thighs quivered. “Every time I touch you, you clench and get wetter.”

  He twisted his finger and he touched a sweet place no other man had. I rose to meet his fingers.

  “Do you like that?” he teased.

  I nodded, incapable of speech.

  “Then you’re going to love this…”

  Closing his eyes slowly, he laid his mouth on me, moaning in the process. His tongue found my bud and my breathing echoed around us. He curled his mouth around it, concentrating the sucking motion of his mouth there. His finger felt fuller, and I realized he had added a second one. Together, mouth and fingers had me making incoherent sounds and my body involuntary quaking.

  “Tucker, please.” My hand on his head, I pulled him closer, trying to capture the feeling.

  I exploded with a choked whimper. His hands kept my trembling hips in place as he continued his torture until he rang every bit of the climax from my body.

  Any lingering reservations I had about doing this with him melted in the heat of my desire.

  “I love you,” I said.

  “I love you too,” he said back instantly.

  EPILOUGE

  Tucker

  We had come a long way since I found out about Garrett being my son. Now, it was graduation day for Anna and I both.

  I had accepted a position at a firm a couple of hours away from Savage and immediately asked Anna and Garrett to join me. She had agreed, after turning down a position in the South. Instead, she ended up applying to multiple firms near my new employer and got to take her pick.

  She always had been smarter than me.

  And as for Garrett—he wasn’t a little boy any more. He was seven now and growing like a weed. I was enjoying witnessing him coming into his own. He had a great sense of humor and was always messing around with me and Anna. He was becoming a really cool kid, and it made me smile to think I had a hand in it.

  We were out at a restaurant in the upper-class part of town, celebrating our graduation and upcoming move with my mom, Anna’s family, and of course, Garrett.

  The boy gave me a conspiratorial wink and I winked back.

  I got down on one knee and watched Anna’s eyes widen.

  She covered her mouth with one hand. “What are you doing?”

  I took her free hand in mine and smiled. “Anna, I know we had a rocky start once we reconnected, but these past few years have been the best of my life. You’ve made me the happiest man alive by giving me the best son anyone could ask for and loving me unconditionally. I love you and the life that we’re building together. I can’t imagine living without you, and I don’t want to. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

  Tears freely ran down her cheeks. She dropped to her knees in front of me and took my face between her hands, pulling until our mouths met.

  “Is that a yes?” I asked, grinning.

  She nodded while laughing through her tears. “Yes,” she finally answered, the word coming out muffled against my lips.

  “She said yes!” Garrett announced to the onlookers, most of who promptly laughed and applauded.

  “You knew?!” Anna asked.

  “Of course. Dad asked my permission,” Garrett said, his chest puffed up and beaming with pride. His smile was so infectious that I broke out into a grin too.

  I turned back to look at Anna. “I love you.”

  She smiled, her eyes sparkling with the mist of tears. “I love you too.”