14

Luna had to leave earlier in order to help set up for a special event happening at the club where she worked. That left me to get ready for my first date with my husband all by my lonesome. I would have called my sister, but she was enjoying time with her new husband, and considering all they had been through recently, I didn't want to intrude.

Truth be told, the man had already married me, so I guess it didn't matter if I went all out or showed up in sweats with rollers in my hair. Well, on second thought, that wasn't a good look. Even I wouldn't go that far, unless he pissed me off again, in which case all bets would be off. I giggled at my own silly thoughts as I zipped up the Navy-blue dress I'd picked out for the night. Thankfully, the zip went up the side of the dress and was easy to handle without help.

Once I got it on, I added the strappy silver heels, forgoing my usual comfy flats. I also put on a pretty little sapphire teardrop necklace with a white gold chain that matched my wedding ring. The makeup was kept simple, for the most part, though I did add a little dramatic flair with a bit of blue eyeshadow blended into the crease of my lids down to the winged liner edges at the corner of my eyes. It wasn't over the top or too subtle. I hit the Goldilocks of perfect eyeshadow application, if I did say so myself.

My hair was another story though. There wasn't a lot I could manage with my golden locks. It was either stick straight, a cute ponytail, or an intricate updo that would take forever along with a gallon of the strongest hair cement available. I thought about the woman who used a super glue spray on her hair and wondered if that might be what I would have to do to tame my tresses for future outings. I quickly dismissed the idea, because I never liked a hairstyle long enough to be permanently, or even semi-permanently, attached to it.

I ended up just leaving my hair down to hang in a straight curtain around my shoulders. I'd actually been thinking of chopping it all off recently, and after this date, I might just find a hair stylist who would be able to make the short-haired look work for me.

Just as I was adding a little dab of pink to my lips, there was a knock on the apartment door. I grabbed my clutch and headed to the door to find Tucker standing there with a beautiful array of blue-hued flowers. He smiled at me and offered them up. "They reminded me of you," he mentioned as he handed them over.

"How exactly did these remind you of me?" I questioned as I moved to take them to the kitchen and deposit the bouquet in a vase.

"Your eyes, the hanging flowers that were up during our wedding, your ring," he stated as I turned to see the sincerity in his eyes. Then he grinned as he added, "That spectacular dress you're wearing tonight."

It was my turn to smile at him. "I see, you're turning on the charm for our first date. Better watch out Mr. Tucker, because you're setting the bar now. I'll expect more of the same later."

"The bar should be set high." He eased closer and then leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek, at least, I think that's what he had meant to do, but it ended up closer to the corner of my mouth instead. My eyes shifted up, to meet his and the warmth in those amber orbs caused a blush to steal across my cheeks.

"I'm ready to go when you are," I managed to get out after taking a step back.

"Right," he held his arm out to me, "shall we get going then?"

I nodded and allowed the man to escort me out of the apartment I now shared with Luna, and to his car which was parked in the spot just in front. "Where are we going anyway?"

"I'm taking you to dinner at Canoe," he murmured as he helped me into the car.

"Canoe?" I whispered. I'd always wanted to go there but had never had the opportunity before. I clapped my hands excitedly. "Yay!"

Tucker laughed. "I see it doesn't take much to please you."

"Seriously? This will be an experience. I've been dying to try the place out."

"You'll love it," he insisted.

"Oh, you've been before?" Tucker turned away from me and concentrated on driving, his only answer was a slight nod of his head. Of course, he had been there before, he was a damn billionaire. Well, he would be when he took over all of his family's businesses, but still, the man was not hurting for money even with his status being what it was. Plus, there was the fact that he dated. A lot. To be sure, he had taken more than one date to the esteemed restaurant to impress them. Just the thought of being one of many made me have to fight off all the ugly little insecurities threatening to plague me.

"Well, at least I dressed well enough for a place like that," I mentioned, while trying to change the subject. "It's actually somewhat difficult to get ready for a date when you have no clue where you're going."

"Well, you did a fantastic job, but for the record, I would have taken you there no matter what you wore."

"So, if you showed up and I was completely naked, you would have still taken me to Canoe, no questions asked?"

"Are you really ready for the answer to what I'd do with you if I showed up and you were naked?" I hummed my response as I thought about the possible answers. "Whatever you're imagining is probably wrong."

"Yeah?" I questioned. "Well, that's a damn shame then." It was a tease, and one I wasn't sure I was ready to back up, but I couldn't seem to help myself.

Tucker hissed out a breath and then laughed. "I'm trying to be a good guy here, for a change, and you aren't making that very easy."

"Maybe this is how I get my revenge for our subpar first start together?" Again, I was teasing.

"I really hoped that 'fresh start' meant just that and there weren't any hidden agendas for either of us anymore." His response was far too serious and made me feel somewhat bad for making light of everything.

"Sorry, obviously too soon to joke about it," I admitted.

"Is that your coping mechanism? You use humor?"

"Nah, mostly, my deflection game is on point. The bad jokes are actually a side effect of my shitty sense of humor."

Tucker laughed. "Somehow I doubt your sense of humor is that bad."

"You'll see," and he would. The more time we spent trying to get to know one another, he would be able to see all the parts of me, even the ones I had been using for years to keep people at bay so that they wouldn't get too close to me. We rode in silence for most of the rest of the way. It wasn't uncomfortable or filled with awkwardness. It was like we both just had our own thoughts going on and respected the quiet equally.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were seated quickly, which I found interesting, especially since we were immediately seated at one of the coveted patio tables. "If it's all about who you know or who you blow," I joked, "I'm sitting here wondering exactly how you managed this."

Tucker laughed boisterously as our server placed the drinks that we'd ordered in front of us. "You are something else, Mina."

"That's what my family keeps telling me too. Seriously, this was incredibly last minute, how did you manage?"

Tucker sighed then. "Can we not dig too deep into that tonight?" My husband, date, the man seated across from me… I wasn't even sure how to address exactly who he was to me anymore, even in my own head. I sighed as he glanced away instead of meeting my eyes and suddenly, being there made me feel kind of icky and I couldn't wrap my head around why.

"Mr. Tucker, lovely to have you here again this evening. Would you enjoy your preferred bottle of wine?" It was not our server who came to the table and asked, so I assumed it had to be someone important, maybe a manager or owner who was used to seeing my husband at the restaurant. I picked up my phone as Tucker spoke quietly with the man. While they spoke, I searched my husband's name in conjunction with Canoe, and sure enough, there were tons of pictures with him bringing different women to this very spot. Maybe not the exact table, but he could certainly be called a regular and even though I was his wife, which didn't matter since this was our first official date, I suddenly felt like I was just another bimbo he brought here. To be sure, that's what the man offering up the wine had thought.

"Excuse me," I interrupted, "could you point me in the direction of the restroom, please?" The gentleman who had attended our table, apologized and pointed me in the correct direction. I wasn't sure what he was apologizing for. Maybe he realized he had just ruined our night. I wish he wouldn't think that though, because it had definitely been Tucker who ruined the night by being so unoriginal as to take me to the place where he apparently took a large number of his previous dates.

I did actually go to the bathroom, but more because I felt sick than for any other reason. Plus, I needed to figure out how to get back to my apartment without it costing me an arm and a leg, since Tucker had driven me here and I no longer wished to stay. I wanted to call Luna and ask her what she would do. I know what Bea would tell me. "Shut up, eat the food, and then never see him again." Granted, I'm not sure that advice would apply to a man I was already married to, but if this were a normal first date, that would be her sisterly dating advice. Maybe that's what I should do. I was tired of running from my problems and letting them swamp me.

With that decision made, I allowed some cool water to run over the pulse point in my wrist for a moment. It helped soothe me a bit before I dried my hands and made my way back out to the patio, and the table where our server was waiting to take our order. Scratch that, she seemed to be flirting with Tucker. He looked uncomfortable with the attention, at least, so there was that. When I made my way over there, I tapped the waitress on the shoulder. "Unless you'd like to sit down and take my place tonight, I'm going to need you to move," I instructed in a silky-smooth voice that dripped with southern elegance, and not a hint of outright hostility. I was proud of myself.

"I'm so sorry," she offered as she jumped right out of the way so I could be seated across from Tucker again.

He ignored her and gave me his undivided attention. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just fine, and I already know what I'd like to have this evening too." I turned to the server who was blushing profusely. "I will take the Roasted, Springer Mountain Chicken and Pimento Cheese Grits with Green Tomato Relish," I informed her without even looking at the menu. Truth be told, I didn't have to see the menu, because I had long ago memorized exactly what I would get if I ever managed to obtain a reservation there, and had the time or the reason, to go. Fine dining wasn't necessarily the best solo sport for a woman with anxiety and self-confidence issues.

Tucker placed his order, but I honestly tuned him out and was too busy taking in the scenery and the people around us to care. At least, that's what I'd been doing until he reached across the table and took my hand in his. Our server had gone already, and I hadn't noticed because I'd been so checked out of the whole situation. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked as his thumb gently rubbed across the top of my hand as his fingers wrapped around my own.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, needing to know the answer.

He sighed and sat back, relinquishing the hold he had on my hand as he did so. "It's one of my favorite places," was his answer.

"I see. So, you come here often?"

"Not excessively, but it is sort of close to work and…" Tucker hesitated, glanced around as if an answer would come to him out of thin air, and then he brought his attention back to me. "I don't know what answer you're looking for here, and I feel like no matter what I say, it's going to be the wrong thing."

"This is where you bring all your dates, or a good portion of them, isn't it?"

He sighed. "I shouldn't have brought you here. I thought you'd like it though. It's peaceful to eat out here on the patio, overlooking the river."

"It probably is," I admitted as I glanced around again. I wasn't the only person there guilty of people watching. The place was a veritable who's who of important people. Maybe that wasn't always the case, but we were in the thick of it for date night. As if to prove my point, a couple stopped by the table.

"Samuel Tucker, imagine seeing you here," the woman teased, as if she knew a secret and wanted to do a shitty job of keeping it. The secret was probably that he came here often, and with different women, maybe even her at some point. The tittering little laugh at the end of her proclamation is what led me to that theory.

"Vikki," he muttered and then noticed the man by her side. "Fletcher, how are you?"

"Doing well, how's the business? Your grandfather still on you to settle down?"

"He doesn't have to be on me to settle down any longer," Tucker explained.

"Oh? And how did you manage that?" Fletcher's eyes flitted to me as a smirk tipped his lips up at the corners. He too acted as though he was in on something that I must not have known.

"Well, my wife is seeing to things and making sure I stay on my best behavior these days," he explained, shocking both Fletcher and Vikki in the process. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? This is my wife, Mina. Mina, these are acquaintances of mine, Fletcher Marsh and Victoria Chamberland."

"Pleasure," I cooed as I offered them both a fake as fuck smile and then promptly proceeded to ignore them by refocusing my efforts on the cell phone in front of me. The search images I'd pulled up of my husband and this restaurant were still front and center, so I kept the screen tilted to avoid them seeing what I was looking at.

"I'm sorry," the Vikki woman breathed out in a pitchy intonation. "Did you just say wife?"

"Sure did," Tucker confirmed and damn if there wasn't a hint of pride in his tone. That was weird.

"You're his wife?" She asked next, I assumed that question had been addressed to me, so I glanced up, and did not even try to hide that her presence was an annoyance at that point.

"Are you hearing impaired?" I inquired rather loudly. She just stared at me. "I'm just trying to understand why the same answer bears repeating so frequently in one conversation that includes all the same people. Yes, he said I was his wife and it's very true and very legal, I assure you."

"But," Vikki started to argue when Fletcher finally grew a pair and attempted to guide the woman away.

"Let it go, Vik," Fletcher grumbled to her as they moved toward their own table.

"Please, tell me she wasn't one of your faithful concubines you had hidden away in your harem of women," I whispered across the table. Tucker's face reddened, which meant he probably had been with her at some point. I glanced back down at my phone and started swiping through images and sure enough, there she was, on his arm while leaving this very establishment a mere two months ago. "No need to answer, I found it for myself," I commented as I picked my phone up and turned it around to show him the image. "There seems to be quite a lot of these, though of course, she's only in one. The rest are with different women."

"We can leave," Tucker informed me.

"Nope. Food has already been ordered. We can eat first, unless you think people will continue to just show up and demand a trip down memory lane with you all evening. In which case, maybe they'll allow us to take our food to go?" I knew it wasn't exactly the type of place that would enjoy being treated as a fast-food establishment, but I was really trying. I hadn't run away when I realized this is where he brought everyone. It wasn't special. More importantly, it sucked to know that our first date hadn't been special, or that I had not been worthy of any kind of forethought before he took me out. If I had been, common sense should have ruled this place out in his mind.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have brought you here. In hindsight, it was a bad idea, but I honestly thought you would enjoy the atmosphere." He took a sip of his drink and then set it down before leaning forward in order to be closer to me. "I truly am sorry, Mina. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable about being out to dinner with me. It wasn't about who else I've been here with. I really just chose it because the river is a calming place, and I thought after the past couple of days, you could use a little serenity while enjoying your dinner."

"Thank you for that." I could be polite, even if I didn't really feel it, right?

It didn't take long for our food to arrive and it was just as delicious as I always knew it would be. It was the perfect blend of elegance and southern charm. I refused the wine that had been brought out, because let's face it, that had already been ruined. It was tainted by the fact that so many women before had obviously enjoyed the same kind of wine with the man sitting across from me. We spoke very little as we ate, and I found myself wishing that it had been the same type of companionable silence that we'd enjoyed on the ride here. It wasn't though, and if I was being honest, this date - our first official one - had turned out to be a veritable disaster.

"Would you care for anything off the dessert menu?" Our server was polite, if not brusk about it. I shook my head, but Tucker seemed to have other ideas about how the night should go.

"Are you sure? They have the best…" I tuned him out and turned to face the river. You couldn't tell in the moment that the river was probably a muddy, ugly brown color. At night, it simply seemed to be a deep blue, maybe black with hints of silvery light reflecting from its surface, thanks in part to the lighting of the restaurant and to the moon that hung low overhead as if it had been placed there simply to add to the ambiance.

By the time I glanced back, Tucker was staring down at his nearly empty plate with a scowl as if the food had injured him somehow. Our server was also gone. I wish I knew whether he was waiting on his dessert or if I could finally get out of this place. As beautiful as it may have been, it had long ago started to feel like more of a prison than a gorgeous restaurant I had once placed on my must-try list.

"We should go," Tucker mentioned as he glanced toward the door. I did then too, wondering if our picture would end up joining the ranks of all the other women he brought here. It made me feel sick to my stomach.

"I don't suppose there's a back door?"

He seemed taken aback by my question. "Now, you're embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"I just don't want to be one of the many women," I whispered, while trying not to cause a scene.

"The many women?" He asked as his brows arched down toward his nose. He was clearly confused by my admission. In an effort to get my point across without having to say it all out loud, I pulled my phone back out where the search results still existed and hit the "image" button so that it only showed the collection of photos.

It was a veritable collage of Tucker and a ridiculous number of women leaving this very establishment together. Sometimes, they were laughing, others they appeared more somber, in a few they were sexy shots as eyes smoldered and you could just see what was about to happen once they left. There were even a couple where he was lip-locked with the women. After glancing down once more, I turned the phone in his direction, and let him get the visual representation of why I had not been happy to be here.

His eyes widened momentarily before he threw his napkin down on his plate and stood abruptly. He glanced down at me before he ordered, "Wait here, I'll be right back."

So, I waited and sipped on what was left of my water as he went to do whatever it was he went to do. I knew that all those women were in the past and wished I could just get over it. The fact remained he had brought me here, to the same place where he had brought all the rest. For a moment, I wondered if he had left me there to pay the bill and find my own way home. That would serve me right for being so sensitive about things. When a few more moments passed, I figured that was exactly what had happened, and I pulled my phone out to call Bea to come rescue me. I had enough in my clutch to cover the meal, but not enough to cover the expense of having to get a ride all the way back home. Just as my finger hovered over her name, Tucker arrived at the table again.

"Come on." The words were gritted out as he turned his hand down in an offer to help me up. I ignored it since I was perfectly capable of standing on my own two feet, but I did allow him to escort me away from the table. He walked slightly behind me with his hand on my lower back, and when I moved to head toward the door we had come in, he reached further around my body and wrapped his fingers around my waist, where he tugged gently to pull me in a different direction. "The car is waiting in the back," he whispered close to my ear.

"I am terribly sorry that this has been an issue in the past, sir," a man was saying when we neared the door. "We will check into what we can do about the gross invasion of privacy, as you know that is not what we're about here." It must have been weird, having people bend to placate to a person's every whim. I had never known a single moment of that in my life. Normally, I was relatively invisible to others at best and a target at worst.

Tucker didn't respond, only offered a slight nod of his head before he pulled me through a door, down a corridor that ran alongside the bustling kitchen, and out the back door of the restaurant where the car was indeed waiting for us and already running. Tucker opened my door for me, waited until I was adjusted comfortably in the seat before closing it, then he walked around to the driver's side. Once he got in, and we were both buckled up, he put the car in drive and left the restaurant behind. Nothing was said. He just drove as I stared out the window and watched as the city passed us by and gave way to more of a sprawl as we headed in the direction of home.

What a disaster of a night. When he picked me up, I had been so hopeful, the flowers he had brought seemed so thoughtful, and the energy between us was peaceful and real. If only I could go back in time and tell myself that hope was a disappointing bitch. When we neared the exit to go back to my apartment, Tucker didn't take it. Instead, we continued driving.

"You missed the exit," I informed him.

"Oh, no I didn't. I decided back there that I was just going to keep driving until you decided to finally speak to me again."

"What if I had fallen asleep?"

"Then I guess we would have had a long drive until I ran out of gas." I didn't know what to say to that. "I'm sorry. I can't erase my past any more than you can your own, no matter how much either of us might wish it was so. In all honesty, I never knew all those pictures existed."

"You had to know you'd taken that many dates to that specific restaurant. So many, in fact, that the staff saw you as a regular and knew which wine to bring out."

Tucker sighed. "You're right. I'm a creature of habit, more so than I ever gave myself credit for, it seems. I just like what I like." He shook his head as he continued to drive. "The thing is, I really did take you there because I thought YOU would enjoy it too. It was the first time I'd ever thought about whether or not the woman I brought with me would like it."

I rolled my eyes, because that just seemed a little insulting, if not to me then to the various women who were apparently an afterthought to him. I didn't know how to wrap my head around that. Even Carlos, as my fuck buddy, was more than an afterthought. If we had ever agreed to go to dinner, I would have made sure it was somewhere he would have enjoyed the food. Not because I wanted more from him, but because I respected him enough as a person to want to see that his experience was a good one. I couldn't fathom just going through the motions and not caring about what the other person thought. Then again, it was a very popular, fine-dining establishment, so I doubted those other women went unimpressed.

"I know what you're dealing with, and I don't want you to think this was all just some fucking joke to me, Mina. It wasn't. I already explained to you why I've done certain things, all the women I've been seen with, in the recent past. You need to understand that I never lied to any of them. They knew what they were getting with me."

"I guess that's part of the trouble," I admitted. "I have no clue what I'm getting with you, or why you're even trying anymore."

"I know and that's my fault for not making it clearer, and for being stupid enough to take you to the same place where I took everyone else." He shook his head again, as if even he couldn't believe how idiotic he'd been. Then again, maybe I was just projecting my own feelings on him about that.

"Are you going to turn around at some point? I spoke to you, so technically, we don't have to continue this drive to nowhere."

Tucker laughed. "Maybe we do. It seems to be the only way to get you to speak to me tonight." He sighed. "Rightly so, I get it."

"Tucker, this thing between us, it is complicated, it started on the wrong foot from the very beginning, and maybe there's just no salvaging it. I understand the problems you were having and why you jumped on this situation and went through with it. You now know why I did the same. We both had issues that drove us to make an incredibly rash decision that we might not have made under normal circumstances. Maybe it just wasn't meant to work out for us in a healthy, real way?"

"Maybe, we're letting those past rash decisions dictate the fact that it won't work, instead of actually trying to move past all of it." I nodded because he was most likely right about that.

"I wanted to try, when we first set out tonight, but…"

"But I screwed up when I took you to that place," he finished. We sat quietly for a moment before he spoke again. "I'd ask for another do-over, but how many of those can a person really get?"

"Well, if you're playing baseball, you get three strikes," I added, unable to keep the smartass comment from tumbling free.

Tucker chuckled lightly. "I think I've surpassed that, even if I didn't ask for a fresh start before, I had the opportunity and fucked it up." He pulled off the next exit and rode it around until he managed to get the car headed in the opposite direction again. "I hate that I screwed it up," he insisted.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I hate that I'm so observant that I noticed you screwed it up." Okay, it wasn't exactly the same, but still, I wish I hadn't done that search. We might have had a great night otherwise. "I'm sorry. I know how horrible it is to have your past chasing you down and making it hard to live in the present. That wasn't my intention either."

We continued driving and passed the exit to my apartment again. I didn't bother to point it out again. He wasn't stupid. I soon learned that he had a plan for us anyway when we eventually pulled into his apartment. Both of us stayed quiet until we were inside his domain. As I stood there, feeling a thousand different conflicting emotions, Tucker reached over and pulled me closer. He leaned in and kissed the top of my head as he held me there in the circle of his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean for you to have a bad night, and I sure as shit wasn't thinking of you in the same light as those other women. I feel like we're not going to catch a break here because of the way we started and the way our past pollutes it."

If I was supposed to respond to that, it didn't happen. I just tipped my head to the side and listened to his heartbeat instead. It was kind of soothing as Tucker began to run his fingers through my hair. "Mina, I honestly don't know how to get this right with you, or hell, if I even should."

I leaned back then. "If you want out, I'll sign those papers your grandfather sent me."

He chuckled. "You can't because I tore them up and threw them away."

It was my turn to sputter out a quick laugh. "True, but something tells me the old coot has another copy lying around somewhere."

Tucker grinned down at me. "You're probably not wrong about that, but it's not what I meant. There was really nothing for you to gain from this arrangement beyond a place to hide from the life you're afraid to explore."

Ouch. The truth in his words hurt. I turned my head down so he wouldn't be able to see it in my eyes. I should have known better though. Tucker gently picked my chin up with a finger placed just beneath it, until our eyes met again. "I understand why. Hell, I think most people – if they had been in your shoes – would have found a darker place to hide a long time ago. I envy your ability to show up. I don't want to be the place where you hide though. I'd rather be the reason you realize you don't have to anymore."

The gasp that erupted from me was totally involuntary. How could this man, who had tried so hard to paint himself so unworthy, offer up such sweet comfort when I least expected it?

"Come on," Tucker demanded as his hand slid down our bodies to find my own. "Let's turn this night around so that if you do decide to walk away, we can do it as friends." We took three steps before he turned back to look at me. "I hope that's not what happens though."

We ended up in his bedroom and he laughed when he saw the suspicion written all over my face. "Don't worry, I'm not going to use my dick to convince you to stay." He hit a button on a remote control and a TV popped up out of the footboard of his bed. I had grown up in a family who was very well off, but my father refused to spoil us with ridiculous things. This, he would have considered ridiculous.

Tucker tossed me a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts that would have swamped me, despite the strings that could be tightened. The t-shirt was long enough to come down to my knees when I put it on, so I just opted to not bother with the shorts. Once I was ready, I ended up in Tucker's bed with him. He yanked me close, so that we were both side by side in the middle of the giant extra-large, king-sized bed. Then he turned on the TV, pulled up Netflix, and handed the remote to me.

"My pick?" he nodded in answer as he grinned at me. "That's very brave of you, sir. What if we end up binge-watching Bridgerton?"

"I hear there are some hot and sexy scenes in that one, so I'm down."

I rolled my eyes, but then ended up picking a movie that I thought we would both enjoy. It had a whole lot of action and only a sliver of romance, which was just fine for me. The tease about Bridgerton had been just that. I didn't want to see someone else's happily ever after. It usually came with a side of hope that left me wondering if it would ever happen for me. I didn't want that. That's why, even though I loved romance, I always picked the darker stuff. If someone had to get their happy, then I at least wanted them to go through some shit before it happened – kind of like I had gone through some shit. That was probably something I should talk to my new therapist about.

I don't know exactly when I conked out, but at some point, I fell asleep in Tucker's bed – a place I honestly never thought I'd be. How do I know I fell asleep there? Well, that's the funny thing. See, I might not remember the falling asleep part, but I certainly would never forget waking up. Especially since a man's arm was draped over me and his wandering hands were doing incredible things to my body. Things that had me heating up and becoming achy in the best of ways.

When I realized that it wasn't just a really good dream, and that I was about to climax on someone's hand in real life, I turned my head enough to see that Tucker was there behind me, eyes closed, as his hands roamed freely over my body.

"Tucker," I whispered, not knowing what else to do. He didn't respond, except to dip his head into the crook of my neck and groan lightly. I honestly didn't know whether he was still half-asleep or if he knew exactly what he was doing. If I had to guess, I'd say he was acting on a steamy dream he'd been having.

"Mina," he mumbled into my hair as his arms tightened around me and pulled me further back into his body. The position we were in, with him curled around me, meant that his cock was riding hard and hot in the crack of my ass and the only thing separating him from being able to plow into me was the fact that I'd left my panties on underneath the t-shirt I'd worn to bed. I supposed his boxer shorts might also be a slight hinderance.

"Tucker," I called to him a little louder.

"Yeah, you like that baby?" His words were still mumbled, as if it took an effort to force them past his lips, and maybe it did, because I was fairly convinced that he was only dreaming.

"Tucker!" This time, I called out to him loudly and pushed back on his body at the same time, as if to make room between the two of us. It seemed effective since he nearly bopped me in the nose with his hand as he startled awake and pushed up to his elbow. Unfortunately for me, and my dignity, his other hand stayed lodged between my legs, inside my panties, where his fingers were no doubt able to feel the evidence of my reaction to what he had been doing.

As reality settled, Tucker didn't move a muscle, his gaze dipped from my wide eyes down to where my shirt was pulled so far up, I was pretty sure one of my breasts said hello to him before his gaze dipped lower still. When they found the place where his fingers were touching me intimately, he wiggled those evil, damn digits and grinned at me. "Were you taking advantage of me in my sleep, Mina?"

"No, you bastard, quite the opposite," I countered, though there was no real heat and accusation in the words. He moved his fingers again, swirling them through my wetness, slower that time, in an entirely different kind of teasing.

"Mmm," he moaned, all while his eyes stayed connected with mine. "Feels like you might have been taking advantage," he hinted as the grin on his face bloomed wider.

"Does it now? Me taking advantage of you explains why your hand is down my pants and the other was on my boob before you were startled awake?"

"Exactly, I didn't know you put my hands there before you 'accidently' woke me up." If the smile on his face wasn't so damn hypnotic that I was getting lost in it, then I would have probably smacked him for being so cheeky about this.

"No, I'm pretty sure that I woke up to you molesting me first," I explained.

"I don't think that's true," he argued playfully.

"And why not?"

"Because you still haven't made me move my hand," he answered before bringing his mouth down on mine in an insanely passionate kiss. It didn't take much convincing on his part to have me opening my mouth and inviting him in. All the while, he never removed his hand from my panties, and it was not idle while there. His other hand slid up my neck, creating gooseflesh in the wake of his movements until he cradled the side of my face in order to hold me there, captive to his kiss.

"Are you okay?" He managed to ask, his lips brushing against mine as he did.

"Better than," I insisted as his finger swirled over my clit again sparking sensation and bringing me right to the edge of an orgasm I hadn't even been expecting. I must have moaned because Tucker smiled against my lips before leaning over and whispering in my ear.

"Come for me, Mina," he nibbled there, at the shell of my ear and then down my neck until the t-shirt he had given me to wear became a hinderance to his mouth trailing any further down my skin. It was the first time, since before we both woke up, that he removed his hand from my panties. "Can we take this off?" He asked as he tugged at the bottom of my shirt. I nodded my head, lost to sensation and missing what he had been doing with his hand.

Once my shirt disappeared somewhere over the edge of the bed, his mouth continued its path down my body. He spent time kissing across my clavicles, then down further until he had one nipple in his mouth, sucking as if it were the tastiest treat that he'd ever had, while his other hand focused on pinching my other nipple. I might not have been over large in the breast department, but my girls loved receiving attention.

"Jesus," ucker sighed as he released me from his mouth. It was only then I realized the death-grip I had on his shoulders.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"Uh-uh, don't apologize for that." His mouth was on my other breast before he even stopped talking, teasing my nipple before I could respond, and then words failed me. Bolts of desire shot down my body, lighting me up from the inside out as his hands wandered further than his mouth had.

"Tucker," I groaned his name out as he released me once again.

"I've got you," he promised as those sinful lips trailed kissed down my belly and to where I had embarrassingly sculpted my pubic hair. It was something I did once in a while when I was bored to humor myself. "Mina," he hissed when he realized what I'd done. When I got up the nerve to glance down, his eyes were crinkled at the corners as amusement tipped his lips up. "I love it," he teased as he emphasized the middle word.

"Oh hush, and get to where you were headed," I demanded as I plastered my hands to my too-warm, embarrassment-heated face. Tucker slid back up my body and kissed each of my hands before moving them out of the way.

"It's adorable, and so very you. I meant what I said; I love it." Tucker didn't wait for my response before heading back down south and admiring my artwork a bit before he leaned in and kissed my pussy. I giggled as he did so because he had kissed the pubic hair that I had neatly trimmed into a heart just above. The point at the bottom of the heart was almost a directional arrow for where I needed him, and thankfully, he heeded the advice and dove in.

Tucker rocked my world. There was no other way to describe it as his mouth brought me over to full-body convulsions. Okay, it wasn't quite so dramatic, but tell that to the muscles he left quaking when he pulled his face away from my pussy and wiped my juices off with the back of his hand. The man pulled his body all the way up to settle above me, keeping the weight on his arms and knees, as not to squish my tiny frame. He placed a quick kiss on the side of my mouth and then rolled away, tucked me up into his body again, and held me there.

I was a little confused, because surely, he wanted to get a release too. "Um, Tucker?" I asked, his name becoming a question as he chuckled against my back.

"That was for you, Mina. I haven't earned your trust yet. When I do, the wait will be worth it," he explained. I turned in his arms so I could see his face.

He saw the confusion there, obviously, because he leaned in and kissed me before furthering his explanation. "I already know that once won't be enough. There's no way that I'm going to know what it's like to miss being inside your body if you decide I'm not worth your time. I want all or nothing here. We both came into this from shit places in our lives, and there's no changing that, but moving forward, I want everything between us to be completely real."

"I can speak from experience and tell you what you just did felt very real."

Tucker laughed. "Good. Now, do me a favor, turn over and go back to sleep before I forget that I'm trying to be the good guy here."

For once, I listened, rolled over, and relaxed my still-naked body against Tucker's. Again, I don't remember falling asleep in his arms, but it definitely happened.