He thrust his tongue into her tightness and then lathed her clit with it until she came against his mouth, her fingers pulling on his hair.
Afterward, he climbed up her body and thrust into her before she fully came down from her orgasm, meeting her gaze as he watched her become fully aroused yet again.
Yeah, he loved her so much it hurt. He would gladly freeze this moment in time forever.
Chapter 30
Six days later…
Tuck sat at the kitchen table in Jodi’s apartment watching as Bill walked from room to room grabbing things and bringing them back to the kitchen. He’d just announced that he hadn’t had a vacation in years, and he was leaving this afternoon to spend some time with his brother in Colorado.
Tuck knew the man was just leaving to give Jodi and Tuck some space, but he also agreed Bill should go on a vacation, so he didn’t argue.
In front of him were the handwritten books Bill had kept with every expense the bar had incurred from the moment Bill first opened the bar. Handwritten.
“Did you look over my accounting?” Bill asked, pointing at the books.
Tuck nodded, humbled that Bill had so much faith in him that he would so easily bring him into the fold of the family business. Tuck would never let the man down, but he wasn’t sure why Bill was pressuring him. “You know,” Tuck offered as gently as possible, “I could help you transfer this to a computer spreadsheet, and it would be much easier to maintain.” He didn’t want to step on the man’s toes, but this was barbaric.
Jodi coughed from the sink behind Tuck, nearly choking herself. When Tuck turned around, he saw that she was barely containing laughter as she spun back to face the window.
Bill’s face lit up. “Could you do that?”
“Uh…yes.” Tuck was confused.
“Perfect. You’re indispensable. Things have run much smoother since you joined us.” He rushed back out of the room, still talking. “The bar is safer, there’s another set of hands to help Jodi with the heavier lifting, and you even know computers.”
Jodi chuckled behind Tuck.
He turned to glare at her, mouthing, “What the hell?”
Bill bustled back into the room and stuffed something else in the suitcase he’d left open on the coffee table. “I’ll feel much better leaving Jodi with you here.”
Tuck nodded slowly. “I promise everything will be fine.” He was fairly certain Jodi handled most things in the past few years anyway. Her dad was someone everyone knew who spent a lot of time talking to the regulars, but he could go on vacation and not worry about Jodi. Something else was going on.
Jodi set her hands on Tuck’s shoulders from behind his chair and slid them around to his chest. “Dad, stop it. You sound ridiculous.”
“What? I’m just making sure all my ducks are in a row.”
“He’s not leaving, Dad. I already talked to him. He’s going to stay.”
Suddenly Tuck realized what was going on. Bill was trying to make him feel like a necessary piece of the puzzle so he wouldn’t quit.
“In fact,” Jodi continued, “he has some ideas about how we can expand the bar.”
“She’s right, sir. I hope you don’t mind but I called the realtor for the space next door and ran some numbers. Nothing’s set in stone, of course. I was just checking to see how feasible it would be before running it by you.”
Bill focused on Tuck. He was frowning. “How can we afford that?”
Tuck shifted his weight, leaning forward, not sure how the man was going to react to his proposal. “It turns out, I have recently come into a nice paycheck.”
Bill didn’t even blink for a moment, and then his eyes widened. “What? The money you got from that show?” He shook his head. “No. I couldn’t take that.”
“You wouldn’t be taking it. I’d be giving it. To you. To Jodi. To us. To our future. I want to marry your daughter one day, sir. Soon. I know it’s fast, but I love her. I’m in this for life. Let me help with the bar.”
Bill froze, his expression unreadable. For several heartbeats, he stood there, not moving. Finally, a smile spread wide and he rushed across the room and tugged Jodi into a hug. “Honey, I’m so happy for you.”
Tuck stood from the table, prepared to shake Bill’s hand. Apparently the man was not mad or even worried. But Bill surprised him by hugging him too. A big bear hug that made Tuck feel like he really belonged.
Bill’s face was lit up with excitement when he finally stepped back. “Well, shit. That’s just… That’s just great…” He grabbed Jodi’s left hand. “Did you get a ring already?”
“Not yet, Dad. We’re not in a hurry. We’re going to wait until we save up some more money.” She smiled at Tuck.
That was the line Tuck had given her when they discussed this yesterday, but he didn’t intend to wait very long before he bought her a ring. He wanted to surprise her with it. Select it carefully. Making her think they should wait had been a distraction so she wouldn’t know when to expect it.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t made it clear that he wanted to marry her. He had. But not on one knee yet. He would still do that. They had simply discussed the future in vague terms with him telling her his intentions.
“When the time is right, and she least expects it, I’ll propose properly. I promise,” Tuck assured Bill.
Bill was beaming. “So, you won’t quit? You’ll stay with the bar?”
“Of course.” He loved the idea of being with Jodi all the time. Most people might think that was a bad idea, but not Tuck. Every moment he was with her was precious. They didn’t get on each other’s nerves or in each other’s space. Not for a second. If in the future, that changed, he could
