Tomboy (The Hartigans #3)(60)

That sizzle in her head? It was the sound of the last threads of her resistance getting fried like a moth in a bug zapper. She liked this man, more than liked him really, and what kind of chickenshit wimp was she if she didn’t at least go for it?

A loud rustling sounded from the Philodendron, enough noise that she couldn’t help but look over in that direction. There was nothing there but the huge plant; however, her sister Fiona’s loud whisper came from the other side.

“You two have about three seconds before Mom figures out where you snuck off to, so pull it together.”

Fallon moved to put some space between them before they got busted, but Zach wasn’t going anywhere. The man had an advantage right now, and he knew it. Really, she’d be disappointed if he didn’t press it.

“Admit it,” he said. “You’re #TeamZuck.”

Was she currently the same temperature of the sun because she was so turned on or because her mom was going to discover them at any second? Both, definitely both. “Let’s just get through this party and then we can talk about it later.”

He gave her a quick kiss. “I’m holding you to that.”

He took a step back just as her mom rounded the massive houseplant.

“There you are. Come on,” Kate said, giving them a narrow-eyed you’re-not-fooling-anyone look. “Your brother wants to toast his soon-to-be-bride.”

They followed behind her mom, holding hands and no doubt both giving off guilty-as-hell vibes. It didn’t matter, though: all eyes were on the happy couple at the front of the room while all Fallon could do was think about how quickly she could get Zach away from here and them both out of their clothes.





Chapter Twenty


It had taken approximately four hundred years, but he and Fallon had finally snuck out of the Hartigans’ house after giving one more congratulations hug to Lucy and Frankie. They’d driven the few blocks to Fallon’s place like two teenagers sneaking out to screw.

The house she shared with Finn was a cute place that, unlike Zach’s house, had furniture and actually looked like someone lived there.

“Hold on, I’ll be right back,” she said with a mysterious smile and left him in the living room almost as soon as they walked in. “I just wanna grab your hoodie real quick.”

She was gone down the hallway before he could stop her.

He didn’t give two shits about the hoodie. All he wanted was to get her back to his house so they could get naked. One-track mind? Him? Hell, yeah. But when she’d asked to stop at her place, he wasn’t about to say no. He seemed to have a hard time of that when it came to her, plus he wasn’t above getting a peek at another aspect of her life.

If someone would have told him six months ago that he not only would have attended two fundraisers for a free clinic along with a paintball fun day with his teammates and enjoyed all three events, he would have laughed in their face. Then he probably would have told them to fuck off. Yeah, he’d definitely earned his nickname.

Doing laps around the living room while he waited for Fallon, he checked out the family photos on the fireplace mantle. There were pictures of trips to theme parks when the kids were all still in school, another of a family BBQ, and then there was one of Fallon at her nursing school graduation. She was standing next to a guy, and they had their arms wrapped around each other’s waists. While Fallon was looking straight at the camera, the guy was looking at her. Zach ground his teeth together and fisted his hands at his side as an unfamiliar raw-edged annoyance zipped through him. Zach didn’t know who the dude was, but he didn’t like him.

Jealous much?

When it came to Fallon, yeah, it turned out he was.

“Found it,” Fallon said, pulling his attention away from the photo and over to the other end of the living room.

He took one look at her then offered up a thank-you to the universe that he was in good shape because otherwise he might have had a heart attack right there. Fallon stood just beyond the entrance to the hall wearing his Ice Knights hoodie and nothing else. He’d spent a lot of time on the road thinking about how she’d look in just his hoodie. His imagination hadn’t done her justice.

It came down to just below her ass, giving him the perfect view of her long, strong legs. The fact that it puffed out around her, hiding everything between her shoulders and her ass, just made him want to peel it off of her and reveal what was underneath.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Please tell me your brother isn’t coming home tonight.”

She played with the strings hanging down from the hood, a sexy little vixen smirk playing on her lips. “I told him to couch surf at Fiona’s.”

“Thank God,” he said, crossing over to her, the need to be near her, touch her, have her overwhelming everything else. “Because I’m not sure I could do you quietly after seeing you in that.”

“Why?” she asked in what he would only think of from this day forward as her Naughty Nurse voice. “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

“That’s one way to describe it.”

“Can you describe your symptoms to me?”

He took her hand and placed it on his chest. “My heart is hammering.”

“I see.” She nodded, her pink tongue wetting her lips.

“It’s hard to breathe.” He guided her hand lower, stopping just above his jeans.