“Are we talkin’?” he asked and my hands in his tee yanked up fast and hard so he was forced to lift his arms so I could tug his shirt free. This I did.

I threw his tee to the side and latched onto his belt loops with my fingers, pulling him with me as I resumed walking backward.

This was when, stupidly, against Elvira’s good advice, I commenced our important talk and I did it not only drunk but recklessly.

“We’re multi-tasking because even if the results of our discussion means we’re over or I have to take you and only you and give up part of my life’s dream, we’re still enjoying the rest of the night and I’m not in the mood to waste time.”

Tack stopped dead and since he did, I was forced to do it too.

“Tack, we’re nowhere near the bedroom,” I pointed out.

“The results of our discussion could mean we’re over?” he asked.

I went still at the sound of his voice. Low, more gravelly than normal and somewhat sinister.

“I told you it was important.”

“The results of our discussion could mean we’re over?” he repeated.

Suddenly, what I said in my drunken state penetrated and I whispered, “Yes,” then said, “Maybe.”

“Fuck, how did drinks with the girls bring us back here?” he growled.

“You’re forty-one,” I told him.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Gwen told me,” I shared.

“And?”

“And…” I hesitated then carried on, “I want kids.”

“And?”

I blinked.

“And, well, you’re forty-one.”

“We covered that, Red.”

“Plus, you have two kids,” I reminded him.

“I know that,” he told me.

“And they’re almost grown.”

“This is also something I know.”

“So, I’m thirty-five.”

“Got your job application, babe, read it. I know that too.”

“So I have no time to waste,” I said softly.

“Say again?”

“My biological clock is ticking,” I explained.

His hands came up and curled around either side of my head as his head came down and his face got in mine. “We’re skippin’ this back and forth shit, babe. Spit it the f**k out.”

“I calculated it,” I told him and stopped speaking.

“Think I already told you we’re skippin’ the back and forth shit, Tyra,” Tack warned and I hastily went on to explain.

“I calculated it. If this works with wooing time, as it were, engagement, wedding, time alone together, by the time we could get down to making babies, you’ll be forty-three, forty-four. And you’ve got two kids already grown. You won’t want to start over.”

His hands slid down to the sides of my neck and he asked, “Who says?”

I blinked again and my heart jumped.

Then I whispered, “You want more kids?”

“Sure. I like kids.”

My heart leaped and my voice was pitched high when I asked, “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“With, uh… me?”

“Seein’ as I’ve made it clear we’re buildin’ somethin’ here then the answer to that is, yeah. Not gonna go out and find another bitch and make babies with her when you’re in my bed.”

I lifted my hands to his chest and slid them down to his flat abs while I leaned into him and whispered, “Seriously?”

“Seriously, babe. What the f**k?”

“I really want kids, Tack, I always have and I was worried you wouldn’t want to do it all over again.”

His hands slid down and around so he was holding me while he stated, “Wasn’t hard the first time.”

I pressed closer to him, my hands sliding around his waist to wrap around his back as I said, “You’d know more than me but still. You’re a guy who lives wild and free. Your kids are almost grown so, when they finish growing and move on, you can be wilder and freer.”

“Baby,” he whispered, giving me a squeeze, “kids are not a ball and chain. There is no greater joy than creating a life, watching it grow and, while it does, helping it thrive. Didn’t feel stuck when God gave me Tabby and Rush. Kids are a big part of the ride of life. Not to mention one of the best parts of that ride. With the right woman, I’d be all over doin’ it again.”

Oh.

My.

God!

That was so beautiful.

“Tack,” I said softly.

“How many you want?”

“Two, maybe three.”

“Figure I could do that,” he muttered.

My arms grew tighter around him, I pressed close and whispered, “Honey.”

His arms grew tighter around me and he asked, “We done with this talk about everything?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“You good?” he asked.

Oh yes. I was good.

I nodded but added another soft, “Yes.”

His hands slid down over my ass and he ordered, “Then hop up, baby. Time to f**k.”

My skin erupted in goose bumps and I hopped up as his fingers dug into my ass and helped by pulling me up. I wrapped my legs around his hips, my arms around his shoulders and I dropped my head, my mouth aiming for his. I hit the target, one of his hands slid up my bare back to my neck and up into my hair, holding my head to his as his tongue spiked into my mouth and he started walking.

Before I knew it, my back hit bed and the heavy warmth of Tack’s body hit mine.

I instantly planted my spike-heel shod foot in the bed and rolled him to his back, me on top where I adjusted so I was straddling him.

“Baby,” he whispered.

“I get to play.”

He was silent a moment before he muttered, “Won’t argue with that.”

This was good since I’d already started and I didn’t start slow. Hands, lips tongue, I explored his chest, spent some time at his ni**les, discovered every inch of his neck, I took my time doing it and I ended at his mouth.

As I kissed him, his hands that as I’d been playing wandered to my back and my ass, yanked up my skirt. They slid over the small of my back and down into my panties where his fingers clenched into my ass. Our kiss was so hot, I started grinding my very female parts against his very hard male parts and one of Tack’s hands slid from my ass, around and in. Then his fingers slid inside the gusset of my panties. At this, I was forced to break the kiss when he hit the spot, my head jerked back and I gasped.