"No way in hell," Tom growled. His shoulders were set, and his hands flexed with menace. "You want to set the dogs on me... you think a few jackasses wrapped around your finger can walk up to me and threaten me... get the hell out of my way and don't come back until you have a plan for making amends for this fuck up of yours."
Any other man would be shaking with rage or shouting a string of obscenities. But Angel knew how seriously pissed off Tom was by the extreme control in his voice. There was no way to make up for Greg and Alan coming out to talk with Tom. No way to cover up the fact that they did so because Angel had complained to them about how Tom didn't respect her. No way to cover up a few too many drinks on top of not being ready to leave on time because Angel wanted to avoid wearing anything out to the club. But Angel still felt it was completely unfair for him to blow up at her about it.
Before she could say anything though, Tom ended the discussion. He took out his wallet, pulled a couple of twenties out, and threw them at Angel before turning and getting into his SUV. No further words. Nothing more to say. And he drove off without even looking back to see Angel's tears.
---
Standing on his front step, Tara could see past Tom. Behind him the warm orange glow of a fire flickered across dimly lit walls, and Tara imagined the warmth giving her courage to be bold. She reached out to Tom's chest and ran her hand over his pecs. He wasn't ripped, but Tara liked the contours and firmness of his body underneath a snug fitting black tshirt. Tom just stood there, curious and slightly bemused by Tara's distraction, and waited for her to explain why she was ringing his doorbell at five in the morning.
The long haired brunette got to her point slowly. With a classic hair flip, and a million watt smile, Tara left one hand resting on Tom's chest. Then she wet her lips, her tongue slowly sliding over the cherry red lipstick she'd touched up in the car, and she made her interest obvious. Angel was tucked into her bed, crashing at Tara's apartment until Tom's temper cooled off, and Tara knew Tom was home alone. Her words sang out with a soft southern accent, plucking gentle harmonies that rose and fell with Tara's rounded breasts. "Angel is safe... back at my place for the weekend." She squeezed Tom's hard chest, french tipped nails dragging over black cotton, and looked up into those hard rootbeer eyes. "She'd had a lot to drink - so she's out like a light."
Tom only nodded in response. He was too angry to sleep so he had been meditating in front of the gas fireplace. Its unnatural silence had bothered him, the lack of crackling wood and coals settling seemed out of season, but Tara's voice was more threatening. Women in the south had turned out to be a continuous contradiction, and as much as Tom tried to roll with it - they unnerved him quite a bit.
Tara lightly pushed on Tom's chest, encouraging him to back from the doorway so she could come in. When Tom actively resisted her attempt to steer him, Tara tried a more social approach. "I figured you might need to talk..." Tom was still immovable, and Tara shrugged. Her charms worked on most men, but she hadn't expected Tom to be easy. She turned up the heat, smiling broadly to show off her red lips and dimples while stroking Tom's chest. Her offer cut to the chase. "Or maybe you would like a no strings attached fuck."
Whether he meant to or not, Tom clearly sized Tara up with a glance. His eyes blatantly roamed up and down her curves. She wanted to believe his gaze lingered a bit on her well formed tits and her disarming smile, but Tara was much more aware of Tom's interests than he knew. So she suspected he was sizing her up while judging the spread of her hips and pelvis, and her intentionally slightly open stance, to determine if a five foot tall woman like Tara could handle the kinds of play he enjoyed.
Tara must have passed the test. Tom stepped back and beckoned her in.
She followed him with a smile and sashay of her hips. Angel had never invited Tara over despite how often they went out drinking together. Some unspoken rule about Tom deciding who could come and go, and Angel preferring to hang out elsewhere to avoid his moods. Out at the club Tom could be a complete jerk - utterly disinterested in people unless he wanted something from them - so Tara had never suspected this side of him existed. The furnishings were comfortable but obviously well made. She passed a den with two walls of floor to ceiling books and a pillow strewn couch. Then she entered the living room where wooden shelves full of CDs and DVDs lined the long wall, a fireplace faced the atrium, and a bar style counter top finished the half wall shared with the kitchen. Tara looked around and saw the Christmas tree tucked in the corner with piles of wrapped presents underneath it. She was already wondering what the hell Angel was always complaining about. If one of her boyfriends had this sort of lifestyle then Tara would be living the good life with her mouth shut.
Tom scooped up a large tumbler from the counter, took a long drink, and then set it back down. "Do you want something?" he asked politely and gestured toward the kitchen. "I can make you a sandwich, and there's sweet tea and lemonade in the fridge." His calm even tones matched the half light from the track lighting overhead and the dull flicker of the flames in the fireplace.
"Yeah," Tara said and made sure to turn on her most innocent smile. "You. On Angel's bed." She read his hesitance, expected he might protest or resist, but after thinking it over Tom just took another long swig of his drink. "You're ok with that, right?"
"Charming," Tom murmured. The sound of the tumbler being set down just a touch too hard into the counter punctuated his brief statement. Then Tara watched as he walked up to her.
His hands were strong, and there was no lack of interest in how Tom ran them over Tara's back and explored the smooth swell of her buttocks. She tilted back her head, and his mouth found hers to be willing and moist in anticipation of his attentions. There was a pause, his fingers deftly untucking Tara's shirt, and then his hands slid over bare skin to her mid back. She whispered "Yes" to his lips, felt him pause while probing the clasps of her bra strap, and then he released her breasts from bondage. They sagged onto Tom's sternum, soft and full, and he ran his hands over Tara's ribs to cradle each in the natural curve of his thumb and pointing finger while still tasting her lips with one kiss after another.