Kings of Denver Read online

  © 2018 Sheridan Anne.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  Cover Design by: Sheridan Anne.

  Photograph: Andrew Poplavsky

  Editing by: Sheridan Anne

  Introduction

  Sophie

  He’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.

  Ruggedly handsome, sexy and absolute dynamite in bed.

  Five years later, I’m proud to call him my husband and have his unborn child within me.

  Nothing can change how I feel about him.

  Nothing could tear him away.

  Tank

  She’s the love of my life and the mother of my unborn child.

  I have the world at my feet and am proud to say I’m one hell of a lucky bastard.

  If only she had listened.

  Things would never have changed.

  WARNING: Tank is a steamy romance with a HEA and NO CLIFFHANGER. It contains sexual content and coarse language. It is recommended for mature readers. Please be aware that some scenes may cause stress for some readers.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Other books by Sheridan Anne

  Prologue

  Sophie

  4 months earlier

  “Shit” I curse as I throw the blankets back and scramble out of bed.

  “What’s wrong?” Tank murmurs but I don’t have a chance to reply as I rush into the bathroom, flick the lights and begin throwing up chunks into our bathroom toilet.

  “Babe?” Tank questions suddenly at the door. He takes one look at me and rushes in to grab hold of my hair which is currently getting a new hairstyle.

  “Get out,” I cry. There are a lot of things I’m willing for this man to witness me doing but throwing up isn’t one. We’ve been married for a few years now and yes, they have been glorious but I’m still a woman after all and this woman needs her damn privacy when she needs to blow chunks.

  He scoffs as he manages to get the hairband off my wrist and somehow puts my blonde hair in a bun. He gets up and starts wetting a washcloth while my forehead comes down to rest on the cold porcelain of the toilet.

  After two more chunk blowing episodes, I’m finally able to get up off the bathroom floor. I instantly fall into Tank’s big arms and he wraps me up as if, after all these years, I’m still the most precious thing to him. “Feeling better?” he asks as he reaches for the washcloth and presses it against my face.

  “Yeah, actually. Heaps,” I say. How freaking strange to go from feeling queasy as shit to feeling perfectly fine. I pull out of Tank’s arms, desperate to brush my teeth and get myself back to normal. Actually, I might even jump in the shower and wash my hair after that.

  I head over to the vanity and smirk at Tank’s attempt at getting my hair out of the way. I swear, if I was outdoors, a bird would mistake this mess for its nest. I pull open my draw and dig in to find my toothbrush and toothpaste but my hand lands on a little box of tampons instead.

  I don’t know why but something strange pulls at me until it suddenly clicks. My whole body freezes as I start doing the math. No, I couldn’t be, could I?

  “Babe, what’s wrong?” Tank asks, alarmed by my sudden silence and wide eyes.

  “Get out,” I demand, knowing there is no way he is going anywhere unless I physically make him. Using all my strength, I push and prod at him until I can manage to slam the door shut between us, but let’s be real, the man is an absolute monster, if he really insisted on finding out what’s on my mind he could have done it easily. He’s giving me this moment of privacy and I couldn’t be more grateful.

  I dash back over to the vanity and pull out the box of pregnancy tests that we keep for those ‘just in case’ moments. I grab all four of the bastards and tear them open. “Babe?” Tank says on the other side of the door as I make myself comfortable on the toilet. “What the hell is going on in there?”

  I pop the lids on all the tests and position them between my legs in one hand, I mean, why only pee on one when I can pee on them all, right? Nervousness takes over and I really have to concentrate on what I’m doing. ‘Relax, Sophie. It’s just a little pee, you do it all the time,’ I tell myself over and over again trying to get my body to relax enough.

  “Babe?” Tank demands.

  “Shut up,” I yell at him. “You’re ruining my concentration.”

  “Concentration? What the hell do you need concentration for in the bathroom?” he queries.

  “Argh,” I groan. “Be quiet.”

  He lets out a frustrating groan of his own before I hear him flop down on the bed but if I was a betting woman, I’d say he’s sitting as close to the bathroom door as damn possible, ready to pounce on me the second I open it.

  With him out of the way, I’m able to get this shit done. My body finally relaxes enough and the stream of pee comes happily flowing. Pee goes everywhere as I try to stick my head as far between my legs as possible just to make sure each of the tests gets a sufficient amount of pee but damn, this shit is a lot harder than you think.

  I get up off the toilet and quickly go about pulling my pants back up so I can nervously watch the tests for the next two minutes. I lay a tissue down on the vanity and think better of it before grabbing a few more then laying the tests down on top, after all, these bad boys are covered in urine and come to think of it, so are my hands, ugh.

  I wash my hands and wait as patiently as possible.

  “We’re you seriously just trying to pee?” Tanks asks from the other side of the door.

  “Yes,” I groan, rolling my eyes.

  “Why the hell did I get pushed out then?” he demands. “I’ve seen you pee millions of times and you know… it’s never really taken this long before.”

  “Oh my god, Tank,” I grumble, “Would you shut up, I’m still concentrating,” I tell him as I start to see the first little line beginning to appear on the tests. Holy cow, just a little while longer.

  “Babe, let me in.”

  “No.”

  “I swear, I’m knocking this door down in three seconds,” he tells me.

  A second little line appears on all four of the tests and I scramble to get the box to double check the results. “Wait, wait, wait,” I demand as he begins counting down.

  “Three.”

  My finger hovers over the little pictures in the results sections.

  “Two.”

  One line. Not pregnant. Two lines. Pregnant. Holy shit.

  “One.”

  I grab the tests and turn towards the door with tears in my eyes but it’s too late, the door is currently flying off its hinges. “What’s the matter?” Tank asks, putting the door aside as he sees the tears in my eyes.

  He rushes towards m
e but I step back out of his reach as a smile slowly begins taking over my face. He looks down at me in concern, clearly very confused with what the hell’s going on. I hold up the tests so he can see what it is I’ve been doing. “You’re going to be a Daddy,” I tell him as the tears of happiness overflow and run down my face.

  “Are you serious?” he questions as he plucks the tests out of my hands and studies each of them with his heart in his eyes.

  “Yeah,” I practically giggle.

  A wide grin instantly comes over his face. “Fuck, yeah,” he exclaims, throwing the tests up in the air so he can free his hands before crushing his lips down on mine.

  “Ugh,” I grunt, pulling back from him. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

  “I honestly don’t give a shit right now,” he says. “We’re going to be parents,” he adds, probably a little in shock.

  “Great parents,” I confirm.

  Chapter 1

  Sophie

  I sit at my desk, putting the final touches on my story before sending it off to my editor when I hear Tank coming in through the door. “Where you at?” he calls out as I hear the familiar noise of his shoes being kicked off and his bag being dumped by the front door.

  “In the study,” I yell back with a grin, even after all this time, I still get a rush when he comes home to me.

  He comes barging into the study and I have the quickest second to press send on my email before he pulls me out of my chair and turns me to sit on the desk. “Fuck, babe. You’ve got to give me a little warning when you’re in your birthday suit.”

  I shrug my shoulders. “It was hot today,” I say.

  His hands instantly fall down to our son. “How’s our little guy doing?” he asks.

  The second Tank talks, the baby starts kicking like there is a party going on in my guts, though, it’s only very soft and you can hardly feel it on the outside, it’s still extremely rewarding to feel. “Good,” I smile. “I think he likes the sound of your voice.”

  “Of course, he does. I’m his Daddy,” Tank says before pressing a kiss to my lips. “How are you?” he asks before his lips move to my neck.

  I let out a moan but manage to concentrate on the conversation. “Good, hungry though.”

  “You’re always hungry now,” Tank comments.

  I give him an innocent smile and bat my eyelashes. “Can we head out for dinner?”

  He lets out a sigh. He really has become a homebody, ever since we found out I was pregnant, it’s as if he doesn’t want to share this moment with the rest of the world, which I guess I understand. “You know I like it when you cook dinner in your underwear with that sexy little bump showing.”

  “I thought you hated my cooking?” I ask.

  “I do, it’s terrible,” he says. “But watching you strut around barefoot and pregnant, that’s something I will never get enough of.”

  “Really?” I question with hooded eyes.

  “Mmhmm,” he murmurs stepping into my so I can feel his erection grinding between my legs.

  I swear, the moment I became pregnant, my sex drive doubled, which, I must admit, mean’s I’m absolutely exhausting my man, I’m constantly all over him but he hasn’t complained yet.

  My hands slip in between our bodies and I quickly rid him off his shirt to put his marvellous, sculptured body on display before making quick work of his pants. His lips come down on my neck once again and before I know it, he’s sliding into me, filling me to the brim and relieving the ache that’s been there since he left for training this morning.

  That’s the one thing I have always been able to count on with Tank. When I need it, he is always ready for me, no matter if it’s at home in bed or at the ice rink during the break before the final period of the championship game. He is always ready.

  By the time we’re finished, my desk has been cleared and my laptop has clattered to the ground. Tank helps me off the desk and I pick up the laptop, checking for any damages before setting it back on the desk. “Did you finish your story?” he questions as he goes about the room picking up my papers.

  “Yeah, I found more evidence that proved he actually did murder the guy,” I tell him, pretty damn proud of myself.

  “What?” Tank questions, “I thought the guy was telling his story because he was innocent and wanted to clear his name.”

  “Yep,” I say popping the ‘P’. “Turns out he’s a liar and a murderer.”

  “Shit, Soph,” he sighs. “Should you really be chasing these types of stories while you’re pregnant?”

  I turn around and give him a big smile, one I know he can’t resist. “Babe, I’m an investigative journalist. It’s what I do. It’s in my nature to seek out these stories and put bad guys away.”

  He presses his lips into a tight line. “Did you put the bad guy away?”

  My big smile becomes extremely cheesy. “Sure did,” I tell him. “I went to the cops today and handed in the evidence. They were kind of annoyed that I was sticking my nose in places it didn’t belong again but I’m pretty sure they were jealous I got the information before they did which I pointed out but then they admitted they were grateful because they’ve been trying to catch this slime ball for ages.”

  He rolls his eyes and lets out a small huff. “You know I don’t like it.”

  “I know,” I say, stepping into his arms and looking up at his handsome face. “But you know the deal. I can either have your approval and you can know exactly where I’ll be at all times or I can do it behind your back and you’ll be in the dark, either way, I’m not stopping,” I tell him, reaching up on my toes to plant a kiss on his lips. “Take your pick, big guy.”

  “Don’t use that against me,” he warns.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie, knowing he absolutely loves it when I call him ‘big guy’ as it reminds him of the day we met.

  “You’re so damn stubborn,” he tells me.

  “And you’re a pushover,” I reply with a grin. “I wonder how you’ll handle it when this baby comes out with my attitude.”

  “Nope, there’s no way. My kid is going to be an angel. It will be a good looker just like you but have my patience and excellent behaviour,” he tells me as he bends down and scoops me up into his arms.

  “You wish, big guy,” I murmur as he turns and starts to head for the door. “Wait, I need my laptop,” I tell him. He turns on his heel, stalks back towards the desk and bends so I can collect the laptop without falling out of his arms.

  I place it down gently on my bump and enjoy the ride as Tank takes us out to the lounge room. He sits down on our lounge and I make myself comfortable in his lap. “Here, I wanted to show you this,” I say as I find the webpage I had been looking at earlier today.

  A beautiful pram finally loads onto the screen and Tank looks it over. “It’s pretty damn awesome, isn’t it?” I murmur.

  “Um, I guess,” he says, having absolutely no idea about baby stuff. “I told you to just buy the stuff you want, you don’t need my approval for it.”

  “I already did buy it, you big moron. I just wanted to show you,” I say proudly. “Look,” I point out. “It has cup holders.”

  He grins at my excitement while he winds his hands around my body and lets them rest on my bump. I don’t even think he knows he’s doing it, but since the day we found out, anytime I’m near him, his hands will always be found holding my stomach as if it’s his own little way of protecting what’s ours.

  Joy springs to life in his eyes when the baby begins to kick and I know with one hundred percent certainty that Tank is going to make an excellent Daddy, our son isn’t even born yet and he loves him unconditionally.

  “What are your plans for tomorrow?” he asks, once the baby has settled down.

  “Dani and I are having our girl’s day, remember?” I remind him. “You told Miller you’d watch little Mia with him.”

  “Oh yeah,” he says. “That’s going to be interesting.”

 
“Just keep in mind that she’s only a few months old which means she is still fragile, so you can’t use her as a football like you did with Jaxon’s son the other week.”

  “What?” he questions, “But that kid loved it.”

  “He’s nearly one, of course, he loved it. Mia is basically still a newborn, so I don’t think that’s going to go down in quite the same way.” I inform him.

  “Whatever,” he scoffs.

  “Oh, and I’m pretty sure Miller will deck you for even thinking about it.” I laugh.

  “Ha,” he smirks, “Let him, he couldn’t touch me even if he tried.”

  I can’t help but roll my eyes at him, no matter what, these boys will never change. “I think you’ll be surprised to see how far he would go to protect his little girl. He’d put you in the ground if he had to.”

  “I know he would,” he tells me. “We’re you serious about going out for dinner?” he asks.

  “Yeah,” I say. “I could really go for one of Micky’s burgers.”

  “Sure, I’ll just fly back to Denver and get right on that,” he teases.

  “There’s no need to be a smart-ass,” I sulk as my stomach starts the grumble thinking about the oily goodness of one of Micky’s burgers. God, I haven’t had one in so long.

  “Yeah, there is,” Tank deadpans. “Now, as much as I hate to say this, go get dressed. I can’t take you out naked, other’s will stare and I don’t like people seeing what’s mine.”

  “You sure seemed to like it those few times in college,” I remind him.

  “That was different,” he grunts as he starts scooting me forward so I’d get up and moving. “I did that for you and besides, you weren’t my wife who’s carrying my child then.”

  I get up to my feet and I turn to face it. “It was fun though,” I grin.

  He rolls his eyes but I see the grin slowly starting to make its way across his face. No matter how much he denies it, he liked it. “Go,” he demands.

  I turn and start making my way down the hallway, giving my hips an extra little sway. I look back over my shoulder to see him watching me walk away. “I’m ready for round two, if you are,” I tell him with a wink.