“Mine.” One hand fisted in my hair and the other slipped under my dress. “Mine, mine, mine,” he snarled, kissing me fiercely.

For a heartbeat I remained frozen, overwhelmed by his aggression. And then I melted into the onslaught, legs opening to accommodate his hand, lips parting to accept his tongue.

He sat back heavily in his seat, chest heaving as he gripped the steering wheel. “Fuck. Sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“It was certainly unexpected. Are you okay?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” He ran a hand viciously through his hair and tugged. “What the fuck is wrong with me?”

“We don’t have to go out. We can go back to my apartment,” I said. I didn’t know what to do when he was this upset, and the only other time I’d seen him in this state was after the last time he’d seen Officer Cross. Obviously he was the common denominator.

Hayden shook his head. “No. I want to take you out and do something normal.”

I put my hand on his forearm. “It’s okay if you need a minute.”

He nodded and took another deep breath before saying, “Why am I like this with you? Why am I such a territorial prick?”

“You’re not a prick.”

“I am. I don’t own you. Who says that kind of shit to their girlfriend?”

My stomach did a little flip. I pried his fingers from the steering wheel and brought his knuckles to my lips, kissing them tenderly. “You were upset. You associate Officer Cross with painful memories, and he antagonized you. It’s understandable you would be defensive and feel possessive.”

“What did he say to you?”

“That I should wear my seat belt.” I bit his knuckle to distract him from my lie.

Hayden looked skeptical.

“Let’s not let him ruin the rest of our day,” I pleaded. “Didn’t you have somewhere you wanted to take me?”

He hesitated before flashing a salacious grin. “That’s right, I promised you a good time in exchange for a make-out session in my car.”

“It’s too bad you don’t have a garage—the hood sounded like it might be fun.”

Hayden shifted the car into gear. “That could be arranged.”

31

HAYDEN

I was still trying to calm the hell down. The parking ticket I could deal with. Cross’s implication that I was going to ruin Tenley, not so much.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tenley asked, pulling me out of the dark spiral of thoughts.

“Yeah. Definitely.”

I received a few stunned looks as we were ushered through the restaurant to a private table in the back, nice and close to the wood-burning fireplace. I’d only been here once, to celebrate Nate’s fortieth birthday last year. They had a stellar menu.

Eating a meal with Tenley in a public place was strange. I constantly had to remind myself that I couldn’t touch her whenever I felt like it, at least not in the locations I gravitated toward. My self-control was limited when it came to her, particularly since the last time we’d had sex was over a week ago. I was trying to prove she was more than just a warm place to put my dick. But she looked hot and I was horny, so I was having difficulty behaving. She must have pinched my arm twenty times. I wasn’t doing anything particularly inappropriate; I just had my hand on her knee. It wasn’t my fault her pussy was like a magnet and my fingers kept inching north.

I decided to talk about something nonsexual. “I’ve been thinking about your tattoo.”

“Oh?” she paused, her fork halfway to her mouth.

“How would you feel about some modifications to the color scheme? I have some revised versions of the design we could look over tomorrow. If you like one of them, I could start filling in the color later in the week.”

Her eyes lit up. “You think it’s healed well enough?”

I’d been stalled out on the shading for a variety of reasons, many of which had nothing to do with the readiness of the tattoo. “Yeah. It looks good. We’ll start with a shorter session, maybe a couple hours?”

“I can handle longer.”

“I know you can, kitten. I’d feel better if we worked up to that, though. Okay? Shading is more painful than the outline. You’ll be uncomfortable.”

Tenley would sit through a four-hour session no problem, but that amount of shading would feel like absolute shit for days afterward.

“I can deal with the discomfort.” She looked up at me with her Disney eyes, all wide and pleading, lower lip jutting out in a sexy little pout.

“I know that, too. But an extensive session would put you out of commission.” My hand drifted higher on her thigh, my meaning clear.

“Oh,” she breathed. “We wouldn’t want that.”

After dinner I took her to see a movie. It might have been clichéd, but I wanted to take her on a regular date. In the short time we were apart, I had the opportunity to look critically at what I was doing with her. It was about more than the sex and the tattoo. Being with Tenley felt good; comfortable. I’d settled right into her apartment and her life without considering the important aspect of actually dating her, because I had no experience with that concept.

Now that I wasn’t interested in the bar scene, I’d become a bit of a homebody, and it appeared she was, too. I liked hanging out with her and didn’t feel much of a desire to share that time with anyone else, even if it was indirectly. But I learned something in those blank days without her. If I had any hope of making this relationship work, I needed to shelve the protective, sometimes archaic impulses and show her I could be a boyfriend she’d want to keep around. I hadn’t started the evening out well with the whole Cross business, but I planned to make up for it by keeping up the normal a little longer.

Tenley liked action flicks, thank Christ. I didn’t think I could handle one of those romantic comedy gong shows. She got all snuggly during the movie, and her hands started to wander, which made focusing on the screen almost impossible. By the end, I had the worst case of blue balls known to man.

I utilized every shortcut available. The ride should have helped cool me off, but an entire day of having to behave and a week of no sex deteriorated my restraint. Not to mention the promise of a make-out session in my car if I showed her a good time on our date. Which I had. Once we were parked in the underground lot of my building, I unbuckled my seat belt and reached across to release Tenley’s.

She leaned in to kiss me, and her hand came to rest on my knee. “Thanks for taking me out. I had a really good time.”

“Yeah?” I asked, all pleased with myself, like I’d gotten an A on an assignment.

She nodded and her hand slid up my thigh. I’d been looking forward to the car make-out session since before I picked her up today. Something about the confined space and the potential for getting caught jacked me up.

Her lips parted and I took the invitation, sliding my tongue against hers. Tenley shifted, angling herself closer. It was awkward as hell, but she didn’t seem to mind. Her hand continued moving until her fingertips grazed my cock. The barrier of my pants muted the sensation, but it still felt good.

She moaned into my mouth, clearly as affected as me. Pushing her back, I searched blindly for the lever to recline her seat. It went down with a jolt. Stunned by the sudden movement, she took stock of her options and crawled onto the narrow bench in the back. I followed her, hitting my head on the roof as I fumbled to right her seat so I had room for my legs. It was a little more private with the blacked-out windows and the headrests to shield us. I planted a knee between her legs as she spread them. When I slipped a finger beneath her panties, I met slick, hot skin.

Tenley made a soft noise, her fingers moving to my fly. She pulled down the zipper and her hand went into my boxers. I groaned as she smoothed her thumb over the head. Tenley’s grip tightened when I pushed two fingers inside her. She shuddered as I increased the pace, pumping harshly, impatient for her release so I could take her home and get inside her. She didn’t last long, as worked up as she was. After she came, she sagged against the seat, breathing hard. It took her a minute to regain control of her limbs, and when she did, her hand started to move with long, slow strokes.