“What the hell? Who’ve you got yourself mixed up with, Camp?”

She collapsed in my arms, and I leaned on the desk to brace the both of us. “No one. I’ve been sitting at home, upset about losing you.”

I rolled my eyes while I automatically patted her back. Jesus Fucking Christ. Why couldn’t I just fuck complete strangers? Now I had this crybaby ex-lover/ex-employee stuck to me like goddamn glue, and my heart and head were all twisted up over Aly.

“Sit down,” I told her, leading her to a chair. “Tell me this again. What exactly happened?” The whole thing sounded so insane, I had to hear it a second time.

Camper reiterated the same story and burst into another round of tears.

Of course, my phone was buzzing every minute while I sat and consoled Camper, and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it. I was probably missing Aly’s text or call, but it was clear this was serious.

Together, we called the authorities and Camper repeated her story for the third time, the stupid suburban detective scribbling down all the details and promising to call as soon as they found anything out.

Finally, the police decided to escort Camper back to her apartment so they could have a look at the crime scene, and I was free to check my phone.

I had one text from her. One stupid text.

ALY : Something came up today at work and it’s going to mean an all-nighter here at the office. Can you keep Maverick until tomorrow?

Shit! She was mad!

I texted her back, scrambling for a way to fix it.

JAKE : Of course. But how about I run some dinner to you? I can bring dessert too.

It wasn’t until after I made it back to Fizzle’s city location that I heard from her again.

ALY : Thank you but not necessary. We’re going to call out for pizzas. Why don’t I cook tomorrow as a way to say thanks? You can bring Mav then. Six thirty?

Well, maybe she wasn’t as mad as I believed. I kicked the drawer to my desk closed, causing the entire piece of furniture to move, the pens and shit on top scattering everywhere.

What the hell did I know about all of this? Nothing, but I still texted back that I’d be there. Then, being the ass I truly was, I sweet-talked Chloe into watching Maverick while I did an extra-long workout.

At a quarter to seven the next night, fifteen minutes late, I threw my Hummer into PARK in front of the rental unit. The one I bought for a female do-gooder lawyer with green crystals for eyes, red hair, and legs for days. A woman who had no business being with the likes of me, yet she’d spread her legs for me, moaned my name, and came on my face.

I’m going to hell.

I stood on my—her—porch after ringing the bell, the dog jumping around my feet as I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. I wasn’t standing there waiting for just a fuck. A woman was about to cook me dinner, after shutting me out for a day. I was nervous as hell.

Eating with Camper was easy; we worked together. What I was about to do now was completely different, no comparison at all. I’d just squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shove out any thoughts of Camper, when Aly answered the door. I definitely wasn’t going to tell her about Camper showing up at my office the day before.

“Jake? You okay?” She stood there wearing tight jeans and some loose white shirt, blouse, or whatever you call it, along with those knee-high boots that drove me wild.

I blinked. “Yeah, yeah. Fine. It’s been a long two days and you’re . . . I don’t know. Seeing you has seemed to wipe it all away,” I stammered. Scary part was, I meant it.

“Well, thanks. Come in.” She picked Maverick up and gave him ten too many kisses before setting him down.

“What about me?” I asked, kicking the door shut with my foot and turning the lock. The click separated us from the rest of the world, which was the best news I’d had in twenty-four hours.

“Saving the best for last,” she said in a whisper, as if she’d embarrassed herself with her forthrightness. On tiptoes, she wrapped her arm around my waist and asked, “May I?”

I didn’t answer. My mouth took hers in a hard kiss. Biting her lower lip when I was done with her, I said, “That was punishment for yesterday. Making me wait.”

I’m definitely going to hell. I shrugged off my jacket and tossed it on the banister.

“I couldn’t avoid that,” she said as she walked toward the kitchen with both Maverick and after her. “We had some stuff come up at work.”

“Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow. “Something with your break-in?” Unsure of where to go or what to do, I stood uncomfortably in the middle of the kitchen, itching to take Aly upstairs.

“Sort of. I really can’t say. So, can I get you a beer? Water?”

Why couldn’t she tell me? I wanted to tell her everything, explain what happened with Camper, but was unsure if it was appropriate.

“Water’s good. You having wine? I’ll open it.”

“Sure. That would be great.”

She scooted behind me, her tits brushing against my back as she made her way to the fridge. I grabbed her by the wrist and leaned her against the fridge as I kissed her. It was like muscle memory. I didn’t even realize I was doing it until I did it.

The icemaker hummed behind Aly, the vibration a steady beat in the background as my tongue assaulted her mouth. “Put your hands on my back, under my shirt,” I demanded into her mouth. “I want to feel your nails scratch me.”

She hesitated a beat before I felt the soft pads of her fingers lift my shirt and her nails scratch up toward my shoulders. My tongue dove deeper into her hot mouth. The kiss was messy, hurried, and desperate on my part. Desperate for the woman, eager for her virtue to wash over me and erase my sins—but nothing could really do that.

“Jake,” she whispered, pulling back. “Dinner’s going to burn.”

“Hmm?”

“Dinner?”

“Fuck it,” I said, sweeping her off her feet. I lifted my knee to hit the OFF button on the oven before I carried her out of the kitchen.

As soon as we hit the bedroom, I started talking, spewing my feelings and shit. “I didn’t like not seeing you yesterday. I know you were upset I wasn’t there when you woke up.” Still talking, I yanked her shirt off and grabbed a handful of her tit. “But I got to work out. It keeps me sane, and you seemed comfortable.”

I bent down and wrapped my mouth around her pretty pink nipple and sucked hard. She grabbed my hair in the back, pulling it and drawing its length through her fingers. I’d been thinking of shaving it again, until now.

“I want you to trust me, Aly-cat. I want to be tough for you, but I can’t do that if my head isn’t right. Do you get that?”

My hand worked her other tit, kneading it, flicking her tight, hard nipple as I plundered her mouth. Her creamy skin was pinking up everywhere I touched, and my cock kept getting harder.

Her lips broke from mine. “I get it, Jake. I do. I wasn’t mad.” She moved her hand out from my hair to my cheek, her soft palm grazing my stubble. “I wasn’t mad. You don’t always have to think you did something wrong. I had work stuff going on. That’s all.”

My cheek prickled under her touch and my heart tumbled with emotion. Yes, my bad-ass black heart tumbled.

Aly

Jake was a little boy stuck in a grown man’s body—except when it came to sex. When it came to feelings and emotions, he was stunted. Even though I’d felt like a jilted schoolgirl that morning when I woke up and he wasn’t there, he was obviously pained over leaving me to do something he so obviously had to do.