Shrugging my jacket off, I tossed it over her shoulders without speaking.
We walked home in silence, and after I checked that the apartment was clear, I walked right back out. I wasn’t going to push her away by being a dick anymore, but that didn’t mean we’d live happily ever after. Not with my life. She didn’t bother to ask me where I was going, either because she already knew, or because she just didn’t give a damn. Either way, it didn’t matter.
Switching the light on, I walked into the garage and eyed the cars waiting to be repaired. Rotating my aching shoulders and wincing at the pain in my arm, I walked over to the Camaro in the corner and read the file. All it needed was a routine oil change. Perfect. That’s about all I could handle with one lame arm.
Rolling my sleeves up, I tried to force everything that was upsetting me to the back of my mind. That’s why I did this. Working with my hands made my mind clear, and it soothed me. Like Heidi with her music—
Damn it, could I spend one fucking moment without thinking about her and her damn smile and bright blue eyes and fresh, clean peach scent? Part of me—a very, very small part that I’d deny till I was blue in the face if anyone ever asked me about it—wished I’d taken Heidi up on her offer the other night.
I almost wished we could run away together.
Take the money, find the quaintest, smallest town in America, and start over. One with a zero point nine-nine percent crime ratio. She could open another bar, and I could open up a legit mechanic shop. Live life on the right side of the tracks for once, and see how it felt. With her by my side . . .
I had a feeling it would feel really nice.
Sweat rolled down, stinging my eyes, and I cranked the torque too hard. Straightening, I swiped my forearm across my forehead and let out a low curse. The image of Heidi’s blue eyes flashed in front of me, and I tossed the rag aside. Working on cars wasn’t quieting my mind tonight. I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
I was still avoiding thinking about Scotty and his attempts to kill me, but Heidi hadn’t left my mind yet. I didn’t know what to do about that, damn it. Or what it meant. Shaking my head, I sat on the hood of the Benz behind me with a groan. I could still hear little Scotty’s laugh as I chased him around Ma’s house.
He’d always worn that damn Batman cape, and I’d always been delegated to don Robin’s tights. I’d hated Robin. But I’d worn them for him anyway.
And now he wanted to kill me.
Life was too short to mess with this shit, but it was also too short to ignore the one thing that was staring me in the face: Heidi was upstairs, waiting for me, and I was downstairs pretending I didn’t need to go up there because I didn’t want to want her.
Admitting I did made me weak. It’s what I’d been told my whole life. What I’d told myself. But now, with Heidi in my life, I found myself questioning those values.
Questioning everything.
Tossing the torque wrench aside, I walked away from an unfinished car for the first time ever. Someone else could fix it tomorrow, and that someone wouldn’t be me.
Shutting the lights off, I headed up the stairs and tossed the apartment door open, scanning the room for any signs of life. The living room was dark, and so was the kitchen, but the bedroom light was still on.
I could see it shining underneath the crack of the door.
Without breaking stride, I threw open the door. She lay in the bed, a book in her hand, and jumped when I came barging in. “Lucas? What the—?”
“I want you.” I took her book out of her hands and set it down, being careful not to lose her page. Then I threw the covers back and crawled on top of her, right where I belonged. All she had on was a baggy shirt and a pair of satin underwear, and she managed to make that sexy as hell. She immediately closed her legs around my waist. “But even more than that? I need you, sweetheart. I fucking need you.”
She didn’t hesitate. Didn’t shy away. Instead, she cradled my face and smiled up at me. “So take me. I’m all yours.”
Groaning, I melded my mouth to hers, taking what she offered me so freely. The second our lips met, it was as if everything else faded away. The worry. The pain. The betrayal. My whole life—it just went away until all I felt and knew was Heidi.
She was my life, in that moment.
And nothing had ever felt more right.
Her tongue slipped over mine, and she let out one of those sexy-ass moans I loved so much. And it felt like home. I’d found a home. It wasn’t a building or a town or even a room. It was her. And I didn’t want to leave it.
Rolling my hips against hers, I slipped my hands under her loose shirt and cupped her breasts, running my thumbs over her hard nipples. I could feel her wet heat pushing against my cock, demanding more without words. She writhed beneath me, making small noises, and dragged her hands down my back until she cupped my ass. Everything inside me answered to her cries and her movements.