“What do you expect when your shirt is hanging open like that?” I nodded toward her shirt. She looked down and smiled right before she pulled on the hem of her shirt and took it off, revealing her perfectly toned body.

“Is that better? I don’t want my shirt distracting you.”

“It was the contents inside, not the shirt itself.”

“Mm, I love it when you get all moody.” She ran her hands up my bare chest, gradually running her fingernails over my skin.

“Lyla,” I warned, starting to lose control.

“Take me out to dinner tonight,” she demanded.

I wouldn’t have been more surprised by her demand if she’d kicked me in the dick. “What?” I asked, confused from the change of subject, from her change in attitude.

“Take me to dinner, Kace. Take me out on a date. It’s the least you can do.”

She was now lying flat against me with her elbows propped up on my chest, looking down on me. If I paid close attention, I could feel the weight of her breasts on my chest, which was turning me on even more.

“It’s the least I can do? How do you see that?”

“You can’t just fuck a girl and leave her throbbing up against a wall, wondering what the hell just happened—at least not a girl like me. You owe me a date if you’re going to toss me aside like that.”

“Isn’t that a little backward?” I asked.

“Yeah, but you owe me. We’ve fucked, but now you owe me a date. It’s protocol.”

I gripped her hips and tried to move her off me, but she planted her hands on the floor and hovered her mouth right above mine.

“You know you want to,” she teased.

There was a whole lot more that I wanted to do to this woman, but fucking her against the mirror in the Haze Room seemed like a bad idea.

“Please,” she said, batting her eyelashes. She cupped my face and very slowly lowered her mouth to mine. I gripped her hips tightly, bracing myself.

A low growl escaped me as I grabbed the back of her head and pressed her down to my lips so she couldn’t move. Like it was second nature, her mouth opened to mine and gave me access. Warmth spread through me from her touch, from the way her tongue matched mine, and the heat that poured off her and into my very core.

My hand that had once been on her hip found the back of her bra and without even thinking, I snapped the clasp and let the straps fall down her shoulders.

I thought I’d known what perfection was. I had been so fucking wrong. How I’d missed the fact that Lyla embodied everything I ever looked for in a woman was beyond me. Her skin was a beautiful mocha color, her eyes penetrated me every time I looked into them, and her attitude matched mine perfectly. She didn’t put up with my crap, hence why I was inches from stripping her naked in the new community center.

“Am I interrupting something?” Goldie asked from the doorway of the Haze room.

“Shit.” I fumbled, trying to get Lyla off of me, but she was no help because she just giggled and clung on to me, making no attempt to get out of the way. “Lyla,” I warned.

“Looks like you’re about to christen the new mats,” Goldie said, walking toward us.

“It’s not what it looks like,” I replied even though I was still lying on the ground with Lyla’s half-exposed body stretched out against mine.

“Not what it looks like, huh?” Goldie asked, moving over to sit next to us with her legs crossed. She pointed at our connection and said, “Looks like you two are making out on the floor and about to hit second base, judging from the way Lyla’s bra is undone.”

“Kace undid it,” Lyla said proudly.

“I bet he did. He’s always had a thing for your boobs.”

“No I haven’t,” I lied.

“Oh look, he’s blushing,” Lyla said, patting my face. “How adorable. It’s all right, Kace. My boobs are pretty hot.” She bent and kissed my lips one last time before sitting up on my lap.

I watched in fascination as her bra slipped down, exposing her breasts for a few seconds before she readjusted it, taking away one of the sexiest views I’d ever seen.

I knew she could feel my arousal because the minute she shifted her seat on my lap, she winked, letting me know she knew exactly what she was doing to me.

She turned to Goldie, who was smiling like a dork, and said, “Kace is taking me out on a date tonight.”

“Ahhh! Yay!” Goldie clapped her hands in excitement.

“No, I’m not,” I replied, getting annoyed by these two, who should never be left alone together.

“It’s all right, big guy. No need to be shy about it.” Lyla turned to Goldie. “He can be so tender and sweet at times, but he doesn’t want to let people think he’s going soft.”

“You damn well know there is nothing soft about me,” I gritted out.

“Oh my,” Goldie cooed, glancing down at me. “Looks like you’ve poked the bear.”

Lyla shrugged. “I’ve dealt with it before. A quick tap to the nut sack, and all will be right with the world. Isn’t that right, Kace?”

“Touch my nut sack and get your hand cut off.”

“Damn,” Goldie replied. “Be nice to the girl, Kace.”

“What did you want?” I asked Goldie, hating that she’d interrupted my make-out session with Lyla.

“Just got a shipment in of towels, wanted to know if you want me to divide them up in the locker rooms?”

Running my hands over my face, I let out a long breath. “That couldn’t have waited?”

“Sorry. I didn’t know it was sex-o’clock in the Haze Room. Next time leave a tie on the door or a condom hanging off the knob so I know not to enter.”

“Run the towels through the wash first, then divide them,” I ordered, ignoring her sarcasm.

“Thanks, boss man,” Goldie replied, getting up and taking off. “Want me to hang a condom on the door?”

“Get out,” I shouted, making her squeal and laugh at the same time.

Once the door was closed, I looked at Lyla, who was still sitting on my lap.

“Are you going to sit there all fucking day, or are you going to let me get up?”

Without a word, Lyla got up and grabbed her shirt. She quickly put it on and didn’t look at me as she headed for the door.

I should have let her go, let her walk away, because that was what would be good for me, but fuck if I still didn’t feel the heat of her body on mine. I didn’t want to lose that feeling.

Groaning, I chased after her and pulled on her arm before she could open the door to leave. When I spun her around, a giant smile spread across her face.

Motherfucker. She’d played me. “Shit,” I mumbled.

“I knew you cared.” She poked my chest with her pink painted finger.

“I don’t,” I lied once again.

“Lie all you want, Kace, but I can see it in your eyes, the longing you have for me. Strap on your balls, because you’re taking me out tonight. We’re going to spend an evening living in the present and forgetting the past for at least a couple of hours.”

I bowed my head and gripped her hips, wishing she would just give up on me, wishing she would leave me alone, but the determination in her eyes told me that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. So I gave in. “What time should I pick you up?”

“Seven.” She leaned in, pressing her chest against mine and placing a soft kiss on my jaw. “Don’t shave. I like you all scruffy.”

Before she took off, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why, Lyla? Why now?”

From over her shoulder, she answered, “Because everyone deserves a second chance in life, Kace. It’s about damn time you take yours.”

Fucking hell.

Chapter Twelve

My past…

Everything I had ever cared about, ever worked for completely vanished in the matter of a day. I was stripped bare. I was left with nothing but an old pair of boxing gloves, my worn out guitar, and a picture of me and Jett from when we were young. Those were my items, my valuables, the only things besides clothes that I moved into my new dwellings with.