“Shit, girl. Stop crying.” He looks away, but not before I catch the sheen in his own eyes.

Holding up my car keys, I shake them. “Feel like driving?”

He lets go of me and snatches the keys, kissing them. “Fuck, yes.”

We run for the car and get in at the same time. Jase flashes me a grateful smile as he cranks the engine. His eyes close as it roars to life and then begins to purr.

“Sweet, right?” I say with pride. I’d taken Tony’s POS and turned it into a real showstopper. No one who treated a car like he did deserved to keep it.

“I’m surprised Seth allowed you to drive it.”

My smile falls as I scowl at him. “I paid for it, fair and square.”

Jase tilts his head to look at me. “He won it, fair and square. Hell, Ro, he went to jail for this car.”

“So did you.”

“Rowan,” he warns. “This is Seth’s car. You know it, and I know it. Even that prick Tony knew it. You only paid for it to prove a point.”

“I’m not giving it to him. He won’t appreciate it.”

We coast along the highway, Jase kicking her up to a speed that will get him a ticket if we’re stopped, and he needs to get his license renewed. Not something someone fresh out of prison should be taking a chance on. With a little smile, I shake my head. Some things never change.

“Is this about the car or you?” he asks.

“Omigosh, can we leave the psychology crap back where it belongs—in prison?” While Jase served, he was required to attend anger management classes, and boy, did he get into them. Usually, we couldn’t have a five-minute conversation without him trying to analyze me.

He lets up on the gas, his tattooed fingers gripping the wheel. “Bring me any—”

Twisting in my seat, I grab a carton of cigarettes. “Yep, got your cancer sticks. Anything else you want that can kill you?”

“Little shit,” he says affectionately. “What about a phone?”

I grab my purse and pull out his new smartphone. “I took the liberty to order a protective case in your favorite color.”

He laughs at the orange case, grabs it from me, and flings it in the backseat. “Mind if I drive straight home? I need a shower and food. Please tell me you filled the pantry and fridge.”

“Yes, master. I performed all the tasks you assigned me.”

He grabs me with one arm, pulling me close, and kisses the top of my head. “Missed you, brat.”

“Missed you, too.” I lean against him, the comfort and familiarity of Jase making me relax. When we were younger, Jase would always protect me—at school, from our mom’s latest perv boyfriend, and whenever one of his buddies started sniffing around me. The only guy Jase ever let get close to me is Seth.

“Jase?”

The windows are down and the music is blasting, but he hears me. “Yeah?”

“Why did you let Seth date me?”

“Because he wasn’t like the rest of us,” he says, as if that explains everything. “He didn’t belong in our neighborhood, just like the Gardners, but we kind of took the place over. Still, that boy was too good for all of us.”

“Including me?” I ask in a small voice.

“No, baby doll. No one in the world is as amazing as you. You’re in your own league. Seth was the only guy who realized it and didn’t want to drag you down to his.”

I let that sink in for a moment. He’s right, the only time Seth ever treated me like I was worthless was when he went to prison. At seventeen. But the years he ignored me are hard to discount.

“Have you thought about where you’ll work?” I ask, changing the subject. “Boyd’s the head mechanic and he has a wife with a kid on the way, and I—”

“I’m straight, Ro. A buddy of mine is hooking me up.”

I scoot back to my side of the car, narrowing my eyes at him. “Nothing illegal, right?”

“On the up and up. He’s making room for me at his shop.”

“Which buddy is this?” My nose wrinkles as I try to sort through the guys who’d stuck around.

“Emmett.”

“You’re going to work in a tattoo shop?” I know tattooing is something Jase loves, almost as much as racing cars. He’d started tattooing for cash when he was fifteen, after Emmett’s dad had taken him under his wing and taught him the finer points.

“Jesus, Rowan. Get your nose out of the air before you drown.”

I make a face at him. “I’m shocked, not uppity.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll believe that once you get some ink,” he says, grinning at me. “I’ll give you the family discount.”

“Charging me twice as much as everyone else is not a discount.”

“Fine, I’ll only charge you half.”

“Jase!”

“It’s not like you’ll ever sit in my chair, so why are you worried?” That cocky grin of his that I love comes out, making a dimple appear in his right cheek.

“Maybe I’ll think about getting one.” The only reason I haven’t gotten a tattoo yet is because I haven’t found what I wanted, not because I think my body’s too good for it. “Maybe I’ll bring Piper with me.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jase blink a little too fast. “No. I don’t think she’ll dig it.”

“How do you know what she’ll dig?”

“Girls like her get tramp stamps and ankle tats in the shape of hearts or some shit like that. Not my thing.”

My jaw drops. “Now who’s being all uppity?”

“I’m not.” He pulls the car into the drive, and I frown when I see who’s waiting for him.

“Jase,” Giselle squeals, jumping up and down. Of course, she makes no effort to move toward him. She’s waiting for him to come to her. If I were in her place and hadn’t seen my man in years, then I’d be jumping his ass before he could get out of the car.

“Please, Rowan, don’t ever bring Piper to get a tattoo,” he says, his voice pleading.

“What about your party?” I ask lightly.

“She’s coming, right?”

“Yeah, she’s coming.”

He grabs me up in a hug. “Thanks, brat.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.” He gets out of the car, and Giselle finally attacks him, her long legs wrapping around his waist. I shudder and move to the driver’s seat, backing out of there before I see what can’t be unseen. I wouldn’t put it past Giselle to screw him where they’re standing in the middle of the driveway.

Automatically, I drive home. My heart pounds the closer I get, but when I don’t see Seth’s truck, it drops to my feet. Stop getting excited, you idiot. Then you won’t get disappointed.

I check the time on my phone. Boyd and the guys have just left for the Double Deuce. A night out with the guys is exactly what I need.

Chapter 9

Seth

I almost spit out my drink when Rowan comes walking in the Double Deuce, wearing a dress that barely covers her tits or her ass. Her slender, tanned legs look about a million miles long, thanks to the fuck-me heels on her feet.

“Does she usually dress like that?” I start to ask Boyd, but judging by the shocked look on his face, my guess is the answer would be no.

“Am I too late?” she asks, sliding that baby blue gaze of hers right over me like I’m not sitting a couple of feet away. This close I can see the dark liner around her eyes and the red lipstick that makes me think about all the things her sexy mouth can do.

I shift in my seat, my jeans growing uncomfortably tight as my dick presses against my zipper. My physical reaction to her doesn’t make me happy. I shouldn’t be affected like this. We haven’t touched, haven’t kissed, in days and she’s ignoring me as much as I’m ignoring her, but damn it, I want to feast on those lips. That primal part of me, the one the Marines found and honed to a deadly weapon of war, wants to throw her over my shoulder and find the nearest bed.