I nod turning back to him. “That about covers it.”

“So, was it one time or…”

My cheeks burn. “No, it’s been a few.”

“Quinn,” he says, seriously. “You’re playing with fire.”

“Coming from the guy who probably has an entire bed with notches on it.”

He gives me a look and I snort.

“I don’t work with the women I fuck, and I certainly don’t like them.”

“You just made yourself sound like a giant douche.”

He shrugs. “At least I don’t pretend to be something I’m not.”

“Okay, so Tazen’s my boss and we took things a little too far, but I like him, Jace. A lot.”

“Jesus, woman,” he says, titling his head back and muttering some curses.

“You can’t help who you … like.”

He stares at me, unamused.

“Let’s change the subject.”

He crosses his arms.

“Ack,” I mutter, throwing my hands up. “Come on, Jace, let’s just talk about something else. I’ve had a bad enough day as it is.”

“Fine,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “But we will be talking about this.”

I don’t get the chance to answer him, because a text flashes on the screen of my phone.

T—Where r u?

Oh no, he does not get to text me when he’s ready to acknowledge that I exist.

I reply before thinking.

Q—Eat a giant DICK

Jace snort laughs and I look up to see he’s reading my message. I snatch my phone away and glare at him. “Uncool, Jace.”

“It’s funny though.” He smirks. “I can just imagine that will go down well.”

Just as he finishes his sentence, my phone rings. Tazen’s name flashes on the screen and I let it go to voice mail before typing out another text.

Q—Perhaps one dick isn’t enough for you, as it would appear one vagina certainly isn’t. I know! Go and eat TWO giant dicks.

Jace roars with laughter, leaning back in his chair. “You’re evil and I love it.”

I laugh, unable to hold it back. My phone buzzes and I glance down to see Tazen has texted again.

T—Where the fuck r u?

He doesn’t find my texts funny.

Q—Eating giant dicks.

I smirk as I wait for his response.

It doesn’t come.

Someone is angry. Good. I hope he’s angry. I hope I piss him off. I hope he feels desperate. Those are all the things he made me feel tonight, when he kicked me out as though I was no more than a quick fuck.

I turn my phone off and look up to Jace. “I really have to go. I’ll call you during the week and we’ll go out.”

He smirks up at me, nodding at the same time. “Yeah, honey. No worries.”

I wave with a big grin. “Later, Jace.”

“Later.”

*   *   *

I arrive at home and see the lights are out inside. That either means Dad is asleep or he went out. I hope he’s asleep. I really do. I’m not in the mood for him tonight. I walk up my front steps in the darkness. “Where were you?”

I scream at the sound of the voice coming out of the darkness. I spin around to see a shadow in the corner of my porch. I know it’s Tazen, but him standing in the dark at my house is just weird.

“What the hell?” I cry, clutching my chest. “Why are you standing in the corner of my porch, in the dark, like a creeper?”

He grunts. “Because you wouldn’t have stopped if you saw me waiting.”

“That’s disturbing.”

I walk towards the front door but he stands in front of it, blocking me off. “We need to talk.”

“No,” I say, trying to reach around him. “We don’t.”

He takes my hand and curls his fingers around it, stopping me from going any further. “We do.”

“No,” I say, jerking backwards. “We don’t. You made it very, very clear where I stood tonight.”

“You don’t understand the situation, Quinn. If you did you would know that what I did was the best way to handle it.”

“Oh.” I laugh bitterly. “You mean tossing me out like a cheap hooker when your girlfriend came in?”

“She isn’t my fucking girlfriend,” he grunts.

“Well, I’m sorry, when your lady of the night came in and treated me like shit.”

“There’s a lot about Sheyenne you don’t know. I was doing what was best.”

“You’re right,” I say, stepping back. “I don’t know and I don’t want to know. We made a mistake doing this. We should have never taken it past professional. It needs to stop. Tonight proved that.”

Tazen moves quickly, wrapping his arms around my waist and spinning me so my back is flat against my front door. He leans down close, and even though I can’t see him, I can feel his breath tickling my face. “We are not ending any-fucking-thing.”

“Ah yes,” I say, pushing at his chest. “We are.”

“No,” he grunts, shoving my hands down. “We’re not.”

“Jesus, Tazen, you treated me like a cheap whore and now you’re asking me to just understand and play happy lover.”

He growls.

“Don’t you growl at me,” I warn.

“I wouldn’t if you weren’t acting like a fucking brat. Let me open my mouth and speak for long enough for me to tell you about Sheyenne.”

I reach back and curl my fingers around the door handle. Then I lean into his face. “I don’t want to know about Sheyenne. Good night, Tazen.”

I open the door quickly, doing a stealthy side slide in and slamming it shut. I lock it and press my back against it, breathing a sigh of relief. Tazen pounds on it, warning me that if I don’t open it, he won’t be happy. Join the club, buddy. I know I should probably hear him out, but I’m hurt and not ready yet.

I push off the door and walk through the darkness towards my room, passing Dad’s as I go. He’s in his bed, sound asleep and snoring. Thank god. I continue on to my room and when I get in I go straight to my bed without turning the light on. I kick my shoes off, strip down to my bra and panties and slide under the covers. My phone buzzes with a text and I glance down at the screen.

T—This isn’t over, angel. I’ll see you tomorrow at work.

Q—No you won’t. I’m taking a job on the corner.

I smirk at my comeback, even though I know it’ll piss him off.

T—Every time you smart mouth me, I’m going to add it up. Then I’m going to fuck you until every single remark is gone from my mind, and yours.

Q—Ohh, I’m scared.

T—Tomorrow, Quinn. Don’t be late.

Q—What are you going to do? Fire me?

T—Tomorrow.

He’s no fun, really he isn’t.

Tomorrow should prove to be interesting.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I’m under the engine, tinkering with it when I hear Tazen’s voice fill the garage the next afternoon. He’s been missing in action all day. Rick said he has business meetings, but personally I think those meetings start with an S and end with an E. That woman’s sudden appearance has put Tazen off guard and made me wonder why. He’s usually so cool, calm and collected but since she entered the picture, he’s on edge.