“I’m not seeing your point here on how exactly I make my life choices,” I interrupted her speech.

“Do whatever the hell you want and don’t make apology for it. You want Jude? Make him want you. You want the boys to treat you like an adult? Be one. Without apology. Get a job. Be a big girl. Show them you’re capable of doing shit on your own and don’t back down.” She slapped her hand down on the table in front of us to accentuate her point.

“I’ve been looking for a job for months and still I’ve had no callbacks. Nobody is hiring.”

“I am. Teeny and Trip are both part timing to spend time with Javier now. I’ll be taking some time off soon and we need a receptionist. Just keeping track of timeframes, appointment bookings, enquiries, all that kind of crap.” She made her way around the other side of the counter and pulled out a few papers from a drawer before dumping them and a pen in my lap. “Fill this shit out. You start tomorrow. No uniform. Just don’t dress like a dirty skank and we’re golden. “

I looked at the papers and back up at Scar’s retreating form, then back at the paperwork and my shaking hands. Tears welled up in my eyes and I sucked in a breath. Scarlett was family, yet she’d asked no questions, made no commotion about it and just gave me a job. I loved the woman like she was blood and everyday she proved why we loved her. She was the perfect balance to my pig-headed brother and his stupid antics. She was just all around loveable. There wasn’t ever a time you were near her and you didn’t smile when she did or felt the overwhelming need to take a bullet for her. She really was an angel. A little rough around the edges but an angel none the less.

I exhaled long and shaky breaths before I got to filling out the papers in my hand. Before I knew it, Trip was walking in the front door. I quickly and as discreetly as possible scanned him for signs of being in a fight with Jude and allowed the relief to wash over me when I found no bruises, red marks or cuts. They would have traded words and left it at that. I hoped.

“Car’ll be ready in an hour,” he grumbled at me. My defenses instantly went up. I hated when he spoke to me like that. And I wasn’t going to take it… not this time.

“Speak to me like that again and we’ll be having a big problem, Javerio.” I glared and slapped the pen down on the table. I knew using his real name would get his back up and make him take notice. It only took a beat before his glare came down on me. I wasn’t going to shrink back through. I was an adult and he’d damn well better start treating me like one.

“Pardon fucking me?” He stood stock-still, intimidating Trip on display. Almost like a disgruntled peacock or something. It was practically ridiculous.

“Unpuff your chest and speak to me like I’m a human being not a child. You’re being rude and entirely assy.” I crossed my arms over my chest and held my ground. Trip did a double take and looked like he was going to stomp his foot before making a scene of heading to the back break room. Scarlett sat in her station all out laughing as he passed. His mumbled words only made her laugh harder before she looked at me with something like pride shining in her eyes. It was something I’d not really encountered before unless from Ma. Foreign and oddly satisfying, I took it and smiled at her, then placed my paperwork on the front counter.

“See you at 9 am,” she called out. I nodded and waved as I walked out the front door and headed to the coffee shop across the road feeling quite good about myself.

Things just might work out for me after all. Thanks largely to Scarlett’s words of encouragement, I had a little hope.

Jude

I walked back into the garage and punched one of the big metal tool cabinets on my way past. I sucked up the pain like a drug I couldn’t cope without. Why was she here? There was something about her that was just so alluring. I couldn’t see her without wanting to fall to my goddamn knees and worship her like she was a queen amongst peasants.

Suck it up, you pussy! When did you acquire feelings?

Pushing away from the doorframe at the back of the shop, I trudged outside in my heavy boots, kicking rocks as I went. I cut off my emotions as soon as I was able. I struggled to handle these kinds of feelings; they messed with my head and left me making bad decisions. Decisions that screwed with friendships, families and futures. I couldn’t have a future with her; it just wouldn’t be good for anyone.

Sitting at the bar stool, I pulled Haven between my legs and moved my hands to run up her silky legs, stopping at the bottom of her tight black skirt. Her arms came up and circled my neck as her head came down to my face. My fingers teased the skin at the edge of her skirt as she pulled my bottom lip into her mouth and sucked, tearing a growl from my throat. My fingers stopped their progress and dug into the skin of her legs, pulling her tighter to me and deepening the torturous kiss.

In response, her hands dropped to my shoulders, her nails close to breaking the skin through my t-shirt while my fingertips ghosted over the curve where her legs met her luscious ass. The tightly wound restraint I had been keeping snapped, and I swiftly stood, picking her up. Her legs instantly wrapped around my waist and I took a few long strides to the edge of my workbench where I set her down, then pressed hard against her core and ground my hips. Haven’s hands tugged at my shirt ripping it over my head as I ran my rough hands higher and higher up her soft thighs until I hit the sweet spot. She moaned just as my mouth came down, devouring her like the starving man I was. She was my drug of choice. Her taste, touch and smell I just couldn’t get enough of it. I couldn’t get enough of her, and I didn’t need it either. Haven would always be exactly what I craved.