“Dude, snap out of it.” The voice broke me out of my reverie and yanked me back to the present. Goddamn it, I did it again. I’d been slipping into memories of Haven for weeks. I just couldn’t get her out of my head. It was fucked up, messy and it left me in a piss-ass mood for the rest of the day.

Why’d I have to fall for a girl I can’t have? That’s how it always worked though, right? The guy loved the girl he couldn’t have. Then the poor bastard pined for her for all eternity and was unable love anyone like he loved her. He’d end up miserable and alone, simply because a relationship would be selfish and do more harm than good to the people they both loved. Scrubbing my hand down my face in an effort to wipe her from my thoughts, I knew something had to give. I didn’t know how much more I could take.

“Dude, fuck off. Don’t you have some wrenches to turn?” I huffed as I pushed past Derek, my temporary mechanic, and walked out the front door of the workshop, pounding my boots on the pavement until I got to Haven’s car. I could almost guarantee there was nothing wrong with it since I spent two hours servicing it not long before we stopped sneaking around together. Something must have happened for her to have brought it in though. Normally, I’d have Derek, the young mechanic, look at it for me, but it was Haven’s car and I trusted nobody to touch it but me.

I popped the hood and fucked around for a good forty-five minutes before I’d calmed down and ascertained nothing was wrong with the car. Now I was trying to figure out why the hell she’d brought it in, followed by Trip throwing around his balls and temper. I knew why he was pulling a power play. After finding out about Haven and I, he wasn’t real happy with the situation and for good reason. She was his little sister. I was his older brother’s best friend. It was a line guys didn’t cross, an unspoken code of sorts. Ordinarily, I’d put him in his place when he started walking around with his dick and a measuring tape in his hand, but I was on rocky ground with the boys as it was, so I was making no attempt to stir the proverbial pot. It was hard enough just trying to stay away from Haven, not hearing her voice or feeling her warm skin pressed against mine. It wasn’t just the explosive sex I missed either… I missed spending time with her. Fuck me! My balls had shriveled up and I was growing a fucking vagina.

A noise from the front of the shop drew my attention to a guy twirling his keys around his finger while leaning against a big, dirty Ford Silverado. He had a bit of a cocky look about him that I was in no mood to humor.

“What can I do for you?” I stopped in front of him and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Full set of tires and a service.” He unfolded his ankles and pushed off the truck when I held out my hand for the keys.

“Won’t be ready till late afternoon.” I let him know as I took the keys and bypassed him to take note of the tire size.

“No problem, bud. Here’s my card. Just give me a call when she’s ready to go.” He flicked a business card out of his pocket and handed it to me before walking off in the direction of the café down the road. The guy clearly wasn’t from around here. He was an out-of-towner for sure; his truck yelled it, his clothes and demeanor screamed it, and if that wasn’t enough, the country boy accent did him in. Besides, I was in a foul mood and something about this guy annoyed me which I knew wasn’t fair, but all the same. I was in top form today. I hated the world and almost everyone in it. Except Haven.

Fuck.

By the end of the day, my mood had gone from bad to worse on account of a phone call from the school telling me Jaxson had gotten in a fistfight with another kid during lunch. Both boys weren’t seriously hurt. They’d just come away with a few scratches and bruises, but I was more than a little annoyed my boy was getting in fights. Neither of the boy was talking, so when I got home, I’d be pulling him aside and making sure he spilled his guts.

I closed up the back roller doors, walked into the office and started filling out the last few invoices for the day. A small tap at the door about twenty minutes later had my heart racing. I knew who it was before I even saw her. That perfume had invaded my dreams more than once over the last few months. I’d know it anywhere. My head slowly came up and my eyes took her in longingly. I lapped up of every inch of her perfect form. My chest twinged with an ache that couldn’t be helped.

Good God, I fucking missed her.

“Jude.” Her almost silent whisper hit me right in the guts and I stood quickly to block out the memory which slammed into me.

“Jude, I need you. I need you right now.” Her soft whimper dragged over me like nothing I’d ever felt before. The want in her voice as I pulled my head back from nibbling on her inner thigh drove me further over the edge. I settled my hips in the space between hers and slowly slid inside my own personal heaven.

“Keys,” I mumbled, holding them out and trying not to think about grabbing her and telling her just how much I wanted her, and how goddamn badly I needed her. It was pointless. “Car’s fine. Be careful driving home. There’s supposed to be a storm soon.” My short tone left no room for conversation because Lord knew, I couldn’t stand in the same room as her for more than five minutes without losing my carefully strung together bravado.

A guy could only fake it for so long. Wait, what? The longer she stood there, the further my façade slipped.

“Oh, umm, thanks.” She fumbled over her words as I watched the walls she was so good at holding come up. That damn twinge in my chest tweaked again at the sight of it. I hated hurting her. I hated it with vengeance but it was better this way. I couldn’t betray my second family like that again. I wouldn’t risk them being upset at her. “What do I owe you?” she asked with steel in her words.