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I turned my head and took a deep sniff of her hair.

“Hmmm… you smell delicious.”

“Cut it out!”

“Shhhhh, I’m trying to pay attention Nadine!”

She rolled her eyes and pretended to ignore me. I noticed she used a legal pad and a pen instead of a laptop. It was cute. She was furiously scribbling away, trying to focus on the class.

Good luck with that!

I spent the rest of the lecture with her squeezed up next to me. By the time the class was over, I could almost see the puffs of smoke coming out of her ears.

“Thanks a lot Fitz!”

“What?”

She stared at me, her eyes looking especially sparkly. That’s when I realized they were shiny with tears.

Oh shit.

Was she going to cry? I didn’t mean to make her cry.
 

Uh… nope.

She let out a laugh. It was condescending. It was sarcastic. It was disdainful.

But she looked hot as hell doing it.

“You don’t even know who I am do you,
Fitzy
?”

I stared at her, blinking.

Had we already knocked boots? I was sure I would remember her but who knows. I gave her my best puppy dog eyes.

“If I did not behave like a gentleman, then you have every right to be mad at me.”

She laughed again.

“Let me make it up to you darlin’.”

She rolled her eyes, stuffing her notebook into her ratty looking backpack. For the first time I noticed that everything about her was kind of shabby. Except, well, her.

She was anything but.

“Did you enjoy it at least?”

She shoved past me and I grabbed my stuff, dodging through the crowd to keep up. The girl had long ass legs. And she was using them to get as far away from me as possible.

“Keep dreaming Fitzy.”

There was something in her voice that made me stop dead in my tracks. Something familiar. I watched her take two steps. Three.

That hunched over way of walking… sexy as hell but also somehow… hiding.

I knew it.

I knew her.

“Deanie?!?”

She turned, her gorgeous green eyes blazing. She lifted her hand and saluted me sarcastically. I could hardly believe it. Scrappy little Deanie had grown up.

And she grew up right.

I ran after her. She glanced at me but didn’t stop walking.

“I can’t believe its you, Deanie.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sorry. Nadine. I can’t believe it’s you.”

She stopped walking and stared at me.

“Damn Brat, you grew up right!”

Her mouth opened slightly. She looked annoyed with me. And also, kind of sad.

I snapped my fingers.

“Wait, didn’t you run away from home?”

She glanced at me again, a world of hurt in her eyes. Then something clicked and the tough, hot as hell girl was back. She tossed her hair and strode away, saying nothing.

I followed her of course. Nothing could have stopped me from getting to the bottom of this now.

From getting to the bottom of
her.

Finally, I grabbed her arm and made her stop walking and face me.

“When you were going to tell me? Before, or after?”

She stared at me, not comprehending what I was implying. Then slowly I saw realization dawn in her eyes. Her mouth opened. I resisted the urge to kiss her.

It was a good thing too, because I would have missed her foot coming for my shin.

“You pig!”

“Hey, hey! I’m just kidding Deanie. Learn how to take a joke!”

She just stared at me, a look of utter confusion in her eyes. Almost like she forgot where she was for a second. Then she mumbled something about being late for work and took off.

I thought about chasing her.

But that would be stupid.

Especially since I knew where exactly she was going.

I decided I was in the mood for ribs tonight. Tomorrow night too. And every night until I got what I was after.

Her.

Nadine

I stood behind the bar, hiding. James was here, again. It was the third night in a row he’d put himself in my station. Tonight he was alone. Girls kept approaching him as he sat there, but he sent them away. He pretended to be watching the game on the big screen.

But that’s not what he was watching.

He was watching me.

The problem was, I was starting to like it.

I could not deny it any longer. He was wearing down my defenses. Doggedly pursuing me with escalating intensity.

Every time I felt his eyes on me, I got tingly all over. Is that what girls felt when they liked someone? I never had the time or inclination.
 

Not since I’d run away.

Not since James.

I looked up from the salt and pepper shakers I was refilling. Casey, the manager, had just flicked the lights. James was staring at me again.

Fuck me, was he ever going to give up?

For some crazy reason, I felt like the answer was no. And for some crazy reason I liked that idea.

I liked it a lot. Crap. I liked
him
. There was no use denying it any longer.

He was winning.

I knew in my heart he was going to hurt me. It was inevitable. Especially for a man whore like him.

But it didn’t change a damn thing.

A warm feeling pooled in my stomach as I walked over to him. He was my last table. I swallowed nervously. Realizing how I felt had changed everything suddenly. Now I had something to lose.

Him.

“Can I get you anything else?”

He was watching me carefully. Not leering for once. Just looking at me.

Seeing me.

We both knew in that moment that something had changed. I’d stopped fighting. He’d stopped chasing. It was starting.

Whatever ‘it’ was.

He shook his head slowly. I nodded and put the check down. I started to walk away and stopped.

“You don’t have to leave me a crazy tip.”

He smiled at me.
 

“I want to.”

I shook my head.

“You shouldn’t. You need the money too.”

He raised an eyebrow at me and put a hundred dollar bill on the table. Then he added another one. My eyes bulged out of my head.

Was he trying to buy me? Was it pity?

Fuck if I’d let him pity me!

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Take that back.”

He crossed his arms.

“No.”

I stared at him, ignoring the money. I was about to cry. Again.

Why did I let him get to me?

Because he could…

“I’m not for sale Fitz!”

He grabbed me as I walked away, pulling me against him.

“I know that. I’m just compensating for taking up your table all night.”

I looked up at him. I nodded shakily. Then I laughed.

“Okay fine. But half that.”

He smiled sensuously, nodding at me.

“Okay.”

I stepped away, grabbing one of the hundreds and the check.

“It’s still too much.”

He shrugged and sat down again. He waited while I cleaned up. I didn’t say a word. Neither did he.

But we both knew he was taking me home tonight.

Beyond that, I was afraid to think about anything else that might happen too closely.

Casey paid me and James walked out with me. He clicked his keys and his car unlocked. He was parked right out front. He slipped his arm around me.

It felt natural. More than natural.

It felt right.

“Come on.”

I hesitated. I was starting to think I shouldn’t go with him. I was bone tired. My judgement was off. And I knew what he was after.

I wasn’t ready to give in completely.

“I’m tired Jimmy…”

He laughed.

“No one has called me that since I was ten.”

He squeezed my shoulders.

“I just want to take you home. No more walking okay?”

I glanced at him. Had he been following me home the past few nights? A warm feeling filled me when I realized he must have been.

I nodded. I was too exhausted to argue.

He drove me home in silence. I think neither one of us wanted to mess things up. It was a comfortable silence though. It was weird, feeling like all this was so new, even though I’d known him forever.

Not like this though.

Never like this.

He pulled over in front of my apartment. He
had
been following me. I looked at him, one eyebrow raised. He shrugged.

“I didn’t like the idea of you walking home late at night.”

“Why?”

“I feel protective of you.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Because I’m like a sister to you?”

He leaned forward, his knuckles softly grazing my cheek.

“No. Definitely not.”

His eyes were on my lips. I knew he was going to kiss me. I realized I wanted him to.

So help me. I did.

He leaned closer, his breath intermingling with mine. He smelled good. Clean. Like pine and something indefinable… but masculine.

Very, very masculine.

His lips brushed mine. Once. Twice.

They were soft. Unbelievably soft.

“Jesus, Nadine…”

Then he enfolded me in his big arms, hauling me up against his massive chest. I felt safe. Protected. Desired.

All at the same time.

He moaned and nudged my lips open. The moment I opened my mouth, the kiss went crazy. His tongue darted inside, stroking mine, twirling against it.

I heard a breathy sigh. It was me.

I made that noise.

EEEEEEOOOOWWWWWW!

I froze, not sure what I was hearing for a second. Then I did. It was a cat. And someone was hurting it.

Honeysuckle.

I was out of the car in two seconds flat, running for the alleyway. There were a group of boys. They were throwing things at the cat. I felt nauseous when I realized they had tied something to her tail.

A brick.

What the fuck was wrong with people?

I threw myself at them, screaming like a banshee. Later, I would barely remember it. But at the moment, everything was crystal clear.

Face. Punched.

Knee. Kicked.

Elbow. Thrown.

Then James was there, pulling me off them. Telling them to fuck off. Calling them a bunch of little shits. I was in a daze, struggling to get free. But his hands were like vices. He held me until I stopped struggling.
 

I forced myself to calm down, breathing slow and deep.

He let me go and I knelt by the furry lump on the pavement. Tenderly, I untied the string that held the brick to her damaged tail. It was bent, hanging loosely. Her fur was matted with blood. She mewled at me pathetically and the tears started to fall.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not! They hurt her!”

“Is that your cat?”

I shrugged.

“Kind of. I feed her. We aren’t allowed to have pets.”

I stared up at James, my tears flowing freely.

“She’s hurt. I need to get her to the vet.”

He was staring at me, looking concerned.
 

Then he nodded.
 

“Okay. Let me get something to wrap her in.”

He was back in two minutes. He helped me lift the cat gently, placing her in a jacket he’d gotten from his car. Then we went back to the car.

I cried all the way to the emergency animal hospital on the other side of the city.
 

By the time we got there, Honeysuckle was barely moving.

Chapter Six

James

I stared down at the girl sleeping on my shoulder. Even exhausted and tearstained, she was beautiful. And she was hurting.

Badly.

Her reaction to the cat had taken me off guard to be sure. But not in a bad way. I was in awe of her.

She was braver than anyone I’d ever met.

And more soft hearted than she let on.

Not to mention the best damn kisser I’d met in my life. And I’d kissed a lot of girls. A lot, a lot.

Too many probably.

I stroked my hand over the smoothness of her hair. Even after a long day and night of slinging ribs and beer, she smelled incredible. Almost too good. I loved the way she was curled up against me in the animal hospital’s waiting room.

She trusted me, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

I closed my eyes, trying to conjure up images of the scrappy little girl she’d been. Her parents had fought a lot. Lots of drinking and loud music. But that was the norm for our part of Chicago.

Still, there must have been something else. Something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

Something bad enough to make her run away.

“Where have you been hiding, my little Deanie?”

She didn’t answer my softly spoken question, just curled into my shoulder a little more. I smiled and kissed her head. She was letting me in. That’s what I wanted.

What I was starting to realize was that this wasn’t just a fling. I could not just tag her and move on. Fuck, for the first time in my life, I didn’t want to.

Besides, I would beat anybody’s ass who tried to date her for, basically, the rest of her life.

My eyes snapped open when I realized the direction my thoughts were heading.

What the fuck was I thinking about anyway? Was I falling for a girl I hadn’t even tagged yet? That scared the hell out of me, no lie.

Snap out of it Fitzgerald!

I shook my head. Better to stay focused on what mattered: my next game, and getting into Deanie’s pants. I wanted her in my bed. End of story.

How long I kept her there was a different matter altogether.

It was another half an hour before the Veterinarian came out. Gently, I shook Deanie awake.

“Wake up, sweetie.”

She blinked, her eyes soft and out of focus. I couldn’t help thinking about waking her up for a different reason… middle of the night sex came to mind. And morning sex. And afternoon sex. My cock twitched in my pants.

There was no more awkward place on Earth than an animal hospital to get a God Damn boner.

Well, church might be more awkward. But barely.

“So, the bad news is she got banged up pretty bad. Broken tail. But she’s strong. Most street cats we see are malnourished. And she wasn’t. So she’s ahead of the game.”