She stared at the damage, almost looking like she was in pain as her chest rose and fell in hard, deep breaths.

Tate wasn’t what I would call “controlled,” but she’d been holding her own with Madoc and me since her return.

Until now.

“I make you nervous,” I said regretfully, looking at the shattered glass on the floor.

“Just go.” I heard her pained whisper and flinched.

Looking up at her, I saw the embarrassment and frustration in her eyes. She didn’t want me here. I didn’t know if it was because she hated me and needed me gone or because she wasn’t sure what she wanted.

I was finally seeing how I had twisted her up. I was playing with her, even though I didn’t mean to. I thought I hated her, so I pushed her. Now, I wanted her, so I was pulling her back in.

Time and again, it was about me and never her.

“Look at me.” I brought my hand up to her cheek and a shock of heat traveled through my arm. “I’m sorry. I should never have treated you the way I did.”

Her eyes met mine, and I willed her to believe me.

Her breathing got shallow, and she searched for something in my eyes.

Or waited for something.

Placing my other hand on her cheek, I never broke contact. She watched me inch in, not welcoming me but not resisting it, either.

I moved my lips closer, never taking my eyes from hers as I waited for her to push me away. As the seconds ticked by I finally snatched up her mouth before I let her have any more time to reconsider.

Hell, yes.

I held her in my hands, tasting her sweet, full lips like I couldn’t get enough.

Tate. My Tate. My best friend, and my worst enemy. The girl that turned my world upside down with her overalls and red baseball cap.

The only person in every one of my good memories.

Her hands were hesitant at first, but then they snaked around my neck, and I felt her unfold around me.

Goddamn, her soft body rubbed against mine, the softest moan coming out of her mouth, and my fists tightened in her hair. I was about to lose it. She had the power. Always had and always would.

She moved her h*ps up against mine, and I ran my hands down her sides and around to her perfect, rounded ass.

Grabbing it in my hands, I jerked her into me.

Mine.

The f**king wet, heat of her mouth, and the curve of her br**sts against my chest, got my c**k aching for release. I wanted to push all this shit onto the floor and take her on the table.

I wondered if she was a virgin, and my neck broke out in a sweat at the thought of anyone else kissing her like this.

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” I whispered against her mouth. “All the times I’d see you next door…it drove me crazy.”

She opened her mouth wider and dove in for more.

Yeah, we weren’t leaving here for a while.

Chapter 26

I wasn’t about to make love to Tate for the first time on a lab table—not that she’d let me—but I wasn’t letting go of her yet, either.

Unfortunately, she had other ideas.

“Don’t…” She ripped away from my lips and pulled back.

What? No.

I opened my eyes, breathing hard and suddenly very empty.

I searched every inch of her face, wondering why the hell she’d made me stop. Her mouth had been molded to mine, totally kissing me back.

She’d wanted that.

But not now. Her blue eyes narrowed angrily, and she looked like she had on invisible armor.

Her body wanted it, but she didn’t.

She didn’t.

So I backed off. “Then I won’t,” I replied coldly.

She stared at me, looking a million miles away. “What are you up to?”

“I want us to be friends.” I let out a bitter laugh.

“Why now?”

Jesus.

“Why so many questions?” I retorted.

“You didn’t think it was going to be this easy, did you?”

“Yes,” I lied. “I was hoping we could move forward without looking back.” I knew it was too much to expect, but I let myself hope that Tate would see the bigger picture.

That with all of the anger and damage, with all the distance and misunderstanding, we still fit.

“We can’t,” she shot back. “You go from threatening me one day to kissing me the next. I don’t switch gears that fast.”

Me?

“Kissing you? You kissed me back… both times,” I pointed out. “And now you’re off to the school dance with Madoc. You might say I’m the one with whiplash here.”

She blinked, and her face faltered for a moment. “I don’t have to explain myself to you,” she replied pathetically.

“You shouldn’t go.”

“I want to. And he asked me.” She returned to her work, signaling the end of the discussion.

No f**king way.

My arms burned. I wanted to bring her back into them.

Stepping up behind her, I breathed her in. The top of her head fell just below my chin, and her whole torso—arms included—fit the width of my chest.

She fit.

“Has he been on your mind, Tate?” I inhaled the scent in her hair and braced both of my hands on the table on each side of her, caging her in. “Do you want him? Or is it me you dream of?”

Her hands slowed what they were doing, and I took that as a good sign, so I kept going.

“I said that when I put my hands on you, you’d want it. Remember?” I asked smoothly, trying to touch her with my words.

She paused for a moment and then turned around to look at me. “I don’t think it’s any secret that I like it when you touch me. When you’re ready to tell me everything you’re holding back, then maybe I’ll trust you again. Until then…” And she turned back around, cutting the connection.

I stared at her back, trying to figure out another way in.

She wanted to know shit. I got it.

But that wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t broadcast my problems. And I wasn’t bringing my father into our world.

Backing away, the truth settled in my gut like a rock.

Tate was not going to let this go.

No way, no how.

“Jared? There you are.”

I blinked and shifted my eyes to the doorway where Piper stood in her black and orange cheerleading uniform.

Shit.

“Weren’t you giving me a ride home today?” She put on a show, adjusting her long, dark hair and skirt.

I couldn’t see Tate’s face, but I knew she was annoyed. She concentrated a little too hard on her materials and papers, trying to look busy.

“I’ve got my bike today, Piper.” Which was the truth. Piper had never asked for a ride, not that I was going to give her one anyway.

“I can handle it,” she shot back. “Let’s go. It doesn’t look like you’re busy here anyway.”

Tate wasn’t looking at me, or either of us, and my stomach hollowed like the night I saw some other guy giving her her first kiss.

But I still didn’t want to leave. I’d rather have Tate feeding me her thorns than Piper feeding me her sweets.

But Tate was done. She wouldn’t let me off the hook. At least not today.

Fine, then. I let out a breath and stood up straight.

“Yeah, I’m not busy.” I walked towards the door, feeling colder and colder the farther away from Tate I got.

“So, Terrance?” Piper piped up.

Oh, Jesus. She was talking to Tate.

“You didn’t go and give your Homecoming date a black eye, did you? He can barely see. You should really stop beating up on guys or people will start thinking you’re a dyke.”

Fucking catty girls.

“She didn’t give Madoc a black eye,” I cut in. “I did.”

I didn’t care if Tate knew I was jealous. She definitely knew I wanted her by now.

“Why?” Piper asked.

I ignored the question as we walked out.

I never explained myself.

Chapter 27

Thanks for the gift. I texted Tate’s dad.

The huge toolbox he’d given me was used, but it easily would’ve cost $15,000 new. Without it being in mint condition, it still would’ve cost a pretty penny. When it arrived today, I almost had the guy take it back.

But Mr. Brandt knew me. He knew how much I wanted a professional, heavy-duty set like that, and so I took it. It was the first time in a long time that I’d smiled at a gift.

You’re welcome. Sorry it’s late. Anything on Tate? he asked.

The first thing I thought about was the black lingerie I’d seen in her room, and my dick instantly sprang into action when I thought about what she’d look like, wearing that for me.

Hurriedly, I texted A car and tossed my phone on the workbench in the garage, not waiting for a response.

A little weird to be texting the father of a girl I presently had a hard-on for.

“Sam, go get the car gassed up while I shower, would you?” I asked my friend after we’d finished tuning up the Boss.

It was Friday night, and I had a race in an hour. I couldn’t wait to get on the track. My nerves were shot.

I hadn’t been laid in over a month, and the only girl I wanted wasn’t giving me the time of day.

And the worst part?

I’d had more f**king hard-ons lately than in my entire life.

I desperately needed to burn off some steam, and as childish as it sounded, I was hoping some f**king ass**le got in my face tonight.

I wanted to be bloody, and I wanted to go deaf.

“Alright.” Sam took the keys. “I’ll be back in twenty.”

He backed out of the garage, while I headed upstairs to clean up.

Tate was home. I saw her pull in a couple of hours ago, and I’d thought about asking her to go with me, but I’d shaken off the idea. She would only push questions I didn’t want to answer and leave me in f**king knots.

“Jesus Christ,” I growled as the cold water hit my body like a fire. The hair on my arms and legs stood on end, and chills erupted across my skin.

Tatum Fucking Brandt.

Wrapping a black towel around my waist, I grabbed another and walked to my bedroom, drying my hair.

I switched on a lamp and walked to my window, looking out through the tree to her bedroom. Her light was on, but she was nowhere in sight. I did a sweep of what I could see of the front and back yards to make sure everything looked safe.

I really hated the idea of her being alone. While I was itching to get out to the Loop tonight, I wanted her where I could see her.

I should just ask her to come.

She’d enjoy it.

Even though Tate was keeping me at a distance, she loved the races. That much I could tell. When we were kids, we’d talked about racing there when we had our own cars.

And if I spent time with her—showed her that I could be trusted—then maybe she’d back off. Maybe she’d forget about the past.

“Jared?”

A soft, low voice ripped through me, and I whipped around, my heart thundering in my chest.

What the hell?

“Tate?” The vision standing in the dark corner of my room startled, confused, and excited me all at the same time.

She was here? In my room?

She stood there, her chin down and her eyes trained on me. She didn’t move a muscle as she waited. She looked like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?” I asked calmly, more confused than angry.

Our last conversation left me no doubt that she wouldn’t be the one pursuing me, so what the hell was she up to?

She quietly stepped forward, inching towards me. “Well, I thought about what you said about trying to be friends, and I wanted to start by wishing you a happy birthday.”

Huh?

“So you broke into my room to tell me “Happy Birthday” a week after my birthday?” An ounce of pleasure shot through my chest that she remembered, but she was lying. That wasn’t why she was here.