“I’d rather lick the pavement than have that girl think I am thinking about her.”
Murray’s eyes flick to me. “I wonder what she’ll think of your new girl here.”
“She isn’t my girl, and if you tell Shey she is, our deal is off.”
Why would it be such an issue if he told this Sheyenne chick that I’m his girl? I mean, I’m not of course, but even if I was it shouldn’t matter. She’s obviously an ex, and therefore should have no say in what he does.
Murray laughs. “Yeah, I’m hearing you. Later.”
With that, he takes his guys and leaves. When he’s gone, I turn to Tazen who looks kind of edgy about the whole thing. His body is tight and his jaw is twitching. Interesting.
“Who is Shey?” I ask, not using her full name.
Tazen narrows his eyes. “None of your business.”
“Why? Is she your secret wife?”
He grunts, and grabs the hem of his shirt, lifting it up and over his head. I stop thinking, speaking and breathing as I take in his incredible body. God. I could see that piece of perfection every day for the rest of my life and never, ever get bored of it. He’s beautiful, masculine and so fucking muscled I want to drop to my knees and lick every single one.
“Eyes up here,” he mutters. “Unless you don’t cherish your vagina, that is?”
I can’t help it, I burst out laughing. It was so unexpected that I can’t contain my reaction. Tazen’s eyes soften as he studies me laughing freely. I gather myself but I can’t wipe the smile off my face. “I do cherish my vagina, so I’ll be sure to keep my eyes above your shoulders from now on.”
“Good.” He grins, devastating and to die for. Then he strides towards me and I suck in a breath as he leans down so our lips are close. “Your pussy deserves to be cherished, angel.”
With that, he steps past me and disappears into the showers at the back of the garage. My legs wobble as I stand, swallowing over and over. He is getting to me and … I can’t deny it. I like it. I like it a hell of a lot. I shouldn’t, but I do and a huge part of me is tired of pretending I don’t. It’s taking all my strength not to go in there and rip my clothes off and get into the shower with him.
Instead, I turn and walk out of the garage.
Dammit.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“How’s it going?” Jace asks, throwing himself onto my bed.
It’s only been a day since my realization that my feelings for Tazen aren’t going away. “It’s … challenging.” I sigh, dropping down next to him. “Tazen certainly isn’t going to make my life easy, but then I’m not making his easy so I guess we’re even.”
Jace grunts and rolls to his side, propping himself up on an elbow. “Are you sure you really want to do this?”
I frown at him. “We’ve been over this, of course I do.”
“You’re good at what you do, you’re not meant to be a receptionist. There’re jobs around, mechanic jobs.”
“But not in my garage.”
He smiles sympathetically. “It was your garage, honey. You’re hanging onto something you can’t have control over anymore.”
I sigh. “I know, Jace, but I’m … I just can’t leave.”
His face grows serious. “This has nothing to do with him and the little fling you two had?”
“One kiss is hardly a fling,” I mutter.
“Quinn, you’re not fooling anyone. You’re attracted to him, but you’re playing with fire. You need to be careful.”
“Attraction or not,” I say, shifting to my side too. “He isn’t interested and we’ve both made it clear it won’t ever happen.”
“That’s not what I see.”
“Well, you’d be wrong, Jace. I’m working for him, and right now it’s bringing money in.”
“Quinn, you just sold the garage.”
“Yes,” I say, looking into his eyes. “And my father is an alcoholic. He ran us dry, Jace. The bills took a massive portion of that. It won’t last forever and I don’t want to get stuck when it runs out.”
He nods. “I understand.”
“Quinn?”
The sound of my dad’s pained cry jerks me off the bed. Jace gets up behind me. Dad was out when Jace came to hang with me, but he must be home and by the sounds of it he isn’t doing so well. I rush out of the room and down the hall, skidding to a halt when I see my father hanging off the kitchen counter, barely