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  “Seriously.”

  “Whatever.” Rowan looks away. “Everyone deserves a second chance, or at least a chance to prove that they’ve changed.”

  Does she want to give me another chance? I’ve changed, and she needs to see it. I need her to see it. Hell, I just need her.

  Straightening, I run a hand through my hair. “So I’m ready to learn, Little Boss.”

  An annoyed expression covers her face, then it gives way to a smugness I’ve never seen before. “We’ll have to start from the ground up.”

  “Not a problem.” Been there, done that in the Marines.

  Her jaw turns hard. Oh, yeah, she’s pissed, and I’m digging it. “You’re just so damn cocky, aren’t you?”

  I walk to her, stopping when we’re just inches apart. “Only because you’re my teacher.” I take her hands in mine. They’re strong yet delicate, like her. “I trust you to teach me everything. I want to know every last detail. What makes this place tick and what turns customers away.”

  Her scent washes over me, and I’m surrounded by her, by the memories of us when we were younger.

  “You and me forever,” I whisper, right before her lips touch mine.

  “Forever, Seth,” Rowan agrees.

  She snatches her hands away. “You can’t learn all that in less than two weeks. It took me months to get things right, and I’m always having to reassess.”

  “We all have to start somewhere.”

  “Just sell me the shop, Seth, and then you can go.”

  I shake my head. “No. My terms, Rowan, not yours.”

  Her jaw turns stubborn. “You can’t dictate how I teach you.”

  I hold my arms wide open. “Teach me, master.”

  She skirts around me, the side of her breast brushing against my arm. My dick gets hard, and it takes everything inside of me to not touch her again.

  I can still taste that kiss of ours, and I want to taste her again. Worse than before.

  “Are you coming?” she asks, pausing by the door.

  And that’s a loaded question I’m not answering. Out loud anyway. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see,” she says.

  I follow her to the garage. She grabs a broom and shoves it at me. “Here.”

  “It’s a broom,” I say.

  “Good job. Now, start sweeping. Then you can scrub the oil spill in bay five, followed by cleaning the men’s bathroom in the break room.” She sashays out of there like she’s just won the war.

  “What did you do to piss off Little Boss?” one of the guys asks me.

  “She caught me sitting behind her desk.”

  “Fuck,” another one says, his eyes all wide. “Guess I won’t be getting anywhere near that.”

  “Damn right you won’t!” I want to shout, but I’m not here to make enemies. “Is the men’s room bad?” I ask.

  “Today it is.”

  “Figures.” I start sweeping. If this is what it takes to convince Rowan I’m here to learn, then this is what I’ll do.

  —

  After cleaning the most disgusting bathroom I’ve ever seen—and that’s saying something considering I did missions in countries where holes in the ground were considered a luxury—I go in search of Rowan.

  I find her in her office, her brow scrunched as she reads something from her computer monitor. She jumps as soon as she spots me.

  “Asshole ninja,” she mutters before raising her voice. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m done with my chores, boss.” I plop down in the chair across from her desk. “What else do you have for me?”

  “Did anyone check behind you and make sure you performed up to standard?” she says in a bossy-ass tone of voice I love.

  “Come sit in my lap and I’ll show you how well I can perform.”

  Her eyes widen. “Is that how you talk to all your bosses?”

  Weak. Yeah, I’m completely keeping with this line of strategy. “Nope.”

  She smirks. “So I’m the special one. Dandy.”

  There she is. “Boyd inspected my work. Gave me a gold star.”

  “Hmpf.” Her pouty lips flatten. “How long has it been since you’ve worked on an engine?”

  “Seven years,” I say unemotionally. I know what she means, and I know what I’ve done. My MOS in the Marines was as an aviator mechanic, but I worked my ass off and eventually got promoted to helicopter crew chief.

  Baby blue eyes light up like a summer day. “I have a special project that Boyd and I are working on. We need an assistant.”

  “Need someone to get a nut off?”

  Biting her lip, Rowan stares at me. Yeah, got her again. Her brain is frantic right now. I know she wants to give me as good as I’ve given her. It’s her nature, and I love it. “No, I need someone to wipe the sweat off my face and look pretty while he does it,” she finally says.

  Better. I’ll have to up my game. “I’m happy to wipe you down. Whenever and wherever.”

  She shoots to her feet. “Let’s go.”

  “You plan on coming home tonight?” I ask before I can stop myself.

  She glances over her shoulder at me, a sly smile on her face. “Were you scared, staying in that big ole house by yourself?”

  “Yeah, why don’t you sleep with me tonight and keep the bad dreams away?”

  She rounds on me. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I’m not interested. I won’t ever be interested. Got that?”

  “Yeah, I got it.” I grab Rowan and pull her into the nearest empty office, then lock the door behind us.

  “What do you think you’re—”

  I capture her lips with mine, pushing her up against the door. Her hands come up between us, but I grab her arms and shove them against the door, too. She bites my lip. I bite hers back, and she lets out a moan, hooking her leg over my hip.

  Grinding into her, I let go of one hand to cup the back of her head. I shove my tongue inside her mouth, desperate for a taste. Her free hand steals in between us once more, but it’s to work my shirt up. I stop kissing her long enough to pull it over my head.

  “You want me to stop?” I ask, inches from her perfect lips.

  “Don’t ask me questions,” she orders, slamming her lips into mine. Her teeth cut into me and I relish the pain. It means this is real and not some wet dream.

  Cupping her ass, I lift her up and settle between her thighs. My dick is hard, my heart is pounding, and I want in. Her hands dig into my hair, slide down my chest, and scrape at my nipples. She was always a little rough and I dug it, but now I fucking love it.

  I kiss my way down her throat, nipping at the exposed skin. “Take off your shirt. I want to feel you.”

  There’s no hesitation as she unbuttons and pulls it off. Underneath, she’s only wearing a thin white tank top. Her nipples are tight little points that are begging for my mouth. I swoop down, sucking one, material and all. She cries out my name. I move my hips against her, showing her exactly what I want to do.

  “I want in, Rowan.” I grab a condom from my pocket. “I want in so deep.”

  “Oh God,” she moans.

  She slams her mouth against mine, ripping at the rest of my clothes. I help her, and for good measure, I pop the buttons off her jeans. She shimmies out of them, and then shoves my jeans down. A tug here, a rip there, and soon we’re both naked and breathing hard.

  Rowan pushes me backward until my bare ass lands in the office chair. She straddles me, her firm little breasts pressing against my chest, while the soft and hot, wet part of her grinds down on my dick.

  I grab her thighs, running my hands down to her knees and then back up again. Parting her with my thumbs, I tease her clit and slide a finger inside. Her pussy is tight, holding on to me so hard that my dick jumps in response. She leans against the desk, her head falling back as she cups one of her breasts.

  “Fuck, that’s hot,” I growl, taking her nipple into my mouth. Her finger slips inside, stroking my tongue and
her nipple at the same time. I swell up so big and hard that precum starts to leak out. “Need to be in you now.”

  She lifts her head, her face beautiful with need. “I’m on top.”

  “Rowan,” I begin, but she hushes me with a kiss so hot that I’m more than standing at attention for her. Before I know what’s happening, she’s taking the condom from me and rolling it over my dick.

  She slides down with a moan and starts to rock slowly. Too damn slowly for my liking. “Feels so good.”

  “It can feel better.” I grab her hips, thrusting up and going deep.

  She cries out my name. “Seth!”

  I growl, taking her hands and pulling them behind her back as I move inside of her. Her tits jut forward, and I dip my head to take a hard nipple into my mouth. She arches her back, a whimper filling the room. Then her hips begin to move in time with mine, her pussy squeezing me tight, and I have to come up for air.

  With one hand keeping her arms in place, I use my free hand to pull her chin up, so she has to look at me.

  “You know it’s me. This is us,” I say.

  Her blue eyes are glazed with lust. “Yes.”

  Letting go of her chin, I trail my fingers down her chest, stopping to flick at her nipples and then moving farther south until I find that swollen part of her. I rub her clit and make her squirm. Then she rises up on her feet slightly and slams down on me.

  Hard and fast she rides me while I stroke her clit, while I make her moan…while I make her sigh my name.

  “Oh, Seth.”

  “Sweetest fucking sound, baby,” I groan.

  Another stroke of my thumb and rock of her hips, and we’re both there. I pour myself into her with hot spurts that leave me gasping.

  I’m home. I’m finally where I belong.

  Collapsing against me, Rowan rolls her hips one last time, and kisses me so damn sweetly that I want to fucking cry.

  Chapter 5

  Rowan

  What have I done?

  Unable to look at Seth, I climb off his lap and start to search the room for my clothes.

  “Talk to me,” he says, still sitting in the office chair.

  I glance at him, at his hard body, at his abs and his powerful thighs. At everything that is so familiar, yet so different about him.

  “This was a mistake,” I finally say.

  Seth gets up, disposing of the condom and pulling on his jeans. Of course his aren’t missing the buttons. “Only if you believe the bullshit.”

  “What happened between us was real, not bullshit.”

  “Yeah, what happened between us was real, especially the stuff that happened before I went to jail,” he reminds me.

  “Easy for you to say. You didn’t get thrown away like nothing,” I point out.

  Mouth thinning, he turns away, giving me a glimpse of his back and the tattoo on it.

  “When did you get inked?” I blurt out, staring at the quote in the middle of his upper back.

  Engraved upon my heart, forgotten she never will be. Oh, my bonnie Rowan tree.

  “First year in the Corps.”

  I swallow as I pull on my panties. “And that quote?”

  “My version of a line from the poem ‘The Rowan Tree.’ ” He doesn’t bother to hide it. In fact, he doesn’t even turn around, just gazes at me over his shoulder. “See that scar, right beside the word heart? Bullet wound. Any closer and it would have fucked up my spinal cord.”

  A small noise leaves my throat. I take a deep breath and finish dressing. Tears cloud my eyes. I’m sore and wet and completely undone as his arms wrap around me.

  “I know you’re confused, and I probably shouldn’t have pushed you like this, but I’m not going to regret it,” he says. One of his hands starts stroking my hair, like I’m a little girl in need of comforting.

  “I don’t know what you want from me,” I finally say.

  He leans back, his dark eyes searching my face. There’s so much tenderness there that I have to look away. “Baby, I want what you can give me.”

  “What if I can’t give you anything?”

  “You’ll give me everything,” he whispers. “Because you know I’m what you need.”

  “Seth,” I begin, but he forestalls me with a slow, hot kiss. My mouth opens under his, and passion starts to swirl inside of me.

  “God, if we had more time, I’d bend you over that desk,” he says against my lips.

  “More time?”

  “I have to leave,” he says.

  “Leave?” Ice fills my veins. I shove him away. “Of course you do. Go on, then. Leave. It’s what you do best.” I can’t believe him. It feels as though acid’s been poured all over my raw heart. Once again.

  He captures my wrists. “Rowan. I’m coming back. I have to meet with my commanding officer tomorrow and fill out some paperwork for my leave. I’ll be back Monday morning. I’ll drive straight to you.”

  Hope begins to bloom in my chest, but I ruthlessly yank it out. “I don’t care. Stay, go…whatever. You’re not the only guy I can fuck around here.”

  The look in his eyes makes me want to snatch my words back. “I am the only guy you can fuck anywhere. You’re mine, damn it, and that’s final. I’m coming back. And, fair warning, when I get back, I’m going to take you to bed and make love to you.”

  I flinch at his choice of words.

  “That’s right, I said make love.” He lowers his forehead to mine. “You got me?”

  “No,” I protest, but it’s weak and halfhearted.

  He kisses the corner of my eye. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. I promise to come back.”

  “I’m not crying.” Tears start falling uncontrollably down my cheeks. “I don’t cry.”

  “Shit. This is all my fault.” He pulls me to him once more, holding me tight. “I’ll be back. I fucking promise, Rowan.”

  I shake my head, crying into his solid chest. “No one ever stays,” I whisper, giving voice to my closest-held secret.

  “Fucking promise, baby,” he repeats in his gravelly voice, but I’m too emotionally wrung out to argue anymore.

  Seth

  I hated leaving Rowan, but I hated lying to her even more. I don’t have to go to base to do anything, but I do have to prove to her that I am a man of my word—that I’m determined to stay and be in her life again. Physically leaving town and then coming back is the only way I know how to accomplish this.

  My plan, though she’d probably be pissed as hell if she were to ever find out, is something I came up with on the fly. I drive to the outskirts of Raleigh, grab a bite to eat, and then get a hotel room for the next two nights.

  My body’s full…sated from dinner and mind-blowing sex with Rowan. In an office chair. I hadn’t planned on that happening, but I’m sure as hell glad I keep a condom handy.

  Habit, I suppose. I haven’t been with another woman in six months—not since I realized what I needed to do.

  But I meant what I said to her. When I get back, I’m taking her to bed. I’m going to make love to her like I always wanted. When we were younger, our time together was always short, always frantic and full of worry. We didn’t want to get caught, yet we didn’t want to stop.

  That’s not a worry either of us has now.

  Grabbing my phone, I send Rowan a text. I don’t expect her to answer. She didn’t give me her number. I got it from Piper.

  Me: I’m here. Miss me yet?

  Shock and surprise nearly make me drop the phone onto my face when her reply is immediate. Hell, forget immediate. Try at all.

  Rowan: Who is this?

  Me: The guy who did you good this afternoon.

  Rowan: Which one?

  I laugh at her joke, and I take her response as an invitation to continue.

  Me: Guess I’ll have to do a better job if you can’t remember…

  Rowan: I’m pretty sure you’ll get lost between here and Jacksonville before you get the chance.

  A direct hit, and no less than I deserve
.

  Me: You’re my compass, Rowan. I’ll always follow you back home.

  Rowan: Your compass is broken.

  Me: Nah. She just needs a little TLC.

  I wait for her response, but after an hour I give up and watch a marathon of Full House. Pushing her too much will either tear us apart or bring us together again. Rowan’s natural response to anything is to fight—to do battle and challenge the status quo. It’s something I love about the girl. I don’t want a woman who’s meek and submissive. Give me the fire so I can get burned.

  Suddenly, my phone buzzes. I grab it and stare at the screen.

  Rowan: She needs a lot of TLC. ’Night.

  “Oorah,” I shout. When I get back, I’m going to give Rowan all the attention and loving she needs.

  Chapter 6

  Rowan

  It’s Sunday, visiting day at Western Prison, and I sit in a large, sunny room full of families and metal picnic benches. My brother is one of many inmates wearing orange and a permanent scowl. It’s hard to picture how Jase used to be: how much he joked around and was the life of every party we had. People naturally flocked to him. He had this presence about him.

  But now…it’s like someone’s dimmed the light in the room, and I can’t see him like I used to. It makes my heart hurt, and I can only hope that one day, once all of this is behind him, he’ll be the old Jase again.

  Though the chance of that happening seems to grow less and less as each passing hour, day, month, and year sucks more of his soul out of him.

  “Seth is back,” I say to Jase as I hand him the package of Oreos I brought. “He came back to bury Miss Myrtle.”

  He stretches his legs out in front of him and swings his head my way before opening the cookies. “I know.” His eyes close as he chews the first one, savoring the taste. “God, that’s good.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Got a letter from him last week¸” he says around a mouthful of cookie.

  My mouth drops open. “He wrote you?” So it’s not just me he wants to apologize to apparently.