Holy motherfucking shit.

Vivienne dragged me outside to God knows where to do God knows what.

Vivienne.

She looked even better than I remembered. Her long blonde curls bounced determinedly as she walked, and that ass, oh fuck help me, that ass of hers looked delicious in her tight red dress. I felt like such a pervert as I ogled her. There was no way I could stop raking my eyes over her luscious body.

She finally spun around to confront me. I had to physically force myself to shut my eyes and take a breath before I did something stupid, like yank her amazing body into mine and kiss the absolute shit out of her. I squeezed the bridge of my nose, asking for serenity because I was literally seconds away from making out with this woman on the sidewalk. It was going to get X-rated pretty fucking fast if I didn’t get myself under control.

“Can we take a cab? Or is that against some law of yours?” she asked haughtily, with one hand on her hip and the other on the door handle of a bright yellow cab. How did we get out here so fast? And why in the world was she getting into a cab?

Confused, I asked, “What? Why would it be against a law of mine?”

“Because you drive for a living, Jason,” she stated, wide-eyed, clearly annoyed at my ineptitude.

“I drive for a living, so it’s illegal to take a cab?” I questioned her sanity.

“I guess not,” she snapped back, swinging open the door. “Get in,” she ordered me, in no uncertain terms. She used a voice that didn’t invite questioning, but I did it anyway.

“Why am I getting in a cab with you? Where are we going?” I asked, staring at her, pretending I wouldn’t jump at the chance to be alone with her again, even though I was still so fucking mad. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Where are we going?” she said, glaring at me like I was from Mars, then repeated herself. “Where are where going? Not here. That’s where we’re going, Mr. I-Don’t-Answer-My-Goddamn-Phone. Now, get in before I really start making a scene.”

“It’s a bit late for that,” I answered, gazing around at the smokers and hangers-on standing around watching us.

“It can get worse. A lot worse. Do you want to see?”

Part of me actually did want to see how much “worse” it could get, because so far, the show was pretty fucking great. She was in a big tizzy. Pissed off as hell suited her. Those soft cheeks of hers were flushed while that tantalizing chest heaved with the effort it took to control her emotions. If she thought for one second her attitude was a turn-off, she should think again. Right at this moment, it was a huge fucking turn-on for me. If I didn’t sit down soon, everyone out here would be able to see exactly how big.

In order to avoid adding to the show, I gave in. “Ladies first,” I said, grabbing the door handle from her. Relief flooded her face as she drew in a deep breath. She was close enough now that I could lean down and kiss her. Fuck, was I ready to do just that. I was also ready to yell at her and have my own hissy fit. Not knowing which I wanted more, I did neither, standing there in a stare-down with the woman who ripped out my heart and stomped all over it.

She gave in first, but not without a big huff as she pivoted around and got into the cab. I restrained myself, but I so wanted to grab her ass as she got in. Taking one more cleansing breath, I followed, but not before looking up and waving to the onlookers.

In response, I got a loud variety of hoots and hollers followed by a very loud, “Good luck with that one, brotha!” Good luck indeed. I’d need more than luck by the look of things.

“What’s your address?” she asked, back to looking pissed. No way in hell was I giving her my address. The last place on Earth I would take this classy woman was my shit-hole of an apartment. Not gonna happen.

“We aren’t going to my place.” I frowned at her.

“We are,” she countered childishly.

“Um, no, we aren’t. There’s a coffee joint around the corner. We can go there.” I decided for us, turning to look out the window.

“Um, no, we can’t,” she mimicked me. “Tell the man your address so we can stop wasting his time. I’m sure he has better things to do,” she ordered again. There was no way in hell I was taking her back to my place.

“Then I guess we’re going to be wasting more of his time, because we aren’t going back to my place.” I raised my voice at her.

“We are.”

“No, we aren’t.”

“Yes, we are.”

“No, we fucking aren’t,” I yelled now, as our immature fight escalated. Neither one of us was ready to give in.

“Please drive us around anywhere until this man gives you his address.” She poked her head over the back seat, telling the driver, motioning toward me with her thumb. What the hell? Oh well, it was her dime. No way in hell was I paying for her temper tantrum. Far be it from me to rip this guy off of a great, easy fare.

“We’re going to be driving around for a long fucking time, you know,” I informed her, my arms crossed on my chest.

“Great. I was hoping to take the scenic route around the city tonight anyway,” she retorted back sarcastically, giving me a haughty look. Damn, she was cute. I wanted to lean over and kiss that attitude right off her face. I would have except for the fact that she was screwing another guy.

“Great.”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” I said louder, turning her way. “It’s your money. Do what you want with it.”

“I will. Thanks for your permission,” she said, always needing the last word. I silently sat back, throwing my head against the seat. It was going to be a long ride.

We’d been driving around forever. I could tell from Jason’s body language he was about to break. He kept shifting around in his seat, taking covert glances at the fare counter thingy in the dashboard. Any minute now we’d be off to his place. Finally.

If there was one thing that made me great at my job, it was my ability to read people. Knowing what someone’s thinking even before they do came in handy. Right now, Jason was thinking that no matter how mad he was at me, he didn’t want to cost me a load of money.

He might be upset, but he wasn’t an asshole.

“It’s close to fifty bucks now.” He nodded toward the front, hoping I was ready to call uncle. But I was nowhere near close to buckling. I made great money. Nothing would make me happier than sharing some of it with this poor driver who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time to pick up our sorry asses.

“Awesome. It’s completely worth it, isn’t it?” I dug back because I knew he was feeling guilty at costing me so much money for nothing.

“Fuck. Fine,” he said, leaning toward the front seat. “First and Wagmire.”

Now we were talking.

If he looked pissed before, now he was downright seething. I couldn’t really blame him either. It wasn’t like we’d had a chance to talk yet, other than our infantile bickering, which went nowhere to resolve the misunderstandings between us.

He just sat there, staring blankly out the window, ignoring my presence. I could understand why he was mad. There was something more there than just anger that I couldn’t figure it out. Now was not the time to ask him to explain his feelings, so there I sat, gazing at him, wondering how the hell I was going to fix this. Fix us.

We stopped outside a very small apartment complex. I saw his car parked in one of the designated spots.

The area sure wasn’t the greatest. Where my end of town was in transition—from not great to really great—Jason’s neighborhood was one step away from the ’hood. In fact, I wouldn’t feel safe walking on this street at night by myself.

He huffed again, throwing the driver some money, then reached over me to open the door. “Let’s go,” he said, gently placing his hands on me to push me out. Uh, I did not think so.

“You’re not paying for the fare,” I barked at him, digging into my purse for my wallet.

He ripped my wallet out of my hand. “You’re not fucking paying. Now go before I have to give the man more money because you’re too stubborn to move your ass out of his car.”

“Give me my wallet back and I’ll move,” I countered, hoping to get it back and pay the stupid fare myself. If this was where he lived, then I could guess fifty bucks meant a whole lot more to him than to me. Not to mention, this had been my brilliant idea. It was only fair I should pay.

He stared at my outstretched hand, a scowl crossing his face. “Not exactly the kind of neighborhood a woman should be swinging her wallet around, honey. Now move out before I carry you out.”

There were some battles you knew you wouldn’t win, no matter how much energy you put in. This was definitely one of those times. Although I couldn’t say I’d mind it one bit if he scooped me up and carried me out of here. The thought of being that close to him again heated my face.

“Fine. But I’m paying you back,” I said arrogantly, shifting my ass out of the car as requested.

I swore I heard him mutter, “Bet your ass you’ll pay me back.” When I asked him what he said, he hurried me up the steps to the entry door.

Once Jason unlocked the door, he held it open for me, gently placing his hand on my lower back as I walked in front of him. He didn’t remove it while he maneuvered me up the very narrow stairs. It felt nice to have him touch me again. The warmth from his hand traveled throughout my body, and certain places started tingling, which also felt nice.

What didn’t feel nice was this gross carpet underneath my shoes. My heel caught in the frayed, threadbare part on the stairs. Dammit, I was going down. Before my hand touched the floor, Jason grabbed me, saving me from immediate doom. Our eyes met for a brief moment, his face lowered to mine. The feel of his skin on mine sent shivers throughout my body. Even my nipples hardened at the sensation.

“Careful,” was all he said before he let go.

The walls were yellowed, dirtied with the marks of many humans passing through this stairway daily. The smells weren’t much better. When you mixed a few dozen supper aromas wafting under the doors, the resulting smell could never be good.

We finally arrived on the third floor, continuing to traipse down that hallway. A light flickered as we passed, changing the atmosphere from rundown to plain eerie. My stomach sank, glad for Jason’s presence.

He shoved a key into the doorknob and then threw the door wide, smacking a wall. I hated to admit it, but I actually hesitated going in, fearing what conditions he lived in. This was my stupid idea. I was much too proud to back out now, so I straightened my back, took a step forward, then something flew out of his apartment door and jumped on Jason.

“Ah,” I screamed, putting my hands to my face, preparing to bolt in the other direction.

Jason started laughing. It was such a beautiful sound, I swore I felt it down to my soul. He clutched my arm. “It’s just my stupid cat. See?” He spun around, introducing me to the feline who was now draped over his shoulder like a baby.

“Meow?” the cat said, and I kid you not, it sounded like a question. He peered at me like he couldn’t believe I would intrude on his peaceful night of walking on furniture and napping.

“Meow, right back at you. I’m Vivienne. Who might you be?” I asked, petting his soft fur. The cat purred immediately, making me smile so I kept at it.

“This is Jinxy. She’s manipulative, judgmental as hell, and eats me out of house and home. But she also entertains me, so I keep her around,” he said, his voice filled with love, the way all proud pet owners spoke about their tiny fur babies.

Ah, a female cat. “Sounds like a fair trade,” I said, rubbing behind her ears. She nudged my hand hard for more pets, making me giggle. “Can I hold her?” I asked, mesmerized by her warm, furry body. It had been years since I’d held a cat.

He lifted her up like a giant Slinky, handing her over. “See? She’s got you under her spell already. Manipulative, just like I said.” He smiled now, continuing to pet her while I did the same. Her sweet, lanky body was so comforting molded next to mine.

Our hands collided as we stroked the kitty. He held onto my fingers and squeezed. I gazed up at him with as much remorse as I could conjure up. “Fuck, Vivienne,” he whispered, staring down at me like he wanted to devour me. Now that was something I could work with. He was obviously still attracted to me, so it was a start. “Come on.” He took my hand, yanking me farther into his tiny apartment.