Smoke’s upstairs in the shower.

I’m in the kitchen having stayed behind to wash the couple of dishes and throw away anything in the fridge that could be rotting. I open the refrigerator and realize my concern was pointless.

“Can beer go bad?” I mutter to myself, grabbing a bottle from the six-pack, popping the top off against the edge of the counter. I take a sip. It’s not super fresh, but it’s not completely skunked either. I shrug and take another sip before setting the bottle down next to the sink.

I turn the radio on and grab a sponge to scrub out the dried marinara sauce from the bottom of the pot. I’m singing along to “Stupid Girl” by Garbage when a hand covers my mouth from behind, muffling my scream. I drop the pot into the sink, water spills over the edge onto my feet.

“Shhhhhh, Sarah, it’s me. It’s Duke. Don’t scream.” Duke releases my mouth and spins me around.

I’m breathing hard. I lower the ladle poised above my head in strike position. “What are you doing here?” I whisper, glancing up the stairs. I can still hear the water running from the bathroom.

“I was delivering groceries next door, and I saw you through the curtains. I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay. I haven’t seen you in school. Not since the day the cop dragged you out. What was that all about, anyway?”

“This isn’t the time or the place for that story,” I say, “You’ve gotta go.” I shove him toward the door then stop. “How did you get in here, anyway?”

Duke smirks, puffing out his chest with pride. “I broke in through the basement window when you didn’t come back to school. I half-expected to find your decaying corpse somewhere in the house, but I found nothing. No sign of you, but all your shit was still here. Where the hell have you been, Sarah? You disappeared off the face of the fucking planet.”

I can’t help but smile at the concern in his voice. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, but I can’t tell you now. You’ve really got to go.” I push him toward the door and unlock all the locks. Before I can open it and give him the gentlest of shoves over the threshold, he puts his hand on the door to prevent me from opening it. He takes my hand in his. “Duke,” I whisper yell.

Duke looks down like he can’t believe he’s holding my hand again, rubbing his thumb over my fingers. “I missed you, is all. I’ll go. I’ll go. Just…just tell me that you’re okay. That you’re going to be okay. That whatever is going on with you isn’t a life or death thing.”

“I’ll be okay,” I tell him. “I promise.”

Duke flashes his winning smile. “Good, then I’ll see you back at school?” he asks, removing his hand from the door.

I exhale. “I’m not sure,” I say, dropping my shoulders. I reach for the door.

“Oh,” Duke stops me from opening the door again.

I’m not expecting Duke to wrap his arms around me and press his lips to mine. They are still as soft and skilled as ever but even though they are warm, his lips feel cold. Wrong. I don’t want this. I don’t want him. He doesn’t smell like oil and cigars and soap.

I push on his chest and disconnect my lips from his just as a deep voice cuts through the space between us. “Get the fuck away from her.”

Smoke’s standing less than ten feet away wearing only his opened jeans. His hair is wet and slicked back. Beads of water fall down his chest as he moves. His feet are planted wide. Dark eyes are cold, flinty. I can see his quickening pulse through the throbbing vein under the pocket watch tattoo on his neck. He raises his gun and aims it at Duke.

“Fuck,” Duke swears. He pales, blinking rapidly as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing. He shuffles backward and forgets the door is still closed, hitting his back of his head against it.

“Smoke. Don’t.”

“He laid his hands on you,” Smoke seethes. “The only reason I haven’t already fired is you’re standing too fucking close to him so step away, hellion.” Smoke cocks the gun.

I step in front of Duke. “No, Duke is my friend.”

“You let all your friends stick their tongues down your throat?” Smoke says with a snarl.

“I knew you weren’t okay,” I hear Duke whisper from behind me.

“I am okay! I’m fine, but you aren’t going to be if you don’t leave,” I say to Duke. “Now go and don’t say shit about this to anyone. I mean it. It’s important. I promise I’ll explain all this later but please. I need your word, Duke.”

Duke glances wide-eyed over my shoulder to Smoke and then back to me. I don’t need to look over my shoulder. “You…you’ve got it,” he says on a shaky voice. He feels for the door at his back, and when his hand finds the handle, he turns it quickly and stumbles out.

Smoke steps in front of me. “Before you ever think about touching her again, think about this. Any part of you that comes in contact with her I’m going to rip off your fucking body with my bare hands.”

Duke scrambles backward and runs for the GrubTrain car. Smoke steps back and closes the door. I take a step back from the fuming volcano before me.

“You fuck him?”

“No!” I toss back. Now, it’s my turn to be mad. I cross my arms over my chest and jut out my hip. “He’s my friend. Or, he was my friend.”

“A friend, who you let kiss you?” Smoke closes the distance between us. His nostrils flare.

“Sometimes,” I admit, swallowing hard. I remain defiant, pushing out my chest. “And sometimes more.”

“More?” Smoke questions, the word is a rumble in his throat and touches me right between my thighs. I press them together. He’s so close now. Water drips from his hair onto my t-shirt. “I swear to fucking Christ, Frankie, I need one good reason why I shouldn’t chase after that motherfucker and paint that ugly ass green car of his red with his own fucking blood.”

“Smoke, he was my sort of friend. When I had to stay away from the world, he was the only person I let in because he was nice and he was safe. He dated all the girls in my school so I knew he wasn’t looking for anything serious so yes, from time to time he came over, brought me groceries, and kissed me. Sometimes a little more. Never more than what I’ve given you. Ever.”

Smoke’s shoulder muscles seemed to relax, even if just a fraction. His knuckles, on the other hand, are still white. “My little hellion.” He brushes my hair from my eyes.

My shield is down along with all the other defenses I’ve tried and failed to keep him from getting to a place he can really hurt me, and I don’t mean physically. Physical hurt is nothing compared to what Smoke can inflict on me now. Because he’s broken through. He’s inside.

And there’s no turning back.

I’m terrified. More so than in that prison cell as his captive.

I try to remain defiant. I stick out my chest and straighten my shoulders, holding my chin up high. “And don’t you expect me to apologize for it, either. I won’t. Duke kept me company. He made me laugh. He was my friend. My only friend.”

I press my flat hands against Smoke’s warm wet chest and a current runs through me, zapping my arm hairs to attention. My breath catches, and I glance up at Smoke. He’s looking at my arms, and I know he felt it, too. I lean into him. He smells like fresh soap and toothpaste.

I remember I’m trying to make a point, so I don’t inhale deeply as much as I want to.

“Duke was there for me. I had nobody,” I say, then pause, rethinking my choice of words. “I have nobody.”

Smoke tilts my chin up. Our eyes meet. The anger is still written all over his face from his furrowed brows to his tight jaw but there’s something else there that looks a lot like concern.

“You have me,” Smoke whispers so low I think I might be imagining it.

“Do I?” I regret the words as they leave my mouth.

Smoke’s answer is pressing his lips to mine in a slow and tender kiss that shakes me to my very foundation. He tells me everything I need to know with his lips. His tongue.

The uncontrollable man is showing me control. I’m lost. To him. To this.

To us.

Forever has passed when we finally come up for air. My skin is flushed. Lips swollen. Pussy throbbing with unrelenting need.

My heart stops.

“I do have you.” I say, running my hand through his wet hair, keeping my fingers tangled within it.

“Yes, you do have me,” Smoke nods. His forehead falls to mine and my heart starts beating again. His pupils are dilated, his dark eyes are glossy. His words lick their way across my skin. He lifts me into his arms, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. “Now, I’m going to have you.”