Jake had let himself luxuriate over Lucy’s body for a good hour before his grumbling stomach dragged him off her. “Don’t plan on going anywhere today. I’ll be right back,” he said with a grin that felt new on his face.

“Whatever, Iceman. Things to do, people to see.”

“You mean other than me?”

She laughed and slapped his chest as he came in for another kiss but kissed him back nonetheless.

“At least have breakfast with me?”

The finger to her mouth did nothing to alleviate his apparently unquenchable hunger for her. “How about I go get us some food and you wait here?” she said.

“Only if you promise to be quick.”

“Sure. I’m the quickest toast maker in town, trust me.”

“Humph.”

“What? Toast not good enough for you?” She punched him lightly on the arm. “If you want quick that’s what you get. But if you want me to go rustle up a chicken and try and entice her to lay you some eggs, it’s gonna be a lot longer.”

“There’s a carton of eggs in the kitchen. I’ll have mine over easy.”

“That so?”

“I did say I’d go get breakfast but you insisted on being the chef,” he said, trying to bait her.

“And I said you needed to stay here. Suck it up, Iceman. You’re gonna have to get used to not being in charge.” Rolling out of bed, she threw on a black T-shirt and pants and was out the door before he could protest further. So much for baiting her.

Alone in the room he fell back on the pillows. What the hell was happening to him? Putting his hands up in front of his face he inspected them. No shakes. Hardly surprising, it’s not like you’re actually doing anything at the moment. True. Lying in bed wasn’t going to induce terror in anyone unless they had a pathological fear of sheets. But being with Lucy . . . there was something in her attitude to life, her refusal to let the macho world she lived and worked in undermine her determination, her chutzpah, that rubbed off on him and made him feel about ten feet tall. It shouldn’t have, it should have worried him, made him want to wrap her up and bundle her out into a softened world, especially after Sarah. But it did the opposite. Holding up his hands again, he flexed his fingers, then his arms.

He closed his eyes a minute. Let it out. The thing that he’d been holding back, the phone call from Javier, had been bubbling under the surface since it had happened and now, alone and satiated, he allowed himself to let it out into the air. To hold it up, look at all its cracks and faults and wonder whether he could do it. Get back into film, in a big way.

With the scent of Lucy on the pillow, it didn’t seem that big a deal. In fact it seemed entirely possible. Exciting even. Seriously? A couple of great nights and you’re cured? Okay, so maybe not. But hiding from what happened hadn’t really been helping. Maybe talking it through with Lucy some more would help. He flexed his arms again, maybe getting back to the gym would help too. All of that would do more for his future than hiding out here, “helping” his sister.

No, that wasn’t fair. He was helping Briony, and more than that, he was earning her trust, making sure that he made up for the past. For not being here, for his father’s uselessness. Briony had had enough useless men in her life in the past, it was time she got to see that not everyone with a penis was a cock.

His stomach growled about ten times louder than it had earlier. What the heck was keeping Lucy? Surely she hadn’t really gone out looking for a chicken? He chuckled.

Rolling out of the low bunk bed and narrowly avoiding clocking himself in the head on the solid metal frame, he threw on his clothes from the night before and went to look for her. He didn’t have to go far. In the storage bay near the kitchen he heard her voice. None too happy.

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“Nice try, Black. Who else was gonna get in there and smash up a bike? No one else is bitter enough to bother.”

“Whatever. You trying to tell me that the Hell’s Boys are squeaky clean now? That there’s no one in the whole of LA who doesn’t hold a grudge? Yeah, right, gangs never make enemies.”

“Doesn’t make sense for it to be the Menace. If they wanted to smash up my bike they would have let me know.”

“How? By writing you a note? Gimme a break.”

“You’re just pissed that Hade hasn’t let you set up your own shop for us. Everyone knows it. You’ve been whining about it for forever.”

“And your problem with that is what? That I’m a girl. I’m a better mechanic than all the guys in Gav’s shop and yet none of you are willing to admit it. You used to tell me I was great with a spanner.”

The biker snorted. “That was before you decided to stick one in my exhaust. I can see why Gav gave you the boot, what a ball-ache having you around.”

“Seriously? That’s the best you got? I’d love to say I understand what you’re trying to say and I see where you’re coming from, but I can’t seem to get my head that far up my ass—”

“What’s going on?” Jake walked around the corner to see Lucy being towered over by Martinez, two of his Hell’s Boys friends looking on.

“Don’t worry about it,” the biker said, dismissing him and hardly looking at him.

Jake drew himself up to his full height, let his shoulders broaden, and took a step toward the biker. “Oh I’m not worried.” He used the same dismissive tone as Martinez. “Just wondering whether your foot will fit in your big mouth. Looks like a pretty big foot, but then it looks like you’ve got a pretty big mouth.”

The biker finally took his eyes off Lucy and eyeballed Jake. “You got a problem with my mouth?”

“I do if you’re accusing one of my staff of something without a shred of evidence. I’ve already been down that road and I don’t fancy having Lucy accused of something she didn’t do a second time.”

“Someone broke into the bike shop where my bike was sitting last night. Someone who knew exactly how to disable the security camera and who only touched one bike. And who left a set of boot prints that are smaller than anyone else’s I’ve seen around here.” He looked pointedly at Lucy’s feet. “Gav doesn’t even do Hell’s Boys’ bikes. He’s pissed too many people off with his questions. Mine was only in there because I couldn’t wait.”

“You always have been impatient,” Lucy said coolly.

The biker bristled even further. “I talked to Gav. There are tools missing too, but not all the tools, just a few select ones. Gangs wouldn’t do that. They’d trash everything.”

“And you know that because that’s what you’d do, right? ’Cause you’re clearly a class act,” Lucy said and Jake smiled. He couldn’t help himself, she was so hot when she was angry. But the hackles on the back of his neck spiked. The bike shop Lucy had been planning on breaking into to get her tools back? But she’d been with him. Hadn’t she?

“Look, guy, I don’t know what your deal is with Lucy here, but this is none of your business. Back off.” Martinez’s snarl took over the edge of his mouth and reminded Jake of a pit bull.

“Don’t worry about it, Jake,” Lucy said. “This bunch of ass-wipes were just leaving.”

“Ass-wipe? Did you just call me an ass-wipe?”

“No, you’re right. That was out of line, it’s not fair to call you an ass-wipe when you don’t have the skills to wipe your own ass. In fact I’d guess your ass is jealous, the amount of shit that comes out of your mouth.”

One of the boys in the back snickered but cut it off quick.

“Enough.” Jake put up a hand. “We can stand here and trade insults all day but it’s pointless. What time was this break-in?”

“Last night. Camera went down after four a.m.”

“Well then you’re full of it. Lucy was here, working ’til after two a.m. and then she was with me.”

“That so?”

“Yes, that is so. And more to the point, she would never willfully hurt someone’s bike. She loves them too much. Something you idiots seem unable to comprehend. Probably because you don’t have half the knowledge or skill with a motorbike engine that she does. So if you’ve got nothing else, it’s time you left. And if you want to come back to Wilde’s, show a little respect or I’ll be taking it up with Rocco.” Jake pulled out his phone and took a photo of the three of them. “Just so I can show him who the fuckwits in his club are,” he said, putting it back in his pocket.

That, finally, got them to back off. Martinez jumped down from the storage bay platform onto the ground below and skulked off with his mates after shooting a dirty look back at the two of them.

Jake turned to Lucy, ready to take her into his arms and instead stared into bright blue eyes full of ice-cold anger.

“What made you think I needed you sticking up for me?”

“Excuse me?”

“Those guys already think they’re better than me, better than any woman that crosses their path. If they think that I’m leaning on you, getting you to fight my battles, they won’t give it a rest. I need to be solid around them. I have to win every round, every time, otherwise I’ll never get to work on their bikes.”

The noise of the morning slowly filtered back in around them, and Jake shook his head. “I call bullshit on that.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. “’Cause you’ve walked in my shoes, have you? I told you I didn’t need rescuing. I still don’t.”

“No. I get it. The world isn’t fair, it’s shit that they don’t just use you if you’re the best, but you can’t make them by sheer willpower.”

“I can die trying.”

He nodded slowly and the sound of a group of bikes revving filled the air as they took off from the parking lot.

“But thanks,” she said, her voice finally softening. “For saying that about me being a good mechanic. You’ve never even seen me under a bike.”

“I heard it in your voice,” he said. “The way you’re so passionate about bikes. You’re like this guy we have on-set. He is a magician. Everyone knows it, even the producers bow down to him, and trust me when I say that never happens when their budgets are on the line.”

Her sigh wasn’t loud, but he heard it, and somehow, he felt it. “Maybe I should change my name to Rick.”

“Do you think that’s really it?”

“A fucking big part of it,” she said. “Martinez was right. I have been whining about starting up a shop for the Hell’s Boys for ages. It’s why I’ve stuck around so long, and I thought it was going to happen one day. For sure. Hade’s been talking about letting women join Hell’s and so I figured the next step would be them letting me in on the bikes. He’s been telling me I have to wait, the boys aren’t ready for their own shop yet, they’re impulsive, arrogant, wouldn’t treat it right, yadayada. And then I find out he’s opening a shop with this guy Rick who’s been here less than ten minutes. A friend of some old guy from out of town. It’s bullshit.” Her face had darkened as she spoke and he clenched his hands in his pockets, wanting to put a hand on her cheek, to try to smooth some of the hurt away despite her flaring into anger at him. She wasn’t wrong about needing to be solid in front of the bikers if that’s how they treated all women.

“Ignore me. I don’t need them,” she said and he thought he saw her flush a little. Embarrassed that she’d lashed out at him? He hoped so. It would do, for now.

His stomach gave yet another grumble. “I think we’re forgetting something,” he said.

Finally, she smiled. “Sorry, I came to get you breakfast. The toast will be cold by now.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make a fresh batch. Shall I bring it back to the bunkhouse or you want to head upstairs to my room?”

“Your room. Less chance of seeing Martinez.”

“Done.”

When he arrived with toast, coffee, tea, cereal, and a bowl of fruit salad, he found Lucy perched on the edge of his bed watching one of his films on the small TV.

“Hey. You’re not bad,” she said.

“Gee, the compliments around here are epic.”

“No. I mean, you’re good. That’s a big deal. I fast-forwarded through all the other bits.”

He chuckled. At least she’d moved on from snapping his head off for sticking up for her.

His small figure screamed across the screen on a bike and slid under a parked tow truck.

She sucked in a breath. “Shit. How did you do that? And how do you not break every bone in your body?”

“Practice. Smoke and mirrors.” He took a mouthful of toast.

Her eyes went back to the screen. “I believe the practice part. Man.” The scene ended and Jake miraculously walked out of the wreckage he’d made of his bike. “So what’s it like?” Lucy asked. “On a set.”

He looked down at Lucy. Where to start? “What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know. What’s your favorite part? Stuff like that”—she waved at the screen with the spoon from her fruit salad—“or other things?”

The question shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it flew into his ear, refusing to offer up a polite answer straight away.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be nosy. Or bring up crappy memories.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps it’s good for me to talk about it.” But he didn’t offer anything more until the roar of the motorbike engine on-screen had died off again. He hardly ever watched himself on-screen. It was unnerving.

“The rush must be amazing.”

She wasn’t going to give up and Jake discovered it was okay, he didn’t mind talking to her about it for some reason. He had a gulp of tea and let himself figure out the words to express the reality of stunt work. “It is. The head stuff is crazy. The physics, the mechanics of it, it’s all there, all possible, but there’s only this tiny window to get things right. Miss it and it becomes impossible again.”

She finished a piece of toast and licked the butter off her fingers. “Sounds intense.”

“It is. I guess when you know the odds, yet everyone is working against beating them, and then you nail it, it’s a rush. When I moved from being a straight stunt guy to acting that was a whole other thing too. Taking on a character and thinking through what would drive him to do this . . . that gets into your head and screws around with it sometimes.”

Taking his empty teacup from his hands and putting it beside her, Lucy reached up and kissed him. She tasted of the coffee she’d had instead of tea, of toast, and of passion fruit from the salad. Perfect.

“What was that for?”

“Because you talked about your work without frowning.”

His eyebrows lifted. She was right. He’d dived right back into it without thinking of Sarah for once. There was lots he loved about it, he just didn’t know if he loved it enough to take the risk of making a big mistake again. He pulled Lucy closer and they sat a moment, his arms wrapped around her. His phone pinged and they disentangled.

She stood. “Bathroom,” she said as he picked up his phone.

It was his agent. What are you thinking? Be good to get back on the horse.

Still thinking, he replied then pocketed the phone. That’s what he was doing, wasn’t it? Thinking about it?

“Who was that?” Lucy said, flopping back down on the bed and cutting off his pondering.

He paused, trying the thought out in his head before allowing himself to say anything out loud. “I got offered a new job the other day. A pretty amazing one actually. Heading up my own stunt team and a taking on a big acting role too. Big-time actor says he won’t do it without me.”

Lucy put a hand on his chest. “That’s amazing. Must be nice for the ego to have someone seek you out.”

“It was. It is.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“Are you going to take it? What did you say?”

“I’ve been ignoring his calls. Mostly.”

“What? Why?”

The stone in his chest wasn’t as heavy as usual when he thought about going back to work. Maybe because he was sitting next to Lucy. Maybe because of the sunshine, maybe . . . who knew? He shrugged. “I don’t know, okay? Shall we move on?”

“Come on.” Her voice had left its softness behind and was back to its bright insistent beat. He liked that about her. She was straight up. So straight up it was hard to get her to bend her will, sure, but she was focused and clear about what mattered in life, and he liked that. Appreciated her lack of bullshit. “You love it.” She gestured at the TV screen. “It’s there in your bones, like bikes are in mine. I can hear it when you talk, see it on the screen. You’re just scared shit’s going to go down again.”

“Probably.”

“Well then, you’ll be fine.”

“What? How on earth could you say that?” The first filament of anger flickered in his chest, just below his heart.

But she put a hand there, as if she could tell where his feelings had settled.

“I don’t mean to diminish what happened. Or say that accidents don’t happen. But that’s all we’re talking about. An accident. One that isn’t your fault. And one that you’ve been beating yourself up over for too long.”

“Easy to say.”

“Lots of things are easy to say. Doesn’t mean they’re any less true.”

There was a long pause. The stunt business wasn’t like real life; the smallest things counted in the fight to keep yourself alive. That was where the thrill came from. And you counted on your co-workers to have your back. All the time. He had failed Sarah, and he didn’t know if he’d ever get over that. But Lucy was right about something else too. He did love his job. And it was threaded through his blood like an extra line of cells.

“Good,” she said and kissed him, softly, on the lips, not lingering long enough for him to taste her properly. But long enough for him to remember how they’d spent the night before and the sharp crackle of desire flickered along his veins. “Maybe I’ll talk more about it one day,” he said. “I think I feel lighter.” He held up his hands and yep, they were steady as the earth.

“Lighter, huh? Full of breakfast and free for the day. Whatever shall we do next?” This time the kiss was deeper, longer, and when her tongue danced with his, the blood started its virulent surge down. Seemed to be an unavoidable pattern when he was in her company. “I know a good wall just behind us that would look great with you splayed all over it” He growled in her ear when they came up for air.

“Tempting,” she murmured, coming back to nibble at his bottom lip.

“Yes, very.” His hand slipped off her shoulder and up under the hem of her T-shirt.

The hiss of air from her lips urged him on and he let his thumb brush the tip of her nipple. Her bare nipple. Bare. Skin. Oh, man. “I curse the man who invented bras. And I love a woman who’s not afraid to leave hers at home.”

Her laugh was deep and throaty. More of a chuckle. “Glad you approve of my lack of underwear. Who knew being a lazy ass when I crawled out of bed would get me so far?”

“There’s nothing under these either?” He pulled at the waistband of her jeans. “How did I miss that?”

“Probably because you were worried about your stomach instead of what was under my pants.”

“Oh, I beg to differ, I think I’ll forever be interested in what’s going on under your pants.” Flicking the button at her waist, Jake pulled down the zipper and slipped a hand into her jeans. Hot. Wet.

Lucy smirked. “Still hungry, are you?”

“Yes. And done talking.” Stripping off her jeans and then scooping her up, Jake walked over to the wall and as he’d promised, pinned her to it, holding her up next to the open french doors with her arms held tightly by the wrists.

“Won’t someone be able to see us if they look up?”

“Figured you’d like the risk of someone catching us,” he said, then put his lips over hers. The only sounds from her mouth were the dark whimpers that came unconsciously from her throat as he dove deeper into her mouth, urging her to open up completely to him. He wanted to claim her. Make it absolutely clear to her that she was the one who had lightened his burden of guilt. It seemed she understood his silent demand when one of her legs wrapped itself around his waist and he felt the unmistakable rhythm of her pelvis grinding against him.

Releasing one of her wrists, he drew his hand down her body, relishing the feel of her soft skin. Letting his palm smooth the circle of her full breast, she arched her back farther and strained against him. He was enjoying watching her move under him, the sun on her skin, the warmth of it on his face. Smoothing his hand down farther, he traveled her side, then down the front of her thigh. She nipped him on the ear and he smiled. “If that was a ‘hurry up’ it wasn’t very subtle.” As he spoke he slid a finger inside her, luxuriating in the slick feel of her juices that covered it as he drew the digit in and out.

“Nice?”

She groaned and used her free hand to guide him a little deeper. Dear god, but she was a crazy burst of freedom in his tight-iced world.

“Do it. Take me.”

“Oh, now you’re hungry. And a little greedy.”

“I need you. Now, Jake.”

Desire was whipping his blood into a frenzy of demand and he released her, pulling a condom from his wallet on the floor and rolling it on in record time.

As he lifted her up against the wall again she didn’t waste any time and clenched her legs around him, pulling him right against her center. Held together like that his cock rubbed against her clit and her moan was delicious. It took just about everything he had not to drive right into her, sliding over her entrance until she was just about shuddering with need and he didn’t know if he’d maintain the ability to stand much longer.

“Please.”

If that’s what the lady wants . . . He lifted her up higher and sheathed himself in her in one deep movement. Oh yes. When he was inside her he couldn’t quite believe the sensation. She fit him so well. Tight and wet and just so—god—she arched her back and flexed his cock so that bright spirals of bliss ricocheted up him. Catching his breath he withdrew and slammed into her again. “Do that again, whatever it was,” she said. He did and her eyes widened. He had to pause a moment, just to reground himself.

“Don’t stop now. Right there.” She twisted her hips. “Oh yeah, just there.”

He picked up his pace, driving away the thought of anything that wasn’t their union from his mind. The future could wait, would wait. This, she, was everything.

Her muscles started tightening, just as the ache in his balls began to throb through his whole body.

“Now?” he managed.

“Oh, yes, yes, now!”

She crumpled and he followed her over the edge, not having enough left in him to hold back any further.

Their ragged breathing was a perfect match. But slowly, slowly the sounds of the world around them took over. The roar of motorbikes shattered whatever peace they’d been able to create, and he cupped her butt, allowing her to get her feet back on the ground.

Withdrawing, he pulled off the condom and tied it neatly in a knot and tossed it in the trash can inside the room.

Neither of them spoke, allowing the silence to say more than words.

Unlike their previous encounters they had nowhere to be. No night to disappear into. And he didn’t want her to disappear. What would it be like to call Javier, right now, and say yes to his offer? And then come home to this? To her. “Spend the day with me?”

Her glance was short, but he saw it, she was pleased. She felt something too.

Then a new idea struck him. “Come with me.”

“What?”

“Work on the film. Work on the bikes. There are a lot of them in this film.”

If he hadn’t just had her against the wall, the way she bit her lip would have had him pinning her up there again. But her hesitation wasn’t for his benefit, that much was obvious.

“It’s just a thought.”

“Thanks. And it’s a good idea. For you, I mean. You should take the job. I’m not being ungrateful . . . I just . . . I’d never thought about working anywhere but a shop. You know. And I want to make it on my own merits.”

He put a finger to her lips. “Don’t worry, I understand. But think about it?” Dropping his hand, he glanced out the open doors to the parking lot below and his stomach clenched.

It couldn’t be. No one would be that stupid. Surely? The crackle of flames leaped into view and a leather-clad biker stood up, his back to Jake, lighter in hand. From his higher position, Jake couldn’t make out the man’s features or what was on fire, but it was nothing good. Someone was definitely plenty stupid. “There’s a fire downstairs. We need to get out of here now.”

A bang echoed around the building and another man joined the first, the two men in black leathers running off, fast.

Lucy looked down. “A fire? Shit, come on!” Without waiting for him to move, she grabbed her clothes, threw her shirt on in record time, and jumping toward the door as she pulled her pants on, disappeared downstairs.