Jason stood at the end of the alley, hands in his pockets, a smile on his face that did nothing but chill me to the bone.

He hadn’t changed much since the last time I’d seen him. Same messy brown hair, same broad shoulders, same playful demeanor. Except now, I knew it was a mask hiding something else. Something that had always been there. Something dark.

“I saw your gig tonight,” he said, taking a step toward me.

Instinctively, I took one back, but it was only into the darkness of the blind alley.

“How’ve you been?”

“How’ve I been?” I spat in disbelief. He was asking this now?

“Yeah.”

“Awful,” I hissed.

“Yeah, so am I.” He seemed to take my barb the wrong way. I meant I was awful because of him. I was broken because of what he did to me.

“Zoe, I…” He frowned, stepping closer. “I broke things off with Deb. We’re getting divorced.”

“Good for her.” So her name was Deb. He left me for someone named Deb.

“I realized something.”

“That you’re a douche?”

Anger flashed in his eyes, but it was so fleeting that I wondered if I had imagined it. “No. I realized I should never have left you.”

Well, this was news. He should’ve thought about that for the six months he was off sleeping with this Deb chick behind my back.

“I don’t want to know.”

“Zoe, I want you back. We can fix this.”

What the hell? Was he deluded? Was he high on something? “Did you break her arm, too?” I asked, my voice hardly audible even to me.

“What did you just say?” His eyes were suddenly full of astonishment.

“I said did you break her arm, too?”

“Zoe, I didn’t break your arm.”

Rage suddenly flared up inside me, and I couldn’t hold it back. “You cheated on me for six months, and then when you finally had the guts to come clean, you hit me and then pushed me down the stairs. You left me there! You’re nothing but a heartless fucking prick.”

“Zoe, I apologized for hitting you. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t.”

I had no patience for his attempted lies. I was so angry that tears began to fall. “I lay there alone in the dark with a bone sticking out of my arm in fucking agony! You lied to everyone and destroyed my life, Jason. I feel nothing but hate for you.”

“Zo, you need to calm down.” I barely registered that he was glancing around warily as if someone would come along and bust his arm or, God forbid, find him out for the liar he was.

“You want me back?” I scoffed. “The only reason you don’t have a criminal record is because there were no witnesses. You knew it the moment you decided to run, and here you are, the moment I get it back together, trying to worm your way in. I’m not a victim anymore.”

“Shut up,” he hissed, stepping toward me, anger flaring up in his expression.

“Stay away from me, Jason. If I ever see you again, you’ll regret it.”

That was the wrong thing to say. His expression contorted as he lost control of his rage, and before I could get out of the way, his fist came through the air toward me.

You know when people tell you afterward that things happened in slow motion? That they could see everything happening before their eyes in tiny bite-sized chunks of time but could do nothing to stop it? That’s exactly what happened right then. Jason’s fist hurtled toward me, and I couldn’t get out of the way. When it connected with my left cheekbone, I felt nothing. It was surreal.

And just as suddenly, I fell to the ground on my side with a surprised gasp. I clutched my face, sharp stabbing pain beginning to throb through my skin.

“Zoe!”

I glanced up, my eyes wide, and I saw him. Will was stalking toward us, his gaze flickering from me to Jason, and I swore he was going to snap and launch himself headfirst into a fight.

“Stop,” I said and peeled myself from the gutter.

He didn’t hear me and pushed Jason hard in the chest. “What the hell, man? Beating up on a woman.”

“Who the hell are you?” Jason scoffed, pushing him back. “What’s it to you? Mind your own business.”

“I love her, and if you lay another finger on her, I swear to God I’ll kill you myself.”

I scrambled to my feet and pushed between them. “Stop it.”

“He hit you,” Will said thinly, the anger in his voice raw. He stared at Jason, not taking his eyes off him for a second.

I ignored him and turned back to Jason. “Once a hitter, always a hitter.”

Jason was seething, and I knew I’d struck a nerve. Was this the reason this Deb was divorcing him? Had he shown his true colors to her, as well?

“You fell,” he said. “How many times do I have to explain it to you?” Was he so delusional that he convinced himself his lies were the truth?

I let out a snort of disbelief. “God, you even believe your own lies. Does it help you sleep at night? Knowing that you broke your girlfriend’s arm and lied to everyone about it? Knowing you destroyed my life?”

Will’s voice was dangerously low. “He’s hit you before?”

I nodded, not taking my eyes off the man who ruined my life.

Will gently pulled me aside and stepped up into Jason’s face, looking like he was about to beat the hell out of him. One thing I knew was that I wouldn’t let anyone fight my battles for me anymore. I wouldn’t be a victim again.

I saw Will’s hands ball into fists, his knuckles white with tension, but before he did something he would regret, I stepped forward and punched Jason in the face. Hard.

He stumbled back a step, hands on his face, and Will stared at me with wide-eyed surprise.

“Bitch,” Jason spat, his hands clutching his face.

“I hope that hurt,” I said, pointing a finger at him. “If you ever come near me again, I’ll rip your balls off and feed them to you.”

I was so wild with anger that when Dee suddenly appeared behind me, I almost turned around and hit him as well. The security guard from the venue had followed, hopefully at Dee’s request.

“Whoa, Zo,” he said, holding my shoulders. “Settle down. It’s only me.”

“Dee?” I asked, blinking hard.

My hand suddenly began to throb, and my face matched its pace. I remembered this feeling. That day, after the paramedics had picked me up off the ground, they said that my body had gone into shock. I was pretty sure that’s what was happening right now. My strong demeanor crumbled, and tears began to fall even though I tried hard to keep them in. I didn’t want Jason to see me cry. I didn’t want Will to, either.

I didn’t understand what was happening when Dee eased me into Will’s arms. I could only watch as my best friend hit Jason hard in the face, putting him flat on his back. He got what he deserved, but I couldn’t feel anything.

Dee hauled Jason off the ground and shoved him against the wall. “You’re not going anywhere. Will, call the cops.” Shoving Jason hard again, he spat, “You’re not getting away with it this time, you hear me?”

“I’ve got it, mate,” the security guard said in a deep rumbling voice as he frowned at Dee, but he didn’t mention anything about the perfectly aimed punch that Jason had just received into his left eye. He had a phone in his hand and dialed triple zero.

Will guided me around the corner so I didn’t have to look at them, but he could have taken me anywhere right then, and I wouldn’t have fought. I buried my face into his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent, trying to shut out everything. His hands rubbed my back soothingly, and right then, I didn’t hate him.

“It’s going to be okay,” he murmured into my hair, and I hoped he was right.

When I’d composed myself enough, I pulled away from him. I couldn’t let him touch me any more than he had. I’d said I didn’t want to hear him explain, but after the way he stood up to Jason, I knew I had to let him. I leaned against the wall behind me and closed my eyes, aware that he didn’t move from my side. I pressed the back of my hand against the cool brickwork and hoped I hadn’t done anything more than bruise it. Even though it had felt good to take control and thump Jason, I needed that hand to play guitar.

It wasn’t long before the police arrived and relieved Dee and the security guard of their duty. They handcuffed a furious Jason and read him his rights before stuffing him in the back of their van.

“Are you okay, miss?” one of the police officers asked, the tone of his voice changing drastically.

I nodded, wiping my eyes.

“He’s going to spend the night in the lockup anyway, but I have to ask if you want to press charges.”

I nodded again, unable to get the words out.

“You’ll have to come down to the station in the morning and give your statements,” the cop said, handing Will a card. “Then we can take it from there.”

“Thanks,” Dee said, shaking the officer’s hand.

The cop turned to me. “Miss, are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital? We can call an ambulance if you need it.”

“No, I’m fine,” I replied shakily.

“Someone better take the young lady home,” the cop said. “She looks pretty shaken up. And someone should stay with her in case she has a concussion.” He glanced between Dee and Will, and they both nodded.

As the cops drove off, leaving us alone in the street, I suddenly felt exhausted.

“Zoe?” Dee asked, squeezing my hand.

I drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. Closing my eyes again, I said, “I need to talk to Will.”

“Are you sure?” I knew he was giving an epic death stare at the guy who’d stomped on my heart the night before, but I had to do this.

“Yeah.”

I heard my best friend sigh, then the shuffle of his boots as he walked away. Then Will and I were alone.

There were a million questions I wanted to ask him, but after what had just happened, I couldn’t think of what any of them were. Will’s actions had erased most of the doubts. He’d defended me from my past just like that, and he’d said… Before I could believe that, he had to answer the one question I remembered.

“Did you mean it?” I asked, glancing up into his stormy gray eyes. “Did you mean to kiss her back?”

“No,” he said like he was pleading with me.

“Why did you?”

“I don’t know. I realized what I was doing a second too late. I told her I was in love with you, but she came back again tonight and…”

“Stop,” I whispered.

It looked like we both had twisted relationships that had tried to crawl in and ruin everything. He hadn’t been truthful, but neither had I. I had to let him explain, but right now, I just wanted to go home.

To Will’s surprise, I stepped into him and rested my head against his shoulder. “Take me home.”

* * *

We were silent all the way back to my place in St Kilda.

When the taxi dropped us off, I led Will up to my little apartment and pulled him into the darkness. I was so aware of his proximity in the gloom that my amped-up emotions latched onto the fact he was there beside me. I’d always been attracted to him, but this was something else, and I began to understand the way he’d needed me the day before in the back of the venue. I was overwhelmed, but all I could think about was his lips on mine.

My hand fisted into his shirt, and I pulled him against me, sucking his bottom lip into my mouth. Instantly, his body responded, and he caught my kiss with one of his own. Moaning into his mouth, I felt my insides clench in anticipation.

“Zoe,” he said breathlessly.

“Shhh,” I murmured. “Don’t.”

Leaning back against the kitchen counter, I ran my hands down his back and underneath the waistband of his jeans, feeling his warm skin. He seemed to be unsure of my reaction, and to make myself clear, I sank my nails into his flesh, pressing my lips against the corner of his jaw.

“Are you sure?” he asked with a frown. “I don’t…”

“Please,” I murmured against his lips. “I need you.”

“Zoe—”

“You once said that you’d do anything I asked,” I interrupted. “I’m asking. I don’t care what happens next. I need you inside me.”

He let out a strangled moan, his eyes closed. “I want you, Zo, so much. But after what I did…”

“I need you to fuck me, Will Strickland.”

That seemed to work. He let his jacket drop to the floor and pushed mine from my shoulders, flinging it over the couch. Without breaking rhythm, he tore my T-shirt over my head, and my hair cascaded wildly over my face. Pushing it out of the way, he trailed featherlight kisses down my chest before unhooking my bra and freeing my breasts.

Teasing my nipples with his tongue, he said, “Hard or slow, Zoe? Tell me how you want me to fuck you.”

When he spoke like that, it made my insides clench tight. I knew I was wet, and I wanted it any way I could get it.

“Hard.” I gasped as he pulled his shirt off and fumbled with the button of my skinny jeans. “Fast.”

Kicking my boots off, he did the same, and with one hard tug, he pulled down my jeans and underwear in one go. His followed, but not before he pulled a condom out.

“Do you want it here?” he whispered against my lips. “From behind? In your bed?”

“Stop talking,” I complained. “I want to come.”

With a wild growl, he picked me up, holding my body against his. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he pressed me against the wall, thrusting inside me and burying deep.

“God.” I gasped and bit into the skin of his shoulder, but he didn’t stop. He held me against the wall and moved inside me, his thrusts relentless, driving me closer and closer to the edge. I wanted hard and fast, and he sure knew how to give it to me.

“Fuck, Zoe,” he said through a grunt. “You make me burn. Just you. Only you.”

He pushed me back onto the kitchen countertop, my back flat on the cool surface as he stood over me. Holding a leg over his shoulder, he didn’t slow his rhythm, pounding in and out of me. Seeing the unmasked pleasure on his face almost undid me. I’d never seen that look in anyone’s eyes before, and somehow, I knew this wasn’t just for me. This took him as completely as it did me.

As I felt an orgasm building inside, I took my breast in my hand, kneading the sensitive flesh, while my other hand went toward my clit, which was open and wanting at this angle. As my fingers began to circle, Will gasped, his hand tightening on my thigh.

“Don’t stop.” I moaned as I began to come, calling out his name. Arching my back, I tightened around him, urging him to follow…and he did. The look on his face gave away how hard his release was as we watched each other fall over the edge.

As he gasped one last time and slumped over me, I wrapped my legs around him.

I ran my hands through his hair as the stubble on his jaw rasped against my naked breasts, both our chests heaving with exertion. The pure need I’d felt earlier was more than satisfied.

“Take me to bed,” I whispered, moving against his length that was still deep inside me. “We both have some explaining to do.”