It had been three weeks since the shit went down with Terra, and I knew I needed to resolve it, but ignoring her felt better. Fear held me captive where she was concerned. It was just me I needed to worry about. It was Lyndsay too. I had a little girl to protect from heartache, as if I had a fucking clue how to make that happen.

"You gonna eat that?" Jeremy reached over and poked at the burger on my plate.

"Naw. Go for it." I pushed it across the table and glanced up. The game wasn't set to start until a little later that night, but I wanted to get out of the house, to breathe a little. "You think there's such a thing as true love, or do you think we're all just fucking kidding ourselves."

"This about Terra again?" He took a huge bite out of my burger.

"Maybe." I shrugged and glanced across the road to the field. My favorite burger joint always seemed to be open, and it was so close to the ballpark that I haunted the place often. "My mom and dad have been together forever."

"Yeah. My folks too." He wiped his mouth and picked up his beer. "I don't know, man. I think if you want her, just go after her. Ignoring her and trying to get away from her is a pussy move."

I laughed, loving how honest the guy was. "You're a bastard for taking steroids. You know that?"

"Yeah. I know." He shoved more of my burger into his mouth.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Come back." He licked his fingers. “I'm meeting with Terra or Miss Harmon here in about twenty minutes. Come with me. Plead my case with me."

"No fucking way, man. I'm not asking Terra for a damn thing." I lifted my hands and shook my head. "I fucked up big time the last time I had her close enough to reach out and grab her. I'd only mess things up for you."

"Stop crying and go after her. She's not seeing anyone else." He reached into his back pocket and threw a couple of bills on the table.

"Fuck you too." I leaned back and pulled my phone out as it buzzed. My mom. "Hey, I gotta take this."

"Alright. You going with me over here?"

"Nope. You're on your own." I got up and walked out as I pulled my phone to my ear. "Hey, mom. What's up?"

"Daniel. Your father isn't feeling too good again. I think I'm going to take him to see Dr. Miller on Monday. Can you help me find someone else to keep Lyndsay that day?"

"Of course." Worry raced through the center of my chest. "What's going on with Dad? He overdo it again?"

"I don't know, but you know his father died of a heart attack. I'm just scared." She let out a soft sigh.

"Nothing to be worried about, Mom. He's as healthy as a horse, and he still chews like one too."

She laughed. "Okay. Well, I love you. Good luck tonight at the game. We'll be watching. Or I will. Your father is lying down."

"Alright. Tell him not to watch tonight. His blood pressure always gets so damn bad when he watches." I smiled and glanced up to see Terra getting out of her car. Without thinking about it, I moved across the road and picked up my walk to a jog.

"Be safe, son."

"Alright. Talk to you soon." I slipped my phone in my back pocket and moved up beside her. "Terra."

"Oh! Shit, Danny. You scared me." She pressed her hand to her chest and offered me a shy smile. "You done avoiding me now?"

"I'm sorry." I slipped my hands into my pockets and glanced around, wondering if I could let my guard down just for a fucking second. The world could see me as an asshole bad boy, but I wanted my woman to know there was a different side to me. One that would protect her and love her the way she wanted to be loved. The boy she'd pledged to keep herself pure for was still very much alive inside of me, and he craved her in ways that didn't make sense.

"No. It's okay." She reached up and brushed her hair off her shoulder. "No harm. No foul."

"No, that's not true." I glanced over my shoulder to see Jeremy walking our way. "Have dinner with me on Monday night."

"Um... let me think about it?" She moved around me and extended her hand. "Jeremy. Good to see you again."

I turned and pursed my lips as Jeremy made up an excuse that he'd left his phone in his car. He promised to be right back, winked at me and jogged back toward the players’ parking lot.

She turned and laughed. "You paid him to do that, right?"

"Maybe." I smiled. "It's just a meal. I won’t push anything, but I want to talk about what happened the other night."

"Just the other night?" Her eyes pulled me in deep and my body reacted violently to her. Never in my life had I wanted someone so fucking bad. Crazy how she was just out of reach.

"No." I pulled my hand from my pocket and reached out to touch the side of her face. "Though I haven't stopped thinking about the other night since you walked out pissed at me."

She pulled my hand down carefully and nodded. "You didn't understand seven years ago, Danny. You're not going to understand now."

"What if I want to try to?" I closed the gap between us as I fought against myself. Jeremy needed to hurry the fuck up, or the bastard alpha in me was going to rear his ugly head again.

"I don't need you to." Pain moved across her expression. "I'm happy being single, and I don't need us to heal the wounds of the past."

"Maybe I do." I took a chance and reached out to slide my fingers in her hair. When she didn't protest, I moved closer and pressed my body against hers, loving the softness of her feminine curves. "Maybe I'm the needy one."

She rolled her eyes. "Stop it. Let's just work together and forget everything that-" Her voice caught in her chest.

"Not happening." I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, kissing her like I had a million times before. She opened her mouth, and I accepted the invitation and rolled my tongue against hers. We worked each other's mouths until we were both panting and needy.

"I hate you sometimes," she murmured against my lips.

"I hate you all the times." I leaned back down for another quick kiss. "Forgive me for being shocked that a woman like you still had her virginity. I'd forgotten how strong and brave you were. I imagine a million men have tried for it."

"Not that many, but something close to that." She reached up and touched my face. "I'm not dating you, Danny. I'll have dinner with you, but my heart isn't ready for another round where we're concerned." She brushed her thumb over my bottom lip, and I moved forward just a tad, just enough to suck it into my mouth. I gripped her hips tightly and stared down into her face while I rolled my tongue over her finger and sucked on it gently.

The ecstasy on her face let me know that she might not be willing to give me another chance just yet, but her body was primed and more than willing. Could I win her back with lust? It's what drove her my way in the first place.

Seven years ago, for fuck's sake.

"Sorry about that." Jeremy walked up behind me.

I released her and reached up to brush my fingers over my lips. "No problem man. Terra. He's a good guy and just got caught up in some shit. Help me out?"

"I'll do what I can." She glanced between the two of us, her face flushed and beautiful. Jeremy hopefully didn't notice the vein on the side of her sexy neck beating like crazy, but I did. She wanted me as badly as I wanted her. Maybe dinner would help us work through how to make both of our fantasies come true.