In no time my skin is slicked with sweat and I have to keep brushing it out of my eyes. Blood runs down my hands from my cracked knuckles and I know that I’ll be bruised tomorrow. Good. I like having something to show for a good workout.

I go hard until I have to take a break, bracing myself on my knees and trying to get air back into my tired lungs.

I stand up to find Leo watching me, his head turned to the side as if to ask me what all that stuff was.

“You have claws. I don’t,” I say and then cringe, because I don’t want to be one of those people who talks to their cat. Of course Leo doesn’t answer, but he runs and brings me his ball. I flop down on the couch and toss it for him.

He brings it back and drops it in my lap. I’m thinking I should probably take a shower and go to bed, but my mind is still running in circles.

I need to get out. Out of the apartment. Out of my head. Even though I’ve just come back, I get up again. Leo cries, but I pat him on the head and leave him some treats.

“Sorry,” I say as I close the door and start walking toward the parking garage to get the BMW again.

Then I change my mind.

I go for the Rolls instead. It’s the most expensive car we have and it’s reserved for only the very most special jobs. But tonight, I need it. I put the top down and listen to the purr of the engine as I head for Saige’s apartment.

Eleven

It’s very late, but her lights are on. If she can surprise me, I can surprise her. I just… I need to see her. I can’t explain why.

I buzz and the front door opens, so that’s a good sign. I reach her door and knock and the door opens immediately. She’s wearing a variation on the outfit from earlier. Different shirt, this one a baggy t-shirt that barely conceals anything and a different pair of shorts. Her hair is up in a messy bun and her eyes are a little puffy.

“I’m sorry,” I say automatically, realizing how fucking moronic I’m being. What the hell is wrong with me?

“You’re lucky I was up cramming or else I wouldn’t have let you in. I guard my sleep ferociously, when I can get it.” She leans on the doorjamb and I just want to take her hair down and run my fingers through it before finishing what was interrupted earlier.

“I don’t really know why I’m here,” I say, and kick myself for being honest with her. She yawns and rubs her eyes.

“Well, you’re here now. What do you want?” She had no idea what she was asking with that question. I shouldn’t have come. It’s getting hard to breathe with her here like this. Fucking with my head again.

“Would you like to take a drive with me?” I hold up my keys.

“Take a drive with you?”

“Ever ridden in a Rolls-Royce?” That perks her up a little.

“That’s my father’s favorite car. He let me borrow it for prom when I was a senior.” I paste a smile on my face and hold out my hand.

“Come on. Maybe I’ll let you drive.”

She smiles and grabs a coat from a hook right by the door.

“I just have one request,” I say before I can stop myself.

“What’s that?” she says, buttoning the front of her coat. Her shorts are so short she looks like she isn’t wearing anything underneath. Fuck me again. I don’t need that image in my head.

“Turn around,” I say, and she does, puzzled.

I grasp the elastic keeping her hair up and pull it until her hair tumbles down over her shoulders.

“There,” I say and she turns to look at me over her shoulder. I suck in a breath and hand her the elastic.

“That was it?” she asks, putting the elastic in her pocket.

“Yes,” I say and then I have to turn away from her. She follows me to the front of the building and I open the car door for her.

“Oohhhh, this is gorgeous,” she says, brushing the hood of the car. “This must have set you back a few bucks.” The only reason this car is in the arsenal is because of Cash. He made the case for it and none of the other guys argued.

“A few,” I agree and we get in and I put the top down. That was why I wanted her to wear her hair down.

“If you get cold, there’s a blanket in the backseat,” I say, worrying about her bare legs.

“I’m fine,” she says, looking at the dashboard and around the rest of the car.

“My dad would love this.” I cringe inwardly. I don’t want to talk about her father. So I start the engine as Saige settles back into the seat and sighs in contentment.

“How long can you be gone? I don’t want you to get behind.” I don’t really give a shit about her study schedule, but I want her to think I do.

“I was almost done. We can stay out as long as you want.” I don’t like that she puts it that way. If I’m honest, I want to drive and drive and never come back. Just take her and the car and go. It’s never that simple. I’d have to stop and get Leo though. And Lizzy. I’d have to go see Lizzy.

People in books and movies are always taking off, leaving everything behind. But real life isn’t like that. You have connections. Obligations. Ties that can’t be severed. I wouldn’t let Saige become one of them. But tonight, I am going to take her for a drive. Just a drive. Nothing more.

I turn onto the street and start driving. I head out of the city and Saige doesn’t say anything. She brings her feet up on the seat and leans back. Her hair flutters in the breeze and I have to force myself to stop looking over at her. I drive until the headlights coming at us lessen and I can let the engine do what it was built for.

I push down on the accelerator and Saige laughs as the car shoots forward. Her arms go up and she lets out a scream.

I find myself unable to stop smiling as she turns and beams at me. Her hair is all over the place, but she doesn’t seem to care.

I recognize a sign up ahead and if we keep going, we’ll eventually hit the coast.

“This car is fucking amazing. I didn’t get to do this at prom. I was so worried that something would happen to the car, I drove twenty under the speed limit,” she says as I slow down and take the next exit.

“I don’t take it out much. It’s just for special occasions.”

“Oh really? And what makes this a special occasion?”

“You tell me,” I say as I turn left and into a neighborhood. Most of the houses are dark, with the exception of the blue glow of televisions or light from bedside lamps.

“No, I want to hear why,” she says, trying to keep her hair out of her eyes and failing. “If I answer first, can I put my hair up?”

“Sure,” I say.

She twists her hair around, smoothes it and has it back up in a bun before she speaks again.

“This is a special occasion because… it’s a full moon.” She looks up and I realize she’s right. How did I not notice? The moon is clear and bright in the sky and washes her skin with cool light.

“And?” I say.

“And what? That’s not a good enough reason?”

“No, I suppose it is.”

“Your turn,” she says, tucking a runaway strand of hair back from her face.

“It’s a special occasion because…” I don’t want to tell her the truth, but I can’t come up with something else to say.

“Because you’re here with me,” I finally say.

She laughs again.

“You are full of lines, Quinn Brand. But somehow I believe you when you say them. You’re sincere, aren’t you?” Now that makes me want to laugh. She has no fucking clue.

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Saige.” She snorts, and it’s a cute sound.

“You’re terrible, you know that?” Yes. I did know that. More than she could possibly imagine.

We lapse into silence again. I expect her to ask me where we’re going, but she doesn’t. So either she knows, or she doesn’t care.

I finally pull into an empty parking lot at the edge of a beach. The dunes wave in the wind and the moonlight makes the landscape alien-like.

She turns to me as I cut the engine.