Ruined (The Eternal Balance #1)(11)

“Boss is going to stick you on cleanup crew with me for the next month,” Hobe said as I made my way around the car and to the back door. “Then you’ll have to deal with the monsters.”

I bit my tongue as I slipped in through the back. The running joke at the club was that Hobe’s mother had dropped him on his head during a monster movie marathon.

He followed, shaking his head. “Fangs and shit. Horns, scales, tentacles…” he continued seriously. “You’re nice. I’d hate to see you hurt.”

“Tentacles? Really?” And I thought I’d heard it all last week when he’d told me aliens were running the Dairy Queen on Eighth and had offered him a job. “Well, thank God I have you to protect me.”

It was going to be a long day…

As punishment for being late—again—Martin made me clean out the bathrooms. When I was done with that, he had me scraping the vomit from the side of the building. It was a good thing I had an ironclad stomach.

“Hey,” someone said, coming up behind me. “This where the cool kids are hanging?”

No.

The universe was testing me. That was the only explanation. I nodded without turning. It was bad enough he’d come back to town, now Jax Flynn was stalking me at work? While I cleaned puke from a wall? What the hell had I done in another life to piss off karma so badly? “Sure is. Guess that means you’ll have to stand someplace else.”

“And deprive you of the chance to experience my godlike body?”

I threw down the rag and straightened, turning to him with a sneer. “Godlike? Try pasty and…” Yeah, I had nothing. Godlike was a good word. Drool-worthy. Focus-stealing… Holy shit. I couldn’t stand there, looking at him, without wondering what his lips would taste like. Or how his skin would feel as I ran my fingers over the hard planes of his muscle.

In the same trench coat as yesterday, he was swathed in black from head to toe, looking every bit as dangerous as he did delicious. It burned that the sight of him still revved my engine. He was cut, too. “What are you doing here, Jax? Something tells me you didn’t come down to watch me scrape puke.”

A waggle of his brows and a not-so-subtle wink. “But you scrape it so well.” I geared up to tell him to shove off, but he raised his hands, sobering. “Okay, okay. Kelly told me where to find you.”

“Why would she do that?”

“I told her I was leaving. Wanted to say good-bye and see how you were doing.”

A tangled knot formed in my chest. I hated that he was here, yet a part of me wanted so badly for him to stay. How was that for twisted? I should have the words “perpetual indecision” tattooed on my ass. “Good-bye?”

He tilted his head to the right. “Missing me already?”

Hell, yes. “Counting down the seconds to departure, actually,” I said. I stepped away from the building and twirled around, ending with a little bow. “And obviously I’m right as rain. Feel free to move it along to whatever hole you plan on crawling into for the next three years. I’m working, after all.”

“Oh, yeah.” He folded his arms. “I can see that. It must be exhausting to clean puke. Bet they pay you the big bucks. Tell me, do you have a corner office yet?”

I turned back to the wall. The stain was all but gone, but I contemplated scrubbing it some more. I would not engage in a bickering match. Would. Not. “Like I said, I’m fine. Obligation complete.” I wiggled my fingers over my shoulder in a dismissive wave. “Run along and irritate someone else now.”

He made a noise low in his throat—a cross between a snort and a growl that was both hysterical and sexy at the same time. “Obligation? What kind of sense does that make? You were driving. How could I possibly feel obligated?”

Shit. He had a point.

“Speaking of…” I turned to face him again. But not stare at his chest. Or his arms. Or his lips. God. Definitely not his lips… Wow. Had someone cranked up the heat? “What was up with that, anyway? If I hadn’t piped up, you weren’t going to say anything.”

Silence.

“About driving the car?” I prodded.

He narrowed his eyes and I had to remind myself to breathe. That look, all attitude and danger, used to be the death of me. Apparently, things hadn’t changed. “Why bother?”

“Why—? Kelly thought you almost killed me. You didn’t even defend yourself.”

He stiffened. “I don’t need you to stick up for me. Maybe I didn’t care what she thought?”

“Hey, Sam,” Margret Guinness called as she passed on the sidewalk. I didn’t miss the look of disdain that crossed the old woman’s face as her eyes passed over Jax.

He didn’t miss it either. He glared at Margret, and without turning back to me, said, “Maybe I don’t care what any of them think—and that includes you.”And with that, he turned on his heel and started toward the back of the parking lot.

Was he kidding? With a quick look at the door to make sure the boss wasn’t watching, I took off after Jax.

“You’re really something.” I caught him as he reached the edge of the parking lot. Grabbing his arm, I spun him around. “And a big, fat liar.”

He snorted, eyebrows rising slightly. “Someone needs to update their vocabulary. Scoundrel. Rogue. Criminally hot badass. You can do better than big fat liar, Sammy.” He pulled away and kept walking.