Jagged Edge

“You timed him this time?” Seth, Shane’s half-brother, slaps him on the back and leans over the desk to look at the computer screen. “Who do I have next, R? Ah, I see it. Got it.”

“He keeps spacing out, right, Seffers?” Shane asks Seth as if I’m not right here. “That’s fucking love, right there.”

Seth laughs. “Spill, R. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Shut up, the both of you,” I snark and pretend to be checking the schedule on the screen.

These two may be half-brothers, but to me they look like twins. Dark and tall, with soft black hair and chocolate eyes, they’re hot. Straight as an arrow of course, which I know for a fact, and good friends, but that’s not the only reason they don’t stir anything in me.

Jason.

The days have passed in a blur of work and meetings about Soul Stain’s visit, but the nights… I’m pretty sure I’m getting carpal syndrome from jerking off every night to the memory of Jason.

Jason standing in my apartment, looking dangerous and sexy.

Jason taking his tank top off.

Jason on his knees.

Jason going down on me.

Jesus fuck.

“So what happened with that bunny?” Seth grabs Shane around the shoulders and tosses a wink my way before steering his half-brother back to his booth. “You sure you weren’t the one wearing the pink tutu?”

I shake my head and sigh. Idiots. Also, it’s not true I keep spacing out.

Is it?

Pushing back from the computer, I look up when the doorbell dings and a customer enters. A pretty blonde who smiles at me and… I know her.

Okay, it’s not a customer, it’s Shane’s girl, Cassie.

“Hey, R.” She waves at me, her gaze already flicking in the direction of Shane’s booth. “Is my favorite boy with a customer or free? Can you please check your super-duper planner?”

“And if he’s free?” I arch a brow at her. “What’s up?”

A quick shrug. “I just want to say hi. Didn’t get to see him this morning.”

That’s all? Frowning, I wave her toward the booth. “He’s free.”

I lean over the desk as she skips in the indicated direction, and I see Shane come out to meet her. He has this huge grin splitting his face in two, and he grabs her in his arms and swings her around.

“Missed you, baby,” she says, and then they’re kissing.

No special occasion. It’s not the first time one of the girls comes in to see one of the Damage Boyz. Or that one of the boyz goes out of his way to buy his girl something nice, or take her out to dinner.

It’s like… like they can’t be apart for more than a few hours before missing each other so much they can’t stand it. I don’t really get it.

When Ocean sent me away, I missed him like hell. When Livvy died, well… I rub at my chest, at the phantom pain there, over the fabric that’s hiding a scar on my skin, and in my heart. She was my best friend at the trailer park when I was a kid. We got crazy one day, stole a car and drove as fast as we could—like my brother would do in illegal street races, to get money for us.

We crashed, Livvy died, and I… Yeah, I still miss her. And although Ocean still blames himself for it, I don’t.

Point is… How do you miss someone you’ve only just seen? As if you can’t live without them for five minutes. As if you can’t breathe.

Jesus.

It’s ridiculous. Totally stupid. And the way Shane is holding her… like he wants to meld with her. She’s kissing him like she can’t stop. They’re so… in love. So in need of one another.