Dad insisted on following Gemma as she drove me home a nearly four hours after I first arrived at the hospital with Lieutenant Roosevelt. Tig joined Dad and rode beside him because Jax had tasked him with shadowing Gemma until she got home for the night. No one would tell me what was going on, but I knew it had something to do with my attack. It had to have been some sort of a power play that the guys seemed to have figured out who the key players might be. I knew I most likely wasn't the intended target and since I wasn't a member of the MC I didn't expect to be made privy of any of the details. But that didn't stop me from wanting to know what was happening.

Just ask JC tomorrow. You can talk him into giving you the details, I thought to myself.

I was so lost in my own thoughts during the drive home that Gemma had to reach over and squeeze my arm to capture my attention. Her doing that startled me so much that I actually jumped in my seat.

"Hey, I didn't mean to scare you, Sweetheart," Gemma called out apologetically as she gently squeezed my arm again.

I put my hand over hers and held it against my arm. "Sorry, Gemma. I'm pretty sure I was thinking too hard and didn't hear a single thing you just said."

"Thinking too hard? Would it be about a certain boy with a goofy hair cut?"

I let out a soft laugh as I felt my cheeks heat up. Thankfully it was still dark out, so I was pretty confident that Gemma wouldn't see me blushing. But I forgot that she would be able to see me duck my head to cover up my grin despite the darkness that was surrounding us in her vehicle.

"Wow you really are smitten with our little Juice, aren't you?"

I sighed dejectedly and replied, "Yeah, I can't lie… I really am. But it's weird, Momma Bear because I've never given anyone in a MC a second look before, but there's something about him… I… I don't know how to explain it all properly."

"That's alright, Baby. I totally understand. The heart wants what it wants. I've been the victim of that affliction myself, so I can't judge. But if you need any help running interference with your padre, you let me know, okay?"

That made me chuckle again before I said, "Thanks, Gemma. I really appreciate that because I'm pretty sure I'll be needing yours and everybody who's willing to help with Dad, especially now."

"Yeah, he can be pretty intense sometimes."

"Intense?" I laughed louder at that comment. "That's putting it mildly. Actually… That's kind of what I was thinking about before."

"Happy's intensity?"

"No…well, yeah…" I paused there to collect my thoughts. "I realized… I mean… I think part of the reason I didn't tell Dad about me and JC is that I knew he would go ballistic and I really didn't want him to scare JC off."

"Oh no, Mia Baby… you aren't just smitten with Juice, you're in love with him, aren't you?"

I gave her a tearful smile then answered, "Yeah, I think I am." After I sniffled in a couple of breaths, I swiped my thumbs under my eyes to brush away any of the excess moisture before I continued, "Actually, I know I'm in love with him. But, Gemma, I don't know if he feels the same way. And if he doesn't… I don't see Dad letting him live through the night. If Juan feels the same way, then I want to hear it from him… But only when he's ready to say it. Anything else will just prove that we never should have let anyone find out about us."

"That's a pretty grim outlook, Sweetheart."

"Grim, my ass. You know I'm not wrong." I stared at the side of Gemma's head until I saw her eyes flick over from the road to my direction. "I mean it, Momma Bear. I don't want anyone to know about those feelings until Juan Carlos and I have a chance to talk it all out properly."

Using Juice's given name was a bit of a gamble, but it was one that appeared to tip the odds in my favor. Gemma actually sounded very solemn and somewhat concerned when she replied, "Baby Girl, you know I'll follow your lead. My lips are sealed until you tell me otherwise."

****FLASHBACK****

Before I moved to Charming, I had promised to take all of the crap jobs I knew no one else wanted to do at the shop. I really didn't need the income that custom work raked in right now, so I was content to let the other guys reap those benefits until everyone got to know me and my work better.

The truth of the matter was that I had been forced out of my family home and retreated to California to lick my wounds. Thankfully I was living with someone who wasn't expecting much in return right now but that didn't mean that I wasn't willing to pay my dues. Or that I wasn't willing to do my share to help out the MC at Teller Morrow Automotive.

After what felt like forever, but really was just a week of offering to help out with the tougher jobs fixing anything on a car for the other guys in the shop and being rejected, (because all of my regular customers lived more than a State away and I had yet to show off my true talents to gain any new clients) one of the guys finally asked me to help him out. Well, he had a hot date, so he wanted to pawn his job onto me and that was only because he thought I would be as stumped as he was and wouldn't be able to get it done.

I, of course, jumped at the offer feet first. That meant that I didn't gear up properly like I usually did. By the time I had the motor running I was covered in grease from head to toe.

When the client came to pick up his car, he paid almost double with the generous tip he added on. He had been told that he wouldn't get his car back for nearly a week, but I had it back to him in under 72 hours. That was the promised service that had earned me a job at Teller Morrow Automotive sight unseen, so I was beyond ecstatic to be able to deliver at the first opportunity that presented itself.

Now, as I said earlier, I jumped in feet first and that meant that I didn't take any or my usual precautions before I started working on a car. Instead of tying my hair back and protecting it with a baseball cap, all I did was throw on a pair of coveralls before I leaned over the hood of the car to get all of the work done.

When all was said and done, we had a very happy customer driving away with a huge smile on his face while I felt my long locks cling to my shoulders with the grease that had caked on them as I worked. I knew it would take more work to clean the engine grease out of my hair than it did to get the motor running. That was the main reason that I usually never entered the garage without having my hair secured back in a tight bun or French braids. Since moving to Charming, I had mostly been helping Gemma with office work, so the chance to actually work on a car had totally clouded my judgement and caused me not to follow my own rules for the garage.

Now the shop was closed and I was stuck, alone, to deal with my bone headedness. In reality that meant that I was now standing at the sink in the shop working the gross green and blue granulated cleanser we all normally used to clean our hands into the better part of my hair.

It wasn't an ideal solution, but I knew from past experience that none of my hair care products I had at home would work. But that was fine because I also knew that once I had the grease cleaned out that I could fix my hair with everything that I had at home. My dad teased me about all of the cosmetics and other products that now littered my bathroom, but I took it all in stride. He shaved his head to keep from showing his age with the generous amount of grey hairs that now dominated his hair line, so he didn't need much to maintain his bald head. I had hair that fell nearly to my waist, so I argued it made perfect sense that I needed more to maintain my looks than he did. Plus, I was a girl, so vanity wasn't just allowed, it was expected.

"Just fucking do your job and clean it out already," I cursed under my breath as I poured more of the granules into my hand.

"Pretty sure that cutting it out is the easiest way to make sure your hair is free of any grease."

I looked over my shoulder as I wrung the excess water out of the ends of my hair. When I saw who it was standing behind me, I laughed then teased, "Is that how you ended up with that landing strip on your head?"

"Har har. I had no idea you had such a sharp wit."

"Sharp? Oh, that's nothing. Just give me time to get more comfortable with all of you guys and then you'll get to hear just how funny I can really be."

He laughed softly and then looked much more at ease. I flipped my hair over into the sink to rinse out the cleanser that had now formed a paste in my long locks. Had I been using my brain for something other than trying to come up with witty comebacks, I would have turned on the tap before flipping my hair over because I wasn't having any luck finding the tap while I was now effectively blind.

I heard Juice laughing as I felt him touch my back softly. "Here, why don't I help you with that?"

I immediately let my hands fall to my sides and mumbled a few words of gratitude while he took over and worked at washing the cleanser out of my hair. I don't know about you, but I love the feeling of someone playing with my hair. And Juice's fingers were unbelievably masterful.

"Okay. I think I got it all out now," Juice announced after he turned off the tap.

I then felt him drape a towel over my head and started to dry my hair for me. I still had my head in the sink, so I let him continue to do all of the work. After a few minutes, I started to feel like I was getting a kink in my neck, so I was forced to still the motion of his hands. Once I felt them retreat, I wrapped the towel around my head and turned around.

"Thanks for the assist, Juice," I said with a warm smile as I continued drying my hair. He just gave me a crooked grin in reply.

After I pulled my backpack out from under the sink, I took the towel off my head. I kept some of my cosmetic bare necessities in my bag for just such an occasion. My comb was easily found, but I can't say the same for running it through the length of my hair.

Seeing my struggled caused Juice to laugh quietly at me again. "Like I said, I'm pretty sure cutting it out is the only way to be sure that all of the grease is gone for good."

"The grease being gone isn't the problem," I countered as I rifled through my bag. I pulled out a small dark brown glass bottle with a soft, cheerful noise emanating from my lips.

As I poured some of its contents into my hand, Juice said, "I'm almost afraid to ask what that is."

"It's miracle oil."

"Miracle oil?" He questioned skeptically without taking his eyes off me.

After rubbing a generous amount through my hair, concentration most of my efforts on the ends of my hair, I was finally able to comb through the entire length. That cause me to let out another involuntary happy noise that caused Juice to yet again laugh at me and my antics. I just ignored him for a few minutes while I reveled in my victory of returning my hair to a much more manageable state.

"Alright, it's actually Moroccan oil. But I still maintain that the other name fits perfectly. See?"

I made a show of combing my hair out slowly. Juice watch with a smile tugging at his lips. I swear he was about ready to bust a gut again, but something helped him to keep it contained.

"Yeah, looks like it did the trick."

I poured out a small amount into the palm of my hand then turned to him saying, "Come here."

"Why?"

I stared at him for a second then answered, "Because I asked you to?"

He simply shook his head at that uncertain sounding reply. I had started to rub my hands together to warm up the oil while I watched him watch me with a suspicious eye. He hadn't made any efforts to move away from me at all, so I decided to try another tactic.

"Alright, fine. I promise I won't hurt you. AND I promise that you WILL like it."

"I will, will I?"

I continued to nod as I watched him sit down on a stool beside the sink. All I had to do was widen my stance and I would be practically straddling his lap. My heart started to beat faster with nervous apprehension because what the hell did I think I was doing? I didn't flirt with guys from work and I sure as shit didn't flirt with ANYONE from the MC So, why was I inches away from straddling Juice's lap now?

My eyes lingered on his dark brown orbs before they drifted down to his lips. They were delectable chocolate rose color that just begged to be savored with sensuous kisses.

Juice suddenly grabbed my wrists and moved my hands further away from his head while I was focused on memorizing every minute detail of his lips. "What are you doing, Mia?"

I offered no resistance as he stilled my hands and tried to look as innocent as possible replying, "I wanted to thank you for helping me with my hair. I swear that if you don't like it, you can shave my head so that I have a matching landing strip to yours."

Juice laughed then said, "That wouldn't really make you all that popular with the guys here."

"I don't care if I'm popular with any of the other guys here," I quietly retorted with my eyes still laser focused on his lips.

I watched as his tongue unconsciously traced the inside of his lips to wet them enough that they now shined in the dim light. I had to force my eyes away from his lips when I saw the tip of his pink tongue poke out to wet his lips again because all I wanted to do was suck that tongue into my mouth to taste it.

During that interlude, Juice's grip on my wrists had slackened enough that I could move my arms freely. I gently placed my palms on the tattoos on either side of his head. As I started to massage the oil into his scalp, I felt Juice relax and relinquish the weight of his skull to my hands.

"Head tattoos… you don't see those often… they must have hurt like hell," I nearly whispered as I traced the tattoos with my fingertips.

Juice just shrugged then nonchalantly replied, "It wasn't that bad."

"Wasn't that bad," I repeated in a husky tone. "Pretty sure that's only true if you're a bad ass motherfucker…"

"No… No… I'm not…" He moaned out as I continued to trace his tattoos and massage his head.

"You aren't…?" I breathed out as a non-committal question.

Juice then placed his hands on my hips and pulled me down so that I was finally sitting, straddling his lap. My hair was still hanging loosely, so it easily fell to completely obscure his view of my face. His right hand moved up to brush my hair back and my eyes quickly found his lips again.

"Me…"

Before he could finish the second syllable of my nickname, I leaned forward and mashed my lips against his. I still had my hands on his head, so I could have forced him to stay where he was if he resisted. Not that he offered any objections at all. In fact, his hands moved up my back to press our chests together while he sucked my tongue into his mouth.

I know I moaned at feeling his breath mingle with my own, but it was silenced by someone nearly yelling out, "OH… NO! SORRY! Sorry. I thought you all had taken your girls to the clubhouse. When I saw the lights on in here, I figured… Well I guess I figured wrong. I'll… I'll just…"

Juice hugged me into his chest so that he could watch Chucky retreat out the door as he called out, "Thanks, man!"

He kept me pressed into his body until he was certain that Chucky was gone. I'm sure he would have been happy to keep me hugged tightly to himself until he felt me shaking in his arms.

Thinking that I was crying, Juice gently pushed me back by my shoulders so that he could see my face. He even brushed his right palm against my left cheek as he worriedly asked, "Mia?"

"I'm sorry. I know it isn't sexy to laugh so hard after a hot make out session, but I can't help it. Did Chucky really mistake me for a Crow Eater?"

"Well… in his defense, I probably would have done the same thing because I don't remember the last time I saw you with your hair loose like this. So… from behind I'm sure you look like any other girl that hangs out here at TM"

"True." I caressed his head then leaned in to quietly and seductively add, "But like I said before, I don't care what they think about me. I only care what you think about me, Juicy."

"Good to hear. So, they're having kind of a get together at the clubhouse. What would you say to us getting out of here, so we can have some privacy?"

"I accept that… offer."

Juice huffed out a laugh against my neck. "Talk about a mood killer."

"Don't worry, Juicy. Once we get to your place, you'll only be thinking of me… my mouth… my…"

I ended with a long sigh against his ear. His reaction was so much better than I had expected. He jumped up to his feet and tossed me over his shoulder nearly shouting, "Let's go."