Even though Chibs had told me I didn't have to go back to work until my stitches were taken out, I couldn't stay away. Gemma had already told me that I could start with helping her out with office work to ease back into everything, so I forced Dad to take me with him when he drove into the shop on my 'recovery' day five. Trust me, day four was filled with enough arguing to fill our fight quota for the year. Not that I was deluded enough to think that he and I wouldn't be butting heads again with him anytime soon. I was my father's daughter after all.

Since he was easily convinced that I would be sent home not far into the work day (that was the ace I had in the hole that I had to play to finally get him to agree to let me go back to TM), Dad loaded his motorcycle into the box of my dark blue Dodge Dakota. Don't get me wrong, there's something undeniably sensual and sexy about wrapping yourself around your man while he navigates his bike through the city streets, but I absolutely LOVED driving my truck even more. When I was behind the wheel of my baby there were NO questions about who was in charge.

And being in charge of course meant being in charge of the choice of music in the vehicle as well. I swear my dad almost had a coronary as his right-hand gripped the volume control so tightly that I was afraid he was going to break it.

"What the hell was that?" He growled out as he settled behind the wheel once the music had been silenced.

I crawled into the passenger seat and casually pulled my seatbelt over my chest replying, "I know you aren't used to it, Daddy, but that's what music sounds like. Well… at least popular music."

"That isn't music," he griped as he slipped my truck into drive.

I slowly turned the knob so that we could hear the music quietly playing once again. "Pretty sure that since the 50's this has been called Rock and Roll, even if they put a pop twist to it. The 50's? That's your era, right?"

Dad turned his eyes from the road to glare at me and say, "Watch it, Nena, or I'll have to tell your doctor that your head injury is making you hear things and say crazy gibberish."

Even though I really did try not to laugh because I didn't want to bruise Dad's ego too much, I still ended up letting a giggle pass over my lips. I then hit the button on the console to jump to the next CD in my five-disc stack. As AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell' started to play, I leaned over and kissed my dad's cheek then asked, "Better, Mr. Grumpy?"

He tried not to, but a smile tugged at the corner of his cheeks as he replied, "No."

After Dad parked my truck, Phil was at the hatch to open it and work at unloading Dad's bike. I turned and watched Rat join to help him and couldn't help but feel a little bit impressed. As far as I knew, Dad hadn't called ahead to let them know he would need some help with that and yet the two of them make short work of the task right away.

"Wow. Talk about first class service of TM Automotive," I joked.

Dad spared a glance out the back window before he shrugged and said, "Being part of the MC has its perks."

That made me laugh out loud. The smile on my dad's face told me that was his goal. But I should have known he wouldn't leave it at that because the smile didn't last long. As I started to release my seatbelt, Dad grabbed my left hand and then said with a freakishly serous look on his face, "You don't have to prove anything to anyone here, Mia. We all know that you're tough as nails, so you can take all the time you need to heal."

"That's not why I'm here, Daddy."

He turned his head and torso so that he was able to look at me straight on more easily. I placed my right hand over both of ours continuing, "They win if I don't get back into my normal routine. Work is my normal. Even if I'm not fully back to my routine, I need to do something other than moping around the house or they win."

"I understand, but…"

I leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I promise, I'll let someone know if it gets to be too much at any time today. Well, that's if Gemma hasn't already sent me home with one of the prospects driving." A small smirk tugged at his lips, so I knew I had made my point and didn't have to continue. But just because I didn't have to, didn't mean that I wouldn't. "Or Chibs and Bobby don't Mother Hen me to death. Or Tig's teasing doesn't make me laugh so hard that I pop a stitch. Or JC…"

"Alright, alright," He interrupted while trying not to laugh at my teasing. He squeezed my hand again. "I love you so much, Mia. If anything ever…"

"I love you too, Daddy. But you worry too much. I'm safer here at the garage than the President's kids are with the Secret Service. Hell, the only time I'm ever completely alone is when I'm in the bathroom." He narrowed his eyes and looked like he was going to get angry, so I didn't hesitate when I added, "Don't give me that look. I know you've been sleeping in my room in my reading chair, Dad, so you know full well that JC hasn't slept over at all."

He then released his right hand from my grip so that he could stroke my left cheekbone with his right index finger. He didn't say much about my injury anymore, instead he would just tenderly touch the left side of my face in some way to remind me of what happened, as if I could ever forget. I swallowed back some tears then quietly said, "I know… I know. But I'll be fine. Even if I hadn't put him down on my own then you and the club would have found a creative way to do it. And he would have suffered so much worse than what I did to him."

"But what if I didn't get a chance to punish him, Baby Girl? What if he…?"

"Don't what if us to death. You can't dwell on the past. It can't be changed, but it can bury you by clouding your judgment in the now." I leaned over to kiss his cheek again. "A wise man once told me that after I found out some really shitty secrets my… mother had kept from me. I've lived by your words ever since then and they've helped to keep me strong. That's how I know I'm going to be fine."

I heard him take in a deep breath and settle himself in his seat for a second. I just watched him in silence, hoping that I hadn't made the wrong move. I felt like he had been silent for ages, so I turned to look at him and say something else to him. Turns out he had been silently watching me and we both smiled softly when our eyes met.

He placed a hand on each of my cheeks and pulled my face forward to kiss my injured eyebrow. "I love you so much, Maria. No one will want to see what will happen to me if I ever lose you."

"Daddy, I… I love you too. I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

"Sure you are." I stared at him in confusion until he added, "You have work to do. You're right, we won't let them change us in any way, so today you take the first step to getting back to your life."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome. But, Nena, I WILL be checking in on you."

"I wouldn't expect anything else from you, Papi." I gave him a hug then turned to leave. Just before I slipped out of my truck, I playfully called out over my shoulder, "I'm sure JC will be more than happy to pay for lunch for you too today."

I couldn't help but to laugh when I head a soft growl get cut of when I closed the passenger side door of my truck. I was trying to behave myself when it came to teasing my dad about my relationship with JC, but sometimes I just couldn't help myself, because sometimes he just made it way too easy. Plus, I was supposed to be getting back to my old routine and teasing my dad was definitely part of my norm, so I would be doing both of us a disservice if I didn't tease him at every opportunity that presented itself.

"Mia? Wow he really did let you come in," Gemma called out before she pulled me into a tight, enthusiastic hug. "How are you feeling, Baby Girl?"

"Better than the last time you saw me. I still get headaches, but the doctor says that's normal."

"Good to hear you're doing better. Sorry about the headaches So…?"

"Mia! Welcome back!" Chucky called out accidentally interrupting Gemma. He picked up my right hand to kiss it then bowed slightly saying, "Beautiful as ever."

He then turned and made his way over to the office. I shared a look with Gemma and then we both laughed. She hugged me again then said, "Since Happy was adamant that only family was to visit at his house, the other guys, Chucky included, have been asking about you. It'll do them good to see you with their own eyes."

"It's fine Gemma. I've gotten used to the fact that everyone else's weird is Chucky's normal. Plus, it never sucks when anyone wants to call you beautiful."

"Good to hear. So… Happy also gave me some pretty explicit instructions that whatever I let you do today, it has to be easy and with no heavy lifting."

"Of course, he did. Like you and I didn't already talk about that. So…? Whose coffee order do I need to take first?"

Gemma squeezed her arm around my neck to pull me tighter to her side. "I told you that you're an important part of the team and that you are never to allow any of the guys to talk down to you. I don't care if they're just a mechanic or from the MC. There is no way that I'm going to let you be treated like a secretary, especially after what you just survived."

"Alright, alright. I hear you loud and clear, Momma Bear. What, pray tell, have you planned for me to do today? Y'know, since I can't actually so my real job and all?"

"Although I could use some help catching up on paperwork, I thought you'd have more fun helping Juice unload our latest shipment of parts."

"Oh… really? But what about no heavy lifting?"

"There will be none for you. Only things you'll be picking up are the clipboard with the manifests on it and a pen to mark of everything while you watch Juice unload everything. What do you think?"

"I think I love you and the way you think a little too much."

I put two check marks beside the description of one of the three styles of mufflers that I would be watching Rat walk over to the other side of the room. We barely made eye contact, so conversation was nearly non-existent. It was pretty much limited to him saying the name and serial number of the product he was unloading, so I knew what to check off, but that was pretty much it.

Why was I in the storage area with the prospect and not my boyfriend? I had my father to thank for that. When he saw Gemma leading me out of the garage after I said my hellos to the other mechanics to go to the storage room, he noticed who was waiting there to work with me. He then quickly 'volunteered' Rat to do the heavy lifting and redirected JC to somewhere else. I'm not sure where that was because I didn't see where they went. Trust me, I was mentally planning the pain I would never exact on my father in vivid detail while I sat in the store room.

I put the clipboard down on one of the boxes after Rat finished prattling off another serial number so that I could massage my temples with my fingertips. He noticed my lack of response of how many of that serial number should be in that box right away, but he didn't say anything until he had the product put away properly. I can't tell you how grateful I was that he didn't try to engage me immediately because the headache I was trying to soothe away hit me hard and fast.

"Uh… Me… Mia?"

I snorted in a laugh at his hesitation and regretted it instantly. Now my throat hurt along with my head. Great.

I gave myself two counts of ten with my eyes closed before I opened my eyes and said, "Just give me another minute Rat and I'll be good to go."

"Actually, I was going to suggest that we take a break. We've been at this for almost three hours now, so you could probably use a breather."

That last comment got my undivided attention. With my fingertips still pressed against my temples, I glared at the prospect and growled out, "Who got to you?"

He jumped back a couple of feet stammering out, "What?"

Rat continued to back up slowly and make his way towards the exit door without taking his eyes off me. I quickly stood up, but that caused such a head rush that I found that I couldn't move without feeling like I was going to hurl or fall over, so I opted not to move. Instead, I just stood there and tried to find my inner "Happy" and glared at him until he looked like he was ready to soil himself. "Who got to you? Dad or Gemma?"

"N-n-neither."

My eyes hardened as I spat out, "Bullshit! WHO…?"

"Hey. How's it going you two?" Jax asked in a casual tone as he gripped Rats shoulder and stepped through the open door.

"I… I was going to grab us some refreshments," Rat replied as he slipped out the door and practically ran away from the room.

That left me alone with Jax. I couldn't go full "Happy Lowman" on Jax, so I didn't even try. In face I practically lost all ability to breathe when I heard his voice let alone hold any expression. I quickly shrunk back and away from him and fell back onto my seat.

Thankfully my headache was still pounding against my skull, so I didn't have to pretend to be distracted by the blinding pain that I was feeling as Jax slipped deeper into the room.

"Mia? Are you doing okay?"

I sniffled back an involuntary tear as I replied, "I'm sorry, Boss. My head… I thought wouldn't have any issues, but now I have the worst headache on the planet. I just need a minute and then I'll be good to finish the inventory."

"Mia," he replied in a chiding tone. "When was the last time you took a painkiller?"

I pretended to be engrossed with reading the inventory list on my clipboard as I sternly replied, "Sometime yesterday."

"Yesterday? Wow. Happy, when did you start wearing a wig?" Jax questioned with an audible laugh.

I stared up at him in near terrified silence that caused Jax to cough out another laugh. (Did I mention that Jax and I really hadn't gotten a chance to bond? While I got to know practically everyone else in SAMCRO, well I didn't really have any one on one time with Clay for obvious reasons, I never really got to spend time with Jax. Why the fuck hadn't I tried to make time to hang out and get to know Jax better? Oh… Right, Tara. She was even scarier than Gemma because she had access to pharmaceuticals to kill someone and make it look 'natural' or like an 'accident' with ease.)

"Mia, I was just joking. Hey now… Are you still breathing?" Jax asked as he helped me sit back down at my previous spot as I continued to nod a little too quickly to look believable. "Are you just going to agree with everything I say?"

I almost started to nod again but stopped when I felt Jax start to stare me down. "I'm… I'm sorry. I don't really know what to say right now."

"Just looking for the truth," he answered with his hands held up over his shoulders in a sign of passive surrender.

"I can tell you the truth? Really?"

He smiled warmly answering, "Yes, really."

I then slumped in my place, but had to be sure, so I asked, "Really? And you won't tell my Dad?"

He playfully narrowed his eyes, but I missed it because I was staring at my hands that were tugging at the hem of my hoody. "Only if I feel he needs to know about what I've heard."

My head shot up as I asked in surprise. "Seriously? So, whatever I tell you, you're just going to go and tell him, right?"

"No, Mia," he countered with a teasing laugh. "No, I won't. But I have to admit that now I really want to know what's going on with you."

That's when an involuntary tear rolled down my right cheek because he sounded so unbelievably warm and sincere. "In all honesty, my head hurts and I'm having to concentrate really hard right now on not barfing all over you. All Dad has let me do for nearly a week is sleep, so I don't know why I thought I could make it through today. I'm so sorry, Sir."

"Sorry? Mia… Rat has been so afraid of pissing off Happy that he's worked five times harder than he normally does and he's put away everything in record time."

"Are you fucking with me? Really?" I questioned as I checked all the pages on the clipboard that I still had in my hand. "Shit."

"See? And if your head is bothering you that much, maybe you should go have a lay down. See if that helps before you decide to pack it in for the day."

"Yeah… Okay. I guess that could work. I'll go check with Gemma if she'd be alright with me taking a nap on the couch in her office." I slowly stood up and added, "Thanks for the advice, Sir."

"Couch? Hell no, Mia." He stopped me before I could hit the outside doorway and gripped my shoulder to turn me around to look at him. "Gemma always makes sure the girls keep the clubhouse clean, just in case. I know for a fact that they just finished changing the sheets in all the rooms today, so you should be able to nap in there. Plus, I know my bed is the most comfortable of all the rooms and no one will bother you in there, so why don't you head there to rest up?"

"No," I answered with wide eyes. "I… I can't ask that of you Pres… err… Sir… I…"

"Jax," he interrupted in an exasperated tone. "Mia, I've told you a million times to just call me Jax. And you didn't ask, I offered. Please, Mia? Tara AND Gemma will kick my ass if I don't make sure you have somewhere comfortable to rest. And don't even get me started on Happy and…"

"Happy. That's actually the best place to start. Do you happen to know where I might be able to find my loving father Si…? Jax?"

He chuckled then answered, "He's in the garage. The part he's been waiting on came in today, so he was looking at getting started on the work he wants to get done on his bike."

I felt my chest go flush with mild anger. I wanted to whine and complain that I was supposed to help my dad do the work on his bike. Hell, half of the modifications were my idea, so I had drawn up all of the diagrams and ordered all he parts. When we talked about all of it, he didn't seem as excited as I was, but I knew that wasn't the whole truth. We hadn't been able to spend much time together because of club business had been so hectic lately, so this was supposed to be our chance to hang out. But of course, you know what they say about best laid plans… Of course, this got screwed up too.

"Mia? You okay?"

I shook my head to clear it then answered, "We were supposed to do all of the work together, but I guess that isn't happening now."

"Hey…" He wrapped his arm around my shoulders to give me a side hug. "Maybe when you're feeling better you and Happy can take a trip or something. Maybe hit up Disneyland?"

"Disneyland? Really?"

"Well they do say it's the HAPPIEST place on Earth."

I groaned loudly and stepped out of his hold. "Oh my God, Jax. Are you sure you weren't the one who had their head bashed into the side of a car?"

"Hey, it got you to call me Jax without hesitation."

That made me laugh one of the first genuine, heartfelt laughs I had issued in nearly a week. "That it did." I started for the door but paused before I stepped through it to say, "Thanks, Jax. And not just for your offer, but for everything. My head's finally not pounding so hard that the pain is blinding or nauseating, it's just annoying now."

"You're welcome. I'll make sure there's a couple of bottles of water waiting for you too."

I smiled and ducked my head saying a quiet 'thanks' before I stepped out into the parking lot. I made sure to pass by my truck so that I could retrieve my backpack. While we were getting ready for work, I saw Dad put my untouched bottle of Tylenol 3s into my bag. Since getting out of the hospital sleep had been my primary activity, so the only pain killers I had taken was some Advil yesterday.

The garage was on the way to the clubhouse, which made it easy for me to step to check in with my dad. I found him sitting on a stool beside his bike, glaring so intensely at a piece of paper that I was almost expecting it to burst into flames.

A vivid image of the page burning in his hold as my dad calmly watched he flames consuming the paper flashed into my mind's eye. I'm sure he wouldn't flinch and would just smile softly as he watched the page slowly turn into ash right before his eyes.

"Mia?" Dad called out, sounding like it wasn't the first time he had said it. "Baby Girl? Are you alright?"

I shook my head to try to clear the scene that had been playing away. Of course, he misread that action. He was on his feet and across the room in the blink of an eye. He caught my face in both of his hands and started to inspect every inch of my exposed flesh to check for any new wounds or signs of injury.

"Mia? What happened, Baby Girl?"

"What? Nothing... nothing's happen, Daddy. Why do you ask?"

He smoothed back the stray hairs that had escaped my bun answering, "You shook your head no when I asked if everything was alright."

I hugged him tight and stifled a laugh into his shoulder. "Not 'no', Daddy. I was just trying to clear my head because this headache is really kicking my ass."

"Oh, Baby Girl..." He kissed my hair and rubbed my back in between my shoulder blades. "Let me get cleaned up and I'll take you home."

"No, Daddy, that's okay." I felt him tense up under my hands, so I pushed back on his chest to allow me to look him in the eyes. "Jax came to check on me just a few minutes ago. When I told him about my headache, he suggested I take a nap. I just wanted to check in with you before heading to the clubhouse to do that." Dad's eyes widened ever so slightly, but I didn't give him a chance to voice his concern. "He said that the girls just changed all of the sheets and cleaned everything up and that I would be most comfortable in his room. So, I'm going to take his advice and lay down and if I don't feel better after that, then I'll head home."

"Ah... Yeah, you should." He leaned down and kissed my stitches. I thought he was going to say I love you or something else about my well-being, but instead he called over his shoulder, "Juice!"

JC appeared beside my dad replying, "Hey Hap. What's up?" He finally noticed me standing there with my dad's arm wrapped protectively around me. A flurry of emotions passed over his face. First, was joy and happiness, but they quickly morphed into fear and mistrust. "Hey Mia. Is...? Is everything alright?"

I let go of my dad so I could take a couple of steps to hug JC. "You two worry too much. I just have a nasty headache, but nothing for either of you to worry about. I was just telling Dad that I was ordered by Jax to take a nap."

"You were ordered?" JC asked in a thoroughly confused, somewhat disbelieving voice.

I couldn't help but to laugh at the horrified look on his face. "No, not ordered. He merely made the suggestion and I'm happy to comply with it."

"That sounds more like him." He leaned down as I went up on tip toes to accept a kiss from him. He quickly remembered where we were (and more importantly who was watching) and place a soft kiss on my cheek instead. "Sweet dreams, Mia. Hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks, JC."

I gave him one more tight hug and then turned back to my dad. He didn't look impressed, not that that was new or out of the norm. I swear he got his name the same way that fat guys ear the name 'Tiny'. I swear if he was one of Snow White's dwarves he would be "Broody". Or a Smurf, he'd be "Angry Smurf". Basically, anything but 'Happy' felt right for him.

I moved to reclaim my backpack from Dad, but he pulled it back so that it was out of my reach. I felt myself start to scowl, but I never got to voice those complaints.

Instead, I watched my dad move around me so that he could pass the bag to Juice saying, "Juice? Why don't you escort Mia to the clubhouse?"

"Happy?" "Dad?" JC and I questioned at the same time.

"Mia you don't know where you're supposed to go to rest, but Juice does." He turned and made direct eye contact with JC then added in a severely uncompromising tone, "I'll give you ten minutes and then you don't leave my sight until she wakes up. Understood?"

"Yes. Yes, Sir!" JC and I once again answered at the same time.

I wrapped my arms tightly around my dad's neck and almost tearfully exclaimed, "Thank you, Daddy! I love you so much."

"I love you too, Baby Girl. Have a good sleep."

I then ran over to JC's side and tucked myself under his arm and into his left side. Much like when I was on his bike, I felt like I fit perfectly under his arm. When I tucked myself into his side, it felt like we were two pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly together.

"Are you sure this isn't causing your headache?" JC asked as he tugged gently on my hair tie to release my hair from being in its tight bun.

I let out a soft moan that almost turned into a purr when I felt his fingers comb through the length of my locks. As my hair flowed over his arm and down my back, his fingers found the back of my skull and started to massage my head. I don't know if his logic was sound or not, but the sensation of his fingers raking through my hair definitely helped to take my mind off the headache that had nearly incapacitate me just a few minutes ago.

Chibs stepped up to Happy's side as JC and I slowly made our way to the clubhouse and quietly said, "That was a nice olive branch, Hap."

Happy just grunted out a noise of disgust causing Chibs to chuckle. He gripped Happy's shoulder with the full intention of continuing to tease his Brother, but then something in the yard caught his attention and all joked were silenced and forgotten.

"Huh..." Chibs mused out loud.

Happy turned just his eyes to look at the Scot and asked with a bit of a snarl on his lips, "Problem?"

Chibs shook his head then laughed to himself. "Sorry, just had the most vivid case of déjà vu. It's nothing."

That comment really caught Happy's attention. He turned his eyes back to his daughter and her… and Juice. It only took a couple of seconds before he saw it too.

"Motherfucker," he growled out softly to himself. Happy took a couple of large steps out of the garage and called out, "TEN MINUTES! Don't make me have to come and find you!"

When Happy turned to walk back into the garage, he found Chibs biting his lip to keep himself from bursting out laughing.

"That had to have been the night they got together. I knew I should have followed them. I KNEW I should have told all you assholes that she was my daughter and to keep your hands to yourself."

JC and I jumped at the sound of my dad's angry voice calling out from behind us. His hand instantly fell out of my hair and away from my body. Before he could push me away, I caught his hand and wrapped myself around his arm. After I felt the tension in his arm ease up enough that I could move his arm without hurting him, I wrapped it around my shoulders so I could hug him with my right arm around his waist.

"He can't be that mad at us, he's still letting you escort me to Jax's room," I commented just over a whisper once I had my head resting on his shoulder.

He remained completely silent until we were inside the clubhouse, but even then it was it just to give me mumbled directions to the room. I would have been cross with him, but he had moved his arm to my waist and hugged me closer into his side. Feeling his warmth and strength pressed against my side spoke his true feelings to me louder than any words found in any language in the history of man.

When we got to the room, JC put my backpack down on a dresser and pulled out my prescription bottle. "Do you need me to get you a glass of water so that you can take these?"

I picked up one of the unopened bottles of water I found beside the bed answering, "Jax made sure to have someone bring some in before we got here so that base is covered."

"Oh? Good to hear." He unscrewed the cap on the pill bottle in his hands and scowled down at the contents inside. "Mia? You haven't taken any of these yet, have you? Like at all."

I kept my eyes glued on the bottle in my hands as I shrugged and shook my head 'No' as my response.

"Mia! Why not?" He asked as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "The doctor prescribed them to help you while you heal. Why haven't you taken any of them yet?"

I shrugged again, but this time I also said, "I... I don't really like the way they make me feel."

"What do you mean by that? How do they make you feel?"

He carefully pulled the bottle out of my hands and placed it back where I had found it. Once my hands were empty, he turned me around so I could cuddle into his chest.

"Mia? Please… Please talk to me."

I placed my cheek on his chest so that I could hear the steady beat of his heart. "They make me feel really gross and groggy."

He held a pill up to my lips quietly asking, "Isn't that the point? Especially if you're going to take a nap?"

"Yeah… I guess… maybe."

I moved my head so that he could feed the pill to me instead of taking it out of his hand to do it myself. I remained still when I heard him crack open one of the bottles of water. Since he seemed to be taking such a good job of taking care of me, I decided I would just let him continue to do so with nothing but total compliance from me. He placed the open bottle to my lips and I opened them to allow him to pour some water in my mouth to wash the pill down my throat.

"There, now was that so hard?"

I hugged my arms around his waist answering, "Degree of difficulty had nothing to do with my resistance."

I then leaned back and tipped my head back to look up into JC's face. He immediately started to bend at the waist and lean down towards me, so I pushed up on my tiptoes to meet him halfway. When our lips touched an electric spark ran through us, just like the first time I dared to sample a taste of his lips.

He must have missed me as much as I had been missing him because his hands quickly tangled themselves into my hair to help him dominate the embrace. There were very few things on this Earth that felt better than JC taking charge, especially in the bedroom.

I felt his hands trail down my back and rest a hand on each of my butt cheeks. When I didn't move my body beyond the contact of our lips, his hands clenched my cheeks a couple of times to get my attention. As our lips continued their rhythmic dance against each other, I moved my hands up to his shoulders to help him lift me off the ground.

As soon as he felt my legs wrap around his waist, JC took a couple of steps forward to set me on the dresser to help lessen our height difference so that we could be more comfortable. I gasped in a breath when I felt him press himself into me because I wanted us to be completely naked right now so that I could fully experience the lust-filled excitement that touch and motion of his body promised.

His lips moved to my neck while my hands moved down to his waist. My movements were so frantic that my hands were fumbling when I tried to get a grasp on anything and I couldn't get a proper grip on his fly. Not that I would let that deter or slow me down at all.

Just as I was finally able to get a proper hold on his zipper, a horrible beeping noise sounded from JC's back pocket. He jumped back then as if touching me had burned him or something. I stared at him blankly as he stumbled back a couple of steps to increase the square footage between us without offering me any explanation.

"What the…?" I mumbled while I watched him pull out his phone to silence the alarm.

JC gave me a crooked grin answering, "Seven minute warning."

"Seven…? So that means we still have three minutes," I declared cheerfully as I jumped off the set of drawers, fully intent on reclaiming his lips to finish what we had started.

JC dodged my advances and easily made a break for the door once he was past me. "No, we don't. You need to go to bed and I HAVE to get to wherever Happy is right now so that he can see that I'm not in here with you doing whatever weird shit he thinks I'd do to you while you sleep. Now… Do you need anything else to help you sleep?"

I undid my belt and peeled my jeans down my legs answering, "You wrapped around me to keep me warm?"

"Mia…"

The pain I heard in his voice forced me to abandon my previous course of action. Instead, I just kicked off my shoes and finished taking ff my jeans without any flourish and said, "Alright… No… Nothing. After I get my bra off, I should be comfortable enough to fall asleep."

He let out a soft groan and I'm sure he thought I was still putting a lot of effort to try to tease him. I pulled my shirt over my head so that I could remove my bra without any obstructions. I had to laugh to myself when I heard him let out another strangled groan. See? I didn't have to TRY to tease him, not when it came to me so easily. Plus, I had turned my back on him to get undressed, so I should get a lot of 'good girlfriend' points for that.

After I put my t-shirt back on, I pulled back the cover so that I could climb into the bed and said, "I think your three minutes are almost up, so you should get going. Could you please turn out the lights when you leave?"

"Of course. Sweet dreams, Mia."

"Thanks, JC."