"What?"

"You look a little pale...and green." She gives me a sympathetic smile.

"Not a fan of doctors."

"That's okay. She doesn't have to examine you, just me."

I tap my medical file against my leg. "Brought my stuff just in case."

Piper gazes at me with adoration shining in her pretty eyes. "You don't know how much that means to me."

Before I can say anything, the door opens and the doctor walks in.

"Good to see you again, Piper." The doctor looks at me and holds out her hand. "Hi there, I'm Dr. Stevens."

"Jase-Jason Simmons." We shake hands and do a bit more of small talk before she walks to the counter and washes her hands.

"Never can be too careful with a patient," she says by way of explanation.

Fine with me if she wants to protect Piper from getting someone else's nasty germs. While she examines Piper and asks questions, I flip through my file without actually reading anything.

"What are your concerns?" Dr. Stevens says, and I'm back in the conversation.

"We're concerned about her attacks when we're...ah, intimate," I say.

The doctor nods. "It's more common than you think. How bad was the last attack?"

"Marginally better than the one I had several months ago," Piper says, and I slice my gaze to her.

"This was when you moved out of your parents' house against their wishes, correct?"

Piper nods. "Yes."

Well, that sure as shit would have been nice to know, but when she moved in with my sister, I was still getting my crap together.

"I've never been intimate with anyone before, and I'm worried that my nerves are triggering the attacks," Piper continues, her cheeks flushing. "Jase is very attentive. He's helped me through both attacks."

"May I read your file?" Dr. Stevens asks as her dark gaze lands on me.

"Sure." I hand it to her.

"Piper informed the nurse you had brought it with you. I have to say that I'm impressed that you went to so much trouble."

"Uh, thanks."

Dr. Stevens eyes me over the open file. "Not many men do. Or women, for that matter. Regular testing. Very good." She finishes reading through the paperwork and hands it back to me. "First thing, you need to quit smoking."

"Done."

Piper's eyes widen. "Really?"

I nod. "Yeah."

Dr. Stevens starts talking again. "Second, Piper, you need to do breathing treatments before the two of you engage in sexual activities. I understand that doing so puts a bit of a damper on spontaneity, but until you can get this under control...if you can get this under control, preventative measures must be taken."

"Not a problem." I look straight at Piper. "Swear it's not. I'll help you in whatever way I can."

Piper's look of relief touches a part of my heart that I didn't know existed anymore.

"He did some research about asthma and helped me with my inhaler both times I had an attack," Piper says, pride so obvious in her voice that I feel my cheeks heat. She makes me sound so...good.

"Your place of residence-how old is it and is it possible that mold could be a problem?"

"House was built in the early 1900s. Lots of hidden passageways." I give Piper a meaningful look. "She had her first attack after being in one."

"Stay out of those," Dr. Stevens says. "Dust aggravates asthma. Honestly, the entire house could be what's aggravating your asthma."

"Does that mean I have to move out?" Piper asks, a frown on her lips.

"No," I practically shout. Piper and Dr. Stevens both look at me. "What I mean is that we'll find a way to get out all that dust. I had a portion of the house completely renovated a couple of months back, so maybe she can move in there?"

"You can certainly give it a try, but if things get worse, or if they don't improve"-Dr. Stevens turns her attention back to Piper-"you'll need to seriously consider moving out. As your doctor, I recommend it."

Piper and Dr. Stevens talk more in depth about managing asthma, about breathing treatments and exercise as well as her diet. The more they talk, the more I worry about Piper. I never knew that her asthma is so bad that she has to do breathing treatments twice a month.

Once she's finished with her appointment, we walk to her car. I have my arm around her waist, holding her snug against me. When we get to her BMW, I'm reluctant to let her go, so I wrap both arms around her.

"That was a lot to take in, wasn't it?" she asks. "I guess a huge commitment, huh?" The uncertainty in her tone is a straight punch to the gut. She's scared I'm going to bail on her.

"If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be," I remind her. "And what would it say about me as a man if I couldn't handle taking care of my woman?"

An elegant brow arches. "Your woman?"

"Yeah," I say roughly, and I kiss her lips softly.

"Well, then that makes you my man. Is there anything I can do for you? I feel like this relationship is becoming extremely one-sided."

"You keep doing you-that's more than I could ever ask for."

She shakes her head, a shy smile on her plump lips. "When you say stuff like that, it makes me feel...wanted. I've never felt that way before."

Fuck her parents. Fuck mine, too. Abandonment doesn't give a damn about your socioeconomic status. "I want you very bad. In fact, how about we go home and do a little breathing treatment? I don't have to be to work until-"

My phone rings. It's Emmett's ring tone. He knew not to call or text me while I was at Piper's appointment, so it has to be an emergency. Pulling it out of my pocket, I glance at the screen.

Emmett: We are slammed, dude. Need to hire another artist.

Me: Do you need me to come in?

Emmett: No. I want you to keep playing hide the pickle with Piper while customers get pissed off and leave.

Me: Be there in fifteen minutes.

"You need to go, don't you?" Piper says.

"Emmett will cry if I don't."

She laughs. "Can't have that. I have to pick up my prescription anyway. Dr. Stevens upped the dosage to see if that helps."

"I can tell Emmett no. Let him sweat it out a bit." Though he does have a point about hiring another artist. We need someone who can do piercings, too.

Piper gives me a playful push. "Go to work. I'll be there soon."

"And tonight?" It's her choice about the next step we take, but my body is practically vibrating with need. Has been for weeks. Months. Years.

She lowers her gaze, then peers up at me through her dark lashes. "I want to be with you, but I'm nervous."

"Roller-coast ride, remember?"

"I know...it's not the ride I'm afraid of, it's my reaction to it."

The wind stirs, gently lifting her dark hair that's around her face. Sun shines on us in the parking lot. White, puffy clouds float in an endless blue sky. The day is almost as beautiful as she is. Funny how I never noticed the beauty of a day until I was relegated to only seeing an hour of it each day. Now I stop to admire it.

"If you want to wait, we'll wait." I have my entire life for a woman like her. What's a few more days or weeks?

"I have to work tonight anyway, since I switched my hours at the center to go to this appointment."

"How late?"

"Ten or eleven p.m."

My phone starts ringing again, and I know it's Emmett, but it bothers me for her to be out so late. "I know you can't give me the address, but can you at least assure me that the location isn't as bad as when you worked at Head's Up?"

She nods. "I'm safe."

A part of me wants to follow her to work one day, but that would betray her trust. I can't have that. No matter how much I want to keep her safe, I want her to trust me even more.

"Good. I'll see you tonight. Maybe you can text me when you get to work and right before you leave?"

"That I can do." Her gaze lifts to mine. Her pretty eyes are shiny. "Thank you, Jase...for everything."

I have no idea what to say to her in that moment, so I do what I do best and kiss her with everything I feel for her.

Chapter 10.

Jase

"If you weren't my friend, I'd beat your ass for blocking me," I growl, slinging my helmet into my booth. "Be glad that Piper didn't see your insulting-as-fuck text."

"So sorry that running a business interferes with your sex life," Emmett deadpans.

I have to laugh at that. His humor is one of the reasons I keep him around. "Fair enough. Where do you need me?"

"Sign some checks and get Piper's name added to the account at the bank. They need your permission so it will be legal and shit."

"That's a first."

Emmett strides to me, one of his familiar shit-eating grins on his face. "By the way, you'll never guess who's back in town."

"You're right, I won't, because I don't keep up on the latest gossip."

My buddy winces. "Yeah, I keep forgetting you haven't been out that long."

Isn't that nice for him? I don't have that luxury. "So who's back in town?"

"Hunter Sloan."

"Now you're just fucking with me," I say, punching Emmett in the shoulder.

Growing up, I idolized Hunter Sloan. A couple of years older than me, he fought in an underground fighting ring, starting when he was only fifteen. Even back then, he was big for his age-solid as fuck and could throw a mean left hook. I knew he learned how to fight dirty because his old man used to beat the shit out of him and his mom, and he had to find a way to defend himself.

Then one day out of the blue, his old man ups and leaves town. Pretty fucking sure Hunter had something to do with it. A year after that, Hunter and his mom left town, too. Six months after that I went to jail. Never heard from him again.

"Best part," Emmett begins with a grin and shake of his head, "you won't fucking believe what he does now."

"Hit me." Was he in the NFL, professional MMA fighter, WWE? My mind sorts through all the possible occupations a badass like Hunter can have now.

"A cop."

"He's a fucking cop?" That's a first. I don't know of anyone who grew up around here who became a cop. Might as well draw a target on your back and wait for the arrows.

"Oh, yeah, and I heard he's looking for a place on this side of town."

"Death wish," I mutter. I can't believe Hunter is a cop.

"Bro, I hate to break it to you, but the neighborhood is changing, like for the good. Haven't you noticed all the revitalization projects?"