Fabricating Jada

by Marie, Vanessa

  So we’re back to that, huh?

  DeAnna cut in on my thoughts. "So, Luis said the class is going smoothly and he will finish up this week so you can get back to work on the deuce coupe. Miguel said he's fallen behind a bit on some of the grunt work."

  Jesse cut her off. "He won't be after today. Jane, be ready in ten."

  My head whipped in his direction. "What? I get to go today?" I felt like a little kid being told they could go to the birthday party they'd been dying to attend.

  "One more day isn't going to make a difference. Make sure your arm is wrapped and you have long sleeves on while working for the next few weeks." He finished off his coffee and rinsed the mug in the sink.

  "Long sleeves?" DeAnna protested.

  He looked at me and ignored her completely. "I want it covered, got it?"

  I nodded happily, drank my coffee entirely too fast, and sprinted upstairs to get my stuff.

  Ten minutes later, we were on our way to the shop; nothing about the night before was said.

  The iconic spiderwebbed gates were swarming with people. Jesse's fingers tightened on the steering wheel until they were almost white. "These people need jobs."

  I snorted. "They have one. Selling pictures of your pretty face to the highest bidder."

  My face flushed when I realized what I said.

  As he parked around the back of the building, a small smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. "You think I'm pretty huh?"

  "Oh, like you didn't know?" I said and got out of the truck.

  Miguel appeared out of nowhere and picked me up in a bear hug. "Valley Girl, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

  I caught his wince when he saw my eye, but he never said a word about it. Laughing and wincing myself, from the pressure, I ignored the pain and squeezed him back. "I missed your pretty face too!"

  Jesse scoffed and muttered, "Guess you tell that to all the boys, don't you?" as he walked by us.

  Miguel's face twisted in confusion as he glanced from Jesse to me. "She's my wife, she's allowed to tell me I'm pretty," Miguel hollered, making me laugh.

  Some kind of low growl came from Jesse but I couldn't hear anything else he muttered.

  "Your wife huh? I don't remember you asking." My lips pulled into an amused grin.

  We walked into the shop through the large open bay door and over to the two stalls he worked out of. "I figured it was kind of assumed when I didn't rat you out for being a dirty eavesdropper, remember?"

  I threw my head back and laughed. I'd completely forgotten about him calling me his wife back then. It felt good to laugh after all the stress I'd been carrying around.

  "So, what are we working on?" I asked and rubbed my hands back and forth.

  The charismatic grin that made his eyes dance with delight took over his face. "We, my love, are working on a thirty-two deuce coupe for now. Jesse has some kind of project looming that we're waiting on the green light for … so in the meantime we're doing all the grunt work on the frame and I could use some serious help."

  I set my backpack and tool bag down near his toolbox and slid on my safety glasses. "Point me in the right direction."

  After he pointed out all the spots he needed me to grind down, I pulled on my work gloves, making sure the sleeves of my shirt were tucked into them.

  Grinders were fun and created the best smell on the planet. I mean who didn't want to inhale metal particle dust? Pfft. At the first point of contact, sparks flew all around me, and I couldn't contain my grin. I was home. This was where I was always meant to be, doing what I was supposed to do.

  Miguel and I worked in tandem. He welded while I resurfaced everything behind him.

  We stopped for a short break around lunch time.

  "How's the arm feeling?" he asked as we sat on an eight-foot Snap-On toolbox.

  "Surprisingly not bad at all. I think the antibiotics helped a lot."

  He nodded and took a bite of the burger one of the guys had given us. "Glad to hear it. You don't know how boring it was around here without you."

  I cut my eyes to him in disbelief, grateful he didn't bring up what my face looked like. "I highly doubt that. Look at the circus going on outside."

  "Don't get me started on that crap. On behalf of everyone here, none of us believe any of it. We've seen you two go at it, but we know it's all bullshit."

  Swallowing hard, I diverted my eyes away from him, not really sure how to respond.

  The lines had been blurred between Jesse and I, and the way Miguel seemed to see right through me, I was afraid he'd take one look at my face and know everything.

  He nudged my shoulder. "Hey, you doing okay with all of this?"

  I gave him a half shrug. "I don't really care about anything that's been happening. I just want to work. That's the only reason I'm here."

  Jesse's voice cut through the air. "Then maybe you should get back to it," he snapped.

  Hurt seemed to pass in his eyes and then vanished, and I didn't know why.

  "We've only been on break for like ten minutes." My jaw tensed at his implication we hadn't been working.

  "When you're on a deadline, you don't take breaks unless you have to piss." He stood with his arms folded over his chest with a raised brow.

  "You're such a pig." I hopped off the toolbox and glared at him.

  His mouth curved into a satisfied grin. "A cliff jumping pig to be exact."

  I laughed, and the tension in the air dissipated. When I'd discovered the name he'd entered into my phone, everything had been so chaotic and stressful—I'd forgotten all about it.

  Miguel looked back and forth between us. "Am I missing something?"

  "You're not the only one with inside jokes," Jesse said with a devilish look.

  Their pissing match was making me uncomfortable. "While you two measure whose is bigger, I'm going to get back to work."

  As I was pulling my gloves back on, Jesse's hot whispered breath tickled my neck. "We don't have to measure to know how big I am, do we?"

  I turned on my heel and smacked him across the stomach, with my cheeks flaming red. "I can't believe you just said that."

  He chuckled a deep hearty laugh and walked up the stairs to his office, keeping his eyes on me the entire time.

  When Miguel touched my elbow, I jumped. "What the hell was that?"

  My cheeks flamed red as I looked everywhere but at him. "Nothing."

  "Didn't look like nothing to me."

  I cut my eyes to his and chewed on the inside of my cheek, afraid to say anything else. All I knew was I enjoyed the playful side of him more than the butthead side, even if he was crass.

  "I've never seen him joke around like that before—I don't know what's really going on between you two … but I can get on board with it."

  "Nothing's going on." I chewed on the inside of my cheek and turned my guilty face away from him.

  He gave me a knowing smile as he handed me my grinder back. "Who are you trying to convince more? You or me?"

  That question bounced around in my mind the rest of the afternoon.

  When we got home, Jesse disappeared upstairs right away. The only thing I had on my mind was a hot shower. Every part of me was covered in grime, and not only did I feel gross, but I needed to stay on top of keeping my arm clean.

  DeAnna met me in the kitchen holding an overnight bag.

  "Where are you off to?" I asked as I grabbed an apple out of the fridge.

  A slow smile spread across her hot red lips. "I have a hot date tonight and I won't be back afterward."

  It wasn't a surprise that she'd have a boyfriend, but the way she spilled the beans about everything else I was surprised she hadn't mentioned him before.

  "So who's the lucky guy?" My brow lifted with wonder.

  She gave me a coy smile and gave me a dismissive shrug. "Oh, you know—someone you may know—someone you may not."

  I narrowed my eyes at her, assessing just how bubbly she seemed over this guy. Jesse walked into the
kitchen and dropped a bomb. "Give it a rest, everyone knows you're fucking Nunez. Now, where's my iPad?"

  DeAnna's mouth gaped open so far you could have caught flies in it, and I was pretty sure mine looked the same. Dee and Miguel? It made sense if I thought about it—but wouldn't it have bothered her how much he flirted with me? I felt like a jerk for allowing it.

  "How-how did you know?" she stammered.

  Jesse shot her his famous ‘are you stupid’ expression. "You two are not exactly stealthy and no one gives a shit."

  Her cheeks were stained pink. "I can't believe you knew all this time and didn't say anything."

  He shrugged and walked about the kitchen, looking in one of her bags that was on the counter. "The only person it's going to affect is Jane, since you know she's his wife and all." Jesse's eyes danced with mischief. If he would have been closer, I would have punched him.

  My mouth snapped shut. "I-I didn't know, Dee."

  She waved me away. "Oh, it's fine. I know he's a flirt. He told me you'd be his wife and I'd be his dirty little mistress. I'm all for that." The silky tone of her voice and faraway look in her eyes made me chuckle.

  Jesse groaned in disgust as he pulled his iPad from her bag. "On that note. I'm leaving. Don't get knocked up."

  DeAnna laughed and scooped her bags off the counter. "Well now that you all know—I'm going to Miguel's and I'll see you tomorrow."

  She pulled me in for a quick hug and darted out the door.

  As I ate my apple, leaning against the counter—the more I mulled over those two together, the more I could see it. It was funny how Jesse already knew though. For once he'd turned the tables on her, and I liked that.

  After throwing my core in the trash, I headed upstairs for a much needed shower.

  After my shower, I redressed my arm and was brave enough to look in the mirror. My eye wasn't swollen as much as it was colorful. The strip of dark purple and blue to the side of it made me look like I'd gotten into a fight with eye shadow and lost.

  Jesse's voice yelled down the hall but I couldn't hear what he'd said. So I opened my door and stuck my head into the hall to listen.

  "Jada!" he yelled.

  I sprinted for his room without any hesitation. "What's wrong?" I asked.

  What I found was Jesse lounging back against the headboard of his bed, looking at his iPad—shirtless—no obstructions covering his colored arms or the dusting of hair that covered his beautifully naked chest or his rock hard abs.

  The honey in his eyes flickered with interest as he looked at me. "Nothing's wrong … Are you wearing my shirt, again?"

  I glanced down at myself, clad in his T-shirt and a short pair of sleep shorts, as heat crept up my neck. Trying to shrug it off with nonchalance even though it had been a conscious choice. Because well—the shirt smelled like him from the night before, and I stupidly wanted to be wrapped in his scent again. I huffed and lied my butt off. "It's comfortable!"

  It really was even if that wasn't the full truth. The cotton was so worn, it was soft against my skin.

  "I know it's comfortable, it's my favorite shirt." His eyes drank me in from head to toe.

  "Well, I know why now." My lame attempt at an argument failed as his gaze continued to sweep over me.

  I propped my hand on my hip. "What did you call me in here for?"

  His face split into a wide grin. The kind of grin I'd never seen before. "I've got something to show you. Come here." He waved me over to him and patted the bed beside him.

  The excitement was evident in his voice and on his face. I crawled across the bed to sit next to him. "What is it?"

  He passed me the iPad, and I could feel his heated stare on me as I read the email he had on the screen.

  My eyebrows rose in amazement. "Jess, this is incredible. One of your designs got accepted for SEMA. That's huge. Congratulations!"

  I rubbed his bicep to show him how excited I was for him. He shook his head slightly, his face still alight with his own excitement. "It's not my design they accepted for the show."

  "What do you mean it's not your design?" I asked, lowering my gaze back to the screen in confusion.

  He reached over and swiped to the right. "It's yours," he breathed, his voice like silk. I expelled all the air from my lungs and pulled the iPad closer. My design stared back at me. Only it wasn't my design exactly. It was a 3D rendering with a Jesse flare. I gasped in surprise and raised my eyes to find him still studying me. "You added to my design?"

  Jesse nodded. "I hope that's okay? There were some functional things I needed to tweak and I added a little bit of my style to it so it could be considered a Valentine product, but the rest of it is you."

  "It's perfect," I whispered. Emotions plowed into me like a wrecking ball. The fact he'd submitted something to the largest custom car show in the world, because he believed in me—made my chest expand with love.

  Love. Holy crap I was in love with Jesse Valentine.

  He pulled me from the realization when he mumbled, "You're perfect—for me," and pulled the iPad from my hands tossing it across the bed. His fingers tenderly traced the lines of my face before he pulled me onto his lap, with me straddling him. "We make a good team. This proves it."

  My body ached for his touch despite my words and feelings. "All we do is fight."

  "That's not all we do," he said and pulled my face to his, nipping at my bottom lip before claiming my mouth. His kiss was slow and thoughtful, sending shivers throughout me.

  My hands had a mind of their own, tracing a line up his broad chest to his shoulders and into his hair. Jesse peppered kisses down my jaw to my collarbone, making my skin dance with electricity from his touch. Every sexual instinct I had told me to get rid of any clothing left between us. I wanted him in a way I wasn't completely allowing myself to before. He grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, tossing it to the floor. "You're beautiful," he breathed, tracing my bare skin with his fingertips.

  I snorted, knowing what my face looked like. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

  "I'm not, but I'm about to make you feel very good." He took my nipple into his mouth, causing my hips to buck against his straining bulge.

  Wanting to feel the silkiness of his shaft against me like I had in the bathroom that day, I tugged at his waistband. Jesse flipped us over so I was beneath him and slid his pants off. My hands cupped his butt, pulling him toward me for the much needed friction. His shaft rubbed against the thin material of my shorts.

  "These need to come off, now," he groaned against my lips.

  Lifting my hips enough to get them off, I shoved them down my legs as anticipation stirred low in my belly.

  Jesse groaned again as the crown of his large shaft pressed against the wet need of my core. I sucked in a ragged breath kissing down his razor sharp jawline. It took me a minute to figure out that the crinkle sound was Jesse unwrapping a condom. I couldn't stop myself from reaching down and helping him roll it on. The girth of him was almost too big for me to fit my hand around as I stroked him before guiding him to my entrance.

  His eyes watched me, half lidded with a myriad of emotions passing through his gaze as he nudged my legs open wider. The moment he pushed inside of me we let out a guttural groan in unison. I threw my head back in satisfaction as he slowly moved to fill me. It took a minute for me to adjust to his size as I clenched around him. "Are you okay?" he asked in a deep rasp.

  My answer was to pull his mouth to mine in a desperate kiss, as I bucked my hips against his.

  His rhythm started slow and built to a furious pace as our bodies slammed together.

  The way our bodies synced in rhythm, I wasn't sure how much more pressure we could take. Reaching between us he hooked my leg over his shoulder, thrusting even harder. My clit throbbed. My body was ready for release. As soon as his fingers rubbed against the swollen bundle of nerves, my resolve shattered and I climaxed, bucking and clenching around him.

  "Jada," he growled
against my lips a few moments later, as he pumped hard chasing his own release.

  Jesse's body went rigid over mine as a guttural moan escaped his lips. He bucked against me before burying his face in my neck. I traced the lines of his back with my fingertips, still trying to catch my own breath.

  "That was better than I imagined," he said in a deep rasp as he rolled to my side.

  I raised a brow at him, surprised at what he'd just said. "You've imagined sleeping with me." It was more of a rhetorical statement than even a question.

  He raised himself up on one elbow. "Every day since the second I met you and you yelled at me." He pressed his lips to mine for a quick kiss, then disappeared into the bathroom.

  When he came back, he offered me a warm washcloth and pulled me against his chest when I was finished cleaning up. "You hated me when you first met me," I argued.

  "No. I was attracted to you when we first met but I didn't think you were for real. Then I saw that you not only came back, but the kind of work you put out and your unwillingness to quit even after you were hurt … that really made me take notice."

  It was obvious we remembered the beginning differently. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "You sure have a funny way of showing it."

  His fingers skimmed down my side and watched me with amusement. "I wasn't an asshole just to be an asshole."

  "Right. You did it all for my benefit." I rolled my eyes again even though I was fighting a smile.

  "I knew you had something in you and I wanted to push you. Don't think I didn't hear all the shit the guys said about you in the shop and the things they said that you didn't hear. I figured if you could stand up to me and hold your own, nothing could keep you down. When I understood the more I pissed you off, the harder you worked—I couldn't help it."

  Part of me wanted to hit him for treating me like crap for so long—and part of me wanted to kiss him for seeing my potential and pushing me toward it. I chose the latter and kissed him.

  Jesse growled as he pulled away. The growl that used to annoy me, made my body come alive again.

  "Don’t start something you're not willing to finish," he said in a raspy tone.