Wreck My World

by Victoria Ashley

  “Are the brakes good to go on that Honda?”

  I nod at Kevin from the doorway of his office. It’s been just the two of us here for the last hour, but knowing that it’s almost time for Dakota’s shift to start, it’s had me looking at the back door every so often, waiting for it to open. “It’s ready for pickup. I parked it around back.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear. I’ll give Harold a call and let him know.”

  The sound of voices coming from the hallway now has me focusing my attention out of the office to see Dakota and Reese walking side by side. My first instinct is to rip Reese’s head off, because he and I both know he wants Dakota. Instead, I clench my jaw, watching as he manages to get closer to her with each step like the prick can’t walk straight.

  Dakota hasn’t noticed me looking at her yet, but the moment her gaze meets mine, I’m the only thing she can focus on. Reese is talking, going on about something, but she stopped acknowledging him to stare at me.

  The closer she gets, the stronger the urge to back her against the wall and kiss her becomes. I’ve barely been able to think straight since leaving her this morning.

  “Is that Dakota?” Kevin questions, pulling my attention back to him.

  “Her and Reese,” I say, trying not to sound too annoyed by that fact.

  “Good timing. I have a project that I’m going to need them both for. It’s a two-person job.”

  I stiffen at the idea of them working so closely together. The last thing I want to see when I can’t be close to her myself is Dakota being close to another man. That’s not something I can handle after last night. “I’ll help her.”

  “I need you on that Suzuki. It needs to be out the door by tomorrow, and you’re my fastest mechanic other than Dakota.” He stands from his chair and staples some papers together before looking up. “They’ll get it done.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Yeah. Reese is my best car mechanic. They work well together.”

  When I cross my arms and turn around, Dakota is right behind me. I look down at her and take a step closer, causing her to swallow.

  We don’t say anything. We both stand here, looking at each other until Kevin says Dakota’s name. Clearing her throat, she pushes past me to get into the office, her touch making my heart race.

  I stand back, arms crossed as I watch Reese open the shop door and disappear inside. The dick didn’t even make eye contact with me, which means I most likely make him nervous. Good.

  When I turn back around, Dakota is watching me, but quickly turns away when Kevin shuts his desk drawer. “Still need me on that Suzuki today? It needs to be out by tomorrow morning, right?”

  Kevin shakes his head and slides a key across the desk to her. “I have Easton on that. I need you and Reese on that ’67 Impala today and tomorrow instead. It needs to be running by the end of the week.”

  Her nostrils flare as she grabs the key and stands, clearly not happy about the change. “Seriously? I don’t like the way my projects have been switched around without my knowledge lately.”

  “I’m sorry, Dakota. I know you don’t particularly like working on cars, but plans sometimes change on short notice.” He gives her a stern look and exhales. “If I had someone else who’s comfortable with working on cars, I’d put them on it, but unfortunately, I don’t. So please do it without giving me a hard time. I don’t have time for this today.”

  “I’ll work with Reese.” I push away from the doorframe and look Kevin in the eyes. “I’m comfortable working on anything thrown my way. I’ll make sure it’s done in time.”

  “Are you sure?” He gives me a relieved look when I nod. “Okay good. You’re the man for the job then.” He turns to Dakota. “Toss Easton the keys so the boys can get started.”

  She tosses me the keys, her lips curving up into a slight smile when I catch them. “Good luck.”

  I smile back. “I don’t need luck. I’m good with my hands, Kota. You know this.”

  I catch her swallow, her face turning slightly red, right before I turn and walk away. I probably shouldn’t have said that, but since we have to keep our distance while we’re here, I want her to be thinking about last night. I need her to remember how it felt being with me, because that might be my only chance at keeping her walls down long enough to convince her we belong together, despite everything standing in our way.

  The moment I step into the shop, Reese glances over, looking disappointed to see that it’s me and not Dakota. “Easton,” he mutters. “Busy day ahead of you?”

  I hold up the keys to the Impala. “A busy day for both of us. Let’s get to work.”

  His face falls, not doing much to hide his displeasure in finding out he won’t be working side by side with Dakota. “I thought Dakota was on this project with me?”

  “Not anymore. Plans changed, Pretty boy.”

  “Great,” he mutters, walking away to grab some tools.

  Doing our best to stay out of each other’s way, we silently start working on the Impala, only speaking to each other when needed.

  When Dakota enters the shop minutes later, I catch him slowing down to look at her. I try not to let it get to me, but every time I remind myself that I’m the only obstacle in his way of getting to her, my need to protect her kicks in. This is the closest she’s allowed me to get to her since I’ve been back. I’m not giving any other guy a chance to work his way in.

  “How about you stop staring at Dakota’s ass and do your fucking job.” My words come out harsh as I hold out the wrench I know he’s about to need.

  He grabs it, jaw flexed as he turns his attention to me. “How about you worry about yourself and I’ll worry about me? I do just fine.”

  I move into his space, my face close to his. Between Ben and Reese, I’m going lose my shit when it comes to Dakota. “I’ve been around a lot longer than you. Worrying about Dakota is worrying about myself. Don’t ever question that.”

  “Yeah… got it.” He turns away and gets back to work, mumbling something under his breath that I choose to ignore. Whatever it was isn’t important enough to upset Kevin over. He’s counting on us to get this job done, and I told him I was capable of doing that. So that’s what I’ll do.

  Biting my tongue, I back away and we go back to working in silence. I keep trying my hardest to not glance in Dakota’s direction. It’s a distraction I don’t need, but every time I do, she’s looking my way, making it harder to concentrate and work to my best ability.

  Reese must notice, because he tosses his tool down and mumbles that he’s taking a break, before he walks away and disappears down the hallway.

  Once he’s out of sight, I focus my attention back on the Impala. I’m in the middle of checking the oil when Dakota walks past to get to the sink.

  Mitch and Talon are busy on their projects, so I take off after her, gripping her waist from behind. “You have no idea how hard it’s been not to touch you,” I whisper against her ear, before running my lips along her neck.

  “No, Easton. I do know. Trust me.” She turns around to face me and I back her against the sink, moving my body to press against hers. “We can’t do this. We talked about this last night.”

  “No, you talked about this. I never agreed to anything.” I grab the nape of her neck and hover my mouth above hers. “And when you keep looking at me the way you have since the moment you walked in, you’re only proving that you haven’t agreed to your bullshit either.

  Her eyes meet mine and her nostrils flare, before she pushes me away and moves around me to escape. She knows I’m right. “Just get back to work, Easton. Now is not the time to discuss this. We both have jobs to do and not a lot of time to get them done.”

  “How am I supposed to work when you keep checking me out, Kota?” I grab a fresh rag, before moving into her space and looking down at her. “Just admit it,” I say softly. “You find me sexy covered in oil. You always have.”

  She takes a step back and nervously looks ar
ound before whispering, “You’re an asshole, Easton.” Her eyes roam over my dirty shirt, taking in the way I look covered in grease and oil, confirming that I’m right. “Just get back to work.”

  The heated look in her eyes before she turns and walks away has me needing some air before I make the mistake of throwing her against the Impala and showing her how much I want her.

  Once outside, I kick back against the side of the building and pull out a cigarette. “Shit! I need to pull it together.” I take a long drag and lean my head back, slowly exhaling the smoke. I close my eyes and take another one when I hear someone approaching, so I open my eyes to see Reese coming toward me.

  Just what I need.

  “What the hell is your problem with me, Crews?” Reese pulls out a smoke and takes the spot against the building beside me. “You’ve been giving me shit ever since we saw each other at the pub that first night. You have a problem with me? Did some shit happen before you left that I can’t remember?”

  I don’t bother looking at him. I continue smoking my cigarette, needing something to calm me down. Catching me alone right now isn’t best for his interest. “It’s not about what you did before I left. It’s about what you’ve done since I’ve been back.”

  “What…” He pushes away from the building and throws his arms up in annoyance. “Have a thing for the same girl you do?”

  “Yes,” I say simply.

  His eyes widen, as if he’s surprised I admitted it out loud. He should be. Hell, I am too, but if it keeps him in check, it’ll be the best thing for him while I’m around.

  “You don’t think that’s a little messed up, considering you dated Quinn for six years before she died? Dakota will never date—”

  Grabbing his shirt, I slam him against the side of the building and get in his face. “You don’t know shit about Dakota. Don’t think for one second that you do.” I release his shirt and flick my cigarette at the ground, before turning and walking away. If I stay here, I’ll likely do some real damage.

  When I get back inside, I walk straight back to the Impala and bury myself in work again, needing to distract myself from my anger. It pisses me off to no end that Reese thinks he knows what Dakota will and won’t do. No one knows Dakota better than I do. And I’m betting that no one ever will.

  Reese comes back from his break about ten minutes later, and without a word, he goes right back to working too. I think he knows better than to say shit after opening his mouth outside.

  After a while, Kevin comes in to let us know that he’s heading out for the day. “…anyone need anything? I’d rather hear it now than after I’m gone, picking up parts. I won’t be happy if I have to turn around and come back.”

  “We’re fine, Dad.” Dakota stands and grabs a set of keys from Kevin. “I’ll give these to Harold. Everything is on track. Just go.”

  “Easton?” He turns to me and Reese. “No issues with the Impala?”

  “No, Sir.” I wipe my hands off and stand up straight. “I’ll figure it out if there is. I always do.”

  “You always have, so I’m leaving you in charge of the Impala. Don’t let me down, Son.”

  Reese flexes his jaw at hearing I’m in charge, but doesn’t say anything.

  After checking on a few more things, Kevin leaves, and Talon turns the music up, making it easier for everyone to get lost in their projects with little to no fooling around. It’s so loud that no one could hear if anyone tried talking anyway, which I’m grateful for, because I need these last two hours to go by fast.

  I don’t want to think about shit. I just want to get this project done for Kevin and get Dakota alone. There’s so much to be done on the Impala that it’s easy to suffocate myself in my work, and I barely take a breath until I look up at the clock hours later to see that it’s getting late.

  Dakota is still lost in her work, but looks away just in time to see me looking at her. She allows herself to get lost in my stare for a moment, before wiping her hands off on her jeans. It’s a bad habit of hers. It’s why she used to go through so many pairs of jeans when I first taught her how to work on bikes. “I need some air. It’s too hot in here.”

  I almost go after her when she walks away, but instead, decide to give her a few minutes alone. The day is almost over, and I know Dakota won’t leave here tonight until she finishes that bike. It’ll be my chance to get her alone.

  From what I can tell the guys are close to packing up and calling it quits. That’s what I’m counting on at least.

  Minutes later, Dakota comes walking back in, her hair pulled up into a messy bun. Her eyes land on me and stay there as I shove my rag into my pocket and walk over to start cleaning up the tools.

  “Everything good with you and Dakota?” Talon appears beside me and joins in with helping me clean up. “She’s been giving you looks all day, man. She either wants to rip your clothes or your head off. Which one is it? I can’t tell anymore.”

  “Neither,” I mutter. “You about to head out?”

  He nods. “Yeah, I’ve got shit to take care of tonight.”

  I glance in Reese’s direction to see he’s starting to clean up too. I wish the asshole would hurry.

  “You heading out too?” Talon questions, bringing my attention back to him. “Mitch and I are going to the pub for a quick drink.”

  “Nah, I think I’m going to stay for a while and help Dakota out.”

  He slaps my shoulder. “All right, man. See ya tomorrow. Good luck being alone with that one. She’s extra tense today.”

  I pull my rag from my pocket and clean my hands off, although, the last thing I’m worried about is how clean my hands are. I need something to distract me long enough for Reese to get out of here.

  I keep my eyes on him, watching him closely as he grabs his things and walks over to say goodbye to Dakota. She barely acknowledges him, because she’s too focused on me; probably aware that we’re about to be alone any second now.

  The moment Reese walks away and the door closes behind him, she swallows, her gaze roaming over my body as I lean against the Impala and cross my arms.

  “I hate you for looking so sexy while working on that car today. You leaning against it isn’t any less sexy either. This isn’t working. You working here.”

  “Is that right?” I uncross my arms and push away from the car, walking toward her. I stop once I reach her, only leaving a short distance between us. I don’t care that we’re both covered in grease and oil. I need to fucking touch her. “Because I don’t think you hate me at all. You only wish you did, because you know as well as I do, that we can’t stop this.”

  “We need to try harder,” she says, her voice shaking when I wrap an arm around her waist and yank her to me. “This isn’t helping, Easton. I can’t think straight when you’re this close.”

  “Good.” Picking her up, I set her down on the hood of the Impala and move to stand in between her thighs, spreading them for me.

  Her eyes search mine, her breath coming out in heavy bursts when she feels my erection press against her pussy. “You’re hard, Easton. Like I said, we can’t do this.” She places her hands on my chest and attempts to put some space between us, but the moment I grind my hips into her, she throws her head back and moans.

  I grab the back of her head and swallow her moan with my mouth, kissing her hard. I expect her to push me away, but instead, she wraps her legs around my waist and squeezes. Her arms wrap around my neck next and she kisses me back just as hard, maybe even harder.

  The taste of her mouth has me hardening even more as I push her up the hood with my hips, needy to be inside of her again. Biting her bottom lip, I’m just about to reach for her jeans to undo them when the sound of the back door closing has us breaking apart.

  Cussing, I set her back down to her feet and turn away, running both of my hands through my hair in frustration.

  Seconds later, Talon pushes the shop door open and runs over to his station, snatching up a set of keys. “Here they are. I
thought I lost these fuckers outside.” He backs toward the door in a hurry. “I’m out, peeps.”

  After he disappears, I turn around to find Dakota gathering her things as if she can’t get out of here quick enough. “Where are you going?”

  “Home,” she says quickly, fighting to catch her breath. “Before we almost get caught again. That can’t happen, and every single time we’re together we come close. It’s best to just stay apart. Don’t follow me, Easton. Not this time. There’s too much to lose.”

  I watch her walk away, my heart pounding as she shoves the door open and jogs down the hall to get away.

  She’s worried, and I understand that, but I’m close to losing my mind if I don’t get some time alone with her. I know that won’t be anytime soon, so I stay back and work on the Impala for a couple of hours before locking down the shop and heading back to the hotel.

  After showering, I meet up with Roman for a few drinks to kill some time. And although my head is stuck on Dakota, it’s nice to just chill with my old best friend and reminisce about all the shit we’ve been through, good and bad.

  Who knows how long Roman will be my friend after he finds out what I’ve done to his baby sister. What I’m going to do again. He may never speak to me once he finds out, and as much as that stings, which is a lot, I want Dakota more.

  “So, are you going to tell me what that was about last night?” His mood completely changes as he waits for me to answer.

  I push my whiskey aside and turn to face him. I’m not going to lie to him, even though I probably should. “Ben said some shit about Dakota that was inappropriate. I didn’t like hearing it, and you wouldn’t either, so let’s leave it at that.”

  “Dakota left shortly after that.” He tilts back his beer, his eyes trained on me when he sets the bottle down after taking a drink. “Did she happen to find you walking?”

  “No.” It’s not a lie, but it still has guilt creeping in.

  “All right.” He leans over the bar and fills a glass with ice water. “Let’s play a game of pool before my shift starts.”

  I’m full of guilt by the time I leave the bar, but that doesn’t stop me from picking up my phone and dialing the number to the one person I shouldn’t the moment I get back to the hotel.