Unhinged (Unhinged #1)

by Timberlyn Scott

  Yep. That was the question I was hoping to avoid.

  I should have known that her silence on the subject matter had been too good to be true. As hush-hush as I’d wanted to be where Sebastian was concerned, I had been drunk when I came home on Friday night. When Aaron brought me inside, I’d resorted to thinking aloud, bitching and moaning about The Mechanic as I liked to refer to him. Chloe had been there. I think she suspected that something had happened the night of the party, but for whatever reason, she had let it go.

  Obviously not completely though.

  She had brought it up tonight when I got home, but because she had been ready to go out by then, I had used the fact that I needed to change as an excuse. I had again dodged her in the car, encouraging Chloe to tell me about her day and I’d hoped she wouldn’t bring it back up. After all, it had been a brief lapse on my part. I should have never mentioned him to her in the first place.

  But I should have known that Chloe wouldn’t let it go.

  “He was hot and he was a mechanic,” I told her, letting her believe that the only time I’d seen him was the first day I met him. I definitely didn’t want to tell her about our interaction at the party. “What more is there to say?”

  “Uhh… Plenty. You can start by telling me why you don’t want to talk about him,” she stated, thanking the waitress when she placed the beers on the table.

  Ah. So she noticed.

  “Nothing to talk about. It’s not like I go around talking about people’s mechanics.”

  “Conrad Trovato really has a mechanic that works at his house? How much freaking money does this guy have?” she asked.

  I could tell she was humoring me.

  “Too much,” I answered, going right along with her. If she could fake it, so could I.

  But that statement took me back to that day. The day I met the man who had plagued my dreams before I ever met him. The same guy who had haunted my dreams for nights on end ever since. I had thought it strange, when I’d finally given it any thought at all, that Mr. Trovato had a personal mechanic that worked at his house. Even more so when I saw him at the party. He wasn’t just a mechanic. I knew that much.

  “What did he look like?”

  “Hot.” I wished she would just let it go.

  As it was, I could still picture him in my head, all tall and sexy with the tats and the piercings. Then the image of him in that tux would flutter through my head. All of the tats had been covered that night, but the piercings had been visible. I even found myself daydreaming about what he looked like without his shirt on, something I hadn’t had the opportunity to see.

  Unfortunately.

  Did he have tattoos everywhere?

  “I got that part,” Chloe said, interrupting my thoughts. “But what did he look like?”

  “Tall, brown hair, brown eyes,” I explained, pretending it was nothing. It was something all right because his eyes still mesmerized me, from my damn dreams. Realizing I was grinning from ear to ear, I added, “But his piercings...”

  Don’t ask me why I was going along with this. I was getting caught up in the moment and I didn’t want to admit that talking about him made me feel better.

  “In his face? Oh, God, that’s hot.”

  Yes, it was. “Eyebrow and lip,” I told her.

  “What about his tongue? Was his tongue pierced?”

  “How would I know?” I asked, exasperated. “I didn’t get near his mouth.”

  Not close enough to find out if he had his tongue pierced anyway. I kept that little tidbit of info to myself.

  “But you wanted to, huh?” She nudged me in the arm.

  Sometimes I thought Chloe acted more like a guy than a girl. Especially when it came to talking about the opposite sex. It could have been the fact that Chloe had four brothers, all of which were just like her. Or maybe she was just like them. I didn’t know.

  “He was hot. Can we just leave it at that?”

  “Do you think you’ll go back to Mr. Trovato’s house?”

  “Why in the world would I do that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you need your car serviced?”

  “If that’s some kind of sexual innuendo, you suck at them.”

  Chloe was grinning.

  The two of us sat there for a moment, our eyes glued to the television. Three minutes into the third period and the Stars were up by two. I didn’t really care who won. I wasn’t partial to either team like my dad was. It wasn’t until the waitress brought our food out that I turned my attention back to Chloe.

  It was then that my night took a very interesting turn.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Payton

  “Can I get another beer?”

  The gruff voice came from behind me. At first I thought nothing of it considering we were in a sports bar full of men. A lot of men had deep, booming voices.

  “Yeah, thanks,” the man said.

  I immediately stilled, my heart triple timing it in my chest.

  That voice.

  That raspy tone. It sounded familiar.

  That deep baritone… it was…

  No freaking way.

  An elbow gently bumped my shoulder from behind. I twisted in my chair to see a man sitting directly behind me. The place was packed and we were crammed into the place like sardines, so it wasn’t unusual for someone to bump me.

  “Sorry about that.” The brief apology caused me to turn around fully, only to come face to face with…

  “Sebastian,” I whispered at the same time he said, “Angel.”

  “I’ll be damned, Trovato. Did you conjure her up from your thoughts? You’re gonna have to teach me how to do that shit.”

  I was staring into liquid gold eyes, hardly registering what his friend was saying. But then… it clicked.

  “Trovato?” My stomach rapidly plummeted to my feet. Sebastian Trovato?

  Oh.

  My.

  God.

  I had to give him credit, he looked a little embarrassed.

  “You’re not a mechanic,” I accused, rage dripping into my blood stream. I knew my face was red, but I couldn’t help it.

  The devious grin he shot me didn’t help.

  “Oh, my God! You’re the hot mechanic?” Chloe exclaimed, leaning over to see around me.

  “Not helping, Chloe,” I warned, my eyes still locked with Sebastian’s.

  Although I was angry, I knew the rapid beat of my heart didn’t have anything to do with that. No, what had caused my heart rate to accelerate and my blood to fizz in my veins was my visceral reaction to this man. Just as he had every time I saw him — in my dream, the first time we met, at Conrad’s party — Sebastian Trovato had captivated me.

  And damn it all to hell, sitting this close to him wasn’t helping.

  Trovato.

  Damn it.

  “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” I probed, still not quite sure who he was. Conrad’s nephew, maybe? With the last name of Trovato, he had to be related in some way.

  “I did tell you who I was.” His voice was rough, belying the amused grin on his perfect lips.

  Dang it. He had a tongue ring.

  Not that I was fascinated by it or anything. It’s just that we were less than a foot apart and it was hard to miss when he spoke.

  “You told me you were a mechanic,” I stated firmly, my voice softer than before. I hated that we had an audience when I wanted to rage at him for lying to me.

  “No, you assumed I was a mechanic.”

  I did not. Okay, maybe I did. Whatever.

  “You didn’t correct me.”

  “You didn’t care.”

  No, he was right. It had never really mattered to me who he was. When I was in his presence, I was more worried about trying to get my libido in check.

  “So did you lie to me? Are you really a mechanic?” I repeated softly, realizing he hadn’t answered me moments ago.

  “Mechanic.” One of the guys sitting at Sebastian’s ta
ble smirked, laughing as he sipped his beer.

  Sebastian glanced over his shoulder at his friends before returning his gaze to mine.

  “Leif, Toby, meet Angel. Angel, meet Leif and Toby.”

  “My name’s not Angel,” I snapped. I glanced over Sebastian’s shoulder and forced a smile. “My name’s Payton.”

  “Nice to meet you, Payton,” the two guys said at exactly the same time, the humor dancing in their eyes was a little off-putting, mainly because I wasn’t sure what the inside joke was. They were enjoying this.

  Too bad I wasn’t.

  I met Sebastian’s gaze for a long second.

  “Sorry to interrupt your dinner.” I broke the eye contact with Sebastian and looked past him. “Nice to meet you both.”

  “Feel free to interrupt anytime, Angel.” Sebastian’s smooth, deep voice flowed over me like silk and damn it if my body didn’t light up like someone had doused me in gasoline and lit a match.

  I forced my traitorous body to turn back around only to see Chloe staring at the men behind me. In truth, I’d never seen Chloe speechless. I’m not sure if I liked it or not.

  “If you’re gonna sit there with your mouth open, at least put something in it,” I scolded Chloe, pushing the plate of nachos in her direction.

  Her eyes met mine and the mischief I saw there made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. “No. Don’t you dare,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice calm. “Don’t you dare interfere, Chloe. Keep in mind, I need my job.”

  “What does he have to do with your job?” Chloe leaned in conspiratorially.

  “He’s obviously related to Mr. Trovato. Which means I can’t get involved.”

  “Says who?” she inquired.

  “Says me. Hurry up and eat so we can get out of here.” I’d lost my appetite, and the beer suddenly tasted like dirt. I just wanted to get out of there so I didn’t have to think about the fact that the hottest guy I’d ever met was sitting directly behind me, probably laughing about the fact that he’d pulled one over on me. Twice.

  “Oh, God,” I groaned when I remembered what I’d told Mr. Trovato upon my return to the office that day. No wonder he had looked at me like I’d lost my mind. And again at the party… When I’d been leaving, Mr. Trovato had caught me looking at Sebastian. I’d seen frustration in his eyes. Did he think…?

  “What?” Chloe asked, interrupting my thoughts, her gaze roaming my face. “Spill it.”

  “Last week, when I went to his house to get his cell phone, I told Mr. Trovato that I hadn’t seen his daughter, but I had talked to his mechanic briefly. He must think I’m a nutcase.”

  “Doubtful,” came a voice from behind me.

  I fought the urge to turn around and look at him, hoping he didn’t notice the way my shoulders tensed when he spoke. His voice was a strange mixture of rough velvet and smooth silk, it pulled me in and I knew… I knew that was the last thing I needed to be worried about.

  “So, how’re you related to Mr. Trovato?” Chloe asked, speaking loud enough for Sebastian to hear.

  I wanted to strangle her.

  I felt rather than saw when Sebastian turned in his chair. He was so close, I could feel the warmth of his arm against my back although he wasn’t touching me. I did my best not to move away, not wanting to let him know just how affected I was.

  How freaking crazy was this? Here I was, twenty-three years old and I was acting like a teenager with a crush.

  “Let’s just leave it at related.” Sebastian’s grumbling voice sent chills down my spine.

  “Are you done yet?” I asked Chloe, doing my best to ignore the man behind me.

  Chloe’s lips twitched, telling me her answer without words. She was enjoying my suffering and this was one of those times when I wished I’d brought my own car. Instead, I had let Chloe drive.

  For the next fifteen or so minutes, Chloe actually paid attention to her food. Well, sort of. Her eyes kept drifting over my other shoulder and I assumed she was looking at the mammoth of a man that was sitting at Sebastian’s table. Leif or Toby. I didn’t know who was who.

  I wasn’t hungry, so I alternated between peeling the label off my beer and staring up at the television. The game was almost over and I knew when it was, the place would clear out fast.

  I wanted to be gone before that happened. I wanted to be far away from here when Sebastian decided to take his leave.

  The waitress returned to check on us, and to my relief, Chloe requested the bill. I dug in my purse for cash, wanting to pitch in, but Chloe put her hand on mine. “My treat. It was totally worth it.”

  I glared at my roommate. “I hate you,” I whispered, trying to keep my expression stern.

  “Of course you do.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Payton

  By the time we were walking to Chloe’s car, I was geared up to run a marathon. I just wanted to get out of there, fearful that if I didn’t do something fast, I would turn right around and march back inside just to see Sebastian’s handsomely smug face one last time.

  I was infuriated with him. He had lied to me, convinced me that he was Mr. Trovato’s mechanic.

  Kind of.

  The ass had told me he was a mechanic, which I guess didn’t necessarily mean he worked for Conrad. But still. He had even confirmed it at the party. But what really burned me was the simple fact that his last name was Trovato, regardless of the relation to my boss, which meant he could have easily gone inside that ginormous mansion and retrieved Conrad’s cell phone. But noooo… I had to go back to the office and look like an idiot when I explained that I’d had a conversation with the mechanic because Aaliyah had already left.

  And then at the party… What had happened between us outside, the way my body responded to him, desperate to get closer…

  But he was off limits! Off freaking limits because he was related to my boss.

  Ugghh!

  I wasn’t sure whether I was more upset that he had lied to me or that he was off limits.

  And that only pissed me off more.

  “Hey, princess!” someone yelled from across the parking lot.

  Don’t ask me why I turned and looked. I was certainly not a princess, nor was I an angel.

  It had been that damn smoky voice that had me searching the shadows for Sebastian. I caught sight of him coming toward us, while Leif and Toby (I still didn’t know who was who) headed in the opposite direction.

  “Hold up!” Sebastian called out as I opened the passenger side door of Chloe’s car.

  To my absolute horror, Sebastian walked right up to Chloe and asked to speak to her for a minute. I was seething, a red haze disrupting my vision as I watched Sebastian talk to my roommate, both of them smiling and even laughing.

  What the hell? Why would he pick her?

  I stomped my foot, unable to control myself.

  Sure, Chloe was pretty. If you liked teeny tiny, green eyed, leggy brunettes. Yes, if that was your preference, she was pretty.

  But I wasn’t a slouch, thank you very much.

  The thought had me glancing down at my outfit.

  Well…

  I kind of was a slouch right then.

  After wearing heels for most of the day, I’d stripped right out of the skirt and, yes, another coffee-stained shirt and changed into jeans and a long sleeved, black T-shirt. It was clean. Wrinkled a little, maybe, but still clean.

  I touched my hair.

  It was still pulled back in a ponytail, which meant I probably looked like I was in high school. The sports bar we’d just left was perhaps the only establishment that didn’t card me and that was only because I’d been coming in every week for the last few months.

  But still…

  “You’re a doll,” Sebastian told Chloe and I was ready to scream.

  But then, my voice was stuck in my throat when Sebastian made his way around the car and strolled right up to me, his eyes serious. Where had all of his amusement gone?

  “Let m
e take you home,” he said softly.

  “What?” I exclaimed. “No way. I don’t even know you.”

  He merely cocked an eyebrow — the pierced one — and I got the feeling that he was used to women just giving it up to him for his crooked smile.

  Not me.

  No way.

  “You know me well enough,” he whispered.

  I glanced over at Chloe and that jealousy I was feeling a moment before returned. If I didn’t let him drive me home, would he offer to drive Chloe home? Would she accept?

  Son of a…

  “Come on, Payton. What d’ya say? We’ll stop and get ice cream.”

  “Ice cream?” Was he serious? Ice cream. Did people really do that?

  “You got something against ice cream?” Sebastian asked.

  “No. I do not have anything against ice cream.” I turned toward him, studying his face for probably longer than was appropriate. But it was the only thing I could do when I was practically sandwiched between him and the car door at my back. “What I have a problem with is leaving with you. I don’t know you.”

  I knew he understood what I was telling him. He had lied to me. Whether it was by omission or not, he had let me believe something that wasn’t entirely accurate.

  Sebastian stared at me. He looked like he was waging a war inside his head. Did he want to tell me something?

  No. He probably just wanted to blow me off, figuring I wasn’t going to be a sure thing.

  I was not going to be a sure thing.

  Little did he know but I hadn’t had sex in like two years, and before that, it had only been with one person. With my college boyfriend, Paul. Even then, I’m not sure that could be considered sex. Paul seemed just as inadequate as I had been for the six months that we dated.

  I certainly didn’t consider myself experienced in that department.

  At this point, I’m not even sure that I knew how it was supposed to work. Sex, that is.

  “I promise.” His hand came up, the backs of his fingers brushed my arm. “I just wanna talk.”

  Talk.

  I didn’t mind talking. Maybe then he could explain just who the heck he was.

  I considered it for a moment before looking back at Chloe one last time. She nodded and grinned.