Unhinged (Unhinged #1)

by Timberlyn Scott

There was a click, signaling that Conrad had hung up, so I dropped the receiver in the cradle and stared at my computer screen.

  Las Vegas.

  I’d never been to Las Vegas.

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to Las Vegas.

  Knowing that fretting about it wasn’t going to get me anywhere, I typed in the web address for the hotel where Mr. Trovato was staying. After attempting to locate a room using their online tool, I came up empty. No rooms were available for that time frame. I figured it had to do with the show.

  Maybe that was how I could get out of it. If they didn’t have a room, I wouldn’t have to go.

  Knowing that Conrad would expect me to call them directly, I grabbed the receiver and dialed the number that Jasmine had noted with the reservation.

  Twenty minutes later I wasn’t feeling any better. The kind woman on the other end of the phone had only been too happy to help me, instantly getting an additional room for Mr. Trovato. Apparently he was a VIP and the lady had been quite enamored when I mentioned his name.

  Crap.

  So much for lucking out on that one.

  Once that was done, I took care of the flight, encountering another very helpful employee at the airline who ensured me they had an additional seat in first class, on the same flight Mr. Trovato and his family would be on.

  Great.

  I had just finished taking care of everything, printing out my itinerary for the trip and urging my stomach to stop churning. I knew that being an administrative assistant wasn’t just going to consist of me sitting in the office and answering Conrad’s phones, but I had truly hoped that I wouldn’t have to travel with the man. Sure, it helped that Aaliyah was going. I liked her. I figured we’d get along well, but still.

  My cell phone chirped from inside my desk drawer while I was still staring blankly at the computer screen.

  Without a second of hesitation, I snatched it, hitting the button to bring the screen to life. The words I saw there made all of my previous worries disappear instantly.

  Dinner with me tonight.

  That’s all the text said, but I knew who the number belonged to because last night, after I’d managed to get my heart rate back under control, I had added Sebastian’s number to my contact list, not wanting to accidentally delete it.

  Who is this?

  I sent a text back, smiling as I did.

  Your mechanic

  Now, if I said my heart didn’t skip a beat, I’d be lying.

  Mine. He was mine?

  My fingers were shaking, my nerves in an uproar as I typed a message back.

  I’m not sure I need my car serviced at the moment, but thank you anyway.

  The response didn’t come quickly and I was starting to think Sebastian had taken me seriously. I was still staring at my phone a minute later when the next message finally came in.

  That’s good cuz I wanted to take you to dinner, not service your… um… car

  I felt the heat rise to my face. He’d effectively embarrassed me and I was grateful that he couldn’t see me right then. Caving, I shot a quick message back. When?

  “Right now.”

  I fell out of my chair.

  Yep, without an ounce of grace, I fell right out. Of. My. Chair.

  I would have been embarrassed, except the shock to my heart was so powerful, I was gasping for breath and holding my hand against my chest, trying to keep the damn organ from jumping up through my throat.

  “You scared me,” I declared, pushing to my feet before Sebastian could help me. He was faster than I was, his strong hands gripping my arms when I stood. “How’d you get up here?” I peeked around him, fully expecting Ron to come up the stairs ready to shoot to kill.

  “I’m persuasive like that,” Sebastian answered. “Are you okay?”

  Okay? Was I okay? No, I was not. I was embarrassed and happy to see him all at the same time. “I’m fine. Just call me grace,” I mumbled, looking down at the floor.

  The silence was stifling until Sebastian used his finger to tip my chin up, forcing me to look at him. “Are you ready?”

  No, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready for anything this man had to offer me.

  I didn’t tell him that though. I simply nodded before I could think better of it.

  It took me a minute to shut down my laptop and place it in the bag, but once I did, Sebastian retrieved it from my desk and put it on his arm. His big, bulging, muscular arm. The one decorated with tattoos.

  I still wanted to know how he’d slipped past the security guard.

  Maybe it was his last name.

  “Time’s wasting.” His silky voice sent a shiver racing through me.

  I nodded, not sure what else to do. Tossing my cell phone in my purse, I hauled it onto my shoulder and glanced back at my desk one last time.

  It was only four, and I had no idea whether or not Mr. Trovato would be angry that I left early, but my boredom was going to have me running out the door screaming if I didn’t go now anyway.

  There was no hand holding as I followed Sebastian out of the building. I looked around to see if I could find the Camaro he’d been driving the day before. I saw a multitude of cars, but none of them was his sleek black car.

  “Where’d you park?” he asked as he stepped off the curb in front of the building.

  “Me?” Wow, that sounded stupid. “I thought you were taking me out.”

  “I am.”

  “Then why are we taking my car?”

  “Who said we were?”

  I glared at Sebastian. The man was infuriating and way too cryptic.

  That’s when he took my hand and his simple touch jolted me instantly. He could have said we were walking and I wouldn’t have argued with him at that point.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sebastian

  I knew I was taking a chance when I showed up at my father’s office to see Payton unannounced. After last night, anything I did where Payton was concerned was a risk, but I couldn’t help myself. The minute I learned that Conrad and his wife had gone out of town, I knew what I had to do.

  Waiting until four o’clock had been the kicker. I’d spent the day screwing with my truck until finally I got the damn thing running the way it should. How I managed that, I still had no idea. My thoughts had been on Payton since I pulled out of her apartment complex the night before. Even then, I knew that staying away from her was going to be impossible, but I hadn’t wanted to look too desperate.

  Whatever it was about her, I needed more. And need was a strong word, but I was drawn to her in a way I’d never been drawn to anyone the way I was to Payton, let alone a woman. Since I didn’t know her all that well, I wasn’t quite sure what the allure was, but I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to try and find out.

  When we reached her Mustang, I waited for her to unlock the door. I slipped her computer bag inside and then put my hands on her hips before she could disappear inside the car, too. “What are you hungry for?” I asked, trying to keep from touching her too much.

  I didn’t know Payton well enough to be touching her period, but I felt a connection to her. Maybe it sounded fucked up, but it was as though she and I had been destined to meet. Despite my ability to frustrate her to no end with my lack of conversational skills, I wanted her to like me. I wanted her to want me.

  I wanted her to need me.

  After spending just a few minutes in her presence, the woman unhinged me. Even as fucked up as I was, it didn’t matter. I swore to do whatever it took to make her want me.

  “Pizza,” she said quickly, her eyes roaming my face.

  I smiled down at her, admiring the intriguing color of her eyes. Last night I noticed they were an unusual shade of yellow-green. Today they were just green. It probably had a lot to do with the emerald green sweater she wore, the one that outlined every luscious curve.

  Pulling my eyes away from said curves, I met her gaze. “Pizza?” I was a little surprised by her selection.

  “You got some
thing against pizza?” She used the same phrase I’d used on her the night before, her smile radiant as she rested her palms on my chest. Seeing her look so happy made me want to do whatever was necessary to ensure that smile stayed in place.

  “Pizza works.” Hell, I’d eat dirt if it meant I got to have dinner with her. “I’ll meet you at your apartment.”

  “Do I have time to change?”

  “If you want. I happen to think you look good enough to eat,” I told her, glancing back down at her breasts before slowly sliding my gaze up to hers once again.

  The pink that infused her cheeks made me feel invincible, like I could conquer the world. The idea of her feeling a little off-kilter was empowering, something I hadn’t felt before.

  “Okay.” Her eyes darted away from mine quickly. “But you’ll have to let me go if you expect me to drive home.”

  I didn’t want to let her go, I wanted to feel the warmth of her skin beneath my palms, but I knew she was right. I nodded, releasing my grip on her hips and taking a step back. Her hands fell from my chest and I wanted to grab hold of them and plant them there again just so she didn’t stop touching me.

  Moving out of the way, I stood by patiently until she climbed into her car and closed the door. Resting my hand on the roof, I waited until she started the engine before backing up. And it wasn’t until her car pulled out of the parking lot that I started walking to my truck.

  I glanced up at the building, wondering just what my father was going to say when he found out I was dating his assistant. He had already warned me to stay away from her. Not that I ever intended to listen.

  I had a sneaking suspicion that I was pushing too hard this time. But I didn’t give a shit.

  Conrad and I didn’t see eye to eye on many things. He hated my piercings, cringed when he caught a glimpse of my tattoos, and he detested my choice in music. But Conrad Trovato loved money more than he loved anything, so he managed to overlook much of what I did, only because I was the one who’d put his fucking company on the map.

  Performance engines were my specialty. I had taken a personal interest in Trovato, Inc. as soon as I found out that my father owned it. I made it my mission to show him that he wasn’t all that. I’d proven myself by doing what his best engineers couldn’t do. And I didn’t have to sit behind a desk every day to do it. That was the best part.

  I pulled out onto the street when there was a break in traffic and I slammed my foot on the gas, the truck took off, the engine growling. I smiled to myself at the thought of all those people in that building who still had no idea who I was. There were only a handful of people who knew that I was Conrad Trovato’s son. A very limited few. And I wouldn’t be surprised if those people had been threatened within an inch of their lives if they disclosed what they knew.

  I certainly wasn’t going to be the one to break the news to anyone.

  Well, except for Payton.

  I knew I had to tell her. If I expected this to go anywhere at all, I had to tell her all about myself.

  I only hoped she didn’t freak. That was one of the reasons I was trying to hold off until I could make an impression on her… a good impression. I wanted her to think about me the way I had thought about her for the last week. And then I’d tell her all of the tragic details of my life.

  Pulling up in front of her apartment building, I didn’t bother pulling into a parking space. I probably should have done the gentlemanly thing and gone to her door, but I couldn’t. I feared that if she let me in, ordering pizza would be the extent of dinner because if we had just a little privacy, I wasn’t going to be able to keep my hands off her.

  And that wasn’t going to go over well with Payton. Not on a first date, for sure.

  My attention was drawn to the stairs when I noticed her coming toward me. She’d changed into a pair of faded jeans and a T-shirt, just a little more casual than what she’d worn to work.

  I decided right then and there that those jeans were now my favorite. Even from this distance, I could see that there was a hole in the thigh and I got a glimpse of golden skin beneath. I would have preferred she put on a skirt so I could get an eyeful of her incredible legs, but this would work, too.

  “Nice truck,” she complimented when she climbed in. “What year is it?”

  “’63.”

  “Did you restore it yourself?”

  “I did.”

  Just like the Camaro, I’d dumped a lot of money into the truck. New interior, new cherry-red paint job. It cost a pretty penny. But what was under the hood said it all.

  “Nice job,” she said approvingly.

  “Thanks. So pizza, huh?”

  After searching the seat around her, Payton peered up at me from the other side of the cab, her eyebrows raised in question.

  “What?”

  “Seatbelts?”

  I chuckled. “Sorry, this one didn’t come with seatbelts. But you don’t need ‘em if you come sit by me.”

  “I don’t need one? I do remember how you drove last night, you know.”

  “I’d been showing off then,” I lied. I hadn’t been showing off. That was how I drove. Speed was the name of the game. I was an adrenaline junkie, there was no doubt about it, which was why the license plate on the Camaro read BLUR and the main reason I had roll bars installed in it. The truck, however, did not have roll bars. “I’ll be more careful this time.”

  I patted the seat and watched her.

  I noticed the instant she decided to give in. She scooted toward me and I kept my hand on the shifter on the steering column. Three on the tree in the middle of downtown Austin meant my hand would be otherwise occupied, unfortunately, but having her beside me was enough.

  Thirty minutes later, I pulled into a small pizza place downtown. Traffic was a bitch, especially since they were preparing to close Sixth Street off to through traffic for the night, but I managed to make my way to a parking garage close by.

  “You don’t mind walking, do you?” I asked, after we had parked.

  “If I said I did?” Payton retorted, a glowing grin on her face.

  I couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her. It was overwhelming with its intensity so I leaned over and pressed my mouth to hers. The soft purr that escaped her had my body hardening instantly.

  Shit.

  Starting the night off with a hard-on wasn’t going to go over well, but that’s just what happened. My body responded to her, the taste of her lips, the light floral fragrance of her hair… I couldn’t get enough.

  Pulling back before I took things too far, I placed both hands on the steering wheel and stared out the windshield, taking deep breaths.

  “You okay?” I could hear the amusement in her tone.

  “Never better,” I whispered, rather impressed that my voice worked at all. Inhaling sharply, I gripped the door handle before glancing over at her. “Come on. Let’s eat.”

  The walk to the pizza joint took us fifteen minutes, but Payton spent most of the time talking about the bars, tattoo parlors, and stores that lined the main drag. I’d taken her hand as soon as she climbed out of the truck and hadn’t let go. I didn’t intend to let go. Not until I needed to use that hand to eat, and I was even debating that.

  When we reached the pizza place, I pulled open the door and a bell rang overhead, announcing our presence. The short, heavy set man with thick black hair and a wide grin glanced up and smiled from behind the register.

  “Trovato!” he greeted, making his way out from behind the register. “How the hell ya been?”

  Payton was staring at me like I had two heads coming off my shoulders, but I just clutched her hand as Rocco approached. I didn’t let her go even when Rocco insisted on throwing his burly arms around me and squeezing, jarring my teeth with numerous slaps on my back.

  “Rocco, this is Payton. Payton, this is Rocco. He’s an old friend.”

  Payton smiled and held out her hand, but just as I expected, Rocco reached for her, thankfully not slapping her on the back
but hugging her hard enough for her to let out a startled squeak.

  “Be easy, Rocco,” I warned playfully.

  “No, it’s fine,” Payton said, sounding a little breathless.

  “What can I get you kids?” Rocco asked as he turned back toward the counter.

  We fell into step behind him and I looked at Payton for suggestions.

  “Pepperoni.”

  “My kinda girl,” I teased, turning my attention to Rocco.

  A few minutes later we were seated at one of the booths with the red and white checkered table cloths. Rocco brought two beers in clear plastic cups before disappearing into the back.

  The restaurant was surprisingly empty, but I knew that would change. It was Friday night and the college campus wasn’t far. Pretty soon, the place would be full of people laughing and joking, grabbing a bite to eat before a night on the town.

  “How do you know him?” Payton asked when we were alone.

  “He was friends with my mom,” I told her, realizing instantly what I’d just said.

  “Was?”

  I stared at Payton for a moment. Honest to God, I wanted to tell this girl anything she wanted to know, but I didn’t want to start the date off like that. But I couldn’t leave her hanging. “How about this,” I started, reaching for her hand quickly. I brushed my thumb over her knuckles. “I’ll tell you all the personal details you want to know, but… Wait, let me finish.”

  Payton huffed, making me smile.

  “I’ll bare my soul to you, but let’s wait until the second date. Tonight’s about having fun. Deal?”

  Payton didn’t look at all good with the suggestion, but she finally agreed. “Fine.” Her frown turned into a mischievous grin and I knew I wasn’t going to like what came next. “Under one condition.”

  “Hit me.”

  “No more kissing until you answer my questions.”

  The woman drove a hard bargain, I’d give her that. “No promises, Angel,” I told her, keeping my voice low. “As much as I’d like to say I was good with that, I’d be lying through my teeth.”

  Payton looked a little shocked by my honesty. She was also momentarily speechless, but just as I expected, that didn’t last long.