by Bianca D'Arc
She still smelled nervous, and his inner wolf didn’t like that at all. He was on a mission to help her calm down as he led her into the small lounge area.
“Do you want a bagel? Or some cookies?”
He liked the idea of feeding her. Maybe a bit too much. It meant something to a shifter male to want to provide food for a female. Something significant. But he didn’t have time to think about that, right now. His mission was still in play. He had to help her.
“No, thanks.” She made a beeline for the charging station and fumbled around with the adaptors until she found the one that fit her phone. She plugged it in with a sigh of relief, but nothing happened. No welcoming beep. No stark blue light from the screen. The thing was dead.
A look of dismay on her face brought him to her side. When those big baby blues rose to meet his gaze, his heart nearly stopped right there, on the spot. In that moment, he would do anything to make her happy. Anything to solve all her problems, no matter how big or small.
“I think it might be time for a new phone,” he told her, struggling to keep his voice from going all wolfy on her. It wouldn’t do to scare little red riding hood away when she’d only just got here.
“Yeah.” She sighed and looked away. “It was time to get a new phone a few months ago, but I didn’t have the time to go to the store. And now, I’m stuck.”
“You know, you can do these things online nowadays, and they’ll deliver the darn things right to your door.” He tried to sound comforting rather than chastising.
“That’s fine if you know what you’re buying, but I’m not a technical person. I usually go and talk to the salesman and get advice before I pick a new phone.” She sounded so lost, he wanted to put his arm around her shoulders and hug her close, but he didn’t dare. He didn’t want to send her running from him. No, this was all about making her comfortable, not pouncing on the pretty lady. Not yet, at least.
“Wait right here a moment,” he told her and headed for a door leading to the back office.
He had a few wheels to put in motion and a damsel in distress to save. Hot damn. His day had taken a left turn somewhere, but he’d be damned if he’d regret any of it. There was something really different about this lady, and it brought out instincts he hadn’t thought would ever be awakened. It was a special day, indeed.
Stone left her in the middle of the posh waiting room, and Diana had to admit to herself, she was more than a little flustered by the man’s presence. He was just so…male. So commanding and sure of himself. This man wouldn’t object to a woman having a mind of her own, surely. Not as secure in his own skin as he seemed to be.
Then again, a man like that wouldn’t look twice at a woman like Diana. He probably had sex kitten-ish girlfriends just sitting by their phones, waiting for him to call. No, a sexy guy like Stone wouldn’t have to look far to find female company. And probably female company that was a lot more willing than she was to put him before all else in her life.
That was something Diana just couldn’t do. Oma had to come first. In any situation Diana found herself in, she always had to consider how it would affect her grandmother. Diana wasn’t free to just go and do things whenever. Her life had to be carefully planned around her grandmother’s needs, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sure, she might fantasize sometimes about just going to the airport and flying out to some exotic location to get away from it all for a few days, but she’d never do it. She loved her grandmother, and Diana would never abandon the responsibility that she counted as a privilege—to be able to care for her grandmother’s needs as she moved down the road toward the end of her journey of this lifetime.
Oma had raised Diana after her parents’ untimely death. She barely remembered them now, but Oma had stepped in and become the only person in Diana’s young life that she could depend on. Oma had been there for her. Now, it was Diana’s turn—and her honor—to be there for Oma.
Even if it did put a huge damper on Diana’s social life…or total lack thereof.
While she’d been woolgathering, Stone must have come back into the room, because suddenly, a phone was placed into her hand. It wasn’t a cell phone, but rather, a cordless model that he must’ve taken from the adjacent room. Diana blinked up at him. The man was silent as a cat! How had he come all the way back into the room without her even hearing the door open?
“Make your calls. I’ll get the guys working on your car,” he told her gently, holding her gaze with an almost tender look in his dark eyes.
Was she imagining that look? Had she been so starved for male attention that she was daydreaming gooey-eyed looks from the sexy mechanic? Man. She had to get out more.
“Thanks,” she told him, deliberately breaking eye contact and looking down at the numbers on the phone. She dialed her grandmother’s number automatically then held the handset up to her ear.
Stone was a low-down dirty eavesdropper, but he didn’t let that bother him as he listened in on Diana’s phone call. He was surprised when the elderly female voice answered, and then, he found himself touched by their conversation. His superior wolf hearing allowed him to hear both sides of the conversation, and he used every tool in his toolbox to learn all he could about the fascinating woman who had just walked into his life.
Diana had a grandmother she addressed as Oma. German? No, the old lady’s accent was a bit softer. Holland Dutch? Possibly. It was clear from the conversation that Diana lived with the old dear and that she was going to be late getting home. The small indications of anxiety in Diana’s voice made Stone want to get her back safe with her Pack—albeit a small pack of only two human females—as soon as possible.
That was at odds with his desire to keep her here, in his territory. His inner wolf decided quickly. He wanted to make her happy, and right now, being with her grandmother was what would do that best. Decision made, Stone left the lounge on silent feet and set his Pack to work.
One of the others would get the SUV rolling again, while he spent as much time as he could with Diana. He also sent one of the younger guys on an errand that wouldn’t take long, and might go a long way toward fixing another of Diana’s problems. Meanwhile, Stone would sit with her, in the lounge, and try to get to know her a little better.
Why he felt compelled to do so, he didn’t question. He just did. Sometimes, it was just that simple. He was a creature of instinct, and following them often led him to the right path. Hell, following his instincts had led him to take the job with Lance—the owner of this elite car repair operation. Lance had turned out to be way more magical than even Stone had expected, and he was the Alpha that all the different kinds of shifters who worked here looked to for leadership and protection.
Stone, meanwhile, was the Alpha wolf. The largest contingent of shifters on the lot were wolves, by far, so that made him sort of second in command to Lance. His position as lead mechanic made it official. Lance was new to his beast form—and it was a doozy.
Mythical phoenix shifters seldom survived their first shift. They were often pulled too strongly toward the sun and didn’t come back from their first flight, being consumed in their own flame to die and start the cycle again, in a new incarnation. Phoenix shifters were so rare that Stone hadn’t believed they existed until Lance had taken off, his fiery feathers shooting sparks as he’d chased the setting sun.
Only Lance’s bond to his mate and his friends—the Pack he’d gathered around him in his business—had drawn him back to earth. Only those bonds of love had made him forsake the sun and return to his human existence, though he had been forever changed. Lance could shift at will now, and Stone had been helping him learn about being a shifter. He’d also been helping Lance explore the unique abilities and attributes of his beast half.
They’d already established that Lance could actually see evil. Not only that, but he could use his magical phoenix fire to defend his Pack and burn evil from the earth. He’d already taken out a powerful blood path mage and all her minions, leaving no trace of t
hem behind. Stone and the others had taken care of any mundane things like the cars they’d abandoned when they chose to attack the new phoenix and all his friends. Stone was confident nobody would be able to trace their deaths to the car lot or to anyone who worked there.
He cleared his thoughts of the recent past as he sent his people off to their tasks, then turned back to the building with a new spring in his step. He was looking forward to talking more with Diana. The wolf inside him was sitting up, alert, watching every move. It was as eager as his human side to know more about the pretty female who had entered their territory.
He deliberately made some noise with the door so she’d know he was back. She was still on the phone, just finishing up with her grandmother, from the sound of it. It was clear from the way they spoke to each other that there was genuine affection between the two.
The obvious devotion touched him deeply. Diana was a woman capable of deep caring. She’d make a good mother and a good mate for someone lucky enough to capture her heart.
Damn it all if he wasn’t getting downright mushy. Stone shook himself and stepped into the lounge area. Diana said goodbye to her grandmother and held the phone out toward him.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, her soft voice stroking his senses.
He walked closer, taking the phone slowly from her hands. Their gazes met and held. He saw it then—the little spark in her eyes that said she was feeling this, too. Blessed be the Mother of All.
“Antonio’s doing a quick assessment of your vehicle. He’s my lead mechanic.”
“I really don’t think I can afford—”
Stone held up one hand to forestall her words. “This one’s on me, regardless of what’s wrong, okay?”
Her head tilted to the side, considering him. “Why would you do that?”
Stone shrugged, trying to keep it light, though it felt anything but. “Call it my good deed for the day.”
She bit her lip, and he wanted to growl. Damn, that was sexy.
“But what if it’s something big?” She looked worried, but he wasn’t.
“Whatever it is, we’ll get you back on the road again. I promise.”
“I still don’t understand why you’re being so helpful.” Her words were suspicious, her smile a little crooked, as if she was waiting to see if he’d pull some sort of nasty surprise on her.
Stone held both his hands up, palms outward in surrender, and decided on the honest approach—at least as far as he could without scaring her off. “Don’t ask. I can’t rightly explain it myself. I just want to help you, and frankly, work is light today. Fixing your car won’t put us behind or anything. Gets boring just sitting around here, waiting for work to roll in. We like to keep busy.”
“You may like to keep busy, but I doubt your men feel the same way,” she quipped, rolling her eyes toward the lot.
“They do what I tell them,” he replied, a bit of Alpha pride in his tone. “But I’ve known these guys a long time. We’re all family, of a sort. They get just as bored as I do with inactivity.”
CHAPTER THREE
Diana still couldn’t figure out why Stone was being so nice to her. What was in it for him? She didn’t think she was giving off vibes that would make him think he’d get paid for his kindness in any way. She’d been up front in telling him—more than once—that she probably couldn’t afford such a fancy garage. Was he expecting some kind of sexual favor? Was he putting the moves on her in a strange and subtle way by fixing her car? If so, she was definitely missing something. He wasn’t coming across like a creep. He actually seemed genuine, which confused her.
Nobody did something for nothing, anymore. At least, not complete strangers. She may have gotten the occasional helping hand from neighbors and friends who knew her situation, but strangers had never appeared out of the blue, ready, willing and able to help her out of a crisis. Not like this. It was almost too good to be true.
But then, she looked out the big window and saw a team of muscular guys swarming around her beat up old SUV, and she had to marvel. They certainly looked like they were repairing her car. And in record time. Her usual mechanic always made her wait a day or two—to order in parts or other nonsense. Not these people. A cart with boxes she sort of recognized as being filters and oil bottles was already sitting next to her open hood, and parts were coming out and going in at record speed.
“I see what you mean,” she said, turning back to meet Stone’s gaze. “I’ve never seen my old mechanic work that fast. Your guys appear to be on the ball. But then, I guess your usual customer has the ability to pay extra for efficient service.”
Stone tilted his head, as if considering her words. It was a gesture she was coming to expect from the handsome man with the hard name…and harder body.
“While it’s true we’ve built up a specialty business here, with an eclectic clientele, we’re not snobs or rip off artists. We charge a fair wage for our work, and it doesn’t matter if you drive in with a Lamborghini or lemon. That’s the way the boss wants it, and frankly, that’s the way we all want it.”
“Your boss must be quite a man to inspire such loyalty,” she observed, feeling as if she was learning quite a bit about this mechanic through his words.
Had a man ever been so candid with her on first meeting? She thought not. Stone seemed to be an above-board sort of guy, laying out his thoughts and opinions without calculating every single word out of his mouth. She liked that. She’d had too many bad run-ins with glib talkers who used words like weapons. Stone was a refreshing change.
“Lance is one of a kind, that’s for sure,” he told her, somehow amused by his own statement.
Before the conversation could go any further, the door from the yard opened, and one of the mechanics she’d seen working on her car came in. He was wiping his hands on a rag and shaking his head.
“We need to order some parts,” he said to Stone, shooting an apologetic glance Diana’s way. “Don’t think we can get them before tomorrow morning.”
Stone frowned at his man, but Diana just shook her head. “My mechanic always says that and ends up keeping the car at least overnight. Luckily, he’s only a few blocks from where I live, so I can usually walk home and back again, once the car’s ready.”
“I suspect you’re more than a few blocks from home here, aren’t you?” Stone asked her, turning his full attention back to her.
His expression was unexpectedly kind, and it disconcerted her a bit. Why was he so gentle with her? What had she ever done to deserve this man’s compassion? What lucky star was shining down on her today? Maybe she should go buy a lottery ticket, because this kind of luck didn’t last for long in her experience.
“Yeah, you could say that. I live on the other side of town. I seldom come this way, except to run the occasional errand, as I was doing today.” Her skin started to itch, like something was trying to get out. Damn.
This had been happening more and more often in the past few days. She didn’t know what was going on with her, but when she felt like this, she needed space and a cold shower to calm the heat that felt like it was burning her from the inside out. She didn’t understand it at all, but cold water helped. A little.
Unfortunately, she was currently trapped in this repair lot at the edge of town. Not a shower or even a public fountain she could commandeer in sight. The increasing sensations made it tricky to control her own body. She wanted to scratch up against something rough. A wall. A rock face. Stone’s hard body.
Oh, hell yeah! Now that sounded like the best idea she’d had yet, but she knew damn well the thought was ridiculous. She’d only just met the man. He could be married with a passel of kiddies for all she knew, and she wasn’t the kind of woman to play around with a married man.
“Don’t worry,” Stone reassured her, and for a moment, she wondered if he knew what was going on with her skin and the tingling she couldn’t control. “We’ll get you a loaner car. No problem.”
*
The loan
er car was nothing like anything Diana had ever driven before. And Stone had insisted on escorting her across the yard, past her crappy old SUV and all those high-priced sports and luxury cars over to an area where a few other vehicles were parked. He made a big show of finding the right keys to the car he wanted to let her use then walked her over to a high-end British-made SUV that looked more like a tank than her old clunker.
This thing was built to last. It could probably go on safari and give the lions in Africa a run for their money. She had to jump up a bit to get in the driver’s seat, and Stone leaned in through the open door, getting a little too close for her peace of mind, to show her the various controls. To be honest, she didn’t really hear much of what he said. The man smelled so damned good, he distracted every last bit of her attention.
“And this is where the window controls are, but you’ll probably want the air conditioning. I’ve got it set to recirculate the cabin air. See the indicator?” He pointed to something on the center console, leaning too close. She wanted to lick him, he looked so tasty. “You with me, Red?”
“Huh…uh…what?” She didn’t dare shake her head. She might hit him with her nose, he was so close to her. He turned, and their eyes met. And held. She could almost hear her own heart beating. Or was that his?
And then, he smiled. A knowing smile. A sexy smile. A slightly triumphant smile that was somehow still charming, even as it made her realize she was making this much too easy on him. If she wanted to give him the impression she was easy, she was doing a damned fine job of it—when the truth was far from it.
She’d dated her last guy for three months before they’d become intimate, and that had been more than a year ago. The relationship hadn’t lasted long after they’d had sex. There had just been no spark. She’d hoped…in vain, as it turned out, and they’d both moved on.
Diana had almost given up on finding the kind of man who could stir her blood and her passions. Had she stumbled upon him here? In luxury car land of all places? Could the hunky mechanic be the man she’d been yearning for?