by Jayne Rylon
“If you’re cold, please put some clothes on. You don’t have to be naked all the time because I’m a naturist.” She peeked over her shoulder at James and Dave, who followed shortly after their friend.
“Just don’t check out my package for a few minutes, all right?” Dave cupped his palm over his crotch. He grinned as he strode to her bar and kicked out a stool.
James disappeared with Neil. The patter of the shower kicked on a few seconds later.
“Aprons don’t count as clothes?” Dave gave a low whistle when she spun toward her meal in progress. White canvas framed her ass, putting it on display for the man lounging at the counter.
“Safety first.” She winked at him as she passed by, intending to retrieve a lid from the storage space beneath the bar.
He snagged her around the waist and drew her to his side. His broad hands surrounded her cheeks, his fingers massaging the back of her head as he kissed her with a double dose of sugar and a hint of spice.
“What was that for?” She sighed, her heart skipping a beat.
“Your apron says, ‘Kiss the cook!’”
She glanced down at her chest and laughed. “I guess it does, doesn’t it?”
Was it too much to hope the easy familiarity they’d enhanced over the past day would last? The guys hadn’t touched her since their wake-up fun—which had led straight to a mid-morning nap—at least not with intent to set her non-existent panties on fire.
Were they showing her there was more to their friendship than sex, or had they already gotten all they wanted?
“Dinner should be ready in fifteen minutes or less. I’ll get the laundry going as soon as I set this to simmer.”
“You don’t have to wait on us, baby.” He smiled. “Though, I’ll admit it’s kind of nice.”
“I don’t mind.” She didn’t lie. Making a home for the men felt right. Someday, she hoped for a family of her own to pamper. Until then, she’d have the guests at the spa. Making people comfortable was a gift of hers.
“Probably not a bad idea either.” Dave rubbed the back of his neck. “Mike called about an hour ago. Looks like they’re making decent progress on clearing the roads. He thinks they’ll be able to break through sometime tomorrow. Maybe before breakfast.”
“Wow. That’s…fast.” She hadn’t expected their time to end so soon.
“I know.”
“Who died in here?” James traipsed into the kitchen, scrubbing his hair with a towel. Neil snapped him on the ass with his own wet terrycloth. The two men engaged in a mock-battle, oblivious to the questions zinging around the room.
“Hurry up, Dave.” Neil shoved his friend toward the bathroom. “I’m starving. Don’t want to wait once dinner’s ready.”
Kayla slid a sheet of rolls into the oven, wringing a groan from one of the men when she bent to adjust the racks. By the time she straightened, Dave was nowhere in sight.
Did it bother him to leave not knowing where they stood? She wished she could talk to him alone. Maybe tonight they could whisper in the shadows when Neil and James slept. It might be fun to plot their course like two clandestine lovers.
She grinned as she stripped off her apron and headed for the laundry room, passing the bathroom on the way. Dave’s off-key rendition of Bruno Mar’s section of “Nothin’ On You” cracked her up and gave her hope as she shoveled their soggy sweatshirts and sexy jeans into her washing machine.
When only a pile of their socks and boxer briefs occupied the corners of her laundry basket, she tipped it into the circular opening, wondering at the heft remaining in the plastic tote. A resounding clunk startled her into releasing a ridiculous squeak.
“You okay?” Dave must have heard it too.
“Yeah.”
“What was that?” he shouted from the room next door as he closed the taps. A moment later he poked his head around the corner.
She rummaged in the machine for source of the racket. “No idea.”
“Why don’t I finish this up for you?” Neil burst into the space as her fingers landed on something cool and heavy in the sea of fabric. Make that a couple of somethings.
“What the hell?” She rescued the objects from the washer, holding them up so the guys—including Dave—could see. “Someone missing a pair of…doodads? What are these things anyway?”
“Oh shit.” Neil’s eyes bulged. James crashed into Neil’s back when his lover stopped short. He knocked Neil the rest of the way into the room.
“Tell me I’m not seeing this.” Dave turned an unhealthy shade of purple.
“Somebody better start talking.” Kayla’s throat burned with acid. The guys shifted from foot to foot without fulfilling her command. She dropped the basket and set the objects on top of her dryer very carefully before saying again, much softer this time, “What are those?”
Neil cleared his throat. “They’re spark plugs.”
“What—” Spark plugs. Oh, no. Spark plugs. “As in a pretty fucking integral part of a truck engine?”
“Son of a bitch.” Dave propped one hand on the frame of the bathroom doorway and lowered his head. “I knew it didn’t sound right. You little shit.”
“You tricked me?” She tried not to panic, but her breathing grew erratic and her stomach plummeted to her toes. “Why?”
No one said a word.
“You planned this?” She couldn’t seem to make her brain understand what her heart already grasped. They’d cooked up a scheme to corner her alone. To worm into her bed…or onto her floor, as it happened. Her laugh sounded twisted even to her own ears. “Joke’s on you then. All you had to do was ask to fuck me. I wanted you bad enough I would have bent over for you before the storm and you could have been on your merry way, without having to sacrifice the whole weekend.”
“Jesus,” Neil snarled. “That’s not what—”
“Shut up, asshole.” Dave silenced Neil with a slice of his hand through the air. “You’ve done enough, don’t you think?”
“Four pissed off people in a tiny cabin. Awkward. You should have considered that before you lied to get your jollies.” She stormed past the three men staring at her.
Dave didn’t try to stop her from running or attempt a lame excuse. He let her go. Maybe it was easier for them both to end things quick.
Painless.
Except it hurt like hell.
“I’ll stay upstairs until you can leave in the morning. Let yourselves out.”
Kayla broke her promise not to look out the window. Minutes after the buzz of small engines shattered the ultimate stillness of the mountain, and her cabin, she stole a glance out of her bedroom. The crew, all of them, hadn’t left. Three snowmobiles littered her frosted yard. Neil, James and Dave stood in a half circle, their hands jammed in their coat pockets. They faced Mike and Joe—along with two women who could only be Kate and Morgan.
From inside, Kayla couldn’t hear their conversation. Their faces spoke volumes. The men headed for the transportation. A sob cracked her resolve not to shed another tear over the studs who’d rocked her world then shattered her dreams.
The women stood their ground. When Mike waved, encouraging them to hop on the snowmobiles, the shorter one shook her head. Instead, she grabbed the other woman’s hand and marched toward the cabin.
Maybe she needs to use the bathroom. Please, please, just have to pee.
No such luck.
“Hello?” A friendly greeting filled Kayla’s sanctuary along with the whisper of snow jackets shedding onto her foyer floor. “Sorry to intrude, we know you’re here and probably don’t want to talk to us—”
“So what are we doing, Kate?” The other woman spoke softly, but her question carried. Unlike the hushed argument Dave, Neil and James had had the night before. Kayla’s hitching sobs had obscured the sound carrying across the short distance in that case.
“We’re coming up, Kayla.”
“I’m naked.” She hoped to scare them off.
“Nothing we haven’t seen be
fore,” Morgan chimed in, supporting her friend’s decision. Kayla hated the jealous pout overtaking her face for a moment.
The two women reached the top of the stairs and took in the tight quarters. “This place is super cute. I’m Kate.”
“Hi.” Kayla smiled despite herself at the woman’s direct approach and her refusal to avoid looking at Kayla’s nudity.
“Morgan.” The other woman held out her hand, but didn’t stop with a shake. She leaned in and hugged Kayla. “I’m sorry we had to meet like this. I’ve heard bunches about you.”
“Are you okay?” Kate sat cross-legged on the end of her bed. “Dumb question, I know. It wasn’t right to leave without coming to see how you’re doing first. Can we do anything for you?”
“How about finding me a new construction crew so I don’t have to be mortified every day when your guys come to work?” Kayla crashed into the pile of pillows on her bed then buried her face in her hands.
“If anything, Neil, Dave and James are the ones who should be ashamed.” Morgan patted her knee.
“It was Neil who thought up this brilliant scheme.” Kate rolled her eyes. “It’s hard to believe now, but he meant well. He played matchmaker. Not like you four needed any help.”
“Yeah, Dave didn’t know anything about it,” Morgan chimed in. “He’s kicking himself because he heard the difference in the engine and still didn’t force the issue. I think he was glad for the chance to stay. He’s been dying to ask you out for weeks.”
“It’s true. It broke his heart to hear you crying up here last night, assuming you wouldn’t welcome his comfort.” Morgan put a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. Though they’d just met, Kayla went with it, resting her head on Kate’s thigh. “I know it doesn’t fix what they did, but they’re guys. Pretty awesome most of the time—”
“And dumb as shit the rest.” Morgan rolled her eyes.
The door opened and shut once more. No one spoke up. Kayla swore she could smell Dave’s unique scent, a combination of oak and cinnamon.
“Will you hear him out at least?” Kate vouched for one of her fiancé’s best friends. “I’m sure he won’t screw up again.
“I can’t promise that.” Dave’s baritone lacked its usual luster. He climbed the stairs slowly, giving her the chance to throw him out. She didn’t. “But I’ll try my best to make you happy.”
His nostrils flared when he spotted the three women sitting together.
The gaze scanning her form made her feel vulnerable in the nude for the first time in her life. Another thing he’d promised to understand then ruined.
“We’ll wait outside.” Kate and Morgan inched toward the stairs. “No matter what, we’d like to hear from you. Maybe we can have lunch sometime soon?”
“I’d like that.” Kayla realized her polite response held more than a kernel of truth. “Thank you.”
Dave waited until they shut the door behind them. “Kay, I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” If he really had been in the dark about Neil’s plotting, why hadn’t he said so?
“For ignoring the facts. For letting myself go along with something I knew was wrong even if I didn’t figure out all the details. For backing down without a fight. For leaving you to suffer last night. For hurting you.” He deflated, sinking to the edge of her mattress. “Kate and Morgan informed me I fucked up at every turn.”
Kayla couldn’t help it. She laughed through the tears stinging her eyes.
“Truly, I’m so very sorry.” He reached out and touched her hand. “If nothing else, for ruining the brief time we did have together. I’ll never forget that.”
Instant sparks arced from the point of contact throughout her body. “I forgive you. And Neil. Thanks for coming in to straighten things out. At least now I won’t feel so awkward when you come to work.”
He stared at her so long she thought she might have misunderstood.
“Unless you don’t plan to finish the job. If you give me recommendations—”
“We always finish the job.” Dave leaned closer, treating her to the spice of his skin blended with her shower gel. “Don’t you want anything more from me, Kay? Or did I ruin what I thought we had?”
“Me? You’re the one who backed away. Even before the…incident. You didn’t touch me at all after yesterday morning.”
“I saw you wince when I pulled out.” He closed his eyes and breathed deep for a minute. “You were tender. We didn’t want to hurt you.”
“I thought…”
“Oh, crap.” He stared at her with dilated pupils. “You thought what? That I’d taken my fill? That I’d gotten what I came for?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
Dave shot to his feet and opened the window. He shouted out to his friends. “Go ahead without me. I’m staying.”
A round of cheers, hoots and claps had a blush rising to her cheeks.
“Tell Kay I’m sorry.” Neil’s shout rose above the crew’s celebration.
“See you tomorrow,” Joe called up a moment before engines, with fully functional spark plugs, hummed once more.
“Baby.” Dave took a deep breath as he climbed into her bed and lay down beside her. “I haven’t given you a reason to trust me yet. I’ll prove myself to you however it takes. Yeah, you’re sexy as sin and I love watching you come apart. I admire your adventurous side in and out of bed and hope to indulge it. Regularly. More than that, I adore your spirit, your laughter and your all-around brightness. I’d love to have you as part of my life. For the long run. Above all, I’m praying right now that your soul is as attracted to mine as mine is to yours. That you want to join my family, the crew, and make me the happiest guy in a two state radius. The king of this mountain.”
“Only if I can be your queen.”
“I never considered you a plaything.” He nibbled her knuckles as if paying homage. “I’ll kick Neil’s scrawny ass for making you doubt my commitment for even an instant.”
“Can we take things slow?” She admitted part of her reluctance stemmed from her own actions. She’d rushed into bed with him. The rash decision had eroded her confidence in their compatibility outside of the most magnificent sex of her life. The intensity of the chemistry they generated shocked her. Frightened her. Would it last? She hoped it could.
“Of course.” He opened his arms. “Whatever it takes.”
Kayla slid into his embrace and felt like she’d come home. She smiled against Dave’s cotton-covered chest. “I’m so glad you came back.”
“I’ll never leave you again.” He stroked her hair from her cheek, lulling her toward a nap after their restless night. “You’re stuck with me.”
She burrowed deeper into him, resting her hand above the steady beat of his heart.
“Sleep baby, I’ve got you. Maybe you’ll have a dream as great as the one I had two nights ago.”
“You never told me about it,” she mumbled.
“It was crazy. Vivid. The most realistic one I’ve ever had. I saw you and I together, at Mike and Kate’s wedding. You were gorgeous in a light green dress.”
“I hate dresses.”
He chuckled. “You’d wear one if it made Kate happy.”
She couldn’t argue.
He took a deep breath then whispered, “A diamond ring sparkled on your finger as we danced and twirled under the lights on the spring evening. I could smell the flowers. It was magical. Perfect. Only odd thing was you kept looking over your shoulder to a table where Neil and James sat.”
“They wouldn’t miss Mike’s wedding for the world.” She couldn’t address the rest of his vision—her chest ached at the image and she swore she could picture it too. Crazy.
“No, but they weren’t alone.”
“What?” She tried to focus. Instead, she slipped away. The last of her anxiety fled, stealing her starch.
“Weird.” He mumbled as he cradled her closer. “A woman sat between them, and she kept smiling at you. At us. Anyway, it was nice.”
“S
ounds like it.”
He kissed her temple then whispered, “Sweet dreams.”
They were sweet.
And extra naughty.
Through every one, Dave stayed by her side.
To all fans of the Powertools Series. Your continued support has blown me away. Because of you, I can assure you this won’t be the final chapter in the crew’s story. Thank you!
Prologue
Neil swiped work-scuffed knuckles over his gaping lips to ensure no drool escaped. He couldn’t help but stare. Painted toes peeped from strappy sandals. They led his bulging eyes to a delicate ankle then up the pretty, tanned calf that poked beneath the open door of a beastly black truck. The sexy shoe rested on the running board before its equally delicious owner hopped down to street-level right outside the crew’s current fixer-upper.
Maybe the pick-up wasn’t any bigger than the one he and James owned. It could have been the sultry yet petite driver who made it seem as enormous as the whale sharks he and his boyfriend had spotted while snorkeling in Mexico last year. There too, most anything would have seemed gargantuan beside the glorious plum smuggler that had hugged James’s svelte hips as though he’d been shrink-wrapped into it.
Neil shook his head to clear the tropical memories of his lover. Between them and the chance run-in with this woman—one he’d love to lure inside and share with James—he’d be sure to sport wood when he met their new employee.
The lecture James had delivered on their ride in this morning resounded in his mind. “Try to tone it down until we get to know him, okay? The new guy might not be as accepting as the rest of the crew of our wild liaisons.”
Not many people were.
Wouldn’t be good if their recently hired apprentice quit before lunch.
The dude hadn’t showed yet, which meant Neil had to hang out here on the curb and wait for the schmuck. A mutual friend had highly recommended Devon Giles right when they’d decided they could use some temporary help. Most of the rest of the crew settled into new relationships and needed a little extra personal time compared to usual. After a bunch of debates, they’d agreed to try adding someone to their tight-knit group on a trial basis.