Revved (Axle Alley Vipers)

by Sherilee Gray

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.” She turned to face him, and the belly flutters returned full force when she saw him standing there, legs braced apart, heavily inked arms crossed over that impressive chest—and yep, there it was, the heat. It was back and aimed at her.

  “Anything else you want me to show you?” The way he said it made it clear he didn’t just mean an extended tour of his shop.

  “I think I’m good.” She turned away and scanned the huge workshop, looking for anything to get them back to business, because no matter how much her body wanted him, her brain wasn’t fully on board.

  Anyway, she couldn’t be blamed for her body’s mutiny. The guy was a freak of nature. No one was that hot.

  Heading for the rows of tires, wheels, and other car parts they had stacked to one side of the room, she made a show of checking it out, all the while trying to get her racing heart under control, not to mention her overheating body. She bent down between two rows and took a closer look at the parts they kept stocked.

  When she felt she had it somewhat together, she brushed off her hands and turned—“Right, I guess I’ll…Oomph.”—and collided with a hard, hot chest.

  Big, warm hands settled on her hips, steadying her. “Careful,” he murmured.

  “Sorry, I, ah…” Whatever she was about to say got lodged in her throat when the fingers circling either side of her waist gave her a gentle squeeze.

  He dipped his chin, looking down at her. “Grease looks good on you, but I like this, too.” His gaze moved over her, from head to toe, then locked with hers. “You dress up nice for anyone in particular?”

  Oh God. Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely catch her breath. There was no way he couldn’t see it. His hands were still on her hips, his body almost flush with hers, and when she tried to retreat that grip got tighter, deliciously so, holding her in place, keeping her where he wanted her. “Yes…ah, no…” Goddammit. The man fried her brain, turned her into an illiterate, horny mess.

  “Yes or no? Which is it?”

  “Uh, yeah? I’m…I’m, ah, going on a date…after.” She cringed inwardly. A date? She didn’t date, hadn’t in years. Yeah, she’d had the odd dinner here and there, but ultimately she’d left each one of them with the same conclusion: men were jerks. Now she never dated. Ever.

  Those pale eyes darkened. “A date?”

  “Yep. So I better…” She tried again to take a step back, and again he wasn’t having any of it.

  “You and this guy, you serious?”

  “Well, we’re…um, well, it’s like…”

  “It’s not a difficult question. You are or you aren’t?”

  “Aren’t?”

  He laughed, a deep rumbling laugh that somehow brought her closer, so close her hard nipples grazed his chest and sent delicious sparks of pleasure down between her thighs.

  The laughter cut off abruptly at the contact, and he sucked in a breath. “I’d say, if you have to think about it, it’s not serious. Which means you’re fair game, far as I can see.” Then one of his hands left her hip and went to her hair. “You’ve got fuckin’ amazing hair, but I’m guessing you know that since you’ve left it down. You do that for this date you’re going on?”

  He was close now, her body plastered against his, his heat burning her up, and before she could stop herself, before she could think of all the reasons why being honest was the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas, she shook her head no.

  His nostrils flared, and he dipped his head a little closer. “No?”

  “No,” she whispered.

  “What about the clothes? They for this date of yours as well?”

  She shook her head again.

  What the hell are you doing?

  “This all for me, Rusty?”

  Electricity sparked between them, firing her blood, scrambling her brain. She clung to his heavy biceps, wanting, needing like she never had before, and that’s why, instead of denying it, she nodded and whispered, “Yeah.”

  He wrapped her hair around his fist and tilted her head back in a way that told her just how much he liked her hair. The way he handled her, gentle but sure, also sent her a message that Reid Parker was a man who got what he wanted, and when he did, he called the shots. This didn’t come as a great surprise, but what was, was that she liked it. A lot.

  She’d always had to be the strong one, the one who held it all together, and right then, she didn’t need to be. Reid had complete control of the situation, of her, and it did something to her, made her feel things she hadn’t known existed inside her.

  She could just let go, let someone else take charge for once. It was intoxicating.

  He dipped his head farther, closing the space between them—then his mouth was on hers. His fingers stayed in her hair, bodies flush as he kissed her, softly at first, then he slid his tongue across her top lip, sucked and nipped it gently, then said, “Open.”

  She did, and he slanted his mouth over hers and proceeded to devour her. His tongue moved with hers, kissing her deep, not hard, but in a way that gave her no choice but to follow his lead. The guy could kiss, not that she had a lot of experience, okay, barely any, but she didn’t need to be a kissing expert to recognize the guy had skills. She felt it down to her toes.

  He had her clinging to him, as if he was some kind of lifeline, rubbing up against him like she couldn’t get enough. And she couldn’t. If he’d had a mind to yank down her shorts and fuck her against the rack of tires at her back, she didn’t think she would have stopped him.

  He took his mouth away and kissed her jaw, her throat. “So fucking sweet, so hot.” His lips moved to her ear. “Never known a woman as gorgeous as you.”

  To most women a compliment about the way she looked from a man like Reid would have had them dropping their panties—but for Rusty, it was a double-handed shove, yanking her out of her lust-induced haze. Is that the only reason he was kissing her right now? Because of the way she looked?

  Wise up. Of course it is.

  She shoved his shoulders, and he finally, after a second shove, released her. “Rusty?”

  “Why’d you ask me here?” She knew she was sending mixed signals, acting crazy, but she couldn’t stop the ugly feeling in the pit of her stomach, couldn’t escape the doubt that was always there, hovering just below the surface. God, she was messed up.

  He let her go and gripped the racks on either side of her, effectively caging her in. “What’s going on?”

  “Cut the shit and tell me why you really asked me here, Parker.”

  He shook his head, breathing heavily. “Where the hell’s this coming from?”

  “Tell me,” she demanded, suddenly pissed, and not just at him but at herself for being so damn stupid. He barely knew her, and by the looks of it, that was just fine with him. He hadn’t intended on going any deeper than what was under her shorts.

  “You know why.” The wary expression on his face almost had her second-guessing herself, almost, until the next words out of his mouth. “You’re fucking gorgeous, Rusty. This can’t be news to you. I wanted some of your time. That’s it.”

  And there it was. At least he was honest. Unfortunately, what she wanted to hear was, “I wanted to take you out, get to know you.” Or “Tell me something about yourself, Rusty?”

  He was just like the rest.

  She stepped forward, grabbed his wrist, and tried to move it, but he held fast, blocking her exit. “What the hell?”

  “Thanks for showing me your place, but I have to go. My date will be waiting.”

  “Bullshit. There’s no damn date. Now tell me what’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, but I’m not interested in you that way. Now move your arm so I can get the hell out of here.”

  He stared down at her, a mix of emotions flashing across his face, but in the end he dropped his arm and stepped back, motioning for her to leave. She hustled past as fast as she could in her stupid flip-flops, almost expect
ing him to stop her again, but he did nothing, said nothing.

  This was what she wanted, what she asked for. But as she walked away—and as screwed up as she knew it was—she wanted him to ask her to stay, was almost willing him to speak up, to tell her he was interested in more than just her looks. More than just a hookup. That he wanted to get to know her. Of course that didn’t happen. Because he didn’t want that, they never did.

  No, he stood there and let her walk out the door.

  Chapter Five

  Reid finally extracted himself from yet another guy with big dreams but no cash to back it up. It was one of the pitfalls of these types of car shows. He’d been coming to this particular show for years, not only because it was expected but because it showcased classic cars. Every year the event got bigger, busier, which was a very good thing for the industry but made it harder to forge any real connections with potential customers.

  The crowd buzzed around him, swarming the display cars parked around the showroom. He had several of his own here and a booth set up where potential customers could come and talk to his boys or him about what R.I.P. could do for them.

  But he wasn’t interested in any of it, couldn’t focus, and was probably missing opportunities left and right. He should be pissed about that, but he couldn’t manage it, not with West Restoration’s booth across from his.

  They had two cars with them, both were sweet, the work faultless. They were also one of the only shops here that hadn’t bothered with the mandatory bikini babe draped across the hood. They didn’t need one, not the way they looked. They drew a crowd all on their own.

  The three women were wearing jeans that were damn near painted on and bright colored tanks with their business name plastered across their chests. Rusty’s was blue and the letters stretched around her tits in a way that drew the eye right fucking there. She was smiling, talking to the crowd of guys swarming their table, and though she tried to hide it, he saw her unease, saw how much she hated all that attention.

  The guy he’d seen at West’s in the silver Mercedes was there as well. He was with Alex again and looked as though he wanted to commit murder, eyes narrowed, arms crossed, scowling at any man dumb enough to talk to his woman. Reid didn’t blame the guy, though Alex didn’t look like she appreciated his protection.

  Poor bastard.

  Reid looked at Rusty. The woman was so damn gorgeous, sexy, and he also knew there was a whole lot of sweet under the hard exterior she chose to keep front and center. He’d seen it, had a taste of it, her soft moans on his tongue, felt it pressed up against him when she couldn’t hide how hot she was for him. Jesus, what was wrong with him? He didn’t do sweet, never had. Sweet came with a whole lot of complications he didn’t need or want.

  But one taste of Rusty and he was screwed. Now he couldn’t get her out of his head.

  He tightened his fingers around the soda bottle in his hand.

  What scared you away, Foxy?

  She’d fled from him the week before, like a switch had been flicked. One minute she couldn’t get enough of his mouth, the next she freaked and bolted. She’d left him confused, concerned, and with a serious case of blue balls.

  She’d been worked up about something, and he planned to find out what caused the sudden change, because he wanted her. And he got the feeling that wouldn’t change anytime soon.

  He was flying blind, had no idea what the hell he was doing, but what he did know was she was stubborn. His calls and messages over the last few days had gone unanswered. Something else he’d never experienced before. He also knew she’d seen him standing here and because of that had refused to look his way again since.

  He watched her lick her lips and tuck her hair behind her ear, then she looked up suddenly, as though someone had called her name. A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. The softest and sweetest mouth he’d ever tasted, and the sight had his gut clenching with near uncontrollable need.

  She left her booth and strode across the floor. But she only walked a short distance, because she was heading straight for his apprentice Dominic, who was standing over by their display cars. The kid beamed at her. Reid had never seen him so damn happy, especially not these last few months.

  Putting down his soda, he went over to join them. Dom was talking animatedly about one of their display cars, showing her the parts he’d helped with.

  Reid rested his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “Go help Law.”

  Rusty completely ignored him, turning away, and asked Dom another question about the car. Dom looked between them, obviously conflicted. Listen to his boss, or the extremely hot babe giving him attention.

  “Um…” Dom’s eyes pleaded with Reid to let him stay.

  “Now,” Reid said gently.

  The kid’s puffed-up chest deflated, but he said his good-byes and reluctantly left.

  “You got a minute?” he said to Rusty before she could take off.

  “I have to get back.” She didn’t turn around, didn’t say anything else, just walked away.

  What in the fuck?

  But she didn’t go to her booth, she fled into the crowd, heading to the other side of the event center.

  “Yo, Law. Watch the booth.” He didn’t give the guy a chance to answer and took off after her. He had no idea what her problem was, but he did know she wanted him as badly as he wanted her. You couldn’t fake the response she’d given him, the way she’d rubbed that hot body against his, those sweet little moans when he’d kissed her deep.

  But what had tormented him since, had kept him awake nights trying to figure her out, dick hard as goddamned steel? The almost hesitant way she’d kissed him back. The tentative way she’d touched him at first. The surprised gasps that broke past her full lips when he’d claimed her mouth.

  She had been all need and hunger, no finesse, and it had been the hottest kiss he’d ever had in his life. There’d been an innocence in the way she’d returned his kiss, something he hadn’t expected, had never in his life gone looking for, but wanted a whole lot more of. There was a hell of a lot more beneath the pretty package, and he wanted to unwrap every damn layer and discover all her secrets one by one, lay her bare till she gave him everything.

  She had him in knots, and until he got her into his bed, got those long legs wrapped around his waist, and had worked her out of his system, he didn’t see that changing.

  He looked out across the crowd. “Shit.” He’d lost sight of her. He needed to talk to her, get whatever was worrying her sorted so they could move forward. He wanted her, and he wanted West Restoration. Neither of those things could happen if she wouldn’t speak to him.

  He rounded an alcove that led down a short hall to the bathrooms and a small break room for the organizers and booth holders. He immediately heard her voice coming from inside.

  “Back up, asshole.” He could hear fear in her voice, making it shake.

  Anger hit him hard, sent adrenaline flooding his veins as he rounded the corner. A guy stood in front of her, refusing to let her pass.

  “Come on, babe. I just want your number.”

  “And I told you to get lost.” She tried to move past, but he grabbed her arm. That was also when she spotted Reid, and he didn’t miss the relief that flashed across her eyes when she did.

  “Back up on your own, or I’ll help you out, but either way you’ve got exactly five seconds to get your hands off her and get the hell gone.” The guy spun around, took a second to size him up, and made the wise decision to leave on his own.

  Rusty crossed her arms and stared up at him, eyes wide. Then he watched the attitude slide into place, the wall come up. “I could have handled that myself.”

  “Not from where I was standing.”

  She uncrossed her arms and planted them on her hips. “Whatever.”

  “Whatever?” Jesus.

  “Like I said…”

  “Woman, you are so full of it, it’s not even funny.”

  She pressed those soft, full lips together and
glanced away for a few seconds. When she turned back she looked like she was sucking a lemon. And shit, even sucking a lemon the woman was gorgeous.

  Her green eyes locked on his. “Fine.” She dropped her hands to her sides. “Thanks…you know, for your help.”

  “Any time, Foxy. But you don’t need to thank me, not for that. That asshole was way out of line.” Her eyes flared and her mouth got tight again. Screw that. “What now? What’s got you pissed off this time?”

  “Nothing,” she answered too damn fast.

  Then a light switched on, a goddamn spotlight on high-beam. He’d gotten a similar reaction when she’d stormed out of his workshop, after he’d kissed her, after he’d told her how gorgeous she was.

  After catching her with that asshole in here, it wasn’t hard to work out she dealt with that type of thing a lot because of her looks, but still, she had to know he wasn’t like that creep?

  No, you’re worse.

  He shook off the voice in his head, because it was true, he was worse, but what made him even more of an asshole? He didn’t care. He wanted something, he went after it. He’d never gotten a damn thing sitting around waiting for it. He’d learned to go after what he wanted, no matter the cost, when he was just a kid.

  Fear was a strong motivator, and he’d had it in spades growing up. Fear that one day he’d end up just like his old man. Fear that if he didn’t work his ass off, get his mother out of the shit-hole they’d called home, he’d eventually walk in and find her dead at the bastard’s hands.

  So yeah, he’d had motivation to make something of himself, to ruthlessly go after what he wanted. He had no hope of stopping now, because that fear, it was still there, driving him forward, keeping him hungry for the next thing. Without that hunger—if he slowed down, if he stopped—he knew that darkness twisting deep down inside him would finally break free.

  And that, he would never allow.

  “Foxy, you gotta know I’m not that guy.” She shook her head, not looking convinced in the slightest. “Are you afraid of me for some reason?”

  Her brow furrowed. “Of course not.”

  “Okay, you going to tell me why you walked out on me the other night?”