Test Drive

by Marie Harte

“Johnny,” Lara sputtered.

  “Well, he is.”

  Amelia and Kay giggled.

  “Sorry.” Johnny’s cheeks flushed. “He’s not a nice guy.”

  “No,” Kay agreed, still grinning. “We don’t like him at all. He used to leave his dirty socks around, and they were really gross.”

  “And he’s bossy.” Amelia’s smile grew wider. “He’s a dick.”

  Lara pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can we talk about something else, please?”

  “He’s a dickity dick dick,” Amelia said with relish.

  Kay kept giggling.

  Johnny coughed to mask his laughter, but she heard it anyway. “Sorry about that.”

  “A great big—”

  “Amelia,” Lara cut in before the girl could repeat herself. “You’re close to getting a mouthful of soap, missy. You know that’s a bad word.” To Johnny, she explained, “She’s said it before.”

  “Amelia’s a potty mouth,” Kay shared.

  Lara huffed. “She gets it honestly—from her mother.”

  “Right. So, let’s change the subject.” Johnny put his half-eaten pizza crust down. “What about Aunt Lara?” Johnny asked. “Does she date any mean, bossy guys?”

  “Really?” She snorted. “Extorting information from my nieces?”

  “Mom says Aunt Lara’s like a nun,” Kay offered, free of charge. “She never goes out.”

  “I do too. I just don’t tell your mother everything.”

  “Yeah? Who was your last date, not including me?” Johnny asked.

  “You went on a date with pretty Johnny?” Kay asked, wide-eyed. “Wow.”

  Johnny nodded. “I like the nickname. Pretty Johnny. It’s catchy. Now answer the question, Aunt Lara.” His unrepentant smile had her soon giving up the glare.

  “I’m too busy to date. It’s taking me way too long to get my nursing degree. Between working at Ray’s, helping the family, and school, I’m—”

  “Excuses. Everyone’s got ’em.” He pinned her with a green-eyed stare. “When was your last date besides me?”

  “Fine. I don’t know. Maybe…hmm. I think I went out with a friend of Sue’s. Andy, maybe? We dated back in March. Or was it February? No, not Valentine’s Day.” She tried to remember. Sadly, it was far longer than V-Day since she’d had sex—not counting Johnny and his magic fingers.

  She tingled just thinking about what they’d done and refused to meet his gaze. She took a bite of pizza and chewed slowly, getting her mind out of the gutter. When she met his gaze again, she saw confusion. “What?”

  “I don’t get you. You’re gorgeous,” he said bluntly. “Smart and hard working. How are you not hooked up with some guy by now?” He paused, studying her. “Nope. I don’t see crazy eyes either.”

  “Thanks, so much,” she said drily. “Like I said, I’m busy. And I’m selective. You really should count yourself lucky I lowered myself to go out with you.”

  He laughed. “Oh yeah. Totally lucky. I had fun the other night.” His eyes darkened, and she knew he had to be remembering their time on the couch. Oh hell. He glanced over at it, and his smile grew wider.

  “So, kids, how about we make Johnny play with us after dinner?”

  “Yes!” Kay jumped from her seat, fetched a board game, and returned with it.

  “No.” Amelia pushed her pizza around. “I wanted to play Chutes and Ladders.”

  “That’s for babies.” Kay frowned.

  “Why can’t we play more than one game?” Johnny asked. “I like Chutes and Ladders, myself. But Kay’s game looks like fun too.”

  The girls brightened up and chattered about anything Johnny wanted to talk about. Cars, lizards, Barbie. Lara watched it all, amazed at his skills, not to mention breadth of knowledge. He was like the pied piper of women, both young and old.

  “I don’t know how you do it,” she said after the girls had excused themselves and put their plates away. The little hooligans sat on the living room floor, setting up the games.

  “Do what?”

  “You can charm anything with two X chromosomes. I’ve seen you at Ray’s, and now I’ve witnessed it firsthand.”

  “I’m a talented guy.” He stood and carried his plate to the sink.

  She followed and dumped hers, then gasped when he turned quickly, right in her space.

  “Oh, sorry.” He didn’t look sorry. He looked clever and wicked and smug. “I told you I grew up with a lot of women. My dad dated a lot.”

  “He sounds like my sister.”

  “Well, unless your sister likes guys who take their clothes off for a living, she’s not like Jack Devlin.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  “I told you my dad has a type. He’s had a lot of girlfriends throughout the years. None that stuck, unfortunately. But I’ve grown up around women. Single women, women with kids, around their kids. Trust me. I know a ton about girls.”

  “Not according to Foley,” she taunted.

  “Please. He’s still afraid of Sue.” Johnny snorted. “And he’s not nearly as bright or sexy as I am.” He stared into her eyes. “You’re not hot for him, are you?”

  She blinked. “For Foley?”

  “The no-neck with all the tats. Yeah.”

  What a question. “He’s good-looking. A girl would have to be blind not to notice that. And he’s a nice guy.”

  “He’s really not.”

  “He’s got an amazing body.” She started to like this annoy-Johnny game.

  “So do I.”

  “I wasn’t aware you were competing.” She leaned closer, saw his gaze go straight to her mouth, and felt her heart race. She placed her hands on his chest, and he drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “If it makes you feel any better, he’s not my type.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I like my men big, strong, and able to take a punch. Ones who know what unicorns are.”

  His frown turned into a sexy smile. “I like pink too. I’m in touch with my feminine side. Really.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “In fact, I want to be in touch with your feminine side.”

  She laughed.

  “If I beat you at Chutes and Ladders, will I win a kiss?”

  “I suppose.” She dropped her hands from his broad chest before she forgot herself and started groping him with her nieces just on the other side of the kitchen counter. “But I’m pretty good at games. Just ask the girls.”

  “I will.”

  And he did.

  “She really likes when you pet her hair,” Amelia told him.

  “She hates dark chocolate, like me,” Kay said. “We like milk chocolate best. The kind with stuff inside. Caramels, coconut, white cream. But especially strawberry.”

  “Aunt Lara loves strawberries,” Amelia finished, though it came out like stwawberries.

  The minutiae continued, until Lara lost at Sorry, Connect Four, and Chutes and Ladders. A tough night to lose, especially because Johnny kept a tally.

  “That’s three you owe me.” He winked at her, glanced at her mouth, and started whistling.

  “On that note, come on, girls. Time for bed.”

  “Aw, Aunt Lara.” Amelia moped.

  “But we have a guest,” Kay tried.

  “I am a guest,” Johnny agreed. Then he stood and lifted the girls in both arms, making them squeal. “A guest who likes to tell bedtime stories.”

  Lara could have kissed him for that alone. She made them brush their teeth and go to the bathroom before hopping into her bed. Johnny ambled into the room, no doubt tired of waiting. It didn’t escape her notice he took a good long look at her room. Invading her privacy under the guise of telling stories. Clever guy.

  “Would you mind if I cleaned up the kitchen?”

  “No problem. I offered a story.” He nodded. “Trust me. I’ll keep it clean.”

  “You’d better.” She took her time doing the small amount of dishes and taking the pizza box down the hallway to the recycle chute. She returned in time to
see him stroke their hair and smile down at something Kay was saying. A tender moment she wished she might have missed. How the hell could she pretend not to like him when he did things like that?

  Especially because when Amelia reached out for Lara, he spun around with a flush on his cheeks. Johnny then ducked away with a muttered, “All yours.”

  She kissed the girls and tucked them into bed, then wandered into the living room, prepared to see the night through. All her assumptions and plans when it came to Johnny Devlin had turned sideways, and her ideas about her priorities in life felt murky.

  And it was all his fault.

  She had an idea of where she planned to end things this evening. And they weren’t even close to getting there.

  Not yet.

  Chapter 10

  Johnny waited on the couch, weirded out by how much fun he’d had playing games with an eight- and four-year-old. Not to mention their hot aunt. Fuck. Lara was killing him. She looked so damn pretty, and so natural with her nieces. She’d been teasing and fun, full of laughter but not so giddy she’d let the girls push her over.

  Unlike the women from his own childhood, Lara had a vested interest in the girls, and it showed. She was their aunt, yes, but she genuinely loved them. And they loved her.

  So much so, Kay had decided to play matchmaker in lieu of a story.

  Aunt Lara liked roses and violets. Purple was her favorite color. She didn’t like cheese unless it topped a pizza or sandwich, and she liked boys who were nice to her parents. She fought with her sister, and sometimes she said bad words when she didn’t think the girls were listening. She worked super hard to become a nurse, and she’d never had anyone’s help but her own.

  How Kay seemed to know so much was no accident. The girl considered herself a spy-in-the-making and eavesdropped on all kinds of conversations. He planned to get her alone again at some point in the future for more intel. As it was, she’d given him the info for free, but he’d donated a dollar for her thorough information anyway.

  Now, sitting on the couch in the living room and nursing a beer, he wondered about what a grand time he’d had. Pizza and silly games with a woman and two kids, none of which belonged to him.

  Yet.

  Still pondering how to get to the endgame he wanted with Lara, he nearly jumped when she appeared out of the dim hallway to join him by the couch. With only the TV to illuminate the darkened space, he saw her in the flicker of cartoon sea life.

  His pulse racing, he swore. “Shit. You scared me.”

  “I walk softly. Always have.” She smirked at him and grabbed the TV remote. “No more cartoons, please.” She changed the channel to a police procedural, then sat next to him.

  “So. The girls good? Should I turn down the TV?”

  “It’s okay. I closed the door to the bedroom. The girls are fine. I swear Amelia’s eyes closed before I hit the light, and Kay was yawning so hard I’m surprised she didn’t crack her jaw. They’re pretty tuckered out. It’s not every day they get the amazing Johnny Devlin as an esteemed guest.”

  He smiled. “You’re not mad I stuck around?”

  “Are you kidding?” She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “You were so good with them tonight. Thanks.” She held him tight, and he loved the feeling of her hand in his. Just touching her made his entire world right. “It’s good for them to see that not all men—who aren’t Grandpa—are assholes.”

  “Language.”

  She sighed. “I know. But it’s true. So many of my sister’s bad choices have fallen on the girls. Oh, nothing terrible. Nothing abusive,” she said to forestall his next question. “It’s just, they’ve never seen a man and woman in love. My parents are an example, I guess, but they’re so busy all the time. And well, they’re older. It’s not the same as seeing your own mom and dad together, loving and laughing. Not that that’s us or anything,” she added quickly, “but you get what I’m saying.”

  “I do.” He pulled her into his side and tucked an arm around her shoulders. Not smart, because a wave of her subtle, floral perfume went straight to his head…and his dick. He prayed she wouldn’t notice. “You’re a great example for the girls.”

  “Of a single woman working her ass off. Just like my parents, except I’m not married.” She sighed. “At least I can help my sister out. She’s a moron most days—and I mean that in a loving way.”

  He snorted.

  “But she’s trying to do right. She’s working with my mom at the diner. Typically, for Kristin, working means finding a man to support her, so doing for herself this time is a step up.”

  “Hard to believe you’re related. Between school and Ray’s, you’re pretty busy. And you’ve been working there for four or five years, right?” He could still remember the first time he’d seen her. He’d sucked in a breath and felt everything just stop.

  “Almost five, yeah.” She snuggled into him, and he had to suppress a groan. “Before Ray’s, I was working just to pay the bills. I didn’t want to dive into a career or anything right out of high school. I waitressed for a bit, worked retail. But minimum wage gets real old real fast.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “You’re a mechanic. You get more than that an hour, don’t you?”

  “Actually, I get twenty percent of labor costs. So you figure with what Liam and Del are undercharging the folks of greater Seattle, I’m way underpaid for my skills.”

  They shared a laugh. He felt warm all over, content in a way that was both foreign and more than welcome.

  “You do have talent, I’ll admit.” She moved even closer to him, so her breasts pushed into the side of his chest.

  He had a hard time not moving to cup her soft flesh. Instead, he clutched her shoulder and ordered himself to be good. “Um, Lara?”

  “You beat me at all the games we played. I owe you three kisses.”

  “You do.” He sounded hoarse, so he cleared his throat. “But keep it clean, woman. Remember, this is a no-sex date.”

  “Why no sex? Not that I’m offering, just curious.”

  Bummer. “Because we’re getting to know each other without complications.” And did he feel like a first-class jackass suggesting they abstain. But it felt right.

  “Sex is a complication?”

  She slid an arm around his belly, hugging him, and he tensed under her, unable to help it.

  “Yeah. It gets people thinking, wanting. Clouding judgment.”

  “Kind of like drinking, hmm?” She moved her hand from his upper belly down his abdomen, and his body hardened into solid rock.

  “What are you doing?” His brain fogged over as her hand inched nearer his cock.

  “I’m petting Pretty Johnny,” she teased. “The girls really liked you.”

  “I liked them too,” came out as a growl.

  “You’re so sweet. But the best part is that it isn’t an act, is it?”

  “I’m a dickhead. Ask anyone.” Shouldn’t have said dick, because now she’s noticing. Fuck.

  “I have,” she murmured. “They agree. You can be a first-class jerk.”

  “See?”

  “But you’re also a terrific guy with commitment issues. Thing is, I’m not trying to scare you. I just want to pay back my debt.”

  “Huh? What? I don’t… Oh, damn. What are you doing?”

  Her clever fingers had found bare skin under his shirt, and she was scratching her nails up his belly, lightly enough to not hurt, but hard enough to be felt. She might as well have gripped him around the shaft and stroked. He loved his belly touched. A happy zone she’d not-so-innocently wandered into.

  “Lara, what—”

  “Shh. You’ll wake the girls. Let’s just watch TV together and enjoy.”

  He couldn’t think with her rubbing his stomach. Especially because she seemed to get a perverse enjoyment out of scratching down to the hem of his jeans, toying with the button of his fly before dragging toward his navel again. Back and forth. Slower each time.

  His erec
tion pushed against his restrictive clothing, and he ached.

  “So can I ask you a question?”

  “You can have my car if you keep touching me like that,” he rasped.

  He didn’t have to see her smile to know it was there.

  “Do you practice safe sex?”

  His cock fucking jumped. “What kind of question is that?”

  “One I want answered.”

  Those damn nails of hers veered to the waist of his jeans and lingered. He fought the urge to buck toward her with a cock needing attention. “Of course I use protection. I’m not stupid.”

  “So does that mean you always use condoms? Or that you’re just good at pulling out before you come?”

  Shit, shit, shit. She’d said come. Condom. She was asking about sex. Why did he think fucking her would not be in his best interests again? Something about rules and being memorable and wanting her to view him as more than a—

  “Lara,” he garbled on a strangled whisper.

  The vixen had unsnapped his jeans and parted his fly. She ran her hand over his obvious hard-on through his boxer-briefs, no doubt noticing the huge and growing wet spot.

  “Let’s see what’s under here.”

  “But, but I…” He helped despite not meaning to. When she tugged at his underwear, he lifted off his ass to help her pull it down.

  Then his cock was bare, stiff, and standing tall.

  “You are a big boy,” she said and grinned up at him.

  “Jesus. What are you doing?” He suddenly recalled the girls and froze.

  “Easy, Johnny.” Lara put her hand over him and squeezed, and he feared coming then and there. “I’ll hear the bedroom door before anyone’s even close.” She paused and tilted her head up. “Now about those kisses I owe you…” She puckered up and kept her hot hand around his dick.

  He couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to kiss her.

  More like ravage her. The moment his lips met hers, she started pumping him in slow drags of her palm. He licked and nibbled her lips, then pushed his tongue into her mouth and palmed her head, increasing the pressure.

  The witch kept priming him, and he feared going off. So fucking hot having her seduce him like this. He hadn’t thought she had it in her. He continued to kiss her, thrusting with his tongue and his cock in time.