by Jennah Scott
Larry tossed his head back and laughed. “So she ordered paint from you and now you want to fuck her until she can’t walk. Whatever color she chose must have been one helluva specialty.”
“No, not exactly. I mean, yeah, I want her in my bed, but it’s more than that. This girl … I can’t describe her.”
“If you say so. I’m going with the fact that you’ve got a hard-on for her paint choice. What color was it anyway?”
Ryke stared out the front windows. Larry’s assessment pissed him off. Angel wasn’t going to be a quick fuck. She was special and he’d be a dumbass to let his dick make decisions this time. Larry smacked him in the shoulder to get his attention.
“What? Oh, it was purple.”
“Do not let my girl see that paint can. Seriously, Ryke, when you get it in, you hide it. Rhonda can in no way know what color you’ve got ordered, she can’t even know it exists.” Larry was serious, and worried; his woman had an infatuation with the color.
Larry’s truck was in need of a rather difficult paint job, but the energy to get it perfect would be worth it. He had a beautiful black 350 Extended Cab. They were detailing Harley-orange stripes down the side and a custom silhouette of a red, white and blue motorcycle across the tailgate. “If she sees it I know she’ll sabotage your guns to paint the truck that color.”
Snickering, Ryker wiped his hands clean of the last bits of primer from the job he’d been working on before Larry came in. “She won’t see it, don’t worry.”
“What won’t I see?” A petite redhead walked in the shop, smiling from ear to ear.
“Larry’s afraid you’re going to ruin his truck.”
“Why? Did you find purple paint?”
Larry put a hand on her arm to guide her out. “See ya later, Ryke,” he tossed over his shoulder.
Rhonda’s laughter as she teased Larry down the drive to her car rang through the shop. Ryker bent behind the counter to organize the paint one more time. He nearly fell on his ass when he stood to find the girl of his fantasies leaning against the counter. The one time he didn’t look up when the bell rang, and she was there. Damn Larry for leaving at the same time she must have walked in.
The beauty in front of him took his breath away in more ways than one. Today she wore a black and white polka-dot shirt that barely held her small breasts. Her slightly tanned skin begged for him to touch it, to see if it was as soft as he imagined. Ryke wanted to explore her body and find the tattoos he knew were hidden beneath the excessive material now covering her body. Then again, with the way he felt right then, any amount of clothing was too much. Once Ryker pried his eyes from her chest, her fuck-me-red lips mesmerized him.
Long red nails that matched her succulent mouth curled around her hips. “Hey, Ryker, how are you today?”
“I’m good. What brings you in? I wasn’t expecting you for another week or so.”
Angelica was unique, both modern and edgy with the piercings, while at the same time she was a blast from the past. The neckline of her top made a heart that dipped down low onto her chest. Thanks to the damn counter, he couldn’t see what the top tucked into; it could have been a skirt or pants or shorts. His imagination gave him plenty of options though.
Her fingers edged around her neckline, offering him more of a glimpse of the treasure that lay beneath the fabric. Ryker followed the path she made over the top swell of her breasts down her cleavage until she stopped and looked at him beneath her lashes.
“You like?” His cock twitched at the sultriness of her voice.
There was no reason to deny his obvious interest. Ryker smiled and rubbed at his jaw. “Yes, I do.”
Her lips curved even higher. “Good.”
She moved around the counter, granting him a view of her tiny waist covered by a skin-tight red skirt that came down to just above her knees and thick black heels. Her fingers trailed down his arm, tracing the art he’d helped design. “I like your ink.”
She paused over a pair of hanging cherries, her nails barely scratching at his skin. “Sexy.” Angelica backed against the counter, close but not close enough. Ryker wanted to pull into him, wrap his fingers around her hips and feel her arch against him.
“I’m here because I hoped you might have a piece for me. Something long?” She laughed at her own joke.
Ryker licked his lips and nodded, “Yeah, I’ve got something in mind.” Cocking his head to the side, he revealed the hand of a pinup girl, hoping she would follow the model’s arm down across his shoulder. If she thought his cherries were sexy, what would she think if she knew he already had a rocking boner for girls like her? Girls with femininity and edge. The tattoo girl’s legs dangled over his bicep and her arm lay wistfully over her head at the top of his shoulder. Her body stretched across his collarbone.
Angelica pulled at the collar of his shirt to see more. The heat of her fingers over his skin made Ryker’s cock twitch. He was going to have to release some of tension, and he hoped it wouldn’t be by himself.
Ryke knew that was a pipedream. If not because she was a tease, then because he didn’t have that kind of luck anymore. The shop had taken most of it, it seemed. With all the men hanging around he could almost forget that women had an interest in bodywork every once in a while.
“Nice.” She licked her lips, making it difficult for Ryker to maintain distance between them.
He cleared his throat. “All of the parts are back here. Come with me.” Ryke took her hand in his and led her to the back before Angelica had a chance to protest. He let the sparks between them build for just a minute before loosening his grip, but lucky for him, Angel didn’t back off.
“Where are you taking me?” She nibbled on her lip with a crooked tooth, making her lips bigger and his intentions more animalistic.
“There are a lot of ways I’d like to take you.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her frown. “That was a joke. I prefer to get to know you a little more before I share my fantasies. Unless…” She hit him hard in the shoulder, but laughed letting him know she wasn’t too upset.
“As tempting as that sounds, I really do need to see your scrap.” Angel let go of his hand only to play with the neck of her shirt again. Between her fingers and the bow of her lips, Ryker was lucky to hear what she was saying and actually process the words. “I’ve got this project that I need it for and … never mind. You don’t care.” She took a step back, one hip leaned against the wall, her eyes cast to the other side of the room in visibly faked boredom. She wasn’t just sexy as hell, she was a tease too - and apparently she knew it.
“I can work with tempting. Let’s take a look and then talk about this adventure we both want.”
With wide eyes she looked back to him. “Where did you get the idea I was looking for an adventure?”
Ryke growled. “Sweetheart, I’ve been thinking about you since you stepped out of my shop a week ago. Tell me you haven’t done the same thing.”
“If I haven’t?” She cocked her head to the side. Ryke’s mouth watered with desire. He wanted to fasten his lips to her neck, mark her as his.
“Mmm, I don’t think that’s the case.”
“I guess you’ll have to wait and see, won’t you?”
“You are torture.”
Angel laughed, placing her hand in his and tugging him down the hall to the rear of the shop. Ryke closed his eyes, pictured them coming back to the front of the shop when she wasn’t so distracted by her project. Hell, he would be more than ready to sneak up behind her, take her by the waist and toss her onto the counter. If only he knew she would go for that.
Without too much deliberation Angel found what she described as the perfect piece of metal. It was thin enough she would be able to mold it without too much heat, but sturdy enough to make a functional chair.
As soon as she started rambling on about the variations and striations, Ryke zoned out. He’d have to work on paying attention if he was going to try to make a go of this.
Ryke helped her put th
e metal in Ray’s truck. He was ready to put his plan into place when they walked inside, but she jumped onto the counter and sat with one leg crossed over the other. Her hands propped up behind her, pushing her breasts out to further torment him.
“So about that adventure on the desk.”
This woman knew what she was doing to him. When she hopped on the counter her eyes lowered a fraction of an inch, a look that screamed, “I’m yours to do with what you want.”
The sound of a truck out front turned both of their heads. Ryke wanted to tell her he could lock the door or hell, forget whoever was out there. He was hard and aching and had a beautiful woman on his countertop.
Angelica hopped from the desk, cupping him in her hand. “Probably not good for business, huh,” she pouted, her hand trailing across his zipper as she started to move behind him. “You have an office back here, right?”
Ryker looked between the door and the woman who turned his world upside down and his dick hard enough to break concrete. She motioned with her thumb behind her. “Come find me when you’re done.”
Still facing Angelica, Ryker heard a man’s low voice ring across the shop. “Hey there, hoping you can help with my truck. You’re Ryker, right?”
Dumbfounded and aching, Ryker turned back to the man, a genuine cowboy in his whole six foot five inches and brown leather cowboy hat. “Uh, yeah, I mean, yes. I’m Ryker. What can I do for you?”
“Need a whole boatload of work done. Some auto, some body. I was told you’d be the one to talk to. I’m new to the area.”
“What kind of truck?”
“Forty-six Chevy. My family sort of has a collection, this one’s missing from it. I’m actually from a little closer to St. Louis but my dad’s been known to go to some of the shops around there. I need quality work done and on the sly. I’d like to surprise him.”
Damn. Smooth body, rounded cab, an old-school kind of truck. Ryker himself had looked at a few around that make and model but he’d never settled on it, went for new and shiny instead. Working on this would be fun.
“Good choice. Are we talking restoration or not quite that much?” Ryke glanced over his shoulder. He prayed this guy would be interested in coming back later to talk about the details. With a beautiful woman waiting for him, he was in no mood to go through a full contract and plan.
“I’m not sure. I’d like to sit down and talk about cost. What I want is a full restoration, but the cost is an issue.”
“That makes sense. Today isn’t good. I’ve got an appointment soon, so how about we schedule something for tomorrow?”
“Yeah. That works.”
Ryke opened his calendar and quickly settled on a time with James, the truck owner. He waited to hear the rumble of the truck before rushing back to his office.
One step ahead of him, she met Ryke at the door, an arm perched high above her head. “Don’t rush on my account, I kind of like the view from back here.”
She bit down on her lower lip and eyed him seductively. His body ached and moaned with a vengeance as he closed the distance between them. She caressed his neck as her hands wrapped around and her fingers laced together bringing them a mere inches apart, perky breasts pressed against his chest and he nibbled on the skin below her ear.
One hand against the doorframe, holding her in place, Ryker brought his free hand up against the soft fabric of her shirt, letting it slide with ease over her chest. She breathed in deeply.
“Like I was saying, about the counter.” He bit down on her collarbone, the sound from the back of her throat made his body tingle.
“Yes, sir.” Her lips collided with his, full and demanding. Ryker rocked his hips into her, his erection pushing fully across her stomach. He didn’t want to wait anymore or talk anymore, he just wanted her.
How he’d waited so long to scoop her up, Ryker had no idea, but he wasn’t going to waste another second. Angelica let out a small cry as he scooped her up and placed her on his desk. Ryke slipped his hands under her skirt, his fingers brushing against her bare skin. Angel leaned back on her hands, her breasts pushing out toward him. Ryke continued to push his hands to the top of her thighs, spreading her legs for him and stepping closer. Leaning forward, his mouth sought out her nipple beneath the thin fabric of her shirt. His lips felt the metal barbell before his mind registered what it meant. With a flicker of his tongue, Ryker circled the bar pierced through her nipple.
Angel released a shaky breath. His fingers found their way to the delicate lace covering her sweetest spot. She was hot, wet and ready, and Ryker didn’t want to wait another second.
With deliberate care, Ryker traced the path along the swell of Angel’s breast up to her collarbone and neck. He laved a spot beneath her ear before nipping it, marking her as his. Angel groaned and writhed against him. His hand covering her core rubbed against the lace, teasing her. Their lips met in a slow-building kiss. Angel nibbled on his lip and Ryke lost control, turning their sweet kiss to one of desperation. His tongue plunged deep just as he wanted to do to her pussy. Angel was so sweet tasting. She filled his mouth with the exotic flavors of coconuts and cherries. Ryke knew in that moment one kiss wouldn’t be enough. The way his dick pulsed beneath his jeans, it was possible a lifetime of kisses wouldn’t dim the fire raging through his body.
Angel ran her fingers through his hair. He tugged her shirt from her skirt and slid his hand across her stomach.
And the phone in his office rang. Ryke let out a curse. World’s worst luck.
“Bad timing. Think we can ignore it?” she purred, her red nails dragging up his forearm, leaving marks as they sank into his skin. Ryker parted her lips with his tongue, exploring and seeking more of her.
The phone rang a second time.
Angelica cocked an eyebrow, “Do you need to get that?”
“Fuck ’em.” Ryke pushed a finger around the edge of her panties to rub the edge of her lips.
The third time the phone rang, Angel broke their kiss.
“Ryke, I’m all for ignoring the phone, but it’s ringing in my ear, literally.” Angel rolled her head to the side where the phone sat. She smiled, even with the disturbance.
“Fuck.” Disgruntled, Ryker slid his hand from between her legs and out from under her shirt, then picked up the phone.
“Body.” He paused for a second, “Larry? Is everything okay? Yeah, no, dude, not a good time. Okay, fine, I know I work all the ti—” Ryker stopped arguing with Larry long enough to watch Angelica sit up on the desk and let herself down.
“Angel, wait.” Signaling with a finger for her to wait, Angelica moved to stand beside him and took his hand in hers. “Yeah, fine. I’ll be there tonight. All right, I gotta go.”
Angelica wrapped her lips around the base of one of his fingers from the hand she held as he hung up. She made a popping sound as it slid out of her mouth. “I don’t think this is meant to be right now.”
“Hey, you were the one who wanted it to stop ringing.” Ryker teased, but hoped his chance with this girl wasn’t blown.
“Mmm, I did. Where are you going tonight, Ryker?”
“Just the pub, the normal haunt.”
Angelica slid his finger back into her mouth, watching him with those wide brown eyes. “Then how about I see you there?”
“Tonight? You want to wait? But we’re …”
“Oh I know exactly what we were about to do. But I don’t want to rush, Ryke, not with you. Not in here. Tonight. I’ll see you at the pub.”
Angelica winked, kissed him on the cheek and sauntered out of his office, her hips swinging back and forth, taunting him.
Chapter 6
“Ray,” Angelica screamed up the stairs as she entered their house.
“Somethin’ wrong?”
Angel turned to the sound of her voice, coming from the couch in the living room. “No, but tell me you’re not doing anything tonight?”
“Umm … no? Where have you been, anyway? I thought you’d be by my dad’s hours ag
o.”
“Sorry, things at the shop took a little longer than planned.”
Ray sat up. “You didn’t.”
“Not exactly.” Angelica shook her head.
“Angel, there is no in-between. Either you did or you didn’t.”
“We were, but there was an interruption. Now go get changed, we’re going out.”
“Are you going to tell me where we’re headed so soon?”
Angel stopped in the middle of the hallway and took a deep breath. Ray would want the details before they left, but Angel didn’t want to wait that long. Ray’s need for specifics was prolonging getting back together with Ryke and leaving him at the shop had been hard enough. It was time Angel regained her control. Otherwise they’d never make it to the pub.
She turned to Ray. “Here’s the Reader’s Digest version, and listen carefully because I won’t repeat it.” Ray shrugged her shoulders. “I went to get scrap, there was some serious spark between us, things got hot in his office, the phone rang, the end. Now we’re getting together at the bar tonight and I’m pretty sure I won’t be coming home with you.”
RayAnne laughed and got off the couch. “Now this sounds like the perfect night, leave with my best friend and come home alone.”
“Oh honey, you want to go back to Ryke’s place too?” Angelica bumped Ray with her hip as they started up the stairs.
“No thank you, lover, maybe we’ll find me someone under the age of sixty.”
Ruffling Ray’s hair, Angel smiled but wasn’t so sure about her friend’s hopes. A town that size didn’t get many visitors, it’d be especially hard to find a cute one to fill RayAnne’s fairy tale dreams.
Moments later, Angel was in her room contemplating her outfit when the sound of heavy thuds came from across the hall. Angelica popped her head out. "You okay over there?"
Ray came hopping out of her room, one hand on the back of her cowboy boot, the other keeping her upright on the wall. "Good, just, getting these puppies back on."
"Well, hello, there Miss Ray. You’re kind of serious about this, huh?" Angelica took in the tiny denim shorts and tight flannel her friend wore. Her curves stood out so much more than Angelica’s, mostly because, well, Angelica didn’t really have any. Ray was lucky to have large breasts and a full ass. The shorts cut off right under her cheeks and the tops of her breasts were all but exposed while she bent over to pull the boots on.