by Jenika Snow
I shut the front door and turned and watched as she led Rowley into the kitchen to set the basket of vegetables on the counter. Then she took our son into the back room so he could wash up for dinner.
It was these mundane things, these little tasks of daily living, that I’d taken for granted for so long.
Making dinner.
Giving baths.
Sitting on the couch and watching the fire lick across the wood as our son attempted to read one of his books to us.
They were all so precious to me now.
Lexi
I brought the blanket over Rowley’s sleeping body, my heart so full that it could have exploded with love and happiness and I would have been content. I left the room and shut the door quietly, hearing the crackle of the flames moving along the wood before I even got to the living room. I rounded the corner and saw Dillon sitting on the couch, a book in his lap but his focus on the fireplace.
I just stood there and watched him for several seconds, the shadows dancing across his face, his focus intent. I wondered what he thought about, if he regretted the life he now had. As if he sensed me, he turned his head and stared at me. The genuine smile that covered his face told me all I needed to know.
No, he didn’t regret anything.
“Come here, baby.” He held his hand out to me and I moved closer to him.
When I was right in front of him he pulled me down onto his lap. I snuggled against the hardness of his chest and rested my head on his shoulder. He smelled good, woodsy and free, clean and wild. Although I could say I tamed him, the truth was he was still as wild as before. He was still elusive, still kept his distance from the outside world. Even when we went into town people knew to keep their distance.
I loved everything about this life, even if I’d never seen myself living it. I’d wanted Dillon for so long, yearned to have him as my own. But in reality it was I who was his. And I was okay with that. I loved that. He protected us, made me realize that you could be living without actually doing so. He made me understand that having the love of a strong man, and wanting him to take care of me, didn’t mean I was weak. It meant I was the one who was actually in charge, who held the power.
“Are you happy?”
I rose up and looked down at him, thinking about his question. He asked me this a lot, and although it had been years since we started being together, my answer never changed. It always grew exponentially.
“Do I make you happy?” He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek. I leaned into the warm hardness of his palm. He always made me feel so feminine, so womanly.
“I’ve never been happier.” Now I was the one to cup both of his cheeks, the stubble under my palms scratchy, masculine. I leaned in and kissed him gently. “I never knew what living was until I met you, Dillon.” And that was the truth. It had been my reality since the moment I saw him all those years ago, since before I had the courage to actually say anything to him.
Before I knew what was happening, he shifted on the couch and had me on my back so I rested on the cushions. My legs were spread, his big body nestled between them. I could feel how hard he was, the long, thick length of his cock pressing right between my thighs. I inhaled sharply, my pussy becoming wet instantly.
He ran the tip of his nose up the arch of my neck and I closed my eyes and moaned. “I’ll never get enough of you. You’re my reason for breathing, for living.” He pulled back and I forced my eyes open so I could look into his dark gaze. “Before you I didn’t really know what life was. I didn’t really know there was more to this world than just going through the motions.” And then he leaned in and kissed me soundly, and everything else faded away.
And I knew, like I always did when he looked at me, touched me ... when he was in my very presence, that there was nothing more precious in life than taking that risk and going after what you wanted.
Even if it scares the shit out of you it’s worth it.
I’m going to show her how good it can be to get dirty…
Josephine
Moving to a small town for a new job was the only thing I should be focused on. But the first time I see Gabe, all of that goes out the window. He’s the owner of a garage in the town I now call home, and picturing the filthy things he’d do to me with those grease-stained hands fills my head.
The way he looks at me makes me feel like a woman, like he’s undressing me with his eyes … like he could teach me a thing or two about what a real man does with a woman in his bed.
I don’t care if being with him is fast or sudden. I want him to devour me.
Gabe
The first time I lay eyes on Josephine, I know she’ll be mine.
I won’t stop until she is.
I want to get my dirty hands all over her. I want to make that creamy pale skin of hers dark from grease, and red from holding onto her.
And I’ll do all of that, because there’s no way I’m backing off, not until I know I have her.
Warning: You like filthy and insta-love? Well, this story is full of it. If you’re into a hero who knows how to handle his woman, and a heroine who’s all about tall, dark, and dirty, you better hang on because this story will most definitely give you whiplash.
Created with Vellum
1
Josephine
“Please make it to town, you bitch of a car.” I was pissed but prayed I made it at least to town before this piece-of-shit vehicle broke down on me.
I saw the sign saying I would be entering Rustin city limits in five miles. “Come on, baby, you can do it.”
The puttering sound started, then the squealing. I cursed. It was getting dark, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with woods surrounding me and God knows what lurking behind the trees. All those horror movies I’d watched over the years about a deranged serial killer or a family of mutants wanting to breed with a female slammed into my head.
I was seriously starting to regret taking on the position at the interior design shop in this out-of-the-way town. But I also couldn’t have turned it down. The salary alone was more than I could have imagined making after just graduating with my degree. Not to mention corporate paid my relocating fee, found me a place to stay, and made me head of the store.
It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and I’d jumped on it faster than I’d given myself time to think.
Hell, I was probably just questioning it now because my damn car was acting up.
And as if the bitch decided to say a big “fuck you,” the car gave one last stutter before smoke started coming out of the hood.
I pulled to the side of the road. The sun was nearly set, and where I was parked was right around a bend. With trees surrounding me, an ominous feeling swept over me.
I am not going to think about horror movies.
I am not going to think about serial killers.
I turned on my hazard lights, double-checked to make sure my doors were locked, and reached across the seat to grab my purse. I pulled my phone out, the dreaded feeling that I’d have no signal filling me. But thank God I had three bars. After searching the Internet and finding the town mechanic’s shop, I dialed the number and prayed they were open.
“Gabe’s Garage,” the deep, husky voice on the other side of the line all but barked out.
I rested my head on the back of the seat, looked up at the roof of my car, and mouthed “thank you” to whoever was listening. “Hi, yeah, my name is Josephine, and I, um, broke down and am in desperate need of a tow.”
There was a heartbeat of silence before he answered me.
“Where you at?” The guy’s voice was so deep, so masculine that I actually felt a chill race over my arms.
I turned in my seat and looked around for any signs. “Um, I actually don’t know. But I just barely passed the Rustin city limits sign that said I’d be entering in about five miles. I’m coming from South.” Another moment of silence, some papers rustling, and then he cleared his throat.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll be out. It’ll be extra though because it’s after hours.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. What’s your name?”
Another moment of silence passed.
“Gabe.”
“Thanks so much. I just want to get out of the middle of nowhere. Who knows what creeps are in the woods.”
He gave a short chuckle. “You’ll be fine. Just hang tight.”
I hoped he was right, because now all I could think about was the shady shit that could go down in the time it took him to get here.
Gabe
I saw the flashing hazards up ahead and slowed. It was already past sundown, and although the garage was technically closed, I still took after-hours tow jobs. They didn’t come frequently, but when they did, it was usually from some out-of-towner.
I pulled onto the shoulder and turned around so I was facing the same way as the vehicle. I drove the tow truck to the front of the car and reversed until I was close enough to hook it up.
When I climbed out of the truck, the car’s driver’s side door was opening.
The headlights made it impossible to see her clearly. I could see her shape well enough, though, and damn, was she curvy.
“Thank you so much,” she said, her voice soft, sweet. And then she stepped in front of the lights and I got a good look at her.
Fuck.
It was hard to tell in the artificial light, but her hair was a shade of red and long enough to make the image of wrapping my hand around it as I plunged my cock into her body slam through my mind.
My cock started to get hard, and I told myself to calm the fuck down. No need to frighten her and make her think I was some depraved pervert because she saw the wood I was sporting.
She’d popped the hood when I’d parked, and as I stood there just staring at her, she turned and looked at the guts of the car. She was bent over, her hands on the edge, her ass popped out. The jeans she wore did nothing to hide the fact that her bottom was big, round, and would feel good in my hands.
My cock jerked again, and since she wasn’t looking at me, I reached down and adjusted the asshole.
“It started making this crazy sound, and when I pulled off to the side and cut the engine, I noticed smoke or steam or something coming out from under the hood.”
I didn’t answer, because truth be told I was horny as hell for this woman, and the sight of her presented like some special little fucking gift for me had all words leaving my head. She straightened and turned to face me, and when she took a step forward, I saw the way her body changed.
Her breathing increased.
She licked her lips.
She lowered her gaze and stared right at my cock.
Josephine
I did not mean to eye this guy’s junk, but when I saw him, got a good look at who this tow-truck man was, it was like instinct.
He was huge, easily towering over my not so meager five-foot-six height. The man was a beast, his body corded with muscle, his grease-stained white shirt doing nothing to hide all that strength. He had a dark, trimmed beard, and as I really took him in, I realized this man put his gender to shame.
I’d never been instantly aroused before … until now.
I was wet—soaking, in fact.
My nipples were hard, hell, maybe even hard enough he could see them pushing against the material of my shirt.
And I felt my heart beating fast and hard, felt it lodged in my throat.
My reaction was ridiculous, ludicrous even, but it was real.
I cleared my throat and looked away. He was hard, his erection pressing against his pants like a third leg.
God, he was big.
“So,” I said but didn’t look at him. I felt very bare right now, unhinged even. “Think it’s something you can fix?”
He didn’t answer right away, and I glanced up at him. He had his focus trained right on me, this dark, commanding presence that had my flesh feeling tight, exposed in the winter’s chill.
“I’ll get it taken care of.” He took a step toward me, and I smelled the wild scented cologne he wore. It was manly, slightly musky, and reminded me of the woods after a rainfall. “Go ahead and hop in the truck.”
I nodded because I still felt so off balance. He moved past me, the light glow from his taillights washing his huge body in this reddish-orange hue. And when I saw him start to get my car ready to be towed, I couldn’t help but watch the way his muscles played under the flesh of his biceps.
I didn’t know what in the hell was going on with me, but I had a feeling I needed to bury that shit. No way was I about to entertain the idea of being with this man in the filthiest way possible.
I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
Right?
2
Gabe
The next day
“How long?” she asked, the shock in her voice clear. Her eyes had widened, her mouth was slightly open, and all I could think about in that moment was pulling out my dick and slipping it between those plump, pink lips of hers.
“At least a week, maybe longer if I can’t get the part from a guy I know in the next town.” I looked over at her car. “You have a foreign late model. New parts are near to impossible to find, and used ones, or ones at a junkyard, are hard as well.”
She exhaled and shook her head. “I mean what exactly is wrong with it?”
“Where do you want me to start?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head again. “Never mind. I don’t think I’d understand half of what you told me anyway.”
She opened her eyes, and their blue color, coupled with the reddish hue of her hair, had me on the verge of popping wood. The fact that I was keeping any kind of self-control in this moment was pretty fucking remarkable.
She turned from me and presented her back. I watched as she stared out the window. The garage I owned was just on the other side of that flimsy glass, the men who worked for me keeping busy with cars and motorcycles.
“Do you know how much this will cost?” she asked and looked over her shoulder at me.
It would cost a decent amount, even with a used part. Labor alone would be a shitload, but I was sure we could work something out. “Don’t worry,” was all I said.
She exhaled and nodded. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it then.” She reached in her purse and pulled out her cell. Before I knew who she was calling, she was speaking to someone. “I’m going to need to reserve a rental.” I was in front of her, had the phone snatched away, and the call ended before she could even say anything else. “What the hell?” Her eyes were wide, her shock clear on her face.
I handed her the phone. “You don’t need a rental.” I’d dropped her off at the place she was staying at, and told her one of the guys from the shop would pick her up in the a.m. so we could discuss her car issues.
But I was the one who’d gotten her this morning. The ride might have been made in silence, and she might have looked nervous as hell, but I didn’t want anyone else near her.
In less than twelve hours since meeting her I’d become one territorial fuck concerning Josephine.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll take you where you need to go until your car is fixed.” What Josephine didn’t know yet was that I wanted her, and that I would make her mine.
There was no stopping me.
Josephine
My entire body felt like it was on fire, and it was all because of the man sitting next to me.
“We’ll stop and get something to eat,” he said without question, his voice rough, deep. He was a take-charge kind of man. I didn’t need to know him to understand that. It was also clear Gabe was used to getting what he wanted, no matter what.
I felt his gaze on me. We were stopped at a red light, and the intensity with which he stared at me had me shifting on the seat.
I focused instead on the interior of the truck. It was old, a Ford, and looked like it had seen better days. The front seat was one long bench, and
there were only a few feet separating us. The radio was on low, and I idly wondered if he used the cassette player that I spied. The smell of age and motor oil filled the interior of the truck, but then again maybe it was just the grease stains on Gabe’s hands and jeans.
When the light turned green and I felt his gaze move off mine, only then did I look at him. Despite the chill in the air and the snow covering the ground, Gabe only wore a fraying gray flannel over a white shirt. He flexed his hands on the steering wheel, and I was transfixed at the sight, at the power that poured from him. He was by far the most masculine man I’d ever seen—hell, that I’d ever been in the presence of. It was hard to think that anyone else could “outman” him.
“You’re hungry?” he finally said, breaking up my thoughts and bringing me to the present.
“I guess,” I said and could have smacked my head for that response.
He grunted—his acknowledgment to my response, I supposed.
We rode the rest of the way in silence, but I was very aware of him sitting next to me. Despite the heater blowing out lukewarm air, I started to sweat. It had nothing to do with me being overly hot, but the fact that I felt like my heart was pounding right through my chest, pushing my blood through my veins at a rapid rate. I shifted on the seat, feeling exposed despite the fact that I was fully dressed.
And I was aroused, too.
I was wet between my thighs, my nipples felt hard, and my skin tingled.
I thought about what it would be like to have him over me, his huge tattooed body this wall of strength and ink. I bet he was crazy good in bed. I bet he took what he wanted but made sure his partner was screaming out in pleasure.