by Madison Faye
“You own a garage in town?”
“The garage in town,” he corrects with a smile. “Small town. Just one of everything.”
“I can just leave the car here?” I gesture. “Until… Herb arrives?”
“Promise you nobody will touch it. Even with the keys right in the ignition.” He smiles.
“That’s good to know.” What’s he saying with those dark eyes?
“So get on in.” He points to the passenger seat.
“You’re not a crazy serial killer?” I feel the need to do a cursory safety check, even though my instincts tell me he’s just fine.
He laughs again. “Nope. If you wanna wait for Herbie, he can drive you back. But yeah, I’m safe.” He takes out his driver’s license and holds it out. “Go on. Take a picture and text it to your friends if you want.”
“I can’t. My phone’s dead.” But I still take the license and glance down, then point to my phone, lying on the passenger seat.
He leans over to see. “iPhone? Here. You can borrow my charger.” He gestures to his front seat, where a cord trails from the cigarette lighter charger. I hesitate, then figure, why the hell not? I plug my phone into the jack and snap a quick pic of his license.
“Thank you. My bestie will…” think you’re as fucking hot as I do, “get it soon.” He’s thirty-four, just like me. Six foot two. Two hundred five pounds. All of it lean muscles, as far as I can see. Zach Bradford is one fine man; that much is sure.
Then I do a double take. “Wait. Zach Bradford? I used to know a Zach Bradford in high school back in Chicago. St. Bernard’s. But you…” I hand over the license, tilting my head to examine him.
“Same guy. I’m Zach Bradford from St. Bernard’s.” He puts the license into his wallet, then steps back and puts his hands in his pockets. Does he look a little shy?
“No.” I stare. “I would have recognized… you.” I tilt my head. “Zach?”
I try to reconcile the memory of a thin boy who hung out with a different crowd than I did, with this man-God standing in front of me. He was one of the nice kids, but we didn’t interact much. What I remember about him was his intense gaze, and as I look as Zach now, I see that hasn’t changed.
“You have changed.” And though his stare is the same, my words are true. His body, his face—those are new. All man.
“Then you must be Kiera Collins?” He frowns. “You’re different, too.” He assesses me, and smiles. “I thought you looked familiar, but I didn’t put it together until just now. What are you doing here in Mecklenburg? Is… your family with you? Husband, or…?” He raises a brow, looks at my left hand, then back to my face.
“New job. And no, no family with me. I’m not married.” I flush. “My mom’s still in Chicago. How about you?”
“I’m single. Got divorced a few years ago and moved out here for a change of pace. No kids.” He crosses his arms and a frisson of excitement thrills through me. We’re asking each other something with our eyes, and answering at the same time. Moving through the steps, such as they are.
“Wow, small world.” But what I’m thinking is more that it’s not small, but magical. How else would this man be standing in front of me right now, looking at me like the only thing he wants to do in this world is burn me up with his gaze? He’s straight out of my fantasies.
“Sometimes.” He frowns, as if he didn’t like my glib reply. He tilts his head. “Other times, so vast that it’s incomprehensible.”
“What times are those?” I step closer. If he wants to cut through the bullshit, so do I. My heart quickens.
“Well.” He pauses. “When a person is lonely, I suppose. When you’re looking for something that you can’t find. And I’m not talking about keys.” He looks at my car, then back at me. “When you’re searching for the thing that makes you whole, and it’s not fucking anywhere.”
“Point taken.” I nod. “I suppose in that case, the world is infinite.” I hesitate. “And it’s then that you need to look in a new place. Or stop looking, and let the thing find you. Give life a chance. Let the tides roll and wash you up on the beach of your future.”
His eyes glitter. “What’s your beach, Kiera? What are you waiting for?”
I laugh. “I stopped waiting. That’s why I’m here, Zach. I got tired of my corporate job, so I found this place, in this town, figuring I needed something different. I’m changing my path. Getting away from it all. Thinking things over and getting some perspective. So here I am.” I can’t look away from his face.
“So you are.” I can hear the wonder in his voice. “Right here.”
He calls Herbie. I get into his truck, the smell of new leather and his cologne wash over me, and he plays music, not too loudly. We talk all the way to town, which isn’t a very long drive.
“So what have you been doing since we were in school together?” He looks over at me, then back to the road.
“College, IT degree, worked at a company in New York. A lot of travel. Then I got burned out. Broke up with my fiancé.” I think about my relationship with my ex—how we were so in tune in the bedroom, especially when it came to kink, but how I was still lonely. All the time. “Like I said before, I decided I needed to reset myself, so that’s why I’m here.” I pause, looking at his strong hands on the steering wheel. “You? You said… you’re divorced? What happened?”
“I married young and fast. She was great, but we just weren’t right for each other, I guess. We tried to get busy with friends and socializing to mask it, but eventually it wore through. Sometimes a person can be almost perfect, but it’s the almost that makes you pretty fucking lonely.”
I nod. “I hear you.”
As we look at each other, I feel something growing between us, fast and strong. It’s attraction, yes, but it’s something more, as well. How do you describe the feeling of meeting someone and knowing that things between you will be so fucking spectacular that it’s like it already happened? That’s something amazing and special. You have to grab that with both goddamn hands. You don’t find the rarest jewel and leave it in the mine.
I lean my head back and look over at him, moving my hair, touching my neck. And he smiles, glancing from me to the road; a small smile plays on his lips, like he knows what I’m thinking. Like he fucking loves it. And the rest of the drive is a million miles and a single flash at the same time.
Chapter Two
When we get to his shop, he sets me up in the waiting area and it’s not long before a battered tow truck comes heaving into view, my poor car attached, her underside showing, a little strange and intimate, almost embarrassing. Because you never see that part of a car. It’s odd how I feel undressed in front of him, thinking of my own naked belly and thighs. Imagining standing nude in front of him, stripping for him, when it’s just my car here, slightly obscene, her front end lifted up.
“You can charge your phone here too, if you need more juice.” He points to an outlet. “And here’s coffee.”
“Thank you.” I rummage in my purse and find my own cord. “I will, and that smells amazing.” I accept the steaming cup.
“It’s shit, but it’s got caffeine at least. Keep you awake while you wait.” His dark eyes flash.
“I don’t think I’ll fall asleep. It’s not that late, after all,” I laugh, pointing to the window, where the sun is blazing, ready for the impending sunset. “I’m usually a night person, anyway.”
“Me too.” He smiles. “I’m gonna go back and have the guys start checking it out, and I gotta organize stuff on another car. You okay here? Hungry?” He raises a brow. “The vending machine probably doesn’t have anything good.”
“I’m fine. I ate lunch in town before I broke down, at the diner.” I smile. “I’m glad you came by.” Then I laugh, not because it’s a joke, but because it’s a gift: the universe giving him to me, like this.
He doesn’t smile back. “Me too. This town is safe, but still, getting stranded isn’t a joke.”
“I’m not
laughing at that.” I think he knows. The look in his eye, predatory yet kind, is a sign that he gets me already. But there’s a hint of something that makes my stomach twist with aroused apprehension. It’s too much to dream that he’d be into what I’m into—
He nods. “I’ll be back.”
While I wait, I check messages. Facebook. IM friends.
There’s a reply from my BFF, Lisa. “Wow, he’s hot! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” And about a dozen emojis.
But Zach is ever present in my mind, with every smile, every hi, every comment. His face is in my brain, his smile flashes in my eyes, and his smell is fucking under my skin. I itch with the need to have him come back here, to come here to me, to be here in my presence. So we can continue this thing that’s starting.
* * *
“Did you know that your check engine light is on?” He’s standing in front of me, hands on his hips. Stern look on his face.
“I… guess I did. But I was ignoring it. I figured it wasn’t a big deal.” I blink at him and smile. Here it is—the flirtation I’ve been waiting for.
“Your records show that your car’s overdue for routine maintenance.” He raises a brow.
“Well, that kind of stuff… you know how the dealer is always trying to scam you?” I run my hand over my neck. Will he follow where I’m going, to the kinky games I want to play?
“I don’t. How is that?” His voice is pleasant but firm.
“I am pretty sure that you do not need maintenance nearly as often as they say you do. And they charge so much more. I could get a better deal at a smaller shop.” I flip my hair over my shoulder and my perfume, faded flowers, wafts out to both of us.
“True. But do you?” He steps an inch closer.
“No. But I could, is the point.” I lick my lips, because it almost seems like he’s—scolding me? At the same time he’s eating me up with his gaze?
“Your oil is low, your air pressure is borderline, a belt is squeaking, and your brake pads are shot.” He crosses his arms and I try not to stare at the way his muscles bulge.
“Aha.” I lick my lips. “I maybe am not a car expert after all, I guess.”
“No. That you are not.” He steps in one more inch, and I don’t back away. “Not even close.”
“I have other talents.”
“I’m sure you do.” His eyes flash.
“Very good ones.” I lick my lips again, more deliberately this time.
“Do tell.”
I might, but we’re interrupted by the bell over the door, and a whoosh of warm summer air. The newcomer, a tall man in his forties with a handsome face and salt/pepper hair, looks at us quizzically, and we both step back. I touch my face, and Zach runs a hand through his hair.
“Cameron. Your car’s about ready.” He nods. “Come on into the shop and I’ll show you what we did.” He hesitates. “Kiera, I’ll be just a minute.”
“Where am I going to go? My car’s still up in the air, innards showing, wires dangling. Unless I get another ride from someone, I’m stuck.”
“You don’t need a ride from anyone but me.” His voice is almost a whip, but when he looks at me directly, and then smiles, my heart melts. “The cab card is right here.” He points at a billboard. “And you can call anytime, leave, come back later. But—I’ll take you wherever you need to go,” he adds more softly. “Just wait for me.”
I swallow hard. “I’ll wait.”
While I’m waiting this time, I sit on the battered chairs by the front door, and poke through the magazines on the worn wooden table. Car and Driver from about a million years ago. My mind’s not on the words. I could be reading ancient Greek. No, I’m consumed with the man in the shop, the one whose eyes are making promises I want him to keep. Over and over again.
When Zach comes back, he sits down next to me. “So, Kiera, here’s what I recommend.” He rests his hands on his powerful thighs. “Your car needs an alternator, and I really recommend new brake pads. It will take an overnight stay, I’m sorry to say, because it’s late in the day. But we can have it ready by tomorrow evening.”
“I guess I don’t have much of a choice.”
“I guess you don’t.” He smiles. “But I promise we’ll take good care of her for you.”
“Thanks.” I bite my lip, not sure what to say next. He did say he’d drive me, but I don’t want to assume things. Or act too eager.
“You’re staying at the Cartright cabin, yeah?” He spreads his thighs a little bit, getting comfortable, and it’s like I can’t look away. Those powerful muscles really do it for me. At my surprised look, he laughs. “Sorry. People said the new IT developer for the city was renting it. You’re the only newcomer, so I put it together.”
“Is there anything about me that you people don’t already know?” I laugh and roll my eyes. “Small town gossip.”
“I’m sure there are a few things.” His gaze, low-lidded, makes my stomach flip. His voice isn’t outright flirtatious, but neither is it neutral. There’s a spark between us, and it’s growing stronger by the second.
“Yes. I’m renting a cabin from Hazel and Timothy Cartright for the next three months.” I smile. “For the duration of my contract here.”
“Nice place.” He nods. “Safe. You’ll like it there. If I know Hazel, she’s probably left you food to get started.”
“I actually paid a little extra to have her set me up with starter groceries. She was so nice on the phone.”
“I can drive you there.” He looks at me, examining my face.
“You don’t have to.”
“I don’t have to. I want to.” He meets my eyes. “But only if that’s what you prefer. We do have a cab service in town. They only run until eight p.m. and only when the cab driver, Sheldy, isn’t out hunting, or drinking at the bar. But he’s there right now.” He looks at his watch. “I can call him for you.”
“Ah.” I wrinkle my nose. “That does not sound like the best combination for a cab driver.”
“Oh, Sheldy’s sober. You’ll be safe with him. He drinks Coke and shoots the shit with the guys. But I promise you that my truck smells better than his.” He grins and raises an eyebrow.
“And you smell better than he does, I assume?” I add, making a face.
“You’re welcome to find out.” He leans back and tilts his head, as if inviting me closer, and I suck in my breath, because fuck, I want to. I want to bend into his body and stick my nose in his neck, inhale his scent, and then lick that tan skin. I want to press my lips to his and feel his hands come alive on my body.
“I don’t get complaints,” he adds, his voice silky. I bet he doesn’t.
“Nor do I.” Jesus, I can’t stop flirting, and I don’t want to. “I will accept your ride.”
“Only complaint I have about you so far?” He sits upright and leans forward, lowering his voice. He looks right at me. “You need to take better care of yourself.”
“Excuse me? I work out every day and I eat right, and—” I frown, until I see his face. That smile. Oh.
“Not that. You look amazing.” He touches my arm briefly. “I mean looking out for your personal safety. Keep that car in better condition so you don’t break down, Kiera. That’s dangerous.” His smile is wicked. And I know, in that moment, that it’s on. Fuck, it’s on.
I shrug. “I haven’t had issues yet.” I toss my hair again.
He frowns. “What do you call today? What if you broke down on the interstate where nobody could find you right away?”
I feel sick at the thought. “I could have called for help.” My response is weak. He’s right… I should be more careful.
“With your uncharged phone?” He eyes me.
“Yeah, I should keep that charged. I was just so busy with the move and the new job.” I bite my lip.
“If you were mine…” He breaks off and shakes his head.
“If I were yours, what?” I challenge.
He looks at me as if trying to figure something ou
t. “Let me drive you to your place and get you squared away. Then, if you really want to know what I’m talking about, you ask me that again. Deal?” He quirks a brow.
My breath catches in my throat. “Yes.”
Chapter Three
It’s darker now, and as we drive back down the country road, a flock of birds swirls and swoops, ink patterns spreading in water, before descending on a tree and coating it, dark honey, settling into all the crevices. Fireflies flash, sparks in the fields.
When we arrive at the house, I locate the key in the hiding place that Hazel told me about—a hollow rock in the bushes—and open the door.
Zach was right about Hazel. The lights are on, there’s a note on the door, and in the fridge, there’s a tray of lasagna and a bottle of white wine, in addition to the things I paid her to stock for me.
Her note: Welcome, Kiera! We’re so glad you’re here. Please call any time if you need anything.
I swallow hard—it’s nice to feel welcomed. I close the fridge and walk around, examining the small place, which is comfortable, with furniture that’s worn but clean, just like in the pictures online. There’s local art on the walls. I head back to the car and grab my laptop case and purse, and Zach helps me take in the suitcases in the back.
“Excuse me for a minute.” I grab my cosmetic case from the larger suitcase and head into the bathroom to wash my face and freshen up. At the door, I turn to look back at him.
“Do you want me to stay?” Zach’s eyes are dark. “Wait for you?” He raises a brow.
I flush. “Please. Yes. I do.”
He nods. “Then I will.” He smiles. “Take your time.”
When I come back out, I see that Zach is walking around, checking the locks on all the windows, and something in me softens, but I need to interject. “I could do that myself, you know.”
“I’m sure you could.” He tests the back door. “But since I’m here, I can’t sit idle.”
“I don’t want you idle.”