AllTangledUp

by Crystal Jordan

  “Okay. It looks like you did this right.” He took a breath, rolled his shoulders, visibly forcing himself to relax. Glancing back at her, the corners of his eyes crinkled. “Maybe just tell me next time instead of diving under the hood of my ride. I’m a mechanic, so I’m pretty territorial where my cars are concerned. Especially this car.”

  “Noted.” Her nose wrinkled. “I’ve been wanting to look under your hood for a while. I couldn’t resist, and I wasn’t thinking. But I wouldn’t want you messing with my Mustang without asking. Sorry about that, sugar.”

  A little grin eased the tension out of his face. “You’ve been wanting to get under my hood, huh?”

  “Shut up, pervert.” She huffed out a laugh.

  One of his blond brows cocked and his grin turned lecherous. “I didn’t hear you complaining last night.”

  No woman in her right mind would have complained about last night. And there was Jesse with nothing but a pair of faded jeans clinging to his muscular thighs. Mm-hm.

  He nodded to the engine. “So, why don’t we finish this together?”

  “I thought you’d never ask, sugar.” The smile she gave him made his gaze darken with lust, just as she’d intended. Bending over beside him, she held in a sigh when their arms rubbed together and warmth heated her belly.

  “Where’d you learn to do this?” His hands soon turned as blackened as hers as they set the belt on the right course, checking the crank, cam and sprockets for timing marks.

  “My uncle.” She grabbed the wrench she had balanced on the engine block and used it on the crankshaft to move the belt around a few revolutions while Jesse made sure the belt stayed on course.

  “So, when do I get to get under your hood?” He glanced over at her fourteen-year-old fire-engine-red Mustang. It was a beauty, but definitely not one of the vintage cars he was used to working on. She doubted he was as keen to play with her car as she had been to play with his.

  “I should probably get something newer, but my parents bought it for me before they passed away.” She shrugged, grabbing the timing cover so they could reaffix it. “I haven’t been able to talk myself into getting rid of it, even though it’s at that weird stage where it’s not new, but not yet a classic. It’s just old.”

  “Those awkward teen years.” He nodded sagely, and she chuckled. “Don’t worry, they age out of that phase and turn into classics. No reason why you should get rid of it if it’s running well.”

  She made an incredulous noise. “I keep my baby purring like a kitten.”

  He helped her put the cover back on. “I’ll refrain from making a dirty joke, since you already called me a pervert.”

  That cracked her up, and he laughed with her. She bumped his shoulder with hers. “Come on, let’s finish.”

  “Whatever you want, honey.” They reconnected the battery, and then Jesse went around to turn over the engine. The car started immediately and didn’t give the irritating whine that had made her want to fix it in the first place.

  She leaned to the side, waving a hand at him to shut the engine down. “Looks good!”

  Climbing out of the car, he came to join her while she tossed the wrench into her toolbox. The expanse of his naked chest was right in front of her and it was all she could do not to lick one of his nipples. Maybe bite it a little while she was at it. A flush raced up her cheeks, and she was pretty sure her expression gave away what she was thinking. Not that she was trying to hide it.

  He ran a thumb across her cheek. “You’ve got grease on you. Time for a shower.”

  “Okay.”

  Bending forward to grab her toolbox, he walked over to stuff it in her trunk. “Let me put that away for you, so you don’t get any more ideas about touching my Spyder without me here to supervise.”

  “I won’t!” She had to admire the fact that he hadn’t freaked out on her. Most men she knew would have read her the riot act for dreaming of touching their cars. She would have reamed anyone who’d done what she did. Way to go, Lola. Seeing a problem and fixing it was her nature. She hadn’t been thinking of what Jesse might have wanted, and she’d stepped over the line. He’d called her on it, but he hadn’t been an asshole about it. He really was a nice man. She didn’t know why that startled her so much, but it did.

  “What?”

  She shook her head, forcing her mind back to why she was here. It wasn’t to appreciate Jesse’s personality. She let a slow smile form on her lips, running her gaze down his body. “Nothing. I want you. In the shower works just fine for me, sugar.”

  His features tightened with lust, his gaze sharpening and his pupils expanding. “Good. Come here.”

  He had it bad.

  If he didn’t, he’d have blown a gasket over her laying a finger on his car. He loved that car. Working on it with her had been interesting, something he’d never done with a woman before. Only he and his dad had ever touched the Spyder in the years he’d owned it. True, the repair had been pretty simple, but she definitely knew more about the inside of an engine than the average customer at the garage. Which was surprising, in a really good way.

  She led the way into the house and a warm sense of what might have been contentment wrapped around him. It was foolish to enjoy this so much. His time with her was ticking down to an inevitable end. He’d told himself to dive into this and experience it to the fullest, but there was such a thing as getting in over his head. He rubbed a hand over the nape of his neck, sighing. He liked having her near, liked the way they sparked off each other and made each other laugh. They had little in common, and it made no sense, but there it was.

  This was not a good sign.

  His mouth dried as he watched Lola strip on her way to the bathroom. She draped her lacy bra across the back of the couch, giving him a provocative glance over her shoulder. All the blood rushed from his brain to fill his cock, which ached with the need to be buried inside her slick pussy.

  He unfastened his jeans, shoving them down as he followed her. There was no way he could resist. He licked his lips when she wriggled out of her panties and left them in the hallway before she entered the bathroom. Damn, but she had one fine ass. High and round. He groaned as he watched her lean forward to turn on the shower.

  “Ready, sugar?” she drawled out, her voice sweet and Southern.

  He gestured to his stiffened dick. “What do you think?”

  “Excellent.” Winking, she stepped under the spray and crooked her finger at him.

  He was across the small room in two strides, crowding her into the shower stall to make sure her damp curves rubbed against his body. Hot water sluiced down him and steam filled the room. He bent forward to catch a droplet of moisture that quivered on the tip of her nipple, curling his tongue around the tight peak. She swayed into him, her hands sliding into his hair. Her grip tightened painfully when he bit down on her breast. The sting did nothing to dissuade him.

  Slipping her fingers out of his hair, she stroked across his shoulder and down to tweak one of his nipples. Gooseflesh broke over his limbs. God, he loved her hands on him. She tugged on his chest hair before her nail flicked hard over the flat disc. He shuddered, releasing her breast to straighten. She took the opportunity to drop her slender hands to his cock, stroking the length of it.

  “You know, I should really make it up to you about the car.” She sank to her knees before him, flashing the kind of smile that made his heart hammer. Her grip tightened on his dick, and her tongue flicked out to circle the bulbous head. A groan ripped out of him.

  “Oh, yeah. You might need to make it up to me more than once.”

  She chuckled and the vibration went straight up his shaft. He had to grit his teeth to hold on to a modicum of control. He didn’t want this to end that quickly. The jets of water that poured over his skin did little to help in that area. It only added to the sensations that crashed into him. Lola’s mouth took him deep, and he watched her cheeks hollow out as she sucked him. She met his gaze and the look in her eyes told hi
m she knew exactly how she affected him. Damn, but she was perfect. Nothing else mattered right now. This moment, with her, was perfect.

  Her hand cupped the sac between his legs, massaging his balls. Sweat broke out on his forehead, the salty beads combining with the spray of water pelting his body. Lola slid a fingertip back to stroke the hypersensitive strip of flesh between his balls and his anus. He groaned, shuddering. Her hands and lips on his skin were beyond incredible. When she teased the edge of his anus, pressing upward to pierce his ass, his heart stopped.

  “Jesus fucking Christ.” His hands shot out to brace himself on the shower walls, his hips pumping his cock into her hot mouth. Every time his hips rocked back, he took her finger deeper into his ass. Lust boiled through him, and his lungs burned as he tried to drag in enough oxygen.

  Her tongue slid down the underside of his dick, and then her mouth opened to take in one of his balls. She sucked him hard, her teeth scraping ever so lightly on the sensitive skin. Choking on a harsh moan, he gave a full-body shudder. Jesus Christ, yes. She stroked her hand up and down his cock, her rhythm fast enough to shove him right over the edge. And then her finger curled inside his anus to press against just the right spot. His muscles jerked and he came into the air, groaning out his orgasm.

  “Lola!”

  She continued to work his ass and his dick with her slim fingers, her tongue teasing his balls, until he shivered and had to pull away. His heart still pounded in his ears, his lungs heaving for air. He dropped down, kneeling before her. The water rained down on them and he pulled her close, pressing his forehead to hers. “That was definitely the way to start the morning.”

  A giggle was her answer, and she wrapped her arms around him. “No question. Though do you think we should maybe use the shower for showering?”

  “You don’t want to test how long the water heater holds out?”

  “Not hardly.”

  “Well, all right.” He swatted her backside, then forced his muscles to work enough to haul them both to their feet.

  Dipping forward, he kissed her again. He had to. The taste of her was something he’d never get his fill of. Sweet and spicy and totally Lola. He’d get as much of it as he could for as long as he could, because he would be walking away after this weekend was over. A deal was a deal. If something painful twisted through him at the thought, he ignored it.

  They washed themselves quickly, since the water heater was starting to give out on them. He held open the shower door for her, letting her hop out to grab a towel, and then he did the same.

  She draped the terry cloth over the towel rack, moved over to the vanity and bent forward to grab her brush. Jesse couldn’t resist. He dipped down and ran the tip of his tongue along the cleft in her rounded buttocks. Her body tightened and he felt a delicate shiver course through her. He knelt down behind her. Slipping his fingers between her thighs, he eased into her cunt. She was soaking wet and it had nothing to do with the recent shower. A soft moan echoed in the room.

  He glanced up and met her gaze in the mirror. “What? You didn’t think I’d leave you unsatisfied, did you?”

  Chapter Four

  “You don’t have cable or satellite up here, do you?”

  Jesse opened one eye to give her an incredulous look. She couldn’t be serious. After the last round of sex, his brain wasn’t functioning well enough to remember his own name, let alone worry about cable. “Did you see a TV anywhere? My old man came out here to get away from the world. Fishing, tinkering on his car, sitting on the porch with a cold beer. If he wanted television he went to the bar a few miles down the shore.”

  She glanced at the old clock on the bedside table, swinging her legs over the side of the bed to stand. “Then we’re headed to the bar.”

  “You have a show you just can’t miss? You couldn’t set it to record on your DVR or something?” He ran a hand down his face. She really had to be kidding. He sat up and tried to catch her arm to haul her back into bed, but she danced out of his reach, laughing.

  “I did set it to record, but no, I have to see this live.” She dug through her bag until she came up with some clothes. He watched her wiggle and bounce getting on her underwear, shirt and jean skirt. She arched her eyebrows at him. “You don’t have to come along if you don’t want to, Kasen. Just give me directions and I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  “The hell you say.” He rolled out of bed and stuffed himself into some clean clothes, glowering at her. “You’re not ditching me to go hang out in a bar. I get the whole weekend with you.”

  “Of course, sugar.” She chortled. “Don’t get your boxers in a wad. I was just getting you to hurry up. It’s already noon. We need to go.”

  He opened his mouth, closed it again. There was nothing he could say that wasn’t going to come out a four-letter word, so he just shook his head, stuck his wallet in his back pocket and led the way down the hall. The woman was amazing. He’d never met anyone who turned him on or pissed him off quite so fast. When it came to her, he reacted.

  He wasn’t sure if he liked that or not. It probably depended on which end of the turned-on-pissed-off spectrum he was at.

  “Hey, where are we going?” she called when he turned for the back door. “The cars are the other way.”

  “I said the bar was a few miles down the shore.” He grinned over his shoulder at her, opening the door to point toward the boat tethered at the end of the dock. “This is the fastest way to make sure you don’t miss your soap opera.”

  “It’s Saturday, smartass. Soaps are on during the week.” She followed him out of the cabin and onto the porch.

  “How would you know that?” he taunted as he locked up behind them. It was impossible to resist goading her. If he had to react whenever she was around, he liked to prove that she had the same problem.

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “My grandma used to watch them.”

  “Sure she did.” He draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her down the path that led to the dock. The wood planks echoed with their footsteps as they approached the boat. It was a classic wooden sport cruiser his dad had fixed up when Jesse was still in elementary school.

  Lola ran a hand over the polished nose of the boat. “This is gorgeous.”

  “Thanks. Another of Dad’s babies.” Jesse picked her up and swung her onto the deck, holding her just a little too long with her breasts pressed to his chest. A tiny smile curved one corner of her mouth, and she brushed her lips across his. He liked that. Even such a simple contact was nice, without automatically leading to sex. Another reaction he wasn’t sure was a good thing.

  Releasing her, he untied the boat and hopped in. A few minutes later, they were skimming along the lake. Lola grinned, her neck craning as she tried to take everything in. “You must love it out here. It’s amazing!”

  He’d been here so many times, he almost took it for granted now, but he glanced around and tried to see it from her perspective. It was a beautiful day and there were quite a few people soaking up the sun and enjoying the water. Trees lined the shore and the Sierra Nevada Mountains rose in the distance. It really was amazing—one of his favorite places in the world. He loved it as much for the memories as for the scenery, but he didn’t say that out loud.

  “We’re almost there.” He took one hand off the wheel to point toward the long pier that jutted out into the lake. A mishmash of different watercraft was tethered to the old wood pilings, and he motored them closer until he found an open slip. He shut down the engine and helped Lola out, lashing the boat to a metal tie-off.

  She slid her hand into his as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and it felt like it was, which should have freaked him the hell out, but didn’t. He shoved the thought aside and walked with her toward the bar. She glanced up at him, eyebrows arched, when they got to the door. “The Spittoon Saloon?”

  He shrugged. “Hey, it was named by local miners during the silver rush. They’ve added TVs and other modern amenities, but
it’s mostly the same as it was back then.”

  “Those amenities include real bathrooms, right?” Her eyes widened in exaggerated horror.

  Laughing, he held the door open for her. Damn, but he liked this woman. “Yes, princess. There’s indoor plumbing.”

  She wasn’t quite sure she believed him as they stepped inside. She’d been to her share of seedy dive bars, but the word spittoon in the name wasn’t reassuring. A relieved breath eased out of her when she saw it just looked like an ancient cabin with a bar at one end, a few tables scattered around the interior and a few out-of-place-looking big-screen televisions. The old mirror over the bar was probably original, and her reflection was wavy as she approached the bartender.

  She dug out her wallet, slapped a fifty on the bar, flashing her most charming smile. “I’d like a beer and a channel change, please.”

  The geezer looked like he was an original fixture too. He grunted. “What kind of beer and what channel?”

  “Guinness for me and my friend, here,” she replied. The she nodded toward one of the smaller TVs mounted above the bar. “And if you could just move that NASCAR race over to the big screen, I’d appreciate it.”

  His eyebrows arched but he didn’t say anything. He grabbed a remote and flipped the channel, then set Jesse and her up with drafts of Guinness.

  “Thanks, hon. Keep the change.” She winked at the old guy, who gave her a gap-toothed grin as he scooped up the cash.

  “Any time, pretty lady.”

  Jesse held out a chair for her, amusement flashing in his green gaze. “Does every man alive flirt with you?”

  “Yep. And I usually flirt back, unless I’m working.” She dropped her purse on the table and settled in her seat, crossing her legs. The bar was full, but not packed, and she was fairly sure every man there was now staring at the length of her legs that weren’t covered by her short skirt. Including Jesse. Ah, well. Let them look. They would anyway, and she’d long since learned to make the best of it. “Do you have a problem with that, Kasen?”