Then he strode out, tossing open the single door that led to the shop, leaving me there gasping in his wake.
ELEVEN
JUD
It was just after five-thirty when I felt the shift in the air. One where shivers went racing along my spine and my stomach thought it fit to tighten in a fist.
I swiveled around from where I was kneeling in front of the chopper I was working on to find Salem strutting out.
She wore that silky blouse, painted-on black pants, and those sky-high heels that were trampling all over my good sense.
Poking holes in the commitment that seemed to get hazier and hazier with each moment that passed.
It blurred over the edges since the sight of her caused every cell in my body to go haywire.
Short-circuiting.
My senses on overload because fuck…I wanted her.
Wanted to fist my hands in those tresses of black. Get lost in the turbulence of those blue eyes. Drown on that vixen mouth.
I wanted her in a way that wasn’t right. In a way that slanted dangerous. In a way that was at odds with every damned thing I’d been living for.
Remnants of earlier in the lobby still buzzed in my nerves.
The way I wouldn’t have thought twice about fighting for her when I’d gone for the blacked-out BMW parked on the opposite side of the street.
The way the demon inside had gone to thrashing and jerking and tearing at the chains in a bid to get free.
The way I’d wanted to hop on my bike and hunt the motherfucker down when the pussy had jumped from the curb and fled.
Truth was, everything about whoever had been sitting out there was sketch as fuck.
Knew it in a moment.
In a heartbeat.
The instinct that had kept me alive for all those years when I’d been living in the dregs of society.
I’d been set on ripping the asshole from the car and demanding to know what he was doing creeping around my lot.
The problem was, that rage hadn’t dissipated when the threat had gone, it’d only shifted.
Changed.
Taken new shape.
It had grown into a beast that wanted to fight for her all the harder when I’d come back in and found this fierce, ferocious girl pale and shaking, like she’d come face-to-face with a ghost she couldn’t outrun.
I’d only meant to comfort her.
Promise her it would be fine.
Then I’d touched her, and all bets were off.
This girl who with one kiss had knocked me senseless.
“Hey there, darlin’，” I called.
She normally strode in here all kinds of confident, but this time, those eyes darted around, landing on every single thing except for me.
Finally, she exhaled the strain and lifted that chin as she sauntered my way. “Are you ready?”
A grin cracked my face as I pushed to standing and tossed the wrench to the worktable. “You in a rush?”
Suggestion rode out with the words, no holding it back.
Not when just her walking into my shop knocked the breath right out of my lungs.
Her tone turned almost defiant. “I am, actually.”
I hooked my hip on the table and crossed my arms over my chest. “Yeah, and why’s that?”
She heaved out a breath and shook her head. She looked around again, not answering my question but giving me one of her own. “Where’s Darius?”
“Cut both him and Brock loose early. Figured they deserved an early night to unwind considering the hours they’ve been putting in this week.”
Salem quirked a brow. “And Darius didn’t argue?”
“Told him to go on. That I had you.” I shrugged. “And I’m the boss.”
Amusement played at that pretty face, and she crept nearer, like she was testing out just how deep she could get before she went under.
Before that lure would be too intense.
But it was already there.
Baiting and tugging and pulling.
Drawing us closer.
Gravity.
“Wow, you really like using that to your advantage, don’t you?” A tease wound its way into her voice.
Fighting a smirk, I shrugged again. “Only when I really have to.”
“And this was one of those instances?”
Salem’s heels clicked on the hard floor. Each one sent a reverberation across the ground that vibrated my boots and climbed my legs.
Girl invading.
Sweet, sweet enchantress casting her spell.
Wrapping me around those fingers that I’d really like wrapped around my dick.
I edged her way, loving how her breaths went shallow when I moved to stand over her.
Woman this tiny, curvy thing with a big-ass presence that overflowed the room.
Thunderbolt eyes struck in the middle of it.
Motherfucking thunder.
Deep and dark and seductive.
Her plush lips parted like she was getting lost in the memory of that kiss, too.
Yeah, that wasn’t helping things, either.
My fingers twitched, urging me to reach out and take what I was itching to make mine.
Then she seemed to think better of it, and she took a step back. She toyed with the end of a lock of her hair, looking away for a beat as she pondered what to say. “Listen, Jud—”
“Let’s get out of here.”
Salem’s attention whipped back to me, a solemn line denting her brow. “I think we should talk.”
Yeah, and I knew what that talk was going to be. Could feel her reservations flying.
Spiky barbs of rejection.
I leaned in close, scent of the girl infiltrating my nose.
Toasted coconut and sultry sin.
I swept my fingertips along the length of her chin. “How about we get you on the back of my bike, instead? Right where you belong.”
Shock edged her back an inch.
Yeah, sweetheart, you keep shocking the shit out of me, too.
The way I couldn’t control my reaction.
The need that made me think I just might be losing my mind.
One second later, a playful scowl scrunched her forehead as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You want me on your bike? That’s what this was all about?”
All?
Not even close.
But it was a damned good start.
The truth was, I didn’t want to let her out of my sight.
Still, I played along, kept the words light. “Might be the only way I get those legs wrapped around me.”
She bit down on her bottom lip, though a slight giggle rippled free. “You’re unbelievable. Some savior you are.”
A grin took hold. “Have you looked in a mirror, gorgeous? You can’t blame a man.”
She glared at me, but there was laughter in her expression, and some of the edge I’d been fighting the entire day drained away.
“Fine. Since you already sent my ride home, I guess I don’t have any better options, do I?” she goaded as she turned and strutted to where my bike was parked in my personal bay.
Her hips and ass swaying across the shop.
Damn.
“You really, really can’t blame a man,” I mumbled under my breath. I grabbed my phone from the table and followed her. “Front locked up?”
“Yes, everything is ready.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
“It’s my job,” she tossed back.
I moved to press the button for the garage.
Warm, evening light tumbled in.
Bright, golden rays that lit up the girl and my bike.
My fingers itched with the urge to paint. To create something beautiful. Hope in the rubble.