by Tina Donahue
“A table up here’s fine.”
“A booth’s better.” With her arm wound through his, Em directed him to the same table he’d shared with Toni, where she’d eaten a chocolate chip waffle topped with mounds of whipped cream and after it, an omelet.
Affection—unexpected and intense—swept through Zach at his memory of her hunger, the pleasure on her face as she sated it. Unable to stop himself, he smiled.
Em studied him as he eased into the booth. “How about a cup of coffee and Danish?” she asked. “Made fresh this morning.”
Not hungry at all, he lied with a nod. “Sounds good.”
Em didn’t move. “How’s your new mechanic working out?”
Better than he might have imagined in his horniest dreams.
Fuck me, please.
Tonight. All night.
Desire buffeted him, snatching his breath. On its heels, fear of new loss and its resulting sorrow returned, squeezing his heart.
“That good, huh?” Em asked.
Zach scrubbed his face with his hands.
Didn’t stop her. “So, you two going to be dating?” She spoke in a motherly voice even though she was only three years older than him.
Dropping his hands, Zach slumped against the seat’s vinyl cushion. “She’s an employee, Em, and only for a month.”
“You’re actually going to let her go back to that daredevil stuff?”
Zach couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of her question and how appalled she sounded. “It’s not my choice.”
“Sure it is. You can hire her permanently.”
His heart squeezed again. He shook his head. Even if he were nutty enough to consider such a thing, Toni made it quite clear she’d be heading back to the circuit, continuing with her own life, leaving him to his.
After a month of sex. Nothing less. Nothing more.
“I don’t know why you’re denying yourself,” Em said, cutting into his thoughts.
Zach looked past her at the street, recalling how he and Meg once sat in here, discussing their hopes, their dreams.
Too quickly, his wife’s remembered voice faded beneath his memory of Toni’s. Throaty. Arousing. Filled with life.
Why not enjoy it while it lasts?
I don’t know why you’re denying yourself.
Seconds passed as Zach tried to reason it out. Suddenly, something inside him shifted. Calm—or maybe it was fatigue—told him what he already knew. He was fucking tired of being lonely.
Toni’s voice returned, her tone seductive, her question filling his mind. Why not have some fun?
He breathed deeply as a new stew of emotions whispered through him.
Angel’s off-color remark about a rude customer had Robbie laughing and snorting.
Looking up from her clipboard, Toni glanced at the guys, then snuck another peek at the window to Zach’s office. He still hadn’t returned.
Nearly a half-hour ago, she’d caught him leaving, his expression strained, no different than when he’d been between her legs this morning, refusing to mount her.
At the time, she’d argued, “Why wait?”
On his feet, he’d draped his torso over hers, the tips of their noses touching. “Because I said so.”
Another argument rose to her throat, but Zach stole her words with his commanding kiss, exploring her mouth ravenously. He’d then captured her wrists, pushing them to the table, deliberately imprisoning them. Telling her without words he’d do whatever he damn well pleased, on his schedule, not hers.
A part of Toni wanted to argue. Another part of her really liked his commanding presence and tone.
Done with their kiss, he’d helped her from the table, the length of their bodies pressed close.
At the heat and softness of his lips on her throat, she’d emptied her lungs in a needy moan. Hands on his shoulders, she pushed to her toes, her mouth on his ear, her voice holding all the carnal promise she felt. “Tonight I’ll do exactly what you want.”
“Tonight?”
Oh, he was bad. “Now?” she asked.
He gave her a sexy smile, then refused to hand Toni her shorts, tucking them beneath his arm, watching as she finished making the breakfast she’d started.
Although her partial nudity didn’t bother her, it sure as hell had an effect on him. Several times, Zach caught her arm, stopping her from going to the fridge or back to the stove so he could run his large hand over her buttocks. His fingertips traced the tattoo on her right cheek of two stars, dark blue and entwined.
Toni sensed he wanted to ask her the history behind it and so much more, especially her past. Thankfully, he did not.
He’d kept things purely sexual, hauling her onto his lap, directing her to straddle him, her naked cunt kissing his bulge, his worn jeans soft against the insides of her thighs. Positioned thusly, she’d fed him breakfast, pausing to lick the crumbs from his bottom lip and a trace of orange juice from the corner of his mouth.
Too many times they forgot about the food, necking instead.
However, no matter how she yielded and responded or how she kept begging, then insisting he mount her, he refused to go further.
On the drive to the shop, she’d finally asked, “What are you going to do with me tonight?”
Bringing his pickup to a stop at one of the few red lights in town, he’d looked over. Lazily, his attention traveled from her jutting nipples to the soft swell of her belly and mound, down her bare legs, ending finally at her toe ring. “Exactly what I want.”
As his gaze lifted to hers, she saw passion blaze in his eyes.
Tonight was going to be something, unless he’d had too much time to think about it and was on the verge of changing his mind.
Toni flipped through the work orders Zach gave her this morning. All light, girly stuff, as though he didn’t want her to get too tired before he took her to bed. Or he was suddenly worried she couldn’t handle the more complicated repairs.
Moving closer to the guys, Toni asked, “Where’d Zach go?”
Face reddened from laughter, Robbie glanced at the shop’s office, as did Angel. As one, they lifted their shoulders.
“Does he usually do this?” she asked, recalling that he hadn’t left yesterday. Had he done so today, because he was second guessing his decision to sleep with her? Wanting a measure of reassurance, she added, “Does he generally take off, I mean?”
“He probably went to the diner for coffee and one of Em’s baked goods,” Angel said. “He does that sometimes.” Moving closer, he glanced at her clipboard. “You have a question? Something I can help you with?”
Maybe. With no customers or gawkers watching them, Toni asked, “What’s wrong with Zach’s leg?” Was that why he was hot one minute and pulling away from her the next? Was he concerned his leg would hurt him, stopping him from performing?
Rather than answering, Angel shot a glance at Robbie, who looked equally uncomfortable.
“What?” Toni asked. Before either of them could answer, her heart caught. Had Zach lost his leg somehow? She blurted, “Does he have an artificial limb?”
“Oh hell, no,” Robbie said.
Angel cleared his throat and spoke in an even softer voice than usual, just loud enough for her to hear him over the radio’s noise. “He almost lost his leg, but the doctors operated like a dozen times and were able to save it.”
“Oh my god, what happened?”
The young men exchanged another glance. Robbie ran his palm over his spiky hair and shrugged. “He was in an accident.”
“About two years ago,” Angel added.
“With his wife,” Robbie said.
Toni’s belly knotted. Heat surged to her cheeks, stinging her skin. This morning, she’d worried he had a girlfriend, fiancée or ex-wife he still wanted. He’d assured her he wasn’t involved with anyone.
Toni’s voice sounded hollow, faraway as she asked the obvious. “She didn’t make it?”
“The paramedics did everything they coul
d,” Angel said, “but it was real bad.”
“They’d just bought this big house outside of town,” Robbie added. “They were going to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast for Meg to run. Meg was Zach’s wife. They were fixing it up, moving stuff from their old house to there.”
Angel cut in, “From what we’ve heard, Meg was tired, but Zach wanted to do one last run with their things. It wasn’t late. Barely seven o’clock. They were in his pickup when a car ran a red light.”
“The kid driving it was a tourist,” Robbie said, shaking his head in obvious disgust. “He was texting. Never even saw them. He broadsided Zach’s pickup at 50 miles an hour, hitting Meg’s side. You’d think it would have killed the fucker, or at least hurt him, but the piece of dirt walked away without a scratch. In fact, he ran from the scene. Cops had to go to his mommy and daddy’s vacation house to arrest him.”
Angel looked from Robbie to her. “Zach’s always blamed himself, even though it wasn’t his fault. I mean, how can you know something like that’s gonna happen?”
“Probably why he hasn’t dated much since Meg died,” Robbie said to Angel, then spoke to Toni. “For the last six months, Em’s been trying to fix him up with every single woman in town and beyond, but for the most part he’s just not interested.”
Shaking his head, Angel walked backward to the Honda Civic he’d been working on. “He’s a guy and he’ll have his fun, I’m sure, but he’s never going to want any woman like he wanted Meg.”
Shortly after one o’clock, Zach returned.
Toni’s pulse jumped with desire, while her heart continued to sink at what the guys had told her. For the last few hours, with her mind so focused on Zach’s love for Meg, she kept making stupid mistakes on the repairs, misdiagnosing some problems, missing others.
Gently, Angel and Robbie had corrected her, acting as if her blunders were no big deal.
Even if they weren’t, what had happened to Zach shouldn’t have affected her so deeply. Sure, Toni’s heart ached for his loss, but it also confirmed what she’d already known and had tried to forget. Her foolish notions of having a guy like him protecting and cherishing her were only a fantasy. Zach was a young, healthy guy who needed sex, not love, especially from a woman like her.
To him, she’d always be a stranger whose past he’d never know. In a month’s time, she’d be leaving. There wouldn’t be any regrets on his part, nor could she allow any on hers. She’d have a purely physical relationship with him, allowing herself some kind of connection, no matter how fleeting.
When she took off, she’d treasure the memories they’d made, hoping they’d ease the loneliness that she’d known for too many years.
“Toni.”
Her head snapped up at Zach’s voice. Looking over, she saw him standing in the door to his office.
“Stop whatever you’re doing and come in here,” he said.
Her heart whapped violently against her chest. She stared as he went into his office, lowering the blinds over the window, then closing them.
Oh, shit. He had changed his mind about tonight and probably every other part of their agreement. And why not? She’d practically forced herself on him this morning, reading more into his momentary lust than she should have.
Quick tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Sorrow threatened to overwhelm until she shoved it away. If he ordered her to leave, she’d do so with dignity, taking what little money she’d made. She’d ask for work at every other place in this town, and if no one hired her, she’d move on to the next and the next.
Doing what she needed to survive. What she’d grown used to and expected since she was fifteen.
Engaged in their work, Robbie and Angel didn’t bother to look up as Toni walked past. They seemed unaware anything was wrong.
It wasn’t. She’d get through this and whatever else came her way.
As she reached the jamb, Zach looked up, his eyes meeting hers. “Close the door.”
Her stomach knotted. He didn’t want an audience to whatever he intended to say. Without comment, and certainly without a futile plea to let their arrangement stand, she eased the door closed, making certain her movements were gentle, not harsh.
“Lock it,” he said.
Head turned, she did as he’d ordered, then faced him, her body tense, braced for the worst.
He moved into her so fast, Toni stepped back instinctively, her hip hitting the side of a cabinet. Briefly, the metal rattled. Wrapping one arm around her waist, Zach pulled her into his solid length. His other hand went to the back of her head, keeping it still as his mouth imprisoned hers.
Surprise stole all of her breath. Yearning took over, defeating what little defense she’d built against him. A moan whimpered from the base of her throat. With her knees sagged against his and her arms wrapped around his torso, she held on for dear life, wanting him as she had no other man.
His tongue filled her so well, his firm embrace was so welcomed, the room spun. She moaned again.
Abandoning her mouth, Zach pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, “Quiet. Do you want the guys to hear?”
Breathless with arousal, she could barely manage words. “I don’t fucking care.”
Subdued laughter vibrated his chest.
Toni tried to quiet him with her kiss. Zach wasn’t having it. Stepping back, he turned her around to face the cabinet and the shop’s front door.
He’d closed those blinds too. No more than a sliver of space remained between them and the door frame for someone to peer inside. Unless they came in.
She whispered, “Did you lock the front door?”
“Not ‘til closing. I’ve a business to run.”
Toni nearly laughed at his ludicrous comment given what he was doing. Her head snapped down at him unzipping the front of her overalls, sneaking his hand inside, straight past her tank top and bra to settle his fingers on her naked nipple.
A mew caught in the back of her throat. Her knees bumped the cabinet, rattling the metal. Head tilted to the side, she bit her lower lip, trying not to cry out her pleasure as Zach suckled her neck.
Where in the hell had he been for the last couple of hours? What had caused such a change in him from when he’d left?
Arm tightened around her waist, he pulled her even closer, grinding his erection into her buttocks. She blew out a breath.
“Quiet,” he ordered again, cradling the side of her face in his hand, turning it to him so he could capture her mouth once more.
He kissed her greedily, without finesse, his lust telling Toni he couldn’t help himself. Her thoughts rejoiced, while the truth nagged. He’d loved Meg, a depth of emotion he’d never give her.
Ignoring sorrow, she told herself it was okay. At least he wanted her. A few minutes ago, it was more than she’d hoped for. With her head against his shoulder, eyes closed, she allowed him what he willed, what she desired. Hunger for him pulsed through Toni, forcing the air from her lungs, dampening her channel.
He squeezed her breast firmly, not painfully, finished his kiss and pressed his lips to her ear. “Someone’s coming to the door.”
Eyes snapping open, she tried to look, but could not as Zach turned her around quickly, zipped up her overalls and swatted her butt. “Back to work.”
Not moving, she stared at him.
With hooded eyes and a voice laced with danger, he asked, “You want more?”
Oh yeah. A lot more. He awakened a desire in her not only to be pleasured, but to be taken, dominated, something she’d allowed no other man. Zach was different. She trusted him not to hurt her. “Later,” she murmured. “Whatever punishment you decide.”
Surprise swept across his features. “You mean like spanking? You like to be spanked?”
Only if he was the one doing it. She ran her finger down his fly. “I like a strong man who takes charge and teaches me how to obey in bed.” The thought made her toes curl.
“You’re sure?”
Toni heard the danger in his voice
and matched it with her own. “Very.”
“Then I’m going to hold you to that,” he warned and swatted her ass again.
Cheeks burning, heart singing, she’d just opened the door to the bays as an elderly female customer came in through the front.
Chapter Seven
For the first time in nearly two years, Zach didn’t dread going home. He recalled how Toni had tasted this morning, her desire for him. He thought back to those few moments they’d shared in his office.
You like to be spanked? he’d asked, genuinely surprised.
I like a strong man who takes charge and teaches me how to obey in bed.
He was ready to do that, prepared to do it all—both shameless and tender—with no regret, because this was about sex, nothing more. Toni had said as much. No reason for him to feel bad or to think about it too much. He had Toni all to himself, her body naked and willing, her comfort meant for him alone during the next four weeks.
Eyes on the closed bathroom door, his pulse quickening, Zach listened as she washed up. A half-hour earlier, Angel and Robbie had left after asking her to have a beer with them. Gently, she’d turned them down, saying she had other plans.
Now, it was only her and him.
With his keys jiggling in his hand, Zach frowned at the time she’d already wasted. Primping, no doubt, when there was little need. He ached to get on the road, go home, do whatever they willed, then stay wrapped within her arms, nestled inside her body, protected by their sexual cocoon until daylight forced them back here.
Shoving his fingers through his hair, Zach hauled in an uneven breath.
On his rough sigh, the door popped open. Toni turned off the light and fan. Eyes lifting, she met his gaze.
To his delight, she seemed oddly shy as though she was already playing their games or didn’t know what to expect.
She did not. Throughout the day’s endless hours, he’d planned every moment of this night, including her willing submission to his dominance, which he wanted to explore. But only with her. She’d stirred something deep within him, bringing it to life.
With a negligence that contradicted the powerful thrumming of his heart, Zach raked her with his gaze, beginning with her surprisingly sexy toe ring, edging up to her milky thighs, the flare of her hips, erect nipples, parted lips, flushed cheeks and hooded eyes.
