by Jane Henry
Tanya
I have no idea where to go or how I’ll help Levi find his car, but when we do find it, I’m going to slap Spade silly. Or maybe I’ll knee him in the nuts. The son of a bitch set us up, made sure we were distracted today, and then did this. I know it was him. I never did like the jerk.
“Think,” I tell Levi. “Let’s think. Where would he be going with this? What would he gain from this?”
Levi huffs out a mirthless laugh. “Besides millions of dollars?”
“Well, I mean, where would he be able to get that money most easily?” I ask.
He tugs at his beard. “That’s a good question. I have no idea.”
Suddenly, a crazy idea comes to me, and I have to tell him. “Wait. Levi. You said that you found me by running through the footage in your office, right? The cameras?”
He nods. “Yep.”
“Well, what was Spade doing at the time? If this was him, and he was planning on getting you out of the office, he was just biding his time until you left, right?”
“Right. He was on the computer,” I tell her. “I thought he was getting specs for a car we were working on in the database.”
I nod. “Well…maybe he wasn’t, though. It can’t hurt to go back to the shop and look at the footage of the cameras in the office. What if he did something that would give us a clue?”
He leans over, smiles at me, and plants a kiss on my forehead. “You’re adorable, you know that? All detective-like.”
I smile shyly. I like earning his approval. I think with any other guy I’d find this condescending, but not with Levi. “Thank you,” I say. “Now let’s go.” He gives me an affectionate slap on the ass.
“Watch it, sweetheart,” he says in my ear. “Daddy’s still the one in charge.” And damn if that doesn’t make me melt.
He tells the officers we’re going to look at a few things and they tell us they’ll call us if anything comes up. So far, there are no leads, though. No one’s seen a car-transport trailer anywhere in the nearby vicinity.
We head to Jacked Up, and I’m teeming with excited energy. I want to find this car. I want to find Spade and see him punished for what he did. Levi parks the car and I’m practically out while the engine’s still running. I race up the stairs to the office, then halt. Damn it. He still hasn’t given me the key. I turn around to find him but he’s already there, keys in hands.
“You gotta calm yourself down there, princess,” he says.
“We just need to find this,” I say. “And the longer we wait, the harder it will be to find.”
He opens the door, and I go straight to the room where the cameras are. He pulls up the feed from earlier today, but goes back too far, to where I’m standing in the back overhearing Grease and Spade. My cheeks flush with embarrassment. I wish I’d never been there. I wish that had never happened. It’s mortifying.
But as he forwards past that again, something catches my eye. “Wait!”
Levi freezes, and raises a brow to me. “You see something?”
“Yeah,” I say. I lean in closer to the camera. “Look.”
While Spade is telling Grease about the fabricated pregnancy, Grease looks over to where I’m crouched by the bush. He knew I was there, the whole time.
“Is Grease in on this, too?” I tell Levi what I suspect, and we look through the footage. Finally we come to the part where Spade told Levi how to find me.
“Zoom in,” I tell him. He shows me how, pinching his fingers on the touchscreen. It quickly opens, and on the screen are details for a car exchange program just outside of the city.
“Bingo,” I tell him. “They’re heading there, I bet.”
He nods, looking at the address. “Yep. They’ll strip it, take the VIN off, and make sure nothing’s identifiable.” He shakes his head. “And fuck me, I know that address.”
We go to the truck and head to where he took me the day I sent the picture to Spade by accident. When we near it, my skin begins to prickle and my tummy does a weird little flip. Someone’s here.
“Stay here and lock the doors,” Levi orders. There’s nothing from where we sit that in any way indicates there’s a stolen car here, but there’s danger present and he’ll ensure I have no part of it. I sit there and hit the locks when he points to the door and wags his finger at me to remind me to stay put.
Every second that ticks by feels like a minute. I have no idea where he’s going or what he’s doing, but I hate just sitting here, unable to help in any way. The place is empty and vacant, but when the clouds part, a stream of moonlight filters down, illuminating something on the ground right outside the passenger door of Levi’s truck.
A cigar butt.
I go to open the door to yell for Levi but realize in a split second he’d be furious. Plus, that could also alert the thieves we’re here. And what does one cigar butt on the ground really mean, anyway?
My hand is still on the door handle when a shadow blocks my vision, and someone’s yanking on the door. I scream, and even though he can’t reach me I crouch further back in my seat when I see Spade’s furious face. He’s right there. I look wildly around but Levi’s nowhere to be seen. Was he hurt? Did someone get to him first?
Spade’s glaring at me and yanking on the door handle, but of course it doesn’t budge. He’s waving his fist and me and it looks like he’s cursing up a blue streak. Suddenly, he’s yanked from behind and I can’t see him at all. He’s vanished. Levi’s large, furious form dwarfs Spade’s smaller frame. Levi tosses him to the ground like he weighs nothing. Spade comes up, fists flying. I scream and cover my face. I can’t bear to watch. But quickly, Levi’s got the upper hand. He ducks a swing from Spade, then levels Spade with an uppercut to his jaw that knocks Spade clean on his ass. I get up on my knees to peer out the window. Holy shit. Levi’s knocked him out cold.
“Call the police back, Tanya,” he instructs me, panting. “Call this in. The car’s here, and we’ve got our suspects.”
Chapter Sixteen
Levi
It’s the day of the car show. Levi’s worked his ass off overtime, getting both his car and mine ready for the show, including a few all-nighters. And now it’s the day of the show. Yesterday, he showed me my father’s car, and it’s beautiful. My father’s due in from traveling today, and his car’s been brought to the show in mint condition.
It looks amazing. God, what that car cost me though.
I lost my dignity, My pride. My arrogance.
My loneliness.
I’m here with Levi, and today I introduce him to my family. I am so beyond caring what they think anymore. I have Levi, and that’s what matters.
My father and mother are in the air-conditioned gallery above the main viewing area, where the most expensive seats are. I take Levi by the hand.
“Come on,” I tell him. “It’s time I introduce you.”
There’s an hour before his car’s on display. We make our way to the seating area, and when we get there, my mother’s ordering champagne and my father’s working on what looks like his third martini, as two empty glasses sit by the one he now has.
“Tanya, my love,” my father greets, raising his hand.
My mother gives me a cool nod, but her eyes are fixed on the large, muscled, tattooed guy standing next to me who definitely doesn’t look like he belongs here.
“Mom, dad, I’d like you to meet Levi.”
They both eye me curiously. “I met Levi a few weeks ago, and he’s my…” I hesitate. I almost say “daddy,” and catch myself just in time. “Boyfriend,” I finally finish lamely, my cheeks heating.
My mother shakes his hand first, but my father’s giving him a curious look. “How do I know you?’ he asks. He tips his head to the side.
“Dad, you might know Levi as Levi DeRocco, the owner of Jacked Up? It’s the classic car repair shop.”
“Ahh,” my father says with a nod. “Now that rings a bell. So you’ve found yourself my competitor, eh?” I know he’s joking, but
it’s something that makes me squirm a little.
“I guess,” I say.
“Nice to meet you, Levi,” my father says, dismissing him by turning his head away. No guy wearing a leather jacket and tattoos is really worth my father’s attention.
“Tanya, did you see someone’s brought a ’55 Jaguar? It’s a beaut,” my father says.
I share a quiet smile with Levi. “Yeah, dad. That’s actually Levi’s.”
Now that’s got my dad’s attention.
He turns and he and Levi talk cars until it’s time for us to go.
Levi wins top place in every category there is, and I think I’m even more pleased than he is.
“Congratulations, daddy,” I tell him, later that night when we’re on his porch swing watching the sun set, crickets chirping lullabies all around us.
“Thank you, princess,” he says. He entwines his fingers with mine and smiles. “But I’ve already got my prize.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tanya
Six months later
“Just like that, baby,” Levi says. He’s standing in front of me at the shop. It’s late, the shop’s been closed for hours, and he’s got every shade pulled down so we’re all alone. And it’s a damn good thing, because I am completely, 100%, stark naked here on the hood of his car.
He’s got his camera, and he’s taking what he calls “private shots.” After he got the photo shoot from my last gig, he says he’s been jonesing for some pictures of “his two favorite girls together.” Good thing for him his other girl has an engine and a battery, or I’d have a thing or two to say about that.
After his car won first prize at the show, he’s rearranged his shop so that the entire front is set up like a show room, like one might find at a car dealer, but showcasing just one car. Here, the Jaguar is safe, under the lock and key of the shop and the cameras trained on anyone that comes within a foot of it. I work here now, full-time, and I do a helluva lot more than answer phones. I’ve taken over his marketing, and his business is booming. He’s hired new employees now that he’s got two serving time, but that fiasco ended well for him. The theft hit headlines across the country. Now I really like the small but trustworthy staff we work with, and I’m also doing work on a more personal level.
It was Levi’s idea, having me model with cars. He insists I model fully clothed, and I’m fine with that. It’s when I pose for him personally that I flash the skin.
“Just like that, baby,” he says, prowling around the car with his eyes fixed on me. “Good. Push your arms together and show me what you’ve got for daddy.” I’m getting turned on lying on his car like this, with his eyes fixed on me. That heat in his gaze makes me quiver, and I’m longing for him to touch me.
“Daddy,” I whisper. I need him closer. I want him to touch me. I need to feel him.
He puts the camera down. “One more, shot, baby,” he says. He walks over to me, and I think he’s aiming for a kiss shot, but when he reaches me, he rolls me over on my side, lifts his hand back, and whacks his hand on my ass so hard and loudly, I yelp out loud. Quickly, he picks up the camera and takes a shot.
“There,” he says. “A handprint shot. Jesus, that’ll be my favorite of the bunch.”
“Daddy!” I admonish.
He just shoots me a lewd grin. “Stick that lip out, baby. Just like that. No, deeper, the way that gets you spanked if you do it for real.” I stick my tongue out instead. His eyes narrow on me. “Tanya,” he warns. “Do it now, or daddy’ll spank that bottom for you.”
I give him a coy look. I’d like to see him try.
He goes to put the camera down, but I quickly flash him my most winsome grin. “How’s that, daddy?’
“God, baby,” he groans. He takes six more shots, then puts his camera down and comes to me. “You are so beautiful, love,” he says. He’s never called me “love” before, and I like it. He calls me princess, baby, babe, honey, sweetheart…but love? That’s different.
“You called me love,” I say softly. I open my arms to welcome him over to me. He crosses the room with his eyes fixed on me, shrugs out of his leather jacket, then stands front of me in nothing but his shirtsleeves.
“I did, honey,” he says, approvingly. “And that’s because I love you.”
I grin. When he reaches me I tighten my arms around his neck. “And I love you, daddy.”
He holds me close.
“You know,” he says. “When you were telling me about sitting on that porch swing, and how much you wanted that, I couldn’t help but think there was one thing missing.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” he says. “A family. Me, you, the dogs.. and maybe a baby. Or two.”
My heart thunders in my chest. I’m strewn across his car naked and he’s proposing to me? Is he? Well, for a couple like us, that’s probably totally appropriate.
“Yeah?” I croak. The truth is, after the upbringing I’ve had, I welcome the unconventional like this. It’s so totally right being with Levi. I haven’t left his side since I met him. Last month, I gave my notice in my apartment, and moved all my things into his place. I love it there. And now, he says he wants me there forever?
He lifts me up into his arms. I wrap my legs around him. He turns around and leans against the hood of the car, then fishes in his pocket. He brings out a black velvet box.
“Marry me, Tanya?”
“Daddy,” I breathe. It’s a sparkling gem of a diamond set in gold. I smile at him. “Is that a princess cut?” I ask.
“Don’t know what the fuck it is,” he says with a grin. “Is that a yes?”
“Hmm, let me think about it,” I say, tapping my chin.
He growls, takes my mouth with his, then to my shock, slaps my ass so hard I squeal. “Brat,” he says, spanking me again.
“Yes!” I yelp out when I can catch my breath. “God, yes I will!”
He groans his approval into my mouth, then turns and lays me on the hood of the car. He makes quick work of removing his shirt.
“Jesus, you’re perfect,” he whispers in my ear. He fists my long hair in his hand and tugs my head back, then flips me around so I’m splayed belly-down on the hood of his car.
He cups one breast and pinches my nipple and I moan out loud.
“Arch that back, baby,” he orders when he unzips his jeans. He’s going to fuck me, right here, right on the hood of this car that’s been featured in every flashy car magazine from coast to coast. He’s going to stake his claim in every way possible and I’m already ready, my body an electric hum of need and want.
“Daddy,” I breathe. He holds my hips so hard it hurts, pulling my hair back. I want him hard and unapologetic, so I can feel him inside and out for the rest of the day, and into tomorrow. I feel him at my entrance and hold my breath, waiting for the moment when he marks me. He thrusts in, hard and soft all at once, his grip on me almost painful. Pleasure thunders through me. I writhe beneath him as he rocks his hips, his name on my lips.
“Levi,” I groan. “Daddy. I love you.”
“And I love you, baby.”
He rides me until I climax, ecstasy rolling through me in blissful waves. He groans his own release, holding me tight in my grip until both of us are sated. I’m sweaty and panting, but I look over my shoulder and grin at him. I shoot him a wink.
“I think I need a raise, boss.”
THE END
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