by Parker, Ali
“Didn’t come up with a single thing.” I wasn’t hiding any fuck-ups, either, which was also a kind of new feeling. Being honest wasn’t necessarily my default setting, covering my ass was. The two of those things being one and the same in this instance was a fucking novel feeling, but fuck if I didn’t like it. “Everything’s been going really well recently, so you’ll have to save your chewing out for another day.”
He waved me off, making a satisfied noise in the back of his throat. “Doubt it. The customers are loving you, my man. Shit, you’re fast becoming a favorite among them.”
“Really?” I didn’t even try to hide my surprise. I’d never been anyone’s favorite for anything, except if you counted how Mrs. Goodkind preferred to ogle me over the others in the house after Rayce left. “Are you fucking with me right now?”
“I’m not fucking with you.” He winced a little on the curse word, which was kind of funny since he was this big, tough business owner, but he couldn’t handle a little cussing. “I’ve been receiving a lot of compliments after the calls I’ve sent you out on, and I thought you should know.”
“Thank you.” I honestly hadn’t been expecting that to be why he had asked to see me. I was used to being sent up shit’s creek without even a hint of a paddle whenever things started looking up in my life, so I’d been expecting him to give me bad news.
Austin rubbed his short white beard, narrowing his eyes in thought. “You know, I’ve been thinking about slowing down for a good couple of years. I think now might finally be the time. You’re on track to be making more house calls anyway with all the compliments we’ve been receiving.”
“I’d really appreciate that.” More house calls would be a step in the right direction for me, and just the thought of it had me practically salivating. “I’ll go out on any call, any time. You just have to let me know.”
“I’ll do that.” Austin swiveled in his chair to face his laptop and turned it slightly toward me. I assumed he wanted to show me something, but he never got the chance.
We were interrupted by a swift knock on his door, followed by his receptionist, who happened to be his wife, walking in. She nodded hello to me but addressed her husband. “We just got a call about a beach house that urgently needs someone out there to run a diagnostic. Sounds like it’s been empty for a while, and they don’t know what’s wrong.”
“I’ll go,” I volunteered and rose from my seat. “Just text me the address. I’m free now, so I can help them out right away.”
Austin grinned and inclined his head at his wife. “You heard the man, sweetheart. Will you please send him the address?”
“Sure,” she agreed, giving me a kind smile before she headed back out of the office. Austin and I said our goodbyes and I promised to check in with him again soon, then my phone buzzed with the address I needed, so I got going.
It took me the better part of an hour to get to where I had to be. The job was in the rich part of town, which was obviously the exact opposite from the side of the city where I lived and mostly operated. The houses around here were huge, the gardens flowering and green, and almost everyone had direct beach access.
It wasn’t a neighborhood I’d spent much time in, if I was being honest. I remembered waiting for people to leave it when I was younger, but only because we knew they were rich and almost always had something valuable on them that I could relieve them of.
In fact, the outskirts of this neighborhood was where Rayce had taught me some of the niftiest tricks I knew. Rayce and I had grown up in the slums, so back then, coming near this area used to make me angry at life. That anger was fueled by all the expensive cars in the driveways and the glittering jewels around the residents’ necks and was ultimately what had tempted us into becoming thieves at a young age.
The people around here were easy targets too. They weren’t cautious or street smart. More often than not, they walked around wearing jewelry worth more than the house we had lived in and didn’t even bother to check their surroundings.
Where most people had grown up with the saying as easy as taking candy from a baby, Rayce had taught me a much more appropriate one: as easy as taking diamonds from the rich.
I chuckled at those memories now, remembering how I’d fumbled a few small jobs at first and how nervous I used to be around here. I hadn’t been back in many, many years, though, and while I had known how to get to the neighborhood, I needed my phone to guide me to the address.
Unsurprisingly, GPS navigated me to the house right on the beach and at least eight times as big as the crappy apartment I lived in. The place was a little more run down than those around it, but Austin’s wife had mentioned it had been empty for a while.
The fact that there were people out there who could afford places like this as holiday homes boggled my fucking mind. I’d never had that kind of money and chances were that I never would. I would never be part of this side of town, and I’d probably never understand the people that were either.
Shaking my head, I parked and was about to climb out of the truck when the door to the house I was about to visit opened. Three women appeared on the top step, said something to one another I couldn’t hear, then two of the women left.
They walked right past my truck but seemed to be involved in a heated argument and didn’t even notice me. I narrowed my eyes, confusion setting in as I watched them. Those two girls didn’t look like the types who would be friends, but then again, maybe that was why they were arguing. They looked like polar opposites actually.
One of them had short, pitch-black hair that shone almost blue under the bright sunlight. She was covered in tattoos from what I could tell, her tank top revealing her left arm covered in a colorful full sleeve of ink and another piece peeking out from her neckline.
The chick walking with her was more straitlaced, wearing a modest baby-pink T-shirt and denim shorts at least double as long as her friend’s. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail and her face was devoid of makeup, whereas the other one was painted full of the stuff.
Both of them disappeared around the corner, making me realize that I’d been sitting in the truck like a fucking creeper for way too long. Grabbing my stuff, I got out and headed to the house.
The third girl was still standing on the top step, her arms crossed as she stared in the direction the other two had walked away in. It didn’t look like she’d seen me yet, so I took the time crossing the street and walking up to her to take a good look at my newest client.
She was by far the hottest of the three in my opinion. Long black hair tumbled to her waist in slightly damp waves. Her body was slender and toned, her skin smooth and pale, except for one of her arms, which was decorated with a tattoo. She wore an electric-blue sundress with black designs on it, but it was only when I got a little closer that I could make out what the design was. Skull and crossbones on a sundress? Weird.
The girl faced me, evidently having caught me coming up to the house in her periphery. Green eyes that sparkled like precious gems in the sun met mine, flecks of darker green and gold visible when I reached her. If I’d thought she was hot from all the way across the street, she was fucking gorgeous up close.
She was tall for a girl, standing only a couple of inches below my six three. The electric blue of her dress and the swirls of color from her tattoos somehow accentuated her striking eyes, the effect even more dazzling for being framed with her pitch-black hair.
For just a fraction of a second, I couldn’t breathe. For the first time in my life, I was hit by a wave of insta-lust so hard I actually forgot how to draw air into my lungs. My cock seemed to be the only body part that really knew what to do in this situation, and it hardened without my permission.
The girl hadn’t said a word to me yet, but there was something about her that told me she wasn’t like the other rich bitches who lived in this area.
Her chin lifted almost defiantly after she gave me the same appraisal I’d just given her.
“Who are you?” Her voice was curious instead of afraid, even if I was some random guy who clearly didn’t belong in this area who’d marched up to her. Definitely different.
“Will.” I jerked my head toward the tool kit I carried. “I’m the electrician you guys called for.”
Understanding dawned in her eyes and she relaxed, dropping her chin again. “Right. Yeah. Sure. I’m Heidi.”
“Nice to meet you.” And it really was.
Girls like her in this part of town didn’t give guys like me the time of day, so there was no point hitting on her, but at least she was something to look at that wasn’t old man balls. “Can you tell me what the problem is?”
She shrugged, motioning me inside and then shutting the door behind me. “If I could have told you, I would have, but I can’t. None of us have any idea why, but the power’s totally out. Please tell me you can help us.”
“Happy to.” I just really hoped I knew enough to figure out what was going on with their power. No one liked to look like an idiot in front of someone they found attractive, and I was no exception.
Also, she was pretty fucking attractive.
Chapter 6
Heidi
Sometimes I watched porn. I was woman enough to admit it. There was absolutely no shame in it as far as I was concerned.
However, I’d never actually wished that I lived inside a porno. Well, never until I’d locked eyes with the sexy electrician man who was currently following me into the house. There was a very big part of my brain that had jumped straight into a fantasy about the ripped electrician bending me over the couch and fucking me. Like I said, living in a damn porno.
But seriously, the dude was hot, so I didn’t blame myself too much. Tall, dark, and handsome.
It was usually a bit clichéd for my tastes to think like that, but for this guy, I would make an exception. Plus, while he might have been tall, dark, and handsome, there was also something enticingly dangerous about him.
At probably around a couple of inches over six feet tall, Will towered over me. Most guys were my height or even a little, or a lot, shorter. Coming across a guy this hot who was taller than I was more of a turn-on than I’d felt in a long time and most likely the reason behind my immediate fantasies.
Or not. The reason behind my brain going into immediate fantasy mode was probably more about the fact that it had been a long, long time since I’d had a decent damn orgasm. The last few guys I’d dated had been pathetic in that department, and I’d only just remembered to get new batteries for my cheap vibrator.
This electrician guy, however, looked like he would be able to deliver a real-life, mind-blowing, earth-shattering orgasm the likes of which were promised to be possible by some of the movies I’d watched or the books I’d read, but very few women ever experienced for real.
Jeez. I had to be hornier than I thought to be even thinking shit like that, but it was true. The guy was practically oozing and dripping with sex, even if all he was doing was casually following me to the breaker box.
He moved with a quiet, cocky kind of confidence that bordered on swagger without being quite so obvious. Short, dark blond hair that was longer on top and shaved on the sides somehow looked like it had just happened that way instead of as if he’d spent hours at the barber perfecting the look.
He was broad and tanned, golden muscles rippling in his arms as he carried his toolbox thing. The T-shirt he was wearing was mercifully tight enough to hint at what lay below it, and it was way too easy to imagine more of that exquisitely sexy muscle.
I had the sudden urge to lick the guy. Get your mind out of porno territory!
Urg. Light-blue eyes met mine, catching them and holding on to my gaze with an intensity that couldn’t be denied. As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, the very corners of his lips tilted into the tiniest, vaguest hint of a smirk.
“So, are you in the habit of letting strange men into your home?” His tone was light, almost teasing. It was like he was trying to set me at ease, which was interesting because why would he?
“Only the ones who aren’t here to rob me,” I joked. Something flashed in the depths of his gorgeous eyes, but it was gone before I could put a finger on what it was.
There was definitely a dangerous kind of edge to this guy, though. Instead of scaring me like it would a normal person, I found myself getting turned on by it. Freak.
“How do you know I’m not here to rob you?” He quirked a dark eyebrow at me, his head tilting as what could only be described as a dark sort of amusement crept into his gaze.
I didn’t shy away from it, though. My instincts were usually pretty spot on, a necessity for a single girl living in New York City who liked going out at night, and while this guy might have had something dangerous about him, he posed no danger to me.
“You’re not the type.” I kept my eyes on his as I said the words, but I still saw the small smile pulling at his lips. “Besides, there’s not much here to rob.”
“There’s plenty,” he said nonchalantly and turned to wink a blue eye at me in a totally noncheesy way. “So, were those your friends who left earlier?”
“Yeah, they left me here to deal with this while they go to get some ice cream.” Technically, I lost a bet to stay behind. It took some time for Valerie to convince Olive to let me take the hit. The girl was a serious control freak, but eventually, they went.
For my part, I tried to the very end to get Olive to stay instead. Going to get ice cream sure beat having to deal with the practical crap, at least it did until I saw the electrician.
In the end, though, Valerie had made it clear to me that she wouldn’t let me welch on the bet and literally dragged Olive away.
Will cocked a dark eyebrow, eyes flashing like he was having a dirty thought along the same lines as mine had been earlier. “If they want ice cream, they went the wrong way. They won’t find a shop that sells the good shit in this part of town.”
“You’re a local?” Most of the people I’d met in New York were transplants, like we were now I guessed, but maybe things were different down here in Florida.
Will nodded in confirmation of my suspicion, setting his kit down when we reached the breaker box. “Hit me up if you ever need any insight on the best places to go while you’re on your vacation. I’ll leave you my number.”
My heart did a little skip. He’s leaving me his number? “Sure. We’re not on vacation, though, so I might be bothering you for that insight for a lot longer than a couple of days.”
No way was I giving him an out from his offer, though. Even if it might only have been to tell us about the good places for a few days as opposed to indefinite advice. Having a local to call up seemed like a good idea, but more than that: having this local to call up seemed like a really freaking good idea. So freaking good, it might even be orgasmic.
Will shot me a strange look, yanking my mind out of the gutter. “You’re not here on vacation?”
“Nope.” I wasn’t really the type to spill my entire life story to a stranger, so in response to the questions in his eyes, I gave him the simplest explanation I could think of. “My friends and I have just moved here from New York.”
“You moved here from New York?” The way he emphasized the word “here” told me he thought we were crazy to have chosen Tampa over the city. “Why?”
“We were all ready to make a change, and the opportunity presented itself.” Well, and Valerie had been itching to leave New York for months. I only wanted to change jobs, but a change of scenery felt like it could only be a good thing. “We packed up and left the next day.”
“I’ve always wanted to be able to just pack up and leave.” His voice was lower than before, almost wistful. For some reason, I really wanted to be able to see his eyes when he said it. Will was bent over his tool kit, though, moving things around until he found whatever it was he had been looking for.
He busied himself with his job while I pursed my lips and studied him, curiosity burning a hol
e in my mind. In my experience, people didn’t say shit like that for no reason. Most of the time I had zero fucks to give about what that reason might be, but there was something about this mysterious stranger that made me want to know in this case.
A voice in the back of my mind whispered that it probably didn’t even have to do with Will, but more about the fact that we’d just packed up and left. and I was still wondering if we’d been a little crazy. I was all for embracing whatever life threw in my direction, but if a guy like him wouldn’t do what we had done, maybe we’d taken it a step too far this time.
“What’s holding you back?” The question came tumbling out of my mouth, but I didn’t wish I could take it back. That wasn’t what I was about. “It’s not that hard. You pack a bag, quit your job, and leave.”
Of course, I knew it wasn’t that simple for everyone. A lot of people had roots in the places they lived. They had families, important jobs, friends. Lives.
Olive, Val, and I hadn’t had any of those things in New York, not really. None of us had family there, our jobs were pieces of shit, and our important friends had come with us. The casual acquaintances and people we partied with wouldn’t even realize we were gone for weeks.
Will kept fiddling with the wires in the box, alternating between doing something in there and rummaging around in his kit. His shoulders were tense, his jaw set. For the longest time, he didn’t say anything. His pause was long enough for me to know that whatever was holding him back had to be important.
In fact, I was just starting to think he was going to ignore my question when he mumbled a low response. “Family.”
Ah. “I understand.”
I didn’t really. I’d been all alone in the world, except for my friends, for so long that I couldn’t quite imagine having family ties keeping a person in one place. If I still had my family around, though, I doubted it would have been quite so easy to up and leave.
