by Sylvia Fox
Barry snapped his fingers in front of my face, and reality crashed in around me.
Shit. I’d let my mind get the better of me. Again.
My whole body felt warm, and I desperately hoped that my brother couldn’t tell what kind of effect just hearing Axel’s name had on me. And if I was already this riled up, how would I be able to handle myself when I actually saw him in the flesh?
“Earth to Callie.” Barry cocked his head and frowned. “What’s the problem? I thought you’d be happy about Axel doing us this favor. He’s already had a fuck-ton of applications come in for this job, but he’s giving you first dibs.”
Me. First dibs. It was hard not to feel a warmth in my heart from the thought. It made me feel…special. Even though I knew it all led right back to my brother and had nothing to do with me at all. It was a favor for Barry, not me. That didn’t stop me from jumping at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity though. Seeing Axel every morning for the next few months of my life.
I straightened and took a deep breath. “Just let me brush my hair, and then I’m ready to go.”
Barry went along with me to the interview, which made me feel as if I was back in high school all over again, like I was a teenager instead of a full-grown woman of twenty-one. And I sure as hell didn’t want Axel seeing me as his best friend’s little sister anymore. Still, Barry wouldn’t be swayed, though I somehow managed to convince him to wait for me in the car.
If I was going to do this, I needed to do it alone.
When I entered the shop, Axel stood from behind an old Porsche, and all the air in my lungs got sucked out in one single instant. His eyes locked on me, and I felt my whole body go hot and cold at the same time. He looked better than I remembered. His hair was dark and curling on his forehead, his eyes were full of fire. A tight shirt clung to his muscles. Muscles that corded through every inch of his tall and intimating body. And his jeans were hanging on his masculine hips. As he shifted sideways, his shirt lifted just enough for me to see the top curves of his V.
I blinked. Once, twice. Something that sounded like a squeak came from my throat.
“Afternoon, Callie.” His words came out in a low, deep voice that sent skitters along my skin. I shivered in my thin tank top, wishing I’d worn my hoodie after all. Nipples erect and perky and begging for his tongue, I crossed my arms over my chest and glanced away, heart batting hard against my ribcage.
“Hi, Axel,” I said after clearing my throat. “Um, Barry said you were ready to see me about the job?”
“Sure thing.” He dropped a wrench onto the ground beside the Porsche and ambled slowly toward me. I backed up instinctively, suddenly very nervous about being in such close proximity to this man. I’d never been nervous around Axel before, not even when I’d crushed so hard on him back in high school, but something about him now left my ears ringing.
“Let’s just go back into my office,” he said.
Into his office. My face grew even hotter. Something about those three words sounded so…sexy, so delicious, so dangerous.
It was just the two of us in the shop right now. I knew from years before that this place was usually bustling, busy with a handful of trusted mechanics at all hours of the day, including my brother. Customers came and went while several more spent time waiting in the lobby. But since it was Sunday, no one was here.
It was just me and Axel. And the burning flames between my thighs.
Axel led the way to a door propped open with a stack of engine parts. He snatched a splotchy cloth from the wall, wiped the grease from his hands, and then ushered me into the room behind him. I edged in, my eyes darting around, my nose clogged with the scent of grease, cologne, and steel.
All the blood in my body rushed to my thighs, heating me up in ways I’d never felt before.
A small cot squatted in the corner, covered by car magazines and a thin wool blanket. Did he sleep in this place? I knew he had his own home, a small house down the street from Barry’s. But this place looked worn and lived in and felt full of his presence.
He caught me glancing at the cot and gave me a slight smile that dimpled his scruff-covered cheeks. “I find I sleep better here than at home. That house feels far too big for just me. Thinking of downsizing soon. Or maybe moving in here full-time.”
“Not a lot of room.” I glanced around, taking in the small set of shelves mounted onto the wall. He had some stacks of ramen noodles and a few packs of beer. And a small refrigerator like the one I had back in my dorm room, back when I still had a life of my own.
“It does just fine for me.” He moved around behind a desk cluttered with mounds of paperwork and plopped into a rickety leather chair. “But this meeting isn’t about me. Sit down, Callie. Tell me why you want the job.”
I fidgeted with the hem of my tank top and sat gingerly on the chair opposite of his. In the spur of the moment, I hadn’t really had time to prepare. Why did I want the job? Well, it wasn’t because I was particularly interested in cars, and I wasn’t one to lie. No, the real reason I’d been interested in the position when my brother had mentioned it was…well, the reason was sitting across from me.
What better way to make the cash I needed than by spending my mornings in the presence of this perfect specimen of muscle, grease, and steel? I certainly couldn’t think of one.
But I couldn’t tell him that.
“I need to earn some cash and save up some money for my final semester of school,” I said quickly. The truth, but not all of it. “I spent a lot of time in the shop when I was in high school…because of Barry of course. So, I know how things work around here. I guess the opportunity presented itself at the right time…”
“Oh, it’s the right time all right.” His gaze flicked to my cleavage for a split second, so quickly I wasn’t sure I’d read him right. Had he just been checking out my nipples? The ones that were very much straining against the thin material, begging to be touched? No, he couldn’t have been. I was just letting my imagination get the better of me, like I always did.
“I know I don’t really have a lot of knowledge about cars, but I’m willing to learn—”
“No need,” he said quickly as he stood from his desk. My heart sunk. I wish I’d had more time to prepare. I could have come up with some impressive facts and figures about cars to wow him into hiring me. I’d just blown my one chance at spending the next few months side by side with the only man I’d ever wanted in my life. “You’re hired.”
“Wait, what?” My heartbeat picked up speed.
“I’ll need you in every morning but Sunday. We open at eight.”
CHAPTER TWO
Axel
The shop opened at eight, but I was ready by six. I’d always been an early riser, but the older I got, the earlier I rose. And I had a damn good reason for getting up and at ‘em before my paying customers arrived. Grunting, I pushed the garage doors up and smiled at the familiar rattle of the steel whirring open for the day. A lot of people have grand plans and big dreams, but owning my own auto repair shop had always been the only thing I’d ever wanted to do with my life.
Some people would call that a small dream. Not me.
I loved cars. I loved working with my hands. I liked the smell of grease and diesel fumes. I’d never really felt at home anywhere other than underneath the hood of a car, and I didn’t imagine that would ever change.
Taking a deep breath of the familiar heady scent, I eased into the garage and lifted the hood of the old Porsche I’d been working on for the past few months. A customer had brought her in, complaining about her engine. When I told him how much work she needed, he decided to upgrade to a newer model. So, he’d sold me this one at one hell of a bargain price.
It might take me several more months, since I was only working on her in my spare time, but I was determined as hell to get her back on the road.
Before I got to work, I glanced at the glass doorway leading into the darkened lobby. The desk had been empty for the past couple of we
eks, which had really put a strain on things around the shop. Customers liked to see a pretty smile behind the counter, assuring them that their cars would be ready soon.
Luckily, that all ended today, though I hoped I didn’t live to regret my decision.
Callie Weston, the sweetest girl in all the surrounding counties. I’d known her for as long as I could remember, the baby sister of my partner-in-crime and best friend.
I hadn’t seen her in a couple of years. She’d been off at college, and I’d been busy with my shop. During the holidays, when she was back home, Barry never invited me over and he never swung by.
Now I was starting to think there’d been a reason. Barry wasn’t dumb. He knew how men could get around gorgeous women.
Because Callie Weston had grown up into one hell of a woman.
She was all curves, all smiles, all big brown eyes through a face full of lashes. Her voice was different now, too. Sultry and sweet at the same damn time. She opened her mouth, and my dick got hard as soon as she said hi. I’d been toast. As far as I could tell, she didn’t know one fucking thing about cars, but that hadn’t stopped me from hiring her on the spot.
I wanted to see her. More of her.
I wanted to help her.
But Barry would lose his ever-loving shit if I even so much as laid a finger on his baby sister. He’d always been protective of her. I couldn’t help but remember the time he’d throttled some idiot from Callie’s high school who had tried things on with her in the parking lot after a football game.
The guy went to the hospital with a broken nose, and Barry had made it clear in no uncertain terms that his little sis was off-limits to pretty much all men on the planet.
He knew how men could be.
And I knew exactly how protective he could be.
Not to mention he was now trusting me to take care of her while she worked in my shop.
If he knew the thoughts running through my head about her, there was no doubt in my mind that he’d pummel me exactly the same way he’d pummelled Callie’s high school boyfriend.
That didn’t change me from looking forward to seeing her though. Those eyes, those curves, those lips. Any man in his right mind would want to bend her over and take his tool to her trunk.
And I wasn’t the kind of guy to restrain myself when I saw something I wanted.
My cell phone rang, ripping me back into the present. I dropped the wrench on the ground and wiped the sweat from my forehead, frowning down at the engine I’d barely touched. I’d been so lost in my thoughts about Callie that I’d squandered away my usual morning session with the Porsche.
I found it hard to care though. She’d be here any second now. I couldn’t wait.
“Axel here,” I said into the phone by way of greeting.
“Hey man.” Barry’s rough voice slid over the line. “Thought I’d catch you before the shop opens.”
“Sure, what’s up?” I asked, leaning against a steel pole that mounted a lifting platform overhead. Barry and I talked most days but usually only once he got to work at the shop, and today was his day off. As an ex-marine, he usually got in an early morning run when he wasn’t working. If not that, he was in the gym, lifting the kind of weights that only Superman could rival.
“I just wanted to call and thank you for giving Callie that job.” Barry sounded gruff but sincere, a tone of voice he only got when talking about his sister. “She needed it. I know you know that, but I also know you didn’t have to hire her. So, anyway, thanks.”
I felt something strange inside me. Something a little akin to guilt. I liked to think I was doing them both a favor, like it was something I needed thanking for, but I’d only done it for me. It was selfish. But more than that, I felt like I’d dropped a massive lie on my best friend, and the guilt that clenched my gut almost made me come out with the truth.
I hired her because I can’t stand the thought of not seeing her every damn day for as long as I can.
“No problem,” I said instead.
As guilty as I felt, I didn’t want to lose my best friend. It wasn’t like I was going to act on my feelings. We’d just have to have a friendly, working relationship. That was all.
The moment I hung up the phone, a knock sounded on the front door. Twisting, I turned to face the new arrival, but I knew exactly who it was before I even looked.
Callie Weston. My whole body went stiff. Hot damn, she looked so fucking good. She’d done something different with her hair that made her look softer and sultrier than I’d ever seen her. She wore a skin tight pair of dark jeans and a low-cut shirt that showed off an impressive set of tits. My eyes locked on her nipples. They were like a pair of headlights, hard and erect and making it very clear that she’d…god help her…opted out of a bra this morning.
I felt a growl emit from my throat, and a sudden protective instinct washed over me. As hot as she looked, she was going to have to put some more clothes on before the customers got here. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else seeing the perfect shape of her nipples. I’d give her one of my own damn flannels if I had to.
What the hell was wrong with me? I asked myself, shaking my head as I shoved away from the car and headed to the front door. Callie wasn’t mine. I had no claim on her, no right to dictate who could or couldn’t see any part of her.
Of course, I was her boss. And I could sure as hell give her a dress code.
“Morning, Callie,” I said when I opened the door. She edged in under my arm, and the masculine scent of steel and grease became laced with strawberries and vanilla. My gut clenched tight. She smelled good enough to eat. “You’re here early.”
She smiled up at me, a face full of sunshine. “I wanted to make a good impression on my first day.”
And a good impression she made, though in ways I didn’t quite think she intended.
My eyes dropped down to her chest, and I cleared my throat. “Let me give you an overview of how the phone and database works. And ahh…well, there’s just one thing that you’re going to have to change.”
“Have I done something wrong?” Her face briefly clouded over, and a part of me wanted to take a step back in time and erase my words. I didn’t want her to think she was anything but perfect.
“I know we’ve never really had a dress code around here, but ah…well, Callie, we have some conservative people in this town as I’m sure you know…”
She looked down at her shirt, her entire face turning as bright as the reddest car. “Shit. I didn’t think it would be a problem. I’m so sorry. I’ll go home and change.”
She seemed flustered, all the confidence she’d had the day before gone in an instant. “No, no. There’s no need for that. I’ll just loan you one of my shirts for the day. As long as you don’t mind smelling a little bit like grease.”
She looked up at me then, and her eyes widened. “Oh, I don’t mind at all.”
CHAPTER THREE
Callie
Well, I’d really made an ass out of myself this time, showing up to work my first day in the lowest cut shirt I could find. I should have known Axel would respond the way he had. It might have been an auto repair shop, but it wasn’t some dive bar. Rolling my eyes at myself, I settled in behind the counter and tried not to sniff the flannel shirt he’d lent me for the day. It was hard to ignore how the soft material enveloped my body, of how the scent of him filled my nose.
How was I going to focus on my job when all I wanted to do was waltz right back into the garage and show him exactly why I’d worn my tiny little tank top?
But he wasn’t interested, I had to remind myself. If he had been, he wouldn’t have reacted the way he had when I’d walked through the door. Instead of seeing what was underneath my skimpy clothes, all he’d cared about was covering me up.
And I’d seen some of the girls who had worked the front desk before. They’d worn stuff just as revealing as my shirt, so why the dress code now?
It was Barry, I realized. That was the only thing
that made sense. Axel felt some sort of protective instinct over me, just like my brother did. I wrinkled my nose. If that was the case, my fantasies would surely never come true.
The door jingled, signalling the first customer of the day, who had arrived a little early. Glancing up, I smiled warmly and took his details to pass on to Axel. He was still the only mechanic in the shop, the rest of the team not due in for another half hour, but the customer seemed impatient to be seen.
With his paperwork in hand, I edged open the door with my hip and walked across the quiet garage to where Axel was bent over a junky looking Porsche. He seemed so caught up in the engine that he didn’t even hear me approach. I had to clear my throat to catch his attention.
“Sorry, Callie, I didn’t see you there. What’s up? You have a question about the computer?”
“Your eight o’clock has already shown up, and he seems a little antsy. I told him we weren’t open for another half hour, but he didn’t seem particularly happy about waiting.”
“My eight o’clock, eh?” A wicked grin split his lips, the total opposite of what I’d been expecting. “You make me sound like I’m a doctor or something fancy like that.”
“Doctors fix insides. So do you.” I shrugged and smiled. “There are some similarities, don’t you think?”
Axel stared at me with a strange look on his face for a solid minute before he tipped back his head and laughed. I jumped, totally caught off guard by his reaction. I’d rarely seen Axel Steele present a genuine smile in all the years that I’d known him, much less drop his head back in laughter. Maybe in my time away from town, he’d changed into a different man than the one I’d known.
But even though this was different, I felt myself drawn even more to him than I had been before.
My joke hadn’t even been that funny. And yet he’d laughed.
Every single inch of me warmed.
