Reckless Curves: Bad Boy Autos (Drive Me Wild Book 1)

by Bronwen Evans

  Kendra groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “How much is that going to cost?”

  Tom gave her a sharp look. “Cost? Nothing. I’ll take care of it.”

  Kendra raised her head. “No, no. Marcus can fix it.”

  It was hard, but Tom held his temper in check. “The only thing Marcus will fix is his broken nose because I will beat the crap out of him.”

  Her mouth curved upwards and her eyes lit up. “I’d like to see that.”

  Tom couldn’t remember wanting to kiss a woman more than he did Kendra. Her luscious lips were so inviting that it took superhuman effort not to haul her against him and capture her mouth with his. “Don’t tempt me. C’mon, you’ll ride with me. The Mustang’s backseat is big enough for his baby car seat.”

  “Really? How do you know?” she asked, following him around to the other side of the van.

  “I’ve taken my niece and nephews a few times so that Sam and Tonya could go away for the weekend,” Tom said. “Mikey still has to ride in a baby seat.”

  “You watch their kids?”

  “Yeah.”

  He watched her climb into the back of the van to get Connor’s seat and had to curb his body’s reaction at the sight of her perfectly shaped ass clearly outlined as the shorts pulled taut over it. Needing to divert his attention, Tom walked to his car and looked to Connor, who was fast asleep on the seat.

  Tom reached in the car for his son. Connor never stirred as Tom settled him against his shoulder. Looking down at Connor, Tom still couldn’t believe that the perfect little boy was his. A lump formed in his throat as potent love rose in him. Watching Kendra fasten the baby seat in his car, Tom became even more determined to bring her around to his way of thinking. He didn’t know how yet, but he would. He wanted his son with him every day, and Kendra was the one woman who didn’t make his body break-out in hives at the idea of marriage.

  But right then, his priority was getting them home and then coming back for the van. And then he would have words with Marcus.

  Chapter Eight

  Kendra watched Tom’s jaw clench as he downshifted and slowed down as the light ahead turned red. His anger was almost palpable in the car, hanging in the air like electricity during a thunderstorm. It unnerved and excited her at the same time.

  The air conditioning felt heavenly after being stuck out in the sweltering heat for so long, but Tom had turned it way down so it wasn’t such a shock to her and Connor’s systems. While it cooled her skin, it did nothing to diminish the heat that burned inside as she noted the way the corded muscles in his forearm rolled as he shifted into second gear when traffic started moving again.

  “You okay?” he asked for the fifth time.

  She raised her eyes to his before he focused on the road again. “I’m fine. Why are you so mad?”

  His hand tightened around the gearshift. “Marcus should’ve made sure that you could change a tire on your own by ensuring you had the right equipment and the nuts weren’t too tight. What if it was an area out of cellphone coverage?”

  Kendra thought his concern was sweet. “Tom, it’s okay. Marcus is not my keeper. I’ve told him that over and over, so I can’t expect him to be there as soon as I call. I hate the way he acts like the great protector.”

  “He hasn’t in this case.”

  His statement confused her. “What do you mean?”

  He glanced at her, his eyes almost topaz in the sunlight. “If he was really being protective, he’d make sure you could change a flat or learn how to fix minor problems. What if you’d gotten a flat at night when the shop was closed and your cellphone was dead? You’d have been a sitting duck. With my son in the car, too. Plus, he hasn’t got his phone on. I don’t call that being protective.”

  It shamed Kendra to realize that he was right. She prided herself on being as self-reliant as possible, but if her cellphone had been dead or no signal, she’d have had to hope that she’d be able to flag down someone nice to help her. In LA, that could be a dangerous thing to do.

  “I always make sure it’s charged before I leave the house,” Kendra said.

  Tom shook his head. “What if you are somewhere with no coverage?” Then he asked the question she’d been dreading. “How come you didn’t run the air conditioner? At least for some of the time.”

  Kendra gnawed on her bottom lip and stayed silent.

  Tom glanced at her. “Well?”

  Might as well tell him. “The A/C died last week. It needs freezone.”

  Tom laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Freon. It needs Freon. How do you not know this stuff? You spent so much time around us.”

  “Cars are not my thing. Music is. Remember?” She wasn’t about to tell him that she’d been too busy watching him for all the car-talk to sink in.

  The angry look returned to his face. “Well, it’s going to be your thing.”

  “Huh?”

  “I’ll teach you how to take care of simple repairs so that if you’re ever in a tough spot like you were today, you can fix it at least good enough to get somewhere for help,” Tom said.

  Alarm shot through Kendra. “No, you’re not. I don’t want to learn.”

  Tom looked meaningfully back at Connor. “Not even for his sake?”

  “That’s not fair! A lot of women know little about the cars they drive,” Kendra said.

  Tom grunted. “They should. Especially the sister of a race car driver who is driving a hunk of shit!” He shifted again. “We will start with changing a tire and then I’ll teach you how to check all your fluids. And I’ll put together an emergency kit for you.”

  “Tom, all of that isn’t really necessary,” Kendra said.

  They came to her apartment building, and Tom turned into the parking lot. He shut the engine off and turned to her. “You listen to me, Kendra. You will learn because I don’t want you driving around not knowing what to do if you have an emergency. Your lives could depend on it. Do you understand me? Alternatively, you could let me buy you a new car that shouldn’t have any mechanical troubles.”

  Granite couldn’t have been any harder than his expression, but Kendra wasn’t about to back down. “Perhaps it’s time I looked at buying a new car myself. But don’t you dare think you will start bossing me around, Tom? You can shove that idea right up your ass.”

  Why could the men in her life not realize how much it meant to her to live her life her way? To prove to her father that she could survive. They would never understand what it had been like to be helpless against the cancer. She could fight the disease, but she had no idea if she would win. It was important for her to have control. At the moment, letting Tom into her life made her feel as if the ground was moving under her feet. She was feeling overwhelmed, and her muscles tightened from the top of her head to her toes.

  Her sassy statement apparently made Tom smile. He’d always admired her feisty attitude. She needed it when she was younger to fight the cancer. “Duly noted. I don’t think anyone can force you to do anything, Tiger. But let’s arrange a time for me to take you car shopping. I am the expert you know?”

  Kendra gave a curt nod. “Don’t rush me.”

  “If I help financially, as I should and have a right to, you could afford a new car.”

  Damn. That made sense. “Fine.” She opened the door and got out. When she tilted the back of her seat forward, she saw that Connor was still asleep, tuckered out from the heat and stress. She released the safety straps and pulled him out of the child seat. He roused a little as she backed out of the car and settled him on her hip, but then went back to sleep.

  Not realizing Tom was behind her, she bumped into him. “Oh, sorry.”

  Tom let his hand settle on her waist and leaned into her a little. “Feel free to back into me anytime.”

  His touch made breathing difficult for Kendra. She had to get away from him; he was making her feel things she was afraid to feel again. She chuckled and moved aside so he could get the baby seat out of the car.
“Still charming the girls, I see.”

  When he flashed her that sexy smile, she melted. “Always.”

  It only took a moment for him to unhook the baby seat. He shut the door and hit the alarm button on his key fob as he looked around the neighborhood with disapproval. Kendra knew what he was thinking because it was the same look Marcus always got on his face when he was there.

  “I can afford the rent here,” she said.

  Tom’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t say anything.”

  Kendra turned away from him and started for the building. “You didn’t have to.”

  * * *

  Her anger was apparent in the tense way she held herself as she marched ahead of Tom. He hadn’t meant to make her feel bad, but parking his valuable car in the derelict neighborhood made Tom uneasy. He hated them living in such a bad area of town, but there wasn’t much he could do about it at the moment. Telling her to move was not the answer. She had to come to that decision herself. With his encouragement, of course. House hunting might be an idea. Women loved looking at homes. Appealing to her love for Connor by offering a large backyard would be a start. His house had a huge backyard.

  Looking up at the dingy building that had once been white, Tom took in the peeling paint and dented pieces of siding. Two windows were cracked and apparently, the tenants had tried to fix them with duct tape. Tom shook his head as he followed Kendra inside.

  He hated how much this reminded him of his upbringing.

  He hadn’t paid a whole lot of attention the day before, but the foyer and stairwells were just as depressing and in need of repair like the outside. There were cracks in the ugly yellow paint, and some stairs sagged. He also saw some nails sticking up from the wooden boards.

  Someone will get hurt. Who the hell owns this place? They ought to be fined for not keeping stuff up to code. Tom put those thoughts out of his mind as he watched Kendra mount the stairs. His temperature rose as he watched her backside move, and he itched to fill his palms with her sweetly rounded flesh. He was glad when Connor woke up and provided a distraction.

  Connor raised his head and looked at Tom over Kendra’s shoulder. He raised a chubby little hand. “Hi, Tom!”

  It amazed Tom that Connor remembered who he was after their brief meeting yesterday. He gave Connor a little wave. “Hi, buddy. You okay?”

  Connor bobbed his head. “Mama, me hungee.”

  Kendra chuckled. “I know, honey. We’re just about home and I’ll make you your favorite, okay?”

  “Geen beans! Yay!” Connor shouted.

  Tom laughed as they reached the third floor. “Green beans are his favorite?”

  Kendra set Connor on his feet. “Stay there.” She fished her keys out of her purse. “Yeah. He loves fruits and veggies. It’s a struggle to get him to eat meat most of the time.”

  That surprised Tom. “Really? Even hotdogs?”

  Connor gave him a fierce look. “Hotdogs yucky.”

  “Well, all righty then,” Tom responded. “No hotdogs for you. Can I eat them?”

  Tom got a kick out of the way Connor’s brow furrowed as he thought. He looked like Tom’s brother Sam when he was thinking. It pleased Tom that Connor also took after his side of the family.

  Kendra opened the door and Connor ran inside. “Geen beans!”

  Tom shook his head. “The kid really loves his green beans.” He followed Kendra into the living room and stopped when a hot breeze hit him. One window was open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. “Did you leave that open?”

  Kendra had followed Connor to the kitchen. “Yeah, for air,” she called out to him.

  “For air? The same piss-hot air outside?”

  His eyebrows shot up when she charged out of the kitchen at him. “Watch your mouth around him! He picks up everything!”

  “Okay, but where’s your air conditioner? You’re going to die of heat exhaustion,” Tom shot back.

  “There’s an air conditioner in my room and I let it cool both our bedrooms. I block off the hallway with a curtain to keep the cold air back there.” Kendra lifted her chin. “I can’t afford to run two air conditioners. It’ll make my electric bill go through the roof.”

  “Please let me help my son. Let’s look for a new place for you both to live. I can afford the rent and no matter what happens between us, I have a right to provide for my son,” Tom said quietly.

  “It must be the heat making me so cranky.” Kendra rubbed her temple. “I want to provide for Connor as much as you do. I guess I’m scared you can provide more than me.”

  Tom gritted his teeth for a moment. “This isn’t a competition…” he broke off to make sure they were alone. “I’m his father and want to help him and you. You’ve had to do too much on your own as it is.”

  “Marcus has been helping too. He’ll get suspicious if I suddenly move. He’ll want to know where the money is coming from.”

  “Then perhaps we should inform Marcus of our situation before he works it out for himself, because I will not deny my son, nor deny him the things he needs in life because you’re too scared or too ashamed of me.”

  Tom didn’t care that Kendra had stiffened with fear and indignation. “You promised that you wouldn’t say anything!”

  “Wrong. I promised nothing. I just didn’t tell Connor I’m his father, that’s all.”

  Kendra glared at him. “I thought we agreed that we would work some things out before we went public with it.”

  “You just assumed that I’d agreed,” Tom said.

  Kendra threw up a hand. “So what? You’re blackmailing me now?”

  Tom sighed. God, she could be ornery. “I’d rather think of it as guiding you to the right decision. You either let me help you and my son, or I’ll tell Marcus right away. I won’t wait forever to tell people I’m Connor’s father, but I’ll hold off for a little while if you let me help financially. It will be a few weeks before we find a place and get you moved. We should have worked out the details by then. Do we have a deal?”

  Kendra’s gaze didn’t flinch. “Fine.”

  “And you’ll let me date you? You’ll give a relationship with me a try?”

  “I will as long as we don’t tell Connor or anyone else, he’s your son for at least one month.”

  Tom couldn’t believe it. “A whole month? Why?”

  Her emerald gaze turned diamond-hard. “Because I need to know that you really care about Connor. Prove it to me—and him. I don’t want to be made to look a fool.”

  Her protectiveness made sense to Tom. He could understand why she’d doubt him, but waiting a whole month when he’d already lost so much time with Connor didn’t sit well with him.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Well?”

  As he mulled it over. It might be beneficial to wait that long. If he proved his worthiness to Kendra, maybe he could persuade her to marry him. Maybe she would agree to be his wife before they had to tell Marcus. It might soften the blow. “All right. One month, but that’s it.”

  She seemed to calm a bit with his agreement until Connor came running out of the kitchen.

  “Mama, I peed,” he happily announced. He’d taken off his T-shirt somewhere and stood in only his little jean shorts and pull-ups, which were now down around his ankles. “I pee-peed in da potty.”

  Kendra gasped, and they both ran to the kitchen, looking around the room they searched for the “potty” that Connor had used. It didn’t take long to find it. In the corner by the refrigerator stood a small clay planter with a spider plant in it. A trail of yellow droplets led from it to the middle of the floor.

  She put a hand on her forehead as Connor stood next to Tom. “He peed in the plant.”

  Tom looked at Connor, who smiled at him. “Well, I guess it looks like a potty to him. It’s better than where my niece, Courtney, used to go in their old house.”

  Kendra looked at him. “Where did she go?”

  Tom gave her a grin. “They had a forced hot air heating system. No one knows why,
but she liked to pee down the heating vent in the living room. Smelled like hell when the heat ran.”

  Kendra tried to hide her smile. “What did they do? How did they get her to stop?”

  Tom answered, “Moved to a place with no heating vents in the floor.”

  Laughter bubbled up from Kendra’s throat and filled the kitchen. Tom joined her and even though he didn’t understand the joke, Connor chimed in.

  Kendra took Connor from him. “Come on, Squirt. You and Mommy need a bath.”

  Tom had to tease her and asked, “Need someone to wash your back?”

  Kendra’s jaw went slack at his comment, which had to mean the thought of getting hot and soapy with him was not a bad thing. “No, thanks. I think I can manage.”

  Tom chuckled. “Suit yourself.”

  Kendra gasped, startling them all. “Tom, we forgot my keyboard! It’s in the back of the van. It will melt in this heat.”

  Tom put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a brief squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ll go get your van and bring the keyboard when I come over tonight, okay? We can look at some apartments online and make a list of the ones we want to go see.”

  He loved that she shivered at his touch. “Okay.”

  Unable to resist the urge, Tom leaned closer and kissed her cheek. “See ya, then.” He ruffled Connor’s hair and kissed him, too. “See ya, buddy. No more peeing in plants, okay?”

  Connor giggled. “’Kay. Bye, Tom.”

  Tom smiled and left the apartment, but not before noticing her longing gaze at him, before saying to her son, “Come on, honey. Let’s go get cleaned up.”

  Chapter Nine

  Tom parked the Mustang around the side of Bad Boy Autos and locked it. He took a couple of deep breaths as he walked to the office. It wouldn’t do any good to immediately lose his cool with Marcus, but he would not put up with any shit, either.

  Marcus stood behind the counter, doing something on the computer. He looked up and smiled. “Where have you been? Sully said that you had to leave for a while.”