“I see.” Tom threw an inscrutable look at Nick. “From the sounds of it, I’m quite surprised you got here at all!”
Jo said nothing, leaning heavily on the counter with one elbow, pushing her hand into her hair.
“I’ll – we’ll just go take a look at it now for you.”
"Thanks." Realizing that she was going to be left alone in the office, Jo wandered over to the small row of seats, sinking down with a sigh. Watching the two brothers examine her car, she wondered how on earth they could be out in the biting wind and cold with nothing but a t-shirt on. Here she was in the warm office, with not two but three different layers on, and her toes were only just beginning to warm up. Spotting the coffee machine, Jo pressed various buttons while keeping her eyes on the oldest brother as he walked around her car. "He didn't say a word to me," she muttered to herself, grouchily, wandering back to her seat. A sudden rush of heat filled her core as she caught sight of him leaning over the bonnet, the wind whipping up his shirt. "He is pretty striking, though.”
Nick followed his brother without a word, highly aware of the woman left in the office. Something about her had struck him straight away, something he couldn’t quite place. His senses were going haywire. He could tell she was frustrated and worried, but his immediate attraction to her had him fighting for control. He’d left the talking up to Tom. Looking over the car, he shook his head. “We sure did a lot of damage.” There were dents and scrapes everywhere, and each light would have to be replaced individually. He’d not even taken a look at the wheel.
“You mean, you did.”
“If you remember, you shoved me down the hill!”
Tom couldn’t deny it, a grin on his face. “Sorry.”
Leaning over to have a look at the wheel, Nick waited until Tom emerged from underneath. “What’s the damage?”
“Not good,” Tom replied, getting to his feet. “Looks like it needs a new wheel, plus control arms and bearings. Then an alignment before it’s ready to go back on the road.”
“Have we got everything in stock to do the job?” Nick replied, rubbing the back of his head.
Tom grimaced, mentally going through their spare parts. “Don’t reckon so. Think we’ll need to send off for the control arms.”
“Can we do it today?”
“We can order it, but it’ll take a couple of days to get here.”
Nick nodded. "Fine. We can get on to fixing up the lights and the surface scratches while we're waiting."
“It ain’t going to be cheap, Nick.” Tom looked up at his brother with a gleam in his eye. “You want to tell her, or will I?”
Narrowing his eyes, Nick frowned. “I’ll do it.”
“Good,” Tom replied, cheekily. “You’ve not said a word to her since she came in, Nick. She probably thinks you’re either rude or just a grouch.”
“I just let you do the talking,” Nick said, defensively. “I’ll make sure to play nice now, alright?”
“Uh huh,” Tom commented, skeptical. Nick had always been the quiet one, working away in the background while he took on the majority of the handiwork. Tom was the one who always interacted with customers, took phone calls and generally dealt with people. It wasn’t Nick’s thing. “Just make sure you find out her name, okay?”
Muttering under his breath, Nick strode away from his brother and up to the office. Pulling the door open, he walked in and tried to rearrange his features into something of a smile. "Good afternoon, miss. Realized I never greeted you when you came in. I'm sorry about that. Just been a busy day." His smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he hid from her – and from himself – the heat he felt for the woman sitting in front of him.
"That's not a problem," Jo commented, faintly. He looked quite foreboding in person, standing tall and strong in front of her. His black hair was wild, sticking up at all angles, and his dark gray eyes held a hint of danger. His sculpted jaw was clenched tightly, his deep voice vibrating through her. In spite of that, there was something incredibly attractive about him, the gentle scent of his cologne wafting over to her. The strong, silent type, she mused to herself.
“Seems as though you’ve had a rough time of it,” he continued, sitting down opposite. “We’ll be happy to fix up your car for you.”
“Really?” Jo let out a sigh of relief, forcing her eyes to stay on his face and not travel down his body. “How long will it take?”
“Depends,” he replied, non-committal. “You got somewhere to be?”
“Yes, I have a client to meet in Dornwich in a couple of days’ time.”
“Ah.” His frown told Jo that this wasn’t going to be good news. “You might have to rearrange that.”
“Why’s that? How long is this going to take?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “We have to send off for a part. It’ll take a couple of days to get here but we can work on the rest of your car while we wait. The best estimate I can give you is five days.”
Jo stared at him, everything falling apart in one moment. “Five days? I have to be in Dornwich tomorrow. I have to prepare before I meet my client the next day!” She was babbling now, her frustration bubbling over. “What am I supposed to do now, huh? Phone my boss and tell him that some bears wrecked my car, and now I have to wait to get it repaired? Tell him to put off my very respectable client for three more days, until I can get there?”
“I’m sorry.” He could smell the tears in her eyes a moment before she started crying.
“What am I supposed to do?” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “First the car trip, the motels, the bears and now this?” Jo knew she was completely going to pieces in front of a burly mechanic, but she wasn’t able to keep it together any longer. “Everything is going wrong. It’s like the universe is against me!”
Nick didn’t know what to say, his urge to protect her pushing him to act. Without warning, his teeth bared, before he managed to get his bear back under control. What are you doing? “I….” Trailing off, Nick took a step closer, his hand lifting to reach for her shoulder.
Giving herself a stern telling off, Jo managed to pull herself together "Sorry," she sniffed, missing his expression completely as he dropped his hand back down. Getting to her feet, Jo wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "You just don't understand what kind of a time I've been having. I'd best go call my boss."
“She didn’t take it well, then?”
Nick growled. “What do you think?”
“I think she cried all over you and then left the office to go phone her boss!”
"Wonderful." Clearly, his brother had been putting his keen hearing to good use and he could probably smell the salt from her tears lingering in the air. "I don't know what to do."
“Do?” Tom looked at him peculiarly. “There’s nothing for you to do other than to fix her car. What else are you talking about?”
Careful. “Nothing. I’m just not used to crying women.” Struggling to deal with his own strange emotions, Nick forced his instincts back down, walking over to the desk to phone the company in the next town. It didn’t take long to make the call and place the order, his eyes watching Jo as she paced back and forth outside the office. Her cell phone was pressed to her ear and she looked frustrated.
“It’s ordered, Tom.”
“Good. How long?”
"A couple of days at the earliest. It was the best they could do. This isn't fair to her, though, Tom. We did that to her car."
His brother shrugged. “So? She doesn’t know that.”
“Yeah, but I do. I feel responsible. We shouldn’t charge her for our time.”
“You mean, work for free?”
"Yes, for free. She can pay for the parts, but that's it. No overpricing, and we won't charge anything for labor." He shot a look at his brother. "It's only fair."
Tom grumbled for a moment but eventually relented. After all, their play fighting in the woods has been the reason for the damage to Jo’s car. “Guess you’re right. I’ll go get s
tarted.”
CHAPTER 4
“Like I said, Brian, it’s not exactly my fault!” Jo blew out a long breath, already irritated and beginning to get angry. “Well, you tell me how two bears coming out of the wood and attacking my car is somehow my responsibility!”
Brian's voice was loud in her ear, his high-pitched, fake British accent ramping up her frustration levels as he complained and whined.
“Yes, I’m getting it fixed! It’s a small town, I – ”
Pulling the phone from her ear, Jo stared at it for a second before hanging up. She'd had enough. Brian knew the situation now and knew she'd be late for the client so it was his responsibility to go sort it out. That wasn't her job and she wasn't going to put up with his idiotic voice complaining and criticizing her over and over. Ignoring the immediate worry that knotted her stomach, she tipped her chin up and closed her eyes. “He can’t fire me for hanging up on him,” she told herself.
After letting the cold wind cool her adrenaline for a few minutes, Jo walked back into the office, knowing that she’d made a complete fool of herself in front of Nick. First, she’d cried all over him and then he’d probably seen her practically yelling down the phone. “Sorry,” she muttered, as she walked back in. “Boss is a bit of an idiot.”
Nick tried to smile, seeing that she was completely miserable. Guilt prodded him as he came out from behind the counter. “That’s okay. Listen, we’ve just ordered the part we need, it’ll be arriving in a couple of days. I’m sorry we can’t do it any sooner for you. You’ve obviously got a lot going on.”
Jo’s eyes met his. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
Yes, it is. “We’ll keep it as cheap as we can for you. Parts only.”
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Jo sat forward a little, watching him intently.
The corner of Nick’s mouth lifted. “We’ll be charging you for parts only.”
There was a brightness in his eyes that she couldn’t quite place and Jo wasn’t sure she liked it. Nobody had been generous to her in a long time, and she’d never expect a mechanic to do something like this. “Why?” Not that she was going to pass up the offer but it didn’t seem right.
Nick shrugged. “It’s what we do round these parts. You’ve had a difficult time of it and we’re happy to work for free. Call it a good deed, or that ‘random act of kindness’ stuff that’s going around!”
Jo didn’t know what to say, blinking a couple of times. “That’s incredibly kind of you.”
“Not at all,” he replied. “Glad to help.”
Tom walked in, wiping his hands on a rag. “Has Nick told you the damage?”
“Yes, he has. Although I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your generosity!”
“No problem.” Walking behind the desk, Tom shared a look with Nick that Jo didn’t quite catch. Something was passing between them, something she couldn’t understand.
Choosing to ignore it, she got to her feet, wondering where she could get a room for a few nights. “Is there a place in town I can stay?”
The brothers glanced at each other and Jo’s stomach tightened in worry.
“No, there’s not.”
“Nothing?” Jo stared at Nick in disbelief. “There’s got to be somewhere!”
Tom shook his head. “Sorry. We’re a small town! Not much here and nobody tends to stop by.”
“Then where am I going to stay?”
Glancing at his brother, Nick got the message loud and clear. Don’t even think about it.
He frowned at Tom. She’s got nowhere else. “Well, we do have a cabin you could use.”
“A cabin?” Jo frowned. She certainly wasn’t going to stay overnight with two strange men in their cabin in the woods! “No, thank you. I’m quite sure you both need your space.”
Nick chuckled, a grin spreading across his face. "We don't live there if that's what you're worried about! We rent it out now and again, mostly to people we know who want a vacation. Otherwise, it's our weekend cabin," He could feel Tom's glare boring into his back, but ignored him completely. Naming his price, he saw her eyebrows lift. "From the sounds of things, your boss isn't exactly the nicest man in the world –"
“You’ve got that right,” Jo muttered, seeing the spark of laughter in Nick’s eyes.
“So, we’d be more than happy to help you with decent accommodation. Why not treat it as a vacation? Might make you feel better.”
Jo frowned. She didn't really have a choice since there was nowhere else to stay. "Is it far?"
“No,” he confirmed. “Just a mile up the road. It’s warm, dry and stocked with supplies. You’ll have the only key and no-one will disturb you, promise.”
“Fine,” she sighed. “Then I accept.” She didn’t mean to come across as ungrateful, but things just seemed to be going from bad to worse. Now she was staying in some kind of cabin where there was probably animal skins and all sorts lying about. Looking at the two of them, she suspected they were hunters. They had the muscles for it and were almost stealthy in the way they moved around. Hunters. Definitely.
“Great,” Tom muttered, refusing to even glance up from his paperwork. “We’ve got a lot to do on your car, though, so what we’ll do is give you our phone number just in case of emergencies.”
“I’ll give you mine,” Nick interrupted. “And I’ll have to drive you. Unless you’d prefer to walk, it is only a mile.”
Jo thought for a minute, before shaking her head. “Doubt I could walk there,” she replied, shivering at the thought of walking a mile in the wind with all her luggage.
“Then I’ll drive you.”
“Thanks,” she murmured. “I’d appreciate it.”
Turning around to find her purse, Jo shook her head to herself. “A strange man wants to take me out to his cabin in the woods and I’m not immediately saying no,” she muttered under her breath. She knew that she had her personal alarm in her pocket that would connect to 911 if she pressed it. If she wanted somewhere to stay tonight, then she’d have to take her chances with Nick.
Nick pushed himself away from the wall, trying not to grin. His ears had picked up every word she’d said and he’d found it difficult not to chuckle. “I’ll just bring the car round and load your stuff in. We can go straight away.”
“Thank you,” she replied, smiling at him.
His breath caught in his chest as he stared. Her smile completely transformed her, making her absolutely stunning. His bear seemed to like it too, a satisfied sound rattling through his chest. Without another word, he walked out of the office and outside to the car, knowing that she was watching him leave.
Nick walked away, breathing hard. What are you doing? You can’t have a human staying so close. You can’t go anywhere near her!
“What are you thinking?” Tom hissed, as they walked over to her car. “She can’t stay in the cabin, Nick!”
“She’ll be fine.”
“It’s not that I’m worried about,” Tom replied, his eyes dark. “You know why that’s dangerous! The pack -”
“The pack haven’t been seen for ages.”
“That doesn’t mean they won’t come back! She can’t stay there, Nick.”
Nick growled, turning on his brother as his muscles tensed. “What other plan have you got then, Tom? We caused the damage, we need to sort that out for her. Where else should she stay?”
“I don’t know why that’s our problem!” Tom replied, battling down his urge to leap at Nick, to force the change. That was how they usually sorted out their arguments, but they couldn’t do it now. Not when Jo was around.
Nick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. That's one of the stupidest things you've ever said, Tom." He began to walk away, only for Tom to grab his arm. His jaw clenched. The urge, the need, to let the bear rip from his skin, was growing almost too strong to resist. A roar crawled up his throat but he refused to let it escape. "Walk away, Tom." His brother's eyes only narrowed, his breath frosting the air. His eyes began to glo
w, a warning that the change was about to happen. "I said, you need to walk away,” Nick growled, his teeth clenched. “We'll sort this later."
Shoving Nick hard, Tom turned around and walked into the garage. He didn’t want a human anywhere near their cabin. It was dangerous, not just for her. “You’re making a mistake,” he called, over his shoulder, his words disappearing into the wind.
No, I’m not. There was more to Jo than even Nick wanted to admit, but the instinct he had to protect her, from almost the moment she’d walked in, had only grown. More than that, he wanted her. He’d never been one for a ‘one night stand’ but already he was thinking about her in his bed. What are you doing? Humans are off-limits.
She was human, he was not. Shifters like him didn’t go near fragile little humans. It was too dangerous, just like Tom said but he couldn’t get her out of his mind. The way tears had pooled in her eyes, her hair falling around her face - vulnerable and soft. He wasn’t used to that. He was used to strength and power and she was the exact opposite. When she’d phoned her boss, he’d wanted nothing more than to rip the guy to shreds, even though he didn’t even know him. Something’s wrong with you, Nick. You need to stay away from her!
But he knew he wouldn’t.
CHAPTER 5
“I’m getting in a car with a stranger, going to a cabin that I’m not even sure exists,” Jo muttered, pacing back and forth in the office. “What’s come over you? You’re not usually this stupid!” Talking to herself wasn’t helping her to calm down in the slightest. What if he turned out to be some kind of killer and she ended up as one of those ‘missing person’ posters?
A car drew up and Nick got out, beckoning her over. Trying to smile, and pushing down the anxiety that was rising in her chest, Jo left the office and walked over to him. At least he was smiling.
“Do you want me to put your things in the car?”
“Oh, yeah. That would be great. Thank you.” Jo couldn’t help but watch as he quickly and easily hefted her bags from one car trunk to the other. His muscles rippled, reminding her, oddly, of the way the bear’s fur had moved as it had walked away. He was showing the same kind of strength, she supposed, dropping her gaze just as he caught hers. Rubbing her arms with icy hands, the wind whipping through her hair, she wondered how he managed to be so unaffected by the cold. Perhaps she was just extra tired. Regardless, he certainly gave off a particularly masculine vibe and that was something she could appreciate.
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