The Mechanic

by Lexie Davis

  “I sorta got drunk last night. Normally hangovers aren’t that bad for me, but this one is not going away.”

  I tossed another tire and went to the back storage area to pull the new tires I needed. It was a fucking chore. I ached. My head hurt. It was barely lunch and I felt sick to my stomach.

  “I don’t think your problem is alcohol. Maybe you need to see a doctor.” Davy took the tire I held and shoved it on the car. “Go to one of those clinics. They’ll fix you up.”

  I glanced at the clock. “Fine. If your sister makes an appearance, tell her to call me.”

  “I will.” Davy glanced over at me, concerned. “Let me know if it’s contagious.”

  I flipped him off. I left the shop and went to the clinic in the shopping center down the street from the garage. It boasted about being a one-hour deal so I was glad I didn’t have that long of a wait. They did the regular and looked me over. My official diagnosis was simply a bug. Apparently, it had been going around and I could have come in contact with someone who had it yesterday with all the people that came through the garage. The nurse told me to rest and recommended some remedies for my headache. I left there after forty-five minutes, which impressed me.

  When I arrived back at the garage, I found Davy talking to Eve. She glanced over at me as I walked toward them.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I rubbed my forehead. “Just a bug. She said there was one going around with my symptoms. Probably picked it up from someone yesterday. It’s a twenty-four-hour thing. She told me to go home and rest.”

  “Go, then.” Davy met my gaze. “Don’t worry about this place.”

  Eve kept her attention on me. “I can take you home if you want.”

  “I’m fine. Really.” I glanced over at all the work in the shop.

  “No.” Eve shook her head. “You need to go home. Either you drive yourself or I’ll drive you.”

  “You’re so damn bossy.” I tugged my keys from my pocket. “I’ll drive myself. Are you coming over later?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t been home in several days. I’ll call you to let you know what I’m doing.”

  I left her at the shop and drove myself home. When I entered my house, I kicked off my shoes at the door and walked to my bedroom. I could barely get my clothes off before I fell face-forward on the mattress, exhausted from the effort. Whatever this stupid bug was, it had wiped out all of my energy.

  The next time I woke, it was dark. I cringed and groaned as I rolled over in the bed. I felt better after sleeping. I pushed up and glanced around the room. My house was dark, so that meant Eve didn’t come over. I hated it. Something about having her here with me gave me my own sense of peace and security. I didn’t like being away from her and I sure as hell didn’t like sleeping without her.

  I found some clothes and grabbed my keys. It was eight. She was probably taking a bath or reading a book. I wasn’t entirely sure if she wanted me to come over, but I was going anyway. Her house was in a cozy neighborhood that was family oriented. Plenty of kids and families filled the houses around her even though she was a single woman with no kids. It would be easy to sell if she chose to put it on the market.

  I pulled in her drive and noted that the lights were on. I retracted the key and got out, walking to the door. After punching the doorbell, I waited.

  She came to answer, peeking out the window before she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

  “You didn’t call.”

  She blinked a few times. “Actually, I did. You didn’t answer so I assumed you were sleeping. I didn’t want to bother you.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” I glanced around at her messy place. “Can I stay here tonight?”

  “You want to stay in my messy house?”

  “I want you.” My shoulders slumped. My energy had depleted in just the few actions I’d done since waking up. “Don’t make me beg.”

  She smiled at me. “Come on. You look horrible. Do you feel any better?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure it’s just a bug?”

  “Yeah.” I swallowed. “She said I’d have flu-like symptoms for about twenty-four hours. It’s not the flu, though. Just some stupid virus that has to run its course.”

  “You look like you’re going to fall over.” She tugged on my shirt. “Let’s go to bed.”

  “I’m down with that.” I followed her to her bedroom and watched her clear a pathway to her bed. The woman had clothes and shoes everywhere in the room. I couldn’t even see the hardwood floors beneath it all. Her bed had stacks of laundry and she moved them to the chaise lounge she kept in front of the window.

  “I was sorting through my clothes to get rid of some.”

  I snorted and climbed on her bed. I didn’t care at the moment. I tucked her pillow under my head and closed my eyes.

  ****

  I was in the middle of taking apart a carburetor when Eve walked up to me. My hands were a dirty mess, so I leaned in to kiss her before going back to what I was doing.

  “I have a problem.”

  I glanced over at her. “A serious problem or a minor problem?”

  “Oh, it’s serious.” Eve folded her arms over her chest.

  I stopped what I was doing and gave her my attention. “What’s wrong?”

  “I spoke to a realtor today.” She bit her lower lip. “He’s coming over tomorrow to list my house.”

  I chuckled.

  “You were serious about me moving in, right?” Her eyes widened. “You were drunk. You weren’t serious, were you? Oh, God. I’ll call and cancel. I feel so stupid.”

  “Stop.” I wiped my hands on a shop rag. “I was serious. I love you. Why wouldn’t I want to live with you?”

  She swallowed hard. “You love me?”

  “Yeah.” I turned toward her. “I do.”

  I leaned in to kiss her. She opened her mouth to me as I deepened the kiss. I met Eve nearly two years ago when I took the job at her father’s garage. I don’t know what it was, but something sparked between us. I fit right in with her family. For a while, I kept my distance from her. Davy tried to fix us up more than once and he teased me nonstop. Joe knew my feelings toward her and played the protective older brother. I watched her break down about her father and the business. I loved her the moment she smiled at me the first time. I didn’t want to leave her. She could make it on her own, but I didn’t want her to. I wanted her to come to me for help. To tell me what bothered her and to let me love her.

  “Get a room,” Joe told us.

  I smiled against her lips before taking a step back. “How do you plan to solve your little problem?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “You’re the organized expert.”

  I laughed and went back to working on the carburetor. “You want me to help you clean your house?”

  “And pack.” She chewed on her lower lip. “Where am I going to put all my stuff in your house?”

  “Spare bedrooms. I’ve got three of them. You’ll probably take up all three of them. We may need to rent a storage unit too.”

  “Please tell me this isn’t going to be a deal breaker. I’m messy and I have a lot of stuff. I know it’s going to get on your nerves. I’m going to get on your nerves and … I’ve never lived with anyone before.”

  I smiled. “There are no deal breakers between us. I want you. That means all of you.”

  “Promise me that you’re not going to break up with me over my being messy.” She blinked a few times. “We’re going to have a fight and it’s going to be bad and…”

  I glanced over at her. “Beautiful, I’m not going anywhere.”

  She chewed on her lower lip. I shook my head and leaned over to kiss her temple. She was gorgeous. Her hair fell around her face though I personally liked it when she pulled it back. The business look was great but she seemed most comfortable at home in her pajamas with her hair pulled back and her face makeup free. I liked her that way.

  “My han
ds are dirty, but you’re tempting me into dragging you over here to prove a point.” I glanced at her attire. “I’m pretty sure after the cream skirt I ruined you don’t want me to get grease all over you again.”

  “I just feel like this is too good to be true. Something is going to happen and I don’t want to screw it up.”

  “What’s going to happen?” I asked her.

  “I don’t know. Something always does.”

  Several people entered the shop and made the generally quiet environment noisier. “We’ll talk later.”

  “Okay.” She walked away from me.

  “Taylor?” Ted, Eve’s uncle, came over to me. “This is Elizabeth. She has a very fancy and expensive sports car that needs your attention.”

  I glanced down at my hands. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “The electronic system isn’t working correctly,” Ted told me. “I looked at it, but I think that’s your area of expertise.”

  “Yeah.” I sat the parts down and went over to the sink. I pumped soap into my hands and scrubbed them before rinsing and drying them. Fancy sports cars did not usually have middle-class men working on them. I went out the door and my eyes widened. She had a cherry-red Ferrari parked next to my truck.

  “Wow. Nice.” I glanced over at the woman. She was pretty. Blonde and large chested. She wore short shorts and had a ponytail. I glanced at Ted, who grinned at me. “Uh, where are the keys?”

  She held them out. For a second, she touched my hand, letting her fingers linger longer than necessary. I’d had plenty of women hit on me. Many would come to the shop and flirt.

  I spent the next few minutes going over the car and trying to figure out what was wrong. Most of these things needed mechanics experienced in the brand. I didn’t know much about them, other than my simple admiration. After chatting with the woman for a few minutes, I realized it wasn’t her car, but her father’s. That made more sense.

  “Taylor?” Eve called my name and I glanced up. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

  She never interrupted me with a client. I glanced at the woman who spotted Eve and reached out to brush her chest against my arm.

  “Yeah. Just a sec.” I smiled at the client. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

  I followed Eve inside the building and to the office. Once we got inside the small room, I closed the door.

  “Why are you talking to her?”

  I frowned. “She’s a client.”

  “No, she’s not. She trying to start trouble.”

  I scoffed. “You’re jealous? Really?”

  “No. That’s Elizabeth Hanks. She is Davy’s crush, if you could call it that. She has the stupidest cars and the stupidest clothes. She spreads her legs for anyone with a dick and if she knows you’re in a relationship, she tries all that much harder to make you want her.”

  I lifted my shirt to wipe the sweat from my face. “She needed help with her dad’s car.”

  “It’s a loose wire.” Eve folded her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes. “She does it just to see my brother. Davy pretends he knows what he’s talking about and hooks it back up. Where is my brother, anyway?”

  “Lunch.” I stared at her. “You’re serious. It’s just a loose wire?”

  “Yeah. And she’ll praise you for finding it by rubbing her chest against you and kissing you on the lips.”

  I propped my hands on my hips. “And you think I’d go for that?”

  “You are a man.”

  I shook my head and locked the door. I pulled the blinds so that no one would see inside. Eve watched me, leaning against her desk.

  “You need different skirts,” I told her. “It’s difficult to have a quickie if it takes hours just to get you undressed.”

  “We’re not having a quickie.”

  “Yes, we are.” I reached for the zipper on her skirt. Once I had it unzipped, I tugged it off her hips and down her thighs. She wore light pink panties that made my mouth water.

  “We’re at work.” She tried to scold me, but I ignored her.

  “Does that really matter?” I asked, hooking my fingers in her panties.

  She grabbed my hands and met my gaze. “We’re not done with the conversation from before.”

  “Nothing is going to happen,” I told her. “I’m not going anywhere and I’ll help you transfer your mess to my house. Lie back.”

  She let my hands go and sat on the desk, leaning back enough that I could peel her panties from her legs. When I stepped between her legs, she reached for my fly to undo it, slipping her warm hand inside and wrapping her soft fingers around my cock. I held her cheeks with both hands and kissed her. Whatever I had to do to make her feel secure in our relationship, I’d do it. She was afraid that I’d leave her. I had no intention of ever doing that.

  I slid my hand between her legs and stroked her wetness. She let out a breathy gasp as she gripped the edge of the desk. I brushed her clit with my thumb, stroking it lightly.

  “Is it insensitive of me to say that I like your pussy?”

  “I guess it’s better than you not liking it.”

  I chuckled, pushing her legs apart, and knelt in front of her. I tasted the softness of her thigh, letting my tongue linger along the soft skin. She stared down at me, her stomach clenched while she watched. Then I slid my tongue over her slit, dragging it along the wetness, slowly, while I stared up at her. I swirled my tongue along her heated flesh, tasting and sucking. Her soft little breaths came in harsh pants as I continued to drive her mad. I loved how responsive she was to me. A healthy dose of male pride rushed through me with each little gasp and pant. She lifted her hips slightly, pressing her pussy harder against my mouth.

  I shifted slightly, holding her pussy open. The soft pink flesh was slick with moisture and begging to be properly fucked. I stabbed my tongue inside her and she dropped her head back with a loud moan. I licked and sucked until her arms gave out and she fell back against the desk. She bucked her hips against my mouth and covered her mouth with her hand to keep from wailing in pleasure. I grinned to myself. Nothing sounded better than a woman coming. She wasn’t overly noisy in bed, but I liked the sounds she made. I liked even more that she tried to cover them up.

  Thrashing on the desk while I sucked her clit, she came hard. I slipped my fingers inside her, loving how she squeezed me. Her pussy was tight and fit my cock perfectly. When her breaths slowed and her legs hang limply off the desk, I finally pulled away. I stood and propped myself over her, staring down.

  “I think your family knows exactly what we’re doing in here, beautiful.” I grinned. “You haven’t quite mastered the art of keeping quiet.”

  She swallowed hard, closing her eyes. “I don’t care. I needed that.”

  I leaned in to kiss her. My cock rubbed against her and we both groaned.

  “Put me inside you,” I whispered against her lips.

  She reached between us and guided my cock to her pussy. She rubbed the thick head against her wetness before angling it just right for me to push inside. I leaned in to kiss her, nipping and licking at her mouth while I slid inside her completely. Nothing felt so damn good as her wrapped around me. I pushed her back to the desk and gripped her hips, holding her with both hands while I fucked her. Over and over, I plunged my cock into her tight warmth. Every time I was inside her, I lost my head. All rational thought went out the window and all I could think about was her. I never wanted it to end.

  She arched her back off the desk as I thrust, the stupid thing squeaking with my efforts. I was fairly sure anyone outside the office could hear us. Thankfully, nobody dared to interrupt. I stared down at the beauty before me and stopped, burying my cock inside her completely.

  “Look at me.”

  Her eyes fluttered open as she stared up at me.

  “I love you. I want to be with you. And we’ll finish our conversation later, but I want you to know right now, I’m not going anywhere. I mean it too. Right here”—I pushed against her—“is whe
re I want to be.”

  I leaned down to kiss her. The office was hot and I was sure we’d both sweat through what clothes we still wore. I brushed her clit with my thumb. Her pussy clenched around me before squeezing me tight while she moaned into my mouth. If I could stay buried inside her for forever, I would. No question about it.

  Chapter Nine

  Eve

  We spent the entire afternoon moving my stuff to Taylor’s house. He was right. All three spare bedrooms were full. I’d left my furniture and my dad said I could store it in his shed until I figured out what to do with it all. I didn’t even know what time it was when we finally got back to Taylor’s house and settled.

  “Are you going to bed?” he asked me, taking his shirt off in the hallway.

  “In a minute,” I told him as I plopped down on the sofa and closed my eyes.

  The next time I woke up, Taylor was standing in front of me, wearing a pair of black shorts. He arched an eyebrow at me before reaching out a hand.

  “I should have known better than to go to bed without you.”

  I took his hand and he lifted me up. He linked our fingers and led me to the bedroom. I didn’t want to sort through my clothes to find something to wear so he snagged a t-shirt of his and handed it to me. I changed and climbed into bed beside him.

  I barely remember the soft kiss he placed on my forehead before I fell asleep. The second time I woke, I was alone in the bed. I groaned and blinked a few times before sitting up and glancing around. I pushed the blankets back in an effort to get out of bed. I had to meet with the realtor today to list my house and he already had a potential buyer in mind. If it sold quickly, then many of the garage problems would be over.

  Taylor stood in the kitchen, staring at the contents of his fridge when I found him. He wore boxer-briefs and nothing else, looking sexier than I possibly imagined. I stayed in the doorway, admiring him and how the boxer-briefs clung to his ass like a glove. He had a great body and a few tattoos, though most of them were of military influence.

  “Are you going to say something or just stand there being creepy?” Taylor asked me without looking at me.