Chapter 2—Darian

Sounds of Aerosmith’s greatest hits filled the garage, the music echoing off the walls loud enough that I could hear it clearly despite the fact I was on my back underneath a candy apple red Hummer. I applied more force to the bolt that had been giving me a hell of a time coming off when the wrench slipped from my hand. I’d barely twisted to the side before the tool could smack me in the face. “Fuck.”

“You all right under there, boss?” Rick asked. He was one of my best mechanics and was always on my ass about installing custom lift kits on my own. But we were booked solid with jobs, and I didn’t have the extra manpower to spare. All of us were working alone on various projects, and with Nathan and I making a move back to Haven’s Creek in a couple of weeks, I needed to get as many of these jobs finished as I could before I left.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I grabbed the wrench from the floor, prepared to get the bolt off if it killed me, when a sudden deluge of rain pelted the metal roof.

Someone turned up the music.

And then, moments later, the music stopped, and other than the sound of the rain, the shop was silent. I listened for a beat, wondering what the hell was going on, when Rick cleared his throat loudly. “Uh, boss. You got a visitor.”

I glanced out from under the Hummer and saw two high-heeled feet and bare legs. Very long, slender legs. Moving the wheeled creeper out, I slid into her view and sat up. And there she stood in all her sexy, tempting glory.

Heather Abrams.

The object of my recent, unhealthy obsession. My personal walking fantasy. The sole cause of my constant blue balls. She was dressed in a pair of tight, black shorts and a white, fitted V-neck T-shirt that dipped low between her breasts. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she was soaking wet, which made it very easy to see through her shirt. Her nipples were hard, begging to be suckled. My mouth twitched with the need to taste, to nibble.

“Where’s Nathan?” She hugged herself and shivered, her teeth chattering.

I refrained from scowling. Of course she wanted to see Nathan. Why the hell else would she be here? Standing, I grabbed the grease rag from the hood of the Hummer and wiped my hands. “He’s not here.”

“What?” Her eyes widened. “Where is he?”

“Headed to Phoenix.”

“Arizona?” she shouted.

“Yes. He’s delivering a custom car.” I was surprised Nathan hadn’t told her that. Last I knew, they’d been talking daily.

“When will he be back?”

I shrugged. “End of the week sometime.”

A look of utter terror crossed her face.

My chest seized. “What’s wrong, Heather? Are you in trouble?”

“No.” She swiped her hands over her cheeks, and I thought she was just trying to dry her face from the rain, but then I realized she was crying. “I’m sorry.” She smoothed her hands down her hair and nodded. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll just go.” She hooked her thumb over her shoulder.

“I don’t think so.” I grabbed her arm to stop her. And that’s when I realized everyone in the garage was staring at her. “Hey, this isn’t a goddamn peep show. Get your asses back to work.” I led Heather into my office and closed the door. “Okay, what’s going on?”

She simply shook her head as more tears fell. I curled my hands into fists then flexed my fingers, wanting nothing more than to pull her into my arms and take away all her pain. Thunder rumbled outside, and from the small window, I saw lightning split the sky. She jumped at the noise. I went to the supply closet and retrieved a towel from the new shipment we’d gotten a couple days ago and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” She wrapped it around her shoulders.

“Did you drive all the way out here by yourself?” I leaned against my desk and crossed my arms.

She nodded. “Yeah, my car broke down about a mile away, so I figured I’d just walk here because it wasn’t that far, but when I got to the end of the street, it started pouring.”

I took a deep breath and grasped the edge of the desk. She’d been walking down the street dressed like that? God, any pervert could’ve pulled up and snatched her. My nostrils flared at the thought someone could’ve hurt her. “Why didn’t you call? I would’ve picked you up.”

“I tried calling Nathan, but he didn’t answer.”

At least he was listening to me and not talking on his phone while driving. I had to give him credit for that, but at the same time, I was irritated beyond belief that he hadn’t answered Heather’s call, especially when she’d needed help.

“What’re you doing all the way out here anyway?” I asked.

She walked to the leather couch and flopped down, burying her face in her hands. Her shoulders rose and fell rapidly, and a moment later, I heard her sobs. Against my better judgment, I sat and put my arm around her. She turned her face into my chest and wrapped her arms around my stomach. The towel fell away from her shoulders, leaving her breasts free to press against me. My body tensed, and my cock twitched awake. I stroked my fingers down her bare arms, reveling in the feel of goosebumps on her skin. Would the rest of her body react the same way from my touch? Not the time for that, I mentally scolded myself.

“My dad’s been fucking my best friend,” she choked out between sobs.

My hand froze halfway down her arm. “What?”

Nodding, she straightened. “Yeah, I got home today, and Corrine was there. That’s when she and Dad told me they’d been seeing each other.” She sniffled.

I got up to retrieve a box of tissues from the corner of my desk and handed it to her as I sat back down. She took a tissue and wiped her nose. “I wondered when this would happen,” I said.

“You knew?”

“No, but I suspected.” The day Corrine had shown up at Noah’s office wearing almost nothing was a pretty good indication that it wasn’t an innocent visit. Not to mention the way he’d been watching her the night we all had dinner at his house. His gaze had barely left her, and as a man myself, I knew the look in his eyes. The hunger. The possessiveness. The desperation to touch and kiss and feel. Yeah, I knew all of that too damn well because that was the first night I’d jacked off thinking about Heather.

“To make matters worse, they claim they’re in love.” She balled up the tissue and tossed it in the trash can. “She’s moving in with him. Into my house. Can you believe that?”

Wow. I hadn’t expected their relationship to be that serious. I figured it was nothing more than a fling with a hot, younger woman. Apparently not. “Doesn’t that make it better?”

“No!” She glared at me like I was nuts. “They can kiss my ass if they think I’m going to call her Mom.”

I laughed. “I highly doubt they’re going to expect you to call her Mom.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, it doesn’t matter because I’m not going back to that house. I’m not going to watch those two together.” Her lips trembled as more tears fell.

I couldn’t stop myself from reaching up and wiping the tears from her face. She leaned into my hand and stared up at me with so much pain and heartache in her eyes. God, I wanted to take her pain away, to do or say something that would put the smile back on her face.

“I just don’t get it. What can they possibly see in each other? They don’t have anything in common. The age difference is huge.”

“If your father really loves her, the age difference won’t matter.” I dropped my hand from her face, not trusting myself not to draw her close and kiss those pink, plump lips. “Besides, they are both adults.”

She frowned but didn’t say anything else for a long while. I assumed she didn’t like my answer, but it was the truth. “Why does she need to be with my dad?” Heather once again glanced up at me, and my stomach dropped at the agony in her expression. “Why can’t she find someone else?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. Over the past couple weeks, I’d constantly wondered why the mere thought of Heather could make my dick rock hard, and why, when I thought of her in that tiny, yellow bikini, I came so fucking hard and fast. Why was I so damn aroused by a nineteen-year-old? I couldn’t make sense of it, but apparently, Noah had figured it out if he was now in love and living with his much younger lover. “Does your father know you’re here?” I asked.

“No.” She clutched my hands. “And you can’t tell him. Please, Darian. Promise me you won’t call him.”

If it were my son who’d taken off in anger, I’d want to know where he was. As a father, I knew the right thing to do. But as a man with very selfish motives, I nodded my agreement. “Where do you plan to go?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged and averted her gaze. “The only other two friends I could call are both out of town.” She looked up at me, her long, dark lashes wet from her tears. “I’ll probably just get a hotel somewhere.”

“And how are you planning to do that when your car is broken down on the side of the road?”

She shrugged again.

I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees, and took a deep breath. I couldn’t believe I was sitting there debating letting her stay at the loft with me, but that was exactly what I was doing. I was asking for trouble, but I couldn’t, in good conscience, send her away when she was so emotional.

“I’ll get one of my guys to go get your car and bring it back here. I’ll take a look at it.” I straightened. “In the meantime, why don’t you go up the loft and get cleaned up. You can stay with me until you figure out what you want to do.” I stood, but before I made it more than a step away, she had her hand on my arm.

“I have a suitcase in the backseat. Could you please bring that to the loft for me?” Her voice was so small and vulnerable.

“Yeah, sure.” I cleared my throat. “You remember how to get up to the loft, right?”

“Yes.” Her hand lingered on my arm as she stood, her body nearly pressed to mine. Every perfect curve melding to my body, like we were meant to fit together. Despite being drenched by the rain, she still looked as sexy as ever, and her perfume clung to her skin, a mixture of lavender and vanilla. “Thank you, Darian.”

“Any time.”

“You don’t mind if I take a shower, do you?”

My eyes widened. “No.” My throat was raw with emotion, and I had to refrain from groaning. Heather, in my loft, naked? It was a dream come true. It was also pure fucking torture because I knew I couldn’t touch her, not like I wanted to. All I could do was look. And fantasize. “Well, I’d better go get your car. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I walked out of my office, my skin hot. Letting her stay with me was a colossal mistake, but what kind of man would I be if I turned her away when she needed my help?

“Rick, come on, I need your help with something.” I dug my keys from my pocket and headed outside, not giving him the chance to question me about what I was doing.