Service Me, Mechanic Read online

  And then my brother showed up.

  He was pissed as hell.

  Quietly, I followed him to where he’d parked his truck beside my car. He crossed his arms, sighing long and loud, and leaned against the metal. “There something going on here?”

  I blanched. It had been too dark in the lobby for Barry to make out what we’d been doing inside, but he knew me better than I even knew myself. With one look at my rosy cheeks and wide eyes, he’d probably read my mind, hence why he’d flown off the handle about me wearing Axel’s shirt.

  “Of course not,” I said in a voice that was just a pitch too high. “How could something be going on? With Axel of all people?”

  Barry raised his eyebrows. “You’ve had a crush on him for years. Don’t try and deny it.”

  “What?” My mouth dropped open.

  “Oh, come on, Callie,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice the way you act around him? I almost didn’t tell you about the job because of it, but I thought maybe, just maybe, you’d have moved on from your little high school crush. Thought you would have grown up by now, but I guess I was wrong.”

  “Barry.” My whole face went aflame at the realization that my brother had known all these years. All those times I’d hung around, wistfully staring at Axel. He’d noticed. How absolutely mortifying.

  And now he’d shown up at the shop, checking on me to make sure I wasn’t doing anything stupid.

  “Wait a minute,” I said, a hint of indignation replacing my embarrassment. “Is that why you swung by here tonight? To make sure I wasn’t throwing myself at Axel? To spy on me on the first day of my new job?”

  Of course, I actually had been throwing myself at his best friend. Who just so happened to be my boss.

  But Barry didn’t need to know that.

  “I’m your big brother, Callie,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Someone’s got to look after you.”

  “Excuse me.” I straightened my back, raising myself taller and looking him square in the eyes. My brother might be some big tough guy, but I was my own person. I could make my own decisions. I wasn’t a kid anymore, and I wouldn’t let him treat me like one. “I can look after myself, thank you very much.”

  “Oh really? Because from where I’m standing, you sure as hell can’t.” He gestured at the shop, now completely dark and devoid of life, similar to how my heart was quickly beginning to feel. “You ran out of money, Callie. Had to come back home. I love having you here and all, but I wouldn’t call that taking care of yourself.”

  My whole body went hot, not just from embarrassment but from anger. It had taken a lot for me to work up the courage to ask Barry if I could come back home and admit to the both of us that I’d made a mistake. Until this moment, he hadn’t been anything other than supportive, but now it seemed as if he’d been holding back his thoughts. He did think badly of me for screwing up. And now he was using it against me to make a point.

  “I’ll see you back at the house.” I stalked toward my car without another word, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. Maybe I’d made a terrible mistake in taking this job. In just the first day, it had already put a strain on my otherwise wonderful relationship with my big brother. He was the only family I had.

  I couldn’t lose him.

  Not even for the love of my life.

  Chapter Six

  Axel

  The next morning, I felt like a different man. All night, I’d thought about Callie. Her gorgeous eyes. Her hips, her ass, her smile. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me, but I didn’t want it to change. She’d somehow gotten stuck in my head, memories of the way she moaned running through my mind over and over again until I’d finally caved in and stroked my cock.

  This wasn’t like me. I never got hung up on women. They were there for a night and then gone. Hell, half the time I didn’t even remember their names.

  But Callie was different.

  She was sweet.

  She was soft.

  And she would be all mine.

  After I’d thrashed in bed, I’d decided that nothing would stop me from getting what I wanted. It was dumb as hell to hold back. I’d make Barry understand. Maybe he wouldn’t like it, but he’d just have to get fucking used to it. Callie wouldn’t stay single her whole life. Hell, I didn’t understand why she was still single now. A gorgeous girl like that probably had guys beating down her door every damn day.

  Better me than some random college kid who didn’t know how to treat her right.

  Because even though I’d been an asshole in the past, I wanted to give her everything she wanted and more. She’d be my motherfucking princess.

  Half an hour before the shop opened, I found myself waiting in the lobby for Callie to arrive. I’d barely managed any work on the Porsche again. My eyes kept glancing at the front door, half-expecting and fully-hoping that she’d show up nice and early to pick up where we’d left off last night.

  But when the clock snuck closer and closer to eight, seeds of doubt sprung up in my gut. Last night, I’d worried I’d gone too far, though I’d talked myself out of that mindset by morning. What woman purrs like that if they don’t want a man? Hell, I swore I’d felt her wet pussy through her jeans.

  Still, she hadn’t shown up eager and wide-eyed like she’d done the morning before, so maybe all I’d done was run her off.

  With five minutes to go, a curvy set of hips waltzed into the shop. Callie stopped and met my gaze, but her eyes were rimmed by red. She sniffled slightly, and all the resolution within me disappeared in that moment. She’d been crying. There were hot streaks on her cheeks from where the tears had streamed down her face.

  My gut clenched. This was all my damn fault.

  “Callie.” I crossed the room and took her hands in mine, bringing her closer to my chest. She sniffed and glanced away, a move that tore away a piece of my heart. But when I saw where her gaze went—to the parking lot—I understood. Her brother would be here any moment, if he wasn’t already, and she didn’t want to make the situation worse.

  “I’m so sorry, Axel.” She sighed and pulled away. “I really appreciate you hiring me, but I don’t think I should work for you anymore.”

  I stiffened, my heart ramping up speed. “Is this about last night? I’m sorry, Callie. I shouldn’t have come on to you like that. I totally read the situation wrong. Please don’t quit. I swear I’ll never touch you again if that’s what it takes to get you to stay.”

  I sounded fucking desperate, something I’d certainly never felt before. It would have been almost embarrassing if I didn’t feel the need for her to stay so deep down inside of my gut. She couldn’t quit now. Not like this, not after that. Because even if she found me the most repulsive man in the world, I wanted nothing more than to help her get right back on her feet.

  And there weren’t a lot of jobs in this town.

  She couldn’t quit because of me.

  “Axel, it’s not that simple.” She took a step back just as the garage door shuddered open. One of the other mechanics ambled in, took one look at the two of us, and let out a low whistle. He turned quickly and disappeared behind a hunk of car parts, clearly sensing that he’d intruded on a personal moment.

  I sure as hell hoped he wouldn’t run straight to Barry about this.

  I dropped my voice low. “Listen to me. You don’t need to quit. We can just pretend nothing happened and go on like we always have. I mean, hell. We go way back Callie.”

  “That’s the problem.” She sniffed again. “I don’t want to pretend like it never happened. That’s why I have to quit. I don’t think I can stand seeing you every day and not being able to have you. It just…it’s just way too much.”

  Time seemed to slow as her words sunk into my addled brain. Had I heard her right? She not only felt the same, but she felt it so strongly that she couldn’t control herself around me?

  Well, fuck it, woman. She sure as hell didn’t need to control
herself. She needed to abandon all her sweet inhibitions while my tongue lapped up her silky juice.

  She thought she couldn’t have me, but there was no one on this lonely planet who could have me more than she could.

  “Is this because I’m your boss?” I asked, lowering my voice and stepping in close. “Because that doesn’t matter. Surely you know that. This is my shop, and there are no corporate rules here.”

  “No, it’s not that. I like you being my boss.” She bit her lip and glanced toward the ground. Her cheeks were as red as sweet summer apples. “It’s my brother. He’d kill you.”

  “Right.” The same thing that had been holding me back in the first place. But she didn’t know my plans. I could make Barry see reason. She’d just have to wait and see. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. I’ll talk to him.”

  “No, you don’t understand.” A tear slipped from her eyes and slid down her cheek. Behind her, the garage door opened again, and this time, Barry slipped inside the shop. Immediately, his gaze was on the two of us, and his body went still and tense. Danger swirled in his eyes, and he looked at me as if I was a stranger, a man he’d never met in his life.

  “Has something happened?” I asked, the tension in my body going tight. “Dammit, Callie, you looked scared shitless.”

  She took a deep breath, risked a glance over her shoulder, and stilled at the sight of Barry watching us from across the shop. I frowned and fought the urge to lead her into my office. We needed to go somewhere private to talk things through, but if Barry saw me take her into my room, he’d go apeshit. I could tell by the harsh glint in his eyes.

  “I don’t know how, but he guessed there was something happening between us.” Her face reddened even more. “I mean, as little as it was…it was still something. Right?”

  Her voice held a hint of hope. It was so soft and vulnerable, so eager. And yet, she was convinced we couldn’t have what we both wanted, because my best friend just so happened to be the protector in her life.

  “Oh, it was something.” I held my body still, all too aware of the eyes in the room, though everything inside me yearned to hold her close and show her exactly how much of a something it truly was.

  “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.” She took a step back and swiped the tears from her cheeks. “He’s the only family I’ve got, Axel. As much as I want…this…whatever it is, I can’t risk losing him. You understand that, right? Trust me, this is not what I want, but I don’t see how it can be any other way.”

  “We can make him understand,” I began to say but she shook her head to cut me off.

  “He won’t see reason when it comes to me. You know that.” Her voice caught, a sound that seemed to tear my heart in two. “Anyway, that’s why I have to quit. Thanks for giving me a chance, and I’m sorry I let you down.”

  “Callie wait,” I said, reaching out to stop her when she whirled away from me. She strode across the garage at such a speed that all I could was stop and watch her go, her ass wiggling with each agonizing step.

  Barry’s eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead, but Callie paid him no mind as she shoved past him and out the door. He gave me a hard look, grabbed a wrench from the workbench, and smacked one end against his open palm.

  Somehow, he understood exactly what had just happened. And if I didn’t let her go, I knew our years-long friendship would implode.

  Chapter Seven

  Callie

  Walking out of that shop was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. The look in Axel’s eyes had been so intense, so determined, so full of something I’d never seen from someone before. He wanted me. So much so that he was willing to tell Barry how he felt.

  But even if he didn’t understand what that would mean, I did.

  And when I’d pushed past my brother on my way out, he’d looked at me with knowing in his eyes.

  I’d only made it to my car when the door of the shop swung open. Axel strode out into the morning sunshine, shielding his eyes with his tattoo-laced arm. His shirt rode up on his waist, revealing a tantalizing set of corded abs that rippled as he made his way across the parking lot.

  I froze, half-wanting to run down the street as fast as I could and half-wanting to rush into his arms.

  Why’d he come out here? He knew where we stood, and Barry was just inside the shop, surely one hundred percent aware that Axel had followed me outside.

  Another tear slipped out of my eye. “Axel, please. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

  “I’m not trying to make it harder, Callie.” He stopped short, but the determined set in his jaw didn’t break. “I’m trying to make it easier.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  His feet began to move again, and before I knew what was happening, he was only inches away. With his six-foot frame, he towered over me, blotting out the rising sun. He was a silhouette of pure masculinity, and the grease-and-steel scent of him wrapped around me like the most sensual of hugs. I shivered, my mind telling me to take a step back but my body and heart keeping my feet firmly in place.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Take the day to think about this and make sure it’s what you want. You can at least give me that, Callie.” His voice was so low I felt it in my gut. “Meet me back here tonight after the shop closes.”

  I spent all day debating whether or not I was going to see Axel tonight. On the one hand, I’d made my decision. After Barry’s major freak-out over finding me draped in Axel’s shirt, it had been very clear to me that I had to keep my hands and heart to myself when it came to his best friend. On the other hand, I couldn’t block out the memories of Axel’s hands on me, the way his eyes had held so much heat that I’d felt my whole body turn to flames.

  But, he had made a good point. I could give it the day to think things through. My explanation to him had been far too rushed and in the heat of the moment, what with all the mechanics arriving at the shop in the middle of our conversation, including my brother.

  I tried to tell myself I wasn’t making a huge mistake when I climbed in my car.

  We were only going to have a conversation.

  What harm could that do?

  When I pulled up to the shop, all the lights were off other than a small lamp on the front desk where Axel sat hunched over the computer typing furiously. I felt a pang of guilt at the sight. He was working after hours because of me. I’d left him high and dry with barely any notice, and now he had to make up for it himself.

  He looked up, and our eyes caught. Even though there was a glass wall between us, it felt as if he was only inches away. My heart pounded in my ears, and I wiped my sweaty palms on my sweater. What was I doing? The way he made me feel wouldn’t change. It had been years, and I swore it had only strengthened over time.

  But that knowledge didn’t stop me from going inside.

  “Thanks for coming, Callie.” He stood from the desk, and my heart twitched. “I half-expected you wouldn’t show.”

  “To be honest, I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d come until I found myself driving over here.”

  “Let’s go to my office and have a chat.” He held open the door and waited for my response.

  I hesitated. His office wasn’t just his office. It was his bedroom, his house, his life. That whole room felt full to the brink of him, and it would only remind me of everything I was forcing myself to walk away from. Plus, he had a bed in there…

  “Okay,” I found myself saying despite it all. It was just a chat.

  “So, tell me what you’re thinking,” he said as he eased into the chair behind his desk, springs squealing.

  “Well.” I pressed my sweaty palms against my jeans and took a deep breath. My heart hadn’t stopped racing around my chest like a wild animal, not with the way his rock hard body looked underneath his shirt. I wondered what he looked like without any clothes covering those muscles…

  I cleared my throat. “I thought I made that clear.”

&nbs
p; “And you haven’t change your mind?” His eyes locked onto mine, so full of heat and electricity that I felt as if they burned a hole right through my brain, seeing inside to my thoughts, reading everything I was hoping and feeling and wanting, even though none of it was in my grasp.

  “Well, no,” I said in a voice that came out raspier than I intended. “Nothing has changed. My brother would still kill you, and I still can’t afford to lose him.”

  “I meant, have you changed your mind about working for me?” He scooted his chair closer to mine, and my body tensed, desire flooding through my veins. He was so close that I could feel the warmth radiating off his skin. “You need a job. I need a receptionist. One moment of weakness doesn’t have to define us.”

  I blinked. “Just a moment of weakness?”

  “That’s right.” He nodded. “There’s absolutely no reason we can’t go on as we were before this mess happened.”

  Tears pricked my eyes. Somewhere, deep down inside, I had expected the total opposite from him. I realized that now. I’d wanted him to show me just how much he needed my body. I’d wanted him to toss aside my objections and take me as hard as he could. But instead, he was calling that small slice of desire a moment of weakness, like it had meant nothing to him at all.

  And maybe it hadn’t.

  I’d told myself I’d come over here to be firm with my decision, but that had been a massive lie. I’d come over here hoping he’d talk me out of it, hoping he’d find a way for this to work.

  I stood so fast the chair toppled to the floor with a crash. “This was a mistake. I never should have come here tonight.”

  “Callie, wait.” Axel stood and grabbed my arm, whirling me toward him. His eyebrows were furrowed, his face full of pure confusion. “What did I do wrong?”

  Shaking my head, I tried to take a step back, but his grip on me was strong. “It wasn’t a moment of weakness. I’ve wanted you for years. I mean, you’re the only man I’ve ever wanted. So, no, I haven’t changed my mind. I can’t stand to see you every day knowing that what happened between us really didn’t matter to you.”