Revved (Axle Alley Vipers)(13)

Wise up. Of course it is.

She shoved his shoulders, and he finally, after a second shove, released her. “Rusty?”

“Why’d you ask me here?” She knew she was sending mixed signals, acting crazy, but she couldn’t stop the ugly feeling in the pit of her stomach, couldn’t escape the doubt that was always there, hovering just below the surface. God, she was messed up.

He let her go and gripped the racks on either side of her, effectively caging her in. “What’s going on?”

“Cut the shit and tell me why you really asked me here, Parker.”

He shook his head, breathing heavily. “Where the hell’s this coming from?”

“Tell me,” she demanded, suddenly pissed, and not just at him but at herself for being so damn stupid. He barely knew her, and by the looks of it, that was just fine with him. He hadn’t intended on going any deeper than what was under her shorts.

“You know why.” The wary expression on his face almost had her second-guessing herself, almost, until the next words out of his mouth. “You’re fucking gorgeous, Rusty. This can’t be news to you. I wanted some of your time. That’s it.”

And there it was. At least he was honest. Unfortunately, what she wanted to hear was, “I wanted to take you out, get to know you.” Or “Tell me something about yourself, Rusty?”

He was just like the rest.

She stepped forward, grabbed his wrist, and tried to move it, but he held fast, blocking her exit. “What the hell?”

“Thanks for showing me your place, but I have to go. My date will be waiting.”

“Bullshit. There’s no damn date. Now tell me what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, but I’m not interested in you that way. Now move your arm so I can get the hell out of here.”

He stared down at her, a mix of emotions flashing across his face, but in the end he dropped his arm and stepped back, motioning for her to leave. She hustled past as fast as she could in her stupid flip-flops, almost expecting him to stop her again, but he did nothing, said nothing.

This was what she wanted, what she asked for. But as she walked away—and as screwed up as she knew it was—she wanted him to ask her to stay, was almost willing him to speak up, to tell her he was interested in more than just her looks. More than just a hookup. That he wanted to get to know her. Of course that didn’t happen. Because he didn’t want that, they never did.

No, he stood there and let her walk out the door.





Chapter Five

Reid finally extracted himself from yet another guy with big dreams but no cash to back it up. It was one of the pitfalls of these types of car shows. He’d been coming to this particular show for years, not only because it was expected but because it showcased classic cars. Every year the event got bigger, busier, which was a very good thing for the industry but made it harder to forge any real connections with potential customers.

The crowd buzzed around him, swarming the display cars parked around the showroom. He had several of his own here and a booth set up where potential customers could come and talk to his boys or him about what R.I.P. could do for them.

But he wasn’t interested in any of it, couldn’t focus, and was probably missing opportunities left and right. He should be pissed about that, but he couldn’t manage it, not with West Restoration’s booth across from his.

They had two cars with them, both were sweet, the work faultless. They were also one of the only shops here that hadn’t bothered with the mandatory bikini babe draped across the hood. They didn’t need one, not the way they looked. They drew a crowd all on their own.

The three women were wearing jeans that were damn near painted on and bright colored tanks with their business name plastered across their chests. Rusty’s was blue and the letters stretched around her tits in a way that drew the eye right fucking there. She was smiling, talking to the crowd of guys swarming their table, and though she tried to hide it, he saw her unease, saw how much she hated all that attention.

The guy he’d seen at West’s in the silver Mercedes was there as well. He was with Alex again and looked as though he wanted to commit murder, eyes narrowed, arms crossed, scowling at any man dumb enough to talk to his woman. Reid didn’t blame the guy, though Alex didn’t look like she appreciated his protection.

Poor bastard.

Reid looked at Rusty. The woman was so damn gorgeous, sexy, and he also knew there was a whole lot of sweet under the hard exterior she chose to keep front and center. He’d seen it, had a taste of it, her soft moans on his tongue, felt it pressed up against him when she couldn’t hide how hot she was for him. Jesus, what was wrong with him? He didn’t do sweet, never had. Sweet came with a whole lot of complications he didn’t need or want.