The Bad Boys' Virgin Temptress(18)

Neither put on the radio, and, for once, Noah appreciated the silence. He needed to think.

He worked on the cars for several hours, his head filled with thoughts of his woman. That was how he thought of Cheryl, as his woman.

After working four hours straight, he pulled himself out from under the last car and saw his Uncle Patrick staring down at him.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come out of there,” Patrick said, giving him a hand to stand.

Stretching out his used muscles, Noah shook Patrick’s hand and then called out to Drew. His friend came out of the office with Larry, who was Patrick’s best friend and partner. They shared a wife and lived on the outskirts of town. When Noah’s parents had skipped town to join a rock band they’d left him with his uncle. He didn’t regret it. Uncle Patrick had been a wonderful substitute dad and friend. The older man kept him out of trouble and had helped him to understand his need to share a woman.

“What brings you here?” Noah asked, grabbing a cloth from his waist and wiping the excess muck from his hands.

“Gloria wants you to come to dinner and to bring Cheryl Fisher with you,” Patrick said.

For the first time in twenty years Noah felt a blush stain his cheeks.

“How does she know about Cheryl?” he asked. Drew was staring at the floor looking every bit as guilty as he felt.

“You’ve been sniffing around that girl for a while. Do you think we wouldn’t know when you’d start trying to get the girl to settle down?”

“Also, Gloria was at market today and saw you pretty much making out with the girl in front of the fruit and vegetables,” Larry said.

Noah went to run his fingers through his hair but stopped when he saw the amount of grease still on his hands.

“Drew and I can make it, but Cheryl would more than likely turn down an invitation.”

The blush got a deeper red. Cursing the woman who was making his life difficult, Noah glanced at the man who’d been more a father to him than his own dad.

Patrick and Larry began to chuckle. “Your reputations getting the better of you?” Larry asked.

“Cheryl is under the impression we’re not the settling type. She said she couldn’t live a life wondering if we were about to go off with some other woman.”

“Then you’ve got to show her who’s boss. Gloria fought Larry and me every step of the way.”

It had been over ten years since Noah had asked his uncle for advice. Looking at the older man, he wondered why he hadn’t asked him for advice with regards to his feelings for Cheryl before now.

“What did you do?” Drew asked before Noah got chance to.

“We showed her without any doubt she was the woman we were more than happy to settle down with.”





Chapter Seven

The following day, Cheryl decided to have lunch at the local diner. She hated cooking a dinner for herself on a Sunday and missed her mother terribly. Being at the diner meant she could begin building the friendships she’s been hiding from ever since her mother had found out she had cancer.

Last night had been one of the hardest nights she’d spent alone in a long time. Being with Drew and Noah for the short period of time had opened her eyes to the loneliness she was living.

She brushed her hair and applied some lipstick before grabbing her keys and leaving the house. Locking up behind her had become a routine, and she still did everything the same. The sun was shining, and she’d decided to wear a plain white summer dress. The colour wouldn’t clash with her hair. The dark red strands always made certain colours look too garish on her. Also, her size was a little off-putting. Some colours screamed out to her that she should go on a diet.

Several people passed, saying “morning” to her, and she responded to them with a smile. Every day was getting easier for her to live life. Living on her own wasn’t as much fun as she’d thought it would be.

Her mother had been a big influence in her life. The house, with all of her wonderful memories, could plague her in the dead of night. She still got up, even after a year of being alone, to the call of her mother.

Shaking her head to clear the morbid memories, she kept on walking until the diner was in sight.

Once in her short life she’d had plenty of friends. Men and women who hung out, played around, waiting for the time when they’d be adults and could go out partying for real. When she was less than fifty feet away from the diner a pair of hands around her waist stopped her in her tracks. She yelped from the contact and went to lash out. A hand covered her mouth, and then the undeniably sensual voice whispered in her ear, “I dreamt about you last night.”

Drew held her in his arms, his hand over her mouth to stop her scream. Her panic dissipated. He would never hurt her. In the position she was in, he held all the power, but she knew she was safe.