Swerve: Boosted Hearts (Volume 1) (2 page)

“I’ll give you a ride.” There was no question in his voice this time.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t…”

He moved to the next car along and opened the passenger door. “Yeah, you could.”

Then he looked her in the eyes, and what she saw made her tummy…and lower…melt deliciously.

“Babe, you’re in no danger from me. Just don’t like seeing assholes fuck with innocent women. Brings out my grumpy side.”

For some crazy reason, she trusted him. Heck, she wanted to get into the car with him. Maybe she was more her mother’s daughter than she wanted to believe, because she said, “Okay,” the word popping out of her mouth before she could think better of it.

His smile returned, wide and yummy, straight white teeth surrounded by sexy beard, and her heart did an erratic thump.

He motioned to the open car door. “Let’s go.”

Hugh Colton glanced at the hot piece sitting beside him and wondered again what the fuck he thought he was doing. Jesus, he’d lost his goddamn mind.

Joe was gonna have a shit hemorrhage when Hugh pulled up with her—in the car he’d just
stolen
. She was an accessory to grand theft auto and didn’t have a goddamn clue. She hadn’t even questioned him when he’d hot-wired the thing in front of her, buying his lame excuse that he’d dropped his keys somewhere.

For some screwed-up reason, he hadn’t been able to drive away, to just leave her standing there. Not after the way that guy had freaked her out, and not after the way she’d looked at him, as if she wanted to press those abundant curves against him and…

“Where are we?”

She licked her full, sexy-as-hell lower lip as he signaled the turn into the garage.

Jesus
. His cock, which was already trying to punch through his zipper, pulsed harder. “My garage. Gotta drop off the car then I’ll get you home.”

He was hard as hell, desperate to get under that costume, no doubt. And not only because he’d gone without for a few weeks. The lust hammering him involved more than just a desperate need to get his rocks off. Yeah, her curves were fucking awesome, but they weren’t the only thing he found attractive, although they had a fuck-of-a-lot to do with it. She was a combination of sweet and feisty. Sexy and innocent.

And he wanted a piece of that. Badly.

Jesus. Nope, he obviously wasn’t thinking straight. But with the stress over his sister Lucy nearly getting booted from college… Making sure her and his mom both stayed out of the line of fire. And with Al’s boys continually breathing down his and Joe’s necks about the cars they were owed, he was running on empty. Only a couple more shipments and they were free and clear. His old man’s debt would be paid off completely, and he could finally get on with his goddamn life. And at thirty-one, that was long overdue.

Al may be a criminal and a major asshole, willing to go to any lengths to make you bend to his will, but the guy also kept to his word. As long as Hugh and his brother Joe met the deadline for their deliveries, when the last shipment rolled out they’d be released from the debt.

Sleeping with a willing woman who could take it as hard as he could give it had always been his way to work off steam, de-stress from all the shit raining down on him. The lack of action lately was obviously messing with his head.

He pulled up out front, and the garage door slid up immediately. Adam, Hugh’s best friend, was waiting on the other side, hands in the pockets of his faded jeans. The guy did not look happy when he saw Hugh had company. No surprises there. It was a dumb fucking thing to do, bringing her here. Giving her a ride in the first place.

He and Adam had boosted cars together when they were teenagers. Shit had been messed up at home, for both of them. Hugh had desperately needed money, and they’d taken the wrong path. A path they’d both gotten the hell off as soon as they could. A path they thought they’d left behind years ago, but thanks to his father, they’d been sucked back in.

Adam didn’t need to be caught up in Hugh’s mess, but when everything had fallen to shit, Adam had stuck his neck out. Now Adam was all in, which made bringing her here a dick move and one that could get them a long stretch in a prison cell.

Shutting off the car, Hugh climbed out. The passenger door opened and closed behind him, and Adam’s blue gaze moved over Hugh’s shoulder, locking onto Poison Ivy.

“Who’s your friend?”

Yep, pissed.

She moved up, smiling brightly. “I’m Shay.”

Shay
. The name suited her.

“Well, hey there, Shay. Nice costume.” Adam’s disbelieving and very unhappy gaze slid back to Hugh.

He ignored the guy and glanced down at his new friend, who was now blushing. God, so pretty. “Wait here a sec, babe. Just need a word.”

She gave him a little nod, turning that smile on him, big green eyes moving over his face then dropping to his mouth. His balls tightened.
Goddammit
. He gave Adam a shove in the other direction, and thankfully, he followed Hugh across the shop floor and waited until they were out of earshot before speaking up.

“What in the ever-loving fuck?”

Hugh rubbed the back of his neck. “I know I screwed up, so save it. Some guy was hassling her. I offered her a ride home. What else could I do?”

Yeah, judging by the way Adam’s brows hit his hairline, a vein popping behind the feather tattoo on the side of his neck, Hugh’s lame excuse sounded as stupid to his friend as it did to Hugh.

“I don’t know, how about calling her a cab? You gave her a ride in a goddamn stolen car?” Adam gritted out between clenched teeth.

Hugh planted his hands on his hips, feeling his anger rise, not that he had any right to it. “I’m taking her home now. She doesn’t know a damn thing.” He glanced around the workshop. “Where’s Joe? You’re gonna have to do this one without me.”

“He’ll be here in a few.” Adam shook his head, shoved a hand through his dark hair. “What in the hell were you thinking?”

He hadn’t been. Not at all. “Don’t have time for this conversation. You want her gone, right?”

Adam just stared at him. Hugh didn’t blame him. He wasn’t exactly acting like himself. He was the cautious one, the responsible one these days, weighing every option, every possible outcome. Every risk. He’d done none of that tonight.

“Go, by all means, have fun.” Sarcasm dripped from Adam’s voice, his eyes narrowed, pissed as hell. “You’ve already gone this far, may as well finish what you started.”

I intend to
. He didn’t say that out loud, though; the situation was screwed enough without him starting a brawl with his best friend in the middle of their workshop.

He headed back to Shay, who was standing there in that barely there costume, showing off an abundance of soft, sexy curves and a sweet little smile that made his mouth go dry.

“Let’s get out of here.” Taking her hand, he led her out of the garage.

She followed him without hesitation, holding on as the roller door slid shut behind them with a loud rattle. He carried on around to the back of the building, where his truck was parked.

Adam would already be working on the car Hugh had brought in, switching out the VIN plates with ones cloned from other vehicles of the same make, model and year. They had it down to a fine art, were fast, too. One more car and they’d have enough to be picked up for export.

Couldn’t happen too damn soon.

Two more shipments after that and they’d finally be free and clear.

Hugh pulled the key fob from his pocket and aimed it at his truck.

“So this is your business?” Shay said beside him. The breathy note to her voice did nothing to ease his rock-hard cock.

“Yeah.”

“It’s…it’s very impressive.”

He grinned at the way she said it. Jesus, the woman was sweet, the way her eyes widened, lips parting slightly. Would she look like that when he pushed inside her, when he thrust into her again and again? Shit. He needed to get a handle on it. But now he’d delivered the car and was alone with Shay, could relax, every one of his senses had zeroed in on the woman beside him.

He let his gaze roam over her. “Thanks.”

“So you own this whole place?”

He shook his head. “Part owner.”

“You must be good. The garage was filled with cars.”

He shrugged. Moved closer.
Screw it
. You don’t get if you don’t ask, right? Then he got closer still, using the excuse of opening her door for her, testing the waters. She didn’t step away, stayed where she was so her side brushed his front.

Instead of opening up, he stayed where he was but kept his hands to himself. He didn’t want to freak her out if she wasn’t on-board. She looked up at him. Damn, she really was pretty. He studied her for any sign of fear, any signal that she wasn’t interested. Nothing. She was attracted to him. Shit, he’d bet everything he had that she was turned on—curiosity, heat, it was right there, written all over her face. Her color high, eyes shining, breath coming in little pants.

He rested his hip against the side of his truck, looked down at her. “I’m just going to lay this out for you, then the ball’s in your court.”

She blinked up at him. “Lay what out?”

“I’m really fucking attracted to you, Shay. I don’t do dates. Don’t like to waste time, either. You’re not interested, I’ll drop you home then I’m gone, no problem. But if you are, say the word, and I’ll spend the night making you come so hard you’ll forget your own name.”

Her mouth opened then closed, opened again. “Um…” Color rose on her cheeks, and the pulse at the base of her creamy throat started to flutter rapidly. “You and me…? You’re, ah…you want to…?” She cut herself off abruptly, her color getting darker.

His abs tightened, so much so, he was surprised he didn’t get a goddamn cramp. “I want to spend the night with you, babe.”

Her expression could only be described as stunned, and it wasn’t changing. Shit. Had he called it wrong?

He pulled her forward gently and opened the passenger door. “What’s your address?”

She did some more blinking, rapidly. Mouth clamped shut, biting her lips together.

“Shay?” He tucked a loose strand of red hair behind her ear, couldn’t stop himself. It felt as soft as it looked. “I’m gonna need your address.”

She gave a little start, snapping out of it. “Right, my address. Yes, you’ll need that.”

She rattled it off, and he scowled. A few blocks, my ass. She lived miles away from where he’d found her cornered by that asshole. Her place was over in Santa Monica, near the beach. A good twenty, thirty-minute drive. Hand to her lower back, because he couldn’t stop touching her, he steered her toward the open door. She climbed up, and he closed it behind her.

The drive to her place was quiet. He wasn’t great with small talk or conversation in general. Never had been much of a talker. Right then, with Shay sitting tensely beside him, he wished otherwise. He glanced over at her again. She was sitting frozen in her seat, like a damn statue, hands clasped tight in her lap.

He’d been wrong. She wasn’t into him. And yeah, that more than sucked. He wanted in, badly. But going by her hands-off posture, he wasn’t going to get what he wanted. Story of his fucking life.

A short time later, he was pulling up to a trailer park. The Happy Armadillo, read the faded sign out front. Not what he’d expected, not at all, but the grounds were taken care of, the trailers well kept. There were also colorful lights strung up outside each one, rows of flowers along their fronts. “Which is yours, sweetheart?”

She pointed through the windshield, and he noted the way her hand trembled.

“Over there.”

Shit.

Shay’s trailer was painted pink, the lights strung across the front the same color with some blue thrown in. It was cute. Like a freaking Barbie accessory. He had no goddamn business spending time with a woman like Shay. Not even for one night. He pulled to a stop in the space out front and turned off the engine. She remained quiet, didn’t move to get out of his truck.

“Shay?”

She turned to him then, eyes wide, breathing unsteady. “Yes.”

He’d freaked her out, seriously messed up, came on too strong. A big, stupid ox, clumsily making a pass at her. His size alone probably scared the shit out of her. That totally sucked. This was why he was usually so cautious, weighed his options, his words. He’d learned to control his true impulsive nature. Going with his gut never worked out well for him. This time, going with his gut had screwed up his chances with the woman beside him, and that was a damn shame. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted a woman as much as he wanted this one.

He shoved a hand through his hair. “Look, I’m sorry for scaring you back there.” He tilted his head toward her trailer. “You have a good night. Maybe I’ll catch you around sometime.”

The chances of that were minimal, at best, but still, a man could hope. He reached for the key and fired his truck back up.

“No,” she blurted.

He dropped his hand, turned back to her. “No?” He was gripping the steering wheel so tight it creaked. He wanted to reach out and touch her, and she more than likely thought he was the scum of the earth. “You saying if I see you again, you want me to walk the other way?”

“No,” she whispered.

“You don’t want me to walk the other way?” What she was trying to say, he had no idea, since all the blood had evacuated his brain and taken up residence in his throbbing cock.

She shook her head, and her shiny red hair moved around her face and shoulders. He wanted to wrap it around his fist while he fucked her from behind.

“No.” She bit her lip.

“I’m kind of confused here, babe.”
And so hard, my balls are close to exploding.

“What I meant to say is…thank you for the ride. It was really nice of you. And you…you didn’t scare me. If I saw you again, I wouldn’t want you to walk the other way.” The light was muted, her face washed in a pink glow from the little lights on her trailer, but he didn’t miss the way she blushed.