DarkestSin (6 page)

“Why aren’t you at work?” he barked before he could stop
himself. He winced at the sound of his own hard voice, but that wasn’t his only
reaction. His balls damn near shriveled when that sensual look she’d had
morphed into one of fiery anger. She yanked her arms and he let her go, shoving
his hands into the pockets of his worn jeans to keep from touching her.

“I had some time to kill before I had to be at work. Not
that it’s any of
your
business,” she snapped.

He sighed, rocking on his heels and feeling like a damn
idiot all over again. He wasn’t used to feeling like this. He was out of his
fucking element when it came to her. “Look. I’m sorry. I just remember seeing
you heading to work is all.” He shrugged as if it weren’t a big deal. He didn’t
need her suspecting anything, especially not the fact that her safety was an
issue for him. How much of an issue, he refused to analyze. If he focused on
the work aspect, he didn’t have to even think about the personal one.

She stepped back, narrowing her eyes. “Well, if you’ll
excuse me, I have to stay away from you,” she said with false sweetness, and
damn it if his dick didn’t get hard at her sexy little attitude. Yeah, he knew
he was an ass yesterday and he needed to avoid her, but he didn’t want her
thinking of him like that.

He grabbed her arm as she tried to step away. “And I’m sorry
about yesterday too. I had no right to act like that. I just wasn’t prepared to
deal with kissing you,” he murmured, but it didn’t matter. The male choking
smirk behind him was all the proof he needed to know Blade had heard him.
“Fuck,” he breathed, letting go of her arm. “I’m just sorry,” he mumbled and
left the gas station without getting a drink.
Real smooth, jackass.
He
just kept screwing up every encounter like some wet-behind-the-ears kid. He
needed a drink all right. A hard one.

He waited in the wrecker for Blade, scoping out the parking
lot and spotting her rental. Hell, the car she was driving was better on its
worst day than her car would be on its best. It didn’t give him any incentive
to get her car fixed anytime soon.

But the sooner he got it fixed, the sooner it would be out
of the garage and away from the temptation to make up some stupid shit as a
reason to call her.

He watched her walk out and straight to that car without
even once looking in his direction. Those scrubs she was wearing shouldn’t be
sexy. They had cartoon fish on them, for Christ’s sake. But seeing her in them
just reminded him of their heated exchange in that little exam room, not that
he needed any help remembering.

He’d have jumped when Blade opened the door if he wasn’t
used to always being on alert.

“You wanna explain what that was about, brother?” Blade
asked, doing a piss-poor job of containing his laughter.

Brody waited until Xan pulled out and was heading back in
the direction of the doctor’s office before merging onto the highway. “Nope. I
don’t ask you about the women in your life.”

“Oh really? What was all that bullshit about my women
kissing ashtrays?” Before Brody could respond Blade’s gaze cut to him. “So
she’s in your life, then?”

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m gonna pull over and beat
the ever-lovin’ shit out of you.”

He sighed. “Fine. I can see you’ve marked her. You might
want to let the other guys know. She’s a beautiful woman and new in town.
Sorry, man, but she’s considered fresh meat around these parts.”

Brody’s head whipped around, seeing red, and Blade’s hands
shot up in placation. “I’m just saying.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not
gonna poach, but, dude, why deny yourself? Maybe you should just fuck her and
get it over with.”

“I’m not talkin’ about this with you,” he gritted out.

“And I ain’t no dummy, either, man. Just remember you can
talk to me if you need to. It’s not like you to not go after something you
want. You must have a reason.”

“I hear ya. If I want to talk, you’ll know. Now, shut it.”
They pulled into the parking lot of a shitty motel, not hotel, on the outskirts
of town, not in town.

“This the place?” Blade asked.

Brody grunted. He parked the wrecker and they got out,
walking up to the room Colonel said the lowlife would be in. Brody knocked and
the door edged open. The lights were off. He and Blade walked into the room and
flipped the switch.

“Looks like the guy isn’t here,” Blade mumbled after a quick
look around.

Brody turned and looked at him. “You take the bathroom,
I’ll—”

A blow to the back of his head sent him to his knees.

Xan was beyond relieved to be home after the day she’d had.
First, her son had called her out this morning on her cooking, then she’d run
into the object of her obsession, then Dr. Peters had kept her late because a
lady in town had a baby and couldn’t make it to the hospital in time for the
delivery. She loved assisting with deliveries, but being a small town office,
Dr. Peters hadn’t canceled the rest of his patients. Nope, he just backed them
up and stayed until every one of them had been seen. It was a mark of a great
doctor, damn it. Someone should tell her feet that.

At least it had kept her from thinking about yet another
horrible encounter with that arrogant asshole of a mechanic. Thankfully, there
was no tongue action this time. And that was a good thing, right? Hell, she
didn’t know. Her emotions were all over the place. She knew she was attracted
to Brody in a major way, one she’d never experienced before, not even with her
ex-husband before they were married. And that was why the situation baffled
her. Being a nurse forced her to meet new people every day. She’d had her fair
share of men hitting on her, but denials were so ingrained within her, she
could let down any man and let him think it was his idea. With as unpredictable
as her life was, she liked things as orderly as she could get them. Throwing a
man into the mix just invited chaos. And heartache.

And danger.

She walked into her kitchen and smiled at the pizza boxes
and Scott stuffing his face. No matter how bad life was, he always brought her
joy.

“Couldn’t wait until I got home, huh?”

“Nah. I figured I’d help out with dinner tonight.” He smiled
angelically.

“Thanks.” She smiled back and sat down, groaning at the
relief of being off her feet. She grabbed a plate and a piece of pizza. “How’s
school going?”

“Good.” He blushed a little and her motherly radar sounded.
There was definitely more to it than just that.

“Good, how?”

“I, er, I met a girl.” He shrugged as he inhaled half a
piece of pizza in one bite.

“I hope you’d have met more than one girl,” she said coyly.

“Mom.” He gave her an exasperated look. “That’s not what I
mean.”

She kept her smile hidden. She knew exactly what he had
meant. Sure, she wasn’t in the love game anymore, but that didn’t mean she
couldn’t read the signs when other people played it. “Who is she?”

He sat up straighter. “Her name is Malorie Kimber,” he rushed
the words out. “And she plays volleyball.”

“And you like her.” It wasn’t a question. She knew her son
better than anybody in the world.

“She is so pretty. And nice. Dang, Mom, you wouldn’t believe
how nice she is.”

“That’s good. I’m sure she’s a wonderful girl if she’s
caught your eye. Are you going out with her?”

“I friended her on Facebook, and I—”

“Scott,” Xan sighed. “You know how I feel about you putting
personal information about yourself online. I know it sucks that all your
friends are into that, but you have to be careful. We have to live a low
profile, remember?”

“It’s cool, Mom. I don’t put my personal information out
there. No real names or birthday or addresses. With as much as we move around,
being online helps me make friends I don’t have to leave.” When he saw her
frowning at him, he added, “But I’m always careful.”

She nodded slowly. She didn’t like this, but he was right.
He had to sacrifice enough as it was. Unlike her, he was actually born with a
silver spoon in his mouth. Unfortunately, that spoon had been tainted with
blood, and Xan had sacrificed everything to get her son out of that hellhole.
Life wasn’t as easy for Scott as it could have been, but she wouldn’t have it
any other way. Now he had a chance at a real life. An honest one. “So tell me
what you were going to say before I interrupted. Did you ask her out?”

“Yeah, we’re going out Friday after the game with Chad and
his girlfriend, Becca.” He jumped up and threw away his paper plate. “In fact,
I’m supposed to be at Chad’s in five minutes to play
Bloodbath Four
.” He
paused and looked back at her. “Did you think any more about
Battle Warfare
?”

“No, Scott. I’ll let you know.” In fact, she hadn’t thought
about much other than one deliciously tall Viking on a motorcycle.

“’Kay. I’ll be back by midnight,” he said as he started out
of the house.

“It’s a school night. Be back by ten.”

“How about eleven?” he called out from the living room.

“Fine.”

Xan stood and put the pizza away. She couldn’t wait to get
her aching body into the shower, so she hightailed it to the bathroom to do
just that.

The shower was just what she needed. It helped relax all her
muscles. Well, almost all of them. She was horny as hell and took a little too
long washing and checking the wax job on her private bits, letting her fingers
linger. She could have taken care of herself and attained the ultimate
relaxation the needed orgasm would’ve induced, but her heart wasn’t in it. It
made her feel a little too pathetic because she knew exactly who she’d be
fantasizing about when she got off. Oh, she tried conjuring up images of
Matthew McConaughey, but his blond hair was too short and his body too narrow.
Damn, she knew she was in trouble when that sexy man wasn’t cutting it for her.

Frustrated in more than one way, she got out of the shower
and threw on some cute boy-short panties before dressing in shorts and a tank
top, not bothering with a bra since she’d just be going to bed in a couple of
hours anyway. Maybe then she could give ole Mr. McConaughey another go.

“Yoohoo?” The high-pitched feminine voice traveled down the
hallway as a knock sounded on her door. It was Roxie.

Xan walked down the hall and unlocked the door. “Come on
in,” she said as she pulled on the knob. Good Lord, Roxie was dressed as
casually as Xan was, but the girl looked a hundred times better while Xan
looked like a wet cat. It was amazing to her that her neighbor didn’t have at
least a steady boyfriend. Men should be champing at the bit, praying Roxie
would notice them.

“Hey, girl. The boys got that game blarin’ in the living
room. Thought I’d swing by and see ya.”

Xan didn’t really feel like company, but that was probably
because she wasn’t used to having a girlfriend. Maybe if she talked to her
neighbor about unimportant stuff, she could forget about one hot-ass mechanic.
Well, she could hope. “You want a glass of wine?” she asked, walking into the
kitchen.

Roxie followed her. “Oh yeah, hook me up.” She giggled as
she took a seat at the table. “How’s your new job going?”

Xan groaned theatrically, tossing a look over her shoulder
while she grabbed the corkscrew. “Today was hell.”

“Oh, I heard Sara went into labor. Mac must’ve been beside
himself. He’s been plannin’ routes to the hospital since she entered her second
trimester. Like there are really that many ways to get there from here.” She
shook her head as Xan handed her a glass of wine. “Mmmm. Thanks.”

“So yeah, Mr. Rogers was panicked, but the labor went just
fine. The fact Dr. Peters kept all of his appointments anyway is what made the
day a disaster.”

“Hmm. Is that the only reason?” Roxie asked with a
scandalous look in her eyes.

Uh-oh. She knew something. And that something had Xan wiping
her hands nervously on her shorts before taking a big gulp of wine. “What do
you mean?” she hedged.

“I mean I heard from Anna Sue that you ran into one hot bod
at the gas station.” She paused, her eyes getting bigger. “Literally. Like, I
mean you ran right—”

“Yeah, yeah, I got what you meant,” Xan sighed. “Brody was
there with one of the other guys.”

“Blade,” she said matter-of-factly with a shrug, clutching
her wineglass. She seemed to be waiting for something, but trying to act casual
about it. Xan was too good at reading people not to notice.

“Mmm-hmm. And that was about it.”

“Ugh. You’re no good at this, hon. Fine. Anna Sue overheard
him apologize for locking lips with you the other day.” Xan gasped in horror.
She didn’t want the town thinking she was seeing him, or any man for that
matter. “Oh, now none of that. Although, I should’ve gotten the gossip directly
from the source. You could have told me yourself.” She gave Xan a disappointed
frown. “But you can make up for it by telling me when you are going to suck
face with him again.” She giggled.

Xan needed a subject change, like right now. She shouldn’t
be talking about this with anyone. Her life was supposed to be as private and
uncomplicated as possible. The last thing she needed was the town gossiping
about her, regardless if the talk was true. That whole
there’s no such thing
as bad press
didn’t apply to her situation. She needed no attention. At.
All.

Roxie put her glass down and leaned toward Xan. “I get the
feeling you don’t have many friends,” she said softly. “If you want to talk
about this, you have my word I’ll keep it between just us. I know I like
getting the goods on everybody, but I do right by my friends.”

Her head was spinning. She had a strong urge to jump up and
run to her bedroom, get away before this conversation got out of control. But
she had another urge, one stronger than the need to flee.

One that insisted she embrace this friendship and enjoy it
while she could. She wasn’t getting any younger, and there were only so many
things she could talk to her son about. If she kept the important details of
her life a secret, why couldn’t she talk to Roxie about her feelings, her
confusion about Brody?

“I’m not sure what to do about him,” she finally mumbled.

Roxie sat back and took a deep breath. “What happened?”

Xan recounted the kiss in the office, the order to stay
away, and the encounter today while she downed the rest of her of wine.

“Whew, girl. It sounds like y’all have some serious
chemistry goin’ on, and neither of you knows what the hell to do about it.”

“That’s putting it mildly, though I can’t be sure about his
side. It’s just been a long time since I’ve been attracted to a man. I’m not
sure how to go about dealing with it.”

“You need to march right over to his house and tell him to
quit jerkin’ you around. Damn, girl, he’s a man, not an alien. They all squeal
like piggies when you grab ’em by the balls.”

“I don’t even know where he lives,” she said, defeated.

“Honey, you’re new here, so I’ll forgive you for that, but
in small towns everybody knows everything about everyone. Addresses are the
first thing, right before marital status.”

Either it was the wine or the surge of estrogen swarming in
the atmosphere with the girl power talk that was making Xan see the rightness
of Roxie’s argument. Really, why didn’t she just tell him off? She didn’t need
to mope around here and avoid masturbating because of that SOB. Just thinking
about it made her eyes narrow, her blood heat, muscles tense.

“You’re right.” How stupid had she been?

“Oh, I know I am, honey. And judging by the look on your
face, I’d hate to be one arrogant mechanic right now.”

Xan jumped up, pacing the kitchen. “That jackass told me to
stay away from him.
Me
away from
him
. Who the fuck does he think
he is?”

“Go on, girl!” Roxie raised her glass in salute, laughing.

“Okay, so I started that kiss.” She leveled a stare at her
friend. “Started.
He
jumped into it and took control of it like a man
dehydrated, gulping water after being stuck in some godforsaken desert.”

“Right on, sista!” She slapped her hand on the table, riling
up Xan even more.

This was exhilarating. Liberating. Freeing. “What gives him
the right to dethrone Matthew McConaughey?”

“Huh?” Roxie’s brow creased, frowning at her.

Xan waved her off as she kept walking. “Nothing, nothing,”
she mumbled. She turned to face her friend. “You think he’s at his house? His
motorcycle was still at the garage when I drove by on my way home, but the shop
was closed.”

“Oh yeah. I heard that bike revving up and peeling away on
my way over here.”

“Good.” Xan nodded, feeling the resolve settle into her
bones. If she didn’t do this right now, she might lose her nerve. “Give me that
address. It’s time that man learned just who he is playing with.”

* * * * *

Brody grunted, stumbling into this house, tossing his
motorcycle keys and gun onto the hall table, before walking into the kitchen
where he gave his face a quick wash and grabbed a beer.

He and Blade were jumped by more than just one man in that
damn room, though Brody seriously got the worst of it. Blade had jumped out of
the way as the other guy came for him, but if his attacker had been just a few
seconds earlier, Blade would’ve been just as bad off as Brody was.
Unfortunately, neither one of them could grab their weapons in time or had seen
the guys who did it before they’d fled. And to top it off, Dale Adams was
probably reporting back to his cronies right now. Shit. If they were here
because of Xan and Scott, he’d just fucked up big time. The element of surprise
was no more.

And his head hurt like a son of a bitch. He searched the
kitchen for some ibuprofen, taking four of them once he found the bottle, and
wrapped some ice in a towel for the shiner over his left eye. He twisted the
cap off his beer, tossed it into the trash, then stalked into the living room
and fell onto the couch.

The motel wasn’t the only fuckup today. Oh no, seeing that
spritely little woman at the gas station brewed an even bigger mess than the
one that’d gotten him a fist in the face and, he was pretty sure, a two-by-four
to the back of the head. Nope, the wounds he’d gotten from running into Xan
wouldn’t leave
physical
scars.

God, he hated hurting her. She deserved so much better than
the treatment he was giving her. Hell, any woman deserved better than the
brushoffs he was dishing out. He took a pull of his beer, drinking half the
bottle before setting it back down. He didn’t have a choice. He could not risk
her recognizing him. At least not until he got that information from Colonel.
He needed to keep his head in the game, not fantasizing about sinking his dick
into her pussy. If he thought about it, he’d want to act on it.