Silverbow (8 page)

Then unanticipatedly, as if he could read my mind or feel my needs, I felt him again. The heat rippled over me again and I took three steps backwards and braced myself against the garage wall. That static touch that I had not felt since the other day in the kitchen returned with a dismantling force. I buckled over as my knees met the hard floor and pleasure disrobed my attitude. My hand slid between my thighs over the coveralls as I pulled my legs tightly together and the nails of my free hand scrapped the cement floor of the shop. My breathing grew heavy as the heat pulsed again and this time made me cry out. I had never been shoved to the edge of climax so quickly and certainly not like this. I felt my eyes roll as I forced them shut and pulled myself into a ball on the ground. My body quaked as the electric current released my tension and set me free. I moaned into the crook of my arm and bit down as my body gave in with welcome defeat.

Just as quickly as it came, the supernatural seduction vanished. I was left breathing heavily against a cold floor with a weakness that kept me there for a minute or two. I found myself wanting to be angry with him again but the anger only made me want him more. I peeled myself from the floor and stormed into the office to lock up. In my head I could just imagine him laughing now. Fuck him. In a way, I guess I just did.

I spent the time between closing the shop and climbing into bed alone. Greyden had worked the fence during the day and then went directly to the bar afterwards. It was a good night to be alone. I ignored all of my chores and soaked in my claw foot bathtub until my fingers pruned. I asked myself one hundred questions while I listened to the bath bubbles crackle and pop. What was I going to do when he showed up for work tomorrow? Would things be awkward or would he be normal again? Did I just cheat on Greyden? That one made me laugh a little. I would never be able to explain it to him. Would I be able to keep behaving around him? Would Greyden notice a change in me now that I was burning for another man? The most important question of all; what would happen next? This relationship was already showing unpredictable yo-yo patterns and though it would scare most off; I found it quite appealing.

CHAPTER 7

I lay down on the creeper and pulled myself under a beat up 1980 Ford pickup. After I had the oil draining, I slid out and grabbed a headlight adjuster to fix the truck’s cockeyed lights that I had noticed when I pulled it into the stall. Murphy was at the other end of the shop lost under the Bel Air. So far things were no different than they had been before our fight yesterday. He was cold again and I wasn’t doing a good job of ignoring it.

I dropped the hood on the truck after the lights were even and checked on the oil below; not ready. I headed to the supply cabinets and grabbed a new filter. My eyes met Murphy’s as I turned and we stood toe to toe. He reached for something on the top self over my shoulder, leaning close enough that his intoxicating smell flirted with me; a faint woodsy cologne and leather. I took deep breath and kept my eyes on his as his arm slipped around my waist to steady us both as he collected a box off the top shelf. His static warmth began to web around me and I felt myself completely relax in his grip. I suddenly felt hypnotically drunk. My eyes fluttered as I tried to keep my eyes on his. I witnessed a split second of confusion in his eyes and then his flawless lips curled at the corners. I closed my eyes as he lowered his lips to my ear and I could feel his warm breath at my lobe.

“I think the drain is done,” he whispered and I felt the heat slip away like a warm blanket snatched off on a cold morning. I managed to not react to his withdrawal. Instead, I played his game. My lower lip was held hostage between my teeth and my eyes lifted slowly to meet his while my hands slowly slid to his chest and pushed him back a step. I slipped my grip around my back to remove his hand that was still resting at my waist. With my flesh touching his, the core rattling current buzzed to life between us. I tightened my jaw as I fought its seduction. He inhaled and exhaled deeply and I watch his eyes fall away from mine and to his arm in my grip. The heat flickered for a moment as if he has lost his control for a moment. I moved way from him; leaving him standing alone at the cabinet for a minute. I can play too, asshole.

I finished up the oil change and called the owner. The truck was picked up at noon and that left me with no further appointments for the day and one Bel Air that needed to have the rust removed. I grabbed a dry erase pen and began pacing around the car. I marked off panels we would have to cut out and replace. I could chemically treat it but with a classic like this I didn’t want to risk it. Luckily we only had three major areas to work on. We’d have to remove the rusted area all together or it would bubble under the new paint job. Charlie would be upset with me for a slack job. While Murphy worked on the guts, I could at least get the body prepped.

Murphy was on the porch swing taking a smoke break.  He had been quietly watching me since our little run-in earlier. I avoided looking his way but I could feel his eyes on me. I enjoyed being visually molested by the man. Before too long, he was on his feet heading in my direction. I replaced the cap on the pen and tossed into a toolbox.

“Did you place my order yet,” he asked as he approached and I nodded.

“It will take a week they said. Being out here in Egypt sucks sometimes,” I added and he nodded in agreement. “Until then, you can remove these areas and we can get to sanding.”

“Yes, boss,” he replied and winked at me. I turned my back to him and headed for the body shop out back to see if I had the replacement sheet metal panels we would need to replace the areas we would have to cut out. I unlocked the door and suddenly felt him at my back. His hand moved down my arm to the door knob and he turned it. The door opened to a large dark single garage. I slid inside with him at my heels and the door closed behind us, sealing out the afternoon light. My eyes had not yet adjusted to the light when I felt him circle me and stand before me. I could feel him bring his lips close to mine and I tried to move closer to kiss him but he remained slightly out of reach.

I felt the zipper on the front of my coveralls being tugged open. I reached out for him but he moved and my hands fell through the emptiness. I felt his body heat at my back then and the shoulders of the uniform lift and begin to be peeled from my torso. Slipping off my arms and exposing my thin white tank top the coveralls rested loosely around my hips. A strong arm snaked around me and pulled me against him while his free hand traced the pulse of my neck. I let my head rest against his shoulder and my eyes closed as our static hum enveloped us. Our physical touch was intoxicating. I could feel his hot breath at my ear and a tender kiss at my lobe before he turned his face into my neck and took a deep and long breath of me.

I could feel the rumble in his chest against my back and the sudden graze of teeth at my neck. Strength and control began to seep away from me. I felt my coverall’s fall to the floor at my feet yet the cool air never touched my exposed flesh thanks to the human heater at my backside. I felt his fingers trace the strap of my red cotton thong at my hip. Hungry lips painted my flesh with blush. A hushed growl rumbled with need and almost made me whimper.

He spun me around in his arms and nuzzled me gently before pressing his lips to mine. The vibration between our lips made it seem as though our flesh had begun to mend together. A magnetic pull begged us not to separate. My condition became nearly unbearable. I wanted him to ravish me then and there. There was no attention to consequences or second thoughts. I just wanted to be with him. The pulsing air around us seemed to take on the same thickness that I had imagined in the kitchen with Greyden the other night and I started to find it hard to breathe.

I felt a ripple in his radiating heat. He was letting go of his hesitations and his heat hit me like a sandstorm. I took a deep stuttering breath and it seemed to excite him that I was just as effected by all of this as he was. Suddenly…his breathing stopped and his lips did too. He pulled his mouth away from mine but kept me tangled in his arms. Confusion set in. Had I done something wrong?

“Murphy,” I whispered as my eyes opened and searched for his face in the dark.

“I can’t be the one,” he whispered so quietly that I could barely hear him.

“Okay then,” I said as I peeled myself from his arms and dressed myself again. Anger set in and I wanted to punch him. How could he deny and refuse all of this? He couldn’t be the one? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? The sea of endless unanswered questions was starting to pull me under. I had to leave the room or boil over and I didn’t want him to see me overreact. With my hand on the knob, I opened the door and the afternoon light spilled in.

I finally glanced back over my shoulder to see Murphy had taken a seat on one of the work bench stools. With one foot propped up on the stool’s footrest and his thick frame leaning back on one elbow against the table, he offered a sedate glance. He showed no anger, no disappointment and no restlessness. He looked numb and it angered me even more that he could shut himself off from me with such ease. I bit into my bottom lip and reached for the light switch. I stopped when I heard a soft growl of disapproval and I left the room dark. Making my exit, the door shut heavily behind me and I headed back for the main garage. I had already forgotten what I had come to the body shop for and I didn’t care one bit.

Not long after I left the body shop he reappeared working on the Bel Air and did so for a couple of hours. I kept my distance and let him work. Not to mention I was trying to let myself cool off. Guilt should have smacked into me by now…but it hadn’t. I sat in the porch swing watching the shop for some time. I savored the visions of his strength in the garage and his rugged grace. While I should have been thinking about hurting Greyden’s feelings, I was taking mental pictures of Murphy’s concentrating face and the way his forearms rippled when he applied pressure to his work.

It was almost five in the afternoon when he called it a day and locked up the shop for me. My eyes followed him across the yard and towards his car. No words were exchanged but I knew I would see him tomorrow. He climbed into his Chevy and fired her up. I inspected him from afar as he slid on his cheap sunglasses and rolled his shoulders back into the seat. Rolling the windows down, he reversed out of my driveway and pulled into the road. Turning to look at me, he nodded almost solemnly and then tore off leaving nothing but dust in his wake. As I watched his car vanish I felt a sudden touch at my cheek. The static fingers seemed to tenderly trace my jaw line and then fade away. I remained on the porch for a half an hour in hopes that he would come back. No such luck.

Greyden arrived at six o’clock with a huge pizza box and a six pack of brew. He was in a relatively good mood and I found myself wondering where karma was hiding. I grabbed a slice of pizza and dropped down into the couch beside him as he rambled on about a boring day at the fence line. He got my attention when he brought up the body.

“The Young Brothers came into the bar last night. Just wanted you to know that they cleaned up Yates’s truck and the body is gone,” he informed me in a hushed tone as if someone would hear us way out here.

“Good,” I exhaled and then turned to face him. “I pulled his wallet before they carried him off,” I admitted. “He came from Vegas; at least that’s what the driver’s license says. I don’t really want to trust that but I have no other leads.”

“Give it a week or two. I bet his boys come looking for him. That’s if they aren’t already here. There were two more murders on Route Six last night. Blood is running thick in the air lately,” he replied. I nodded and finished my pizza crust I was sure the cop’s still didn’t have a lead. They wanted to peg it as an animal attack but what animal stops cars, kills its passengers and then steals their cash? It didn’t add up. I tried to imagine the same truck of murderers that killed my father traveling down Route Six, stopping cars, releasing an attack animal on the poor victims while they robbed them. Anything was possible.

We sat watching some corny zombie movie on a fuzzy channel and said little else. Greyden reached out and pushed my long blonde bangs from my eyes and smiled at me. He held out his arm and allowed me to lean into his side. With his arm around me, my mind exhausted and the comfort of the world’s ugliest couch…sleep found me. I spent the first night in a long time not dreaming. For that, I was thankful.

I shot up in the bed at eight on the dot the next morning. The house was silent and the bed next to me was empty. I sat in a sleepy haze for a moment or two and then climbed out of bed. After my shower I slunk downstairs for a mug of coffee and a seat at the table. Grabbing my appointment book I sighed. Today was blank. Judging by my regular Wednesdays, I wouldn’t have any walk-ins either. I wasted a whole cup of coffee just staring at the blank page.