Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
R yker forced his feet to move, angry that he'd been thrown by a voice. Since when did he react to a voice... especially one that belonged to a woman. It didn't matter that the unfamiliar ache had seemed to ease almost immediately, or that his bear had also sat up and taken notice. He wasn't a man who could be moved by just one word.
He left the storeroom and started walking through one of the bays at the same time a woman poked her head into the space.
Holy fuck!
Not only was she gorgeous, but she felt like his, and in that moment, he knew that he would give her anything. Though the feeling was completely different from when he'd met his first mate, the desire to make her happy was the same, and he was never going down that road again.
"We're closed!"
He was closer now, only about a cars-length away, and his words bellowed across the small space between them as if trying to push her back out the door. Instead of backing down like most normal people, she narrowed her eyes at him.
"I'm well aware of that, and I'm sorry," she said, her voice calm. "I took a wrong turn, and didn't realize until I had already been walking for a while."
God damn!S he was beautiful.
Her light brown hair was streaked with gold highlights, and the wavy locks were pulled back into a messy bun piled high on the back of her head. As he moved closer, he noticed how pretty her eyes were, andhow the amber color seemed to sparkle with flecks of gold. Did they do that all the time, or only when she was angry? Would they do it while he fucked her? He definitely wanted to find out everything about her, and at that thought, his dick started to swell.
What the fuck!
His body's reaction pissed him off, and he wanted to send her away. He opened his mouth to do so, but at the same time, her words registered and he was angry for another reason.
"Wait! You walked here?"
He looked at her again and his anger flared when he noticed the dark pink color in her cheeks, and the tiny flurries stuck to the top of her head. How far had she walked, and why wasn't she wearing a hat?At least the rest of her outfit was appropriate, although he didn't miss the fact that she hadn't removed her gloves yet, and the knowledge made him angry. She'd been out in the elements a long time.
"Yes, and I took a wrong turn, hence I'm late. Now can I get my car or are you going to hold it hostage?"
She was feisty and sassy, and his dick swelled even more. It didn't help that she was tall with curves that went on for miles, and he knew that he wouldn't have to hold back with her. He could pound into her hard and she could take it.
Fuck me!
He stepped behind the counter, and she watched him warily. He knew he should say something, but he was too busy trying to get his dick—and his bear—under control. The animal had sat up at the sound of the woman's voice, but now he was pacing under his skin, desperate get out and claim his mate.
The feeling was odd—and foreign—and though he'd known his first mating hadn't been true, he wasn't prepared for this onslaught of feelings toward a complete stranger. He didn't need a mate, didn't want one, and all he had to do was get rid of her and he would never see her again.
His bear growled beneath the surface, but he ignored the animal and went to the box they kept on the counter that held the keys and cards for the completed cars.
"Name?"
He practically growled the word, and something akin to pride washed over him when she didn’t shirk away or back down.
"Carly Masters. It's the black SUV out front."
He nodded and tried not to look at her. He glanced at the card matching her name and silently swore. He'd never worked on the car before, and the work he'd done had been simple routine maintenance, but he'd been impressed by the condition of the vehicle. Especially since it wasn't exactly new.She'd taken care of the thing, and that was something he admired.
Shit!
He had to keep it together. He didn't want to charge her for the work, but if he didn't, that would be more awkward, right? Yeah, of course it would. More so because he was acting like a complete idiot. Still, he didn't want her to leave.
He glanced down at his hands, and for the first time in twenty-four years he wished they weren't covered in grease. He'd wiped them on a rag, but even though he wasn't leaving traces of the black stuff on everything he touched, it was embedded into his fingers and it would be until after he got home and showered. That's just the way it was when you worked on cars for a living.
He shook his head as another wave of anger raced over him. He hadn't thought about his hands in over twenty years, not since his first mate had complained about how he looked dirty all the time. It didn't matter that the dirt paid for all of the things she wanted, including that stupid food truck, or that they took care of their family and provided everything they needed to survive.
Fuck!
Would this woman be like his ex? Not that it mattered because he didn't want a mate. He didn't need to impress her, but he noted that the other women he'd slept with hadn't seemed to mind his hands.
Of course, he didn't go searching for women straight from work, and he never told any of them any details about his job. In fact, he'd always tried to keep his personal information private. He hadn't cared what any random strangers thought about him.
But he cared what this woman thought.
Carly Masters.
He tested her name in his head as he pulledup the computer program that held the invoice so he could take her payment. The name suited her, but he'd never seen her in town before, and suddenly hewondered if she even lived in Hickory Bear Rapids.He looked at her again when he told her the price, and she smiled back at him as she swiped her card in the card reader.
"Thank you so much for doing this," she said. "I know it's a huge inconvenience."
The thanks was sincere, but he could also tell that she was mocking him just a little bit. One side of his face twitched at her feistiness, and she smirked at him knowingly.
"Do you live in town?" He blurted.
"Yeah," she gave him a genuine smile. "I just moved here about six months ago."
That was when the unfamiliar ache had started. The thing that had prompted him to sell the food truck and let go of the past. That couldn't be another coincidence, could it? It might be, but he didn't think so. Even though he didn't want a mate, he was definitely open to having some fun, and he would like to have some fun with this woman.
"Have dinner with me."
The words came out like a demand, and he winced until she started laughing.
The sound surrounded him, wrapped around him like a cloak, and he realized that if he had this woman for the rest of his life, he would never tire of that sound. It was pure joy, and the only time he'd ever heard it before had been coming from his kids. It reminded him of family—and of home—and his bear roared beneath the surface, desperate to claim their mate.
And that's when he smelled the subtle hint of her arousal.
She was still smiling, but also studying him curiously, and he did his best not to squirm under her scrutiny. He felt as if she could see into his soul, and it bothered him that she might not like what she found there.
"Are you asking me or telling me?"
"Both." He nearly growled the words, loving the way her eyes seemed to sparkle at his words.
That scent of arousal wasn't so subtle now, and his fingers twitched at the need to touch her. He wanted to carry her into his office, bend her over his desk, and make her scream as he fucked her from behind.
As if she'd read his mind, her eyes flared again, and he knew he was screwed. Asking her out had been a mistake, and he suddenly wished he could take it back. At least until she spoke again.
"When?"
Even though he was an asshole, she clearly didn't think he was—or didn't care—and if she was agreeing to go out with him, he wasn't going to take back the offer. Of course, she could have other motives like the rest of the women in town, but he didn't think that was the case. At least he hoped it wasn't, because even though he didn't want a mate, he did want this woman, and it was the first time he'd ever felt anything like this.
"Tonight. There's an Italian place on Main Street that's pretty good. We could split a pizza if you want. Or if you don't like Italian, we can go someplace else.Someplace nicer. Wherever you want."
God damn, shut the fuck up!
What the hell was wrong with him? He sounded like a fucking idiot.
"Pizza sounds perfect," she said.
"Great. How about I pick you up at seven?"
"Seven is good, but I'll meet you there," she smiled. "Is it the place next to the sheriff's office?"
It was, and his oldest son was the sheriff.
Ugh! Well, this should be interesting.
The chances of avoiding his son were almost zero percent, but he was surprised that he didn't really care all that much. He didn't want a mate, but he did want everyone in town to know that she was his.
"It is."
"Oh good, because I love that place," her eyes sparkled again. "By the way, what's your name?"
She laughed and the sound went directly to his dick, but her question made him smile.
"I'm Ryker Windsor," he said, "and I own this place." He raised his hand to show her his dirty palm. "I'd shake your hand, but this stuff is a bitch to get out, and I don't want to dirty your pretty gloves."
"I appreciate that," she laughed. "I guess we'll just have to have a formal introduction later."
It was an innocent comment, but the way his body reacted to it was anything but innocent. He wanted to introduce himself to her in a very different way, preferably naked, so she could scream his name over and over. He also wanted to mark her as his, and that thought left him speechless. He didn't want a mate, but he wanted to claim this woman with every fiber of his being.
Luckily, she didn't wait for him to respond.
"Sounds good. See you later, Ryker."
C arly tightened her fingers around the keys in her pocket, and tried not to think about the fact that Ryker was watching her ass as she walked away. Underneath her winter coat, she was dressed in her favorite comfy jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt that was her basic work attire on colder days. She knew the jeans didn't flatter her ass the way some of her other pairs did, and she cursed as she slid into her car.
The first thing she noticed after locking herself inside was how clean the driver’s side door and steering wheel were. She couldn't count how many times she got her car back after repairs only to find grease or dirt on some of the surfaces. She'd accepted it was part of the process, but she was impressed that Ryker had taken extra care to clean up after himself. Of course, maybe it was just a fluke, but after meeting the man, she didn't think so.
She knew he didn't work alone, and that thought made her pause. She'd talked to a woman on the phone both before dropping off the vehicle, and when she'd gotten the call that it was ready, and she briefly wondered who the woman was. Not that it mattered. She didn't think he would have asked her out if he was involved with someone, and the woman was probably just an employee who worked the front desk.
Thinking about the desk made her pussy tingle, and she desperately wanted to know what it would feel like to have Ryker pound into her from behind while he bent her over basically any surface.
To say that the man was hot was an understatement, and everything about him made her want to strip down and let him do whatever he wanted to her body. The feeling was at odds with her more independent nature, but unlike her ex, she had a feeling Ryker knew exactly what he was doing when it came to making a woman come.
That thought, though probably true, pissed her off, and she didn't like thinking about him with other women. Which was just stupid. Of course he'd been with other women. Hell, even though he didn’t seem that much older than her, he probably had a lot more baggage.
Shit!
Had she made a mistake in agreeing to go out with him? Did he do this with all the new women in town? Or with all the ones passing through? God, was she just some sort of conquest for him? She didn't think so, but what the hell did she know. She'd only been in town for six months, and even though everyone was mostly nice, maybe Ryker liked to mess with women.
The sinking feeling wanted to take root, but she didn't let it. She wasn't looking for a boyfriend anyway, and as long as she had some fun, it probably wouldn't matter. Unless he humiliated her or something, but she didn't think that would happen. The few women at work she hung out with liked to gossip a lot, and they hadn't mentioned anything about the man. If there was news worth sharing, she probably would have heard about it already.
Besides, she liked Ryker, and it had been a long time since she'd liked anyone so she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to get to know the man better. Not when just looking at him made her pussy ache. He was sexy, there was no doubt about it, but that wasn't all. She was drawn to him, as if they were meant to be together, and she'd never felt anything like it before.
Honestly, it was probably just her mind going into over-drive because she'd been alone for so long, but she wasn't about to pass up a chance to be with this man. Not when every fiber of her being was pushing her toward him.
When he'd first bellowed the words about being closed, she'd had the odd feeling that he was trying to scare her away. As if somehow his scowl could make her leave. Instead, the look had had the opposite effect, and she'dwanted to see how far she could push him. When he'd smiled at her teasing, she'd known that he was different, but him demanding that they eattogether—and her reaction to his gruff tone—had both been a surprise.
She wasn't into dominant assholes, but Ryker didn't seem like an asshole. She'd noticed the vulnerability when he'd mentioned the grease on his hands, but all she'd seen were strong capable hands that could handle a woman her size. And his hands weren't the only large part of this his body. Hell, the man was at least seven inches taller than her five-foot, nine-inch frame, and he was a lot wider, too.
He'd been dressed completely in black, and the t-shirt covering his chest had been snug. It had clung to his body with every movement, and she'd wanted to rip it off and rub her hands all over his glorious form. She knew he'd be hard everywhere, and even now, that thought sent a fresh wave of heat through her body.
Aside from the tee, he'd been dressed in black jeans and black work boots, and his head had been covered in a black beanie. The jeans had surrounded tree trunk legs, and she'd definitely noticed that he was big all over. There was no way he could hide his thick cock, and she desperately wanted to know what it felt like to be filled by him.
God!
She'd been thinking about sex since she'd met him, and even though she was almost home, she couldn't get him out of her head. She needed to take the edge off if she was going to get through dinner with any semblance of a normal person, and a few minutes later, she was in the shower with her fingers between her legs.
She plunged two fingers in and out of her pussy as she thought of Ryker's dark, midnight blue eyes, and wondered what his hair would look like under the black beanie he'd been wearing. She'd seen strands of both grey and black sticking out from under the fabric, and if his beard matched the hair on his head, she knew that it would be a nice salt-and-pepper mix. He looked way too young to have so much grey, but she didn't mind. On him, the look was sexy as hell, and just the thought of that beard scraping over her skin sent her over the edge, and she bit her bottom lip in an effort to stifle the moans caused by her orgasm.
She didn't need to do that, but for some odd reason, she wanted to save those sounds for Ryker.
Oh my god! I'm losing my fucking mind!
She'd never obsessed over a man like this, and her thoughts were crazy. Hell, Ryker might be crazy, and after tonight, she might never see him again. Why the hell was she worried about saving him sounds? Or orgasms? The odd feelings pissed her off, and she finished her shower quickly, annoyed that her release had barely taken the edge off.
Not that she should be that surprised. She'd been without a man for nearly two years, and while she had no problem making herself come,her fingers and toys weren't the same as a man who knew what the hell he was doing.
God, I hope Ryker knows what the hell he's doing!
A quick glance at the clock helped clear her mind, and she spent the next half-hour carefully choosing her outfit and getting her hair just right. She knew they wouldn't be getting naked today—at least she didn'tthink they would be—but she was glad that her legs were shaved and that her toenails still looked pretty from the painting she'd done over the weekend. It was way too cold outside to wear anythingbut close-toed shoes, but knowing her toes were pretty gave her a boost of confidence that rivaled the sexy bra and panty set she wore.
After one last look in the mirror, she left the house excited for her date.