Chapter 36
THIRTY-SIX
“Heyo!”
“Look who decided to grace us with her presence!”
“Did you get enough pampering in Colorado? Ready to get dirt under those nails again?”
“About time you decided to do some work!”
“Shut the hell up you guys! She brought donuts!”
Shaun smiled as she walked into the garage, a large, Johan’s Bakery signature pink baker’s box held between her hands. “Hi, guys. Did you miss me?”
“Hell no, it was nice and quiet without your ass here!”
Brent elbowed Nick in the ribs and hissed, “You shut the hell up, I want donuts! Did you bring any Bear Claws? How about any custard Long Johns?”
Setting the large box on the worktable in the employee break room, she opened it with a flourish, and the six guys crowded around to take a peek at what she’d brought.
“Have I mentioned you’re my favorite?” Jake said reverently as he snagged a chocolate frosted cinnamon roll.
“Yeah, you’re not so bad,” Matt said with a grin as he took a donut in each hand then headed off to take a seat in a chair.
“We did actually miss you, I swear,” Brent muttered around a behemoth bite of a Bear Claw.
Ben, her boss, sidled up and bumped his shoulder into hers in hello. He stood several inches taller than her, his body long and lean. With his short blonde hair and China blue eyes, he was a strikingly handsome guy. “How was the wedding? Did you get hammered?”
“Jodi and Free are, I’m sure, enjoying the last days of their honeymoon as we speak. The wedding was wonderful, exactly what she wanted. Thank you for letting me have the time off to go,” she said with a smile, lifting her coffee to her lips. “And for the extra time.”
“Shaun, you’ve got so many back hours logged, you could take the next three months off and never miss a full paycheck,” he laughed, crossing his arms over his chest and standing with his feet spread wide. “I think it was good for you to take a little time off. You look different.”
She gulped her coffee, burning her throat as she swung her eyes up to his. “Different? How?”
He shrugged wide shoulders, arms still crossed across his chest, and winked. “Just different.”
Nate strolled into the breakroom then, his dark eyes spearing into Shaun’s for a heartbeat before they shifted away. His shoulders were tense, the way he moved rigid. He never glanced at her again as the group of them finished their donut breakfast and then headed out to the bays to start working.
Shaun was elbows deep in an oil change when she saw Nate’s boots appear to her left. Sighing heavily, she finished what she was doing and slid out from under the vehicle, standing and dusting her hands off. Glancing at him, she gave him a strained smile and asked, “Is there something you need?”
“So, you get home almost two weeks ago and you didn’t bother to come back to work on time?”
Taken back by the heat in his tone and the anger in his eyes, she stepped back. “Excuse me?”
“We could have used you here all week,” he stated flatly, placing his hands on his hips.
Shaking her head, her brows drew into a deep V as she muttered, “I’m sorry, what?
I had pre-approved PTO that I used, Nate.
That Ben and Rod both approved. I came home early because my best friend had her baby, and what do you care if I took off extra time?
I don’t recall having to ask your permission to take time off for my sister’s wedding.
A wedding that you were trying to convince me to take you as a date to, might I remind you.
I don’t date coworkers, and even if I did, I’m not interested in you. ”
“We could have had a good time, Shaun. You don’t know what you’re missing.
All you have to do is let me slide between those thighs and I know I can change your mind,” he murmured in an effort to sound seductive, at the same time sliding slightly closer to her.
She recoiled as he reached out his hand as if to touch her.
“Keep your fucking hands to yourself or I’ll cut them off,” she warned, taking a step back away from him. “Fuck around and find out, I dare you. I could have you fired for sexual harassment, you dumbass.”
“Go ahead and try,” he laughed darkly. Then his voice dropped again, that effort to be charming returning.
The man was giving her whiplash with the abrupt changes in demeanor, and he murmured, “Come on, sweetheart. Give me a chance. I’ll show you what you’ve been missing, I promise. I’ll be the best you’ve ever had.”
“Not a fucking chance in hell,” she said through clenched teeth.
His cynical laugh grated on her nerves, and he twisted his head around to the side, working his jaw in clear annoyance before swinging his head back around to her. “That’s right, you were too busy spreading your legs for that rich asshole, weren’t you? Guess money buys whores like you.”
Fury lashed through her, and she snapped, “You’re a pig, Nate. Again, I don’t recall having to ask your permission for anything regarding my life, so fuck off.”
“Is there a problem here?”
Shaun whipped her head around and was impaled by furious storm cloud eyes beneath dark blonde brows that were pulled low over them in a deep V. His body language was deceptively calm, only Shaun could see the thunder in his eyes. A brown paper sack was clutched in one hand, his knuckles white.
Kasey moved those eyes to Nate, who was stupid enough not to move away from Shaun, instead raising his chin haughtily.
“The lady told you to back off, asshole.” Kasey’s voice was low, ominous, and tingled along every nerve inside her, making her shiver. She’d never seen him so angry. “I suggest you do as she said.”
“Fuck you, this is between me and her,” Nate snapped, his stupidity making more of a show. A muscle jumped in Kasey’s jaw.
“There is nothing between you and her, and this conversation is over,” Kasey snarled, taking several steps closer.
He set the paper sack on a work bench beside him, then leaning down into Nate’s face, he snarled through gritted teeth, “And you’ll apologize to her for the name calling.
She doesn’t owe you shit, and if she wants me and not you, that’s our business, not yours.
So, you and your little tic-tac dick, that I’m sure is the reason you’re such a delightful asshole, can get the fuck away from her right now. ”
Mortification swallowed her whole when Brent and Nick stepped through one of the garage doors from a different bay, staring at the three of them. Ben appeared next, stopping in the middle of the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.
Nate backed away from her, a sneer marring his face. “Mother fucker,” he muttered under his breath as he walked away, shoving past the three men in the doorway.
“Is there an issue?” Ben asked, his blonde brows rising, his gaze following Nate as he stalked away.
“Yes.”
“No,” Shaun grated out over Kasey’s affirmative. “Everything is fine.”
“Shaun,” Kasey growled in warning, but she sliced her eyes to his and glared at him fiercely. “Sexual harassment in the workplace isn’t ‘fine’.”
“Kasey!” she exclaimed, letting her hands slap against her jean-clad thighs in frustration. “Can I talk to you outside, please?”
Without waiting for his response, she shoved him hard in the chest, pushing him backward out of the large bay door that had been left open until they were both outside.
She kept shoving until they’d rounded the corner of the building, hidden from the others.
The mid-January cold was biting, but she barely felt it, the fury rolling through her making her hot.
Pointing his finger at the building, he snarled, “How often does that happen, Shaun?”
“It’s nothing, Kasey,” she ground out, taking a deep, steadying breath to combat the embarrassment and rage rolling through her.
“I work in a mechanic shop, with a bunch of men, who all have very dirty minds and no filters on their mouths. I say just as raunchy, depraved things as they do some days.”
“That was not workshop banter, Shaun!” Kasey shouted, waving his arm wide. “Trust me, I’m around mechanics day in and day out, too, darlin’. If anybody on my team treated a woman like that, they’d be fired so fast their head would spin.”
“When I’m here, I’m not a woman. I’m one of the guys,” Shaun argued, her hands shaking with fury.
“I’d argue that, and clearly that asshole doesn’t understand the word no,” he countered. Stepping closer to her, making her lift her chin to raise her eyes to his, which were a dangerous shade of slate, and he snarled, “I’ll ask again: How often does that happen, Shaun?”
“I don’t need a knight in shining armor to rescue me, Kasey,” Shaun deflected, fear tingling down her spine when his eyes darkened dangerously.
Grabbing hold of her upper arms, he pushed her backward until her back came to rest against the faded red metal siding of the building, his body slanting over hers. Her head tilted up, way up, to stare at him. His jaw was tight, a muscle jumping with what she could tell was barely contained anger.
“I’m no knight in shining armor, darlin’,” he whispered darkly, his voice a low growl. “And I’m not here to rescue you. I’m here to ruin you, just like you’ve ruined me. But I won’t stand by and let some other man touch what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours,” she whispered, more out of habit than out of denial at this point.
“Keep telling yourself that, darlin’,” he growled before dropping his mouth to hers fiercely, and her eyes closed as she met his kiss just as fervently. When his mouth released hers, she sighed, her eyes fluttering open.
“You’re a bully.”
“One thousand percent,” he whispered against her mouth, smirking. “And you love it.”
“I’m at work, Kasey,” she whined, pushing against his chest halfheartedly. “You can’t just show up here and—”
“And what? Stop some douche from harassing you, bring you lunch, or kiss you senseless?”
“Well, no…” she mumbled, narrowing her eyes up at him. “Don’t be cute. I’m mad at you.”
“Nothing new,” he muttered, winking, and she rolled her eyes. “Are you going to tell me that you’re going to turn your nose up at a giant bowl of lemon chicken soup and some of the best smelling, freshly baked bread I’ve ever found?”
Her eyebrows went up. “You found Roast n Toast, didn’t you?”
“I googled coffee shops in the area and found that they had the best ratings. Really cool little place. Love the coffee cups on the wall outside,” he said and shrugged, leading her back around the building and through the garage bay door.
Shaun laughed, nodding. “It’s my favorite place for lunch. I actually think Jodi has a picture of me trying to ‘drink’ from one of those cups, absolutely blitzed on my twenty-first birthday.”
Kasey laughed, and five grown men rushed to look like they were working as the two of them came into view. Brad, a big bear of a man with a thick, dark beard threaded with silver, sidled over, sticking his hand out to Kasey.
“You’re K.C.,” he said reverently, his deep voice rumbling, and Shaun rolled her eyes. “Love watching you race, man. Absolute dynamite on the track.”
Kasey grinned and said, “Thanks, the team works very hard to make sure my job is real easy.”
Brad stepped back and his hazel eyes bounced from Kasey’s face to Shaun’s and back. Gesturing between the two of them, he asked, “Uhh, so how did you meet our Shaun? You uhh, treating her right? We would have some words if you’re not.”
Groaning inwardly, she pinched the bridge of her nose between her finger and thumb. “Oh my god.”
Kasey chuckled, draping his arm over her shoulders, and tugged her close even as she protested weakly, her face flaming.
Jake, Ben, and Nick had all walked closer, listening in on the conversation.
“I met Shaun last year at my cousin’s wedding, but in respect for her relationship at the time, I didn’t pursue anything further.
At least not until last weekend. The Colorado Rockies can be such a romantic place, can’t they? ”
“Oh my gawd,” she groaned again, elbowing him in the side of the ribs. He grunted but didn’t move his arm from around her shoulders. “You are the absolute worst human being.”
“Alright guys, if we’re all taking breaks, punch out for lunch,” Ben called over, though his tone was light. When Shaun glanced over at him, he winked. “I don’t pay you for social hour.”