Chapter 4
FOUR
Kian
I had my dick out as soon as I closed my front door behind me last night. All it took was two strokes, and I came all over my hand.
I was riding high off spending time with my girl and my orgasm.
Then I pulled out my phone and saw her message.
I texted her back, but she didn’t respond to any of them. I hate that she pulls back and tries to hide from me. I need to fix that, but I don’t know how. Not without coming on way too strong and scaring her off.
I stew on that dilemma as I park in her driveway. I’m about to get out and knock when the front door opens, and Larsen comes barreling out. She’s in a rush, and I smile as I watch her tug her hat down over her hair and jump off the front porch.
She freezes when she sees my truck.
I climb out, raising an eyebrow. “Were you going to walk to work?”
She shakes her head, looking guilty. “I, uh…”
I give her a hard look as I approach her. “We talked about this. You don’t walk alone in the dark.”
“The sun is coming up,” she argues.
“No. Come on, get in the truck.”
I grab her hand and tug her along behind me to the passenger side. She climbs inside, and I try not to stare at her ass.
I settle behind the wheel but don’t start the truck. “So, what the hell was with that text?”
She takes a shaky breath and looks out the window. “I just don’t think the lessons are a good idea.”
I grab her chin between my thumb and forefinger and force her to meet my gaze. “Bullshit. You did really good last night. What’s going on?”
“I…”
“Larsen,” I warn.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she spits out, her face turning as red as a tomato.
“Hurt me?”
“Yeah.”
“What the hell are you talking about? How? You drove like a pro. We weren’t in any danger of crashing.”
“Not that.” She bites her lip. “Well, not just that.”
“What then?” I press.
“Sitting on your lap,” she mumbles under her breath.
“What?” That’s the last thing that I expected her to say.
“It looked like it hurt,” she says quietly, looking like she’s about to cry.
I reach for her and pull her into my lap, still trying to figure out what she’s talking about. Wrapping my arms around her, I tuck her face into my chest. “Darling, you’ve lost me.”
Larsen lets out a pained groan into my coat. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“We have to.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s upsetting you, and I need to fix it.”
“Oh, my god,” she groans in frustration. “Last night, when I was sitting on your lap, I saw your face. I knew I was hurting you. I’m too heavy to be doing that, and—”
I stare at her like she’s crazy. How could she not feel how hard my dick was from her bouncing around all over it as we went over the potholes?
“Larsen, you’re not too heavy—”
“Yes, I am! I’ve always been chubby.”
“No!” I snap.
She looks at me in shock.
“No one talks about you like that. Certainly not you. You’re fucking perfect.”
“I’m fat.”
“Larsen, I mean it. Do not say one more bad thing about yourself.”
“I…Why did you seem so… tense then?” she asks hesitantly.
Do I tell her?
“It was something else. You’re not too heavy.”
She looks like she wants to argue with me, but I cut her off.
“Now, we’re doing this. I’m driving you to work, and tonight, we’re going to have another lesson.”
Larsen studies my face and finally nods. “Okay.”
She crawls back into the passenger seat and buckles up.
We drive into town, and I pull into the bank parking lot.
“I’ll see you after work,” I tell her.
She waves, offering me a small smile as she goes into the bank. I watch her go, then drive down the street to GearHead Garage.
Ford, my boss, is already there when I go inside, and I greet him with a nod as I head to my station.
“How’s it going?” he asks, passing me a cup of coffee.
“Good.” I take a sip. “What’s on the schedule for today?”
“Couple of oil changes, then Ransom is bringing in a bike he wants fixed up. We can get started on that.”
“Sounds good.”
Ford is a good guy. He’s lived in Wolf Valley his whole life. He’s a great boss, mainly because he trusts me to do my job and leaves me alone for the most part.
I’m finishing an oil change when Ransom pulls into the bay next to me with an old bike in the bed of his truck. Ransom is a regular at the shop. He always seems to have a bike or some other vehicle that needs fixing.
Ransom smiles as he gets out of the truck. “Hey, man. How’s it going?”
“Good. What did you bring for us?” I ask, running my gaze over the old steel bike.
“I found her down south,” he says as Ford joins us.
We hop into the truck bed and lift the bike down.
“Looks in decent condition. Just needs some replacements here and there,” Ford says, eyeing the bike critically.
“And a good clean,” I add.
Ransom laughs. “You said it, brother.”
We set the bike up in the far bay, and I wipe it down quickly.
Ford appears with another mug of coffee. “So…”
Ransom grins at me.
I look between them with a frown. “What?”
“You and Larsen, huh?” Ford says.
“How the hell do you know about that?”
“People talk in this town, man,” Ransom says, sipping his coffee.
“I met her two days ago.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Ford says. “What people want to know is if it’s serious.”
“As a fucking heart attack,” I say instantly.
They both grin.
“I knew it! The Wolf Valley magic has struck again,” Ransom says.
“What the hell is the Wolf Valley magic?” I ask.
“People move here and BAM! Next thing you know, you’ve met your soulmate,” he tells me.
I arch an eyebrow. “Really?”
Ford nods. “Yep. I knew my wife, Lilliana, was the one as soon as she moved to town. Ransom here was only passing through town. He saw Ruby, and the next thing you know, he’s a resident.”
“Yep. Same thing has happened to at least a dozen other guys here. Must be something in the water,” Ransom says.
I laugh. “Must be.”
“Whatever it is, I’m damn happy for it,” Ford adds.
“When are you seeing your girl again?” Ransom asks.
“Tonight.”
“Have fun.”
“Thanks.”
We shoot the shit for a few more minutes before it’s time to get back to work.
I spend the morning doing oil changes and wondering what Larsen is doing. After eating lunch with Ford at his brother’s diner, we start on Ransom’s bike. We lose track of the time, and when I look up, I see it’s already six o’clock.
“Shit! I’ve got to go,” I tell Ford as I wipe my hands.
“Yeah, me too. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night!”
“You too!”
My truck is freezing, and I crank the heat so it will be warm when Larsen gets in.
When I pull up in front of the bank, it’s dark, with no sign of Larsen.
“Goddamn it,” I snarl as I pull out onto the road again and drive toward her place.
I spot her a minute later and slam my truck into park.
“Larsen,” I say darkly.
She slides into the passenger seat before I can get out and grab her.
“I thought maybe you were too busy,” she says, as if that’s any excuse.
“Just lost track of time. You should’ve waited for me.”
“It’s cold out there.”
“I’ll set an alarm from now on. I’ll be on time,” I promise. “And you’ll stop wandering around by traffic.”
“Oh, my god,” she groans.
“I mean it, darling. Next time, you’d better keep your sweet ass at the bank.”
Turning the truck around, I drive back toward town.
“Tacos or burgers?” I ask her.
“Tacos.”
I head for the Salsa Supreme drive-through. We order quickly, then head for her place.
“How was work?” I ask as we drive.
“Good. Boring. The last two days have been so slow.”
“Probably the weather.”
“Yeah,” she agrees.
We pull into her drive, and I grab the food and follow her inside.
“I’m going to get changed,” she says.
I watch her until she disappears into her room, trying not to think about her naked.
After unpacking the food, I pour each of us a cup of water.
“Thanks,” Larsen says as she joins me at the table and grabs a taco. “What are we going to be working on tonight?”
“We’ll drive the back roads again. We need to get you more confident behind the wheel.”
She sighs. “I probably need to buy a book or something for the written part of the test.”
“I’m sure there’s stuff online. Maybe even some practice tests.”
“That would be good. I’ll look them up. I can do them at work tomorrow. It’s been a slow week.”
“Why the bank?”
She frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, why are you working there? Was it always your dream? Or is it just a job?”
“I… Don’t laugh at me,” she says softly.
“Never would.”
“I always thought bankers had it easy. My dad worked nonstop to make ends meet, and you’d hear about these bankers who were rolling in money.
” She shrugs. “It seemed like an easy job, and I’ve always been good at math.
I mean, I know that’s not my job, that’s not how it is for me.
I just… I got it in my head early, I guess, and that’s what I wanted to be for the longest time. ”
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah. It’s easy, especially here. The people are friendly. I like my coworkers and the hours. What about you? Did you always want to be a mechanic?”
“Yeah, pretty much. My dad was, and he taught me everything he knew.”
“That must’ve been nice,” she says, smiling softly. “Spending time with him doing something you both loved.”
“Yeah, it was.”
We finish our food in comfortable silence.
“Ready to go?” I ask once we’re done.
“Yep!”
She cleans up our taco wrappers while I grab my keys. We head outside to my truck, and I watch as Larsen’s smile fades with each step she takes. By the time we’re standing next to the driver’s side, she’s looking nervous.
“Come on.” I grab her hips and lift her, settling in the driver’s seat with her in my lap.
“I… Are you sure?” she asks, a blush staining her cheeks.
“Positive. Now, what do you do first?”
“Buckle up.”
“Then what?”
“Check the mirrors.” She adjusts the rearview mirror a bit. “Then start the car.”
I pass her the key, and she slides it into the ignition and turns it. My old truck rumbles to life, and I swallow hard as she shifts in my lap.
This is going to be torture, I think, as she shifts into drive and we pull out of her driveway.
I’m right.
Larsen smiles, growing more confident and comfortable by the second.
Me? I’m grinding my teeth together so hard that I’m sure I’m going to crack at least one tooth.
I’m losing my mind as we drive over the gravel roads. Larsen bounces and jiggles in my lap, happy to be learning how to drive. Meanwhile, I’m trying my hardest not to bust in my fucking jeans.
It’s torture, but I love every second of it.
She beams at me when we finally park outside her house again. “That was so fun!”
That smile makes it worth every agonizing second. I’m pretty sure my dick has a permanent imprint of my zipper on it. Maybe I should wear sweatpants tomorrow. They’d be more comfortable, but wouldn’t hide my reaction to her.
“Thanks, Kian,” Larsen says, twisting so she can throw her arms around my shoulders.
And I’m a goner.
That curse, or whatever Ransom and Ford called it, has me in its clutches.
And I never want to be free.