Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
DIESEL
She’s in my passenger seat, blonde hair caught back in a neat ponytail, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black slacks that make her look way too sweet to be mine.
But after the way I had her this morning, every time she shifts, I remember the sounds she made when I fucked her on those Egyptian cotton sheets.
I almost pull my SUV over and take her right there on the hood, just to watch her come apart again.
But I manage to get us to the Boneyard in one piece, mostly because her hand settles on my thigh while I drive, her thumb stroking casual circles that make my cock twitch.
“Come on, I’ll get you settled into the office.
” I lead her up to the office and get her logged into the extra laptop.
Eden, Bones’ wife, usually runs the office, but she’s still out on maternity leave, so Serenity will have it all to herself for a few weeks.
It doesn’t take long for Serenity to get the hang of it.
Before long, she’s wrestling the new accounting system into submission.
I love watching her in my world. She’s pure focus, blue eyes narrowed, glasses perched on her nose, totally ignoring all the chaos around her.
She tunes out all the distractions in the shop with the ruthless dedication of a woman on a mission.
I pretend to work on the GTO in bay two, but my mind is elsewhere.
“You’re pathetic,” Bones grunts behind me. “You haven’t turned a damn wrench in forty-five minutes.”
He’s not wrong. All I want is to drag her back to my place and keep her naked for a week. “Yeah?” I grunt. “Mind your business, asshole.”
Bones just smirks and rolls his eyes. "You got it bad, man."
"No shit, Sherlock,” I grumble and turn back to the GTO.
I don’t even get the next bolt threaded before I’ve had enough.
Fuck this. I wipe my hands on a rag and head up the stairs, fully intending to drag Serenity into my arms if I have to.
The woman is a goddamn addiction. It’s barely ten in the morning, and I feel like I haven’t seen her in hours.
I crack the office door and spot her hunched over the desk, lips pressed tight, brows furrowed at her phone. My stomach drops.
“Is it Voss?” My jaw clenches. If that asshole is harassing her again, I’ll drive to LA right now and rip his throat out. No one messes with my woman.
Serenity glances up, surprised, then shakes her head. “No, it’s just Alana. She’s being dramatic.” She sighs and leans back. “Evidently, the RA is resisting her advances.”
Relief hits so hard it’s almost painful. I set the phone down and pull Serenity up out of the chair, wrapping my arms around her waist and holding her tight against me.
“I really don’t want to know about my sister’s love life,” I mutter against her hair, letting her scent calm the animal in my chest.
“Then don’t ask me what my messages say,” she shoots back, and I lose the fight. My lips close over hers as everything else fades away.
Fuck, she tastes so fucking good I lose all sense of time. I back her against the desk and just devour her. She melts into me, hands clinging to my shirt, her lips opening for me like a dream. I can’t get enough. If Bones doesn’t call me out, I’ll have her spread over the office desk before lunch.
Right on cue, a gravel-thick yell rips up from the garage floor. “Diesel! Get your ass down here and let Serenity do her job.”
Serenity laughs against my mouth, the sound pure fucking sunshine. “Better listen to your boss,” she whispers, blue eyes dancing.
“Pretty sure you’re the boss of me now, sweetness.” I drag her in for one more long, bruising kiss. Her cheeks are flushed, lips swollen, hair a mess. Fuck, I want to take a picture and use it as my phone wallpaper.
I give her ass a quick squeeze for luck, then stalk back downstairs. Bones is waiting, arms crossed, looking like he wants to bust my balls. “Happy now, Romeo?”
“I’d be happier if you’d mind your own damn business.” I grab the torque wrench and get back to work, but my brain is still stuck on that kiss. Every time I glance at the office window, my cock thumps in my jeans.
I’m up to my elbows in engine grease when the front bell jingles. Delivery guy, city uniform, holding a giant vase of roses and bright lilies. “I have a delivery for Serenity Kellerman.” Oh, fuck to the no. I drop my ratchet and stalk over, grease still on my hands.
“Let me see that.” The delivery guy takes one look at my face and loses all color.
“Problem?” he stammers.
“No.” My voice is pure gravel. I hand him a tip, and he bails instantly, tripping over his own feet as he sprints for the door.
I slam the roses on the counter and rip open the envelope. I know it’s him. I know it before I even read the first word.
Serenity walks up behind me, holding herself stiff, nerves radiating off her in waves. Her perfume, vanilla with a sweet edge, cuts through the chemical stench of the garage. I can feel her worry spike as I read the card aloud:
“You aren’t getting away from me, Ren. I’m patient—I always get what I want. Hope you like your surprise. See you soon.”
Motherfucker. I’m ready to find this psycho and choke the life out of him with my bare hands.
I fold the card and turn to Serenity, blocking her with my body so the whole shop can’t see her face.
“I’ll take care of this. He’s never getting near you.
” I keep her tucked against me, her face buried in my chest, and yank my phone out one-handed.
I dial Savage. No answer. Typical. I hit redial, and this time he picks up.
“Talk to me,” he grunts, all business as always.
“Where the fuck is Voss?” I cut straight to it. I don’t have time for pleasantries. Not when Serenity is shaking in my arms.
Savage doesn’t hesitate. “Still in LA. His phone’s pinging off a tower near the Westwood campus. He used a credit card at a Taco Bell in Culver City late last night. He isn’t moving.”
I let out a slow breath, but it doesn’t calm me. Not even a little. “You got eyes on him?”
A pause. I can picture Savage in his cave of screens, chewing it over. “Not at the moment. You want me to escalate?”
“Yeah. I want you to put someone on his ass and don’t let him out of sight. If he so much as looks at the interstate, I want to know before he hits Barstow. Clear?”
“Crystal,” Savage replies. “How about if I send Elliot over to give him a little message?” That’s a great fucking idea.
I’ve been playing it too nicely. It's time to show this asshole exactly who he’s messing with.
And seven-foot-two, three-hundred and eighty-pound Elliot is the perfect goddamn messenger.
“Do it.”
I hang up and pull Serenity in tighter, pressing my mouth against her hair. She’s trembling, but she’s not breaking. “I won’t let anything happen to you, sweetness.”
She leans back a little and stares up into my eyes. “I know that.”
“Good.” I lean closer and nip her lower lip. “Because I won’t fucking stop until that psycho is out of the picture for good. I’ll bury him in the desert if he even thinks about coming near you.” My hands are shaking from rage and something darker. I can’t even imagine living without her now.
She smiles up at me, a little tremor in her lips, blue eyes shining like lights in a blackout. “You’re kind of intense, you know that?”
“Yeah. But you like it.” I squeeze her hip until she squirms, then I take her mouth, slow at first, then rougher, deeper, until she’s gasping against my tongue.
Fucking hell. I could do this forever.
Bones coughs behind us. “If you two are done making out, we’ve got engines that aren’t going to build themselves.”
I don’t let go. I just keep Serenity tucked into my chest, my hands sliding down over her perfect ass. She fits me. She’s so fucking soft, all curves and sweetness, and every time she looks at me, I want to haul her back to my bed and keep her there for a week.
“If you need me, just yell,” I tell her. One more kiss. Can’t help myself.
She laughs into my mouth. “Go on. I have payroll to finish.”
“Don’t tease me with financial talk, sweetness,” I grunt, reluctantly letting her go.
Serenity flashes that sassy smile and slides back behind her desk, all business.
I make it six steps before I get the urge to drag her right back out of the office and remind her exactly who’s in charge around here.
Fuck, she’s going to be the death of me.
But my girl’s got her numbers to crunch, and she looks happy as hell about it.
I try to lose myself in the engine, but all I can think of is her. The feel of her lips on mine. The taste of her tongue. The way her body melts when I touch her. Motherfucker. I need to get a grip. I’m head over heels for this woman, and the entire goddamn shop knows it.
By lunch, my jaw aches from clenching it so hard.
Every time the phone buzzes, I’m ready to break fingers.
Savage sends two check-ins an hour on Voss.
No movement. I tell him to amp up the heat anyway, and if Voss even makes a move to leave town, I want enough warning to have a grave dug by the time he hits Vegas city limits.
Serenity doesn’t leave the office for hours.
She’s in the zone, bossing spreadsheets around like a pro.
I can’t help but watch her through the greasy glass window.
Blonde hair, glasses, mouth pursed in concentration.
God help me, I want to pull her out here, bend her over bay three, and remind myself that she’s safe.
Motherfucker. I’m losing my goddamn mind.