Levi
Five
Ipull up outside of the apartment complex and throw the truck into park. The streets are mostly quiet, save for the steady thump of music coming from Joe’s Bar across the street and the occasional partier walking in or out of the double saloon-style doors.
North Creek is a small town, stuck in the monotony of everyday life between sunrise and sunset.
By now, most have made it home from work and are enjoying their Thursday evening with some bad cable and a beer.
There isn’t much to do around here at night if you’re not game for going to the one joint in town and getting wasted, but that’s okay with me.
The quiet of a small town is an acquired taste, one that took me years to fully embrace. It may not be for everyone, but I love that it takes the edge off the wilder side of me.
I get the sense that Oakley is looking for something. She seems to carry herself with a cautious curiosity, one that makes me think that there’s more to her than meets the eye. I can’t explain the magnetic draw I have to the woman sitting in my passenger seat.
Her hands press together tightly between her thick thighs in a way that has my mind wondering how smooth her skin would feel against my calloused hands. The thought alone nearly has me drooling into my lap.
I’m no better than Justin. I tear my gaze away and refocus on the road ahead of me.
She said that she was touring the apartments, which has to mean that she’s planning to stick around, at least for a little while. Once the gossip mill catches wind of a new girl in town—if it hasn’t already—she’ll be all anyone will be talking about. Right now, though, I have her all to myself.
My own pretty little secret.
The thought of keeping her for myself sends a shot of excitement coursing through my veins but the last thing I need is to end up losing my head all because of a pretty face.
And legs.
And don’t even get me started on that ass.
The one that was practically in my face as she climbed up into my truck, begging me to lean in for a taste.
My cock twitches in my pants, and I have to shut down that line of thinking before this innocent lift into town turns real awkward real fast. Justin’s right.
It’s been too long. Then again, I’ve never been one for meaningless flings.
Never worked out well for me in the past. Besides, I can’t be bothered to put effort into something that won’t go anywhere in the end.
Especially not when my fist does the trick just fine.
I take a shallow breath, hoping she can’t hear the shake in it as I calm myself and divert my attention from her curves and back to the road where it belongs.
There’s something refreshing about her. Something that’s different in the way she guards herself, but then cracks a joke in the very next breath. Almost like she forgets for a moment to hold herself back from letting her real personality shine through.
She reminds me of a baby deer—curious but skittish if you get too close.
That’s okay. The cracks in her hard exterior walls are evident already. It’s only a matter of time until I weasel my way in and send them crumbling to the ground.
No. That’s too much to hope for when I know so little about her and she even less about me. I can’t afford to think like that, not if I’m still hellbent on keeping my head on straight and accomplishing the goals I’ve set myself up for.
I have it good here in this town. I have friends, a great job, and am well on my way of taking over the business after Harold retires.
With no children or close living relatives left of his own, Harold’s been running himself into the ground trying to keep the business organized and afloat.
He loves it, loves everything about the company his parents built with their own blood, sweat, and tears, but in his old age, I can see how much the responsibilities are starting to weigh him down.
The organization aspect of it all is too much for one man to do, especially since expanding the business into the neighboring towns.
I offered to help out with miscellaneous secretarial work if he needed me, but he’d brushed me off and told me to get my sorry ass back on the jobsite before he kicked it clean into the middle of next week.
I guess I should have known that was coming, but it didn’t stop me from offering my help the next week.
And the week after that. And the week after that, until finally, I must have annoyed him enough with my constant chattering that he agreed to hire a full-time secretary to help out with the paperwork.
I helped by posting flyers all over town, and we’ve gotten some interest, but so far Harold has turned away every interviewee for one reason or the next. Eventually, he went around when the boys and I were out of town on a job, tore all the postings down, and gave up on the hunt.
It wasn’t for lack of trying on my part.
Though it may have been a bigger battle than I initially intended it to be, Harold knew I meant well.
He’s known me since I was a young boy and, alongside Justin and his family, helped raise me when the man at home fell short.
It might be the only reason he hasn’t actually followed through on his threat to kick my ass.
From my periphery, I watch the rise and fall of Oakley’s chest as she sleeps. I only know a snippet of the day she’s had, but it must have been one hell of a ride to have knocked her out this quickly.
It’s only about a twenty-minute drive from her car to town.
Not that I have any intention of letting her know just how close she was to where she needed to be a few hours ago.
Something tells me she has a fiery streak hidden somewhere inside her, and that knowledge might set her off after the day she’s had.
Though, I don’t think I’d mind bearing witness to her defiant rage.
I feel a tiny swell of pride that she felt at ease enough to fall asleep in my truck. I’m a complete stranger to her. I don’t know her story, but maybe mine is the only kindness she’s experienced in too long.
Whatever it is, I like knowing I must have something in me that tells her she’s safe with me.
My eyes flit from the dark road back to her sleeping form, taking note of the way the moonlight shining in through the window reflects across her creamy, smooth skin.
The way her lashes flutter as if she’s dreaming.
The way her pink lips part ever so slightly, each exhale stirring the straw-colored locks that have fallen over her face.
She’s beautiful.
Fuck, she looks good in my passenger seat.
Nope, not going to even go there.
Shaking my head, I steer away from the path a thought like that threatens to take me down and, with a grimace, lightly shake her shoulder.
She wakes with a start, eyes frantic as she struggles to remember where she is.
I watch with rapt fascination as she grounds herself, taking stock of her surroundings with concise clarity and breathing deeply, in through her nose and out through her mouth.
It’s mesmerizing to see the way she regulates herself, to watch her breathing slow and her movements still as she works through the panic.
So, she’s good at puzzles too.
I return my gaze to the road and have to fight a smile when I catch her from the corner of my eye swiping at her mouth. With one hand still on the wheel, I lean my elbow on the console and hide my grin behind my hand.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. It’s been a long day. A long few months, actually.”
Her quiet admittance raises more questions than answers, but I keep them to myself, secretly hoping I’ll have the chance to figure out those answers some time in the future.
“No need to apologize. I’m glad you managed to get a little sleep.”
Right on cue, as if my words cause it, she yawns, her pretty pink tongue darting out to wet her lips when she’s finished.
I try to ignore it. I really do, but my gaze fixates on that single motion, and a shot of heat courses down my chest and straight to my dick. My throat goes dry, and my attempts to clear it are futile.
Forget Justin earlier, now I’m the fucking creep. Thank the angels above that it’s nighttime and the cab is dark. I don’t want to have to explain to this girl I literally just met why my pants suddenly look like I bought them from the youth section of the local thrift store.
“Where are we?” she asks, peering out the window to get a better look at our surroundings. I gesture to the building on her right.
“That’s the apartment complex you were supposed to tour today.”
She takes it in before turning to me, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms defensively over her chest.
“How do you know that was the one I was touring and not another complex?” Her apprehension is cute. I try, and fail, to hide my smirk.
“There’s only the one in town, darlin’.”
“Oh.” Her defeated sigh sends a pang through my chest. She speaks again, quieter this time. “I don’t know where I’m going to stay tonight.”
I gesture down the street a little ways before deciding to take her there myself.
Starting up the truck again, I drive the short distance to the rundown motel that neighbors the bar.
When I park, I climb out and circle the front of the truck to open the door for her, holding out a hand to help her down.
Her hand is small and surprisingly warm in my own, but her grip is tight as she lets me help her out of the truck.
Once she’s standing on the sidewalk facing the motel, I lean around her to grab her bag off the floor.
Her faint lavender scent wafts over me as I lean close, and I close my eyes briefly, willing my cock to stand down.
I do not need to be tenting my fucking jeans like a prepubescent teenager seeing a pretty girl for the first time.
“Come on,” I say, walking ahead of her towards the motel and gesturing in front of me. “I’ll help you get set up with a room.”