Celina (Connelly Cousins #1) (6 page)

He met her hungry gaze with one of his own, until a soft hum escaped her throat and she withdrew, shuttering it away again.

“I wanted to ask you about that bike – the small one in the back of the shop. Are you fixing that up for someone?”

It was Kyle’s turn to blink. Her question was not what he expected, but then his mind seemed decidedly one-tracked tonight. “No, just playing with her ‘til she finds a home.”

“What if – I mean, do you think maybe I could give her a home?”

Kyle’s lips curved into a slow, sexy smile. He’d known she had the heart of a biker within that amazing chest, and he couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather do a custom for at that moment. He was already designing the specs in his head. Truth be told, she’d been in his mind when he found it (when wasn’t she in his mind these days?). No need to let her know that, though.

“She’s not cheap.”

“But she’d be worth it,” Celina said, her eyes full of hope.

Kyle knew that look. It was the look of someone with passion in her soul, begging to be set free. He wanted to be the one who stoked it and made it burn with the brilliance he knew it was capable of. Outwardly, he appeared to consider the idea, but he’d already decided.

“Yeah, okay then. Stop by tomorrow night and we’ll work something out.” He gave her his best cat-waiting-to-pounce grin, but she wasn’t the least bit intimidated. Her face lit up in a smile that extended from ear to ear and her eyes sparkled.

“And would you, you know, be the one working on her? Johnny says you’re the best.”

Oh, man, those eyes.
Looking at him like he was the candy man and she had a sweet tooth. He really shouldn’t toy with her, but this was just too much fun. His expression turned serious.

“Well, I don’t know about that, see, because I’ve got a couple of customs that Mo’s chomping at the bit for and ...” That was true, but that was par for the course. Business was never slow for him; demand for his skills was always high.

“Oh, sure, of course,” she murmured, but her disappointment was instant and obvious. Celina, he’d come to realize, broadcast every emotion as though she had a built-in mega-watt amplifier.

“I’m sorry.” Her lashes dropped, as did her gaze. “I shouldn’t have asked.” He felt his heart go with it.

“Well maybe, you know, since you’re Johnny’s sister and all ...” - her eyes flicked up again - “... I could work on it in the evenings, after Mo takes off.” Hell, he was doing that anyway. For some inexplicable reason, he hadn’t felt like hitting the clubs lately and had been spending nearly every night at the shop.

She gave him that look again. Like he’d just given her the world on a silver platter. Dazzling smile, bedroom eyes sparkling like multi-faceted emeralds. “Can I – I mean, would it be okay if maybe when I stopped by tomorrow night, I could hang around for a little and just, um, watch you work on it?“

“Doesn’t a pretty lady like you have something better to occupy her time?” Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed again. Hadn’t anyone ever given her a compliment before? Didn’t she know how incredibly beautiful she was? Somebody should be openly worshipping her every minute of the day.

She licked her lips, her hand absently squeezing the shifter. “No, not really.”

If she didn’t stop looking at him like that he was going to shoot a load right in his pants like some punk teen. “Sure, why not? Mo’s usually gone by seven. I’m there... much later.” Hell, he’d pack a sleeping bag and spend the night if it meant another visit from her.

“Great!” Her eyes lit up again, and it was hard to believe all he’d done was say she could watch him work for a couple of hours. What kind of assholes was she used to seeing, anyway, that she’d get so excited over something so small?

Oh yeah. His brother
.

He should probably feel some pang of conscience for wanting to spend time with Jamie’s girl, but those big green eyes had a way of clouding his judgment. And it was just good business, right?

“Kyle?”

He leaned back down into the window again, filling his lungs with the scents of cocoa butter and oranges. He loved hearing his name on her lips. Wanted to hear her screaming it to the heavens as he pleasured her repeatedly.

“You won’t tell Johnny, will you?” Lina bit her lip and looked at him with those big eyes.

“Not unless he asks,” he answered truthfully.

She appeared to consider this for a moment, then nodded. “Fair enough. Goodnight, Kyle.”

“Goodnight, Celina.”

“Lina.”

He grinned, liking the shortened version. “
Lina
.”

I
t took a bit of rummaging, but Lina managed to find the old picnic basket in the basement. It had been tucked away on a shelf, along with a lifetime of other childhood memories: board games, a box of Halloween costumes, outgrown sports equipment. On the surface world, life had gone on after her parents’ deaths. But here, under the house that Seamus and Erin Connelly had built thirty-some odd years earlier, a small piece of it had been frozen.

Lina dusted off the wicker with her hand, refusing to get caught up in all of that. At some point she would need to go through it, but not today. Anticipation bubbled in her blood.

Because she was going to see Kyle again.

All of those sensations, that acute hyper-awareness she’d experienced at the restaurant, hadn’t been a trick of her imagination. She’d felt it again last night when she’d gone into the shop and saw him. And when they’d taken that ride and she’d actually wrapped her arms around him? Not only had her body reacted, but something deep inside her soul had sparked to life as well.

It was exactly the way her mother had described what happened the first time she’d met her husband. Erin O’Leary had taken one look at Seamus Connelly and just
knew
.

Now Lina did, too.

Lina bounded up the steps, so buoyant that she didn’t even feel the hardwood planks beneath her feet. Her mind was so preoccupied with planning the perfect evening that she didn’t even notice Johnny in the kitchen.

“What have you got there?” he asked, startling her. He leaned back against the sink, chugging the gallon of freshly brewed iced tea she’d made. Good thing she’d thought ahead and made two.

“Johnny! You scared me. What are you doing home?” He looked like he’d come right from the construction site; he was in his dirt-and-cement covered jeans and neon yellow Connelly Construction T-shirt. His longish hair was plastered to his neck and forehead, a result of working in the sun all morning while wearing the obligatory hardhat.

He shrugged. “Thought I’d come home and have lunch with my baby sister, if you have time.”

Lina rolled her eyes. “I’m only a year younger than you, Johnny. And yes, I have time. I’m not working this afternoon.”

“Why not?”

“Because I already have my twenty hours in this week, and Mrs. Fenstermaker refuses to pay overtime.” Clara Fenstermaker was the head librarian at the Birch Falls Community Library, and ran the place with an iron fist wrapped in a death grip on the facility’s purse strings. “Besides, I need to get some work done on my paper.”
Among other things.

He finished the tea and put the empty jug in the sink. “Good. I won’t be around for dinner.”

“Hot date?” she teased.

He smirked. “Something like that.”

Lina could just imagine what that “something” might be. Knowing her brother, it involved shooting pool at
Tommy’s
and picking up a woman or three. That worked out well for her; there would be no awkward questions about where she was going or what she would be doing.

“Fair enough. Burgers sound good?” Lina placed the basket on the floor – it still needed a thorough cleaning – and pulled some pre-made patties out of the fridge.

“Burgers sound awesome.”

“Fire up the grill?”

“You got it,” he said, striding toward the double sliding doors leading out to the back patio. He looked pointedly at the basket again. If he recognized it as the one they used to take on family outings, he didn’t show it. Lina wasn’t surprised. Johnny was adept at concealing his emotions when he wanted to, which was pretty much anytime their parents were involved. “You going on a picnic or something?”

Or something.
“Maybe,” she hedged. “The weather will be turning colder before we know it.”

Johnny grunted. “Just be careful. No going to remote spots alone. There are all kinds of nutsacks out there, skulking around the trails and shit.”

Lina stifled a chuckle, rationalizing that Big Mo’s wasn’t exactly remote, and she certainly wouldn’t be alone. “I’ll be careful, Johnny,” she promised. 

* * *

L
ina did stop by, and, angel that she was, brought a picnic basket with her. It was filled with food – fried chicken and biscuits and peach-infused cold sweet tea - that she said was to make up for the dinner he’d missed on her account. She spread out a blanket and they ate right there on the bay floor. The meal was simple, but damn if sharing it with her didn’t make it one of the best meals he’d ever had.

Afterwards, she watched him with interest, asking questions every now and then. Good ones, too. He told her his ideas for the bike, including some special modifications that would fit her small frame, and she practically glowed with excitement. She had a few ideas of her own that she shared with him. The woman knew what she wanted, and it was a hell of a turn-on.

The evening ended far too soon, in his opinion. When he suggested she stop by again the next night, Lina threw herself around him in an excited hug. Kyle decided then and there that as much as he loved the feel of her pressed against his back, full frontals were even better. He stifled the groan that rose up from his toes. How could a woman be so soft and still hold a form like that? Every inch of her hot little body molded against his, a perfect fit. It was as if she had been custom made to fit against him, and Kyle had a special appreciation for quality custom work.

But she was Jamie’s piece, he reminded himself.
Again
. As far as he was concerned, she was just another customer - albeit one that he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about. One that had him fighting the urge to stroke off every night the minute he got home while he thought of her soft, ample curves... the sweet smell of her breath when she leaned in close... those freaking eyes that were ensuring a permanent zipper line in the underside of his cock...

Yeah. No worries there.
Lina was just another customer.

* * *

J
ohnny suspected that something was going on with Lina. The past couple of days, she had been acting differently. He’d come in to find her humming or singing to herself, or catch her zoning out with a smile on her face. His suspicions were confirmed when he came home from the job site Saturday and found that Lina had prepared his favorite dinner (a big, thick ribeye, practically raw, with thick-cut, seasoned red potatoes on the side), and a case of ice-cold, imported beer waiting for him in the fridge. But he wasn’t stupid. He ate every last bite and downed at least two of the beers before he called her on it.

“Must be serious,” he said, the corners of his mouth twitching as he pushed himself back from the table. Celina picked up his plate and took it to the sink, tossing him a look over her shoulder.

“What is?”

“Whatever it is you have to tell me.” She had the good sense to feign innocence as she popped the top off another beer and went to sit down next to him, but he knew her far too well. This was her way of softening whatever blow was coming his way.

Johnny snagged her wrist and pulled her onto the arm of his chair instead. “Out with it, little one.”

Celina took a healthy swig from her bottle and leaned back, resting her head on his shoulder. He braced himself, sensing whatever it was, he wasn’t going to like it. The last time she’d gone to these extremes, it was to tell him she’d accidentally backed the Jag over the custom stainless steel, straight line exhaust pipes he’d just picked up.

“I’m going out with Kyle tonight.”

Every muscle in his body tensed. It was even worse than he thought. “The hell you are.”

“We’re just going for a cruise, Johnny. He has this incredible cherry ride - ”

“Not the custom candy apple one he keeps in the back?” Johnny was incredulous. That baby was Kyle’s pride and joy, his most prized possession in the world. No one was even allowed to
look
at that bike without express invitation. And she thought she was actually going to be riding on it?

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

Johnny narrowed his eyes. “How do you know about that bike?”
Translation: what did you do to get Kyle to show it to you?

Celina shrugged, but Johnny’s eyes pinned her down until she squirmed under his glare. She’d never been able to hold out on him when he turned the lasers her way. “We, um, went for a ride a few nights ago.”

Johnny shot up from his seat, nearly sending Celina tumbling to the floor. She caught herself even as he reached out to steady her. “You WHAT?”

Holy shit
. He looked for a sign that he might actually be having a really strange dream.
His little sister. On Kyle’s cherry ride
...

This was bad. His sister was a good girl. Kyle did not
do
good girls. And Kyle shared his ride with no one, especially not a chick. Granted, Lina was no ordinary biker groupie, but she shouldn’t be on Kyle’s or anyone else’s radar. There was a damn good reason Johnny tried to keep those parts of his life separate, something she made increasingly hard for him to do since she insisted on leaving the house.

To make matters worse, Johnny was torn between screaming at the insanity of it all and asking for every detail about what it was like to ride the custom cycle. No, asking about the bike wouldn’t be helpful. He needed to focus on what was really important here.

Lina. Kyle. Holy shit.

Celina bit her lip. She always did that when she was nervous.
Good
, he thought. He wanted her scared shitless. She couldn’t have any idea what she was getting herself into. And what the hell was Kyle thinking? Johnny could only assume he had no clue who she was, because Kyle would sure as hell know he would
not
be cool with this.