Super Nova (16 page)

Chapter Eight

The next week crawled by. Filled with more of the same—lots of time spent with Nola and none of it alone. The garage had gone completely insane. Chaos ruled. They were doubling up on shifts, working late into the night to clear the weekend for an unprecedented two days when the shop would remain closed during their celebration.

Extra clients demanded service, stress piled up and a puppy ran amok on top of it all.

Not to mention the pre-wedding shenanigans that kept erupting. Thank God for Nola’s sister, Amber, who fought most of the fires. Everyone pitched in when needed. Kaige included. Of course that meant no more nookie, or almost-nookie even.

Though he’d gotten good at stealing kisses from Nola.

By Thursday morning, she didn’t seem to mind when he tugged her into his lap for a hug in front of the guys. Hell, she’d even straddled him and dropped a kiss on his lips when he’d rolled out from one of the cars he slaved over. The maneuver had inspired wicked daydreams of getting her greasy that had made it hard for him to concentrate the rest of the day.

That might have been his downfall.

Because after lunch, a weasely middle-aged guy Kaige had done work for that morning returned to the shop, citing a damaged part. As usual, Bryce handled the complaint. The guy was great at diffusing ugly situations. He had a sophistication sometimes that made Nova curious about where Rebel had picked up those tricks.

Lord knew the man wouldn’t spill voluntarily. There had to be some horrendous skeletons in his closet to keep his lips zipped in the face of everything the rest of the Hot Rods had shared.

Bryce strode from the office. His cheeks were flushed and his fist curled by his side. Wow, that dick must have pushed some major buttons to draw that much reaction from the big guy.

“What’s up, Rebel?” Kaige had a sick feeling in his gut.

“Did this customer ask you to install an aftermarket ROM chip in his engine control unit this morning?” He jerked his head toward the client.

“Yeah, in addition to some other stuff.” Kaige wiped his hand on his towel. “Is he bitching ’cause I wouldn’t? It wasn’t designed for his model. It would have overclocked the engine. I told him I couldn’t do it once I got it back here and researched it. We went ahead with the other mods, but he was kind of ticked at me.”

Nova shrugged. He didn’t give a fuck if the dude didn’t like it, he wasn’t about to ruin the guy’s car because he was a moron who didn’t understand engineering and mechanics.

“Well, it looks like he decided to plop it in there himself after he got home.” Rebel shook his head.

“Blew the engine?” Kaige let his head hang. “What an idiot. And now he expects us to fix it?”

“Worse. He says you did it.” Bryce huffed.

“What!” Nova’s signature anger began to surface. He swallowed it down. “You know I wouldn’t do something so dumb.”

“Yeah. So let me see the revised invoice where he signed off on the reduced scope of work.” Rebel cleared his throat. “The copy up front still shows the chip install on the list we charged him for.”

Kaige’s stomach bottomed out. He’d turned in all his paperwork.

If the bill didn’t reflect the changes they’d agreed to, he’d failed to have the douche initial on them.

Motherfucker.

They’d be on the hook for the entire engine.

Bryce took one look at his face and winced. He feathered his fingers through the short hair on either side of his skull. “You forgot?”

“Sorry, Rebel.” How could he have messed up like that? “I’ll make it right.”

“It’s not—” His friend was probably about to reassure Nova, for what little good it would do.

Nola chose right then to sashay into his bay. “Well, looks like I finally caught you taking a breather. You’ve hardly quit for a moment today.”

She made a big mistake, not sensing the tension rolling off of him or maybe trying to appease it by wrapping him in a gentle hug despite the state of his coveralls.

The combination of his temper and the pent-up lust he’d harbored for days didn’t do either of them any favors. Grabbing her wrists, Kaige succumbed to the emotions rioting inside him. He pinned her to the garage wall then kissed the shit out of her. He had to do something to make this sludge in his gut go away. It was this or kick that dishonest fucker’s head in.

Her skull made a dull thump on the cinderblocks. Stiff arms resisted his hold, but he didn’t set her free. He couldn’t despite her lack of response. Had he simply startled her, or was his consuming passion—an alternate outpouring to temper—scaring the shit out of her?

Some selfish part of him didn’t care. He needed this. Her.

A startled squeak exposed her shock as he prodded apart her lips.

“Kaige.” Bryce had his back. “Settle down, Nova. You’re being too rough with her. She didn’t do anything. And neither did you. It was a mistake. Karma will get that shithead. We’ll make it right. It’s okay.”

Shamed mixed with Kaige’s fury. He released Nola so quickly, she crumbled to her knees. Or would have, if Rebel hadn’t caught her, cradling their consultant against his broad chest. Seeing her dazed and shaking in Bryce’s arms made Nova’s stomach roil.

What had he almost done? Would he have been able to stop or give her time to process his aggressive passion if Rebel hadn’t been there to apply the brakes for him?

Nova wasn’t sure.

All because he’d gotten pissed at an asshole, cheating customer.

Well, really, at himself for leaving any doubt that the guy could be telling the truth.

He knew the protocol. Take pictures. Sign off on the items to be completed. Make sure to get John Hancocks on any changes to the plan.

But he’d been preoccupied with wrapping up quick and hanging out with Nola. He’d let his partners down and it would cost the shop five grand at least. Nova would make sure Cobra took it out of his pay. No reason they should suffer for his stupidity.

“I’ll handle things. Cool off, Nova.” Bryce jerked his head toward the back rooms.

Kaige stormed to the rear of the garage and smashed through the metal door into the walk-in storage closet across from Mustang Sally’s paint booth. He needed a few minutes of peace and quiet to shove the monster back into its cage. To chain it up tight.

His fists encased the metal supports of the shelving. He relished how they dug into his palms to distract himself from the failure spurring his fury. Letting the Hot Rods down was the one thing he never wanted to do.

Yet he had.

A soft rap came on the door before someone joined him then closed it gently. From the click of heels—which came closer and closer—it could only be one person in the garage today. Nola rested her fingers on his shoulder. He’d know that touch anywhere, had come to crave it.

The fresh peach scent wafting around him confirmed her identity.

“Don’t fucking touch me. Get the hell out of here.” Kaige pivoted, practically shouting in Nola’s face. The woman didn’t have enough sense to flinch.

“You think you scare me?” She laid a palm on his cheek.

“I should.” He narrowed his eyes at her bravery, which crossed the line into foolishness. “I can’t be trusted.”

“You can too.” This time she added her other hand to his heaving chest. Everywhere she touched a coolness spread from her to him, dousing some of his red-hot ire. “The fact that you’re worried means you aren’t going to give in. If I’ve learned anything about you, it’s that you’re stubborn as an ass.”

“That’s not for certain.” He hated the heat staining his cheeks.

“It is. You’re hardheaded.” A smile lit her face.

“That’s not what I meant, Nola.” The circles she talked around him made him dizzy, distracting him from the crescendo of rage he’d suffered only a few moments before.

“I know. But remember what we talked about the other night? I still believe that you’re different from your sperm donor.” When she leaned in closer, tipping her head back as if for a kiss, he couldn’t believe she meant what it looked like she offered. “So why not channel that emotion into something positive?”

“What?” He shook his head, trying to think through the anger, and now the desire building on top, feeding off his heat.

“Come on, Kaige.” She rubbed against him from shoulders to toes. Her long, lean body enticed him to call her bluff. No way could she mean it. “Use me. Burn off the bad stuff, like oil floating on water. It’ll be cool and clear beneath. And fun in the meantime. Better than sulking or beating yourself up in here. I’ve been wondering what it’d be like to have you inside me. Your cock this time instead of just your fingers. Don’t tell me you haven’t imagined it too.”

Nola was every wet dream he’d ever had come to life. Sexy. Confident. Capable of handling him and then some. At least on a normal day. Not now. Not like this.

“I wouldn’t be able to treat you like you deserve. I’d be rough. Crass. I might hurt you.” He paused their stream of kisses, gasping against her lips with his forehead resting on hers.

“Who said I need delicate touches all the time?” She clawed at his coveralls, drawing the zipper down his chest slowly.

“This is a horrible idea.” He batted at her hands though not with much conviction. It was hard to stop her when he needed to touch her so badly.

“I think it would be an amazing remedy.” She winced. “Except I don’t have any protection with me.”

“Oh.” Kaige should lie. The wild part of him, still loose and charging, wouldn’t allow it. “That’s not a problem.”

She dug in his pocket, fishing for his wallet.

“Not there.” He reached up to the third shelf, rapidly allowing his better sense to be drowned out by her insistence. “We keep a stash on hand.”

Nola didn’t respond when she saw him whip a condom from the bin beside the vats of petroleum jelly—Sally’s sick sense of humor at work. Instead she pounced.

She snagged the rubber from him before stripping his coveralls from his shoulders. Shoving at the stained fabric, she had it bunched around his ankles in no time with his briefs only a few seconds behind. He stepped out of them, leaving his boots and his wife beater on.

Before he could whisk her sundress off, she’d ripped open the package and taken his dick in hand, rolling on the condom without any hesitation. He hated that he wondered how much practice she’d had at that. Not because he was a judgmental prick, but because he still shook and he dreaded hurting her.

Experience might help her handle his sometimes rough touches. With the rest of his gang around, he already found himself struggling to rein in the amplifying effect of their presence. If she didn’t get off on this as much as he did, he’d never forgive himself.

Still, he wasn’t wasting any time to argue when she sank to her knees and turned around, flipping her skirt up then yanking her ridiculous excuse for panties to the side in an invitation he had no hope of declining. The rounded globes of her ass begged him to spank them, turning the deeply tan skin there into the darkness of an overripe berry.

He might have done it too, if he trusted himself that much.

Nola rested her head on her folded arms, spread her knees and looked back at him. “What are you waiting for?”

The shard of doubt that sparked in her gaze speared him in the heart. He refused to allow his drama to impact her. No, he’d give her what she asked for and satisfy himself in the process. Already he’d forgotten about the asshole that had sent him to this purgatory in the first place. It didn’t matter when she was here, like this, offering herself to him.

Kaige dropped to the floor, not caring about the hardness that smacked his kneecaps. He stopped to nip at her thighs, scenting her before he curled over her back, smothering her with his form. Hoping she knew that he planned to protect her always. One of his arms snaked beneath her, holding her up and in position as he aligned his cock with her dripping pussy.

He shouldn’t have worried that she might not be ready.

What could have been an aggressive position turned into something entirely different than he envisioned when he hugged her to him, treasuring her for erasing his ugliness and making him feel as though he might still be desirable in her eyes.

Flaws and all.

With as much care as he could muster, though less than she deserved, he introduced his cock to her a few inches at a time. When he had trouble advancing, he paused, allowing her to adjust. Nola had none of that. She rocked backward, insinuating him deeper.

“This is really what you want?” He growled in her ear, using his free hand to wrap around her neck loosely. To steady her and also because it simply felt…right.

“God, yes, can’t you tell? How hot does a girl have to be for you to notice?” She tried to bite his hand when he hesitated.

“Oh, I got the message.” His cock reared inside her as he began to fuck. She was every bit as sultry as he’d envisioned each night he’d jerked off to fantasies of her. No woman had ever held him so perfectly.

She clutched him tight within her, massaging the full length of him with her body.

“That’s right, give it all to me. Work it out. I can take it. I can handle you. Make it stop eating you alive. Fuck me, Kaige. I love it.” She moaned loudly when he ramped up the pace of his thrusts. “Give us both what we need.”