Valentine (A Standalone Novel) (Bad Boy Romance Book) (8 page)

I followed him back out of the office into
the late afternoon. My eyes moved down to the lovely way his jeans hugged his
hips and accentuated the swell of his rear. It'd been a really long time since
my body had reacted to anyone; this guy wasn't trying at all, and yet my pulse
spiked.

"So, you work here?" I almost
kicked myself for asking the question, but in my need to move past the chains
and whips, I'd blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Nope. I just show up and start the
fire for the guys every morning. They like roasting marshmallows at lunch from
time to time. We're having s’mores today. You want one?" He winked at me
before squatting by my car. He was being cheeky about my comment the night
before.

I chuckled and nodded. "I deserved
that."

He glanced up. "Yeah, you did."

Chapter 8

Tate

She was beautiful – far more beautiful
than I remembered from the night before. I'd dimmed her a little within my
daydreams and lusty thoughts. Her long brown hair was up in a high ponytail,
leaving her to look sporty and ready to have some fun. I couldn't stop
imagining how good it would feel to tug her ponytail down and slide my fingers
through her hair. It had to be silky and soft.

"Come here, and I'll show you what
I'm looking for." I moved back a little and waited until she squatted next
to me. "See here how the tire looks depressed or deflated compared to the
back one?"

She tried to move back a little while
squatting and almost fell. I reached out for her and grabbed her arm, but fell
on my ass right beside her instead of helping.

We laughed and something inside of me
opened up a little. I could see myself on the date with the pretty girl. Sex
was always at the forefront of my mind, but wanting to take someone out for a
meal?

Hell no.

Besides, I didn't have the money or the
emotional energy to deal with someone finding out about my situation and
leaving me because of it.

I was working my way out of poverty and
could hold off on dating until I got out of it. No need to set myself up for a
failure that was sure to happen.

"I'm sorry." She got up and
offered me a hand.

"No, you're not." I took her
hand and was surprised by her strength as she helped me up. "You're
strong."

"For a girl?" She put her hands
on her narrow hips and gave me the cutest look I thought I'd ever seen.

I laughed and moved back down to pull the
nail from her tire. "No, for a man. Better?"

Her turn to laugh. "No, not
much."

Her stomach growled loudly and her cheeks
colored pink as I looked back up at her. "You hungry? There are some candy
bars in the back room. Need
me
to get you one?"

"No, I try to stay away from sugar.
Makes me sluggish, which doesn't work on the courts." She tilted her head
as she studied the front tire and then moved back to study the back one.

"You go to UMN?" I got up and
walked around to the driver's side. "Do you play sports there?"

"Yeah. Both. I'm on the basketball
team." She moved back a little and glanced up at me. "Fix the tire
and then let's go grab something to eat."

"I can't." I hated to deny her,
but it wasn't going to happen. I needed every minute on the schedule that day
to help make rent.

"I thought you said you were a
mechanic." She lifted her eyebrow at me, and I could see myself falling in
love with a girl like her. She was sassy, and I enjoyed it a bit more than I
should have.

"No, silly. I can't grab a bite to
eat. I'm working all afternoon." I glanced back at the sound of Jerry's
voice.

"Sure, you can. We'll be open late
tonight. Just put in an extra hour then. There's no way you're passing up a
meal with this pretty girl." Jerry extended his hand toward the girl, and
I realized that I still didn't know her name. "I'm Jerry. Nice to meet
you."

"Val Scott." She shook his hand.

"Scott. Like David Scott of Scott
enterprises?" His eyes widened a little.

I wanted to ask if Val was her full name,
but there would be time for that over lunch – apparently.

She blushed and looked toward the ground
as she nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Oh, wow. We have royalty in the
house today. Your father is a legend in the mining industry, as was your
grandfather." Jerry chuckled and patted her arm. "Good to see you
here in our little shop. I hope Tate treats you right."

I'd heard of Scott Enterprises; hell,
anyone in Minnesota had. They were the wealthiest family with the most land.
Greedy as all get out, too. I gave her a once over, realizing how incredibly
uncomfortable she was all of a sudden.

"Alright, well, let's get something
to eat and then we'll fix the tire." I shoved her keys into my pocket and
pulled mine out. "You good riding on the back of my bike? It's a little
cold."

"I don't mind." She glanced up
at me with gratefulness in her eyes. It melted me even more. She was beyond
wealthy, and yet couldn't be Daddy's favorite from the looks of things. I
wanted to dig into her, to hear her story and learn more about her, but I
needed to tread carefully. She had nothing to gain from a friendship with a guy
like me, and I had everything to lose.

"Be careful. Her dad could sue the
nation and would come out on top," Jerry laughed, obviously not realizing
how crass he was being.

"Alright, funny guy. We'll be
back." I walked to the bike and handed her a helmet.

She fiddled with the strap for a few
minutes as frustration moved across her perfect features.

I stepped up and took it from her as a
chuckle escaped me.

"Here, let me help you." I
couldn't help but look her in the eye as I worked to get the helmet on her.
"Never been on a bike before?"

"I've never done a lot of
things." She pursed her lips, and I couldn't tell if she was being flirty,
honest, or sexy. Maybe all three.

"Well, it's time to live a little
then, I guess." I got on the bike and offered her my hand. "Come on, princess.
Your chariot awaits."

"Don't call me that." She sat
behind me stiffly as if completely uncomfortable.

"Wrap your arms around me." I
paused. "Princess."

The soft chuckle that left her warmed me.
She knew I was teasing her, and she liked it. It was my turn to stiffen when her
arms wrapped around me tightly. My heart started to beat harder, faster. I
wanted her to cup my groin, press her lips to the side of my neck, and promise
me more than something quick to eat. My damn hormones spiked once again thanks
to the beautiful girl sitting behind me.

Her breasts pressed to my back, and I
stifled a groan. Maybe riding on the bike together wasn't a good idea, at all.

"Let's go." She squeezed me
harder, and I let out a grunt before shaking my head and starting the bike. We
would be good together, good for each other, but it would never happen.

She was someone, and I was nobody.
A nobody
that was happy to remain as such.

Life was easier that way.

*

"So, tell me about the basketball
team. Have you always played?" I sat down with our tray of burgers across
from her. I'd almost had to twist her arm behind her back to let me pay, and while
I should have simply relented and let her get it, I just couldn't. Some part of
me wanted to impress her with anything I could and not buying lunch would have
been the opposite of that, in my mind.

"Yeah, it's my one freedom. My
parents are insanely strict, but they let me have basketball in exchange for me
keeping my grades up and staying out of their hair as much as possible." I
could see a bit of sadness tugging at the edge of her eyes as she shrugged. She
had so much more to say, but we didn't know each other enough for her to open
up to me just yet. I prayed we would, on one hand, and knew it was fruitless on
the other. "What about you? Any sports or do you just enjoy riding your
bike?"

"I love the bike, and swimming is my
thing. Seems like an odd combination, I know, but I love the feeling of
powering through the water and pushing myself as hard as I can." I took a
bite of my burger and looked up to catch her staring at me.

Her eyes were the color of the grass on a
summer day, and it took me a moment to break the intense stare between us. My
mother would have been thrilled that I was talking with a
normal
girl, and I lamented a little over the fact that I wouldn't
get to take her home and impress my mom with her. This was a onetime thing –
period. We didn't fit in each other’s lives, not even as friends.

"We have a great swim team at UMN.
You should try out." She nibbled at a fry before unbuttoning her jacket
and tugging it off. "The guys are-"

"Assholes." I let my eyes moved
down to take in the thick globes of her breasts through her sweater as my cock
hardened painfully. She had to be a goddess under her clothes, my type of woman
to a T.

"What? Some of them are decent."

If she noticed me checking her out, she
didn't show it.

"None of them that I've met." I
tugged the collar of my shirt to the side to reveal a few of my tats.
"They're not too fond of anyone having marked up their skin, and they're
quite mouthy about it."

"That's stupid." Her eyes moved
down my neck, leaving me to feel a little
more bare
than I ever had around a woman.
Was she
interested? Did I turn her on? Scare her? Thrill her a little?
I wanted to
know what she was thinking.

"Maybe, but it's the world we live
in." I finished working on my burger as she talked a little about her
business law class that morning. I loved the sound of her voice, the confidence
and calmness that she might not realize she was exuding.

Leaning back, I watched her, took her in,
and listened intently, though she really didn't say anything terribly
captivating. It was the full package that I was being dragged into wanting more
of.

"And, what about a job? Do you
work?" I picked up a couple of the fries between us and ate them as she
licked at her fingers. Her pretty pink tongue caused my stomach to tighten with
need.

Fucking
behave. Shit. She's a million miles out of your league.

"No, but I'd like to. My parents are
super controlling, and a job isn't part of the deal." She took another
bite of her burger and started to wrap it up.

"You throwing that away or taking it
with us?" I reached out and touched her hand.

"Throwing it away. You want it?"
She pushed it toward me as a smile played at the side of her mouth.

"Hell yes, woman. We don't throw food
away." I smiled at her. "It's too hard to come by for us poor
folk."

"Hey, I know I was a bitch the other
night. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. You were
scared and stuck on the side of the road with a blizzard coming. It's
understandable." I took out her burger in four bites as she studied me.

I wanted to feel self-conscious or
uncomfortable, but her expression wouldn't let me.

She liked what she saw, which just seemed
to force me into wanting to see her again – soon.

"Yeah, it was stupid to take the damn
car out in the first place. My father told me not to, but I love being a rebel.
Not like a real rebel. Just a semi-rebel, I guess." She was getting
flustered. Time to save her.

"You looked hot the other night, all
dressed up. Where were you going? A party or something?" I glanced down at
the fries. "You all done, princess? I'll be the cleanup crew for us."

She smirked. "Yes. Eat all of it,
just don't touch my drink."

"No?" I reached for her drink
playfully to have her pull it back.

"No. Germs. Ugh." She lifted her
straw to her pretty pink lips and took a long sip. "I went to a party, but
I shouldn't have. It sucked. Bad."

"Worse than having some scary biker
guy accost you on the side of the road in a blizzard and then eat your lunch
and drink your drink the next day?" I leaned back and licked the salt from
my fingers, loving the way her eyes widened as she watched me.

"You're not getting my drink. Stop
thinking about it. It's not happening." She leaned back and cupped her
drink close to her.

"But I want it. It looks better than
mine. Give me a taste. Just one." I leaned forward, teasing her as my
smile lifted farther than it had in weeks.

"No!" She turned and we both
laughed, unable to help ourselves.

"Why was the party so bad?" I
moved back as she relaxed again.

The sound of some guy beside me caused my
shoulders to stiffen. "Because her boyfriend fucked up, and he's sorry. He
loves her very much."

I glanced up to see a cookie-cutter jock
standing beside me with several other guys from the football team.

"I'm not talking with you."
Val's expression hardened, and I could tell that she didn't need help defending
herself, at all. She had a tough side that had been hidden up to that point.

"Yeah, you are. I told you that I'm
sorry, Valentine." I stood as the guy moved around the table.

Valentine.
Beautiful.

"Hey. If the lady isn't interested in
talking to you, she's not going to." I turned to face the guy, ready to
fight if necessary.

"No one's talking to you,
riff-raff." He poked me in the chest as three other big guys moved up
behind him.

"Paul, stop it. Now." Val moved
out to stand in front of me, but I bumped the guy with my chest and pulled her
behind me.

"Fuck off, dude. I'm not a pussified
rich kid. I'll jack you up good and be more than happy to leave you bloody on
the floor." I got in his face, and the fear that moved across his eyes was
too familiar.