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  “Well, that’s an image.” Nina raised her eyebrows grimly and took another sip of her drink, but her eyes hungrily followed his journey to the bar.

  “Nah, he looks too healthy to have STDs,” Shana said with a sigh.

  “Even people who are HIV positive can look normal,” Julie shot back.

  “I don’t think you should say things like that about people unless you know for sure,” Michelle protested.

  “STDs be damned, I’d do him,” Mary-Jane declared loudly, pushing her chest out.

  Everybody hooted with laughter except Julie. “Ugh…no thanks,” she practically spat out.

  “You only say that because you don’t know what I’ve heard he can do,” Mary-Jane countered, her eyes twinkling and her face full of mischief.

  “What have you heard?” Shana asked.

  “Well,” Mary-Jane began dramatically, and all of us leaned in to hear.

  Chapter 9

  Jesse

  What the hell was that bunch of uptown snobs doing in a bar like this? Worse, Mia had to be with them.

  I saw her checking me out as soon as I stepped into the bar, even though she pretended she wasn’t. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I made my way up to the bar, wondering if she’d been thinking about me the rest of the day. I had noticed a ring on her finger when she had come by with her car earlier, so I wasn’t going to do anything about it, but still, it would have been nice to know I could finally have the one chick who’d turned me down all those years ago.

  I grabbed a drink and took a long sip on it, enjoying the hoppy flavors as they spread out over my tongue. It had been a long day. Mia’s car had needed a lot of work, and some part of me resented having to do a job for a woman who probably wouldn’t look at me twice if she could avoid it. But still, the money would be good, and the garage could always use any business I could get my hands on.

  I could hear them laughing, talking and chattering loudly, but I did my best to ignore it. I didn’t want to get involved. Half the women over there probably hated my damn guts anyway, and I made it a point to never waste a moment of my time with people who thought they were too good for me. Besides, I had just come for a drink, and I sure as fuck was going to do that. Not give a moment’s more thought to Mia or the ring on her finger or the way she’d spoken to me back at the garage.

  Eventually, though, she made that impossible, as she came up to the bar to grab a drink; she had a smile on her face. It was clear she was having a good time, and might even have been a little tipsy. She ordered another round, then she glanced down in my direction, just casually. But as soon as our eyes met it was as though someone had pressed a volt charger to my body, sparks flew across my skin.

  I looked away quickly and dropped my eyes to my drink. What the fuck was that? I’d only had one drink, and yet the way she had looked at me made me feel as though I had been drinking all day long. Jesus, I needed to get a hold of myself. I snuck another look at her as she was walking away, and noticed that she wasn’t wearing the ring she had on earlier. Okay, so she’d taken it off to come out tonight. That was an interesting bit of data. Maybe she was hoping to a have little fun, to have the kind of fun that whoever had given her that ring might well not approve of.

  “Hey, cut it out.”

  I heard her voice come from behind me, loud and furious. The whole bar seemed to turn together with me to see what the hell was going on. Mia was holding a couple of drinks, and one of the regular barflies had his hand on her ass, as she was trying to turn around and face him.

  Something in me clicked. I was six again, cowering in a corner, watching my father tower of my mother, hearing his voice become angrier and angrier, and wishing to God he’d just go away and leave us alone, or hoping that at least my brother, Wayne would come back. Wayne would know what to do. Wayne always did. I had turned to look out of the window to see the pigeons on the neighbor’s roof. I’d watched them fly as the first sound of flesh hitting flesh started. The memory was as clear to me now as the day it had happened.

  Without thinking, I sprang to my feet and shoved the man at the bar away.

  He staggered backwards. “What the fuck are you doing, man?” He held his hands up and glared at me.

  “Do I really have to tell you not to pull that shit with women at the bar?” I snapped at him. I just wanted a quiet night, and he had forced me to intervene. I glared back at him.

  For a moment, he hesitated, then he seemed to think better of taking it any further. “Yeah, sure, whatever,” he muttered, and turned back to his drink at the bar.

  Mia turned to me and smiled. “Thanks for that.”

  Her friends didn’t even seem to have noticed what had just happened.

  “No problem.” I waved my hand. “Damsels in distress are my specialty.”

  “I bet they are.” She fluttered her lashes at me and bit her plump lower lip.

  My eyes widened. Did she just… Nah, but if I hadn’t known better, I would have thought she was flirting with me. I knew I should walk the hell away but I was drawn to her like a moth to flame. I just stood there staring at her like a dumbstruck fool.

  “You want to dance?” she suggested, sucking her whole bottom lip into her mouth.

  Shit, that was one wildly provocative gesture. She was wearing a hot pink dress that hugged in all the right places and her hair was all over her shoulders in thick, shiny waves. She looked different than when she’d come into the garage earlier. And not just physically too. There was something altered about her mentally, as well, as if she had clicked out of stress mode and into something, a little more… loose and a lot more fun.

  I glanced around. The place had a small dancefloor, and there were a few people on it, slobbering drunk and clearly just using the music as an excuse to make out with each other.

  “I’d hate to miss this song. It’s my favorite,” she added.

  Her favorite song was Cotton Eye Joe by Rexnex? Bullshit.

  She raised her eyebrows and subtly squeezed her arms against the side of her body so her chest spilled out.

  Hell, I hadn’t danced in years, but if she wanted me to play knight-in-shining-armor, then I was definitely game. The thought of getting that way with her was doing something to me.

  Down boy.

  “Sure thing,” I drawled.

  She slipped her hand into mine and followed me out on to the floor.

  None of her friends even glanced up to watch her go, and I wondered what they would think if they saw me taking her off to dance.

  Chapter 10

  Jesse

  Around us, people were linking arms, bouncing, and jumping up and down to the fast tempo of Cotton-eyed Joe, but she wound her arms around my neck and drew me in close. Whoa, how drunk was she? To be honest, I felt surprised at how open she was about this, how much she seemed to want me close, seemed to want me to touch her and be near her like this. I could already feel my cock stirring, but I knew I couldn’t fuck her out here, not tonight, not so soon. I let my hands rest on her waist and she began to sway to the music, but it was clear that it was only a thin excuse for grinding her body into my erection.

  Leaning her hips into me, she looked up, a sweet, sultry smile on her face. “Why Mr. Mechanic, is that a wrench in your pocket, or you just happy to see me?”

  I grinned at her. If it was Mae West quips she wanted to trade… “It’s my ladder of success, Princess. You can climb it all night long.”

  Her cheeks flamed. It was sweet. I guess she was just an innocent pretending to be wise and sophisticated. She cleared her throat. “You’re a smart guy, why did you drop out of school, Jesse?”

  I shrugged. “I was bored. Education is designed to turn people into cogs in the machinery of capitalism. I didn’t want to be a cog.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You prefer being a grease monkey?”

  I grinned slowly. “I prefer looking under hoods, Princess.”

  She shook her head and smiled teasingly. “Spoken like a t
rue dirt-bag.”

  “Talking of dirt-bags, you had a ring on earlier,” I said, figuring that it was probably a smart move to cover my ass in case she did have a fiancé, or some shit. My days of hopping into my pants and shimmying down drainpipes were well and truly over.

  “Yeah, and I’m not wearing it now.” She lifted her hand and waggled her fingers in front of my face.

  “Anything I should be worried about?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow, and she shook her head.

  “Nope,” she replied firmly. “That’s done. I’m all about tonight right now.”

  I got it then. It wasn’t me she particularly wanted. She was just out for a good time, to get over the owner of the ring. Maybe any man would have done, but hey, I wasn’t complaining. I was more than happy to be of service.

  She fell silent, content to give herself over to the music. A much slower song I didn’t recognize had started and she pressed herself closer to me.

  Then as we moved together, something happened. That chemistry I had been sure was crackling between us before, at the garage, morphed into something less combative. Something that flowed between us like liquid fire. From her groin to mine.

  I traced my thumb over the small of her back, and she let out a small noise that could have been a moan. Her eyes were closed, but when she opened them and looked at me, I knew something had changed. Her gaze moved down to my mouth. She was openly hungry for me. She let her teeth catch for a moment on her lower lip.

  “Fuck, Mia,” I groaned, “if you pull any more stunts like that I’m not going to be responsible for my actions.”

  Looking up into my eyes, she bit her bottom lip again.

  I pulled her closer, testing the waters, seeing how much I could get away with, and she let me. In fact, she arched her body against mine, so I could feel every curve, every inch. Her dress hit her around mid-thigh, and it would have been so damn easy to push it up a little, slip my hand between her thighs and…

  Before I knew it, I was pulling her off the dancefloor and toward the back door. I didn’t know what the hell was going through my head, but I felt as though I didn’t have control of myself, not the way I usually did. Sure, I’d had plenty of women before, but this was the only woman who’d ever turned me down and here she was, all up on me like she couldn’t get enough.

  She didn’t pull away. She let me drag her away, her heels scraping the sticky floor, not even glancing around to make sure her friends weren’t watching us. Not that I would have given a shit if they were.

  I led her around the back of the bar, the night air cooling my skin. I tried to bring myself to my senses. She’d been so long in the city she didn’t understand how this town worked anymore. If the two of us were caught out here, the whole town would know about it by the end of tomorrow night, but I couldn’t find it in me to give a shit. I came to a halt round the back of the bar, in the parking lot. Then before I knew it, she had grabbed me and pulled me toward her once again, but this time, with more intention than before.

  I slipped my hand around her curvy hips and pulled her close. As our mouths crashed into each other, I slipped my tongue into hers. She ran her fingers through my hair, balling them to fists and tugging slightly, sending a sharp pain across my scalp. But I found it mellowing into pleasure as she moaned my name against my lips, my cock hard against her hip.

  “Jesse…” she gasped as I reached down to slide my hand up her dress just like I had imagined doing back in the bar.

  She parted her legs, tipped her head back and moaned, while I ran my mouth all over her throat, letting my teeth tease at her soft skin. When her moans became louder and more pronounced I slid my other hand up, and used it to cover her mouth. I couldn’t give a shit, my reputation was shot to pieces anyway, but if we got caught making out in public, it would be a mess, and the last thing she needed was a scandal.

  Over the thin material of her panties, I cupped my hand over her pussy. It was fleshy and hot. She shivered with anticipation. I pressed into her lightly, and she moved against me, rocking her hips back and forth restlessly. I could feel her panting against my hand, could feel how desperate she was for more. I hooked my fingers around the crotch of her panties and tugged them down, just enough so I could push my fingers into her slick pussy.

  She seemed relieved when I began to push in and out of her, the tension leaving her body as she slumped against me. Her eyes were closed and I watched her face intently as I moved my fingers inside her, reaching my thumb up to stroke her clit as I did so. Who knew an uptight upper-class girl like her would be into something like this? Dirty sex at the back of bar. Maybe, she had picked up some new habits in the city.

  My cock strained against the confines of my jeans. I wanted to turn her around, push her dress up, and fuck her right here outside the bar, but I knew that would be hard to come back from if we were caught in the act. Besides, I kind of liked having this control over her, being the one in charge. It did something to me, lighting a fire in my belly that spread heat through my whole body.

  She reached out and grasped my arms, fingers sinking into my skin, and I could tell she was getting close to the edge so I pushed myself against her, grinding my cock against her hip, and I could tell in that moment that she would have let me fuck her if I’d just gone for it. But I didn’t want to, not yet. I wanted to feel her come, to render her helpless. I drew my hand away from her mouth tentatively, wanting to hear whatever noises were coming out of her mouth.

  Her breath was ragged, her mouth open, as I leaned forward to kiss her once more. Her fingernails dug deep into my skin, but I didn’t mind one bit. I pushed my fingers harder and faster into her while pressing my thumb down against her clit and moving it in small circles.

  Seconds later, I felt her give out beneath me.

  “Ah!” she cried out.

  Pulling back for a moment, I caught her bottom lip between my teeth and tugged on it gently as her pussy contracted and gushed around my fingers. Her panties were soaked. How she was going to go back out and sit in them was beyond me. She would have to take them off and sit there bare-assed under her dress. I grinned as she ran her hands all over my back and my shoulders as she continued to shudder with pleasure against me.

  I slipped my fingers out of her and moved them up to her mouth.

  She caught my hand and drew it between her lips, cleaning my fingers eagerly with her tongue.

  Holy fuck. It was smoking hot and the image instantly burned itself into my mind. She was so horny, so given over to the desire between us. Now it was hard to remember that this was the stuck-up prude who had turned me down all those years ago.

  Chapter 11

  Mia

  “Mia?”

  As soon as I heard my name being called, reality came crashing back in. What the fuck was I doing? His fingers were still in my mouth and I could taste myself on them, the sweet muskiness of my pussy where he had just made me come. I opened my eyes and he slowly withdrew his fingers from my mouth. I could feel his cock against my hip and I chewed my lip as I looked at him. I wanted to stay. I wanted more. I wanted him to fuck me, right here and now, the haze of my desire for him rendering me stupid in ways I’d never been before.

  “Mia!” The voice came again, louder and closer.

  I pulled a face and pushed him away. Quickly, I reached down, pulled my panties off and pulled down my dress.

  “Want me to keep them for you?”

  I nodded and put my panties into his hand. “Thanks for rescuing me,” I whispered.

  His large fist closed over the white cotton as he smiled softly.

  I smoothed my dress down my hips and thighs. I prayed to God that he hadn’t left any marks on me when he’d been kissing my neck. I touched my lower lip and found it a tiny bit swollen where he had tugged it between his teeth.

  “Don’t worry, everybody’s drunk, no one’s going to know what happened here.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  His eyes filled with amusement. “It was my ple
asure.”

  “I need to go,” I breathed, but before I could duck away, he leaned in and kissed me one more time. It was a short kiss, but one that whipped the breath right out of my lungs.

  When he pulled back, he was grinning at me and he jerked his head back toward the bar. “Go,” he ordered. “I’ll let you get ahead.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, still a little breathless. I turned and checked myself in the window as I headed back into the bar. My hair looked a little messy, but I felt glad that I seemed to be able to pass for someone who’d just gone outside to catch some air.

  “Hey, where did you go?” Kayla asked when I came around the corner. She had a frown on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.

  I shook my head and shrugged. “I just needed to get a little air.” I waved my hand. “It was getting a little much for me in there.”

  “Were you dancing with Jesse earlier?” she asked as we headed back to the table.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was following us, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. “No.” I shook my head. “Must have been someone else.”

  “Right.” She nodded. “Did you see Tina? She came with her new man.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and she carried on talking about Tina, but I didn’t hear a word. I couldn’t believe what the hell I’d just done. I’d never done anything like that before in my life. I had only slept with like, three people and they had all been long-term boyfriends. And it wasn’t the alcohol that had gotten me loosened up either. It was something else entirely. As soon as that guy had touched me, Jesse had been there to jump in and tell him to fuck off. At that moment, something had switched in the way I looked at him. Then on the dancefloor, the heat of his hands on my body, it just seemed to be more than I could take…