Spin (Boosted Hearts Book 2) (9 page)

From what he could see she was alone, being blackmailed by Al, and going by her solo night out, not handling it very well.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t found squat. Though, he had gotten her number off her phone bill—not that she’d answered any of his texts or calls.

If she thought she could freeze him out, she was sadly mistaken.

He’d given her Saturday and Sunday, and now he was done waiting.

Shoving open his car door, he climbed out and stood on the sidewalk, looking up at her place. The lights were on.

No more hiding in the shadows, baby.

Jogging up the steps to her building, he gritted his teeth when he hit the intercom and nothing happened. The thing was completely dead. He tried the doors and they opened without resistance. Christ. The place had zero security. And his mood didn’t improve when he got to the elevator and the thing was still out of order. It’d been that way when he brought her home Thursday night, but he assumed it was down for routine maintenance. Now he could see the sign was faded and dusty.

Several bulbs were out, as well, in the stairwell, another thing he’d noticed the other night. He couldn’t do much about the elevator or the main entrance, but he could at least try and find someone to take care of the fucking bulbs.

By the time he reached her apartment, he was feeling wired and antsy as hell. He had the strongest urge to snatch her from this place and take her home, look after her and never let her out of his sight. That line of thinking was crazy. Shit, he barely knew her. But it was there, all the same, and he got the feeling that wouldn’t change any time soon.

Frustration rode him. His hands were tied. He had no claim over Darcey, no right to protect her or get involved in her life. He’d never felt this way about a woman, and he had no clue what to do with these out-of-control feelings.

And the icing on the shit cake…they were both tied to Al Ramirez. He didn’t know the guy that well, but it didn’t take a genius to work out he wouldn’t be all that happy about them spending time together.

Christ, he should turn around and walk away. Focus on delivering the cars he owed and put it all behind him, put her behind him…

“You gonna stand there all damn night staring at my door, Colton? It’s super weird, and you’re kinda freaking me out,” Darcey’s voice echoed through the door.

Busted. And because he was screwed in the head, just the sound of her voice made his pulse race. He blew out a defeated breath. He wasn’t going any-damn-where. “Open the door.”

She didn’t answer. She was so quiet he thought she might ignore him until he went away, but then he heard the rattle of the flimsy lock and the door swung open.

Damn, she was pretty.

Crossing her arms, Darcey leaned against the doorframe. “This some kind of role reversal thing you’re doing? Following me around to give me a taste of my own medicine? ‘Cause I have to tell you, I’m pretty boring. If you want someone exciting to stalk, I’d go with Betty, next door. She may be eighty-three, but she’s totally up so something.”

Cute as hell, too.

He slid his hands into his pockets so he didn’t reach for her, drag her up against him and kiss that pouty mouth. “Baby, you know you’re the only girl I want to stalk.”

She flushed, then rolled her eyes. “Lucky me.” She didn’t move, just stared at him, barring him from her place with her curvy, little body.

He cocked a brow. “You gonna let me in?”

“Hadn’t planned on it.” The playful note was gone from her voice now, the pretty flush, too. “What do you want, Joe?”

Well fuck
. He didn’t like where this was going. “You haven’t answered my calls or texts. I was worried.”

She jolted, not big, but he saw it all the same. The woman was surprised. He could see it on her face. She quickly covered it, and her expression turned skeptical. “Why?”

Did she really not know? He moved closer and rested a hand on the doorframe above her head. “Last time I saw you, you were under me, thighs hugging my hips, fucking whimpering into my mouth. We were
this close
to fucking…then you shoved me away, again. Ran out of here like the bed was on fire. I think that gives me the right to be worried.”

She was flushed again. “I was late for work.”

“Bullshit.”

Fire flashed in her eyes. “Okay, how about this? It’s none of your damn business.”

“I’m getting pretty sick of hearing that,” he gritted out.

“Well, stop asking me things that have nothing to do with you. Just because I almost
let you
fuck me, doesn’t give you the right to any other part of my life.” She glanced away. “One thing links us. One thing only—Al. There’s no reason for you to be here right now.” She retreated a step, her gaze back on him. “You asked me to stay away from you, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do, but you won’t leave me the hell alone.”

Joe clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached, an unwanted—shit, unacceptable—thought swirling in his head. “Because you almost
let me
fuck you? You telling me you were offering up a pity fuck, Darce?”

Her face got darker. “I don’t know why we’re talking about this. What you’re even doing here.”

His gut twisted in a way he didn’t like and had never experienced before. “Answer me. Was yesterday morning your way of making up for what you did?”

“Just go, Joe.”

“Fucking answer me.”

She clamped her lips shut.

He couldn’t stand it, wanted to reach out and pull her to him, kiss that stubborn mouth, and prove her wrong. Yeah, they’d barely spent any time together. He still didn’t know shit about her, but the two times he’d had her pressed against him—had her whimpering under his mouth—had left a mark on him.

He shook his head. “Don’t believe it, sweetheart. The way you wrapped yourself around me, going after what you wanted, what you needed… Yeah, you wanted me…just as much as I wanted you.”

She hugged herself harder, tits going higher. His gaze automatically dropped to her tight nipples, their outline clear through her shirt. They were stiff and ripe, and he knew damn well it wasn’t from the cold. He grinned even as his mouth went bone dry.

The blush she had going on crept down her neck, lust flashing blatantly across her features. For a split second, that guard dropped and she gave him a voyeuristic peak at what she wanted to keep hidden from him.

“You’re wasting your time fighting this thing between us. You know that, right?”

Her hands dropped to her sides and curled into fists. “You’re an asshole.”

“An asshole you like to kiss.”

“Piss off.”

He grinned wider.

Darcey was running scared, doing her damnedest to keep him at a distance. Yeah, she was feeling the heat between them every time they were in the same room—it was impossible to ignore. But in her life right now, where she was at, she didn’t feel safe. And that included with him. He didn’t blame her, but it wasn’t something he would tolerate, as irrational as that was. No damn way. Not now.

 
It was obvious she’d been through some bad shit—was still going through it—and the woman was afraid. If that was the case, telling him the small amount she had about herself would have been a big fucking deal for her. But she’d given him a piece of her because of the guilt she felt for screwing him and Hugh over.

Taking her in now, the stubborn set to her chin, the standoffish body language, she wasn’t about to give him any more than that.

Not yet. He had to work for it, and he was cool with that. He didn’t expect anything less from her. He’d bend over goddamn backward to earn it. But she’d already decided she wasn’t going to give him the opportunity. She’d already put up that wall.

His only option was to create an opportunity for himself. A way to get under her skin and dig deep. Because he wanted this woman, beyond all logical reason—and not just between the sheets.

He held her gaze. It wavered, darting away then back. When he had her eyes again, he took a step another closer. She didn’t retreat.

“I hate to fucking admit this, I really do, but I need your help, Darcey.”

Her spine went ramrod straight. “What?”

 
His gaze moved over her curves. He couldn’t stop himself, even now. “You’ve been doing it anyway.”

She scowled. “Not anymore. I’m done.”

Stubborn
as hell
. “You seemed pretty damn happy to watch the show up until now.”

A calculating gleam lit her eyes. “I’ll admit you’re pretty to look at. I’ll give you that. Watching wasn’t a hardship.” She snorted. “But after getting to know you better, I’ve decided I’d rather live with the guilt.”

Jesus.
“You’re telling me you’ll have no trouble sleeping if I’m caught and locked up?” Low blow, but he was getting desperate.

She stared at him for several seconds, then cursed. Then she cursed again, looking more than a little pissed. “If I say yes…you need to know that taking your back is all I’ll be doing with you.” She flung a hand toward the bed behind her. “
That
won’t be happening again.”

He studied her. She was breathing harder, fighting not to look below his chin. The woman was full of it. You couldn’t fake the reaction she’d given him, so it was easy to accept her condition. It wouldn’t hold, and deep down, she knew it as well as he did. “Fine.”

She narrowed her eyes. “We have an agreement then?”

“Looks that way.”

Her eyes were wide, still locked with his, and he didn’t miss the heat she was trying to suppress. He sure as hell didn’t bother suppressing his own. He let it all hang out.

“Get your jacket.”

She blinked up at him. “What? Why?”

“We got business to take care of.”

“Now?”

He shrugged. “No time like the present. I got cars to deliver. The sooner I get them in, the sooner I’m out of your hair, right?”

She scowled at him, grabbed her jacket, pulled it on, and stuffed her keys into her pocket. “Whatever.” Then she breezed past him. “Let’s get this over with.”

~ * ~

Joe’s smell was making Darcey crazy—tear-your-hair-out, lick-an-electrical-socket insane.

He smelled like spice and clean sweat, and every now and then, she’d get this whiff of motor oil. It shouldn’t be, but it was the freaking
sexiest
thing she’d ever dragged up her nose. She wanted to lean into the towering freak of nature, bury her face in the crook of his neck, and just inhale—for hours. Days. Maybe rub up against him a little bit…

You said no sex remember?

And she had a damn good reason. She just had to remind her hormones of that. Her brother, keeping him safe, getting him away from Len, was the only thing she should be thinking about. If Al found out she was helping Joe, her life wouldn’t be worth living. Al wanted Joe to fail, because that would mean more interest, more time under Al’s thumb.

A quick fuck, and if she was lucky, an orgasm, wasn’t worth risking her life or her brother’s future.

“You see it?”

Joe’s rough voice drifted over her, lifting the hair at the back of her neck. Her nipples tightened to the point of pain. Traitorous things hadn’t recovered from having his warm breath teasing them, his lips, his tongue so damn close. He was behind her,
right
behind her, basically plastered against her back.

“Yes, I see it,” she snapped. God, the man had her on edge. She needed to bring it way the hell down.

He leaned in closer, mouth brushing her ear. “You sound kinda worked up, Darce.”

She stepped away—not that she got far in their current hideout—desperate to put some distance between them before she leaned back and took a bite out of him, the good kind. “I just want this over with so I can get home to bed.”

“How are we supposed to keep this business-only when you insist on flirting with me so blatantly?”

She refused to allow her lips to curve up. She would not be amused by Joe. Funny was sexy, always had been to her, and Joe knew exactly how to tickle her…um, funny bone. “Keep dreaming, douche bucket.”

He made a choking sound. “Douche bucket?”

“If the name fits.” He was also being arrogant and annoying. “I have work in the morning. Unlike you, I have a boss who gets kind of pissed if I swan in whenever the hell I feel like it.”

The coast was clear. They’d been there long enough to establish that. She was done waiting and hiding, more than ready to leave the overly close confines of their scouting spot before she did something she’d regret. She started to walk away, but he grabbed her hand.

“Wait.”

“There’s nothing to wait for. Let’s do this already.”

“I just thought we should wait for the guy in the suit to drive away before we stroll over and break into the car in front of his.” He shrugged. “That’s just how I do it. If you have a better way, by all means, show me how it’s done.”

Crap.

She didn’t bother answering the smug bastard. She crossed her arms, waiting for the guy to leave. He had a woman with him. A stunning blond. His wife, going by the matching wedding rings. The other woman giggled when her husband grabbed her ass, giving it a playful squeeze, and leaned back into him. Mr. Suit murmured something in her ear, and her lips soundlessly parted a second before she stopped in her tracks, reached up under her skirt and pulled down her panties. She stepped out of them and handed them over.