“What’s going on?” He steps toward me.
“I’m fine. It’s fine. The car is fine. You get going.”
“You’re not fine.” His tone is deep. “I heard that noise. Your car’s not starting.”
“It is, though. It’s starting. This is a thing it does when I…”
“Pop the hood.” He stands in front of my little corolla. At this angle, he looks like he could lift the car into his hands and play with it like a toy.
I do as he’s asked. Maybe it’s a quick fix.
For a long moment he leans behind the hood doing whatever men do when they’re trying to fix things. “Looks like someone took a few spark plugs from your engine. Was it running this morning?”
“Yeah.” My stomach turns as I think over who could’ve been messing with my car. We should really have security cameras out back. Then again, this might be the one and only time anyone’s bothered anyone in this town. And if I’m honest with myself, I know who it was.
“Okay, well, you’re not going anywhere in this thing tonight. I’ll give you a ride home.” He closes the hood and turns away. “In the morning, I’ll grab you some plugs at the shop, and we’ll get you all fixed up. Let’s go.” There’s that take charge attitude again. The one where he didn’t ask me what I wanted. Hetoldme what he was doing. It’s the pictures at the lodge all over again.
“I think I’ll call Nora. You go ahead and get home.”
He shakes his head and turns back to lean against my car. “I’m not leaving you out here in the dark to wait for somebody. Where do you live? It’s not a big deal. I was going to go for a ride, anyway.”
I draw my gaze up toward him, trying to stop the spinning in my stomach. I can’t well say,‘hey, no big deal but…I’m living in my car.’No one would take that news lightly, especially not a man like Axel. With all that testosterone, he’d have to prove he can fix any problem.
I hang my head and stare at the cracked, yellow lines of the parking lot. Nora is the only call I have. I work constantly. There’s no time for friends, and the one person I did know, my ex, is now fucking with me every chance he gets. I’m sure he’s the one messing with my car.
“I’m going to tell you something and I don’t want you to freak out or try to fix it, okay?” I blow out a heavy breath. “Promise me.”
“I don’t promise you. Sorry. What’s going on?”
“I can’t tell you if you’re not going to promise me that you can listen without trying to fix it.”
He stares toward me, harder this time. His frame is big and strong and he’s so close now that the pine scent he carries fills the air around us. It would be easy to let him fix things. I’d bet he does a great job at it, too. I’d bet everything this man fixes is solid gold afterward. How could it not be with those big, calloused hands?
I shake my head and draw my gaze up toward him. “Look, I don’t want you to do the thing your alpha male code says you have to do. I’m going to tell you something and I want you to turn around, leave, and know that I’ll be fine out here, like I am every night.” I drag in a deep breath and waver for a second before finally saying the five words I’ve been holding secret for months. “I live in my car.”
He stares at me for a long while, studying my face mostly, though he does glance toward the car and the woods surrounding the lot. I can’t imagine what he thinks of me now. I liked the image I had when I was a snarky bitch, not this one who’s weak and defenseless.
“We can talk about this later, but you’re coming with me for tonight.”
“No! I’m most definitely not going with you. I’ve been sleeping here for a few months. I’ll be fine.”
He shakes his head as though I’ve lost my mind. “Someone took something from your car. Something that it needs to run. Now I’m just a country boy, and my detective skills wouldn’t hold up in a court of law, but I’d guess you’re in danger and I’m not leaving you here.”
Before I get out my next rebuttal, he opens the door and lifts me into his arms.
What the hell is happening?First, how is he lifting me? I’ve never been lifted like this by any man, not since childhood anyway. Second, why am I relieved? I have no idea where we’re going but there’s an overwhelming sense of safety in his arms.
He settles me onto the back of the bike and glances toward me. “Do I need to go back for anything or are we good?”
I keep anything of value tucked into my locker at the diner, so I’m not worried about losing something, but I’m also not conceding.
“You can’t just pick me up and move me around like that.”
Axel smirks and climbs onto his bike, starting up the engine. “I think I just did.”
I should be repulsed by his show of dominance. I should put up a fight, wiggle myself away, and make a run for the diner.
Instead, I let my panties cream like the simple little girl I am.
