Chapter Fifteen – Dex

I kicked the side of the rolling toolbox and ran my fingers through my hair.

Fuck.

Why the fuck had I done that? I should have just let her go. I had no reason to chase her except for my own selfish desire. No reason to kiss her except I wanted to.

Because she’d admitted she wanted me to.

On Saturday.

Not today. Not tomorrow. Hell, not even fucking yesterday. Not even all day Saturday. Just that one, fleeting moment when I should have damn well done it, her smart little mouth be damned.

And fuck, that woman had a fire burning inside her, and it was there when she kissed, too. She didn’t hesitate to kiss me back. Didn’t stop when she dropped her keys. Her nails had scratched across my skin when she’d grabbed my shirt, and I still had the fucking goosebumps from that.

I wanted to do it again. Wanted to feel her melt under me while I kissed her.

Which was why I sent her to the taco place. I didn’t even want them. I wasn’t hungry. I just wanted to put some space between us, because if she came back in five minutes like she normally did, I wouldn’t be able to look at her.

What the fuck was I supposed to say to her when she got back?

I wasn’t going to apologize. There was no chance in hell I’d be doing that. I couldn’t apologize for something I wasn’t sorry for.

All right—maybe I was a little sorry for slamming her against the truck, but not for kissing her.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and drank half of it. My heart was still thumping against my ribs, and fuck if I hadn’t wanted to grab hold of her and carry her inside.

How the hell was I supposed to get rid of this rush?

That’s what it was. I’d kissed her once, and it was nothing but a rush. Like adrenaline but better. Potentially more addictive.

Potentially more dangerous.

I leaned back against the counter. There was no way a trip to that taco place would be long enough for me to get my shit together. Now I knew what it was like to kiss her…

The memory would need to be burned out of my brain. I’d need someone to take a red-hot poker to it just so I’d be able to look at her and not want to do it again.

How was I meant to forget what it was like to have her body yielding to mine? To feel the rapid beat of her heart against her chest? To feel her gasp and shudder and touch me back?

Motherfucker—I’d just cursed myself. I’d cursed myself with the memory of Jamie Bell and her smartass mouth finally silenced.

Jesus, yes. I’d silenced that smart little mouth.

That revelation didn’t help.

Now, I’d want to kiss her every single time she opened it and sassed me.

How the fuck were we meant to work together now?

***

One hour later, Jamie slid into the garage with a paper bag with the logo of the taco place on. I slid out from beneath the car and met her gaze across the garage.

She lifted the bag lamely. “It’s probably cold, but here. Your lunch.”

“What about yours?” I got up and followed her to the staff area.

“I already ate. I ate there and ordered yours before I left.” She set the bag on the counter top and turned on the coffee machine. “Is that a problem?”

I paused. “No. It’s your lunch break. You can do what you like with it.”

She flashed me a smile and grabbed her mug from the cupboard. The spluttering of the coffee machine and rustle of my lunch as I unwrapped it filled the need for conversation.

The awkwardness that hung between us was palpable. It was almost electric, hovering uncomfortably in mid-air. Waiting for one of us to address what had just happened.

I ate and watched as Jamie finished making her coffee. The strap of her dungarees kept sliding off her shoulder, and after pulling it back up three times, she made a “hmph” noise and pulled her arm out of the strap, leaving it to hang by her side.

I hid my laughter when she turned around.

“Something funny?” she asked, eyebrow quirked.

I shook my head. “Thinking about you in striped socks again,” I answered.

I hadn’t been, but now that I was…

“You know, the ones that go over your knees? They’d look great with those shorts.” I paused. “And probably without them, too.”

She blinked those wide, blue eyes at me, but there was no innocence or humor back in them. “Are you being an asshole to purposely stop me from asking you what the hell you were playing at earlier?”

“Even if I was, it clearly didn’t work.” I shoved the last bite of the taco into my mouth and crumpled up the paper. I tossed it toward the trash can and it bounced in off the side.

Jamie watched it fall in and then looked at me expectantly. She even cocked her hip and put her hand on it. “Well?”

“I’m sorry,” I said around a mouthful of my second taco. “Was I meant to answer that?”

Her pursed lips said everything she didn’t need to.

“Right.” I wiped my mouth with my hand and set down my food. “Well, this might be fairly obvious, but I kissed you.”

“No, stop, really?” she deadpanned, not missing a beat. “That’s what that was? Well slap my ass and call me Sally, that was a new experience.”

“I’m going to do it again if you keep up with that sarcastic bullshit.”

She shoved her finger in my direction. “If you do that again, I’ll rip your eyes out of their goddamn sockets.”

“Have you ever kissed yourself, darlin’? It’s a risk I’d be willing to take.”

Her cheeks flushed. Embarrassment or anger? Who knew?

“You’re insufferable, do you know that? You had no right to kiss me. I told you that you should have done it on Saturday, not there and then!”

“And you had every chance to push me away,” I said dryly. “I didn’t see you doing that while you grabbed onto my shirt and kissed me back.”

“How could I push you away? You had me pinned to the truck!”

“I’m going to pin you to that wall and shut you the fuck up in a minute.”

“You dare!” Her eyes narrowed, and something flashed in them—something darker and more passionate. “You pin me to that wall and I’ll pin your balls to a goddamn dartboard!”

I got up and rounded the coffee table, keeping my eyes firmly on hers. Another flush rose up her cheeks, and she clenched her fists as I got closer to her.

And closer.

Close enough to smell the coffee on her breath.

Close enough to smell the lingering perfume on her skin.

Close enough that she stepped back once, then twice, and then a third time.

Every time she stepped, so did I. I didn’t reach for her or touch her. I invaded her personal space, and by the time she’d stopped walking, she’d pinned herself to the wall.

“Looks like I don’t have to do anything except get close to you,” I said in a low voice. “And you’re the one who put your back against the wall, darlin’.”

“You sneaky bastard,” she muttered.

A smile tugged at one side of my mouth. I reached between us and cupped her chin, forcing her head back and her to meet my gaze.

I searched her eyes.

Anger and confusion were tainted with the honesty of how she was feeling.

With lust.

She could deny it, but she wanted me to kiss her again, just as much as I wanted to kiss her.

I wanted to take her lips with mine right here, right now. Less rough. More softly—more deeply. Really explore her mouth with my tongue and see how far I could take her before she’d ask for more.

The thought made me smile wider.

She’d never ask for more. She’d never give in, no matter how much she’d want to.

She watched me. Almost expectantly, like she was waiting for it. She wasn’t going to fight or push me away. She wanted it just like I did.

But it was a bad idea. One kiss was one kiss too many. I already wanted more than I could have from her.

Nobody told my body that.

Still gripping her chin, I leaned in and brushed my mouth over hers. Her lips parted, and I captured her lower lip between mine. Slowly, I grazed my teeth over her lip, dragging gently until I’d released it.

“Nice try,” I whispered, my open eyes on her closed ones. “Maybe if you weren’t so obvious, you’d have been able to convince me that you don’t want me to kiss you.”

Her eyes snapped open. “I hate you.” She shoved me away and, grabbing her coffee, stormed out of the room into the workshop.

“You know what they say about hating someone,” I called after her, stopping in the doorway.

She looked after her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I won’t cross the fine line into loving you, asshole.”

“I wasn’t talking about that.” I smirked. “I was going to tell you there’s a fine line between hating someone and fucking them.”

“Good thing you’ve got a spare hand, then, because that’s the closest you’re getting to fucking anything with your stunning personality.” She slammed down the lid of a toolbox to punctuate her words. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.”

“And, if you don’t mind,” I reached over to grab a taco. “I’ll eat my lunch and watch you.”

She shot me a dark look. “You owe me twelve bucks.”

“I’ll pay you back.” I smirked again.

Jamie simply glared at me before storming off to work.

God.

She was one hell of a firecracker, and why the fuck was that so hot?