ONE
Sadie
“Sadie fucking McGuire!” My best friend whipped around, eyes leveled on me. “You didn’t tell me your boss was all kinds of fuck-hot!”
“Well, considering he’s an asshole, I guess I wouldn’t say that.” I climbed out of the car and gave her a small wave. “Thanks for the ride to work. I swear I’ll have my car fixed today, then no more rides.”
“It’s okay.” She winked. “I like the eye candy around here.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure when I’ll be home. If you can’t find me, you know I’ll be here working on Lucy.”
“Think you can score me the boss’ number, too?” She leered.
I laughed with a shake of my head. “I’ll do my best.”
“Grow your hair out, put on some lip gloss—men like lip gloss. Makes them think about kissing you.”
“I don’t want him kissing me!” The truth was, I had thought about Jackson Fox kissing me, a lot. My hand involuntarily reached up to my short blond bob, fussing with it like I always did when I was uncomfortable. I’d never wanted long hair, short and sassy matched my style, but more importantly it was convenient. Suddenly I was thinking about Jackson’s strong hands tugging on my hair as he bruised my lips with strong, soft kisses.
“Whatever. Prude.” Ashley blew me a kiss as she backed out of the parking space. “Love you!”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved her off before turning to go into the office.
I’d only been working at Fox Motors for a few weeks. I’d had to cajole the owner and boss, Jackson Fox, to give me the job. It wasn’t every day that a twenty-four-year-old woman walked into an auto body garage looking for work. But I was good at working on cars. I’d been doing it for years alongside my daddy, and I knew damn well I could show these guys a thing or two.
My mom hadn’t been very pleased when I’d told her what I wanted to do. She’d said she didn’t want a grease monkey for a daughter, but I didn’t give a shit. I loved cars, I loved the sense of accomplishment in fixing something and bringing it back to life.
And after Daddy had died suddenly from a massive heart attack, it was the only thing I could bring myself to do. It felt like he was still with me. Being around cars was what my father and I had, and I never wanted to lose that. If I didn’t have my head under a car’s hood, I’d be hiding out in my room, depressed and dwelling on the loss of the only man I’d ever loved, the only man who’d ever cared for and protected me.
“Mornin’, Sadie.” Lowell, one of the other mechanics, greeted me.
“Morning.” I smiled. “Get that Charger purrin’ yesterday?”
“Purrin’ like a kitten. Manifold needed work. Took me a while to figure it out, but man it was worth it to hear her sing.”
“I bet.” I grinned, glancing at the cobalt-blue beauty parked in the front lot.
“Sadie.” My boss, Jackson Fox, nodded as he came into the office.
“Hi.” I looked away, feeling the intense dark eyes eating me up. Jackson had that way about him…that thing that drew women in like flies, had them flipping their hair and dropping their panties with just one crooked twitch of his sinful lips.
No wonder Ashley wanted his number. If I were a different girl, I would, too. But I wasn’t the kind of girl men like Jackson went for. I avoided makeup most days, wore torn jeans, and kept my head down. Being a female in the auto industry meant I had something to prove. No way would I be the girl that dates the boss. I could just picture the guys snickering and saying how I fucked my way into a job, never mind that I was dedicated and amazing at it .
Not my style.
Chrome and leather, the smell of oil, and the weight of a wrench in my hand were my style. I knew I needed to work twice as hard to show these guys that I was the real deal.
“Slow day today.” Jackson’s voice vibrated with a deep timber. “Frank, can you take the oil changes? Got a chassis rebuild I want Sadie to work on with me.”
“A rebuild? Me? What?” I asked, shocked. I’d helped my dad on a few engine rebuilds over the years, but never a chassis.
“Time you flex those muscles. Said you had experience, right?” Jackson’s eyes cut to mine, holding me suspended in his intense gaze. How the hell would I get anything done working alongside him?
“Yeah, I just haven’t worked on the chassis before.”
“It shouldn't take more than a few hours,” Jackson murmured, tossing a pile of paperwork on his desk before turning to the crew. “Sadie and I will be in the back garage if you need me, guys.”
I swallowed, wondering what in the hell I was in for today.
I hated when Jackson singled me out, and he seemed to do it a lot in front of these guys. I didn’t know if I was being too sensitive, but it felt like he was testing me, like he couldn’t believe a girl would out-wrench a group of guys.
I knew I had the skills to prove him wrong, I just had to contain the erratic beat of my heart when he was next to me. It was hard to focus when Jackson Fox walked into a room. The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up, goosebumps pricked across my skin when his eyes landed on me, and that voice. Sweet lord in heaven, that voice was nothing short of sinful in the way it made my stomach coil and burn.
But I did have something to prove here, if not to him then certainly to myself.
No way would I let a man like Jackson Fox throw me off my course. I had dreams of opening my own body shop some day—McGuire Auto Body, after my dad. Working at Fox Motors was a priceless learning experience—picking up on the business side of fixing cars was something I didn’t know how to do—but I was determined, and that had to count for something.
“You ready to get dirty?” Jackson came around the corner of his desk, fixing his gaze on me.
I sucked in a quick breath. “Always.”
“Good. My kind of woman.” His lips twitched. “Now let’s get under that car.”
I followed him out the office door and to the back of the garage.. The way his long legs carried him across the lot was nothing short of intriguing. The faded jeans hugging his hips and the broad cut of his shoulders with those massive biceps stretching the thin white cotton of his T-shirt were a mouthwatering distraction.
I wasn’t sure why in the hell Jackson was working hands-on with me—until now he’d spent most of his days in the office handling scheduling and paperwork. But now he was here. With me.
What in the hell was I thinking?
My brain would short-circuit the minute he leaned over and asked me for a screwdriver.
Nothing about this job was easy, but working alongside Jackson Fox would make it almost impossible. I could only hope I didn’t make a complete ass out of myself and get fired by the end of the day.
We stepped into the garage, my nerves on high alert already, before he turned, piercing me with his intense fucking eyes that stole all the breath in my body.
“Sadie…” The way his tongue curled around the word had the effect of his mouth fucking my name. My stomach fell into a dark pit, my nerves crawling with arousal, my thighs aching to shift back and forth to relieve the pounding desire between them.
“Yes?” I finally breathed.
Jackson took a step closer, his eyes burning up the contours of my face before settling on my irises. One hand rose, his thumb and finger brushing across my temple. “I hope you don’t mind I pulled you today. I wanted to have some one-on-one time with you.”
My heart ratcheted another dozen notches, no thoughts in my mind, only the urge to throw myself into his arms and taste his lips. “Oh…kay.”
My brain ceased to function. It died a painless death right there on the floor of that garage.
“It can’t be easy, being the only woman in the garage.” His eyes trained on my lips, one hand settled at my neck, his thumb dragging across the hollow of my throat.
Oh Jesus.
Oh Jesus, Sadie. Get it together.
“I don’t let it get to me,” I uttered, my eyes focused on his. His own eyes watched my lips form the quiet words.
“I know you don’t,” Jackson muttered, leaning a little closer, his nose dusting the shell of my ear. My stomach flipped, my knees weak with every one of his movements. “Thing is, Sadie, I can’t get you off my mind.”
My fingers clutched at his steely forearms. His other hand weaved down the dip of my back, fingertips sliding just under the waistband of my jeans, making contact with my skin.
Jackson husked in my ear, “I’m bringing you home with me tonight and every night after.”