Nina placed her palms against the cold metal of the car and propped herself up against it. She blew out in frustration as she wondered what the hell could be wrong with her Honda this time.

“I just took you in for service last month,” she muttered to herself, using the back of her hands to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

She looked under the hood at all the widgets and gadgets and realized that just about the only thing she recognized was the battery, the battery cables, and the dip stick used to check the engine oil levels.

“God, help me. This can’t be happening.”

She was scheduled to be at work in thirty minutes and the bus wouldn’t run again in this area for another hour. Just when she thought things were going so well for her, here she was faced with another set back. She knew a few months ago that she was in the market for a new car after owning her Honda Civic for eight years, but it wasn’t easy trying to buy a car while trying to save for it and the capital needed to start a business. She was just shy of having saved a few thousand dollars to buy her next car, but this car didn’t seem to want to hold on any longer. There was no way she could handle two huge loan payments at this point in her life.

She sighed.

Nina was determined to get to work one-way or another, but she was obviously going to be late. Luckily, the cab service she used when her car gave out on her was fairly quick and usually arrived within a half hour of her calls.

She walked back around to the driver’s side and knelt over the center armrest to dive into her handbag and grab her cell phone. She needed to let Charlie know that she’d probably be an hour or so late.

“Do you need some help?”

Nina shrieked and jumped, hitting her head on the inside of the car. The deep, male voice had come out of the blue as she was rummaging through her handbag.

She extricated herself from the car and unfolded to a full standing position. “Oh, my God,” she panted, hand over her heart. “You scared the crap…out…of…”

She lost her train of thought as soon as she lifted her gaze to identify the man who’d come out of nowhere. Her mind turned to mush. Holy shit! He was good-looking. And not in the pretty boy kind of way either. He was dark, rugged, hard-edged…all male and toned muscles. His black hair was shoulder-length, thick, and slightly wavy. Most of it was tucked under a hood. The strands were sleek and shiny and she came to the conclusion that either he had really good genes or his deep conditioning game was on point.

His eyes were the mesmerizing color of jade—a shade she’d never seen on any man. The black hood he wore did nothing to cover up the beauty that resonated from under it.

“I’m sorry that I frightened you,” he said.

Nina bit the bottom corner of her lip as her gaze dropped to the opening of his hooded jacket. His skin seemed evenly bronzed from what she could see, but with his face being semi-hidden under the hood, she couldn’t be certain. His black jeans were really weathered as if they had been washed and worn over a thousand times. His Timberland boots were just as worn, looking as if they had seen better days months ago. He was savage and…handsome.

“Um…,” she croaked.

“I was riding by when I saw you working under the hood. You were alone so I thought I’d come over to help.”

He turned around and gestured to his motorcycle parked on the side of the street right near her mailbox.

“Are you new in the neighborhood?” she asked.

“No, I was just riding through it,” he said.

“Who are you?”

She looked behind him at his Harley. His helmet was propped on the seat. How hadn’t she heard him ride up on his bike?

“My name’s Raoulf,” he stated.

“Raoulf?” His name seemed odd..animalistic. She almost wondered if—

“Do you need help?” he asked again.

“I um…” She pointed to the hood of the car. “I’ve been having trouble with my car for the past few months. It’s nothing new, so I think I know what it is.”

“I’ll take a look,” he said, stepping forward and sliding past her with the grace of a stealthy predator. “Can I have the keys?”

He held out his hands, palm up, for her keys.

She paused, looking around her. Usually, she’d be a little more cautious than this, but something about this man put her at ease despite the fact that he’d just scared the living daylights out of her.

“Here,” she said breathlessly, dropping the keys in his hand.

He looked down blankly at all of the key chain decorations linked together and then back up at her.

“What?” She shrugged. “I collect them.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he stated, simply.

Just as she’d done not more than thirty minutes ago, he tried to start the car, but to no avail. Without a word or comment, he moved over to the hood and started touching and examining things.

“Are you a mechanic or something?” she asked as he worked.

“Something like that,” he said, flatly. “I need some tools.”

“I’ve got some in the garage,” she said, pointing to the one-car garage of her rented townhouse. “If I can get my keys from you, I’ll bring the toolbox out.”

He handed her the keys and she turned and walked cautiously back up the driveway where she used the control pad attached on her keychain to automatically lift the garage door. Out of the corner of her eyes, she kept her attention on the stranger as she pulled the toolbox from a utility shelf in the back. His attention remained on his work as he fumbled around under the hood of her car, pausing every few minutes to push his hair back from his face.

“The tools,” she said, handing him the box. “Listen, you just came out of nowhere by surprise. I appreciate the help, but why are you helping a stranger?”

“Why wouldn’t I help?” Raoulf shrugged. “I travel quite a bit and I see this happen a lot on the highway. Do you know how many people break down on the side of the road every day? Lucky for you, you were still in your driveway when it happened.”

“Oh, of course. And you just happened to be driving through the neighborhood.” She bit her tongue to shut herself up. “Sorry, I was being rude. Like I said, I appreciate the help.” She dipped her head and tried to peer under his hood. “So, you’re only traveling through? Are you sure I don’t know you?”

He surprised her by pushing his hood back. She gasped inwardly, taking in the full extent of his beauty. With his outer layer peeled back, she could fully see him. As she expected, he was bronzed as if he spent countless hours under the sun. The most distinct attribute about him was the scar etched across half of his forehead and down the side of his face where it disappeared under his right ear. The scar was old. It wasn’t unsightly. Just odd, and uniquely him. He was still handsome, rugged…

“See…I’m sure you don’t know me,” Raoulf replied as if taking off his hood would explain it all. Then he pulled his hood back over his head and grabbed something from her toolbox.

While Raoulf was still under her hood, she made a phone call to Charlie to let him know what had happened.

“I have a guy here looking at my car now. If we can’t get it started, I’ll call a cab,” she told her boss.

“I can get Aimee to look after the shop and come give you a lift,” Charlie offered.

“No, no…I’ll be fine. I’ll find a way there. Don’t worry, Charlie. I’ll get there. I know we got like a dozen orders overnight. I read your email this morning over breakfast.”

“What would I do without you, Nina?”

Nina chuckled softly. “What you did before? You’ve got this!”

“This shop wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for you,” Charlie commented. “Just get here when you can, ’kay? I can cancel my lunch date with Robert if I need to.”

“Don’t do that, Charlie. You deserve some me time with your new sweetheart. Oh, and don’t forget to take those cranberries out of the icebox.”

“Will do. See ya when you get here, honey,” Charlie said.

When Nina got off the phone with Charlie, her handsome stranger was studying her intently.

“Sorry, that was my boss,” she said. “Just letting him know that I’d be late. Did you have something to ask me?”

“Nothing to ask you…at this moment,” Raoulf replied. “But I do have bad news.”

“And that is…?” she asked, warily.

“Your drive belt is worn out. That’s keeping your alternator from working properly, and your car battery has taken its toll as a result.”

She swallowed down the lump of dread rising in her throat. “Erm…can it be fixed?”

He nodded. “Certainly.”

She sighed. “Oh, good. This sucks since I just did the fuel injection cleaning thingy last month. Lord knows I wasn’t expecting another repair bill so soon. What did you say was wrong with it? The driving belt…?”

“Drive belt. I’ll tell you what? Since I’ve been traveling and mostly out of work, I can fix it for you for less than half the price,” he offered.

She smiled. “You could? That would be a lifesaver for me.”

“Although, I’ll need all day to do it,” he said.

She frowned. “That’s okay. Take whatever time you need. I can take a cab to work for a couple days if it takes that long. I just really need my car to do business with and I can’t front the cash for a new one right now.”

“Understood. There’s no use getting rid of a good car like this. Like I said, it’ll take me the day.”

“Do you need to have it towed to a shop or anything?”

“Naw…I fix cars and bikes all the time. If you point me in the direction of your auto parts store, I can get the tools I need and do it right here in your driveway.”

She nodded. “Works for me. How much do you think you’ll need for parts?”

After he estimated the amount that he needed for parts and labor, she eagerly handed over the cash. She couldn’t bear to be without a car these next few months. Not only did she have to meet with a few leasing managers this week to scout a new location for her catering business, she also had to get to work in the meantime. Charlie’s new pastry chef wouldn’t be able to start for another month and she didn’t want to drop the ball on him so soon and in the middle of the transition.

“I’m going to give you my phone number,” she said, jotting her cell phone number down on the back of a piece of junk mail she found in her car. “If something happens and you need anything else, give me a ring. Oh, and can I ask another favor?”

“Yes?”

“I…um…do you happen to do oil changes?”

He kept his lips in a grim line, but the corners of his eyes turned up in amusement. “I’ll throw that in for free. Are you sure you don’t need a ride to the bakery?”

“Oh, no…” she said, her eyes shifting over his motorcycle. “Not on that thing. I’d die of a heart attack before we made it out of the subdivision. I’m good.”

He chuckled deeply, his lips curling up into a sexy grin.

“Suit yourself,” he said.

“I appreciate this so much. Thank you. And oh! By the way, dude, have you got a business card or something? I know this is out of the blue and everything but I could use a little peace of mind since I just sort of met you.”

“That’s smart,” he said. From his wallet, he pulled out a business card and handed it to her.

She turned it over in her palm and read it: Raoulf. Justice Enterprises.

The phone number listed on the card was from an area code she didn’t even recognize, which made sense after his explanation that he was just traveling through.

“Raoulf, how long did you say you were in town for?”

“Not long.”

She lifted her gaze and caught his with a curious stare. “Family in the area?”

“No, like I said, I’m only passing through. I promise I’m not a bad guy or anything. I’m only looking for work and I saw that you needed help.”

She nodded. “Right.”

“Now if you don’t mind, I’ll need to head on over to that parts shop so I can be finished by the time you get home.”

As Raoulf headed back down her driveway, she couldn’t help but stare at his backside. Lord, he was built like a God. Not too bulky, but with just enough lean muscle on him. He had to be at least six feet four inches tall. When he swung his thick leg over the motorcycle to mount it, her heart skipped several beats. Something tightened deep down within her when he took one last glance at her before tugging on his helmet and pulling off.

She wanted to be there to watch him work on her car in the middle of her driveway, but she didn’t have any time to waste. She had work to do. The last time she fell for a man that appeared to be more mysterious than innocent, she ended up with nothing but heartache and trouble. Never again.

When Nina got off from work that evening, she made sure there was a cab waiting for her right in front of the bakery. Fully expecting to meet Raoulf in her driveway still working on her car, she instructed the cab driver to take her straight home. But when she got there, there was no sign of the sexy stranger. Her car, however, was seated in the driveway almost like she’d found it. It wasn’t parked in the same exact spot, which told her that he’d gotten the car started.

There was a note stuck in the jam of her door from Raoulf.

Your car is fixed. She’s pretty old, so you’ll have to take her in for maintenance more often. Have her checked thoroughly each time. I’m in town a little while longer and I’ll stop by to see if she gives you any more trouble. I left the key with your neighbor, Hailey. She says she would be in all evening. Take care, R.

Nina was relieved that her car was fixed, but she was a little disappointed that she wouldn’t see Raoulf in the flesh that evening. She had wanted to thank him personally. A non-working car was one less thing she had to worry about now. What she looked forward to no more than anything else was the moment when Raoulf would stop by again.