A Restored Man (13 page)

But I'd rather work with you.

Ty squeezed the stress ball and watched Cole work with the mechanics in the bay—Cole's focus on his work was intense, his movements efficient and confident. Ty tried to busy himself in his office, but it was pointless. He thought the weekend would give him the chance to recharge, to detach the imaginary rope pulling him toward Cole.

He was wrong. Very, very wrong.

But I'd rather work with you.

He squeezed the stress ball tighter.

Cole had a wicked sense of humor and quick comebacks ready for any of Ty's comments, especially those about his height. Cole wasn't that much shorter than Ty at all. Nowhere near as short as the teasing merited. In fact, he was the perfect height. A slight tip of his head and Cole's full, kissable lips would be right there, waiting for him.

Ty's jaw muscles clenched as he continued to squeeze the stress ball harder.

But I'd rather work with you.

Cole's shoulders were broad—wider than Ty's own—and tapered down to a narrow waist and a round ass that looked perfect even in the crappy, thick cotton work pants. His arms would flex when lifting an engine part and showcase each ripped, sculpted muscle of his thick biceps.

He wanted to see if, in fact, Cole's hair was as dark as charcoal. He wanted to run his hand through it to know if it was thick and coarse, or soft and silky.

He squeezed the ball so tight his nails dug into his palm.

Even though the physical was as perfect as he could have imagined, his thoughts always returned to their banter. He loved the teasing, craved the jokes and the laughter that always erupted between them. Ty closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

That laugh.

Cole's laugh was as big as his smile and personality. And that raised eyebrow with half smile combination did Ty in every time. Somehow, everything else faded around him when Cole was near. That smug grin would make him forget about his worries, his insecurities, and his doubts. The glare of those mismatched eyes challenged him to take a chance, to have no fear, to forget those stupid walls he had erected around himself.

There was something genuine—very
what you see is what you get
—that Ty had missed for far too long with everyone else. He knew better than to want more, especially with someone who was so honest he wouldn't be able to disguise his true feelings—someone who wouldn't be shy about saying just how repulsive it was to touch his marred skin.

But I'd rather work with you.

Ty threw the stress ball across the room with enough force to have it ricochet off one wall then the other. He sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair. He was stronger than this, had always been until…the accident. Why the hell had he been spared? So that he could live each day avoiding a mirror? So that when he tried to move on again in life, he'd feel that tug on his side or that pain in a limb holding him back? He hated the pity he saw in the eyes of everyone he had known from before and how the chatter would cease and the whispers begin when he'd enter a room.

He hated it.

Ty heard the melody he craved echoing in the shop. He looked over and saw Cole laughing with two other techs. Cole's infectious smile traveled to the others like a wave rippling in a sports crowd as they nudged him, obviously ribbing him with some joke in retaliation. Ty smiled and let that familiar sound filter through his body, brightening some of the darkness that pained him. He gasped for breath when his throat tightened with emotion. He shook his head as a strangled laugh escaped. How could one man's laugh make his heart beat so fast? How could one sound spark life back into his soul?

He blew out another heavy breath. One thing his parents had drilled into him—
if you want something bad enough, you'll fight to get it
. But somehow, he'd lost his will to fight along the way. He wanted Cole's joy to intoxicate him. Even if he could only have his laugh and jokes at the shop. It would have to be enough. He'd settle for what he could get.

He grabbed his clipboard and exited his office to tackle his weekly service appointments.

* * * * *

Cole laughed and tried to focus on his work, but his mind kept straying back to the dark-haired man sitting in his office. He had made every effort to be the model employee, working his ass off at whatever task was at hand. The time with Ty had been an exercise in hard work and incredible self-control. He knew better than to push, so he decided to linger around Jeff, hoping the older man would pity him and pull him into his recent project. He didn't have a clue if he'd work with Ty today or not, but after last week's odd shift in their dynamics, he figured it was best to be safe. He wasn't a gambler by nature. He couldn't risk losing the opportunity to be this close to Ty every day.

Every. Painful. Yet. Glorious. Day. God, he loved teasing Ty just to hear his laugh or see that glimmer of imminent banter in his eye. Cole wasn't the type of guy to wallow in something that kept him so frustrated. Trim the fat and move on. Why revel in something that would compound the torture? It wasn't worth it.

But Ty
was
worth it. Ty was the type of guy who could have anything and anyone he wanted. He kept it undercover, but there was a quiet confidence there that always lingered between them. But more than his steady poise in his words and actions, there was a light that would shine from Ty that beckoned Cole like the brightest fucking xenon light he had ever seen, blinding him to everything else. He wanted to be close, to soak and bathe in that aura every chance he had, hoping to have some of that spirit Ty emitted stick to him like superglue.

And his smile. That smile and low rumble-laugh sent chills throughout Cole's body every time.

Cole turned when he heard the office door open.

Stacie immediately click-clacked over to Ty with papers.

He held back a chuckle. How that woman always managed to zero in on him was eerie. He wondered if he could get away with frisking Ty to check for a LoJack. They chatted, swapped papers, did the signature thing, then separated. The man signed more papers on a daily basis than those needed to close on a mortgage.

Cole tightened the bolt on the engine as he continued to look over his shoulder, watching Ty.

"If you tighten that any more, you're going to break the head," Jeff whispered.

Cole turned to the older man and squinted. "I'm making sure it's in there tight."

"Uh huh," Jeff mumbled.

"Can I steal Cole from you?" Ty asked.

Cole rounded quickly, surprised by Ty standing directly behind him. "Damn, man. We're going to have to put a bell on you so you can't sneak up on us," he said, shaking his head, trying to dispel the shock.

"Please take him. He's tightening the bolts so much I'm not going to be able to loosen them up on my own," Jeff said.

Cole glared at the older man. "You can't have loose bolts or they'll cause problems."

Jeff neared Cole's face and returned the glare. "And you can't have bolts too tight or you'll mess up the threading."

They were facing off. Cole never blinked first. He stared down Jeff but the old man was just as persistent.

Cole's entire body jerked when Ty's hand landed on his back. Damn it, he flinched first—but it was so worth it to have Ty touch him.

"C'mon," Ty said in a quiet tone.

"You flinched first, I win," Jeff said as they walked away.

Cole turned and glared with an exaggerated sneer. Jeff stared back and waggled his eyebrows.
Fucker
. He swung back over to Ty as they walked to the restoration bay. "So what are we working on today?"

"You might get bored working with me, but I have some service calls I need to work on. It can get a bit monotonous after a few repairs."

"I thought those were the service bays," Cole said, thumbing over his shoulder.

"They're for the traditional shop work my techs do on a daily basis. These are
my
service calls. Side project I'm doing and there's no money in it for the guys so I don't really want to burden them. I figured we could work on them and, in between, we could tinker with the Yenko if you want or wrap up the last few details on the Drayton rig. I worked on most of it over the weekend but there are still a few things to finish up."

Cole stopped walking. "You'd let me work on the Yenko with you?"

Ty nodded. "Sure, why not. I've seen how picky you are with your work."

"So it's my reward for helping you with your service calls?"

Ty chuckled. "Do you do tricks too?"

Cole raised an eyebrow and half smiled. "Oh, I've got a lot of tricks I can show you." He smiled at the rush of color to Ty's cheeks, loving the way Ty always reacted to his teasing.

"You do realize you're an HR nightmare," Ty said, looking at Cole with that glimmer in his eye.

Cole's pulse raced. "HR?"

"Human Resources. Sexual harassment, all that," Ty said, trying to look serious and indifferent, but failing miserably.

Cole belly-laughed so loud it echoed in the shop. He then stilled, straightened his shoulders, and mocked a serious tone. "I could, of course, be completely professional and proper with you, Mr. Calloway, if that is your preference," he said, mimicking Matt's formal tone.

Ty turned to face him, the mock seriousness transitioning into something more genuine. "And I, of course," he said, reciprocating Cole's tone, "would be deeply disappointed."

He looked up into those brown eyes and smiled. "My army of superheroes and I would be as well." He bit back a smile and bowed.

Ty's low rumble-laugh shot straight to Cole's dick.

Cole straightened. "Admit it, you like me."

Ty raised his hand and put his thumb and index fingertips together with only a sliver of a gap between them. "Maybe a little bit."

Cole looked at Ty's fingers then glanced back at him with a huge grin on his face. "It's a start," he said before walking off to the two cars parked in the bay. "So what are we doing with these?"

Ty finally met him by the open hood of the car. "We're changing out the fuel pump on one and the brakes on the other."

Cole scratched his head through his beanie. "Um, how is this a side project? If it's a service thing, why can't one of the guys help?"

Ty hesitated and looked away, as if thinking carefully about what he wanted to say.

"You need me to not ask questions, right?"

Ty glanced back at him, his shoulders relaxing. "Yes. Please."

Cole watched a mix of emotions wash over Ty. He sensed something was off but didn't want to push. "Okay. Two questions and I won't ask any more. Are the parts legal and is this important to you?"

Ty nodded and braced his hands on his waist. "I'm buying the parts from one of my reputable vendors so they're legit. And yes, this is very important to me."

Enough said. Cole nodded and rubbed his hands. "Okay. Which one am I working on?"

Ty cocked his head then smiled. "Pick one."

Ty's wince of pain last week still lingered in Cole's mind. He looked at the work order to see which required heavy lifting or more work. Changing out the full brake system was more involved than changing the fuel pump on these particular models. "I'll take the blue one," Cole said, grabbing one of the shop creepers and air wrenches.

"Thanks," Ty said quietly.

Cole looked over his shoulder. "If you need me, I'm yours."

Ty smiled wider. "Careful what you promise."

Cole took a deep breath and tried to control the shiver that traveled his body. Fucking Ty and his teasing were causing his balls to turn blue enough to match the car.

Ty walked over to the back wall and pressed the button, turning the knob to start up the music. "Is this one good?"

"It's perfect." Cole beamed. "By the way?"

"Yeah?"

"I won't ever get bored working with you."

Ty's cheeks heated. He gave Cole one of his shy smiles before turning away to start work on the new ticket.

Cole grinned. He could get used to this so easily.

* * * * *

Ty removed the fuel pump and craned his neck to steal a glance at Cole, who was intently focused on replacing the caliper on the car. It was selfish of him, but he wanted to hear Cole's voice and would give just about anything right now to hear that laugh of his. "So, what sparked your love of cars?"

Cole finished mounting the new caliper and looked up. "My older brother, Marco. He used to have this black '68 Shelby Mustang GT500-KR. He babied that thing. He'd let me help whenever he did any work on her and he'd take me to tons of car shows and cruise-ins. What about you?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Ty's mouth with the memory. "My dad. He used to bring me to the shop when I was kid. I remember looking up and seeing a car on a lift and thinking it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I think I knew right away I wanted to do something with cars."

"Me, too," Cole said, wiping his hands on the shop towel. "I just can't figure out at what point I transitioned from wanting to work on cars to boosting them," he finished with a laugh. "I think I had a need for speed."

Ty closed his eyes and smiled, reveling in the echo of Cole's laughter. He looked over and saw Cole shaking head with a lingering smile still on his face. "When did you steal your first car?"

Cole looked up, a glint of mischief in his eye. "A little over two years ago, I stole a car and got caught."

Ty chuckled. "I know that wasn't your first boost."

"Well, according to my record, it was."

"I'm not going to tell Aidan. I just want to know," Ty said, knowing his expression bordered on a pout.

Cole looked up at the wall clock. "C'mon, we should take a break and grab lunch before Stacie triggers her LoJack on your ass." He stood and walked over to Ty, offering a hand to help him stand.

Ty grabbed Cole's warm, strong hand and stood, finally straightening only inches away from that intense glare. He swallowed heavily as a mixture of something fresh and clean filled his senses.
Cole
.