A Restored Man (28 page)

"That wasn't funny."

"Jealous?"

"No," Ty said, his pointed glare steadily targeted at Cole.

Note to self, make sure Ty always gets more than just a few hours of sleep each night
. "You're a terrible liar. You should try a little harder if you actually expect to pull it off."

Ty's steady glare didn't falter.

"You said
fuck
," Cole teased.

"So? You say that a lot."

"But
you
never do. You said it a few moments ago and twice yesterday. Personally, I like a good fuck," Cole drawled, slowly walking toward Ty.

Ty looked away and dropped the file on his desk.

Cole reached out and grabbed Ty's chin, turning his head to face Cole. He smiled when he saw the flush of embarrassment that always seemed to color Ty's cheeks when he cursed. "It looks good on you." He couldn't help but wonder if Ty's face would flush just as much during the act as it did when he said the word.

Ty looked at Cole, his gaze steady and his body stock-still other than the slight heave of his chest with each breath. A shiver passed through Cole at the unspoken challenge. Cole released Ty's chin and stepped between his legs. He grabbed Ty by the waist and pulled him flush against his body, sending papers fluttering off the desk and onto the floor.

"We shouldn't. Someone might walk in," Ty said, his gaze slowly traveling to Cole's mouth.

Cole's heart pounded in anticipation. Fucking Ty and his subtle shyness was going to be his end. He ran the tip of his tongue along his own lips, teasingly. He sucked in his lower lip and bit down as he slowly released his lip, showing Ty exactly what he wanted to do to him. "I guess it's a good thing I locked the door then," he said, pulling the T-shirt out of Ty's jeans. "What do you want, Ty?"

Ty reached behind Cole's neck with a groan and pulled him in for a kiss, diving into Cole's mouth aggressively, sucking and biting his lip just as Cole had teased seconds before. He yanked off Cole's beanie and raked his fingers through the thick, black hair, pulling and guiding Cole's head to deepen the kiss.

Cole's heart slammed against his chest as he desperately unbuttoned Ty's jeans, needing some friction to ease the tension vibrating throughout his body. He ignored the sting of pain when the grip in his hair tightened so hard he thought Ty would pull strands out.

Who was he kidding? He'd just cover it with a beanie anyway.

Cole reached out and held the back of Ty's head, angling him so he could plunder his mouth with equal fervor. He couldn't get enough of Ty's taste, his controlled desire, or every barely-there subtle sound of need that escaped. He slid his tongue along Ty's and leaned over him, planting his hand on the desk for balance.

Cole pulled Ty flush against his body with a growl, craving the contact he had been torturously denied after so much teasing. Desire coursed through Cole's veins, the need almost too strong to control. He reached into the front of Ty's jeans and wrapped his hand around Ty's rock hard dick.

"Oh God," Ty said with a moan, writhing under his hold, gripping Cole's broad shoulders for balance.

"I'll wait on everything else until you're ready, but please, Ty, let me have this." Cole knew he sounded desperate, but he didn't care.

Ty arched his body into Cole's touch, silently granting him permission.

Cole gripped Ty behind the neck and under his ass, steering him to the couch, pushing him down onto the soft fabric. Guided by something primitive within, he grabbed Ty's face and branded him with a possessive, claiming kiss. He broke from the kiss then yanked Ty's T-shirt over his head and pulled his jeans farther down. His heart pounded madly when he saw Ty's body, the strain in his muscles and the flex in his biceps. He closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing. He fought the urge to grab and pull, hoping and praying to slow the pace enough to enjoy a few minutes with Ty rather than mere seconds.

Cole dipped his head and wrapped his lips around Ty's shaft in one swift move, savoring the instant burst of flavor that hit his tongue. Ty's body arched off the couch and his fingers scraped Cole's scalp. Cole growled and unbuttoned his own pants, releasing his imprisoned hard-on. He gripped his hard shaft and squeezed tightly, trying to stave off the orgasm waiting to burst free.

Ty slowly ran his fingers through Cole's dark strands, twisting and tugging the hair in his hands. Cole closed his eyes with a moan, reveling in the heat and flavor in his mouth and each pull and scrape against his scalp. His heart beat so loudly he couldn't hear anything but the thumping echo in his ears and the sound of each breath Ty pushed in and out through his nose. Ty whimpered and babbled, releasing Cole's hair and grasping the cushions at his side. He threw his head back against the couch, gritting his teeth, forcing each breath in and out in a hard hiss.

"C-C-Cole, I'm—"

Cole's hands moved in a rapid rhythm, no longer able to control the raw need that drove him. Ty's breath came in quick, short gasps until he finally bit back a yell and arched his body, filling Cole's mouth with his release.

Cole slid up Ty's body a few moments later, kissing a trail along the way.

Ty lay still with his eyes closed, his chest still heaving as he tried to settle his breathing. "Did you—"

"Yeah, your T-shirt didn't survive. Sorry about that," Cole said, nuzzling the side of Ty's neck.

Ty reached over and slid his fingers through Cole's hair. "Fuck the T-shirt," he said, chuckling.

Cole smiled at the flush of color to Ty's cheeks. "See? I was right. It does look good on you."

"
You
look good on me."

"Damn right I do," Cole said, planting a few open-mouth kisses at the base of Ty's neck.

Ty stretched his neck and moaned. "I think I should come to work in a bad mood more often."

"I'm not a fan of Temperamental Ty. I prefer you like this. All soft and bendy." Cole sighed when he heard Ty's quiet laugh.

"Now I know what to do to keep you quiet," Ty said.

"Just keep my mouth busy."

Ty cupped Cole's face, drawing his attention. "You were right. I was jealous earlier."

"I know, but you have nothing to worry about." Cole placed a soft kiss on Ty's lips. He ran his fingers up and down Ty's torso, smiling as the muscles twitched under his touch. "You stuttered."

Ty sighed. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know—"

Cole shifted and rested his weight on his forearm, leaning over Ty. "I like knowing I fuck with your head enough to make you stutter.
I
want to be the only reason you stutter."

Ty chuckled. "You're twisted."

"I know. And you seem to like twisted."

Ty reached up and ran his fingers through Cole's hair. "I do."

Cole leaned into the caress, loosening the strands Ty had just brushed back moments before. He blew up a harsh breath to try to get the hair out of his eyes. "I hate this shit. I swear it has a mind of its own."

Ty's laugh rumbled against Cole's torso. "I like your hair," he said in a trance, running his fingers repeatedly through Cole's hair. "I don't think I've ever seen hair this dark before."

"Dark like charcoal," Cole said, nuzzling Ty. "We should get up."

Ty sighed. "I know. Besides, I owe you a conversation."

"Thanks for not trying to ignore the elephant in the room."

Ty reached for Cole's hand and entwined their fingers. "I know I'm stubborn, probably more than Aidan."

"Uh huh."

Ty half smiled. "But I'll promise to try. If you ever feel as if I'm shutting you out again, call me on it please. Even if I get mad. I don't care. I just don't want to risk losing you. I can deal with all the other stuff going on if I know you're around. You make me forget about all the other crap."

"I'm happy to provide the entertainment in your life. I offer discounted shows on Tuesday and Thursday. Meals included on Saturdays."

Ty chuckled. "And morning specials."

Cole leaned in and kissed Ty. "That's a 24/7 special. You can have that anytime you want," he said, licking the shell of Ty's ear. "C'mon, let's get up and get this talk over with. I'm not thrilled about having a discussion regarding Mr. Asshole knowing that fucker makes you stutter." He extended his hand to Ty.

Ty took his hand and stood.

Cole pulled up his pants and grabbed the T-shirt from the floor and handed it to Ty. "You might want to burn that," Cole said. "I don't think it can be salvaged."

Ty smiled and took the T-shirt, folding it carefully as if it were a delicate material. "I'm not burning it."

Cole grinned. "I love that you're twisted. I don't even want to know what you're going to do with that."

Ty smiled and retreated to the neighboring room. Cole straightened his clothing while he heard Ty opening and closing drawers. Ty emerged from the room a few moments later wearing his work coveralls.

Cole walked over and unlocked the office door, trying to avoid the click of the lock movement. No need letting the guys knows the door had been locked at all. He grabbed his beanie and began combing his hair with his fingers.

"Do you mind leaving it off for a while?" Ty asked, pointing to the beanie in Cole's hand.

A smile tugged at his lips as he placed the knit hat on the desk and ran his fingers through his hair. He combed the front to a side part and tried to flatten the sides behind his ears as much as possible. He shoved his hands in his pockets so he'd stop messing with it and waited for Ty to take the lead.

Ty sat in his office chair and exhaled heavily. Knowing him, he was probably overthinking.

Cole plopped himself in the chair in front of Ty's desk. "Okay, so tell me, what's going on? Why was Mr. Asshole such a prick yesterday?"

Ty crossed his arms on his desk and looked in Cole's direction, but his focus was clearly elsewhere. "It's complicated."

"It's never easy. Give me the highlights," Cole said, leaning back in the chair and propping a booted foot over his knee.

Ty sighed. "Robert used to work with my dad. He helped run the shop's day-to-day stuff for years. I guess he got a little greedy and started doing some shady business transactions."

Cole cocked his head. "How shady?"

"Bad parts for our service calls. I didn't even know he was doing it. I handled the restorations and custom work but I didn't really manage the service department of the shop. My dad and Robert handled the traditional inventory and tickets."

"I'm assuming counterfeit parts. Right? How bad is the quality?" Cole asked, crossing his arms.

Ty exhaled heavily. "Horrible. Substandard for the industry and well beyond inferior to what
Calloway's
reputation promises. The only saving grace is that many of our clients don't put heavy usage on their cars. Otherwise, we'd have some serious issues. Some of the parts can't even sustain the engine heat level requirements. You've seen how bad some of the parts are with the service tickets we've been working on. Turns out the battery that exploded
was
part of the list. I hadn't caught it because it was on a follow-up ticket, so I had it listed separately."

"How did you find out about the parts?"

Ty laughed. "The irony. Robert started filtering so much work through the shop, he needed an assistant to help him with things after my dad died. So he hired Stacie."

Cole raised his eyebrows. "
He
hired Stacie?"

Ty nodded. "Almost immediately, she picked up on something not being right. Rather than go to him, she came to see me at the hospital."

Cole blew out a whistle. "I've got mad respect for her now. So then what happened?"

"We chatted and I asked her to make sure there were copies of everything just in case Robert picked up on her figuring things out. She kept tabs on how the work was being presented with the techs and the process. Once she had all the paperwork and I was healed up enough to come in and run things, I fired Robert."

"Were your current guys on staff at the time?" Cole asked, running his fingers through the front of his hair to brush the loose strands out of his face.

Ty leaned forward on the desk. "I know where you're headed but there was no way to know about the parts. They either came in OEM packaging or Robert would lay out the parts for each ticket. He was real slick about it from what Stacie found out. Made it look as if he was prepping the service for the techs to move things along. The guys had no idea or they would have balked."

"How long was this going on?" Cole asked, blowing the wayward hair out of his eye.

Ty fidgeted with the papers on his desk. "As far as we can tell, it started a little over a year before my dad died. In total, we're guessing two years. I offered some of my clients a free inspection service visit so I could get a handle of when it started. That's how I pinpointed the window of time. I'm bringing them in and redoing the service ticket and eating the costs."

Cole scowled. "That's expensive and going to take forever if you're doing it on your own."

"Jeff's the only tech who knows what's going on, and he's fighting me on this because he wants to help. I need him to oversee the guys and work on the service tickets that are bringing in the money to keep the revenue coming in. I can take the financial hit with the redos, that's not the problem. I won't run the risk of one of my customers having a brake line crap out on them or something else going wrong that's going to put their life in danger," Ty said, rubbing his eyes.

Cole gripped the armrests and frowned. Two years' worth of service tickets was a nightmare. "How many tickets are we talking about here?"

Ty reached into a file on his desk and pulled out a few sheets. "I've got them ordered by critical part and odometer reading. I figured that would be an indicator of how heavily they use the car and the potential risk factor," he said, handing over the papers.

Cole looked them over and flipped to the next page. He looked up at Ty with concern. "If you do one car a day from now until the end of this list without a break, it'll take you at least a year. There's no way you can do this on your own."

Ty smiled weakly. "That's why you've been helping me. You get a fixed salary for working here as part of the program so I can move you around different projects. I can't do the same to the other techs who need the hours on certain tasks to maintain their certification."