Everything But (42 page)

Authors: Jade C. Jamison

BOOK: Everything But

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“
Nicki
, I wanted to tell you goodbye.”

“Are you leaving
Winchester
now?”

“Yes. I’m already a day behind, but thanks to your friend, I can leave today.” He paused. “I plan to call you next time I’m in town.”

Nicki
smiled. “I’d expect nothing less.” She inhaled. “Maybe I can catch up on my sleep before you come back.”

She heard him laugh. “I’m in trouble then, because if what we did last night was you tired, I won’t be able to handle you well rested,
chica
.
”

She giggled. “You know what I mean.”

“I do.” She heard the rev of a motorcycle. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too, Carlos.”
She hung up the phone, feeling sadder than she would have expected. Of course, Carlos was meant to be one night only and he’d wound up performing an intense encore. Ah, well, he’d been enough fun to take her mind off Sean for a while, and maybe that would be enough to tide her over until she found her next boyfriend. But the poor suckers who played her BFs never stood a chance.

She arrived at Sean’s garage, glad that she’d changed out of the hot suit. It was blazing out again, and even though it was about ten degrees cooler in Sean’s garage, it was still
fucking hot.
Sean had
Godsmack
blaring out of the stereo, so she knew he was in full-on work mode.

She saw him working on a bike in the back of the shop and
goddamn.
The boy had his shirt off. How the
fuck
could she
maintain
eye contact and have a normal conversation with him if he had his shirt off? As she got closer, she saw that he had a tattoo on his lower back that she’d never seen before. She couldn’t tell what it was and wouldn’t have a chance, because he stood and turned around just as she got closer.

And the sight of his naked chest took her breath away. He was pure, sweet man, through and through, the ideal for
Nicki
. Sean might have only been three inches taller than
Nicki
, but height didn’t make the man.
Solid, lean muscle, lovingly cared for, with just a little bit of hair on the chest, dark brown nipples, and a six-pack.

Mmmm
.
That was the ticket. And to think she’d actually caressed that hunk of man there before. But she’d blown it, eight long years ago. And she was about to make a total fucking ass of herself now if she couldn’t concentrate. So she forced her silly licentious grin to become a friendly, warm smile. It was one of the hardest things she’d had to do in a while. “Well, you sure impressed the shit out of Carlos today.”

“He should be.” Why did Sean look so…
pissed?
He walked over to the stereo and turned the music down. Probably a good idea, since “Re-Align” was ending and the next song, “I Fucking Hate You,” wouldn’t make the rest of the businesses on the block very happy. As he turned back around,
Nicki
noticed it for the first time—his bike…his
obsession
…was gone.

“What the fuck, Sean? Where’s your bike?”

A puff of air escaped his open lips. “Why do you think Carlos is so goddamned impressed?”

Nicki
felt her eyes widen. “You
gave
him your bike?”

Sean gritted his teeth. “No. I sold it to him.”

“Why the hell did you do that?”

Sean turned around, walking back to the bike he’d been working on when she’d come in. “He was in a hurry.”

Nicki
thought of Carlos holding her in front of her door last night bringing her to sweet orgasm and forced back a grin. “He wasn’t in
that
big a hurry. Trust me—I would know.”

“That’s what you think.” He picked up a wrench from off the bench beside the bike. “This is his bike here, and it’s got a fucked up
tranny
. I had too many other things to do, so I couldn’t get his bike fixed as fast as he wanted.” He paused. “But he paid me my asking price for my bike, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.”

Sean knelt over again and began loosening a bolt on the bike, his back to her again.
Nicki’s
eyes started to drift to the new tattoo just above his waistband when it hit her. Sean
wanted
Carlos gone. That was the only explanation she could find. She stormed over to stand on the other side of the bike. “No, Sean, that’s what you
want
me to think. But
you
wanted him out of here.”

He stopped working the wrench but he didn’t look up. “What the hell makes you think that?”

“You just decided—as a supposed ‘convenience’—to let Carlos buy the bike you’ve been working on for three years?”

Sean stood, dropping the wrench back on the bench. He looked angry. He was wiping his hands on a rag and then his eyes locked on hers. “What the
fuck are
you doing hanging with that guy,
Nicki
?”

She felt her blood grow warm. “What’s wrong with him?”

Sean walked around the bike and got closer. “Jesus.
Seriously?
He’s in a
gang
,
Nicki
, a big one out of
New Mexico
. Do you really want to be involved in that kind of thing?”

She huffed. “He didn’t
act
like a gang member.”

Sean smiled and shook his head as he continued closing the gap between them. “What exactly does a gang member act like?”

She took a deep breath. He was getting too close, too close for her to concentrate. She could smell him…Sean always smelled like sandalwood and—well, Sean—and he was more
potent today than usual. Maybe it was the thin sheen of sweat on his chest that also made his
pecs
look so fucking gorgeous? She gulped.
Shit.
She had no idea what to say. “Not like Carlos.” Sean chuckled, stopping about a foot away from her. Enough at least so that
Nicki
could get her bearings. “Why do you care anyway?”

His eyes stayed on hers. “Because you’re my friend,
Nicki
, and I know what these guys do.” Then his eyes dropped to her lips.

She intended to call his bluff.

“Bullshit. You wouldn’t just give your bike away for that. You know I can take care of myself.”

His voice was low. “You’re right.” His eyes locked on hers again as he placed his hands on both sides of her face, drawing her into a kiss.
Nicki
thought her heart had stopped beating until she felt it thudding against her chest, as though she were a rabbit being chased by a fox. Her hands cupped his
pecs
, and she felt the damp warm sweat, felt the hard muscle respond to her hands. Tasting Sean and smelling him up close made the effects of the
venti
caramel macchiato this morning seem like drinking mother’s milk. God, he tasted good.

The kiss ended and Sean pulled back.
Nicki’s
eyes stayed closed, her hands now touching only air. She couldn’t catch her breath, and she didn’t want the moment to end. She heard Sean say, “Shit. That didn’t happen.”

Nicki’s
eyes popped open. She was speechless. “Uh, yeah, I think it did.” She had a pair of dripping wet panties to prove it.

Sean’s face was stone. “No, it didn’t.”

Nicki’s
tongue played with a molar on the left side of her mouth. She was getting ready to speak, trying to think up a good retort, when she heard a
click
click
at the other end of the garage. Sean looked in
Nicki’s
eyes again, sending her some coded message, something she couldn’t quite register, and then his eyes darted back to his visitor. Then
Nicki
figured it out.

She turned around for confirmation and saw Kayla, wearing tight jeans and a yellow halter top, her tiny B-cup failing to fill its form. Kayla’s long red hair bounced as she clicked toward Sean, extending a brown paper bag.
“Lunch.”

Sean smiled at her.
“Thanks, babe.”

Nicki
tried not to puke. Sean’s arms wrapped around Kayla’s waist as Kayla’s arms wound around his neck.
Nicki
saw Kayla’s white thong string above her jeans, accenting her tramp stamp. God, Kayla was such a stereotype.
Nicki
couldn’t figure out what Sean saw in the girl. But she was nice enough, more than she could say about some of the women Sean had dated in the past. Kayla turned around, long enough that
Nicki
had wiped the disgusted look off her face.
“Hi,
Nicki
.”

“Hey, Kayla.
How’ve you been?”
Did you taste my lips on your boyfriend?
Oh, that was cruel, even for
Nicki
. Thank goodness she didn’t say it out loud.
Nicki
made sure to leave just as Sean was biting into the sandwich. There was no way they could resume their conversation now. It would just have to wait.

What readers are saying about the
Nicki
Sosebee
series:

Funnychick
, 5-star review on Amazon for
Innocent Bystander
: “
I love
love
love
Nicki
Sosebee
!!!

Sara, 5-star review on Amazon for
No Place to Hide
: “the sex scenes are way fun!”

Gillian, 4-star review on Amazon for
Got the Life
: “I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the others in the series
…
”

Anonymous, 5-star review on Barnes & Noble for
Got the Life
: “YOU HAVE TO GET THIS BOOK! IT IS AWESOME!”

Kristie78, 5-star review on Amazon for
Nicki
Sosebee
Foursome
: “
LOVE
Nicki
!
…
I have fallen in love with the way she has written these books
…
”

Jennifer B., 5-star review on Amazon for
Got the Life
: “
I love the whole series of
Nicki
Sosebee
novels Jade C. Jamison
…
really knows how to capture the imagination of the reader and keep them coming back for more
Nicki
Sosebee
.”

Manda
, 5-star review on Amazon for
Innocent Bystander
: “
Loved loved
loved
this book
!
...
I love Jade's
writing….
I cannot wait to see
what is next in store for
Nicki
.”