Mustang Sally (4 page)

“You can name your first kid after us or something.” Neil kept her from bawling with his wiseass routine. “Wonder if he’ll be bald like your Cuban dude or ugly like this guy over here and his cousin.”

Just the thought made her stomach flip.

“Don’t get overwhelmed.” Morgan hugged Sally. “Take it step by step and you’ll be surprised where you end up. I know I was. And I couldn’t be happier.”

“If those garage rats fuck this up, you come back to us.” Neil winked at her. “We’ll be more than glad to give you a wild ride.”

“You’re not going to need that option.” Devon finally managed to pry her eyelids fully open. Replete, she offered up a slow smile. “Go get ’em, Mustang Sally.”

“Can I at least make them squirm a little first?” Excitement began to course through her veins for the first time since she’d realized that Eli and Alanso getting together didn’t mean she’d be invited into their circle.

“We wouldn’t love you so much if you didn’t.” Joe smacked her ass. “Now get the hell outta here. I’ll give you a head start then let Eli know you’re on your way. He can have one of the Hot Rods call us when you get there. I have a feeling you’re going to be tied up for a while.”

“If King Cobra’s anything like you, that might not be an exaggeration.” James grinned.

Sally crossed her arms over her chest, then started jogging toward the house, her clothes and her keys. It was time to attempt to clean up the oil slick she’d left behind without falling on her ass.

Chapter Three

Eli London strode into the garage a few hours after noon. He’d spent the morning in bed with Alanso. Fresh, new, exciting and too damn good to sacrifice, the alone time had suckered him into loosening up a bit on his duties for the first time. Ever.

It felt fucking weird not to have been there for opening, but Kaige seemed to have done just fine on his own. The check sheets hanging by the door were completed, the day’s schedule was in order and the gas pumps outside had several cars in mid-fill.

The guy had more business sense in that dread-covered dome than Cobra, his technical-boss, did anyway. He was always coming up with new strategies and initiatives to grow their classic car restoration outfit. Because of him, they’d started offering records research on the history of specific cars, show preparation services and storage for winterization products like snow tires that customers might not have room for at home. All excellent moneymakers that had increased the standard of living for the Hot Rods, who shared equally in the garage’s profits.

Kaige had proven he was invaluable in the office in addition to knowing his way around a toolbox. Maybe Eli should let the Hot Rod take more responsibility. It might be time for all of them to grow a little. Especially if he was going to be spending long, sleepless nights with his lover, Alanso.

No, his
lovers
.

Mustang Sally would be home tomorrow. She had to come back to them. He kicked a tire as he passed, wishing he could stuff his boot up his own ass instead. How had he been so stupid? Risking his relationship with one of his closest friends, and potential mate, over some sloppy ass that hadn’t even done it for him? Insanity.

Not being able to make it up to her for two weeks had him on edge. Beyond reasoning.

Eli had tried to sleep in as long as possible to make the time pass more quickly. Another day without Salome in the shop would likely kill him. If it didn’t, the lack of her laughter in their apartment above the garage might. The missing colors of her nail art, auto art or just plain
art
art had bleached his world drab.

And didn’t he feel like an asshole for thinking that when he finally had the man he’d been lusting after for months? Hell, years. How fucking many blessings did he need to count before he’d be satisfied? Maybe just a couple more.

His best friend had been the only thing keeping him sane during Sally’s exile.

Then again, Alanso was worse off than Eli. Every time an engine came near, Al perked up despite the fact that he could tell Sally’s Mustang from any other ’69 in a thousand-square-mile radius with his eyes closed and while asleep. He was the best tuner around. And he’d practically rebuilt the damn thing from scratch to make it perfect for their girl.

Pathetic. Both of them.

They’d moped like naughty puppies who’d been smacked with the world’s largest newspaper.

The absence of someone important to him was cruel punishment. Sally knew how it would impact him to lose someone he cared about, even temporarily. Shit, they hadn’t been apart more than a few nights in the past decade. And then only when the crew had needed him during Dave’s emergency. The void she left behind was like a gaping wound in his chest.

Worse, he deserved every bit of the pain.

Eli couldn’t deny they’d screwed up big time. He’d known fucking Fawn in a three-way with Alanso was a mistake and yet he’d done it anyway. A perfect example of why he never intended to let either of them touch the alcohol bearing his nickname again anytime soon.

Nothing good ever came of that frat house level of intoxication.

Still, blaming the substance—or the emotional upheaval caused by the horrible news they’d received that afternoon—was an excuse. At the end of the day, he’d let his insecurities bend them over and fuck them up the ass. And not in the delicious way Alanso and he had been practicing every chance they got for the past couple of weeks. That sharing alone had made the purgatory bearable.

More than anything, Eli wished he could flog himself for hurting Sally.

The way they’d made the tough-as-nails woman run. From their family. Their home. Everything she loved and possessed in the world. She hadn’t even grabbed her sketchbook. Jesus. They had to have ripped her deep.

And as shitty a man as it made him, part of him hoped that meant she loved them too.

Or had.

If she would just come the fuck home, they could try to convince her that they’d been absolute morons. Well, she already had some clue about that. Maybe they could explain that they never intended to be that stupid again.

The office phone rang. Its shrill cry, designed to be heard above power tools, reverberated in the echo-friendly garage. Which happened to be empty. Where the fuck were all his mechanics? Did he pay them to sit around and take breaks all day?

As if he cared about that bullshit. He closed his eyes and deliberately reached for the new leaf he planned to turn over. The one about not masking his true feelings anymore. His dad was right, time was precious and wasting it with false pretenses had only earned him regrets.

Truth was, he needed a friend or six and couldn’t believe that not a single soul wandered the premises during business hours.

“Someone answer that!” he bellowed as he ripped open the office door.

Bryce lifted the receiver as Eli was halfway through shouting. The man raised a brow along with the phone and supplied the garage’s name in his best customer-service voice. Sometimes the well-spoken, well-mannered side of their garagemate surprised Eli. There was a reason they used him to talk nutjobs off the ledge and handle any disputes that might arise.

“Yes, that is Mr. London you heard yelling.” He barely suppressed a smile when Eli stomped closer, glaring at the other men—including Alanso—who ringed the huge, dark-haired dude.

What was this?

Some kind of staff meeting? Without him? Had he destroyed their faith in him as a leader?
Fuck
.

“Okay. Yes. I understand. I’ll pass along your message. Thank you.”

When Eli gave him a what-the-hell shrug, Bryce’s poise cracked a little.

“No, seriously, Mike. We appreciate the crew and your ladies being there to catch Sally when she needed a place to think. Your support means a lot. And we won’t forget it anytime soon.”

He paused.

“Yeah. I get how the Dave thing might have made you feel that way. But you don’t owe us anything. We’d do it again in a second. We’ve got your back and we appreciate you having ours.”

The urge to strangle Bryce for teasing him—not to mention whatever powwow they’d been holding sans King Cobra—warred with the need to hug the guy for saying what Eli couldn’t find words for. He slumped a little as the fight went out of him.

“You got it. He’s right here. I’ll let him know now. See you soon I hope. Say hello to Kate and everyone from us.” Bryce returned the receiver to its cradle.

Eli thought he did really well by counting to ten before snarling, “Don’t screw with my head. What did he say?”

“Mustang Sally is coming home. Early. Today. Mike estimated her arrival in two and a half hours. I’d say we’ve got about ninety minutes, if I know our girl.” The entire Hot Rods gang seemed to relax. Until he continued. “And we need to talk to you. You’re not going to fuck this up for all of us.”

“What?” Eli’s hackles rose despite his recent convictions.

“We love her. If we were still young and dumb, we’d have beat the two of you up by now.” Roman, the oldest and toughest of them all, pointed at Alanso and Eli. “I get that shit is going crazy. But it’s not cool to take that out on her. I can’t believe you chased her away, and I won’t let you do it again. None of us will. She has a place here. Same as we all do. If you’re going to drive her off you might as well kiss us all goodbye.”

Alanso got to his feet, his bald head turning a darker shade as he defended his friend, boss and mate. “Hang on. This is
my
fault. Don’t blame Cobra. It’s me you should be pissed at.”

“Don’t make excuses for me. They’re right to be angry.” Eli waved his partner off, though he appreciated the loyalty. He deserved the censure of the rest of the guys. “What happened that night was the culmination of months of terrible decisions. Sure, you talked me into Fawn. Drunk and horny, both of us made a bad call on that one. It made sense at the time. Practicing a threesome before the main event. But if I’d manned up a hell of a lot sooner, none of that would have happened. We both know that. They’re right. I fucked up. Big time.”

Eli could have heard crickets chirping in the office. It wasn’t everyday he admitted fault for a major transgression. He tried to live so that such apologies were unnecessary. This time he’d let them all down. Hard.

Carver and Holden nodded. The two most easygoing of their group were quick to forgive and forget. Roman crossed his arms over his defined chest. Now that Eli understood the contrasts between a man’s ripped body and a woman’s lushness, thanks to caressing every inch of Alanso, he wondered what all those muscles would feel like beneath his palms.

Jesus. Focus.

“It doesn’t matter who got us here,” Bryce interjected with that political air of his. “We just need to figure out where we’re headed now. And we don’t have a hell of a lot of time to do it. Mustang Sally is incoming.”

“Remember how much she loved that surprise party we threw for her birthday a few years ago?” Kaige supplied the perfect solution as usual. “Let’s
show
her how much we missed her instead of chatting about it like a bunch of old ladies. Tom’s around—he can help us cook something quick. Or we can order pizzas. And I think there are some balloons and shit left from the President’s Day sale we had. Plus, we just stocked up on beer yesterday. We can slap together one hell of a welcome-home celebration.”

“Genius. She’ll get a kick out that.” Alanso hugged Kaige and they all pretended not to see the sheen of tears in his eyes. “But what about the rest…?”

“Are you referring to the fact that every man in this room has a crush on our roommate?” Bryce spoke up again as his gaze flitted from Hot Rod to Hot Rod. Alanso perched on Eli’s desk, which Kaige sat behind in the Ferrari chair they’d crafted for their boss. Roman stood beside the spot Carver had taken on the floor, his back to the wall, his elbows propped on his knees. Holden leaned against a file cabinet with his ankles crossed, relaxed. “Or the possibility that you and Eli are going to convince her to sleep with you two bastards tonight or another time soon while we all listen in from our rooms or the shared space? If she’s half as loud as Alanso, nobody will be sleeping without earplugs then.”

“
Coño
. Both.” Alanso bit his lip. The nervous habit made Eli’s hand itch to reach across the space separating them. Maybe to brush his thumb over the abused spot. Better yet, to tug his guy close for a reassuring kiss. He’d never get over how it felt to lock lips with a man. Especially that one. It was so much more than physical, though that awed him too.

“I could be way off base here.” Eli appreciated that they all stopped talking instantly, giving him their attention. “But I don’t think it’s just Alanso and I she might be curious about. It’s hard for me to believe, but I talked to Joe about it last night. He swears she isn’t freaked out by the crew. More like he thinks she’s studying them. Watching. Wondering.”

“Mike mentioned there was an incident today.” Bryce cleared his throat then adjusted his package. A dark five o’clock shadow flexed when his jaw clenched. “He didn’t give me details. Said to ask her if we need to know. But he thinks her eyes are wide open and that she’s coming home ready to rumble.”

“So I guess what I’m asking…” Eli took a deep breath. “…is who in here is interested in Sally. Sexually. Long term. Hands up.”

Alanso’s tan fist flew into the air before Eli had even finished his question.
No shit.

Right behind him was Holden, which surprised Cobra a bit. Sure, he joked with Sally plenty, but he had never seemed especially passionate around her. Then again, maybe they’d all learned early to shutter their emotions. Even Salome had mastered the skill. Otherwise, they’d have been getting it on for years, he was sure.

Damn, how much time had they wasted?

No more.

Cobra blinked. Every guy reached for the sky. Even Carver, though the least sexually active garagemate’s hand was last to wave. They stared at each other as if the similar gesture were a pact they swore. After all the tough times they’d endured separately and healed from together, this seemed like an advancement. Why not use that bond for pleasure instead of simply surviving pain?