Seeking Vengeance: Callaghan Brothers, Book 4 (11 page)

It was nearly the end of the first week when it happened.  Sean had asked the guys to come in a little early to get their thoughts on her.  When Nicki pulled in a good half hour before her shift was supposed to start, she plowed right into the back of Sean’s Shelby.

* * *

T
he damage to the muscle car was minimal – she’d been all but stopped when the front tire of her bike made contact with the bumper - but Nicki had never been more embarrassed in her life.  While the others gaped in shock, Nick hung his head.  Sean glared at her, but said nothing as she sputtered apologies and promised to fix everything.

The reason for the accident, unfortunately, was all too obvious.  Sean had been talking to the others, his form-fitting thermal molding to his perfect back, his arms extended upward, showcasing his magnificent physique as he grasped the lift above.  Nicki had been so distracted by the sight of the finely chiseled back and arms, not to mention the perfect fit of those well-worn jeans around his narrow hips and powerful legs that she neglected to fully engage the brakes in time.

The situation only got worse later that morning, when a couple of the guys mysteriously disappeared, only to return dressed head to toe in coveralls complete with hats, boots, shades, and gloves, snickering as they struck poses in and around the bays.  Nicki made a point not to look at any of them.  When she glanced at Sean, who had wisely remained in the office all morning, he only shook his head.

Nicki strongly believed the old adage that turnabout was fair play.  So she left for lunch and returned in high heels, skin-tight leather pants, and a push-up cami that sat several inches above her waistline to showcase the spiral tat and the cascading, glittering navel ring. 

“That’s enough,” Sean said, grabbing her by her upper arm and escorting her into his office after the third car was damaged and one of his guys had to go to the emergency room for a crushed hand when Dave inadvertently closed the hood of an SUV on it.  He angrily tossed her a set of coveralls. 

“For Christ’s sake put these on.  You made your point.  Take the rest of the day off.”

Anger filled her eyes as she yanked the coveralls over her legs and slid her arms into the sleeves.  “You didn’t tell any of
them
to go home early,” she bit out through clenched teeth, tilting her head toward the work area.

“They didn’t distract you enough to make you hurt yourself,” he growled.  “I’m running a business here, not a goddamn peep show.  Save it for
Angels
, sweetheart.”

The flush rose in her face, across her neck, down through her chest.  She tilted her chin defiantly and set her shoulders back.

* * *

I
n response Sean rose to his full height and looked down at her.  God, she was hot, hands on hips, glaring up at him.  From this angle he could just about see the dark rosy edges of her nipples peeking out of the push-up through the unzipped coveralls.  Her chest was heaving in outrage.

Something in him snapped.  A second later his hands were around her upper arms, yanking her against him.  His mouth descended upon hers, teasing it open with the force of his tongue, taking instant and total possession of her mouth. 

The exquisite taste of her exploded in his mouth and made him groan as he demanded more.  After the initial shock, he felt her open to him, felt her tongue sweeping against his, felt her hands splayed against his chest, nails curling into his flesh like claws through his shirt.  The sensations overwhelmed him.  He palmed her ass and pulled her up against him, grinding his iron-hard cock right where it wanted to be.  Colors burst behind his eyes as a raw, primal need bubbled up inside of him, consuming him, demanding that he bend her over the desk and take her right there.

He felt her body tense against his, felt her ass clench in his large hands.  The softest cry left her lips and went right into his seconds before her body relaxed.  He knew that sound, knew that look on her face.  He’d made her come again.

Alarm bells rang in his head.  It took him awhile to realize that the sound was the repeating honking and hooting from within the bays as the men watched through the wall of glass separating them from the office.  Except for Nick.  Nick looked like he wanted to kill him.

Somehow Sean managed to break away and look down.  Nicki seemed just as taken aback as he was, but before long the shock in her eyes changed to fear.  Real fear.

“Get the fuck out of here,” he growled, pushing himself back.  His voice was rough; it was a struggle not to grab her, pull her back, and finish what he started. 

Nicki didn’t hesitate.  She grabbed her jacket and ran for the door, nearly plowing over a customer in the process. 

Seconds later he heard the sweet purr of her homemade Ducati as she tore from the garage like a bullet. 

Minutes later he heard the angry wail of police sirens, even as he registered Nick cursing up a storm and mounting his own bike in pursuit.

* * *

N
icki crouched low and opened up the throttle, moving so fast that everything around her became a blur.  She gave herself over to it, relaxing, letting her natural instincts take over.  If she thought about it too much, she would wreck the bike, kill herself, and probably take out several innocents in the process.

It was only when she had exhausted herself, when her legs and arms were numb from the biting cold and her death-clutch on the machine, that she finally slowed and began to look for a place to pull over.  She found one near the top of the mountain, an old hunter’s trail by the looks of it.  She coasted to a stop, then dismounted, walking the bike back far enough that it couldn’t be seen from the road.

What the hell had happened?  Nicki had never lost control like that.  From the moment he touched her, she was lost, unable to stop what her rational mind knew was total insanity.  He could have done anything, and she would have been powerless.  What made him stop, she didn’t know.  But she was glad at least one of them had been able to.

It was just one kiss.  One totally claiming, life-altering kiss from the only man in this world who could shatter her soul.  But it had been enough to know that she could never, ever let it happen again.  She needed to finish up what she came here for and get the hell out.

* * *

S
ean sat alone at the far end of the bar.  He tossed back the shot and relished the burn, replaying the event in his head.  What the fuck had happened?  He had never felt such a sudden, vehement loss of control.  He likened it to cruising along on his Harley, sun shining, road clear, wind in his hair, perfectly content, and getting instantly and cripplingly blindsided by a Mack truck. 

She was just a woman.  A
woman
. Barely more than a girl, really.  His lead mechanic’s sister, for Christ’s sake.  So what if she was the hottest, sexiest, softest, best looking-tasting-smelling female he’d ever come across in his life?

He ran his hand through his hair, stopping after the third or fourth time when he realized what he was doing.  It was a gesture he’d seen his brothers adopt one by one.  Jake, the weekend Taryn showed up at his Pub.  Ian, the night Lexi returned to Pine Ridge.  And Michael, the day after he’d first driven Maggie home.  He’d abused them mercilessly about it, but each of them had simply smiled knowingly, as if being driven to such distraction was a badge of honor.  As if
they
were the lucky ones.  

The implications hit him solidly and without warning. 
Oh, fuck.

“Did you see that?” Jake smirked, nudging Ian.  Ian’s grin was far too wide and knowing.  “Yep, sure did.”

“Fuck you,” Sean replied miserably. 

“Sean’s found his woman.  Welcome to the club, brother.”  Jake said with a grin.

Sean decided to repeat the sentiment, since they obviously hadn’t heard him the first time.  “
Fuck.  You.
”

“Oh, yeah,” Ian laughed.  “He’s got it bad.”

“I do not need this shit from you dickheads right now,” he growled, getting up from the corner barstool where he had parked himself two hours ago.  Jake and Ian literally howled with laughter.  Sean’s scowl deepened considerably.

“What’s so funny?” Taryn asked, walking in with Riley.  The little girl immediately put her hands out to Sean, whose face softened instantly at the sight of his little niece.

“Unk Shon!” she squealed in delight as he lifted her up above his head, bringing her back down to rain sloppy kisses on his cheek.  It still amazed him how she always managed to tell him and Shane apart when most adults had difficulty.

“Sean’s doing the hair thing,” Ian informed Taryn gleefully.  Sean ignored him and blew raspberries into his little niece’s belly, making her giggle.

“The hair thing?” Taryn asked, bemused.

As one, Jake and Ian turned and demonstrated the move in perfect synchronization, causing a wide grin to spread across Taryn’s face.  “Sean fuair a chroí,” Jake said, laughing. 
Sean found his heart.

“That’s awesome!” she said.  “When do we get to meet her?”

The laughter followed him as he handed Riley back to her mother with a scowl and promptly left the Pub.

B
y Saturday morning, Sean still had no idea what he was going to do.  He watched her from the shadows of his office as she slid beneath another vehicle.  She hadn’t spoken a single word to him – or to anyone else that he could tell - since arriving at dawn.  Judging by the dark circles beneath her eyes, she hadn’t slept much either. 

That made two of them.

Nicki had proven herself more than worthy of the job.  Nick hadn’t been exaggerating when he said his sister was great with engines.  She was an excellent mechanic.  And a damn hard worker, too.  For the most part she kept her head down, her mouth shut, and her hands busy, which was more than he could say for some of the others.

She was a distraction though, no question about that.  Sean had never realized how much time a mechanic spent bent over or on his back before.  It was impossible to look out into the bays and not see at least one of the men watching her.  Hell, it was hard for
him
to tear his eyes away from her.  It didn’t help that with each glance his mind and body conspired together and imagined all the things he could be doing to her.  And he swore that if she bent over that low-riding sedan one more time he was going to send everyone home, shut the bays, and mount her right then and there.  The woman threatened his control like nothing ever had.

Similar thoughts had probably occurred to his mechanics as well, and that filled him with a possessive need that bordered on frightening.  For the few hours Nicki spent there each day, testosterone permeated the air.  She might be getting through jobs quickly, but the others seemed to accomplish very little until after she left.  Even Nick was feeling the pressure, spending more time warning off the wolves and waving big heavy wrenches around threateningly.

Sean fuair a chroí.
  The words echoed in his head.  He still found himself trying to deny it, but it was becoming increasingly difficult, especially when every fiber of his being hummed pleasantly with the thought that Nicki was his, meant for him and him alone.  Just the memory of her body against him had his skin burning, and that had been through several layers of clothing.  What would happen once he had her naked beneath him?

He wanted her so badly it actually hurt, a physical pain that manifested itself both inside and out.  That, more than anything else, was the determining factor in his acceptance of who and what she was to him.  It was strange, he thought, how surrendering to that realization almost felt like a relief.

Not so with Nicki.  She seemed to have no trouble whatsoever completely ignoring him and everyone else.  Given the amount of work she was going through, her mind was just as focused and functional as ever.  After the little stunt he’d pulled yesterday in his office, he’d be lucky if she willingly got within three feet of him again. 

And
that
was simply unacceptable.

Shaking his head, Sean took a deep breath and tried to sort it all out.  To achieve an objective, you had to have a clear set of goals and parameters.

The ultimate objective:  to ingrain himself in every cell of the woman’s mind, body, and soul until he was her world.  That was going to take some work, so he focused on shorter term goals, the first of which was to have Nicki around him as much as possible.  That was priority one.  She was a hell of a mechanic, a good worker, and was bringing in work.  Never mind the fact that being in close physical proximity actually soothed the baser parts of him (sexual desire excluded); it simply made good business sense to keep her on board.

On the negative side, the battle to control his possessive urges was reaching critical levels.  More than once he’d had to stop himself from putting one of his men through the wall for something he’d said or done, not to mention that he’d almost done the same to a couple of customers who opted to hang around while their cars were being worked on.  His customer waiting area had practically been standing room only since word got out about Nicki working the bays.  And as good as her output was, the others were suffering in her company.

Sean had never understood the “can’t have your cake and eat it too” mentality.  What was the point of having cake if you weren’t going to eat it?  Nicki was staying, that was non-negotiable.  But the terms of her employment were about to change.

When he locked up the office at noon, he asked Nicki to join him for lunch.  She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.  “Why?”

“Because we need to talk about your future here.”

“Can’t we do that right now?”  She cast a sideways look toward the bays where at least three other guys were still working.

She was worried about being alone with him again and it thrilled him to no end.  In his opinion that was a clear indication that what he was feeling was mutual.  If it wasn’t, she’d just tell him to fuck off.  

“I never talk business on an empty stomach.”