Chapter Seven

Ray

The warm aroma of freshly baked bread greets me when I walk into the bakery, the bell at the top of the door ringing to announce my entrance. My eyes cross to the shelves lined with golden loaves, tempting with their golden exterior, but that is not what I came here for.

"Fancy seeing you here, Mister Hile," calls out a familiar voice, and when I look up, it's to find the owner, Annie, watching me with a wide smile on her face.

Annie, whom most of us suspect to be a vampire with how she hasn't aged a day in over two decades, is the owner of the only bakery in town. Other chains have opened pastry shops in Rosewood, but none of them could beat Annie's pastries. She must have some weird magic potion back there that has everyone addicted to her goods, and I am not exempt.

"No one calls me that, Miss Annie," I tell her, approaching the front.

"I have been calling you that since you were a little boy. I'm not going to stop now." She's right on that front. My brother is who everyone refers to as Mr. Hile, and I am just Ray, the mechanic. In a weird twist, she is the only one, other than my parents and me, who calls my brother by his first name and gets away with it. "So, what can I get you today?"

My eyes shift from her smiling ones to the pastries in the display case begging for attention. I mull over my decision, but really, I'm just putting on a show. I already know what I want.

"I think I'll have the cinnamon rolls, they look good," I say after a moment.

"Did you like the ones Ralph brought you yesterday? I know you love donuts, but I told him you would love the cinnamon rolls more."

"They were delicious."

"Really?" she asks, folding her arms over her chest. "Because from what I hear, you didn't even get to taste one."

Fuck Ralph and his big mouth.

"There are no secrets in this town," I say with a sigh.

Annie chuckles and moves away to bag my goods. "It's about time you got yourself a girl," she says. "I've sent plenty of girls your way with car troubles, but you never spare them a glance."

Huh, is that what's been happening? I've been getting a lot of female customers who mention they were sent by Annie to get their cars fixed, and I always thought it was just one local business supporting another. I never thought it was a setup in disguise.

"You don't have to do that anymore."

"I bet I don't." She flashes me a smile as she hands me a white box. "I threw in a blueberry muffin for your girl. It's on me. Tell her to stop by sometime, I would love to meet her."

"I sure will."

I pay for my pastries and thank her before leaving the bakery. It's a short walk back to my garage, and since it's early, there's barely anyone there. I open up shop before heading up to my apartment. I expect to find Penny sleeping like she was when I left her this morning, but she's wide awake, propped against the kitchen island, drinking coffee, and fuck . . .

She looks so goddamn gorgeous with her hair mussed. My shirt she is wearing is slightly parted to reveal the outline of her tits, and all my blood rushes south as my cock fills up in seconds. I want to tear the clothes off her, lay her bare on the counter, and kiss every inch of her body before rutting her like a mad man like I did last night in this very kitchen . . . and in the bathroom when we went to clean up, and in bed right before we fell asleep.

Christ, she must be sore from everything we did last night, and to think it was her first time.

Mine.

"You're up," I say in greeting when she looks up and notices me standing by the entrance watching her. Penny nods, pushing her blond hair from her face in a move that's innocent, but it sends my cock aching behind my jeans. Fuck.

"Not fully, I just need a hit of caffeine before I can feel human again . . ." her voice trails off when she spots the white box in my hands. She hops off the kitchen counter and flashes me her bright smile that sends my heart clenching painfully in my chest. "Please, please tell me there is at least one cinnamon roll in there."

"Maybe one or two . . . Depends."

"On what?"

"Whether you're going to save one for me this time."

She blushes, her cheeks coloring prettily. "I was hungry, and they were delicious. You can't fault me for that," she says, walking over to me and looking up from under her lashes. "I promise to share this time."

I can see it in her eyes and the way they flash with heat that she wants me too. Perhaps more than she wants the cinnamon rolls, but Christ, I can't do that to her. Not now at least, no matter how much I want to bend her over every surface of this apartment and take her hard.

Instead, I settle for a kiss, wrapping my hand around her nape and bringing my mouth down to hers. She opens up for me eagerly, and I can taste the coffee on her lips as I deepen the kiss, twisting my tongue with hers. She makes little broken noises at the back of her throat that make me want to toss the box away, take out my cock, and bury it in her tight heat, but I stop when my balls threaten to shoot in my pants.

She whines when I break the kiss, her breathing just as ragged as mine. "The owner packed a muffin for you too. She wants to meet you."

"She did?" Penny asks before pushing back, her eyes wide in confusion. "H-how does she know about me?"

"That's the thing about Rosewood, angel. There are no secrets."

With the spell broken, I grab her hand and guide her back to the kitchen, setting the box on the counter to fix myself a cup of coffee. Penny grabs a plate for the pastries, and it feels awfully domestic, something I have never experienced with any of the women I've entertained in the past. To be fair, I never put much stock into relationships and neither did the women I met. A night or two is all it was ever meant to be, and for a long while, that was enough.

I guess I was wrong, because I have fallen so deeply in love with this girl, that I can barely see the light anymore.

I can hardly remember a time when I wasn't in love with Penny, crazy as that may seem.

Breakfast ends with small talk, and when I inform Penny that I'm headed down and that she can call me if she needs anything, something like fear shines in her eyes. It's brief, but I notice it.

"I . . . Never mind," she says with a smile, but no, I am not willing to let her brush off her thoughts.

I step up to her and cup her jaw. "Tell me."

She shuffles her feet nervously, avoiding my eyes as she does so. "I mean, I just want to know if I'm allowed to come down." My angry thoughts must show in my expression because she backs up a step. "I mean, it's fine. I'll just call—"

"No," I hiss, unable to control the anger brewing in me. "I'm not angry at you, angel. I'm angry at the man who put this fear in your eyes. Made you believe that you can't make your own decisions." I brush my thumb over her cheek, fighting hard to calm myself. "You are not my prisoner, Penny. You can go wherever you want to, do whatever you want, make friends, and hang out with them. As long as you come back to me at the end of the day."

"Really?"

"Fuck!" I drop my forehead down on hers, clenching my jaw and fighting to rein in my feelings. Everything in me wants to seek out the man who did this to her and flatten him, break his jaw, or injure a vital organ. I want to punish him, hurt him so badly, he'll cringe with fear whenever he thinks of Penny. "You can go wherever you want. I'll take you around town later, so you get familiar with the area."

"I just want to hang out at the garage with you today and be helpful. I can help balance your books if you want. I'm good with math, and Dad taught me a lot about accounting when I was in high school." She smiles brightly at me, but this time, even that doesn't do much to calm the rage boiling inside of me. "I mean, if that's okay with you."

"It's more than okay, angel."

"Great," she beams. "You go ahead, and I'll join you later."

I nod, brushing my lips over her forehead before leaving.

For the first time since meeting this girl, I find that I need to get away from her. My dangerous side is beginning to show, and I don't want her to see it. I don't want to scare her with my reaction, and I can only try to bury my anger in my work.

Hopefully, when she finally makes it down, I'll have cooled down a bit.

***

"Someone's in a good mood," Ralph calls out when I walk into the shop, but I pay him no mind, heading straight to my workstation. "Hey, Boss, your brother called a few minutes ago and said he's going to stop by to check on his truck."

I pause at that. "And why would he do that? I'm not done working on it."

"Something tells me it's not the truck he's coming to see. News about you and the stiletto girl have been making their rounds in town."

I fold my arms in front of my chest and flash him a deadly glare. "And whose fault is that, do you think?"

Ralph raises both of his hands in surrender and chuckles. "I only told like a bunch of people. What they did with that information is out of my control."

I shake my head and finish the walk to my workstation, quickly getting to work. I call two more mechanics to assist in removing an old transmission so we can install a new one. With soft music playing in the background—thanks to Ralph's love for soft rock—we settle into the tasks of the day.

Sometime during the late morning, I spot Penny walking into the garage, and everyone stops to watch her because why wouldn't they? She is a vision of beauty.

Penny is in the same polka dress she showed up in yesterday, but she's covered it with a shirt she must have grabbed from my closet. She flashes me a shy smile and waves at the rest of the men before disappearing into my office.

"I thought we were banned from flirting with customers."

Leave it to Ralph to try and annoy me, but I don't give him my attention, that would only encourage him. Instead, I get back to work, prompting the other men to do the same. That only works for about twenty minutes until we hear a loud crash coming from the office.

"Stay here," I tell the others as I rush toward my office with my heart hammering in my chest. I burst in with my heart in my throat, expecting the worst, but I am relieved to see Penny is fine. I rush to her and run my hands over her body, checking for any injuries, "Are you okay? What happened?"

She stares up at me sheepishly. "Um, I was . . . Sorry, I leaned back in the chair too far and knocked it over and the files down by accident."

I look around us and sure enough, there are sheets of paper scattered everywhere and my desk chair is tipped over on its side. "That's fine," I say, getting down to gather everything before placing the files back on the desk and righting the chair, then turning to her. Penny is watching me with her back pressed against the now closed door and there is that curious glint in her eyes. For the first time since walking in here, I question if the crash was indeed an accident or a ploy to get me in here.

Interesting.

Now this is not a side of Penny I thought I would ever see.

She wrings her hands in front of her and bites into her lip in a move that is so sensual it has my cock hardening to full mast. "It's hot in here," she whispers, grabbing the edge of her shirt and tugging it off her shoulders. "Is . . . is your AC broken or something?"

"It's not."

My voice comes out ragged when I speak, but I don't stop her. With my employees right outside this door, I know I should stop her, but I don't. Sure, the music is back on and the noise from our equipment is loud, but she'll be louder if I touch her.

When I get my hands on her, she'll drown out every noise in this garage, and I don't want to risk that. Those noises are only for me to hear, so I simply shrug my hands into my pockets and watch the little minx. She tosses the shirt on top of the desk and slowly brushes her hair off her shoulders to reveal her neckline.

I trail my eyes over the perfect swell of her braless tits, down to her stomach and hips, eyes lingering on her exposed thighs. My cock jumps behind my zipper when the temptress shoves away from the door and starts toward me, the flush on her neck and cheeks speaking volumes of her shyness, but her eyes show her determination to push through that to get what she wants.

She stops in front of me and fingers my shirt. "You're doing it again," she states.

"Doing what?"

"The distance you keep creating between us."

"Penny—"

"Don't you trust me to know what I want? Don't you trust me to say no when it becomes too much?"

Quite frankly, I don't. Not after what she's been through. The last thing I want is to pressure her into something she doesn't want. Even so, I don't voice my thoughts, but she must read the truth in my eyes because her face falls. I expect her to pull back, but this girl is anything but predictable.

Penny makes a frustrated sound, clawing at my shirt and pulling me down so my lips are close to hers. "I miss the man I had last night. The one who couldn't get enough of me. Not the man treating me with kid gloves. I want that man back," she whispers, her breath mingling hotly with mine. "I'm not fragile, Ray."

Fuck!

With a deep growl, I close the distance between us, pressing my lips needily over hers. Her lips part for mine, and she kisses me back just as desperately. I slip my hands from my pockets to wrap one around her waist and bring the other to her nape, holding her up as I lick hungrily into her mouth, working her tongue over until she's making little broken sounds.

"I don't think you are fragile, just precious," I say against her lips. "I don't want to scare you—"

"I'm not afraid."

I let go of her waist and grab her hand to bring it to my erection. Her breath catches in her throat when she feels how hard I am for her. "See what you do to me, angel? I am this close to shoving you against the wall, driving my cock into your tight little pussy, and rutting you like a beast." I guide her hand up and down the thick outline of my jeans, letting her feel just how hot I am for her. "Right now, what I want to do is shove you to your knees and bury myself in that pretty little mouth. Watch those sexy lips part for my cock and take me inch by inch until you've swallowed all of me. I want to fuck that pretty mouth until I am coming all over this pretty face."

Her eyes widen at my words. "Oh."

"The thoughts I have for you border on madness, and this is why I pull back. This is why I want to take it slow and—"

"I want it," she whispers breathily, her eyes fluttering as she struggles to maintain eye contact with me. "I . . . I want to do it."

"Penny—"

With little warning, she unzips me, her hands unsteady as she traces the outline of my dick through my boxer briefs. I bite back a groan when she takes me in her hand, and I can tell she's nervous by the way her hands shake. With my aching cock in her grip, she looks up, her wide eyes shining with innocence. "W-will you show me how to do it?"

Fuck!

A lump forms in my throat, and I realize that I could come just from having her look at me the way she is. I would kill to make sure those eyes look at me this way every day for the rest of our lives.

"Get on your knees, angel."

She does so without protest, her quick submission causing my cock to jump. My breathing is heavy as I tunnel my hand into her blond hair and grab a fistful, guiding her head to my cock. She pokes out her tongue and runs it over the length of my shaft, making me hiss in pleasure. "Want your mouth wrapped around my cock," I say gruffly, tightening my grip on her hair.

She scoots forward, and with her eyes locked on mine, she closes her mouth around the head of my shaft, and it takes everything in me to not shoot on the spot.

"Fuuuck!" I growl, barely conscious of the men in the next room. I thrust forward, pulling back when she chokes on it. I do it again until she is able to take me deeper, her hot mouth slowly drawing me to the edge of my orgasm. "Fuck, baby. You take my cock so well."

Her eyes turn glassy with tears as she tries to take me deeper into her throat, but she chokes a little, gagging around my cock. I give her a few seconds to breathe before thrusting back into her mouth, stroking my shaft a few times, each drive inching me closer and closer to the edge. She keeps her eyes trained on me as she tries again to take more of me, and I fight the need to bury all my inches into that perfect mouth. I have to remind myself that it's her first time.

Fuck, it's her first blowjob, and despite how awkward it is, I have never been this close to shooting in someone's mouth before. If I don't stop now, I just might. With a deep, guttural moan, I slip my cock from her mouth and yank her to her feet, spinning her around so she's facing the desk.

She gasps when I bring my fingers between her legs and over her sex to part her wet folds. "Going to fuck this hot pussy. Promise not to make a sound."

She nods frantically, hair whipping all around. I palm her mouth just in case, and it's a good thing I do as the second I drive my cock hard into her wet hole, she screams behind my hand, knees bucking as I bury my shaft into her tightness. She grabs blindly onto the desk, sending files flying in every direction.

"Shhh," I breath into her ear, rocking my hips hard against her. "The door is unlocked. We don't want to make too much noise and have someone come in to check, now do we?"

She whimpers when I pull out and slam forward, shaking her head in response to my question.

"Good, now be quiet for me, angel."

Her pussy ripples around my cock as I drive faster and harder into her wet sex, marking this girl as mine with every thrust. Her cries are muffled behind my palm as I fuck her fast and raw, my movements bordering on brutal, but I can't stop. And with the way her body responds to me, I can tell she doesn't want me to either.

Mine!

I fist my hand in her hair and tug as I rut her into the desk, pumping my cock into her until her thighs begin to shake and her breathing grows shot. She comes with a sob, one that slips out even with my hand firmly on her mouth. Her pussy cinches hard around my cock as a tremble racks her body. I slam into her, feeling my orgasm at the base of my spine and in my aching balls.

"Fuuuck!"

I have to bury my face in her neck to mute my roar as I spill ropes of hot cum into her womb, my abs clenching and releasing as I empty my balls into her. My heart beats hard against my chest, my breathing labored as I thrust slowly into her sex, drawing out our orgasms, and all I can think of is . . . finally . After all these years of meaningless sex, I've finally found someone where my heart doesn't feel empty afterward. Instead, it feels like coming home. In every sense of the word.

"You're mine," I say hoarsely, pressing my lips to her shoulder and leaving them there for a minute, breathing in my body wash on her skin. On her, it smells different. Everything with her is perfect.

Penny grabs my hand and pulls it from her mouth, panting when I let her go. She turns her head slightly to the side, and her beautiful green eyes lock on mine. "Did I do okay?"

I raise a brow at her question. "What do you mean?"

Her cheeks are already flushed, but they turn a deeper shade of red now. "Y-you know, with, um . . . with the thing."

It takes me a moment to make sense of what she is talking about, and when I do, a wicked grin takes over my face. "You mean the blowjob."

She nods, looking away, but I grab her chin and force her eyes back on mine. "You were perfect," I tell her, leaning down to kiss her, but it's more a brush of lips than anything. Still, it's intimate, and it leaves my heart aching with affection for this girl. "Everything you do is perfect."

We stay that way for a long time, our gazes locked on each other, until it's broken by a knock at the door. I look up, thankful that whoever's on the other side of the door didn't just walk in, or they would have caught us in a compromising position.

I straighten and tuck myself back in my jeans before helping Penny clean up with the tissues in the office. I toss them into the trashcan and help her slide back into my shirt. She straightens her hair as I walk to the door, unsurprised to find Ralph on the other side, except he appears more serious than I've ever seen him.

"Ralph, what's going on?" I ask, shielding Penny with my body when he attempts to look past my shoulder and into the office that smells of sex.

"Boss, your brother is here," he says.

"Just tell him I'll be there in a few, and we can talk about his truck."

I go to close the door, but Ralph's hand stops me. "You don't understand, boss. He didn't come alone."

"What do you mean?"

"He arrived seconds before the cops did. They are looking for Miss Moore," he says, his eyes crossing over my shoulder once more. "They're here to arrest her.