Tempting Sydney (5 page)

I really enjoyed volunteering at CARE. It was a cause close to my heart. Being with the families was such a humbling experience, and the people were truly grateful. Hearing their stories inspired me to want to make the world a better place, and help as many people as possible. I wasn’t sure how I’d do that yet, but it was one of my many goals. I knew that after I got my law degree, I wanted to keep working with CARE in some capacity.

CARE housed everyone from parents of patients to extended family members. After we’d finished serving dinner, a bunch of the kids helped me roll the peanut butter cookie dough into balls. When the cookies were done, I had several eager assistants help unwrap Hershey’s kisses and press them into the warm cookies.

After we’d cleaned everything up, Brynn and I sat down and chatted with some of the residents, and read books to a few of the kids.

“Read it again!” Macy cried when I’d finished
Rapunzel
for the second time. She was four years old, with strawberry blonde colored curls, and she was adorable. Her brother was in the hospital being treated for spinal injuries he’d suffered after a car accident.

“Again? Don’t you want a different story?”

She shook her long, bright locks. It was pretty obvious why she liked this story so much. “This one!”

I tugged her hair. “I bet your hair is long enough to climb up. Wanna try?”

She giggled, shaking her head. “You’re so silly, Syd.” She picked up the oversized book and turned it page-by-page back to the beginning, careful not to drop the cookie she was holding in her left hand. I wasn’t sure how many she’d eaten, but it was probably more than her mom had authorized. I knew the peanut butter kiss cookies were her favorite, so I tried to make them a lot. I started the story over again, reading until her mom came to take her to bed.

“She’s had some cookies,” I warned. Her mom, Patti, laughed and nodded as she walked away.
I stood, rubbing my eyes. The end of my law school prep class had kicked my butt, hard. It had been a long week, and I was looking forward to my bed. “You’re good with her,” Charlie said. Charlie had been with CARE for a long time. He’d come here originally for help while his wife was going through chemo. Charlie had been so moved by the love and support of the people at CARE during his stay that he’d started working with the organization, and had been their executive director for the past five years. I admired him, and his strength. Working at a place like CARE was an emotional rollercoaster. One day you’d get to celebrate a triumph, and the next, mourn a tragedy.

I stretched my arms above me, letting my muscles loosen. “She’s easy to entertain.”

“Well, we appreciate all you do to help out.”
I looked around at the toys, couches, and TV. The home-away-from home for everyone CARE helped. “It means a lot to me.”

He patted me on the back. “I know.”

“The construction seems to be going well.” CARE was adding on to the house so they could accommodate more temporary residents.

Charlie nodded, looking toward the back of the house where the construction was taking place. “It should be done in the next couple of months.”

“I’m glad you’ll be able to help more people with the addition.”

“Me, too.”

Brynn came up to me, her purse hanging from her shoulder. “The cookies are gone and the kids probably won’t sleep tonight. Our job is done.”

Charlie laughed. “We’ll see you girls soon.”

“Have a good night,” I said.

“You, too.”

Brynn and I walked out to the car and I went home to fall into bed, and hopefully some dreams starring a sexy mechanic.

Few things were more annoying than car problems. With a car like She-Ra, I was used to the unexpected. But a car problem that required me to change my tire at seven in the morning in heels before my first class on my first day of law school was even more annoying than my usual car issues. My hands were covered in mud and dirt by the time I was done, but my jeans, button-up lilac colored shirt, and black blazer were fine. I said a silent thanks to my dad for teaching me how to change a tire in less than ten minutes, and rushed out the door to my class. I was frazzled, but made it through the first day without getting an ulcer—at least, as far as I could tell. Part of that was because of my friend, Cade. He’d been in my law school prep class over the summer, and we’d helped each other on a few assignments. When I got to school this morning, I was happy to see we had some classes together. We’d made plans to get together and study later in the week.

When school was done for the day, I checked my hair, makeup, and did a quick assessment of my ass in my jeans. Finding all of the above acceptable, I was ready to take She-Ra and my spare to Red’s to get the tire fixed. If I happened to see a hot, blue eyed mechanic while I was there, I was totally prepared. Okay, not really. Every time I saw him, my stomach contorted into shapes reserved for circus performers, but I was as prepared as possible.

“Hey, Red,” I said, pushing the door open. He stopped writing and looked up. “I caught a nail last night and need the flat fixed.”

“How did that happen?”

“Went through a construction zone.” At least, that’s where I suspected the nail came from. I hadn’t been too careful about where I’d parked at CARE, and with all the building going on, a flat tire was bound to happen at one point or another.

He nodded. “We have some other cars in front of you, but if you want to wait, we’ll get to it in about thirty minutes.”

“Sounds good.” I glanced through the office door window, out into the shop bay.

“Looking for someone?” Red raised an eyebrow, his lips lifting in a knowing grin.

I could feel my cheeks flaming. “What? No!” I said, trying to throw him off the scent. I didn’t need Red—or anyone else for that matter—knowing about my obsession with Jax. I was barely comfortable knowing about it myself. “I was just looking around.”

Red chuckled. “Uh huh.”

“Really!” I said, in my most affronted voice. “I was!”

“Whatever you say, Syd.”

I narrowed my eyes, annoyed that I’d been caught, and dropped my purse next to one of the lobby chairs. Red disappeared into his office and soon I heard the muffled sounds of his voice coming through the door. He must be returning phone calls. I stole more glances at the shop bay as I grabbed a bottled water and some chocolate from the vending machine. I wasn’t hungry, but I needed an excuse to get up and investigate the employees currently working. Plus, I needed to calm my nerves. Chocolate was very soothing. I saw two other guys in the bay, neither of them Jax. I frowned, letdown, and sunk into one of the chairs. I was surprised at my level of disappointment, actually. As I thought about my reaction, my analysis led me to the unnerving realization that I’d become absolutely infatuated with Jackson West. There was no other explanation for it. I checked my watch. It was only eleven in the morning. That must be the reason for Jax’s absence. He’d said he worked in the afternoons.

Thirty minutes later, She-Ra was in the bay, getting her tire patched. I’d been disappointed all over again when Devon, one of Red’s other employees, had come to get my keys. No Jax today. I wondered when I’d see him again. I could always make up a car problem so I’d have an excuse to stop—stabbing various things under the hood with a screwdriver should do the trick. But there were only so many times I could use that method without Jax—and Red—seeing through it, and me looking like stalker.

I glanced at my bag full of textbooks and assignments. I thought about starting them, but I knew the tire wouldn’t take long, and I didn’t want to get interrupted in the middle of my work. I pulled a paranormal romance novel from my bag instead. Romance novels were my guilty pleasure. I feared no real man would ever be able to live up to them. I’d left off at a particularly rapturous scene, and was eager to get back into the story. I started reading, going through pages, and chocolate, like the world was about to run out of words and sugar. Completely enthralled with the story, and oblivious to everything else, I jumped out of my skin when I heard, “You’re a fast reader. With all the thrusting going on there, I’d think you’d want to savor it a bit and not rush through.”

I jumped, dropping the last of my chocolate on the ground. Luckily, my water had a cap, or there’d have been an even bigger mess to clean up. I glared up at Jax, annoyed about my lost chocolate, though it was hard to stay mad when he looked even more delicious than the candy. His jeans sat low on his waist, his red work shirt straining over his chest and arms. I wanted to lick him. I marked my place in the book and folded it shut. “I took a speed reading class.” I refused to be embarrassed by the fact he’d just seen me reading something much more than R-rated. “How long were you standing there, anyway?” I asked casually.

“Long enough for him to change from werewolf to human, rip off her clothes, and impale her with his massive member.”

I pursed my lips as my cheeks heated. He’d been there awhile. At least ten pages by my count. “It’s not nice to spy on people, you know.”

“It’s not my fault you weren’t paying attention.”

My eyes narrowed to slits. “And it’s not my fault you’re kind of an ass.”

He grinned. “So was the werewolf. I’m taking notes.”

I rolled my eyes and changed the subject as I picked up the remains of the chocolate from the floor and threw it in the trash. “I didn’t know you were here today.” And he hadn’t been when I got there. I checked!

“Again, not my fault you’re oblivious. Your car’s done. The hole was from a nail. It was small and easy to patch. I changed it out and put the spare back in the trunk. I also did a tire rotation for you since your records show you haven’t had it done for more than five thousand miles.”

I lifted my brows in surprise that he’d had the forethought to check that. “Thanks. I thought Devon was working on my car?”

“He was. Then I got here.”

I pushed my brows together. That was weird. Usually the same mechanic who started a project was the one to finish it. Plus, it wasn’t even noon yet. “Don’t you usually work later in the day?”

“I’m here early today.”

I couldn’t help but wonder why. My mind immediately wandered to Red’s knowing look when I’d scanned the shop like I’d been tactically trained to find washboard abs by the FBI, and then Red’s phone calls. A part of me—a pretty big part—wanted the reason Jax had come in early to be me. A thrill went through me at the thought.

Jax walked to the counter and printed off an invoice. I paid for the flat fix and grabbed my stuff. I wasn’t expecting him to follow me outside, but he did. The warm breeze danced through my hair as I threw my purse on the passenger seat. “Well,” I said, trying not to sound too awkward, “thanks again.”

“Leaving already?”

“You have to work, and I have things to do.”

“Werewolves?”

I pressed my lips together, owning the embarrassment. “If I can find one.”

He grinned. “And if I didn’t have to work?”

My brows gathered, unsure what exactly he was asking. “If you didn’t have to work, what?”

“Would you still have things to do?”

This time it was my turn to grin. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” The fact was, if he was offering himself up as one of the things on my to-do list, I’d take it—with a condom and no hesitation. The act first, think later Syd was taking charge.

He watched me for several seconds, like he was trying to figure me out. “Well, I can promise you one thing, you wouldn’t want to rush through it if you were with me.”

I widened my eyes. “Pretty ballsy to compare yourself to a paranormal being who can bench press six hundred pounds and change his dick size at will.”

His lips slid into a slow, sexy line, his eyes raking over me like I’d just been undressed. “Sweetheart, there is
no
comparison.”

He’d rendered me speechless. Absolutely no words. I’d been interested in the muscle-bodied, blue eyed God before, but now, I could barely contain my curiosity. He hadn’t really opened up to me at all, and our conversations mostly consisted of innuendo. He was guarded, arrogant, and sexy as hell. All things that made me want to get inside his head even more. He was drawing me in, and I just kept getting more and more invested. Jax was my
House Hunters
! I couldn’t turn away. I swallowed. Hard. “Your ego is off the charts.”

The afternoon sun highlighted his bronzed skin, and the lighter cocoa tones of his hair as he fixed his gaze on me. “I’m not the type of person who lies to myself. I know what I have to offer. And I can promise you it’s better than anything you’ve ever read.” I widened my eyes at that. Clearly, he didn’t know about my romance novel expertise. He grinned like he knew what I was thinking. “As a bonus, with me, you wouldn’t have to worry about claws, or the chance of being ripped apart mid-orgasm. I’m a far better choice than fiction.”

It took me a few seconds to respond. “Noted,” I managed to get out, still a little shocked by his opinion of himself—and trying to decide if his statements were an actual invitation. Yeah, we’d flirted, and we had chemistry, but was he as attracted to me as I was to him? I almost snorted at the thought. It seemed impossible. We had nothing in common but our love for cars and banter.