Page 53 of Truck Off

She jerks back, bumping into Trevor, who’s standing on her other side. She glares at me while he chuckles as he steadies her.

“What?” she says. Her eyes narrow. She’s trying to look pissed, but that one word comes out breathless. My smile grows.

I point at her sketch for the design. “I said I liked the claws. Deadly.”

“Deadly?” She looks confused by my word choice.

“Yeah. It screams don’t mess with me. Like it’s a challenge that no one can resist.”

By a challenge, I mean her. And by no one, I mean me.

From the way her eyes widen, I think she gets what I’m putting down. I give her a wink and turn my focus to the drawing on the table.

“Do you do a lot of street art? Graffiti and such?”

She’s silent for a beat and then lets out a deep sigh. “I’ve participated in some organized events, but not often, no. Graffiti isn’t exactly legal. I try not to do things that could land me in jail.”

I raise my brow and give her a devilish grin. “I didn’t take you for a good girl, Grumps.”

She turns to face me directly and crosses her arms over her chest. The action squishes her breasts together and accentuates her cleavage. Lina is very blessed in the boob department and it’s hard to keep my eyes trained on her face. Everything inside me is screaming at me to look down.

“Maybe because you don’t know me at all. You can’t say what kind of girl I am.”

“True enough.” I waggle my brows, refusing to let my smile waver. “We can change that if you like.”

She scoffs. “Not on your life. You lied to me, remember?”

I toss my hands up in apology. “It was a misunderstanding. One I’d really like to make up to you.”

She quirks a brow. “Misunderstanding? That’s what you’re going with?”

“Yes.” I step closer to her until her arms brush against my chest. I don’t care one bit that Clara and the others are watching us in amusement. I like Lina, and I refuse to give up on her. There’s something there with her, and I know she feels it too. “Because it’s the truth. My goal is not, and never was, to lie to you. All I want is another date.”

“Never gonna happen.” Lina is still glaring at me, but she can’t hide the slight tick up in her lips. She’s not completely turned off by me.

My smile grows so big I feel it hit my eyes. “Don’t be so sure, Grumps.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” She snorts to hide the fact that she was about to laugh. She’s caving even though she really doesn’t want to. “You’re not my type, Pollyanna.”

I press my hand to my chest and toss my head back in a laugh. She’s clearly trying to piss me off, but it’s having the opposite effect. The more she pushes back, the more I want her. “Aw, Grumps. How sweet of you to give me a pet name too. Step one toward relationship zone.”

Her frown returns and deepens like I’ve never seen it before. “There will be no relationship.”

I hold my ground and my smile. I give her arm a gentle nudge. The slight touch is enough to send a zing up my arm and straight to my cock. She sucks in a breath, suggesting she felt it too.

“Come on, Grumps. Don’t say that. Anything is possible if you open yourself up to it.”

She shakes her head. “Not this time there’s not.”

“We’ll see.” I wink, and she scowls.

Rather than continue down this path, I turn my attention to the others. “So, where’s this heap of junk of a bus? Let’s get under that hood and see what we’re up against.”

Chapter 13

Hands off the goods

Lina

---