Page 167 of It's Always Us

She slowly turns to face me, pulling her long blonde hair over one shoulder as her fingers find one earring. Twist. Stop. Twist. Stop.

Her bottom lip tucks between her teeth to hide a smile. “What do you know about Mustangs?”

I take a step toward her. “Hmmm. I know they’re fast and . . . wild.” I take another step closer, planning my attack. She crosses her arms over her chest as if it will deter me. “I know they can be flashy, but the insides are built to last.” One more step, and I slide my hands around to her lower back and grab her butt. “I know once tamed, they are loyal to a fault.”

Her head falls to the side. “Really? You know all that?”

“Yep.” My mouth moves to her neck, my teeth gently grazing her skin. “I did research. I also know that if you had to pick a car, that’s exactly what you’d choose.”

Her arms are still crossed, but she lets her head fall further to the side, giving me access, and I make my way to her collarbone. “You sound pretty confident. Are you sure about that?”

“I know you’d take adventure over boring any day.”

She shoves me back. “How do you know?”

“How do I know what?” I play innocent, which I suck at.

She glares. “You know exactly what I mean.” My ass-eating grin deepens as her eyes narrow further. “You know what this means.” She turns to grab a tool from the workbench.

“What?”

She spins back, pointing a long rachet at me. “I think it might be time for another tattoo.”

“Done. Now, get over here.”

She shakes her head, but that playful look in her eyes has my temperature spiking to a thousand degrees. “I need to see if I can get the midpipe off.”

“Say that again?” I lift my chin, waiting.

She frowns. “What?”

“What you just said. Say. It. Again.” I dare her.

Her grease-covered hands move to her hips. “I need to get the midpipe off, or we won’t be able to pull the engine.”

I close the space. “I’ve warned you that watching you work is the hottest damn thing I’ve ever seen. The girls are all in bed and asleep. The clock is ticking until one of those little Daddy’s girls wakes up and needs me. So, we can do this the easy way, and you come with me willingly, or the hard way, and I will happily throw you over my shoulder and haul you straight to our bed. Your choice.”

She steps back, her arms moving to her chest again, looking defiant, and that was the wrong damn move.

I bend, folding her over my shoulder.

She laughs. “I didn’t even get a chance to vote.”

“Nope.” I stop at the workbench, letting her drop off her tool and rag. “You just had to go and look like you were going to challenge me. My last bit of patience wore off.”

I step into the house and pull off one of her work boots and the other, leaving them by the door. I storm down the hall to our room.

“I wasn’t aware you ever had patience.”

I finally reach the edge of the bed and let her down slowly, her body making full contact with mine. “Definitely not when it comes to this and what we are about to do.”

“Um . . . do I get to take a shower first?”

“Nope. After.”

Her baggy jeans hang low on her waist, and my fingers find the soft, bare skin. She sucks in a breath. I know exactly where she’s ticklish, and she fights not to laugh, her knee jetting up to put a little space between us. I snatch her back, not giving her a second to retaliate. I find the hem of her tank and pull it up and over her head.

Her hands slide underneath my shirt and slowly around to my back, pulling me close. Even a thin layer of cotton between us won’t do, so I swipe it off.

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