Page 17 of Saved By The Mechanic

“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.”

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