Page 12 of Winter Wish

“Stop fucking arguing and let me take care of you, Baby.”

“Not your baby, Ezra. I can take care of myself, dammit!” Jorie bucked in his arms, trying to break free.

“Yeah, you are. Now settle down. If you don’t, I’m gonna spank your ass.”

“Oh, try it, caveman. Then we’ll see what happens... and FYI, no woman in the history of the world has ever ‘settled down’ when a dumbass man has told her to,” Jorie sassed.

Ezra adjusted his hold on her as he headed for the locker room. Manny was there to open the door for him.

“Thanks, man. Can you and Tobias close the shop and have a long lunch?”

“Sure thing, boss. Let me grab our coats.” Just from listening, Jorie could tell Manny was probably grinning ear to ear as he slammed the door behind him. Asshole.

Ezra strode through the locker room with heavy steps. He finally set her feet on the floor, making sure to steady her. It was a nice gesture, considering the situation, but it didn’t excuse the false pretenses he and Aaron had used to bring her to Wintervale.

His hand slid over her shoulder and grasped the zipper of her shop coveralls, making quick work of removing them from the top half of her body. He placed his hand at the base of her neck. She shivered as his fingers brushed against her bare skin.

“Bend over.” The dark timber of his voice sent a wave of excitement racing through her veins as images of him pressing into her naked, wet heat flashed through her mind. Jorie had the good sense to balk at the order. She shook her head, trying to move away. Did he think he could hurt her, use her body for his own purposes, and she’d be okay with it?

"Fuck you." She bit out.

“It’s the fucking eyewash station, Jorie. God, are you always this difficult?”

Well, duh.

Ezra took control, pressing his body into her back as he bent her forward. She shrieked as cold water hit her in the face. He held her there until he was convinced all the rust was removed from her skin and around her eyes. When he was done, he let her straighten and handed her a paper towel. Jorie blinked up at him.

“Get in the shower and wash your hair, we’ll talk when you’re done.”Gah.Always barking orders. Jorie thought about arguing just on principle but decided to let discretion be the better part of valor. Besides, she was cold, humiliated, and dripping water everywhere.

She grabbed her regular clothes out of her locker and shuffled into the bathroom. Turning on the shower to warm it up, she stripped out of the rest of her clothes. When steam began to billow out of the tiled space, Jorie stepped under the water. She pulled the shower curtain closed behind her and let the tears she’d been holding back, fall.

Chapter 10

Jorie had been in the shower for a while when Ezra noticed she’d forgotten her shampoo and conditioner. The little shit needed her ass reddened—she didn’t listen worth a damn. But God, it turned him on when she argued.

Grabbing the bottles, he knocked on the bathroom door, but there was no response. Letting out an exasperated breath, he pushed the door open. The shower room was so thick with steam he could barely see two feet ahead. For Christ’s sake, she was going to come out red as a lobster if she didn’t hurry up.

Ezra was ready to give her hell again, but the sound that reached his ears stopped him cold—a muffled, broken sob.

Fuck. She was crying.

Despite knowing he was wading into dangerous territory, Ezra stripped off his clothes and pulled back the shower curtain. Jorie didn’t even notice. She was huddled against the tiled wall, her hands covering her mouth in a futile attempt to muffle her sobs.

Ezra stepped into the shower, wincing as scalding water hit his skin. Quickly, he turned the temperature down before wrapping his arms around her trembling frame.

She didn’t fight him. She didn’t argue. Instead, she cried harder, clinging to him as if he were a lifeline. Ezra held her tightly, his heart breaking with every shuddering sob.

“Stop crying, sweetheart. You’re going to make yourself sick,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “Sweet girl, you’re breaking my heart.”

“Y-You don’t h-have a heart.” There she was—his fiery, sassy girl couldn’t stay down for long.

Ezra let out a relieved sigh, though he knew his work was far from over.

“That’s true,” he said, a soft smile curving his lips. “I had one once, but I gave it away. To a girl in pigtails who wears nerdy safety glasses and baggy coveralls. She’s smart, beautiful, and has the sassiest mouth. I need her so much it hurts. You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find her, would you?Because I think I did something to hurt her, and I’m terrified I’ve lost her.”

“You d-don’t need her. Y-You were just using her. You didn’t even want me h-here.”

“Yeah, for about a minute.” Jorie stiffened, but Ezra didn’t let her pull away. Instead, he tightened his hold and pressed on. “After what my ex did, I thought another woman—any woman—was the last thing the garage needed... or that I needed. Then we went to Vegas, and Aaron dragged me to AMAC after our first meeting with the TV people.”

---