Page 2 of Burn It Down

Ready for this whole day to be over, I throw my car in reverse and begin backing out of my space when I see the Adonis with the backwards hat exiting the store. His jeans are stained and his t-shirt is thin…thin enough for me to map the outline of the thick muscles across his chest.

In a moment of desperation,needingto gain some kind of control over both my life and this desire raging through my body, I continue pulling out of the parking space as the terrible plan forms in my mind. I move slowly, trying not to drawattention to myself.Good thing this Maserati blends right in with all the Toyotas, Hondas, and Kias in the lot.

Knowing what I’m about to do, I say a silent prayer of thanks that I didn’t drive my Corvette today.

My eyes follow the stranger until he gets in his own car —be still my fucking heart— a black, old-school Dodge Challenger…’75 maybe? It suits him perfectly.

I pull into his row and wait for him to start backing out. I almost feel bad about this, but I know the metal bumper on his car is going to destroy my front-end. I’ll suffer all the damage — as I should for pulling this stunt. Easing into his blind spot, I come to a halt.

Less than five seconds later, the gut-wrenching sound of crunching metal and plastic reaches my ears, and I smile like the lust-struck idiot I clearly am.

Instead of jumping out of his car, irate, like I expect, the driver tilts his head back on the headrest and scrubs his hands down his face. Immediately wanting to ease his distress, I climb out of my car and knock on his window to ask if he’s okay.

Now that my plan has succeeded, it hits me how terrible of an idea this was. How selfish and manipulative. I’m disgusted with myself for reaching this new low. It’s a testament to how out of control I’ve allowed things to become.

Too late to back out now, I yell through the glass.

“Hey, man. Are you okay? I’m really sorry about that.”

He looks up at me with those intense eyes, and recognizing me from the check-out line, his features darken.Fuck, he’s even hotter close-up.

He has small black gauges in his ears, and his smooth lips are distracting as hell, but not as distracting as the small hoop in his nostril. I hadn’t noticed it from across the store, but the small, silver ring adds to his appeal in a way I wouldn’t have thought possible.

My dick seems to notice as well.

He opens the door and I move back, allowing him room to get out, despite wanting to sandwich him between my hips and his car.

“They not teach you how to recognize reverse lights in prep school?” he growls before looking at my car and wincing. “Ireallydidn’t need this today.”

“It’s uh…it’s fine. Totally my fault.” I stammer, lost for words in his presence. He’s staring at the crumpled front bumper of my Maserati and I’m staring at him.

My view is much better.

“It’s obviouslynotfine,” he says, his irritation clear as he waves his hand toward the spot where our cars are still connected. “I fucked up your entire right quarter panel and there’s no way I can afford dealership repairs on this.”

I rub the back of my neck, trying to get myself under control after hearing the wordfuckedcome out of his mouth.

What am I supposed to say?I wasn’t going to take it to the dealership anyway? It’s okay because I hate this car? I’ll just drive a different two-hundred-thousand-dollar car tomorrow?Something tells me he wouldn’t be impressed by any of that. And something in me already loves him because of it.

“I’m really not worried about it. I don’t have to have it fixed right away,” I try, stalling until it feels appropriate to ask for his name and number for the insurance claim I’m never going to file.

“Look,” he blows out a breath and pinches the bridge of his nose this interaction is causing a migraine. “I know you probably won’t believe this, but my dad and I own an auto repair shop on the south side of town.” He scans my outfit, making me feel small and inadequate despite being eye-level with him. “I’m sure it’s not your first choice, but we’re the best around for importrestoration. You can see our reviews on Yelp and shit. Ryder Automotive. Ryder’s spelled with ay,” he clarifies.

Of course it is, because he’s far too attractive for there to be anything ordinary about him…including, what I’m assuming, is his last name.

“Are you telling meyou’llfix my car?” I ask in disbelief over how my luck just changed. If he fixes the car then I’ll get to see him again, but I wince when I hear how my words probably sound to him and try to correct myself. “I just meant, I’d be grateful for that and I’m happy to pay of course.”

“Yeah, I can fix it no problem, it just might take me a couple weeks to get what I need, but if you want to file a police report, I understand.”

“I’d rather not deal with that if it’s all the same to you.”

If my name shows up in a police report for anything these days, the local news will be all over it trying to create a scandal. It’s an election year and Cora happens to be the governor’s daughter. My ties to her — as well as my status as one of the city’s most wealthy residents — ensure that I’mjustpopular enough to have to watch every move I make.

Mr. Tatted Wet Dream holds out his phone. “Here, give me your contact info and I’ll check the books when I get back to let you know when to bring her in.”

I hope like hell he doesn’t see my hand shaking.Jacob Ellington, get it together you fucking pussy.The mental slap does nothing and even holding his phone feels precious simply because it’shis.It’s also warm from riding around in his pocket and I can honestly say I’ve never noticed that about any inanimate object before.

I hastily type my information into the phone and hand it back. Maybe I should get his too, but I don’t want to be obvious, and hedidjust tell me the name of his company so I know whereto find him. He slips his phone into the front pocket of his jeans and turns to face me.

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