Page 36 of Down & Dirty

He sniffed, still irritated, but the hard line of his shoulders fell. “Is this because I kept telling you he didn’t seem so bad? Did I do this?”

He was joking, thank god. “Youwerepretty convincing on the virtues of getting to know him better.”

He let out a dramatic moan, pushing off my car. “I knew it. I forget my own power sometimes. I’ve got to be more careful with how I influence you.”

Punk. “Get out of my way, I’ve got to get Micah.”

Ronnie’s eye brows shot up. “What’s Tommy think of this development?”

“There’s not much to tell, Ronnie. We’ve gotten a couple of dinners.”

His shoulders bounced on a deep laugh. “He’s gonna flip.”

“He’s got no right to flip. He’s getting married.”

“Yeah, but you’re upgrading. He’s not gonna like that.”

Thank god Cory wasn’t around to hear this. His ego would explode. But I realized, the most I’d stopped to think about Tommy’s reaction was to expect him to mock or minimize this relationship once he heard about it. I’d never considered that he’d be jealous. Can you really get jealous when the woman you discarded moves on? He’d lied and cheated on me for years. As far as I was concerned, he’d lost his right to stake a claim a long time ago.

“I don’t think he’s going to care. And he better not show it if he does. Geena does not strike me as the type to take too kindly to him having any sort of opinion on who I date.”

“Yeesh, right? I wouldn’t mess with her.”

I slid past him and opened my door. “So, we good?” My baby brother frustrated me daily, but it was rare for us to have any sort of lasting animosity. I didn’t like the idea that this thing with Cory was going to be a wedge between us.

He paused thoughtfully before snaking his arm around my neck and jerking me toward him. I should have seen it coming. Cursing under my breath, I shoved out of his hold before he could give me a noogie.

“Yeah, we’re good. Do me a favor, and see if you can download the contacts from his phone when he’s not looking. If we can get some of his connections, I bet we could land a few of those modeling contracts for me too.”

Waggling his eyebrows with a wide grin he started walking backwards toward the building.

“You’re ridiculous,” I sighed, climbing into my car.

“Am not. An opportunist, maybe. You can do it sis. You’re a ninja.” He chopped his arms through the air laughing.

Of course my brother would find a way to take my fledgling “relationship” with Cory and make it about him and furthering his career. If I didn’t love him so much, I’d think he was a real asshole.

Walking into the OTM garage a week later, I headed for Cory’s station instead of Ronnie’s. My brother gave me a quick nod, his eyes tracking me as I moved away from him, but the scrutiny was gone. We’d gotten into a new rhythm where my first quick hello went to my ‘boyfriend’ and then I headed over to see how things were going with him. I didn’t know how Ronnie felt about it, since he’d thankfully decided to keep his opinions to himself. But Cory clearly enjoyed it; his wide, shit-eating grin greeting me almost every time.

I’d spent all morning arranging press for Ronnie leading intoto the holiday break in a few weeks, and I was happy to be up stretching my legs. But by the looks of it, not everyone had had a good morning.

Cory didn’t notice as I approached, his attention firmly fixed on the rear end of his bike. His face was red and sweat was dripping from his temple into the scruff that covered his cheeks and jaw.

I’ve been around bikes and motocross riders since I was seven. No part of this was new to me. But for the first time, it was the sight ofCorythat had my stomach clenching with hungry desire. The sight of his thick thighs maxing out the stretch on his pants as he squatted low. A perfect round ass sitting below just the tiniest sliver of exposed skin where his shirt had ridden up. His big hand and muscled forearm were working the wrench and my pulsing desire at the same time.What the hell was happening to me?

And to make matters worse, the man looked up at the exact worst moment; mid-eye-fucking, with my teeth digging into my lower lip like I couldn’t contain the urge to devour what suddenly seemed so appealing. I was mortified.

Cory’s face peeled into a knowing grin, and even as I ripped my eyes away, I could feel my traitorous cheeks burning scarlet.

“You okay over there, little lady?”

I could have killed him. Billy’s head snapped up and he chuckled under his breath when he saw me.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I tossed back, trying desperately to recover myself. “You look like you’re on the struggle bus with that wrench.”

“Yeah, I’m probably about as red as you, I’d bet.”

Cory’s eyes danced with humor, but I was too embarrassed to laugh at myself. It had been a long time since I’d felt such a potent kick to the lady parts. And to have him be the cause felt like a personal failing. I was better than this.

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