Page 4 of The Mechanic's Virgin

They all looked at me with a mixture of greed and calculation. Like they were trying to figure out a plan on how to get me. Because after all, getting me also means getting a chance at myfather’s business empire. And more money than they’d know what to do with.

But not Nash. Nash looked at me like I was the only thing on earth keeping him from going feral. From slipping back into his most primal of natures.

And worst of all, I liked it.

No. Ilovedit.

He had me feeling things I’d never felt before, the effects of which I still feel now as I slip out of my flats and drop my keys onto the counter. My hands are shaking and my legs are quivering.

“I know what I want when I see it, princess. And I want you.”

His words ring in my head like the echo of a mystery. Not exactly Shakespeare, but he touched my soul.

He was going to kiss me, wasn’t he? Right there in his truck with his rough hand on my neck as my body melted for him. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think–at least not about anything other than how badly I wanted him. My head was spinning, and my pulse was racing.

But he stopped. He denied me.

It would have been my first kiss too. Maybe he knew that somehow. He did tell me I wasn’t ready. But how could he have known? I didn’t say anything to let on. Is it possible it was written all over my face? My innocence? My lack of experience?

I pace the kitchen, my heart racing and nipples stiff beneath my blouse. I can still smell him. The scent of oil and dirty denim. Being so masculine should be illegal. It’s just not fair for a little ol’ girl like me.

I press the backs of my hands to my cheeks. They’re on fire. I’m tingling from head to toe. My thighs are damp, and even though I haven’t had any experience with men, I know what that means.

I grew up in a mansion like most people only see in movies. A mansion with a north, south, east, and west wing. With a housekeeper and a driver and a security team that obeyed my father, who barked commands at them like a general. It’s because of him that I’ve never had a boyfriend, never been kissed, gone to a school dance, or done any of the things an eighteen-year-old girl should have done by now.

The only men who have been around me are my father’s employees, or the most harmless guys from school that were vetted multiple times by Dad before being allowed to hang out with me. Most of them weren’t interested in me–or girls in general.

And now there’shim.

Nash.

A mechanic who fixes engines with his bare hands and isn’t afraid to ask me if I’m a “good girl” or not.

Letting out a moan, I flop down on the couch and drag a pillow over my face. I’m all on my own out here now. No dad to “protect” me from the hunk of a man who has promised to fix my car.

As soon as I turned eighteen, I moved out here to my grandmother’s old cottage so I could be on my own. No more living under Dad’s thumb or the shadow of Mom’s neglect.

I thought I could handle it. And I was having a fine time.

Until today.

He’s going to ruin me–maybe everything. And the worst part? I actually want him to.

I’m trying to think some sense into myself when my phone buzzes. It’s a text from Emily, my cousin and best friend:

Bonfire at the lake tonight. Be there or be dead.

I stare back at the screen for a moment like I’ve forgotten how to exist in the normal world away from Nash.

Emily’s my cousin on my mother’s side, and the only girl in the family who didn’t end up married off before twenty-one. We grew up like sisters, and I absolutely adore her. She’s loud, wild, and goes hard with fashion and makeup. She’s everything I’m not and was never allowed to be.

I should say yes, but my encounter with Nash at the garage still has me feeling stunned. I lie there a moment until my phone buzzes again:

Hello!? Are you asleep!?

Smiling, I text back:

Okay, but I think I’ll need a ride.

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