Page 3 of Reckless Curves
Chapter One
Los Angeles, four years later….
“Yo, Tom! Catherine’s working late and told me to tell you you’ve got company in reception, dude.”
Tom pushed himself out from under the car he was replacing the muffler on and stood. No client would come to the auto shop this late. Bad Boy Autos clientele were too wealthy to hang around what was essentially a chop shop, be it a high-end chrome and glass garage on Sunset Boulevard filled with Maserati’s, Ferrari’s, and Porsche's’. Tom loved customizing the dream machines as he called them and was thankful their rich clients were prepared to pay handsomely for their services.
“Did Catherine say who it was, Zip?” Catherine Beckett was the office manager, accountant, and the gorgeous face of the company. She was also a partner in the firm. She handled the money. She had a brain like Einstein, but she also dazzled the clients with legs that appeared to never end. Cat had a body that could rival any in a Playboy spread, and a face that had men looking at her rather than their cars.
Zip Chang, the mechanic they’d hired last month, just grinned. “She’s hot, I’ll tell you that, but then every woman who turns up here looking for you is hot. You have a type when it comes to women, smokin’ hot. Envy, man.”
He shook his head at Zip’s words. Shoot him. He liked hot women, what man didn’t, but he never led them on. Never promised more than he could give. But when they were with him, he treated them like princesses.
He hoped it wasn’t Trina, or was her name Katrina, from the other night. While he loved women, a lot of women, he didn’t do love—one on one. Ever. Life had shown him that love meant loss. Relationships between men and women were doomed to fail, and the fallout wasn’t worth the risk.
“Just tell me who she is.”
Zip laughed harder. “You’ll see. Just go see her and I’ll finish up.”
“Taylor wants another 1000 horsepower under his bonnet so we need two more mufflers on the right. Thanks, Zip.”
Tom wiped his hands on a rag and headed towards the plush reception area of Bad Boy Autos. Dealing in high-end cars didn’t feel like a job, but one side of the job he hated was the glitz and glamor that went with the clientele they procured. Men and women who spent more on a car than some people spent on their houses. Maserati, Porsche, and Mercedes. With his lowly background, he’d never been comfortable around money, even though he now had plenty of his own.
For over five years he’d been the number one mechanic on the formula one racing circuit and he’d earned plenty. A share of the drivers prize money and a salary that was seven digits, coupled with a great investment advisor, meant he never had to worry about money again. Six months ago he’d invested in Bad Boy Autos with his best friend Marcus Black, the formula one race car driver who’s back was so badly injured in a crash eighteen months ago that he could no longer drive professionally.
Catherine waved at him through the glass partition and pointed to the luxury reception area. She often worked late in the office to keep on top of the invoicing. They’d offered to get her some help, but she preferred to keep control of everything. Control freak, he supposed. But they’d be lost without her.
He hoped whoever this woman was, she would be a pleasant diversion from the crap day he’d had. His dad had come through the surgery and was doing well so far. Tom had stayed at the hospital a lot longer than he’d intended since his brother Sam had guilted him into hanging around until Vincent had returned to the recovery room. He was still angry with Sam. Tom didn’t owe his father anything. Not after the upbringing he’d had.
He knew coming back to LA was a risk. The European circuit meant he didn’t have to see his father or revisit his childhood. He’d been back barely a month before his past came calling. His father needed a new liver. No surprises there. He’d drunk himself to the point of death, also the excuse he now used as to why he’d been so shitty to his kids.
This morning Tom had come directly to work from the hospital, and on top of a lack of sleep, had found out that one of their parts suppliers had mucked up an order. It had put them behind schedule for the day, which was why he was still working at eight o’clock this evening, dead on his feet. Zip had volunteered to stay to help, and Tom had been happy to give him the overtime.
The smile on his lips died as soon as he saw Marcus’s sister, Kendra Black, standing by the counter. She was still a princess, and he was most definitely still the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. She was more beautiful than ever with her long, sleek black hair, olive-green eyes, and the sweetest, softest lips he’d ever kissed.
Even after all this time, he still remembered the way she’d felt against his mouth, his skin, and the sounds of pleasure that had come from between them. Reining in his libido, he walked closer.
“Kendra. Zip said that someone was here to see me, but I think you must want Marcus—”
Her eyes glittered like green glass. “No. I’ve come to see you.”
Tom’s eyebrows rose and a prickle of unease slid up his spine. Normally Kendra Black avoided him, and he was relieved. It hurt just looking at her. He still wanted her as much as he ever had, but she was still Marcus’s little sister and still off limits, especially now she had a kid and now he was in business with her brother. Marcus was still feral over the fact Kendra protected the man who’d done this to her. Tom had even offered to help Marcus kick this guy’s ass when they learned the truth. How dare this guy treat Kendra like this, let alone a little boy? He’d only seen Connor a few times, but he was the spitting image of Kendra with jet-black hair.
He thanked God every day Marcus never learned of his one big fuckin’ mistake. Tom had known to stay well clear of Marcus’s little sister. It was the bro code, but that was fuckin’ hard to do when she’d pursued him as if he was her favorite treat. Finally, four years ago, on a break from the racing circuit, he’d ultimately given in to his desire. She was a beauty, and though he had promised to leave her alone, he couldn’t. But really, when had he ever adhered to the rules?
From the minute of their first meeting by the pool, when she was still jailbait, Kendra let him know she was up for a taste of him. He deserved a medal for his resistance. He’d steered well clear of her until that fateful night four years later.
It helped that he spent most of the year in Europe on the racing circuit. But the down season was the hardest, and it finally got him into trouble.
The night he’d caved in to his burning need to taste her, she’d just turned twenty, and instead of remembering Marcus’s warnings, he had slept with Kendra. The exotic memory was burned into his brain. He should regret that amazing night, but he didn’t. He blamed it on her birthday party and her asking for a personal present—a kiss from him. It was the best night of his life. He’d told himself dinner and dancing, nothing more—she deserved way better than him, anyway. But that first kiss ignited something in them both, and it wasn’t long before they moved to his hotel and melted into one another’s arms, wanting way more than kisses. He still wanted more, couldn’t get her out of his mind even all these years later.
But happy families were not for him. He didn’t have any plans to be involved in a relationship. In his experience people let you down. Marriages never lasted, and you simply ended up hating each other, just like his parent’s had.
“We need to talk,” she said, looking at him coolly. Her voice coated him like a honey glaze. Kendra had a sweet tone with a slight rasp that turned him on. But there was an edge to her comment that made him concerned.
“Has something happened to Marcus?”
“The world does not start and end with my brother. No, this is about you and me.”
