Page 10 of Devil's Bargain

His white Henley is pushed up above his elbows. It’s already smudged with grease, but he doesn’t seem to care.

I clear my throat, suddenly very aware of my tiny skirt and combat boots.

He wipes beads of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, but it’s got grease on it and now he has a dark streak above his eyebrow. He meets my gaze. “Your car has run out of engine coolant.”

“Engine coolant?”

He chuckles on his way past me. I follow behind like a lost puppy. “Your car stalled because the engine overheated.”

“But the warning sign didn’t come on.”

He smiles at me over his shoulder. “You said it yourself. Your car is older than the dinosaurs. The coolant sensor is probably faulty.”

“What are you doing?” I ask when he sits down on the hood of his expensive Porsche and pats the spot next to him.

“We have to wait until the engine cools down a bit.”

I sweep my eyes over the yellow fields surrounding us. “Where were you going?”

He crosses one foot over the other and shrugs. “I was just going for a drive. I have a lot on my mind.”

I take a seat next to him, painfully aware that I’m sitting on a car worth more than I can ever hope to earn in a year or five. “Why did you stop?”

He glances at me. “I’m not a dick.”

My eyebrows shoot up.

Rick is the ex-boyfriend of the girl Ben and Dallas have a thing for.

“Where are you heading?” he asks, scanning his eyes over the empty road.

I toe the ground. The grass has yellowed. “To see my friends. If I ever get there, of course.”

My stomach rumbles. I press a hand to my belly and duck my head as I mumble an apology. I still haven’t got around to buying food. There’s a shop close to Ben’s house.

Rick stands up and rounds the hood. He opens the driver’s door and leans inside before popping back up with a foot-long sandwich. “There you go.”

When I don’t reach for it, he sighs and takes my hand, placing the sandwich in my palm. “Eat it.”

“I can’t accept this from you,” I reply, holding it back out for him. My stomach rumbles again.

“I’m not helping you with your car if you don’t,” he says, crossing his arms.

My mouth falls open. I laugh in disbelief and tear the wrapping open. “I thought you said you’re not a dick.” I take a huge bite, chewing loudly.

He grins before brushing crumbs off my bottom lip. “I’m not, but I can be when the occasion calls for it.”

I freeze, my lips tingling from his touch as I search his hazel eyes.

His hand falls away. He clears his throat and walks off.

I swallow. My mouth is too dry for the food to go down easily. Peering over my shoulder, I take another bite and watch him close the trunk of his car.

He’s back again with a large bottle of water. “Let’s fill her up.”

I choke on the sandwich.

Laughing, he walks over to my car.

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