Page 24 of Hard Ride

One, the guy with curly chestnut hair and a full beard, had a massive tattoo of an eagle spanning his chest.The other had what seemed like acres of smooth tanned skin stretched over his cut muscles.Kyra nearly tripped over a compressor hose as she ogled the pair.

“Careful,” Trevon cupped her elbow and steered her to safety.He leaned in so no one else would hear him teasing her.“Wouldn’t want to break your neck while gawking at the new guys.Besides, Ollie might get even more jealous than he already is.”

Kyra laughed and shook her head.She didn’t bother to correct him about Ollie.Some hopelessly romantic part of her hoped it might be true even though he’d kept her firmly in the friend zone the night before.“Hey, I can’t help it if you insist on filling this place with eye candy.Who are they?”

“Our new machinists.Hey, guys, come here a minute.”Trevon waved them over.“I want you to meet Kyra.”

When they saw Trevon gesturing at them, they shut down the machine, set aside their project, then stripped thick leather gloves off their big, skilled hands.They tucked them in the waistbands of their jeans, against abs glistening with sweat.

Whew.“I think I see why you call this place Hot Rides.”

Trevon chuckled.“Not too shabby, huh?”

Kyra tried not to choke on her tongue as the duo approached with matching, nearly predatory grins on their handsome faces.Suddenly starting to sweat, Kyra unbuttoned her jacket, took off her hat, and stuffed it into her pockets along with Ollie’s gloves.

She barely resisted the urge to try to fluff her hair or arrange her unruly curls around her face so they were more flattering.What was wrong with her?Suddenly every man she met tripped her switch?Were her hormones going into overdrive as she neared thirty?

Or it could be she was meeting a whole new caliber of guys lately.

“What’s up, Trevon?”the guy with the beard and chest tattoo asked.

“I want you to meet a friend of ours.This is Kyra Kado.She’s the drummer for Kason Cox’s band.”Trevon’s voice lost a little of its amused tone when he explained, “She’s staying with Ollie for a few days while Van, Kason’s head of security, checks into someone who’s been harassing her.Since you’re going to be around, I thought you should be informed of the situation.”

The guys seemed to stand straighter at that, some sort of warrior instincts seeming to kick in.Damn it!That was exactly what she didn’t need.Still, they remained polite, the bearded guy extending his hand.It swallowed hers when they shook.“Hey.Nice to meet you.I’m Walker.This is Dane.”

He motioned with his head and then let go of her fingers so Dane could take up caressing her hand where his friend had left off.Maybe it was her previous train of thought about Ollie and Van and what it might like to be sandwiched between them, but her mind instantly went there with these two.

There was an invisible bond between them—in how they moved, interacted, and played off each other—that made her sure they were a team.In the garage, for sure.Maybe in bed too.

“What’s this about a stalker?”Walker asked.

Dane seemed to let his partner handle the talking, but he leaned in, observing her reactions closely as Walker interrogated her.

“It’s not like that.”Kyra shook her head as she waved her hands in front of her chest.Dane’s eyes widened as he took in her own ink, which scrolled around her collarbones and dipped onto the top swells of her breasts.“Don’t rile them up over nothing, Trevon.”

“It’s notnothing.”He sent her a stern look that made her sure she was going to need to escape to her female friends soon or risk kneeing more overbearing men.Devra might not appreciate her smashing Trevon’s balls as she’d said often how she’d like to have a family of her own someday.

Kyra almost wished the Hot Rides had laughed at Ollie’s recounting of how she’d scurried back to the bus like a frightened mouse instead of taking her unease so seriously.That made it more real.More alarming.“I have a particularly devoted fan.I think he’s harmless.Van is just making sure I’m right.That’s all.”

“I hope you are,” Walker said.“But we’re happy to keep an eye out, too.Dane and I were in the service together.We know how to take care of ourselves and those around us.Nothing will happen to you at Hot Rides.”

“I know.And thanks.”She smiled softly, touched by the kindness of these strangers.It was like that here in Middletown.If you were part of the gang, you had a readymade family waiting with open arms.It seemed like Dane and Walker, and maybe her too, were going to fit right in.

With the serious business out of the way, Dane waded into the conversation.She greatly appreciated the diversion from topics she’d rather not think about.“Your tattoos are beautiful,” he said as his eyes wandered along the most visible one toward her cleavage, highlighted by the low scoop neck of the cropped pink tank top she’d layered beneath another of her trusty flannel shirts.It had been worth the chill to see Ollie’s expression as he’d taken in her bare midriff and the artwork peeking from beneath her shirt earlier that morning.

Dane was clearly wondering, as she prayed Ollie had, what she looked like without it on.Maybe she’d offer to give her van-mate a private exhibition of her full canvas later.It could be just the opening she needed.

Walker elbowed Dane.“I don’t think those are tattooed.Quit it.”

Kyra laughed and shook her head as she realized Dane’s stare had landed on her boobs.Again, sad as it might be, it felt nice to know they’d noticed her as a woman and not only as a friend of the Hot Rides.Unlike Van, who acted so damn indifferent—other than when he’d let loose that solitary afternoon—and Ollie, who for some dumb reason was trying to behave around her despite Van’s indifference about what they did together when he wasn’t around.“They’re not.Tattooed, I mean.Though they might be pierced.”

She adored the way their eyes widened and the desire that flashed across even Walker’s guarded face a moment before he asked, “You free for dinner?”

A shadow grew between them as someone approached from the open bay door.“Sorry guys, she’s eating with me.”

Ollie.

Some part of Kyra was glad that he’d caught Dane and Walker ogling her, flirting, and generally raising her self-esteem.Unused to the mind games they’d all somehow found themselves playing, she found the constant tension exhausting.She had to do something about it, even if it ended in disaster.

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