“Thought not,” he murmured before pressing his lips to hers.“Been thinking about doing this all day.”
The swinging door to the staff area opened and Harper swiftly returned to her rightful side of the counter.Trent grinned.
Drea deposited Harper’s jacket and purse into her hands.“Ditch the apron and leave before I fire your sorry ass.Now go.I promise I’ll lock up right after you if you don’t tell José.”
***
“How on earth did you end up with a Plymouth Road Runner 383?”Harper asked, rubbing her hands across the smooth dash with its chrome fittings.“This is one of my favorite cars.”
“It was my mentor, Junior’s.I apprenticed under him when I first started.He left it to me when the big guy called, and I overhauled it.”The pride was clear in his voice.“This is my baby.I love old cars.I don’t drive it all that often, to be honest.”
“You did all this?I’m so jealous.What is this—the original model?So that would put it 1968 to 1970, right?”Her fingers trailed reverently over the old dials.
“Yup, 1969.A car girl?You surprise me, Harper.Just how do you know so much about classics?”he teased.
“Reid.My brother.He was always fixing cars and bikes up.He worked in a shop that made custom bikes.He’d let me help him when I was younger.Promised he’d get me one of these.”Tears threatened as Harper trailed off.
“And did he?”
“No.”Harper shook her head.“One of those things we just never got around to.”
They pulled to a stop outside of her building.Trent turned off the engine, silencing the loud growl.
“You wanna know why I like this car?”Trent asked, pulling her toward him into the strong hold of his arms.“The bench seat.No one is making bench seat cars, and future generations will miss out on the opportunity to make out on the front seat without having to crawl over the hand brake.”
He lowered his lips to hers with a deep groan.Closing her eyes, Harper felt herself collapse into him, enjoying the sense of security that washed over her.He smelled of fresh soap and pure male, a deadly combination.
His tongue swept across hers, tentative at first and then claiming.She was burning for him.Drawing in oxygen was a challenge as her heart beat out of her chest.
Trent’s hand moved up her side and brushed over her breast, his thumb circling her nipple and sending tremors through her.Harper tingled in places that hadn’t tingled in a really long time.
“I need you, Harper,” he groaned, his husky voice spreading warmth through her stomach.She felt his hand slide up and around her neck, tilting her head slightly so he could get deeper.
The feel of his hand on her back, pulling her closer to him, was a startling reminder of her past.A cold chill skittered across her, an unwelcome intrusion.Harper tried to focus on Trent, his touch, and his smell, but his hand tightened in her hair, pushing her back to the past.The interior walls started to close in on her.He gripped her shirt, tightening it around her middle, his fingers dragging up her spine.The light-headedness she’d suffered on the tattoo bed returned, all the warmth seeping from her as quickly as it had come.
“Stop.”She scrambled quickly to the other side of the seat and grabbed for the door handle.Embarrassment engulfed her.Could she really be any more pathetic?She threw the door open, needing desperately to escape.
“Harper, wait,” Trent called out to her as she jumped out of the car.She heard his door open as he got out to come after her.
Running for the door, she grabbed her key.
“Don’t,” she called over her shoulder.“I’m sorry.”The door clicked shut behind her.
Her phone rang a few minutes later.“I’m so sorry,” she said, without looking at the caller I.D.
“Taylor?”she heard a female voice say.Hearing her old name was strange.
“Oh, Lydia.Sorry… I thought you…”
“How are you?”Her lawyer didn’t sound like her usual, in-control self.
“I’m fine.Are you okay?”
“I’m sure I will be.I don’t want you to worry, but I was carjacked tonight.I got out, but the guy got away and unfortunately, my laptop bag was in the car.”
Harper gasped.“Are you hurt?What happened?”
“Just shaken up a bit.The police think it’s probably just a random car theft—that the laptop was just a bonus for whoever took it and that it’ll get wiped clean and sold.But Taylor, I did want to let you know because your contact information, where you live now, is on there.”
