“Is there a problem here?”
Shaun whipped her head around and was impaled by furious storm cloud eyes beneath dark blonde brows that were pulled low over them in a deep V. His body language was deceptivelycalm, only Shaun could see the thunder in his eyes. A brown paper sack was clutched in one hand, his knuckles white.
Kasey moved those eyes to Nate, who was stupid enough not to move away from Shaun, instead raising his chin haughtily.
“The lady told you to back off, asshole.” Kasey’s voice was low, ominous, and tingled along every nerve inside her, making her shiver. She’d never seen him so angry. “I suggest you do as she said.”
“Fuck you, this is between me and her,” Nate snapped, his stupidity making more of a show. A muscle jumped in Kasey’s jaw.
“There isnothingbetween you and her, and this conversation is over,” Kasey snarled, taking several steps closer. He set the paper sack on a work bench beside him, then leaning down into Nate’s face, he snarled through gritted teeth, “And you’ll apologize to her for the name calling. She doesn’t owe you shit, and if she wants me and not you, that’s our business, not yours. So, you and your little tic-tac dick, that I’m sure is the reason you’re such a delightful asshole, can get the fuck away from her right now.”
Mortification swallowed her whole when Brent and Nick stepped through one of the garage doors from a different bay, staring at the three of them. Ben appeared next, stopping in the middle of the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.
Nate backed away from her, a sneer marring his face. “Mother fucker,” he muttered under his breath as he walked away, shoving past the three men in the doorway.
“Is there an issue?” Ben asked, his blonde brows rising, his gaze following Nate as he stalked away.
“Yes.”
“No,” Shaun grated out over Kasey’s affirmative. “Everything is fine.”
“Shaun,” Kasey growled in warning, but she sliced her eyes to his and glared at him fiercely. “Sexual harassment in the workplace isn’t ‘fine’.”
“Kasey!” she exclaimed, letting her hands slap against her jean-clad thighs in frustration. “Can I talk to you outside, please?”
Without waiting for his response, she shoved him hard in the chest, pushing him backward out of the large bay door that had been left open until they were both outside. She kept shoving until they’d rounded the corner of the building, hidden from the others. The mid-January cold was biting, but she barely felt it, the fury rolling through her making her hot.
Pointing his finger at the building, he snarled, “How often does that happen, Shaun?”
“It’snothing, Kasey,” she ground out, taking a deep, steadying breath to combat the embarrassment and rage rolling through her. “I work in a mechanic shop, with a bunch of men, who all have very dirty minds and no filters on their mouths. I say just as raunchy, depraved things as they do some days.”
“Thatwas not workshop banter, Shaun!” Kasey shouted, waving his arm wide. “Trust me, I’m around mechanics day in and day out, too, darlin’. If anybody on my team treated a woman like that, they’d be fired so fast their head would spin.”
“When I’m here, I’m not a woman. I’m one of the guys,” Shaun argued, her hands shaking with fury.
“I’d argue that, and clearly that asshole doesn’t understand the word no,” he countered. Stepping closer to her, making her lift her chin to raise her eyes to his, which were a dangerous shade of slate, and he snarled, “I’ll ask again: How often does that happen, Shaun?”
“I don’t need a knight in shining armor to rescue me, Kasey,” Shaun deflected, fear tingling down her spine when his eyes darkened dangerously.
Grabbing hold of her upper arms, he pushed her backward until her back came to rest against the faded red metal siding of the building, his body slanting over hers. Her head tilted up, way up, to stare at him. His jaw was tight, a muscle jumping with what she could tell was barely contained anger.
“I’m no knight in shining armor, darlin’,” he whispered darkly, his voice a low growl. “And I’m not here to rescue you. I’m here to ruin you, just like you’ve ruined me. But I won’t stand by and let some other man touch what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours,” she whispered, more out of habit than out of denial at this point.
“Keep telling yourself that, darlin’,” he growled before dropping his mouth to hers fiercely, and her eyes closed as she met his kiss just as fervently. When his mouth released hers, she sighed, her eyes fluttering open.
“You’re a bully.”
“One thousand percent,” he whispered against her mouth, smirking. “And you love it.”
“I’m at work, Kasey,” she whined, pushing against his chest halfheartedly. “You can’t just show up here and—”
“And what? Stop some douche from harassing you, bring you lunch, or kiss you senseless?”
“Well, no…” she mumbled, narrowing her eyes up at him. “Don’t be cute. I’m mad at you.”
“Nothing new,” he muttered, winking, and she rolled her eyes. “Are you going to tell me that you’re going to turn your nose up at a giant bowl of lemon chicken soup and some of the best smelling, freshly baked bread I’ve ever found?”
