“Okay, let me get Ossie, and we’ll go back to the house to drop him off and get my truck.” His big grin made my stomach flutter.
Holden whistled, catching Oscar’s attention, even though it was easy to see he wanted to stay with Nina. After quickly rattling Oscar’s leash, the pup hurried over to Holden, tail wagging behind him.
Holden clipped on the leash and handed it to me. “Will you? I forgot my gloves.” He flexed his bare hands, so I chuckled and took the leash, reaching down to pet Ossie.
“Hey, buddy. You ready to go?”
The dog walked between us as we headed back to Holden’s house. It would have been far too easy to imagine the two of us walking the dog for years to come. I had high hopes.
I stood in the middle of a large garage with a few huge tires leaning against the wall and all manner of shiny silver tools displayed from peg boards and hanging racks on every wall. There were four workbenches against the back wall and a huge garage door that was currently closed. The ceiling was two stories high, and there were lots of windows toward the top. It was impressive, though I had no idea how anything worked or where it was used.
“This is impressive. What are those big tires for?” I walked over to one and touched it, surprised how hard it was.
“Dump trucks. It’s pretty common that dump trucks get punctured tires on construction sites, so we keep some on hand for emergencies. Outside, we have more stacks of them. Thenewer trucks have tubeless tires, but these are for older ones that still have tubes, so that’s how we fix them.”
He pointed to a piece of machinery. “That’s where we stabilize the rim and insert the tube before we put it inside the big tire and inflate the tube.”
Holden walked over to the wall and grabbed a large metal rim, putting it on the machine where I was standing. “This is the rim. We keep a few extra rims on hand and trade them out with our regular clients so we can mount the tire here instead of on the job.”
“Don’t you wear protective gloves? It looks rusty.” I’d probably cut off my finger if I tried to do what he was doing.
“Yes, I do. I keep up with my tetanus shots, too. Anyway, I’m not going to mount the tire. I’m just giving you the general idea of how it works. You put it on this...”
Holden went on with his exhibition, showing me how a tire was mounted onto the rim and then the tube was filled so it could be put on a vehicle. It was interesting and confirmed for me that I’d never be able to change so much as a bike tire.
When Holden picked up the huge truck tire and carried it over, I got the opportunity to see his thick muscles in action through his tight, long-sleeved T-shirt. I actually sighed. The sound was louder than I intended, and when Holden turned his gaze on me, my face flushed.
“Everything okay?” His sexy smirk made my knees weak.
He dropped the large tire and rolled it to lean against machine that held the rim. “Is there something on your mind?”
The sexy man slowly sauntered over to me and stepped into my personal space. “I’m all ears.”
Oh, god. Say it or get the fuck out of here.
“I realize you don’t believe in spirits or any of that supernatural stuff, but we don’t have to talk about any of it. I’dlike to get to know you better without that getting between us. Do you think we can?”
My hands were itching to touch him, but I wasn’t sure if he’d want me to. At that point, I wasn’t really sure of anything as I stared into his blue eyes.
Holden lifted his hands and looked at them. He backed up and stepped over to one of the work benches, reaching for a package of hand wipes. After he wiped them both, he walked back to me and put his hands on my hips.
“I definitely believe we can work with that. Now, I’m going to kiss you unless you tell me you don’t want it.” The faint scent of mint hit my nose and my breath hitched.
Balancing on the balls of my feet, I brushed my lips against his and wrapped my arms around his muscular neck. When his steel-like arms clamped around my waist, I melted into his broad chest. His tongue swept over my lips, and I opened to accept him inside.
The taste of coffee and peppermint was a surprise, but I didn’t break the kiss. I might never get the chance to kiss him again and I wanted to make it last.
Holden was definitely over six-feet tall, and I was five-ten. There was a height difference that lit my fire. When his hands cupped my ass before he lifted me, I didn’t hesitate to wrap my legs around his waist and hold on. The kiss heated up. I could feel his erection against my own.
Our tongues swirled together, first in my mouth and then in his. The sensual dance they were doing would have me jizzing my briefs in no time. When I broke the kiss, we were both breathing hard.
“Damn,” he huffed, his heated stare not leaving mine.
“Ditto.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Have you learned enough about the exciting world of tire repair? I’d like to go to my house and continue kissing you on my couch, if you don’t mind.”
I quickly nodded. “Yes, please.”
