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Saks lay on Chrissy’s back, a boneless mess. He thought he’d had good sex before but now was disabused of that notion. Making love to Chrissy left him totally shattered. He wasn’t even sure he could move off her.
Finally, his cock softened and one little jiggle from either of their bodies would disconnect them.
Can I just go to sleep here? He snuggled against Chrissy’s hot body, but then jolted to the present with the blare of a truck’s backing klaxon.
“Saks,” said Chrissy. “It’s the tow truck.”
“Shit!” Saks jumped to his feet.
Freed, Chrissy rolled away and bent down to grab clothes off the floor. She threw Saks’ jeans at him and then threw her own clothes on before flying out the door with her purse in hand. The horn blew again for slightly longer. Saks followed at a slow pace.
The driver arched an eyebrow when Saks gave him instructions to drop it in the parking lot of Central Valley Bike Repair.
“I work there. The owner lets me use the bays.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, as if he didn’t believe that Saks’ beater would be welcome at a bike shop. But all he had to do was tow the thing. Chrissy stood at Saks’ side as the beater car drove away on the back of the rumbling tow truck.
“Well, what now?” said Saks.
“How about breakfast?”
Saks gave her a disparaging glance and Chrissy blushed.
“Yeah, right? Not my finest moment. But I’ll be good,” she said. “No Eggs Benedict. I promise.”
“You’d better be good,” he said in a gruff, teasing voice. “Otherwise, I might have to take you over my knee. Again.”
“I knew you were bad,” said Chrissy with a sexy smirk. “I didn’t know you were into kink.”
“Sweetie, there are lots of things I’m into.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a kiss that seared his lips with her heat and left him lightheaded. His cock stirred, looking for round two. Damn. That was a quick recovery. Chrissy made him want her.
All thoughts about what was good for him, not getting involved with his uncle’s plans or the Serafinis, quickly flew out the window. And then his knees buckled under him and he thought for a moment he was going to pass out. Over a girl?
Chrissy caught him before he fell by bracing him against her side. “Easy, tiger,” she said. “The doctor ordered you to rest.”
“You didn’t say that a half hour ago,” he said.
“You were acting all hale and hearty. But I should’ve known better.”
“Okay, okay,” grumbled Saks, no longer hungry and not liking the pain searing up the back of his head and pushing against his forehead. “Help me to your chariot and bear me away to my humble abode.”
“Oh, brother,” said Chrissy. “What did that car hood jar loose from your brain?”
“My pubescent love of Shakespeare.”
“Shakespeare?”
“She’s beautiful, and therefore to be wooed; She is woman, and therefore to be won.”
“Okay, Shakespeare, let’s get you into the car.”
“Saks, my name’s Saks.”
“Yes, Mr. Anthony Parks.”
With a grumble, Saks settled into the front seat of Chrissy’s hand-me-down Cadillac. She disappeared and the clack of her heels on the wood staircase rang through the parking lot. Then a door shut and her heels clattered on the steps. She tossed a backpack into the back of the car.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Lady things,” she said mysteriously.
“Uh-huh.” If he had more energy, he’d have pushed for more info. Instead, he decided she could tell him whatever she wanted.
“Look, I’m supposed to keep an eye on you. That doesn’t mean I can’t take a shower and change into something clean.”
“Don’t wear clothes on my account,” he said with a wicked smile on his lips. “It might facilitate my healing to see your beautiful body bounce around my apartment.”
“Oh, no, lover boy. No more excitement. Just rest and healing.”
“Crap. I need to call my boss.”
“Go ahead,” she said as she pulled the Caddy onto the road.
Saks pulled his cell phone from his jacket and called Luke. “Hey, Luke.”
“Saks?”
“I had an accident with the car last night.”
“What? You okay?” Luke’s alarmed voice slammed into Saks’ ear.
“Yeah. Fine. Sort of. It’s just the hood fell on my head and gave me a bit of a concussion. I’m not supposed to drive or work for a couple days.”
“Does it hurt?”
“What?”
“Your head. Because I can’t imagine anything hurting that hard head of yours.”
“Very funny,” said Saks dryly. Saks imagined Luke sitting at the desk of the bike shop, laughing his head off at the idea of the car hood hitting Saks. At least Saks’ predicament amused rather than annoyed him.
“I have a doctor’s note,” said Saks.
“Fuck a doctor’s note. You need a couple days, you got it. Gives me a good excuse to put an ad in the paper for your job.”
“Asshole.”
“Damn straight,” Luke said, laughing. “I might even hire George back.”
Now Luke was going too far. George was an FBI agent who wormed his way into the shop by an inflated résumé courtesy of his employers. When the investigation ended so did George’s employment. The guy was damned near useless at the shop.
“You’d do better to hire Pepper back.”
Oops. Now he knew he suffered brain damage. Pepper was another embedded agent, this time DEA, who actually could repair bikes. But while George was a mild annoyance, Pepper’s actions put both Saks and Luke’s wife in extreme danger. Pepper was persona non- grata at Central Valley Bike Repair, though he retained his membership in name only in the Spawn. Oakie wouldn’t move for a vote to remove him. As long as Pepper stayed away from the Spawn, Luke didn’t press the issue.
“You definitely have a head injury,” growled Luke. “Take a few days.”
“Sorry, Luke.”
“Not a problem. Just don’t mention him again. Hope you feel better, buddy. You got someone to take care of you?”
Saks glanced at the beautiful woman beside him. “Got it covered.”
“Call me if you need anything.” Luke clicked off the call, and Saks sighed.
“Problem?” asked Chrissy.
“Nah, not really.”
“Sounds as if your boss was giving you a difficult time.”
“He wasn’t.” Saks stared out the window as they traveled the highway. His head hurt. If Chrissy wasn’t so fucking amazing, he wouldn’t have had the interest in making love to her. But that lustful expression on her face when he said he would spank her twisted his heart into silly putty and straightened his cock into a length of steel.
“You know,” said Chrissy. Saks turned his head to spot a twisted smile on her lips. Damn it. She was about say something sassy.
He fucking loved that.
“I hear you shouldn’t try to think too much with a head injury. You could hurt your brain more.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he said with a smirk. “I’m incapable of thinking straight when I’m with you.”
“Was that a pickup line? It sounds like one.”
“You’re the person who trolled an emergency room to find the first hapless man to drag home.”
“Hapless? What does that even mean?”
“Without hap.”
She groaned.
“No. Literally. Hap is an old Norse word that means ‘luck’ or ‘fortune’.”
“Oh, good lord. Now I’m with the Vocab King. How much of your smarts do you hide under that tacky jacket of yours?”
“Tacky! Watch it, woman. Diss my colors and you insult me.”
“Sorry. Didn’t realize it was such a sore point.”
“Sore? The only thing that’s going to be sore is your bottom.”
Chrissy chuckled. “You liked that, huh?”
“You didn’t seem to mind.” Saks smiled at the recent memory and the nice way her bottom blushed under his hand. Chrissy didn’t seem to mind playing a little rough and he loved it. But what was more, he just plain enjoyed being with her. She was sassy, fun, and willing to play to the edge. He was having such a good time with Chrissy that he didn’t notice they’d arrived as his apartment building. “Hey, what about breakfast?” His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t had anything to eat since Saturday.
“I’ll stop by the store and pick up some things.”
“Can I trust you with my kitchen knives? You were deadly with your Eggs Benedict. I can only imagine what you’d do with sharp objects.”
“I promise not to stab you today, okay?”
“How can I resist that?”
She stopped the car in the parking lot. “Out.”
“Use me and drop me off at the curb.”
“You should be so lucky.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “You can’t get rid of me so easily. I’ll be right back.”
“If you don’t, I’ll come looking for you.”
“You can’t. No car.”
“Have bike, will travel.”
“Reckless,” she said. “Out. Straight to your place. No stopping at strange women’s doors.”
“Scout’s honor.” She pulled out of the parking lot and Saks shook his head and smiled. It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed spending time with a woman this much. He strolled the walkway to his apartment with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He passed into the courtyard and froze, catching sight of someone out of the corner of his eye.
“Hey, pendajo.”
Saks turned slowly to Pez. The Hispanic leaned against the red brick wall, his lips twisted in a wry smirk. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Just paying a friendly visit and checking up on you. Heard anything from the DEA lately?”
“I don’t know what your game is, Pez, but get your ass out of here.” He was taking a chance threatening Pez. The gang leader wasn’t just the president of the entire Rojos club in Connecticut, but he was a high-ranking lieutenant in their affiliate street gang, the Hombres. He was the conduit between the Rojos and the Hombres and apparently liked being the center of power.
But Pez wasn’t going to let up on Saks. Not today, or any day. Not since he’d learned who Saks’ family was. It wasn’t hard to guess Pez wanted to be the conduit between the Roccos and his two crime organizations. Only, Pez didn’t know what he’d be getting into. Courting the Rocco crime family meant insulting the Serafini family. Neither the Rocco nor the Serafini families played well with others.
“Nothing, eh? I’ll be watching you.” He gave Saks a sardonic smile and ambled away as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Saks watched him get on his bike and drive away.
“Fuck me,” said Saks. It was unavoidable now. He’d have to talk to Oakie about Pez and tell him the gang leader kept reaching out to him. It was only going to piss Oakie off.
And that could lead to a whole string of consequences Saks didn’t want to have to face.
