I wasn’t lying when I said she was my responsibility. She is. And her calling me when she was stranded on the side of the road tells me that she trusts me more than she wants to admit. Even if I was the last person she called. She had run out of options, and it worked in my favor.

I look down at her parted lips as she takes a deep breath, and my tongue comes out as it runs across my lower lip. I wish I could have one night with her. I would show her just how terrified she should be of me. I would please her in ways she’s never known. She’s beautiful, but she’s uptight. I don’t think that’s just because she hates me, but it’s just who she is. I would gladly fuck that out of her. I’d turn her into a shaking, moaning mess as I had my way with her. And boy, can I think of many ways to do just that.

Her blue eyes fall down to my lips, and her breathing picks up. I can almost smell her fear and it has my cock hardening. It’s actually sick how it turns me on. I have never forced myself on a woman, and I never will. But that doesn’t mean I’m not sick in other ways. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t pull her out of this car, bend her over my hood, and fuck her pussy right here while cars drive by and watch—if she would let me, of course.

“Case …” The concern in her voice has me pulling out of my thoughts. I pull away from her and sit my ass back in my driver’s seat. I put the car in gear and get back to the highway. You can’t fuck her! Tell that to my hard cock. I adjust myself once again in my seat as I let out a cough to try and not look so suspicious. The last thing I want her to know is how I fantasize about burying my cock in her pussy. I’m trying to get her to trust me, not afraid I’ll force myself on her.

As I pull up to her driveway, I look over at her. “I’m not going to ask you for your number.” I already have it, but she doesn’t need to know that. “But just know if you need me for anything, you can call me. I will always answer,” I say without even turning to look at her. She doesn’t respond; she just gets out and slams the door shut.

TAYLOR

I walk into the house, and Savannah jumps up from the couch the moment she sees me walk in. “Taylor? Are you okay? I got your messages. I called you back,” she says in a rush.

I hold up my hand to stop her. “I know.” I continue walking past the living room and kitchen into my bedroom. She follows me.

“Why aren’t you at work?” she questions, coming in behind me.

“I got fired,” I say falling onto my bed. Getting fired being the last thing on my mind at the moment. Did Case almost kiss me? He had licked his lips as if he thought about it. Was that just me? What would I have done if he had? Would I have kissed him back? I would like to say no, but my mind is telling me yes. I would have.

“What?” she asks in disbelief as she sits down softly beside me. “Why?”

Forget about Case! “Because my car broke down, so I was almost an hour late.” Just saying it again pisses me off. I feel like I should write Mr. Binsen a very strongly worded letter. Fuck you, Mr. Binsen! I hope you lose all of your eBay auctions! Yeah, that would make me feel better.

She looks around my room for a few seconds and then back at me. “How did you get home? Did you get your car fixed that fast?”

I wish. “Case.” I whisper his name hoping she doesn’t notice the want in my voice. I thought he was gonna kiss me. Hell, I licked my lips thinking grab my neck and kiss me! Show me what you can do to me. Why would I want him? He’s bad news.

Her brows pull together in confusion then her eyes widen in shock. “No fucking way,” she shrieks. “You’re joking, right?” She slaps me on the shoulder.

“I wish I was,” I mumble. Not only do I want the man, but now I also owe him. This cannot end well for me.

She smiles brightly as she flips her blond hair over her shoulder. “So he’s not that bad of a guy after all?”

I sigh in defeat. “He may have come and saved me, but that doesn’t mean I have changed my mind about him.” Does it? Pretty sure my thoughts about him are starting to change. Maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought he was.

We spend the next thirty minutes going over my day with Case and the creepy guy who stopped and tried to help me. I leave out the part where one of his ex or current lover was our hostess. I figured that would just make me look jealous. And that’s crazy because I barely know the guy. I also chose to leave out the part where I thought he was gonna kiss me. No need to confuse me any more than I already am.

“He has the hots for you,” she says with a smile after I finish talking.

“He does not.” I roll my eyes. “He was just helping me out.” I’m still not sure why. We’re not friends. But no matter how much of a dick I think he is, he did come to my rescue today like a knight on a white horse. More like sin in a white sports car.

“He’s hot.” She sighs as she falls onto her back. “All those tats.” She runs her left hand up her right arm. “I wonder if he has any that his clothes hide?” She looks over at me and wiggles her eyebrows.

I sigh as I fall down onto the bed beside her. “Doesn’t matter if he does. Neither one of us will find out.” Why do I wish I could tell her yes or no due to personal experiences?

“Well, I bet you can. And then you can tell me.” I snort. “Hey, just because I can’t touch doesn’t mean I can’t fantasize,” she adds with a playful shove to my shoulder.

We lie there as the afternoon light shines into my bedroom, and I close my eyes to the silence. It’s been a long morning, and I’m tired. Just as I yawn, she speaks. “What are you gonna do about your car?”

“I don’t know.” I had called him from a blocked number so that means he doesn’t have mine. How will he contact me when my car is done? I guess he could call my brother and have Blane relay the message to me. Either way, I’ll deal with that tomorrow. It’s been a draining Sunday, and I sure as hell could use an afternoon nap.

I roll over onto my side and another yawn escapes me before I feel myself start to drift away.

***

Before my eyes can focus, I hear voices. Men’s voices maybe? But they seem to be far away. As my eyes flutter open and my hearing becomes clearer, I can tell that they are coming down the hallway of the house.

I look in front of me and see that Savannah lies asleep. Her blond hair covers her face. Light trickles into my bedroom, no longer bright outside but now dark. We must have fallen asleep like this—on my bed and still dressed.

I look up at my open bedroom door and see my brother walk by; I realize his voice woke me. Flipping over onto my other side, I close my eyes and try to get back to that same stage of unconsciousness. Still tired.

After a few minutes of laughter from my brother’s room, I realize that sleep isn’t going to be possible. I’ll be better off if I get up than to sleep the rest of the evening away. I hate when I wake up around ten at night after having an afternoon nap and end up staying up all night.

With a heavy sigh and a long stretch, I climb out of bed and make my way across the hall to the bathroom. My brother has the master bedroom with the bathroom. When we first moved in here, we found it easier for Savannah and me to share a bathroom than for one of us to have to share it with Blane. Now that she is dating him, they share the master bedroom, meaning I have to leave my room in order to use the restroom.

I cringe when I get a whiff of the smoke and sweat that still lingers on my clothes. I should have taken them off before I laid on my bed. Now, I gotta wash my sheets.

I lock the bathroom door behind me and slowly undress. My eyes and limbs are still heavy from sleep. Once I get undressed and the water temperature is just right, I make my way into the shower. Closing my eyes and standing underneath the sprayer, I allow the hot water to flow over me, making me smile. Ahh, it feels so good.