Southern Shifters: Stick Shifter (Kindle Worlds Novella) (5 page)

D
elaney swallowed
past the lump of food that had gotten momentarily lodged in her throat. There was no way he meant what it sounded like.

Looking at her food, she poked it with her fork a few times. “Family?”

“Mom and dad live in Las Vegas, well outside of the city. We have a large home where two of my three sisters live. My sister Layla is married, and she and her husband live nearby. My two other sisters are nutty, obnoxious, and adorable. They are close in age and are spoiled rotten. I think they just have been playing dress up too long. I have high hopes for them someday.”

“You live with your parents?” Delaney wasn’t surprised by this. She’d lived with her dad until her recent move to the studio apartment above the garage.

“Sort of. I keep a suite at the hotel. I work so much and often through the night that I’m more of a nomad. When I need a break from the hotel, I crash at my parents’ house. There is always someone there, and I like getting away from the noise and glare of downtown.”

“That’s nice that you have such a big family,” she offered.

Will didn’t know how to explain just how big his family actually was. His pack was the largest in the area. Almost everyone in the Klein cougar pack worked in one of the family’s companies. It was an empire full of shifters, not that he’d be able to explain that to her yet.

“So, how many more runs do you have planned?” Delaney switched to car talk since it was easier than family.

“Well, I had dozens planned. But now it all depends,” he said.

“On what? Your car will be ready to go tomorrow.”

“On whether or not I have company. I find the thought of hitting the Dragon on my own sounding very lonely all of a sudden. You like driving it?”

“Sure, although I usually ride it,” she said, not looking at him.

“Ride it? You ride?” Will was surprised to hear this, although he really shouldn’t be. Delaney was his perfect mate. Of course, she would love to drive and ride motorcycles. Just like him.

“I live near a road that has three hundred eighteen turns in eleven miles. Hells yes, I ride. I have a Ninja 300 that I take out on nice days.”

The image of her stretched over the top of a slick motorcycle had Will shifting to relieve the pressure on the zipper of his jeans. He could just imagine her dressed in black leather with her hair flying behind her. It was a very sexy image.

“Maybe I can ride with you this week?” Will wanted to make his dreams a reality.

Delaney would freaking love that. But nobody drove her motorcycle, and she’d be damned if she’d take the bitch seat. Then again, the thought of wrapping around the man sitting next to her as they sped through the mountain had its merits.

“How about tomorrow? You busy?”

“After your car, there isn’t much on the schedule. Should be sunny. I’d love to go. It’s been ages.” Delaney knew she should say thanks for dinner and have a nice life. But this man was too hunky to push away. So what was the harm in a few days flirtation? It could be a good time. Something to carry her through the summer of working in a hot garage, breathing in fumes.

“Excellent, after lunch? I could take you out somewhere. Not that eating on the grass is bad. But somewhere we could eat with metal utensils wouldn’t be bad.”

“No, although Styrofoam does give the food that extra special taste,” she said with a giggle.

“You have a nice laugh. It makes your face light up. Did you know that?” Will asked, leaning over as he brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face. His finger just brushed her cheekbone, and his cat roared in his head as her eyes got big from his touch.

“What am I going to do with you?” he murmured under his breath.

“Do you need to do something with me?” Delaney asked, her voice a little breathless from the static shock of his touch.

“Oh yes, I need to do something with you, Delaney. I like you. I want to get to know you. I know when something is too precious to pass up. You’re a gem, and any man that doesn’t give you the time and attention you deserve is an idiot. I’ve never thought of myself as an idiot.”

Delaney watched him as his hand touched her cheek lightly again. “You want to date? For the next week?”

“To start. After that, we can talk about the future.” He said it like it was a done deal.

“We can’t have a future, Will. I like you, I think. I mean you’re handsome, but you knew that. Uh, you seem nice. I may have Googled you earlier, so I don’t think you are a serial killer. But how can you know you want to see me? Maybe our first date will suck?”

“This is our first date. It doesn’t suck,” he said quietly.

Oh geez, this was a date? How the heck was she supposed to know that? A picnic next to the garage was not what she thought of as a date. Maybe an evening watching high school football and some beers tailgating could be a date. But then she’d never actually been out on a real date. She hooked up with her ex one night, and they went straight to couple-hood.

“Wait, you Googled me?” Will asked with a laugh.

Blushing again, Delaney admitted it. “Yes, but only because I thought you looked kind of fancy. So my curiosity got the better of me.”

“And what did you find?”

“That you work at a casino. That you’ve traveled the world and met celebrities. I’ve never really been outside of North Carolina and Tennessee. I went to Georgia a few times, but I don’t count crossing the border as actually visiting.”

“You need to see the world, little one. There is a big world out there just waiting for you.” Will liked the idea of showing her how amazing traveling was. He’d take her everywhere, and show her every imaginable wonder of the world.

Delaney didn’t know why, but she liked that endearment from him. Her father wasn’t a big fan of nicknames. Her ex occasionally called her B.J. thinking he was being funny.

“I don’t think I’ll be traveling anytime soon. My world is this town, the garage, and the occasional kegger near the dam.” Delaney hadn’t really thought about how isolated she was until she was reminded of it by out of towners.

“We could go to Paris or Tokyo. Do you have a passport?”

“Oh sure, let me go grab that,” she scoffed.

“Hmm, I know some people that could expedite it. Don’t you think you should have one? It’s the best form of identification you know.”

“I’ve managed this far with just a birth certificate and driver’s license. But hey, if I ever win the lottery, it will be at the top of my to-do list.”

Delaney watched him get thoughtful for a minute, and then he changed the subject. “Okay, we’ll put a pin in the trips for right now. So how about that date? We can go for a ride tomorrow, and then I’ll take you out for dinner. Any place you think would be good.”

“I should say no, because I normally don’t encourage tourists. But you seem nice; you brought me food and beer, so you are ahead of most of the guys I’ve met.”

“Don’t forget the chocolate.” His mouth turned up in a smirk.

“I never forget chocolate. But sure, how about you meet back here at noon, and we can take a ride. Your car will be done tonight if you let me get to it,” she teased.

“I’m in no hurry. You have plans tonight? I’m quite content to sit here and talk. We haven’t even gotten into the dessert yet. Although I have to say this is the biggest burrito I’ve ever seen. It’s the size of my head,” he said, looking down at the container in his hands.

“Hmm…well, leftovers never hurt anyone, and no, I don’t have plans tonight.”

“Good. My plans are only sitting by your side and trying to keep you talking so our evening won’t end.”

“You lacking in company and conversation in your life, Mr. Klein?”

“Up until today, I’ve been lacking in your company, Delaney. I don’t plan on letting that happen ever again.”

W
ill let
her continue asking him questions about his work and how he grew up. He told her about his college experiences and his plans for the future now. He told her how he really wanted to expand out his family’s holdings to provide more opportunities for his employees. Delaney felt the gap between them grow even more, although he didn’t seem to think her life was any less than his. He asked about what she liked in school, her favorite cars, and what she liked to do in her spare time. They sat in the sun until the twilight started to creep over them.

Dusting her hands on her pant legs, Delaney started to get up.

“I should get to work on your car. I’d hate for you to leave me a bad review because it took so long to get your car back. It would be faster if you helped.”

“I’m at your service,” Will offered and started to clean up their food. “We’ll save the dessert for after we do our chores, yeah?”

They carried the containers of food back into the garage. Delaney set him up on a stool next to the toolboxes on the bench. It was a clear sign of you’re welcome to stay, but don’t get in my way. Will didn’t care. She was at home in the garage. Her ability to gracefully move around the room grabbing tools and keeping up on the conversation showed Will that most of what she was doing was all muscle memory. Her ease with the engine was mesmerizing.

He was no slouch when it came to car repairs. He was self-taught out of necessity. The first time he got the feeling a shop was trying to overcharge him, he endeavored to learn enough to not get taken again. Sure he could afford to have anyone work on his cars, but he didn’t like to be ignorant about anything.

Although he was listening to her, his cougar was encouraging him to think of all the surfaces in the area they could bend their mate over, fuck her, and mark her as theirs. Will knew his animal’s need; it was ferocious, and he couldn’t blame him. He knew there was a protocol involved with shifter/human relationships. You had to gain your mate’s trust and ease them into your world.

Will didn’t want to do any of that. He didn’t want to date her, woo her, or buy her flowers. Well, that wasn’t exactly true; he did want to do all those things with her and much more. He also wanted to be able to enjoy that sweet body of hers while he was doing all those other things.

What could be the worst that would happen if he just came out and told her the truth first? Granted, he didn’t know her all that well, but the fates wouldn’t have given her to him if she wasn’t right for him. So shouldn’t his perfect match trust him when he told her the truth?

He could show her his cougar, declare his love, and promise her the world. His cat was thinking that was a great idea and a fast one to get them to their goal. Will knew from the human side that would come across as crazy and potentially threatening. Smart women didn’t fall over for men who declared their love after just meeting them and then telling them they were a supernatural being. Definitely not on the approved list of
How to Get the Girl
.

Although he wracked his brain, he couldn’t figure out a way to extend the evening without scaring her. He was a little proud of his level of self-control.

Will managed to say goodnight without grabbing her and kissing the crap out of her. She’d finished working on his car as he stared at her ass and hid his erection. He handed her tools as she needed them, and he would sit back on the stool near the workbench, gripping the edge with white knuckles to keep from touching her. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, keeping his hands to himself.

Her voice was still as sweet coming from under the bonnet of the car. She’d answer questions he would throw out just to keep her talking. When something was funny, she’d look over her shoulder at him with that adorable smile, and his heart would stop beating. The glint in her eyes told his cougar that she was genuinely having fun talking to him.

He couldn’t help but hope she’d find something else wrong with his car so he wouldn’t have to manufacture more ways to be with her. She seemed to be willing to spend time with him. The ride tomorrow was a great start. His plan was to morph that into a meal, then another meal, and possibly a drive. Anything to keep her close.

When she’d finally finished and fired up the engine, his car purred, and it was a terrible sound to his cougar’s way of thinking. He’d never prayed so hard for a clunk or a clank with a plume of smoke. Sadly, she was an expert mechanic, and his car was back to normal or, more to the point, running better.

She’d taken the lead when he didn’t get up from his perch. She wiped off her hands with a clean shop rag and held out his keys to him. He took them, letting his hand hold hers for a second too long. It wasn’t enough time to get her scent on him or vice versa, but it was something.

When she gave him all the clear signs it was time for him to go, he reluctantly left. He didn’t go far. He’d told her that he would come back for his car tomorrow after their ride. Will waved goodbye and drove off only to pull over and turn around about a half mile down the road. He pulled back down the street near the garage but far enough away that he couldn’t be easily seen and turned off the car. His cougar eyes could pick up every detail through the darkness.

Delaney moved around the garage putting away tools. Eventually, she closed the large bay door and went into the office. She was in there a few minutes before Will saw the light flick off. Then to his surprise, he watched his mate exit through a side door and walk around the side of the building and disappear from sight. His cougar wanted to jump out and chase after her. His hand was on the handle of the door when he saw a light in a small window above the garage come on.

Will hadn’t noticed the window before, his focus completely on his mate. Now he could see shadows moving around with her slim figure passing by the window. He tracked her back and forth, holding his breath each time she moved out of view. Finally, the light turned off, and he could see the flicker of a TV casting a blue glow over the curtains

He knew he should leave and go back to the cabin, but it wasn’t really something his cat wanted to do. While he was waiting to drive back to the garage, he made another call to his assistant and had her make arrangements to fly out his motorcycle so it would be there in the morning.

Sure he could go buy another one, but his bike was like a part of him, and he didn’t want to look too ostentatious buying a new one. Then again, he really hoped Delaney didn’t ask how he got his bike there so fast. Saying he flew it in on his private jet would be a conversation he wasn’t sure he was ready to have. It was the first time in his life that he felt uncomfortable about his wealth.

His life had always had an ease to it that he took for granted. Not that he wasn’t well aware of how lucky he was. It just was a fact of life that things could be purchased and/or arranged for him. There were always helping hands either with pack members or people he employed that were at his beck and call. Now he’d had a car delivered, and his motorcycle was in the air along with his full set of leathers.

He could just imagine Delaney on her ride. She probably had one of those cute pink and black sets of leathers that matched a hot pink helmet. His cougar was urging him to focus on how she’d look in those leathers. Will already had been sporting an erection for the last few hours. If he wanted to get any sleep this evening, he needed to not let his mind stay too long on that topic.

Will sat for a while, watching the blue flicker and finally when the curtain went dark, he checked the time. Giving himself another half hour to make sure there wasn’t any good reason for him to stay, he started the car and headed back to the cabin.