Stealing His Thunder (Masters of Adrenaline) (5 page)

“You said she seemed to know what she was doing,” Luke chimed in. “Maybe some fresh blood would be good for us. Not as a partner—just as a temporary . . . friend. I say we give her a chance. Show her some shit, take her on a few jobs. Let her prove herself.”

Grinning up at Fox, she waited for an answer, happy to have an ally.

He glared at his cousin. “No.” His tone suggested he wouldn’t tolerate arguing. Would Luke stand up to him or did Fox really call the shots? She got the feeling it was the latter.

Sighing, Luke leaned back. “Whatever you say. But I don’t get the feeling she’s going to give up.”

“Nope.” He didn’t know the half of it. Still smiling, she looked at Fox. “Like I said before, I never give up.”

His eyes narrowed. “We’ll see if you can keep up without that tracking device.”

She chuckled darkly. “I bet you can’t find it.”

“I’ll take that bet.” His grin was menacing. “What do I get if I do?”

Interesting idea. She thought for a moment before answering, “One night in your basement.”

He laughed. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” After a short pause, he added, “All right. I can’t say no to one night with a beautiful woman even if she
is
a pain in the ass. What if I don’t find it?”

“Hmm. Maybe I should tie
you
up.”

“Uh-uh.” He shook his head. “I don’t play that way, sweetheart. Ever.”

Inhaling a steady breath, she tried again. “Okay. Then you take me out on a job.”

Luke laughed and even Atlas chuckled. But Fox stayed silent. Was it that hard of a bet to take?

“Come on,” Luke said. “If you’re not interested, I’ll take her bet. I’ve already thought of several things I’d like to do with her when I win.”

Fox shot him a look that should have killed him on the spot, but Luke only smiled back in challenge.

Hot guys fighting over her? This shit never happened.

She gave Fox a cheeky grin. “You scared you won’t find it?”

Grumbling, he let his head fall back to rest against the back of the couch.

“Take the bet so you can fuck her and be done with this,” Atlas said.

“Fine,” he finally answered. “You have a deal.”

She stuck out her hand and they shook. Keeping her in his grasp, he pulled her close. “I hope you know what you’re getting into, little girl,” he whispered.

Inside, she smiled at what he didn’t know. Either way the bet ended, she won.

“What the hell is with your brother tonight, Atlas?” Jimmy chuckled and handed fresh beer across the table to both Carlos and Luke. “Not that I’m complaining. I’m more than willing to take his money, but he usually doesn’t make it this easy. If I was a moral man, it might make me feel dirty.”

Fox glared at their mechanic friends. Jimmy’s head mechanic, Carlos, was snickering. Either Atlas had already told him what was going on, or he thought Jimmy insinuating that he wasn’t a pervert was funny.

“Oh, it’s not his fault,” Atlas said, shoveling a handful of peanuts into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully, amusement lurking behind the smirk that was so much like Fox’s own. His brother liked peace more than he liked making fun of people, so he knew when to shut his mouth. It’d made him easy to grow up with.

Luke, on the other hand, was always a damn comedian. “He has this hot little piece of ass chasing him around, and she has his fucking number. I think it’s been so long he doesn’t remember what to do with a girl. Luke and I keep offering to keep her warm while he pulls his head out of his ass, but for some reason he doesn’t like the idea.”

Fox took a drink of his beer, using the bottle to hide his expression. Both his brother and cousin had made it quite clear that if he decided not to pursue Addison they’d do their best to get her into their own beds. It pissed him off like nothing else ever had, and it seriously pissed him off that it pissed him off.

This wasn’t high school, and they weren’t children. There was no way his brother or his cousin would stab him in the back by trying to lure her away, but knowing they were interested made him feel out of control and territorial.

First of all, she wasn’t his property. And second of all, he didn’t know if he wanted her to be. She was hellion. Did he want even his life to be quite that . . . interesting? She was sneaky, and she didn’t fucking listen. If she wasn’t careful she was going to end up getting seriously hurt, and that idea really bothered him.

“She’s hot. So what? Like any of you guys have trouble picking up?” Carlos laughed, then chugged back half of his beer. “There are always women hanging off of you at the club—it’s not like this is a small town, so there are a lot of women to choose from. Your deal, Jimmy.”

The garage owner dealt the next hand. The customary toothpick that stuck out from between his teeth bobbed as he rearranged his cards, and his bald head gleamed in the light from the overhead lamp, like he’d waxed it special for poker night. “I’ve never seen the three of you with hard-ons for the same girl. What’s the deal with this one?”

How the hell was he supposed to answer that? How could he explain it in a way Jimmy would understand? The man was into high-maintenance leggy blondes, with big tits. He’d never get why Addison was so irresistible. He’d have to meet her, and even then, he might not find she had the same appeal.

She seemed all sweet and innocent with those big blue eyes of hers, and the long brown hair. But it was like taking that girl next door, and making her a hundred times sexier because of how she stood and cocked her head, and in the way her lips parted slightly when she listened to someone talk. Then she was secretly this badass car thief who was kinky as fuck, and yet seemed to find his advances shocking even though she welcomed his attention. And she kept challenging him, taunting him, as though what she really wanted was for him to take her in hand and show her who was boss. How could a dominant man not get distracted by a hot contradiction like Addison?

Remembering the way she whimpered for him as she melted into submissive headspace, he shifted in his seat. Fuck, she’d been so ready for him last night, but the others had cock-blocked him by insisting they all walk her to her car.

Tomorrow morning he had to get to work on finding the damn device she’d planted on his vehicle. He’d looked everywhere obvious, and a few places that weren’t so obvious. It was time to get invasive.

At some point in the next couple of days he had to deliver a Maserati GT convertible too. He couldn’t let this girl affect the job.

Luke cracked open his beer and pushed the front of his dark Mohawk back from his eyes. “I’m telling you, if you don’t want her I’ll fight Atlas for her. The only reason I’m not chasing her now is because she seems to prefer you, for some strange reason. You’ve made punching her in the face work for you.”

“You punched a woman in the face?” Jimmy looked fucking pissed, and so did Carlos.

“Yeah, I thought she was one of Marcel’s boys. She was stealing my mark out from under my nose and had a big sweatshirt on with the hood pulled up. I thought Marcel sent someone to fuck with me.” They were still glaring. “I pulled my punch at the last minute.” It sounded lame even to his own ears but it was too late to go back and change that moment in time. “Yeah, I feel the same way about it that you do.”

The tension eased and Jimmy shook his head and pushed a bowl of pretzels his way. “Crazy.”

Carlos slid half of his poker chips into the center of the table, looking very smug about the cards in his hand. “If I so much as raised a hand to Julia, she’d kick my ass, and then her father and brothers would show up at the door and stomp my head in.”

They all laughed. The others probably had as hard a time as Fox picturing the very prim Englishwoman doing such a thing, not to mention the fact that her relations were all reportedly on the skinny side and lived an ocean away.

“What?” Carlos grinned. “She’s meaner than she looks.”

“Like English school teacher mean?” Fox asked, unable to resist.

“Mmm . . . with that ruler and the pencil skirt . . .” Carlos whistled, and Fox got a visual of the guy and his wife that he didn’t really want right then.

“Just don’t tell me you wear short pants and a blazer and I’ll be okay,” Luke teased.

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” Jimmy shot back, grinning at Carlos like the Cheshire Cat. “Julia has me over when Carlos is working overtime.”

Carlos snorted. “Like she could even find your dick.”

“Firsthand knowledge there, Carlos?” Luke grinned crookedly.

“Hey, he’s not unionized,” Fox reminded him. “I’m sure getting a raise is a bitch.”

Carlos chuckled. “It’s barely a mouthful, so it’s not so bad. I just pretend it’s a big clit.”

With a cocky smirk, Luke pushed his entire pile of chips into the center of the table. Carlos gave him an incredulous look.

“I’m out,” Atlas said, throwing his cards down.

Jimmy folded too.

Carlos and Luke were waiting for Fox to do something, but Fox was studying his cousin. “You have a shitty poker face,” he told Luke, although Fox could never tell if he was smiling because he had a good hand, or because he had a private joke. His cousin found a lot of things funny. Crazy bastard. Fox pondered his cards. He had a full house—not good enough to bet all of his chips on—but Luke was known for big bluffs and reckless bets.

Still, he wasn’t in the mood to lose
another
bet. The one he was currently losing with Addison was damaging enough to his ego.

With a grunt, he threw down his cards and folded. Carlos and Luke had a brief stare down before Carlos folded too.

Luke’s grin widened as he collected his earnings. “Suckers.”

“So?” Carlos said. “What’d you have?”

Laughing, Luke slapped his cards, faceup, on the table and everyone groaned.

“Bastard.” Carlos shook his head at the two pair.

Atlas pushed back from the table. “I’m getting more food. Anyone want anything? Pretzels? Lube?”

Jimmy leaned back in his chair to yell after him. “You should call the girl while you’re up. Tell her to come over. I want to meet her.”

“Cold day in hell.” Luke smiled wolfishly. “There are already three of us with our eye on her. Get in fucking line.”

Fox glared at his cousin who smiled back, cocky and unperturbed. The line began and ended with Fox and they both knew it, even if Luke thought it was funny to bust his balls about her. If Luke and Atlas wanted her, they’d have to go through him first.

***

The whistle that came from behind him—long, low and incredulous—made Fox grit his teeth.

“You could have taken it to the shop. Carlos has ways of finding things.” Atlas sounded both amused and appalled.

“That,” Fox grunted out with a breath, “wouldn’t be very sporting of me.” He wrestled the passenger seat out of the car and set it on the lawn not far from where he’d torn apart the driver’s seat. There was nothing underneath it, and he flipped open his pocketknife, wondering how he’d explain it to Carlos when he’d need help putting it back together again. It had been a decent car, especially after the upgrades, but the possibility of having little Miss Cocky at his mercy for a night was more than worth the desecration.

“You sure you don’t want my help?” Atlas murmured. Both he and Luke had been coming out to check on him all afternoon, and Fox could tell they were itching to get in on the hunt.

“What? And have you try to claim my fucking prize? Do I look like an idiot?”

“Well . . .” Atlas trailed off.

Yeah, he’d walked into that one.

Luke chuckled. “So why go to so much trouble? You could just pick up some other girl.”

“Shut up. This one is worth the hassle and you know it,” Fox growled, slicing through the seams of the seat, even though they didn’t look tampered with. He was running out of places to look, and the destruction was soothing his annoyance. How could she have hidden something so thoroughly? “I have an overwhelming urge to spank her and make her like it.”

Atlas barked a laugh. “Yeah, she’s hot and cocky. Add that she’s mouthy and she’s a male’s wet dream. Well . . . the way we like our women anyway. Hard to control. So what makes you think you can make her like it?”

“You know how it is.”

“Kinkdar mixed with a healthy dose of wishful thinking?”

“Bingo.”

Luke surveyed the car detritus scattered all over the lawn and grimaced, then looked thoughtful. “Yeah, she’s totally worth this.”

Frustrated, Fox reached into the car and yanked off the rearview mirror, looked it over, then tossed it onto one of the piles. “As much as I hate to admit it, the little shit may have bested me. I have no idea where the fuck she could have hidden it. I give up.”

He’d have to rely on charm to lure her into his bed again. She seemed to like his attention, but winning the bet would have cut through all of the wooing bullshit. Normally he wouldn’t mind the cat and mouse game, but he was impatient to play with her. The way she sassed him but yielded so thoroughly made him want to skip the preliminaries. Explaining BDSM to curious vanilla girls had its charm, but taming a girl like Addison was more exhilarating.

With a sigh, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Her name was first on his contacts list. He texted
I give up. You win. Now get your sexy ass over here. I have a job for you.

She replied right away.

Mwuahahaha. Did you say I won? As in, I outFOXed you?

He rolled his eyes.
Yeah yeah. You’re gonna tell me exactly how you did it too.

“How are you gonna get in her pants now, genius?” Atlas asked, smirking at him.

“I have other . . . qualities.” He stared at his phone, waiting for her next sassy reply. He couldn’t remember being excited just to get a text from a girl before. But he found himself eager to read each flirty word.

“Other qualities?” Luke snorted. “Having a dick isn’t a quality. Neither is being one.”

“It is to some people.” He got the feeling Addison wouldn’t make it so easy. His text alert beeped and he looked down.

No can do. Magician’s secret.

He’d see about that. Half an hour tied up, helpless, and at his mercy and he’d have her talking, and that was if he was taking his sweet time. The things he could do to make her scream . . .

“Dude.” Atlas snapped his fingers in front of his face. “What the hell are you doing?”

God, this girl was getting to him. “Fuck off,” he replied, but more to his sex drive than to his brother.

Today, he had the perfect test for little Miss Addison. He hoped she was a good actress. He typed a message and sent it.

What time can you get here?

I’m on my way.

Excellent.
Wear something nice. We’re going shopping.

He wondered if she’d ever gone beyond skulking through parking lots at night to steal a car. Today, he’d show her another way. He just hoped her acting skills were decent.

Twenty minutes later, as he started putting the car back together as best he could, Addison pulled into the driveway.

“Wow.” She stepped over pieces of metal and seat upholstery that were strewn across the lawn. “What happened to your car?”

She knew very well what. Suppressing a growl, he stalked toward her. “Some pretty girl made me tear it apart.”

“Hmm.” She rubbed a finger thoughtfully over her lips, and for a moment he was entranced by the gesture, and by the sexy curve of her mouth. “Do you often let girls yank your chain?”

“Sometimes. It gives me an excuse to spank them.”

Her confidence faltered a moment. Her cheeks grew pink, her eyes half-lidded. Yeah. She was submissive all right. And that wasn’t just his ego talking. He’d bet she’d melt for him here and now with a little dirty talk.

He crowded her with his body, just to keep her off balance, to keep that lusty haze in her eyes. She seemed like the type of submissive who needed extra help staying in the right headspace. He wanted to learn his way around her mind more than he’d ever wanted to learn a woman.

“Maybe . . . another time.” Abruptly, he stepped away, leaving her looking breathless. “For now, we have work to do.” He tried to calm himself then looked her over from a professional standpoint. It didn’t help him regain his self-control. The short sundress and strappy heels showed off her luscious body, and made him want to run his hands over her bare legs. And then there was her cleavage. It was . . . highly distracting.

“This is your idea of wearing something nice?” he asked. She looked nice, all right, but not in the way he’d meant. Instead of a rich, uptight housewife, she looked like candy—sweet and delicious. But her wide eyes and innocent expression made her the last person someone would suspect of criminal intent.