Tame This (The McCallans, Book Two) (16 page)

He headed for the house without a word.

“Looks like I just dug myself into a deeper hole,” Tyse said, holding his hands up to show he shouldn’t have hugged her.

Melanie bit her lip as she narrowed her eyes at the house. “No, it’s something else. I can tell.
I’d better find out what.”

She headed for the front door and Tyse trailed behind her. “Are you sure you want to approach him?” he chuckled lightly. “Mel, maybe you should let him cool off.”

She didn’t respond and walked right into the house and glanced around. Jay wasn’t in the front room or kitchen, so that left his bedroom.

“Melanie, seriously,” Tyse cautioned her when she headed for the hall.

“I’ll be fine,” she answered. When she got to the end of the hall, she took a deep breath and knocked on the closed door. “Jay?” she called. She waited for several seconds but there was no answer. She knocked again. “I’m coming in, okay?”

She waited again and still nothing, so she slowly opened the door.
She was expecting that maybe he went straight out back to his shop, but Jay was sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. He was completely still, and Melanie’s heart started to pound from seeing him in such an idle position.

Suddenly he popped up from the bed
and said, “I’ll be out in my shop.”

“Whoa, wait a second,” she got out, grabbing his arm to stop him.

He surprisingly jerked to a stop but didn’t look too pleased about it. “I have work to do,” he said evenly, but he would barely look her in the eye.

“Why are you home so early? It’s only four-thirty.”

“Does my calendar not line up properly with yours?” he retorted. “My bad. I’ll send you a text next time.”

“
Cut the bullshit, Jay. What happened at work?”

She honestly didn’t expect him to tell her. She figured he would either respond with something smartass again, or blatantly ignore her and walk out of the room.

“Beck fired me,” he answered, and he pulled his arm away from her and left.

She took a minute to assess the information and finally shook her head. Beck would never fire Jay, even if he made a major mistake at work. He love
d him like a brother, but not only that, Beck was very sweet and forgiving.

Melanie left the room to find
Jay again, but only Tyse was in the kitchen eating out of a bag of chips.

“He went out back,” he said. When Melanie headed for the back door he added, “You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?”

Yeah pretty much
, she wanted to answer. But she trekked across the yard without pause and walked right into Jay’s man cave fearlessly. The usual classic rock was already blaring from the stereo in there, but she went straight to it and turned it down a bit.

“Why’d he fire you?” she asked outright.

Jay already had the hood up on the Boss and didn’t even look at her. “Because he let pussy get in the way of brotherhood, that’s why,” was his response.

Jess. That’s the only thing that came to Melanie’s mind. “What did she do?” she asked.

Jay finally looked at her, but it wasn’t out of annoyance or anger. He looked completely curious. “Why do you say it like that? –‘What did
she
do’?”

Melanie shrugged her shoulders. “You wouldn’t be so pissed if it was your own doing. I know that for a fact. And call me a catty bitch, but I’m not really sure if I like Jess. I’ve only been around her a few times, but I just get a weird vibe
from her. Plus I’m pretty sure she has a thing for you.”

Jay leaned forward against the front of the car but was quiet for a few seconds. Finally he shook his head and stood. “She hit on me the other night in Beck’s shop. Like big time, try-to-get-in-my-pants
hit on me
. I got fucking sick and tired of Beck making her sound like the savior of the world today, and told him to shut the fuck up.”

Melanie came across the room, trying to push down her feelings of resentment that yet another
chick had been all up on Jay. “So you told him about it.”

“Yep,” Jay replied. He walked over to the workbench and grabbed
two old blankets that were sitting on top. As he draped them around the hinges of the open hood and across the windshield he said, “He didn’t believe me. Pretty much accused me of taking advantage of her or some shit like that. We got into a fight and he fired me.”

Melanie watched him use a wrench to
loosen the bolts that attached the hood to the car on one side. She didn’t say anything for almost two minutes as he walked around to the other side and did the same.

Finally he stopped and said, “Would you help me with something quick?”

“Of course,” she replied quickly.

“Or you can grab Tyse. Maybe he’d put up with my shitty mood right now.”

She barely cracked a smile and answered, “I’m sure he’d want to spend time with you, but I’d rather put up with your shitty mood right now instead.”

He studied her for a few seconds and then l
ooked away to focus on the car. “Okay, well I’m gonna take this hood off. I’ll hold this end up if you can just remove those bolts the rest of the way with your fingers?”

She nodded and twisted the already loosened screws the rest of the way. It took a minute but she said, “Okay, got it,” as she put them in her pocket.

“Okay, so you’ll need to hold that side up so it doesn’t twist into the windshield or into the bodywork.”

“Okay,” she nodded. She watched him hold his side of the hood up while he unscrewed the two bolts in half the time it had taken her to do it.

“You got it?” he asked. When she nodded again, he said, “Okay, so we’re going to bring it down flat and walk it over there.” He motioned with his head to another workbench that was covered with a blanket, and when they walked it over, they set it down together.

“Piece of cake,” Melanie exhaled. “What’s next?”

Jay smiled, which was absolutely what she needed to see. God, how she loved his smile…

“That’s good enough, pretty girl. I got it from here.”

“I failed at the whole sexy mechanic model thing?” she teased. “I’m already fired,” she pretended to pout. “That makes two of us today. Not good, Jay.”

That time he
laughed as he pulled the blankets away from the Mustang and tossed them onto the workbench. “I would never fire you. You’re the only beautiful thing in my life right now.”

To Melanie, that statement was almost
soul-crushing yet pulse racing at the same time. Jay was already choosing several tools and then pulled the cover off of the engine that was propped on a stand next to the car, so she didn’t expect him to notice that her heart and soul were in conflict. But he finally looked at her again and paused.

“What’s up, buttercup?” he asked with a smirk.

She barely shrugged as she came across the garage to stand in front of him next to the car. She knew he was perceptive but had deliberately lightened the moment to avoid the seriousness of it.

Classic Jay McCallan move.

Melanie grabbed him by the shirt as she leaned back against the car. Jay was jerked toward her and put a hand on the Mustang right by her shoulder, but she pulled him closer. She could see him swallow briefly as they looked at each other from only six inches apart. Just having him this close to her almost made her lose her nerve. The boy did crazy things to her body and mind. But she didn’t want to regress. She had him, here right against her, and she couldn’t lose the momentum.

She slid her hand behind his neck and pulled his mouth closer.

Chapter Fourteen

You’re
gonna ruin everything, you dumb fucker
was all that kept repeating in Jay’s head. Kissing her was probably the stupidest thing he could do and he had about half a second to stop himself.

But of course he didn’t. He was a dumbass, after all. The last bit of hell had just come crashing down on him at Beck’s shop, and now all he wanted was to have something sweet to make it all better.

He looked from her lips to her eyes, which was a mistake. Her lips looked so damn kissable, but her eyes could fuck him over big time. And he could feel her fingers on the back of his neck, softly caressing his skin into his hair. And then the tingles it gave him were magnified by the ravenous look in her deep green eyes.

And that was it. She broke him down just like that.

His hand gripped the back of her head and he captured her lower lip between his to try it out slowly. But she made a little noise, like a whimper, that totally fucking undid him, and it was like a shitload of pent up sexual aggression for this woman just unloaded all at once. He was on her instantly, wrapping both of her legs around his waist so his erection was pressed between them. She kissed him harder and it spread the fire burning through him all the way up to his brain, ravaging any rational thoughts that might make him stop.

And the irony of it all?

I’m On Fire
playing on the radio… 

He
was barely grazing her breasts with his hand as he continued to suck her tongue, but Melanie’s hands were up his shirt, tempting the fire to burn hotter. He was trying to be gentle with her, but just kissing her was undoing him piece by piece. He was still rubbing against her until it was obvious an orgasm was pulsing through her. God it was so fucking hot he wanted to rip her clothes off and screw her against the damn car. He was stupid enough to kiss her, so why not be stupid enough to have sex with her?

At some point
he stopped kissing her, but even with the attempt to catch their breath, their lips were still touching. Jay had never been in such a lingering moment like he was now, waiting for something to either make or break him, and it was almost more intense than the night they’d fooled around. That time was entirely their physical needs being met; this time he had fucking let himself kiss her and a whole shitload more had stormed the walls.

“Jay?” Melanie whispered against his lips.

“Mmhmm?” was all he could respond, because she kissed him again, softly and slowly, and his mind was disappearing into a helpless heap of mind fuck.

“I want you to have lots of beautiful things in your life,” she spoke softly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as she carefully unhitched her legs from around him, and when her feet were on the ground again, her hands slid down the front of him and remained against his chest.

Jay’s mind was slowly beginning to process her words but he was without an intellectual response. When all he answered was, “Okay,” he thought she’d roll her eyes or be annoyed with him.

But Melanie’s eyes were still pulling him in as they continued to stare at one another, and then she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips again and said, “Okay.” She gave him a hug—it was brief but purposeful—and then said, “I’ll let you get some work done.”

He watched her walk across the garage, and she even turned the music back up before she opened the door to exit. She glanced back once and gave him a smile, and then left.

“Oh my God,” Jay exhaled as he leaned against the car with both hands. He shook his head, as if it would clear his mind of what the hell just happened.
He also needed a minute for his cock to chill the fuck out before he could go back to work.

***

Jay didn’t enter the house until almost eleven o’clock that night. After getting immersed in a project, it was always difficult for him to pull himself away. He was fucking starving, too. He hadn’t eaten since lunchtime and went straight to the kitchen to see what he could find.

“Melanie made you dinner,” Tyse said from behind him.

Jay had only turned on the light over the sink so he didn’t bother him in the other room, but Tyse flipped the other lights on and squinted. He was just in a pair of shorts and it was obvious he’d just woken up.

“She said you’d probably be out there for a while so it’s that red dish in the fridge.”

Jay opened the refrigerator and found it right away. As he pulled it out he said, “Sorry I woke you. Maybe we should get you a bed for the other room.” He put the dish on the counter and didn’t miss the surprise on Tyse’s face. “Well unless you really do want to move into the McCallan mansion,” Jay added. “I don’t really give a fuck. I just thought while you’re here, we might as well put at least an air mattress in the other room.”

“No, I don’t want to move into the mansion,” Tyse shook his head. “I don’t even know
what
my plans are.”

“Hmm. Join the club.” Jay removed the lid from the dish and paused
when he saw what it was. With a sigh he barely shook his head at the food but grabbed a plate anyway.

“What’s wrong with the food?” Tyse asked, obviously annoyed
by Jay’s reaction to it. “She spent like an hour making it—”

“Chill the fuck out,” Jay retorted. “It’s none of your damn business
, but it’s one of my favorites.”

Tyse didn’t reply to that as Jay dished some of the baked spaghetti onto the plate. If Melanie had been there she would have made him eat a salad with it, but he was so hungry he started eating it cold without heating it.

“Yeah it was pretty awesome,” Tyse finally said. “I’ve never had that before.” He turned to head back for the living room and then paused. “Oh, and she was pretty damn happy when she left here a few hours ago. I take it things went well out in the shop.”

Jay could hear the smirk on Tyse’s face before he even saw it. “Why, what’d she say?” he tried to ask casually as he stuffed his face with another bite.

“Nothing much, actually,” Tyse answered. “Just that you let her help take the hood off. I kind of assumed that was an innuendo, so I don’t wanna know.”

Jay couldn’t help but laugh, but shaking his head he replied, “Actually no, no double meaning on it. She did help with that.” He was going to add “and then some” but decided against it.

“Hmm, well I’m assuming it was more than that since she had finger smudges on her shirt right across her chest and I’m guessing it wasn’t her own.”

Jay watched him disappear around the corner without a word as he silently replayed his time with Melanie in his head.

Yep, he could definitely admit to having his dirty hands on her…

***

“I really appreciate this, man. You have no idea,” Jay said.

“You know I love working with you,” Teague answered. “No need to thank me. I’m just glad I have a chance to while Camryn’s in Fresno.”

Jay only nodded. Melanie had gone with Camryn too, and he was worried that her stupid fucker of an ex would try to see her. At least Camryn was with her, so it wasn’t like he had to worry about her physical safety. But it was just the idea of her being around that dickhead that got under Jay’s skin.

Now he and Teague were going to spend the entire day working on the Boss. Now that Jay didn’t have a job, he needed to get that baby up and running so he could sell it. He had bills to pay, and whether Beck wanted to speak to him or not, Jay was still going to pay him the two grand he owed him.

They got straight to work, getting things done without a single problem. But after two hours of working on the car, Tyse appeared in the shop, looking
way
out of place.

“Whoa, man. You’ll get your khakis ruined in here,” Jay
laughed, looking him over.

Tyse smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I had a job interview. Two, actually.”

“And how’d it go?” Jay asked, caring for some reason. After hearing bits and pieces from his life, the guy actually seemed pretty interesting. And he wasn’t kidding when he’d told Jay that he had a lot of interests. From business to sports and music, Tyse was pretty well rounded.

“Went pretty well,” Tyse nodded. “I’m pretty sure I’ll get offered at least one of the two. One of them is more entry-level than what I was doing back home, but that’s expected. Seems like a good facility, regardless.”

“And is that the one that you think you’ll land?” Teague asked.

“Uh, not sure,” Tyse smiled with a shrug. “I have a good chance at the other one too. Anyways, you guys need some help? I can go change and do
whatever you need. I’m probably not as brilliant as you guys, but it’s kinda funny that this interest runs in the family.”

Jay was
n’t surprised, but he was still about to decline.

B
ut Teague answered, “You like mechanics, huh?”

“Yeah, I’ve worked on a few things here and there. Can I help?”

“Yeah, actually we got something you can do,” Teague said. “Go change.”

When Tyse left the garage, Jay gave his cousin an unhappy
glare. “Three’s a crowd, buddy.”

“He can strip the paint, dumbass.”

Jay thought for a moment, and decided Teague had a point. Sanding the old paint off a car was his least favorite chore.

“Tyse can be the stripper,” Jay finally agreed with a nod, and they both laughed.

By six o’clock that night, Jay was one happy motherfucker. Having the extra help had been nice, and while Tyse took care of stripping down the Boss, Jay and Teague were able to take care of a shitload of other things that needed done before they could paint it and hoist the engine into it. Teague had offered to stay longer to hang the plastic up for painting in the morning, but Jay knew Camryn was already home and didn’t want to keep him.

Now he was alone with Tyse, who continued to offer his help. To Jay’s surprise, he actually didn’t mind his company.
Tyse didn’t talk unless he needed to for the sake of the car, and he also didn’t have to be told twice how to do something.

It was ridiculous that he reminded him so much of his dad.

“So how long have you been working on cars?” Tyse asked out of the blue. “I’m pretty intrigued with what you do.”

Jay shrugged as he returned his tools one by one. “
You obviously know more than you give yourself credit for. I guess it really does run in the family. But since I was fifteen. It was actually a hobby of my dad’s—eh, of our dad,” he corrected. “But he never let me work with him. When I was just a kid—five, six, seven years old—he had several cars that he’d kind of started to collect and work on. He had a ’68 Camaro, a ’71 El Camino, a ’70 Mach 1, a 1956 Chevy Pickup, and a few others over the years. That was actually my favorite—the truck. But...” He shrugged again as he put away his sanding equipment. “He always told me to stay away from his cars. When Dad was working on his cars, I knew to leave him alone.

“But when I turned twelve my parents
got divorced,” he continued. “My mom got quite a bit in the settlement since my dad had cheated on her. You know who my mom is, right?”

Tyse slightly nodded. “Amelia Brennan, the actress.”

“Yep. She may have been a washed up actress already, but she had proof of my dad’s affair and pretty much nailed him to the wail. She got half of his cars, too, so when I was about fifteen that’s when I had access to them.”

“So you ended up living with your mom
at that point?”

“Most of the time. We still went to my dad’s two weekends a month, but he turned into a drunken idiot even more so than he already had been. He said shit to me all the time, but the minute he laid into Kellie verbally, things got physical between him and me. It ended up like that every weekend we were there, so by the time I was a junior in high school, my mom had h
is weekends revoked. He didn’t even care.”

“So did you get along with your mom, then?”

“Uh, not exactly. With my mom it wasn’t peaceful either, just because she was constantly trying to push us into the McCallan spotlight. Since her career was failing, she wanted some sort of future in it for us too. She put Kellie into modeling and dance and all that shit, and Kell hated it. My mom ended up giving up on us, I guess,” Jay chuckled sarcastically. “She met someone and moved to Colorado after I graduated. Kellie lived with Grandpa until she turned eighteen, and then she moved in with Teague and me.”

“So you don’t talk to
your parents at all?”

“I talk to my mom
on the phone maybe once a month for two minutes. But she’s remarried now and rolling in wealth and her new life, so she hardly bothers. But my dad? Hell no. I tried connecting with him a couple of times and he’s just… I don’t know, he just wants to keep drinking his life away. I don’t understand it. His dad has paid for him to have the best rehab treatments there are and he just keeps turning his life into a giant shit mess.”

They both
headed for the exit, and Jay shut the music off and flipped the lights. As they walked across the yard, Tyse said, “I called him before I left Arizona.”