Wilde Edge (3 page)

“Please, sit,” she said softly,
flicking her fingers toward the only other chair in the office.

“My mom always taught me to stay
standing until the lady was seated,” he explained as he settled into the chair,
shifting his jacket to hide the bulge his cock was making in his jeans. Fuck,
she was already getting to him, and all they’d done was talk.

“Really?
Nick’s never done that.”

“Nicky’s special. If my parents
told him to go left, he’d make a hard right. I love him, but he’s the most
stubborn of us all, and that’s saying a hell of a lot.”

“All? I didn’t realize he had any
siblings. Are there more of you?”

Tag snorted with laughter, happy to
keep her talking about anything, just so long as he could keep listening to her
speak. She had a hint of smoke and whiskey to her voice, and it was the sexiest
thing he’d ever heard. “Typical. Nick never talks about family. We’re the
youngest of five brothers. He’s the baby.”

“There are
five
of you?”
Jolena
blinked at him.

“Five, noisy,
grubby boys.
And my folks will swear that none of us have ever really
grown out of it.”

“I can’t imagine. I’m an only
child, and since Dad died it’s just me rattling around the house.” Tag caught a
flicker of loneliness in her pretty brown eyes. She was alone in the world.

Lonely
means no boyfriend. Perfect.

There was no doubt in his mind he
was going to make a play for
Jolena
Miller. Whether
he rented from her or not, there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to let
this sexy, classic car loving, redhead get away now he’d found her. She was
everything he liked all wrapped up in one very
fuckable
package. His cock twitched in agreement, swelling until his jeans felt like
they were suddenly two sizes too small and he had to make a conscious effort to
remember what they had been talking about. “There are times I wish my family
wasn’t quite so tight-knit, to be honest. A little more space would be nice
sometimes,” he said, and then sipped his brew.

“Is that why you’re looking for a
new place to live? Putting some distance between you and the folks?”

Tag nearly choked on his coffee.
Christ. Had she just asked him if he still lived at
home
? What the hell kind of men was she used to meeting?
“Nothing like that.
I had a place near my old job, but the
sublease is up and that career path turned out to be a dead end. I’m looking
for a new start.”

A tiny frown line appeared and
vanished a second later. “So, you don’t have a job?”

Fuck!

Talking a woman out of her clothes
and into his bed used to be second nature, so why was he fucking this up so
badly? He flashed his most charming smile and shook his head, then touched his
knee. “I used to be a cop. I got shot and it was bad enough I had to retire. I
have a pension though, and I plan on getting a new job. I’m good for the rent…I
think.” He tipped his head to one side. “We haven’t discussed what you’re
charging yet.”

Those soft, coral lips quirked up
into a brief smile that made him wonder if they would taste as sweet as they
looked. “That depends on what we’re talking about. Are we talking rent, or
rent…and a place to work on Tiffany?” she asked and he inwardly cheered. Hot
fucking damn, she was
blushing
a little. He hadn’t
completely lost his touch.

“Both, I hope.”

“I think we can figure something
out. Nick’s a great tenant, and if you were a police officer, then I hardly
have to worry about you being a criminal, now do I? Why don’t you come by
tonight? I’ll show you around, and then we can talk price. I’ll write down the
address. It’s not that far from here. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding
the place.”

“Just like that?”
It surprised him that she was so trusting. This was Chicago, not some small
town where everyone knew everyone else.

She glanced up from her writing and
he watched in fascination as her teeth closed on her lower lip, worrying at it
for a moment before she spoke again in that soft, husky voice he was already
coming to adore. “Is there some reason I shouldn’t trust you, Taggart Wilde?”

“Tag.
Everyone calls me Tag. And no, there’s no reason you shouldn’t trust
me
. But you should be more careful.
You’re a beautiful woman, living alone. You probably shouldn’t be giving out
your address to men you’ve just met.”

Her lip vanished under teeth again,
but her eyes lowered to the desk between them and when she spoke again, her
voice was even softer than before. “Now you sound like a cop.
I’m trusting
you because you’re Nick’s brother, and I
intended to go talk to him right after you left. If he told me you were a
shifty creep, then I was going to ask him to come with me for the meeting.”

“Shifty creep, huh? I think I’m
insulted. You can make it up to me by accepting my invitation to go out for
dinner after you’ve showed me the suite.”

“I…but…”
Jolena’s
head snapped up, eyes wide and her cheeks flaming a brilliant red.

“No buts. When do you get off
work?”

“Um, the garage closes up at five.”

“Then I will see you at your place
at six.
Unless you’d like me to pick you up here?
I
sort of figured you’d have your own car though.”

She smiled at that. “What kind of
mechanic doesn’t have her own car? I happen to drive a ’65 Mustang.”

Fuck.
It’s
official: I’ve found my perfect woman.

“That is the sexiest thing I have
ever heard a woman say.” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Holy shit, where
was his filter? It was like he was a horny teenager again, all awkward lines
and bad timing. All that was missing was the acne.

Instead of laughing at him,
Jolena
ducked her head again, hiding her face. Shit, had he
just fucked up? “Flirting with me won’t get the rent lowered, you know that,
right?” Her voice was a husky whisper, and he heard the doubt in her tone. Not
much, just a hint. It was enough. He’d spent years learning to read a person
from tone and body language, and right now hers was screaming at him. Someone
had done a number on her, tearing down her confidence so badly that she didn’t
believe he’d go out with her without having an ulterior motive.

“I don’t care if you tell me you’re
not renting the place to me at all. I’d still like to take you to dinner.”

“Really?”
She peeked up at him, her eyes full of uncertainty.

“Absolutely.
I mean, if you’re good with going out with a slightly gimped ex-cop.” He
intended to offer it up as a joke, to make her smile, but once the words were
out he felt a pang of doubt. The truth was he hadn’t gone out with anyone on a
real date since he’d been shot. Lots of flirting and putting on a show, but
that’s all it was, a show. He hadn’t wanted anyone to see his scars and feel
sorry for him, or worse, be repelled by them.

“You don’t look gimped to me,” she
said and lifted her head to gift him with a small smile.

“Is that a yes?”

Her smile widened. “Yes. I’ll go to
dinner with you. Just promise it won’t be anywhere fancy.”

“As luck would have it, I am not a
fancy kind of guy. How does Italian sound?”

“That sounds great.”
Jolena
stood up, the piece of paper with her address on it
in her hand as she came around to meet him. Tag stood, too, managing to time it
so that she was caught between him and the front of her desk.
 
He moved close enough she had to tip her head
back to look up at him, and when he took the paper from her hand he let his
fingers brush over hers for a brief second. A flash of heat sizzled up his arm
and he saw her eyes go wide.

So
she felt it too? Good.

Moving back, he gave her a wink and
scanned her note before tucking it into his pocket. She’d included her phone
number––even better. “I’ll see you tonight,
Jolena
.”

****

Holy hell, she was going on a date.
How’d that even happen?

Since Greg, Jo had been very
careful with her heart, though she had learned to be a better judge of
character in the years since she’d fallen madly in love with that lying son of
a bitch. Tag seemed sincere, and she knew his brother well enough to know she’d
be safe, but Jo was well aware that men who looked like Tag didn’t usually go
out with women like her unless they lost a bet.

Curiosity got the better of her
common sense, and she found herself at the office’s one small window, watching
Tag walk back to his car. He moved like a predator, all grace and power,
covering the distance to his car with long, easy strides.

Once there, he unlocked the
driver’s side door and then lifted his head to stare back at the garage. She
felt like he was staring right at her. The office window was tinted, so she
knew he couldn’t actually see her, but it didn’t matter. She was suddenly short
of breath and a band of steel tightened around her chest as she stared back at
him. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something important had just happened.

The feeling lingered even after Tag
climbed into his car and drove away. She tried to do the paperwork but kept
finding herself distracted by thoughts of his charming smile, or the way his broad
shoulders had filled out his leather jacket and the dark t-shirt beneath it. He
was definitely daydream material, and the idea that he might be living right
below her was equal parts mouthwatering and terrifying.

Jo was about to call Nick and ask
him about his brother when she heard her name being called.
“Hey,
Jo.
There’s someone here to see you,” Tom, her head mechanic, shouted
from the garage floor, down the hallway.

Strange, normally he just pointed
people toward her office instead of calling for her to come out to the garage
floor. The last time he’d called for her like this it was because her ex had
made an unwelcome appearance, and there was no way they would ever let the two
of them be alone together.

Every man in the shop had known Jo
for years, and they were very protective of her. Greg had only hit her once,
but it had been the last straw. She would never let him do it again, and the
men who worked for her would kill him if he tried.

She made her way to the small
reception office at the front of the garage and braced herself for what would
no doubt be an unpleasant meeting. Greg knew he wasn’t supposed to set foot on
the property, but that hadn’t stopped him from trying a few times since her
father had died. No matter what she did, the jerk just wouldn’t stay gone for
long.

Greg wasn’t alone, which was a
surprise. There were two other men with him, and the moment she set eyes on
them she knew something was up.
 
Her
ex-husband was usually all swagger and bravado, flashing his perfectly veneered
smile and making sure he was the center of attention. Not this time. His jacket
was rumpled and his red silk tie was slightly askew. He stood between the other
two men with his head down so she couldn’t see his eyes behind the dark fall of
his bangs.

His companions were both dark
haired, dressed in impeccably tailored suits and leather shoes that gleamed
with fresh polish. Seeing them standing beside Greg, it was like looking at two
original works of art and one poor copy. They were everything Greg aspired to
be but wasn’t. So what the hell were they doing with her ex?

“Jo-Jo!
Hey, sorry to show up unannounced, but my associates really wanted to meet you
and take a look around. You know, get a feel for the space. This is Mr. Sims
and Mr. Jones. Gentlemen, this is
Jolena
.” Tag came
to life like a B-list actor suddenly hit by a spotlight as he made
introductions.

“Hello, Gregory. I’m surprised to
see you here. I thought I made myself perfectly clear in my earlier email, so
I’m not sure why your associates need to see
my
property,” she said, managing to keep her voice cool and
emotionless despite the way her stomach rolled at the sight of him. Calm and
firm was the only way to deal with Greg, but it wasn’t easy. She’d spent too
long learning to keep her voice soft and her head down whenever he was nearby.

 
It wasn’t helping matters that he was using
that ridiculous nickname. Jo-Jo was what Greg called her when he was trying to
get her to forgive him for some transgression, or talk her into doing something
she would inevitably regret. It set her teeth on edge.

“Email?”
The slimmer of the two men asked, the barest twitch of a brow altering his
nearly impassive expression. Both men turned to face her, arms crossing over
their chests as they stared in stony silence.

“The email I sent to Gregory an
hour ago making it very clear that I’m not now, nor will I ever be, interested
in selling my business or the property it’s built on.” Jo straightened to her
not overly impressive full height of five-foot three and reminded herself these
people were on her territory. She would not let them intimidate her, no matter
how hard they tried. She’d come a long way since she’d fled to her father’s
house in the middle of the night with a black eye and a broken heart.

“Jo-Jo, I really think you need to
reconsider. This is a sweet deal.” Greg’s voice had taken on that slick tone
she knew all too well. There had been a time when his charms would have won her
over, but not anymore.

She skewered Greg with a glare.
“No. I’m sorry, but my answer is final. This is
my
family’s business. Not yours. You need to go now.”

 
The larger man frowned. “You’re not family?
You’re his wife, aren’t you?”