Hard to Break

“Do I need to be stitched?”

He shakes his head. “No, it looked worse than it is. It’s just a small split, but nothing that won’t heal normally.”

I nod. “Then I’ll be fine.”

He narrows his eyes. “If you have any problems at all, you tell me, yeah?”

“Yeah, Tazen.”

He reaches out, curling his fingers around the back of my neck, forcing me to step closer to him. He keeps his big, warm hand there as he speaks. “I’ve wanted that since I first laid eyes on you, Qui

“I know you are,” I say in a soft voice.

“It’s time for it to stop. If you’re still interested, I’ll let you step in more with the cars, but no more pranks.”

“I agree.”

He nods, leaning down and kissing my lips softly. “I got a car to get cracking on. You good?”

I nod, staring into his beautiful eyes. “Yeah.”

“Get dressed and I’ll make sure no one comes in here. Come out when you’re ready.”

He turns and walks out of the office and I quickly pull my clothes back on. I find a spare pair of coveralls, pull them on and then tie my hair up. My body is still alive and so every movement reminds me of the intense pleasure I just experienced with Tazen. I’m sure I will feel that all day, it was that good.

When I’m ready, I head out into the garage. All the guys are there, starting their day. Kellan and Rick both stare at me as I go past, and their eyes widen. “What the hell happened to your head?” Rick asks.

I give him an ugly glare. “Like you don’t already know.”

He narrows his eyes. “I don’t know.”

So Tazen worked alone? I find that hard to believe.

“It was a prank that went wrong.”

Kellan’s eyes go big. “Shit, are you hurt?”

“I was. Where’s Tazen?”

“He had to go out to pick up some bits for this car, he’ll be a few hours.”

Great.

He does a ru

“Tazen said you can help me out today, you up for it?”

My chest swells. He’s giving me a chance to work on something bigger. Maybe things aren’t as bad as I first thought. He’s putting some faith in me.

And for that, I swear I will make Tazen Watts proud of me.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Fuck!” Rick barks, throwing his spa

I lift my head from the engine I’m helping piece together, and see Rick storming across the workshop.

“What’s going on?” I ask as he passes me.

“That piece of shit is refusing to start. I fucking give up.”

He charges outside and I can’t help myself. I stand and walk over to the engine that Kellan, Toby and Drasco are all standing around, studying. Rick has let me help on it all day, but he hasn’t let me do any hard work. I guess he’s afraid I’ll stuff it up.

“You co

“Yeah,” Toby says, scratching his head.

“Maybe one of the lines isn’t co

I stare at all of them and then I stare at the engine. “Have you checked the gas lines?”

Their heads swivel to me. “You’re not allowed to work on these cars, you can help out but Tazen only lets Rick work on them when he’s not here,” Toby points out rudely.

“Well, I’m not touching it, I’m just asking a question.”

“We know what we’re doing,” he snaps.

“Listen, buddy,” I growl, stepping up into his space. “I get it, you don’t want me here, but you don’t get to speak to me like I’m trash. Do it again and you’ll find your balls in a place you really don’t want them to be.”

Drasco snorts and Kellan chuckles. Rick comes charging back in with a phone pressed to his ear. “Yeah, we can’t figure it out and they want to see it ru

He’s talking to Tazen.

“Yeah, well, get in here.”

Silence.

“Of course I fucking checked that.”

More silence.

“Whatever, just get back here.”

Rick slams the phone down and glares at me. “You got any ideas?”

His question stuns me, and surprises me so much I open my mouth to answer but nothing comes out. Impatient, Rick shakes his head, clearly too frustrated to wait. Instead, he barks at the guys. “Toby, go and get the plans for this engine. Kellan, check everything again.”

“Give me a minute, I might be able to help,” I say, thinking hard about what the problem might be.

Rick is obviously finished giving me my chance. This pisses me off. Toby and Kellan rush off and Rick starts talking to Drasco, so I slip in behind him and study the engine. I run my fingers over all the pieces, checking to see if they’re co

The starter co

I ignore that and do the last adjustments on the co

Then I walk off, but really, I want to skip.

I just showed them all up, and in front of their boss.

Finally.

*   *   *

I’m in the female restroom, washing my face and fixing my hair when I see Tazen appear in the mirror. He’s standing behind me, leaning against the door frame. I meet his eyes in the glass and he gives me a lazy, gorgeous half smile. “That was impressive what you did back there.”

“I told you,” I say, lifting my hair into a neater ponytail. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Just how experienced are you, angel?”

“I’ve been doing it since I was under five years old, Tazen. My dad before, ah, we lost my mom, was one of the best mechanics around. He taught me every single thing I know. I did an apprenticeship underneath him when I was fifteen for five years. Then I became a fully qualified mechanic.”

“Jesus,” he mutters.

“Yeah,” I say. “And you thought I was just a stupid girl.”

“Never thought that.”

I meet his eyes again. “Well, it’s beside the point now. You’ve seen for yourself what I can do.”

“Yeah I have, and it’s why I’m in here.”

I feel excitement bubble in my chest, but I keep my casual expression. “Oh?”

“I want you on my team.”

I want to scream inside, but I don’t.

“You … do?”

“Yeah,” he says, studying me. “I’ve been impressed with your work. Not just today but every day. It’s neater and more precise than any of the guys on my team. Men have heavy hands, but your work is delicate. In the business I’m ru

I’m inwardly screaming with joy.

“Will I get to help on the builds?”

He nods. “Yeah, you will.”

“And you won’t treat me like an idiot?”

He grins. “No, angel.”

“Then I accept.”

Happy dance. Happy dance. Happy dance.

“Good, then fix your hair and get back out there. You’re part of the team now.”

I let my hair go with a massive grin. I turn and his smile gets bigger when he sees how happy I am. He steps forward and his arm lashes out, curling around my waist. “I don’t fuck employees,” he murmurs, staring at my lips.