The Favor

I felt my mouth hitch up into a smile. “I know. I’ve heard him.”

“He’s proud of you. And so he should be.”

I swallowed. “You don’t have to answer … but what wakes you those nights I catch you sitting in my chair?”

He twisted his mouth. “Not dreams or nightmares. I’m a very light sleeper. The slightest noise can wake me, and sometimes I can’t get back to sleep. If that happens, I’ll do some work to pass the time.”

I licked my lower lip. “Thank you for telling me.”

Dane smoothed his hand up my bare thigh and under the leg of my shorts.

I gasped as his fingertip slid past the gusset of my panties and swiped at my slit.

“Spread your legs wider,” he ordered.

I lifted a defiant brow. “Maybe I’m not in the mood.”

He scraped his teeth over my shoulder. “And maybe you’re being a brat. Spread them wider.”

I sniffed. “You’re just cranky because your plan to sexually torture me into showing you my dress didn’t work.”

“How can I be mad when you asked me so nicely to let you come? There was begging involved, as I recall.”

I felt my face heat. It was no surprise that the dominant bastard got off on it. “Which was a one-off. It won’t happen again.”

A wolfish smile crept onto his face. “Baby girl, you really shouldn’t have said that.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Knuckles rapped on my car window the next day as I sat in Dane’s garage, trying to make my car start. Grinding my teeth, I eased up on the ignition and looked up to see him sipping from a cup. I rolled down the window and glared at him. Oh, I could kill him right now. Or maybe just rearrange his face with a shovel.

“Problem?” he asked, playing clueless when we both knew he was anything but.

“The engine won’t start.”

A line marred his brow. “At all?”

I felt my lips thin. “No. It’s as if the battery’s dead. Or as if someone’s taken it.”

One brow hiked up. “You think I stole your car battery?”

“I think you did something to my car, because it was working just fine up until now.” I’d been trying to get it moving for a full two minutes, but nothing was happening. I could lift the hood and check things out, sure, but I wouldn’t have a clue what I was looking at.

Dane shrugged. “It’s an old model, baby girl. Sometimes they just give out.”

“And sometimes people tinker with them when the owner’s back is turned.”

Really, I should have known he’d do something like this. He hadn’t tried pushing me to drive the new Audi he’d bought for me. He’d been so sure I’d eventually give in and accept it that he hadn’t once complained about me not using it. But Dane wasn’t a man who waited around for people to start dancing to his tune, was he? He made things happen. And he always managed to outmaneuver people.

“Fix it,” I insisted.

He frowned. “Do I look like a mechanic to you?”

“Undo whatever you did.”

“If you want me to call someone to come take a look at it, I will. I can’t promise they’ll get here any time soon, though.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “I doubt you want to hang around here and wait for a mechanic to arrive or you’ll be very late meeting up with your friends.”

Yes, I would be. Which was exactly why he’d pulled this crap today. He’d known I wouldn’t miss out on this trip to the mall; he’d known I’d promised both Ashley and Hanna that I’d meet them there.

He took a sip of his drink, looking infuriatingly casual. “Do you want me to drive you to the mall?”

“No, I don’t.” What I wanted was to slap him across the face. Hard.

He pursed his lips, thoughtful. “I suppose you could ask Ashley to come pick you up. Of course, she’s probably halfway to the mall by now, but she’d turn back for you if you asked. I’m sure Hanna wouldn’t mind waiting at the mall by herself for the two of you to arrive.”

He knew I wouldn’t put Ashley out like that, just as he knew I wouldn’t want Hanna to be standing outside the entrance of the mall for God-knew-how-long.

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. “You think you’re clever, don’t you?”

His eyes danced. “I have been called that once or twice.”

Arrogant prick. “I could just call a taxi.”

“You could,” he easily agreed. “It’s rare that any happen to be driving around these parts, but you might get lucky. If not, you won’t have to wait too long for a taxi to arrive. On average, they usually take something between twenty and thirty minutes to get here.”

If I hung around that long, both Ashley and Hanna would be standing around waiting for me to arrive. Which meant I either needed to accept a ride from Dane, who I’d much rather sucker punch right now, or choose the lesser evil.