Chapter One
Tasha Rivers was soaked. It was pouring rain, and her stupid car had broken down…again. Cold, wet, and frustrated, she got out one more time to lift the hood so that anyone passing by would know that she was having car trouble. Not that anyone would stop in the middle of a storm. And storming as it was, she wouldn’t be surprised to see a tornado come through. The hail was getting bigger, and she was afraid the glass in her car windows was going to break. Why did her car have to break down now?
She was on her way to a job interview and couldn’t afford to be late. She needed this job desperately and couldn’t mess this up. Her savings was almost gone, and she didn’t know what she was going to do if something didn’t come up soon.
When she saw the ad in the paper for a receptionist for the Club de Fleurs, and how much they were offering to pay, she thanked the gods and immediately went to the website to apply. She didn’t know what type of club it was, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting the job. Two days later she had a call for an interview, and things were looking up.
Now here she sat on the side of the road, stuck. There was no way she was going to make it. Nothing to do but call and tell the man she was supposed to interview with that she needed to reschedule. Even if her stupid car would start, she looked like a drowned rat and now had ruined her only nice outfit, not really a good first impression for a receptionist. What the fuck was she going to do?
She saw headlights coming up behind her and leaned on the horn to get the car’s attention, hoping they could hear it over the wind, pounding rain, and hail.
Thanking the gods when the truck pulled in front of her car, she rolled her window down to talk to the person that had stopped.
* * * *
Damn, damn, and double damn, Tim thought. He didn’t need this shit. But being a southern gentleman and having a southern mama, there was no way he could not stop and help the person in the car. On top of his southern upbringing, he was ex–Special Forces, and a Dom to boot. Helping people in distress was in his blood. If it was a damsel in distress, there was no way he was leaving her on the side of the road.
But, shit, he was going to be late…again. His bosses at the Club de Fleurs all understood what was going on and why he was late so often, but he didn’t like it. It wasn’t fair to the person he was relieving, and often the bar had to be closed until he got there, losing business for the club.
Grabbing his phone, he quickly called Kyle, his boss, to let him know what was going on and why he would be late…again.
“No problem,” Kyle answered, “I’m supposed to be interviewing a new receptionist to help Theresa while she’s out with the baby, and the woman just called to say her car was broken down in the storm. I’ll cover until you can get here.”
Tim ended the conversation, then grabbed his rain gear from the back, hoping it would keep some of the water off of him.
Running the short distance from his truck to the car behind him, he went to the passenger door and let himself in.
“Fuck,
it’s cold,” he said as he slammed the door. “Roll that window up, for God’s sake. You’re getting soaked,” he told the driver, just now getting his first look at her.
Tasha was shocked he had gotten in her car. What if he was a rapist or murderer or something? What should she do?
“Roll up the fucking window.” Tim was late, cold, and wet.
Tasha started the engine and rolled up the automatic window, also turning on the heat.
“Much better, okay, sorry about all the nasty words, but it’s wet and cold out there. My name is Tim Robbins. Do you know what’s wrong with your car?”
“Hi, I’m Tasha Rivers, and it just stopped. The engine runs, but it won’t move. I think it has something to do with the transmission. I’ve been having trouble with it, but didn’t think it would do this to me.” She felt like crying.
“I’m pretty good with cars, but I’m not going to look at it in this mess. How about I give you a ride where you need to go, and we’ll have your car towed to a garage,” he told her in his soft southern drawl.
Shit, shit, shit, there was no way she could pay for towing, let alone having a garage fix her car, but what could she do? There was no way she was going to tell this stranger that she couldn’t afford to have her car towed or fixed.
Turning to look at her rescuer for the first time, she saw that, even soaking wet, he was gorgeous. Wet, his hair looked the color of dark chocolate, and his gray eyes looked as though they could pierce her soul, and his voice dripped honey. She loved listening to a southern man. Figures she would meet a handsome man when she looked liked a drowned rat.
“That would be great. If you could just drive me to the nearest gas station, I can have someone pick me up there.” She smiled.
Tim listened to her talk and thought, If she looks this gorgeous wet, I wonder what she would look like naked in my bed. His cock nodded in agreement.
Thinking with his head for a minute, something about her words didn’t ring true.