Light gray eyes – identical to Nick’s – considered him briefly before totally disregarding him. Sean was thunderstruck. No one had ever ignored him so blatantly. And certainly not a woman.
Instead, she looked at Nick and began unzipping the coveralls. Within seconds she had revealed a voluptuous body poured into black leather pants and a matching lace-up black leather corset. On her back was a wicked tattoo of a fallen angel, centered so that the wings just kissed her shoulder blades. The flash of perfect flesh exposed between her low-slung pants and too-short top gave a teasing glimpse of some spiraling symbols that Sean ached to explore in greater detail with his tongue. She wiped her hands on the coveralls and handed them to Nick.
“Benz is fixed. Was a problem with the modulator. Wrong size gap plug. You’re good to go.”
Hands with long, elegant fingers and gloss black nails reached up to pull what looked like a pair of silver chopsticks from the top of her head. Immediately volumes of shiny black hair fell, cascading over her shoulders and breasts. With smooth grace she slipped the sticks – which Sean now saw were actually metal picks – into her knee-high black leather boots. It was too much. Sean felt like he was trapped in some kind of surreal dream. No, not a dream. A fantasy.
“Hold on there, sweetheart. I’m not finished with you yet.”
The woman regarded him for a moment, her lids half closed like a lazy panther, before she proceeded to walk right up to him, stopping when her body was only an inch or so from his. Even with the six-inch spikes her eyes were barely level with his jaw line. A dark, delicate fragrance assaulted him, sending pulsating images of hot, naked sex beneath a full moon in the middle of the woods through his brain.
Without a trace of fear, she tilted her head up to look him in the eye. Up close, her eyes were even freakier than Nick’s. Crystal clear, multi-faceted like master-cut gems, appearing all that much lighter because of the black kohl outlining her upper and lower lids, framed in long thick lashes. The angle of the tilt made her eyes appeared half closed, as if frozen in ecstasy. She licked her lips, her very dark red glossy lips, the color of candy apples and just as shiny, the action slow and sensuous.
There were two things going through Sean’s mind simultaneously at that point. One, this woman should be scared shitless, but she didn’t seem the least bit fazed. And two, she was the hottest woman he’d ever seen. As if to accentuate that point, his heart pounded in his chest and need clawed in his groin. The electricity arcing between them had him harder than a steel rod.
*
So this was Nick’s boss, the infamous Sean Callaghan. Nick talked enough about him, but nothing could have prepared her for meeting him in the flesh. The guy screamed intensity and power, and radiated a raw sexuality that called to her most primitive instincts.
Without conscious effort, she memorized every nuance of his facial and bone structure. It was a skill she’d developed over the years, ensuring that should she encounter him again she would recognize him without fail, even if he attempted to change his appearance. Not that she would be able to forget him easily. His very presence commanded her absolute and undivided attention, which annoyed the hell out of her. Nicki, like her brother, had a natural resistance to authority figures.
It was a hell of a presence for a simple mechanic. Even as the thought entered her mind, she dismissed it. Sean Callaghan was no more a garden variety garage owner than she was a Sunday school teacher. His countenance, the way he held himself, the silent arrogance – they all reeked of special forces training. Marines. Navy SEALs. Black Ops, maybe. But it all added up to the same thing: DANGER.
His dark hair, cerulean blue eyes, and strong masculine features reminded her a lot of the guy who owned BodyWorks, the local fitness center. The resemblance was eerie. Brothers, most likely, she thought to herself. The BodyWorks guy was younger, broader, but didn’t have the breath-stealing, bad-ass intensity of this guy.
All of this passed through her mind in a second, maybe two. The bottom line – the sleepy little town of Pine Ridge had its share of secrets. It was intriguing, but unless it had a direct correlation to her purpose, none of it mattered. The best thing she could do was just stay the fuck out of his way.
And if he knew what was good for him, he’d stay the fuck out of hers.
“But I am finished with you, baby,” she purred. To further illustrate her point, her hand reached out and covered his crotch. Oh yeah, this guy was made for hot, sweaty sex. One side of her mouth curved upward with a knowing smile as her hand ran the length of him, cupping his balls firmly through his jeans. “Damn.”
“Nicki!” Nick said in a low, warning voice.
Her eyes flicked toward her brother, having momentarily forgotten he was there. Her hand dropped away, and the smile was gone in an instant as she stepped back, all playfulness replaced by a mask of cold indifference.
“My debt’s paid. I’m outta here.”