Instead of giving the taxi driver our address, Kellan gave him Evan’s address. Confused, I looked over at him. “Why are we going to Evan’s?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see the guys. I did. But Kellan and I had been living with family for the last six weeks, and I wanted a little alone time with my husband. We had had some privacy at Gavin’s and at my parents’, sure. Dad had even let Kellan and I share a room since we were legally married. And even though we’d been warned not to, we’d broken the doctor’s orders about restraining from intimacy. We’d actually broken that rule on week three. Kellan is hard to resist, and when he’d told me he felt fine as he was running his tongue along my collarbone . . . well, will power still wasn’t my strong point, I guess. But those brief moments hadn’t been nearly enough, and I was ready to go home.
Kellan glowed as he answered me. “We’re not going to Evan’s, we’re going to the shop.”
I was confused for a minute until I realized what he was talking about—the auto body shop beneath Evan’s loft, the shop that was garaging Kellan’s Chevelle. I rolled my eyes at him as I laughed. Boys and their toys. When the taxi let us out, Rox, the female mechanic who “knew” Kellan “very well,” was there holding his keys. Kellan was so excited, he picked the girl up. I cringed, and not from jealousy. I just didn’t want him injuring himself. He’d been given the all clear, but still, he should be careful.
Rox was laughing when Kellan set her down. With grease-stained fingers, she indicated inside the garage, where I could see a huge Chevelle-shaped sheet on the far side of the room. It made me happy that they’d protected the car as well as store it. It made Kellan’s eyes shine as he gingerly took the keys from her.
Walking up to his car, he lovingly removed the cover. By the look on his face, I thought maybe I should give him a minute alone with his “baby.” His smile wide, his hand slowly ran up the edge of the shiny black vehicle, then caressed the top. And damn if it wasn’t erotic to watch; it gave me shivers, and I wanted him to finish fondling his car so he could fondle me.
From beside me, Rox murmured, “He sure loves that car.”
I had to laugh as I watched Kellan rest his cheek on the roof. God. Really? “Yeah, that he does.”
As I started to walk away, Rox blurted out, “I never believed the rumors . . . just so you know.”
By the strange expression on her face, I didn’t quite believe her. But I knew she was trying to be nice, so I played along. “Thanks. That’s good to hear.”
Stepping up to Kellan, I extended my hand, palm up. Lifting his head from the roof, he frowned at my gesture. “What?”
Keeping a straight face, I told him, “Seeing as how you’re still recovering from a serious operation, I don’t think you should drive.”
Kellan’s jaw dropped, and his fingers possessively curled around the keys. “I’m fine, and you know I’m fine. Sex takes way more energy than driving, and we’ve been doing that for weeks.” A playful gleam in his eyes, he added, “And it didn’t hurt at all when you rode me this morning. It felt pretty amazing actually.”
Widening my eyes, I slapped my hand over his mouth. Rox was laughing, so I knew she’d heard him over the din of the noisy shop. I could feel Kellan laughing under my fingers. I considered punching him in the gut, just to see if that hurt, but I’d vowed never to hit anyone again so I contained myself. I did make him unlock the door and get inside as quickly as possible, though. He was laughing when I climbed in the other side. “What?” he asked, starting the car. “Am I wrong?”
Giving him a sly grin, I shook my head. No, he wasn’t wrong. This morning had been pretty amazing. Kellan’s stamina was right back where it used to be. In fact, you wouldn’t even know he’d been in such a scary accident by the looks of him. The only visible mark on him was a slightly pink scar running down the middle of his abdomen from where the doctor had cut him open to save his spleen. But he’d been stitched together very well, and given enough time, the slight mark would be nearly invisible. I didn’t care if the scar remained visible for the rest of his life. Inadvertently, the scar had saved his life. And, in a way that couldn’t fully be explained, it was kind of sexy.
Really wanting to be alone now, Kellan and I headed for home. When we drove up to our street, a sad fact quickly became apparent to us. Sometimes, you can’t go back home. Kellan’s narrow, car-packed street was now so full of vehicles and people, we couldn’t pull into it. Stopping alongside the main road, we looked down the street where tons of people were milling about. I could just make out our two story home, and I was horrified to see people taking pictures of it.
“Please tell me your neighbors are having a block party,” I whispered.