Free The Darkest Link (Second Circle Tattoos) by Scarlett Cole

car is the last thing I’m worried about, and what I really want you to do is stroke me the exact same way you stroked that engine, what would you say?”
    “I’d ask you how much you like this dress,” he said, holding his hands up, palms facing toward her. They were covered in grease and dirt, yet the idea of ending up with dark smudges in hidden places turned her on.
    “What if I told you I didn’t care?”
    “Well,” he said, running his hand up the outside of her thigh until it reached the first button, which he opened slowly with a pop. “Then I might find I need to do this.”
    Goose bumps flashed up her skin as his cool fingers touched her. A heady awareness filled her as she stared deeply into his coffee-colored eyes. She wasn’t sure exactly what had happened the night before. Perhaps it was old-fashioned gallantry, or something else, that had held him back from her. But it certainly wasn’t a lack of desire etched across his face. He ran his fingers along the back of her leg until they rested just below the cheeks of her butt.
    Unable to resist, she leaned toward him and brushed her lips against his, yet found it impossible to prevent the curve of a smile when his lips moved against hers. Putting both of her hands against his chest, she gave him a playful shove. “Well,” she said, running the tip of her middle finger beneath her lower lip as if fixing her lipstick, “then we are agreed. But I believe the deal involved food first, and I, for one, certainly want sustenance in preparation for what I believe tonight will hold.”
    Reid shook his head and grinned. “Tell you what, Red,” he said, closing the hood of her car and pulling the keys from his shorts to lock it. “I can pretty much guarantee that you may need to refuel more than once tonight because whatever this is, it most definitely won’t be boring, or short.”
    After locking the garage, Kenny took her around the side of the building to a black metal staircase leading to the second floor.
    “I live up here.” He nodded in the direction of the stairs. “It’s nothing too fancy, but I promise you I’m house-trained.”
    The corrugated metal was anything but practical in her heels, but somehow she made it to the top. She looked over her shoulder to see Kenny following closely behind with her cases, studying her butt, which she deliberately swayed from left to right, allowing the tight fabric to tease him. The look of appreciation in his eyes did wonders for her ego and helped put the fears and concerns regarding the rest of her life to the back of her mind. She would have to deal with the fallout from her father’s announcement when she got back to Miami, but for now she was going to focus on the handsome man checking her out.
    He put one of her cases down on the narrow landing and grabbed a key from his pocket. Kenny unlocked the door. “Home sweet home,” he said, ushering her inside.
    Home was a large open space with long runs of windows along the front and back walls. To her right was a spacious living room area with a dark brown sofa, two tan leather chairs, and the mandatory large flat-screen TV attached to a wall that was all original red brick. Ahead of her was an L-shaped kitchen that seemed small and sparse but well-used. The chrome fridge stood beside a doorway into the back part of the apartment. She could see another redbrick wall and a large bed with a dark wood headboard and dark sheets.
    It was all a little industrial chic, which she figured was more a function of necessity than his ideal style.
    Opposite the kitchen, a tilting table stood in front of one of the windows that looked down onto the garage forecourt. A large piece of paper was attached to it. She wandered over to it and found a technical drawing for what looked like a futuristic motorbike.
    She heard the sound of water running. He was washing his hands. The thought of where he was going to place his fingers next sent a thrill through her.
    “Did you do