Say It's Forever (Redemption Hills #2)(26)

Except it pulled into a spot on the opposite side of the lot from where he normally parked, the truck facing away, and it was a hot second before the driver’s door finally opened.

A very hot second.

Because it wasn’t Darius climbing out.

It was Salem.

That girl straight devastation.

A gift wrapped in a black, seductive bow.

I froze, watching her through the bank of dark-tinted windows that fronted the lobby.

That ebony hair was curled into these fat waves that danced all over her shoulders, and there was no missing the way nerves scattered around her as she hesitated for a beat. She glanced around like she was hoping this little visit was covert, girl inhaling deep before she seemed to get it together and started walking across the parking lot toward the building.

“Fuck me.”

Today she was wearing these fitted black dress pants that hit her just above the ankles, the waist high with a silky, baby blue blouse tucked into it. Sky-high heels and red lipstick and fuck…my dick stirred, guts tangling at the sight.

This girl was a motherfuckin’ knockout.

A fantasy.

A dream.

Everything that I knew better than to want but was thirsting for, anyway.

Wanting her went directly against every commitment I’d made for myself.

Went against the grain of what I was striving for.

Against everything Darius had asked of me.

But I couldn’t seem to find it in myself to give a shit about either of those things.

Definitely problematic.

Figured she was there to argue about her car, which kind of sucked, but she was just going to have to accept I wanted to do the favor.

Didn’t mean she owed me.

It just meant I was offering something easy. Something that wasn’t going to hurt me a bit but clearly would give her a leg up.

Searching, she lifted her face to the building. Her lips puckered in confusion as she changed directions. She started toward the row of bays that ran the opposite side that were currently all locked up tight.

When she disappeared from view of the lobby windows, I pushed out from behind the counter and moved for the main door. Pushing it open, I stepped out into the warmth of the breaking day.

I looked to the right in the direction she’d gone, and the girl was strutting in those heels down the row of garage doors.

“You lost?” I leaned an arm against the wall, grinning that way as she whirled around on a sharp gasp, her face curdled in surprise before she blew out in relief.

Thunderbolt eyes narrowed.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on someone like that?” Her voice was doing that low, seductive thing, and need was grappling around for a place to take root in my belly.

Growling for a fill.

Rough laughter scraped free. “Sneak up on you? I’m fifty feet away. Would hardly call that sneaking up. I saw you out here rambling around and figured I’d come put you out of your misery.”

“I was looking for your door.” She waved a flustered hand at the massive building.

I quirked a brow. “To my loft?”

Reluctantly, she nodded, like standing there she was rethinking her purpose. “Yeah.”

I angled my head. “Around to the side of the building. There’s a separate exterior entrance. For next time.”

I let the smirk take hold, as clear as the suggestion.

She huffed with a slight tug at the edges of her delicious mouth, and she started my way. “Right. Okay.”

She moved closer.

Each step sent a shockwave of that electricity vibrating the ground.

Zinging my flesh and stoking my senses.

“Listen, I know it’s early, and I figured you’d still be upstairs which was why I was looking for another door, and I’m sorry I showed up here without an appointment so long before opening, but I needed to use Darius’ truck before he needs it for work and I—”

She clipped off the avalanche of words that had started rolling from her mouth, her lips thinning as if she’d just realized she’d been rambling faster than one of those old-school auctioneers.

Could feel the amusement twitching through my expression, and she stumbled to a stop ten feet away.

She blew out a sigh, then turned her phone to me with a hint of desperation tinting her voice. “Is this you?”

I pushed from the wall, squinting as I took a step forward to see what was on her screen.

An ad.

An ad that I’d been running but had been ignoring the calls for interviews for over the last four weeks because I just didn’t have time to see it through. Not exactly the most prudent of business decisions, but it was what it was.

“Yeah?” I answered it like a question.

Her head bounced at the confirmation, and she was looking out to the forest that hugged the lot before she was returning that gorgeous face to me. “Let me help…temporarily…until I pay off the car.”

Could feel the frown curling my brow. “Told you not to worry about it.”

“And I told you I would find a way to pay you back.”

Tension stretched between us.

Taut and tight.

“Please, Jud. I can’t just accept a handout from you.”

Air wheezed from my nose.

This girl definitely didn’t want to accept help.

Truth was, her car was so old, it was hardly worth fixing.