Page 4 of Restless Ink

“Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. But I’m glad you were ready to hit me if I wasn’t me since you’re alone out here at this time of night.”

She sighed. “It’s not that late, and I can take care of myself.” Of course, now that she was thinking about it, she’d left the front door of the vehicle unlocked and had her purse visible, so she wasn’t making the wisest choices.

“Let me help,” Dimitri said quickly. “I’ll put these bags in my car and help you with your tire. It’s not going to be easy with a broken shoe and in a dress.”

She shook her head. “You have perishables. I can handle it.”

“I’m sure you can, but you can also let me help. It’s supposed to snow tonight so getting home would be a good thing.”

She sighed. “I haven’t checked the weather since this morning. Snow again?”

“It’s Colorado Springs, of course there’s a chance of snow at random times even if they didn’t mention it twelve hours ago. Seriously, Thea. Let me help, and then you can get home safely and out of that dress.”

He cleared his throat after he said that, and it was all she could do not to roll her eyes. It was either that or pant at the thought of taking off her dress in front of him.

Whoa, Nelly.

Where the hell had those thoughts come from? She didn’t need to think of Dimitri like that. He was her friend. Kind of. But, seriously, just friends.

“I’d appreciate the help,” she said after a moment because, honestly, it was silly to do it all herself when she was wearing what she was, and there was someone who could assist. “But don’t make me wait to the side or something. I’ll actually help.”

“You got it.”

He rushed off to his car, practically threw his bags into the back of the SUV, then headed back toward her in less time than it took for her to move things out of the way to reach for the tire.

“Let’s see what we can do.” He helped her get the spare out of the back, then the two of them got to work. Dimitri did most of the heavy lifting since it wasn’t easy in her dress and, frankly, he was stronger than she was. Thea didn’t want to stand in his way and make things take more time as the temperature dropped either.

When he bent over, her gaze dropped to his very sexy butt, and she pulled her eyes away. Jesus, what was wrong with her? This was her best friend’s ex. There wererules.

Rules that kept her away from a very sexy butt and an impressive set of forearms.

No, she was not looking at his forearms. Or his ink. Or the way he held that long piece of metal. Nope.

Why is that tire iron so sexy?Why did she think it phallic?

She’d just seen a penis. It wasn't a nice one, but she’d seen it. She knew what one looked like.

Why was she thinking of Dimitri's penis?

Oh, God, she should have just baked a cake. Or cookies. Or anything that would have kept her out of the damn store.

“All done.”

And then he turned and winked, and she knew she was going to hell. A special hell, with only gluten-free products, spoiled eggs, and no yeast.

“Thank you so much,” she said, hoping her voice wasn’t hoarse because her mind was in a weird place. Namely, the gutter.

“Let me help you clean up.” He went to do as he said before she could even answer, so she bent over and picked up a few random things to help out.

When he was done, he gave her a look, then hugged her close before laying a soft kiss on her temple. They both froze.

She couldn’t think.

Couldn’t breathe.

She took an awkward step back, and he cleared his throat.

“Uh, thanks for your help.” She didn’t know what else to say. What elsewasthere to say?

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