Page 33 of Ace of Spades

"Had," I say, turning around to face him. "Ihada boyfriend."

"And what was that? Why are you so adamant about working here?"

What is it with him trying to find a motive for me to exist here? Can't a girl just want to work and live and do something she loves without having some kind of revenge plotted out in her head.

Jesus. Who hurt him?

"No, Mr. Steele." I watch the way his shoulders tense when I call him that. "I'm here because I'm damn good at what I do. Something you'll come to find out if you ever let me out of this office and let me work."

He drops the hand that's still holding the door closed. On a sigh, he says, "I need to talk to Brody. Wait for me outside and don't touch anything. We're not done here."

Levi Steele is just as grumpy as he was on TV. I really shouldn't be surprised.

What does surprise me is the fact that being this close to him is doing things to my body I don't particularly want to admit to him.

The smell of his cologne, a manly musk, fills my nostrils and I need to leave just to make sure I don't get swept up in the sensation of him being so near.

Levi is now my boss, whether we like it or not.

This is the only bike shop in all of Breaker's Isle. And the closest one is somewhere I would never step foot in again.

So for now, he's going to have to accept that this is happening.

He opens the door and waits for me to step out. I do and he shuts the door, clicking the lock in place.

Well, that went smoothly.

I grab the helmet I dropped at the entrance and shrug out of my jacket, walking over to the crew already busy at work.

He said don't touch anythingnotdon't talk to anyone.

I try my luck with the one female in the group.

We didn’t start off on the right foot. And she keeps looking over at me, as the song blasting through the bay has everyone bouncing around as they work.

The sounds of metal clinking and tools buzzing is as natural to me as breathing. For as long as I can remember, this place has always been a dream for me.

And now that I'm here, I won't let Levi and his bad attitude take that dream from me.

"You sure know how to work up a man," the woman says, focused on unwrapping some mirrors.

"Comes with the territory. Some guys can't handle a woman knowing her stuff," I say, approaching.

She smirks. "Steele ain't like that."

"Doesheknow that? Because apparently my very presence annoys him."

Not that he seemed to mind my presence when his tongue was nearly in my throat last night. The thickening in his jeans was evidence of that.

"He's got a lot on his plate," she assures me. Then sets the mirror down on the table and extends her hand out. "Name's Kim, by the way. The crew calls me Kick."

I feel eyes on me and turn to see Joey—or Skid, I guess—watching me.

He gives me a playful wave of his fingers but gets knocked by the older Hispanic guy who ran my interview… if you could even call it that.

"Sienna," I say, shaking her hand. "What's with all the nicknames?"

Kim shrugs. "Kinda just happened. Around here, nicknames get earned."

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