Skirt Steak: Grade-A Beefcakes Series - Book 5 Read online

  “I did it myself.”

  “What?” she practically screeched. “Are you a masochist?”

  “No, and that’s the problem.” I took a deep breath, let it out. I shivered and threw the bag of corn across the bed, climbed beneath the covers and tossed them over my head. The room went mostly dark around me. “Ava, I’ve got a bald patch and there’s no way I can do any more.”

  She was quiet for a minute. “Then shave it all off.”

  “I can’t. Having it come back in is miserable. I probably looked like I had crabs or something, scratching myself all the time.”

  “Mmm, yeah, I can relate to that. So which is worse, a bald patch or hair coming back in?”

  I couldn’t decide. “Either way, they’re going to see me either looking like a plucked chicken or think I have mange. Down there.”

  Ava laughed. And laughed.

  “This is sooo not funny.”

  “A guy’s not going to care what your pussy looks like. They just care that they got there.”

  “Says the woman who gets waxed by a professional.”

  “Touché. Then go to the salon in town and get it fixed.”

  “No time. They’re coming in an hour. What am I going to do?”

  “You really like these guys, don’t you?” she asked, her voice calmer now, concerned.

  I bit my lip, thought of the kisses we’d shared. Of the sexy times from the night before. The pull, like magnets. Powerful. Synapse sizzling.

  “I do.”

  “They’re good guys, Julia. I’m happy for you. They make Frank seem like a salt lick.”

  I pushed the blanket off my head, about to suffocate. I didn’t comment on Frank, but she was right. Compared to Bennett and Cash, he was dull as could be. And an asshole. They’d seen to my orgasm first, even over the phone. With Frank, there hadn’t been an orgasm.

  “At least he’s out of your life.”

  “I saw him at the grocery store, comparing apples. I might have to shop in Clayton now.”

  “He doesn’t live in the produce section,” she countered. “If you want to compare apples, then think about Frank, then picture Bennett and Cash.”

  I didn’t think long about Frank, but of my phone sex companions. Big, brawny, rugged. Sweet but so, so dirty. “Good point.”

  “If you let them get in your pants, I guarantee Bennett and Cash aren’t going to care that you’ve got a little bald spot.”

  I didn’t clarify the bald spot wasn’t all that little. I was mortified enough.

  “They’re interested in you,” she continued. “I couldn’t miss the chemistry between you guys last night.”

  “They let me think they were strippers!”

  “You thought that all by yourself,” she countered. “And it was hilarious. And then you put them in their place. I swear Cash came in his jeans when you stood up to him, poked him in the chest.”

  “He did not,” I muttered.

  “Whatever. They want you. Why wouldn’t they? You’re beautiful, sexy, fun. They’d be stupid to think otherwise.”

  “They’re taking me out today,” I told her, going to my dresser to get some panties and a matching bra. Something sexy to offset my little bald spot.

  She gave a little squeal. “Go for it. Times two. You’ve been in a man funk for a while. You deserve good men to treat you right.”

  I paused, considered. “Maybe I’ll cook them dinner.”

  “Whatever you do, don’t serve them corn.”

  6

  CASH

  * * *

  “You don’t like eggs?” I asked, once we handed the waitress our menus and she left to get our drinks.

  We were in a back booth at the diner on the south side of Main Street. The scent of bacon and coffee filled the air. Bennett was beside Julia and I sat across from them, which had our knees bump beneath the table. The casual action had me eager to touch her more. After the night before… I wanted my hands all over her.

  “Nope,” she replied. “You can get me to spill all my secrets by forcing me to eat a runny, yucky yoke.”

  She actually shuddered just talking about it, which made me smile.

  “We want you to tell us your secrets, Angel, no torture involved,” Bennett told her.

  She blushed and glanced up at Bennett, which allowed me to see her in profile. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail with a few escaped curls framing her face. She had on a little makeup, mascara and some color on her lips. Those full lips I remembered tasting the night before.

  She was so fucking pretty, and today, to make my dick as pissed at me as possible, she wore a dress. Pale blue with little white flowers and a jean jacket on top. Still, I just had to tuck my fingers into the knee-length hem and raise it up to see her pretty panties. And those, per my dick which was thinking for me right now, could be slid to the side so I could sink into her. She’d be wet and hot and fit me like a fucking glove.

  I shifted in my seat, trying to get comfortable. I had a feeling I was going to be like this—walking around with a lead pipe wedged inside my jeans—until I got inside her. Even then, I doubted one time would be enough to sate the thing.

  “We hardly know each other well enough for that,” she murmured.

  Bennett laughed out loud, the nearest table turning to look our way. “Angel, we might have met yesterday, but we know each other. What kind of toothpaste you use, if you drink milk from the carton, that kind of stuff doesn’t matter. Can’t you feel it?”

  Her eyes widened at his words.

  “This pull?”

  Pull, that was a good word for this. If I were younger, I’d say crush. Infatuation. Obsession, even. But it wasn’t any of those things. The way I felt for her was real. Powerful. And it hadn’t even been a day, but I knew. I wanted her, no matter the toothpaste she used. I just had to hope she felt the same toward me.

  The waitress returned with three coffee mugs, a large carafe and a small dish of creamers. This was the best high-octane coffee around, and I poured a cup, then slid it in front of Julia.

  “Thanks,” she said, turning those emerald eyes my way. She reached for a creamer, added it.

  “You said you’re in marketing,” I began, pouring one for Bennett, then myself. Bennett had headed into pretty heavy territory so it was time to lighten it up a bit. “Gus said you’re the best out there.”

  One eyebrow winged up. It was a touch darker in color than her hair, which made me wonder if her pussy would be darker as well.

  She rolled her eyes. “He’s my brother so he has to say that. Besides, he’s a science geek and doesn’t think about business stuff, just taking care of animals. But, yes, to answer your question, I studied it in college.”

  “You work for yourself?” Bennett asked.

  “After graduation, I worked for a company in Helena for a year. My friend from school started a firm and wanted me to work for her. She was fine with me living here as long as I traveled to clients when needed. It’s been four years now.”

  “You must travel a lot then,” I said. Small town Montana wasn’t the mecca for marketing clients.

  She shrugged, stirred her coffee. “I do, but I don’t mind it.”

  “Gus said you’ve been traveling all the time these days.”

  She took a sip of coffee and pursed her lips. “Gus says an awful lot.”

  Bennett took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Trust me, we aren’t interested in Gus.”

  She sighed, which made her tits rise beneath her dress. Fuck, yes, I noticed.

  “Last year, I took a number of small projects in Dallas and Salt Lake. More recently, I took a big one in Portland and was gone for two months in one stretch, then a few other trips since.”

  The waitress brought our meals. Although it was close to lunch, I had the hungry man breakfast, Bennett the club sandwich and Julia had the waffle with a side of bacon and hash browns. Thank fuck she wasn’t a salad girl.

  “Do you have to head out again soon?” B
ennett asked, pulling a toothpick from a section of his sandwich.

  “Not this weekend.” She looked to him, gave a sly smile. “Next month, perhaps. I’ve earned some time at home.”

  “That’s good,” I said. We’d just found her. I wasn’t interested in doing long distance. Phone sex across town was far enough.

  “What about you?” she asked, looking at me but reaching for the syrup. She poured it over so each little spot of the waffle was filled. Putting the glass server down, she licked her finger.

  I stared. Got hard.

  “What?” I asked. When I met her eyes again, she was grinning.

  Totally busted, but I didn’t care.

  “Did you do auto maintenance in Miami?”

  I put my napkin in my lap and picked up my silverware. “Yes, much to my parents’ disappointment. But I’d come here a number of times as a kid, stayed with my uncle. He rubbed off on me.”

  “That’s why you’re here now?”

  Bennett’s hand stilled, sandwich halfway to his mouth. This was when I could tell her what happened. Let her know the truth about my arrest. About why I was wary of being with a woman, even though this fucking pull I had toward Julia was messing with me. I swallowed and the words wouldn’t come. I couldn’t ruin what we had. Hell, I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t want it tarnished by Kelly. She’d destroyed enough of my life.

  “I was ready for a change last year and my uncle has been saying he wants to retire for a while now. I took him up on the offer to work with him, buy him out.”

  “That’s nice. I’m surprised I never met you when you came to visit.”

  I looked at her round face, expressive eyes. “You’re what… twenty-five?”

  “Twenty-six.”

  “I’m thirty-five, even older than Duke, so you’d have been a little kid.”

  “I still would have found you cute,” she countered, her eyes twinkling.

  I winked at her, bit into a piece of bacon. Bennett laughed and shook his head.

  “And you? Motorcycles?” she asked Bennett.

  He chewed, swallowed his bite of sandwich.

  “Cash and I met at shop class in high school,” he said. “We didn’t have the best grades, but there, we excelled. Cash went into cars; I went into the military. I did helicopter maintenance, took care of the Blackhawk fleet for two tours in Iraq. When I got out, I switched to bikes. It’s not like everyone wants—or, can have—a helicopter in their garage.”

  “No, I guess not,” Julia replied, taking a sip of her coffee. Her waffle was half gone.

  “When Cash decided to move here, I followed, brought my business with me.”

  He didn’t mention he was sick of all the money on display, even though he had plenty of his own. Women who wanted him for his bank account or a bike. Men who buddied up to him to get higher on his wait list. To say they were best buds with the owner of Bennett Bikes. The whole fucking game had gotten old for him and I didn’t mean baseball.

  “Will you make me a bike?” she asked, scooping up some hash browns.

  I pictured Julia on a motorcycle, in the flirty dress she was wearing. It would ride up those long legs, exposing a gorgeous expanse of thigh. Her pussy would press into the seat, the vibration of the engine getting her all hot and wet.

  “Sure. But I’d rather have you on the back of mine.” He leaned in close so no other tables could hear. “I like the idea of your legs wrapped around my waist, pressed up against me nice and tight.”

  Her mouth opened slightly and she stared at him, then realized she needed to swallow her food. I smiled, took a sip of coffee. She was so fucking responsive.

  “Need a refill on the coffee?” the waitress asked, swinging by our table.

  Julia’s mouth snapped shut and she blushed. I grinned, held up the carafe for the waitress to take. “Thanks.”

  When she walked off, Julia cleared her throat, shifting in her seat.

  I pushed my plate toward her. All that was left was a sunny-side-up egg. “Now you’ll tell us your secrets.”

  She stuck her tongue out, staring at the egg, then cocked her head to the side. “Like what? My bra size? That I’m allergic to blueberries? That I had fun last night?”

  “The blueberry thing is something to remember,” Bennett commented, polishing off the last bite of his sandwich. “Same thing that you had fun last night.”

  “As for the bra size, I’d really like to discover that for myself,” I said.

  She flushed, then bit her lip.

  “Tell us, baby. What’s your secret desire for today?” I asked. “The one thing you’d like to do with us?”

  Her eyes lit up and she grinned. “I know just the thing.”

  I imagined watching Julia undo the buttons down the front of her dress, the material parting slowly to reveal the creamy swells of her tits, then her belly before it fell to my bedroom floor. We’d get a peek at the frothy lace confections she wore beneath. Pink, perhaps. Maybe lavender lace. Then we’d tug those off, too.

  But not this.

  Bennett practically pouted as Julia raised the zipper on a pair of old, baggy coveralls in the auto shop. They were big on her, so I rolled up one sleeve on the stained garment for her, then the other. It was kind of sexy, seeing her in what I wore when I worked, but she was covered from neck to ankles. It screamed hands off, but it didn’t change my need for her. In fact, it completely did the opposite.

  Not just a sexy siren with her fiery hair and temperament—and her passionate nature we’d discovered the night before—but she was fucking cute, too. She looked small, dainty and very feminine, even though all of her curves were hidden.

  “Are you sure this is what you want to do? You don’t want to go to the movies or a hike or even bowling?” Bennett asked.

  Or get dirty some other way, like from my cum all over you?

  She shook her head. Smiled. Fuck, that smile was my undoing.

  “Nope. I want you to show me how to change the oil on my truck.” She pointed to the early eighties pickup sitting in one of the bays of Carter’s Auto. “Since it’s here…”

  I sighed, but was amused by her enthusiasm. We’d finished our meals and driven to my shop. It was closed on the weekends and my uncle was spending the weekend visiting a friend in Helena. We were all alone, with no chance for interruption. But no bed was in sight.

  I went over to a cabinet, pulled out some rubber gloves, the kind doctors wore for surgery. They were thin and didn’t get in the way when I worked, but did a great job of keeping my hands somewhat clean. Grease was a bitch to get out. “Here, put these on.”

  “I don’t mind getting dirty,” she replied.

  No, it didn’t seem she did. Fuck, could she be any better of a match? Yesterday, I’d seen her and wanted her. Instant attraction. Now, now I could see forever. Babies. Hell, watching grandchildren play as we sat in rockers on the front porch.

  I held out one and she stuck her hand in, then the other. “The only way I want you getting dirty today is when you’re naked.”

  “In a bed,” Bennett said.

  “Or out,” I added.

  He grinned. “Or out. Wherever you want.”

  “You sure you want to get under there?” I pointed to the front of her old truck. “I can put it on the lift.” I’d fixed the distributor cap problem first thing this morning so I could move it over to the lift. I’d checked it over, hoses and belts, battery connections. I wanted it running smoothly because I wasn’t letting her drive around town with the chance of it breaking down. I didn’t want her stuck on the side of the road somewhere. She might have a cell phone, but it just wasn’t safe.

  “Nope. I want to do it just like I would on my own.”

  “Baby, you can come here and use my lift any time you want.”

  She rolled her eyes and grinned.

  I found two rolling boards and nudged them with my boot toward the front of her truck. “Down you go,” I said.

  Reaching up, she tuck
ed her ponytail in some girly way into a bun, then lay down on the board with wheels.

  After giving Bennett a quick glance, I laid down beside her on a second board and used my feet to push myself under the truck. I saw Bennett squat down and slowly push her back.

  I already hooked the light to the underside, so when I turned my head, I could easily see her.

  Having her here, in the shop, beneath a car… fuck. I wanted to grab her, hug her and never let go. Yes, hug. Sweet and curious. Inquisitive and adventurous.

  “I’m surprised with three brothers you never learned this,” I said.

  I’d set the tools I needed on the side of the truck within reach, grabbed the big wrench to undo the bottom bolt.

  “My dad made the boys do it for me. I let them because it wasn’t very exciting. I admit, lately I’ve pulled the girl card so they’d continue. Now… well, now I want to learn. From you.”

  She was being earnest, not saying the words to get in my pants. I wasn’t that much of a catch, but there’d been many women who wanted to be with a guy who got their hands dirty. A blue collar fuck was sexy to some.

  “It still won’t be very exciting, but let’s get her done.”

  Done, so we could do other things. Having her lying beside me would be ideal, without a truck on top of us or in clothes.

  So I showed her. One step at a time and she watched, listened and did as instructed. I only helped her with the wrench since the bottom bolt was really tight. We moved out of the way, setting the drip pan in place, then taking off the bolt all the way so the old oil could drain out. After, she worked the bolt back in place and I helped her tighten it once again.

  Then, Bennett had tugged on her ankles, pulled her out from beneath and helped her up. She added her own oil, even tested it by pulling out the dipstick.

  “That’s not too hard,” she said when I dropped the hood. She had a slight smear of grease on her cheek and Bennett reached out, rubbed it off with his thumb. Her gaze lifted to his. “Thanks.”

  He leaned down, kissed her. She reached for him, then remembered her hands which were covered in grease and oil and pulled back. She stepped away and grinned, tugged the gloves off.