Make Me Shiver

Chapter Two

“Mike, are you there? Come in.”

Michael snagged the microphone from the CB and lifted it to his mouth. “I’m here. What do you need?” He released the small circular button and listened, hoping like hell he didn’t have to make a detour. After giving his last unfortunate client a tow to the closest tire shop, he’d hoped to finish up for the night. Too bad heavy snow meant business would be booming, and the temperature wasn’t supposed to rise until the morning.

“I need a tow up on Merril Mountain.”

That was heading in the opposite direction. If he took the call he wouldn’t make it home for an hour or more. “Radio Pat. He was in that area last time I checked.”

“You might want to take this call.”

“Why is that?”

The line crackled with static when Jacob answered, “It’s Lacey.”

Lacey. Damn.

His heart accelerated as his cock came to life, stirring and straining against his jeans. The name alone did all kinds of things to him—things he didn’t like to think about. From the first time he’d seen the newest Pleasant View resident in her billowy knee-length skirt, conservative blouse and Keds sneakers, he’d felt an instant attraction. She was a natural beauty, perhaps a decade or so younger than his thirty-five years, with beautiful waist-length mahogany hair, a heart-shaped face, full and lush lips and the most exotic pair of grass-green eyes he had ever seen.

Everyone had noticed when she moved into town. It had been impossible not to. She was well-known for writing children’s stories, and it had been as if a celebrity had arrived in their midst.

Sure, most of the fans were mothers with small children but it didn’t take long for the rest of the community to take notice. With the way she looked, she had the single male populace standing in line for her signature at local book signings in the hopes they might also walk away with her phone number or a night in her bed.

“I’ll call Pat,” Jacob said, breaking apart his thoughts. “He’s free at the moment.”

“No,” he snapped into the CB, livid at the thought of the town charmer giving Lacey a ride. Pat would try to wrangle her out of her panties the minute her perfectly rounded ass hit the passenger seat in his truck.

Striving for calm, he said evenly, “I’ll take care of it.”

There was laughter in Jacob’s voice when he responded. “I figured you would.”

Sliding the receiver back into its appropriate slot, Mike downshifted and turned the rig around.

His body was on fire, amped up for what he couldn’t have, and his now fully engorged dick pounded miserably. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman he’d envisioned having more than casual sex with.

Too fucking long.

Beginning a relationship was never easy, but adding BDSM into the mix made things far trickier.

He’d sworn off relationships entirely after the bitter fallout with his ex that had left him emotionally drained and exhausted, unwilling to take the risk of entering into anything remotely similar. It was almost impossible to find what he was looking for in a woman. Head games were too draining, and trying to find someone who was willing to be totally open, honest and trusting was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Inadvertently, his thoughts drifted back to Lacey. The first time they met, he’d believed she might be different. She’d been a breath of fresh air, opening up to him without any reservations.

When he’d moseyed up to her at Haddie’s and offered to buy her a drink, her mannerisms and fleeting glimpses told the Dom in him that she was a born submissive. Her nature was sweet, pleasing and delightful. He’d been certain she felt the connection. She hadn’t shied away from his teasing touches, her cheeks blushing beautifully as he’d casually run his finger along her jaw to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Their conversation had been relaxed and comfortable—the beginning of something extraordinary starting to take place.

Until Candice Bradshaw had arrived, whisked Lacey away to the bathroom and put a wrench in what he’d hoped might be a changing point in his life.

A white-hot wisp of anger stirred his blood. He wrapped his fingers around the steering wheel in a crushing, vise-like grip, squeezing until his knuckles turned white. One trip to the ladies’ room and Lacey had reappeared, apologized for having to leave and bid him a good night. When he attempted to offer her a ride home she had declined, refusing to meet his eyes as she paid her tab and slipped away.

It didn’t take a genius to know what Candice had told her—not that it was a secret. Several of the regulars at Haddie’s frequented the exclusive BDSM club Fantasia, in Nashville.

Including the snitch herself—not that Candice would own up to it. He’d gotten a firsthand glimpse of what the investigative reporter would do when she was down on her luck, even if it meant infiltrating a BDSM club to get the lowdown on a story.

At first he’d assumed Lacey was nervous about his dominant predisposition and had considered giving her a call to test the waters. It was natural for a woman who hadn’t been introduced to the scene to be frightened by the prospect of exploring her sexual boundaries. Then he’d learned she started dating Scott Barker. It wasn’t any wonder she wasn’t interested and had blown him off. What did a mechanic who drove a tow truck and had a taste for kink have over an attorney who owned a Jag and was as vanilla as an ice-cream cone?

Apparently not a damn thing.

This was no fucking good. He shouldn’t be traveling out of his way to save Lacey. It was going to be absolute hell and he had no one to blame but himself. Once he saw her, those longings would rise to the surface all over again. Like a dog who knew it would be kicked but just wanted to be petted, he’d smile, play nice and go home empty-handed.

Even in the heavy snow, it only took twenty minutes to arrive at the scene. No one was out and the roads were turning slushy. Her car was wedged into the railing, the tires buried in white midway to the hubcaps. As he pulled behind the older model Camry his headlights shone into the car and he saw a head dart up from the driver’s seat. Just knowing it was her stirred passions that were dangerous for them both.

“Shit,” he muttered, staring at the car covered in glistening ivory. It was late, they were on a dangerous and slippery stretch of road, and climbing into the snow to secure the winch to her car would be hell. This wouldn’t be a simple tow. He’d have to take her into town, come back for her car and face her not once, but twice.

He pressed the emergency brake button on the dash and left the motor running as he unlatched his seat belt. After he opened the door he jumped down, turned and closed it behind him. Several deep breaths in the frigid winter air cooled him down, taking the edge off his lust and extinguishing the fire in his blood. He’d always been polite to Lacey since that night at Haddie’s, and he wasn’t going to start being an asshole now. Five long strides took him to her door. Her eyes flared wide when she saw his face and her lips parted ever so slightly.

Could it be? Was she happy to see him?

Of course she’s happy, he berated himself. She called for a wrecker and now you’re here!

She cracked the door open. “Michael?”

“Hi, darlin’.” He couldn’t help but smile, warmed by her voice, the use of his entire given name and the curiosity in her gaze. “I see you’ve managed to get yourself in a spot of trouble. Don’t you know better than to drive on these roads when a storm is coming in?”

“I do now.” She grinned sheepishly, cheeks turning an alluring shade of pink.

He stood back and gave her room to climb out. She was dressed in jeans, fur-lined boots that came to mid-calf and an enormous tan-colored coat that swallowed her willowy form. Once she had her massive purse in place over her shoulder she closed the door and moved closer. The moment she neared he smelled the delectable perfume she wore, a mixture of jasmine and linen. Sexual need hit him like a punch to the gut, and he took a step back.

So much for keeping his mind on work and not the woman in front of him.

She stopped, frowning slightly. “Is everything okay?”

Shaking his head, he answered in a half-truth. “We’re not going to be able to tow your car out of here until the temperature rises and the sun melts off some of the snow. With the visibility getting worse, it’s a dangerous spot to turn the rig to pull you out.”

“Oh.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip and his cock returned to life, becoming engorged once again, altering the comfort of his jeans. Shit, things could definitely get worse. So much for the cold cooling him down.

She peered up at him. “So what do we do?”

We go to my place, I strap you to my spanking bench and I warm that pretty little ass of yours until you’re begging me to fuck you senseless.

“First we get you inside my truck,” he said quickly, attempting to steer his mind away from the vision of her bound, naked and ass up in the air. “Come on. It’s cold as hell out here.”

He walked her to the passenger side of the truck, opened her door and waited until she was safely inside before he closed it behind her. Then he went to her car, flipped on the hazard flashers, removed her keys and locked the doors. When he returned to his truck and climbed in, Lacey had her hands in front of the air vents, wriggling her fingers.

He took a moment to appreciate the scene. She was not only sexy but adorable. It didn’t seem fair to waste her on someone as conceited and uptight as Scott Barker. The hotshot lawyer wouldn’t know the first thing about exciting her, pleasing her or appreciating her as she deserved. He probably didn’t even have sex with the lights on to enjoy Lacey’s body, preferring quick and fast bunny rabbit sex so she couldn’t see how small his dick truly was.

Just let it go. Thinking about what you’ll never have will only make this harder.

Resigned, he settled in, buckled his seat belt and accepted the fact that it just wasn’t in the cards. “I’m not sure if I can get you into the city, but I can drive you into town if you’d like. The roads are salted and passable for the time being.”

“The city?” She glanced at him, fingers going still.

“Did Scott move?”

At first she seemed shocked to learn he knew who she was dating. Her mouth opened, closed, and she frowned at him oddly. Just as quickly her green eyes narrowed and her plush lips thinned.

“I’m not seeing Scott anymore.”

His heart faltered before it started to race and his dick hardened like a rock as blood rushed from one head to the other. She wasn’t seeing the asshole. That meant Scott had either fucked it up, or Lacey wasn’t into uptight businessmen who thought money made the man. Either way, it made his mood a hell of a lot lighter. He tried not to let his surprise and interest in the statement show.

“That’s too bad.”

“No,” she replied in a level tone that told him it wasn’t open to discussion, “it isn’t.”

The CB crackled and Jacob’s voice came through the speaker. “Mike, are you there?”

Grateful for the distraction, Michael snagged the receiver and glanced at Lacey before he responded. “I’m here.”

“There’s a bad pileup on back four-forty. Buxom’s and Twill’s are already en route. Even with Pat they’re going to need an extra set of hands. After you finish with Lacey can you head that way?”

As he turned to pose the question, Mike knew he didn’t have to ask Lacey if the trip was all right with her. Concern was etched all over her face, her green eyes darkening into a brown shade of hazel. Damn, her face was so expressive, just as it had been the first night he walked up and introduced himself to her. He would be able to decipher so much about her from that alone.

Whether she was experiencing pleasure or pain, excitement or fear…

He ripped his eyes away from her and studied the glowing gauges in the dash. Fuck. This was not the time or place for this shit. Not with her so close he could feel the warmth radiating from her body, smell the sweetness of her perfume mingling with the floral scent of her shampoo.

Clearing his throat, he hoped he’d be able to keep his voice steady. “Do you mind tagging along? It’s probably not a sight you’ll want to see.”

She smiled, shaking her head. “It’s not like I have anywhere else I need to be.”

As he informed Jacob that Lacey’s car was too dangerous to tow, he wondered what Lacey would say if he told her she was completely wrong. There was one place she needed to be. It was the one place he’d been dying to see her.

On her knees, at his feet.