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VAL
“Jay, you don’t need to be here,” I grumbled at my boss, who was also my best friend. Probably my only true friend. Whatever. I didn’t need a bunch of them anyway.
JJ looked at me. It was hisI’m here because I want to belook. The one he gave me when I felt like he was checking in or pitying me for being alone.
JJ lived with his boyfriends outside of the city. We used to share an apartment, but he moved out months ago. I missed having him there, not that I was going to tell him. If I did, he’d be with me more often instead of spending quality time with his men, Dexen and Greer.
The old Mazda hatchback we stood under would probably do better in a junkyard than putting more money into it. After fifteen years of being on the road and over a hundred thousand miles, it had seen its day.
“Jay, come on,” I tried to keep the whine out of my voice. Sometimes I fell into a little brother role when he was around. I had no parents left of my own, not that I’d want them if they were alive, so when JJ took me in, he became the family I needed.
Now, I was twenty-three. I shouldn’t be whining about shit. Not when I had a great job at the company JJ partially owned. I worked at his shop on the side. More like I couldn’t stay away if I tried. I loved being a mechanic.
He grinned. “I told you I’m not here for you. X is coming in with his Jag. He wants the oil changed and doesn’t want to do it himself. I volunteered.” X was short for Xaiden. The only people who used his full name were his brother and parents.
“He probably wants to make sure you’re treating Dex good.”
“Dex is treated like a king.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Shoving him, I ducked around the arm he was trying to put over my shoulders and went to the rear of the car to check the brake pads and rotors. I already had the wheels off.
It was early April, and we had the bay door open to let the spring air in. It was on the cooler side, but I didn’t mind. After being cooped up all winter, I welcomed the fresh air.
I could hear the engine of the Jaguar before I saw it. When it pulled up to the shop, parking on the street outside the bay door, I nearly came. The car was sexy. Black paint, black wheels, and the windows were tinted far past the legal limit. He was a Dremest though, the family the city was named after. No one was going to bother him.
Jesus, I wanted to drive that car. I wouldn’t ask but the temptation was there.
A finger swiped along the corner of my mouth. “You’ve got a little something there.”
Swatting JJ away, I glared at him. “Keep your hands off me.”
“Aww, Val, I miss you so.” He slung his arm over my shoulders, and I let him. He gave me a gentle squeeze before releasing me.
“You see me almost every day. I work for you.” We used to carpool to the office when we lived together, but he lived out in the country now and commuted into the city.
“It’s not the same.”
I glanced up at my Mazda. Yeah, the heap of shit was mine. I should get something else, but I’d already invested enough money in it. I didn’t want to pony up the cash for something newer. My car was nothing compared to the gleaming Jaguar out front.
Xaiden Dremest stood from his car, and he looked damn good. Dark jeans encased strong thighs. He had on a black Henley with the sleeves pushed up. Sneakers adorned his feet. He wasn’t as big and broad as Peyton and Greer Lynx were, but he was definitely muscular. My dick twitched in my jeans. I was grateful my shirt hung long enough to cover it. I got hard if the wind blew in my direction these days. It wasn’t like I had people knocking down my door to be with me.
Xaiden stepped inside and shook hands with JJ. “Thanks for doing this for me. I’m not much of a do my own car maintenance type of guy.”
“You don’t say,” JJ teased. “X, you’ve met Val before.” The last time I saw Xaiden was at the party Dexen threw for Dominic’s promotion at the club, months ago.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Xaiden greeted.
“Good,” I replied. “But I’m not calling you X like everyone else. That’s a letter in the alphabet, not a name.” So, I had a mouth on me. A blunt one that spoke whatever came to mind. I didn’t filter my words. I should, but I didn’t find it in myself to give a fuck.
JJ elbowed me. “Knock it off. Everyone calls him X.”
I shrugged. “So?”
“Does that mean I can address you as Valiant?” Xaiden asked in that deep rumbly voice of his. But I didn’t focus on that. I was locked in on his use of my full name.
Drawing my arm back, I balled my fist, ready to hit him. I didn’t care if Xaiden had five inches on me and more weight. I didn’t like my full name and most people knew that.
