AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"What are you doing?" I rummage through the bucket as instructed and find a mismatched, stiff pair that doesn't swamp my hands.
He was formal this morning—aloof. Gaze darting around the people at the bar area while he spoke to me as though he was worried they’d know.Worried he’s done something wrong.
“I’m sortin' the trash from what's usable. The prospects can take the metal for cashin' in later." He lifts a circular piece of chrome and holds it before him as though trying to envision it on a bike across the shed. It ends up in the pile with a crash, too.
"What would you like me to do?" I could barely name three parts of a bike. I don't know what use he thinks I'm going to be.
"Take that," Digger instructs, pointing to the growing pile, "out the doors and stack it up near the fence. Metal in one pile, plastic and other shit in another. I don't trust the prospects not to scratch the bikes on their way past."
"And you trust me?" I study the heap of metal and map out how best to tackle this Jenga puzzle. "No pressure, right?"
"Bit of pressure can be a good thing." He straightens, arching his back as though stretching out the muscles. "Shows you what you're made of."
In that case, what the hell am I made of? Cowardice and stupidity? I tug on the end of a fender, sliding it across the top of the stack. Smaller pieces of scrap tumble down around my feet, forcing me to jump back to save my ankles. Digger chuckles, shaking his head as he turns back to the shelving he sorts through. "What?" I clamp my hand around the fender and pull, hard, sending it crashing to the floor at my feet in order to get a better grip of the flexible arch of steel.
"You're doin' fine," he assures me before cussing under his breath at a couple of boxes that refuse to stay stacked on top of one another.
Fingers lightly clamped on the piece of scrap, I peek at his strong profile and draw a deep breath. “Can we talk?”
“Are we not already?” He pushes smaller parts into a plastic container, making a racket.
“I meant about last night.”
Digger stills.
I run the leather fingertip of the glove across the sharp edge of the metal. “Do you regret it?”
“No.” His nostrils flare, brow tugged down hard as he slices me a glare out the side of his eye. “Do you?”
Do I?“I don’t want you to think that’s why I came here, is all.”
“Rae…” He sighs, setting the plastic container on a shelf and turning toward me. “For fuck’s sake. We’re adults, ain’t we?” He props an elbow on the edge of the timber shelving, leaning his weight into it.
I press my lips tight and breathe through the thrill his outline gives. Digger’s tall, but he’s broad. Wide in the shoulders and the chest, with a tapered waist that draws the eye to his fine-as-fuck ass. He’s everything my primal instincts search for when I long for a man who could protect me. Covet me.
Defend me.
“We are.”
“So, what’s the issue?” His frown twitches. “Did I not make you feel good?”
Why the fuck did I start this?“Of course you did.”
He spins back to his work. “Then I don’t see the problem.”
The problem is I don’t know what comes next. Does he expect more from me? Was it a one-time deal?
Why the fuck can’t I ask that?
“I mean, shit,” he continues with a slight laugh. “I’m the one who came up with the idea of puttin’ us together to keep youprotected. If you want to role-play like you did last night, ain’t no way this lucky son-of-a-bitch is goin’ to stop you.”
Role-play.I frown at his back, sickness swirling in my gut. He’s confirmed exactly what I feared: I’m nothing but a bit of fun for him. A novelty. No attachment—only benefits.
We’re simply here to use each other.Shit.
I return to the job at hand, shame burning across my face while I cradle the damn part like a baby to keep it high enough to lift over the bikes as I weave my way outdoors. My fucking head is so conflicted it takes me a hot minute to realize the weather’s turned; light rain dusts my face, a shower on an otherwise fine day. A clear space beside the fence seems the most logical place to start my pile, so I ditch the fender and then turn my face to the sky. There’s no harm in seeking comfort in Digger; I get what he says. We’re adults. If we want to fuck around while I’m stuck here, then what of it.
Only I know why my gut twists and my chest tightens. Maddie.
