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  She snatched the panties from him and shoved them into the bag. He offered a hand to help her off the floor. She eyed his hand suspiciously, but accepted it. After shrugging both backpack straps over her shoulders, she pulled her phone back out. “Thanks for the game. I have to make some calls and figure out what I’m going to do.”

  Damn she looked pitiful. She wanted a fun spring break and instead she was stranded in a town by herself and she’d just been robbed. “I have a couch.”

  She froze and looked into his eyes. “Good for you. I have a phone.”

  “Smart-ass. You can crash on my couch until you get your shit straightened out.”

  “Why would you offer that? You don’t even know me.”

  Phin offered because he’d been in similar situations over the years. Shit, he was still pretty much alone wherever he went. Layla couldn’t manage to have a couple of beers without almost losing everything. He couldn’t imagine what would happen to her if he didn’t offer. “I have a soft spot for strays.”

  “Thanks, but it’s not a good idea.” She hitched the bag higher on her shoulders, but didn’t move.

  “You’re not going to get a better offer. Lots of shitbags out there.”

  “How do I know you’re not one?”

  “You don’t. But what are your other options? Sleep on a park bench?”

  Chapter 3

  Layla thought about her options. She could call her parents, but then she’d have to admit to lying to them in the first place. Mom would have a coronary and probably be on the first plane. Felicity would send her cash and book a room for her. Layla checked her watch. Felicity was on a plane headed to Texas. She wouldn’t land for a couple of hours. Maybe Layla could just hang out with Phin for a while until she could get hold of Felicity.

  “Come on. I won’t bite. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”

  Layla just stared at him, unwilling to admit to the thrill his comment sent through her.

  “It was a joke. I didn’t offer you my bed. My couch is safe. I’ll even sleep with clothes on if it’ll make you feel better.”

  She immediately imagined him strolling around naked. Not a bad way to spend her evening. “Gimme your driver’s license.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m going to take a picture of it and send it to everyone I know, so that if I go missing, they’ll know who to hunt down.” She extended her hand. If he wouldn’t let her see his license, the decision would be made.

  He pulled out a battered black leather wallet and slid the license from its sleeve. She took it and snapped a picture. Then she took one of Phin. Phineas Marks. She’d assumed Finn had been his whole name. Finn looked cool. Phineas sounded kind of geeky. Who would’ve thought the geek girl would have the cool name and the hottie would have the geek name? “Phineas, huh?”

  “It’s from a TV show my mom watched when she was a kid. Can I have my license back?”

  She handed him the card and sent a text to Felicity and Charlie. As unwise as it might’ve seemed, Layla convinced herself going with Phin was okay. She’d had one-night stands with stranger men than him and worried less.

  A moment later her phone bleeped with a text message from Charlie:

  Mmmm . . . cute! Have fun.

  “Do you want to have another beer or do you want to get out of here?”

  “Whatever you want. I’m following you.” Layla inhaled deeply to keep the anxiety at bay. The weight was returning to her chest, and she really didn’t want to have a freakout meltdown here. Definitely not in front of a sexy guy like Phin.

  “I’m ready to go. We’ll grab some dinner on the way. Burgers good?”

  Layla nodded. Phin led the way out of the bar and to a pickup truck. It was beat up with some dings and scratches, but clean. She hopped in, putting her backpack between her and Phin. He didn’t say anything as he started the engine and pulled out.

  She didn’t know what to think of him. He hadn’t spoken much at all, yet he’d offered a place to stay. It didn’t quite match his tough-guy attitude with the muscles and tight T-shirt. While he drove, she studied him from the corner of her eye. He’d retied his hair, but a few strands escaped the band and swept across his cheekbone. His square jaw was smooth, but she saw the hint of stubble.

  Exotic. That was the perfect word to describe him.

  “You already took a picture. Why not look at that?” His eyes hadn’t left the road. But when a smirk formed, he glanced at her.

  “You’re pretty nice to look at. 3D is always better than a picture.”

  He pulled into a drive-thru and they ordered burgers and fries. When Layla handed him some cash, he pushed it away. “Keep your money.”

  “You’re already giving me a place to stay. I can pay for my dinner.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  He drove on and Layla picked fries out of the bag. She’d always been a stress eater, and if any day qualified, this one certainly did.

  When he turned the corner, they were driving back past the bar and toward the mechanic’s shop. As if knowing she would question it, he said, “I live in an apartment behind the shop. It’s cheap and gives Steve extra money. And since I didn’t have to sign a lease, it makes things easy when I’m ready to move on.”

  “How often do you move on?”

  “I usually stay in one place through the winter. I like the south for that. The rest of the year . . . I don’t know. I move every couple of months. New town, new faces, new opportunities.”

  “So you’re a mechanic by day and pool shark by night wherever you go?”

  “Sometimes. During the summer, I try to get outdoor work. Roofs, windows, construction stuff.” He parked behind the main shop and opened his door. “I’m up there.”

  She followed his finger to a space above a regular two-car garage. Not a very big apartment.

  Grabbing her backpack and the bag of food, she got out and followed him up the rickety wooden steps. Along the side of the building, it looked like a junkyard: Hunks of metal and wire and barrels lay haphazardly. She hoped the inside wouldn’t resemble the outside.

  Phin shoved the door open and Layla was pleasantly surprised. They walked into a living room-kitchen combo that was clean, and from there she saw two other doors, one each, she assumed, for the bedroom and bathroom. The space was pretty bare. A futon sat against one wall facing a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. A small cube acted as a table in between the two. A pole lamp stood in the corner beside the futon. That was it. Nothing on the walls or the floor. Nothing personal. Nothing to show that this was Phin’s place.

  Layla set her phone on the kitchen counter and the bag of food on the makeshift table. She placed her backpack next to the futon. She and Phin settled next to each other on the futon. The silence grated on her. “So why do you move around so much?”

  “Just do.”

  “What about your family? You said they move around too.”

  “They’re gypsies.”

  Intriguing. “You mean like fortune-telling gypsies?”

  He swallowed a huge bite of burger. “Among other things.”

  “I didn’t think they really existed. At least not here.” She sank her teeth into the juicy burger and thought about that. She’d never met a gypsy before, but looking at Phin, she realized he was exactly what she’d expect. His mysterious eyes, longish hair, and ability to watch everything at once. Exotic. “Why aren’t you with your family anymore?”

  He just stared at her.

  “Too personal? I’m just curious. If you want to keep your shroud of mystery intact, by all means.”

  That earned her a smile. “I got tired of that life.”

  “You just said that you still move around every couple of months. How is that different?”

  She picked at her fries, more fascinated by Phin than hungry.

  “I guess it’s not really. Not yet. Gypsy families have certain expectations that I wasn’t willing to live with. So I left.”

&nbs
p; “Don’t you keep in touch?”

  He shook his head and stood, crumpling up his trash. “When you leave, you’re gone for good. No longer part of the family.”

  Layla watched him walk across the small room, and her heart broke a little bit. As much as her parents made her crazy with their dreams and expectations for her, she couldn’t imagine ever walking away and never contacting them again. She set her food on the table, her appetite gone.

  “Shit. You look like someone just kicked your puppy. It’s not a big deal. It was my choice to leave. I wanted a different life and I’m going to get it. I travel from tournament to tournament, playing pool. It’s a good way to make money. The next big one is in Vegas in a couple of months.” He eyed the burger left on the paper. “Are you done with that?”

  She nodded and watched, amazed, as he picked it up and polished it off. “So you’re going to leave Atlanta and go to Vegas.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sounds like a fun life. Traveling all over, no demands, no expectations. Pick up and go whenever you want. I’ve always wanted to travel across the country. It sounds great.” She wondered what her life would be like if she just walked away from everything. If she said no to a demanding job with the NSA, hell, if she didn’t even finish school. She shook her head at the crazy thought. The stress was definitely catching up to her.

  “My life has its moments. Like rescuing a beautiful, stranded girl in a bar. I count that as a good moment.” He settled on the couch with her and stretched an arm along the back behind her head. “So what’s your major?”

  “Math and computer science.”

  He had a strange smile on his face that she couldn’t decipher. “What?” she asked.

  “It’s a pickup line I never thought I’d use, but it didn’t even break your stride. I must be losing my touch.”

  That was supposed to be a pickup line? “I think you’ve already picked me up.”

  He inched closer, his gaze raking down her body. Memories of their kiss washed over her, and her nerves started to tingle. His hand cupped her jaw and brought her face closer. “Is this okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  Phin leaned in and kissed her again. A new kind of tension coiled in her with every sweep of his tongue. His hand left her face and slid down her neck and across her shoulder. Down her arm to where her hand lay in her lap. His fingers caressed her palm with a feather touch before moving on to a firmer grasp of her thigh. The jolt of pleasure caused a hitch in her breath.

  He pulled away. “You want to stop?”

  Did she? Everything below her waist screamed hell no, but above the neck, she still wasn’t so sure. If Felicity didn’t call back, she’d be spending the night with this guy. Could she live with that? She focused on his gorgeous face and decided it wouldn’t be a hardship. “No.”

  “No, don’t stop, or yes, stop?” His fingers still traced patterns on her thigh, making her hot and wanting. His thumb ran along the inseam of her jeans and her hips wiggled, seeking more.

  “No, don’t stop.”

  One side of his mouth lifted. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  He moved in again, this time licking and kissing her neck as his hand stroked its way up her thigh. So close. Her panties were wet and she began to move against his hand to ease the tension and desire. He nipped her earlobe and she freed his hair. It fell forward, tickling her hand and her cheek.

  His hot breath soaked through her T-shirt and she wanted to feel him on her skin. She pushed against his shoulder to get him to move. She followed as he leaned back against the couch and she straddled him. Once in position, she whipped off her shirt and then leaned over to reclaim his mouth.

  Layla loved that the closeness allowed her to grind against his erection. The friction of their jeans added to the delicious warmth that had already taken over the lower half of her body. Excitement licked up from where their bodies joined, and jolts of pleasure shot through her when Phin unclasped her bra and claimed a nipple with his mouth. Her fingers threaded in his hair and held tight. She thrust her torso and hips forward, relishing the feel of his mouth on her breasts, the throbbing at their pelvises.

  “Fuck, you’re hot.” His whisper caressed across her skin, sounding more like a curse than a compliment.

  She tugged at his tight shirt, wanting to see the sculpted muscles beneath, and she wasn’t disappointed. Where she had admired the strength in his arms while watching him play pool, she could now drool over his chest and abs. So unlike the guys she usually picked up on campus. While she might enjoy their brains, she was all about Phin’s body. She dragged her short nails over his stomach and he twitched.

  Suddenly he bolted up from the couch with his hands on her ass. She dug her fingers into his shoulders. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking you to bed.” He strode toward the bedroom with her wrapped around his waist. A moment later, he tossed her on the mattress.

  Before she had time to recover from the sudden movement, his hands were at her waistband, unbuttoning and tugging off her jeans. She shimmied as he pulled, but they’d both forgotten about her shoes. He huffed a breath out as if too bothered by the delay. While he yanked at her shoes, she slid her panties down.

  When Phin saw her lying naked, he shucked his remaining clothes faster than she could blink. One hand stroked her while the other tweaked a nipple and his mouth sucked the other. She was close to coming. Her hips rocked faster against his hand and she felt his lips curve into a smile.

  “Going somewhere without me?”

  “Can’t wait.” Her eyes drifted closed and he slid two fingers into her, causing her to buck harder. While she rode his hand, she heard the unmistakable crinkle of a condom wrapper.

  Phin removed his hand and before she could miss the rhythm, he replaced it with his cock, hard and hot. He covered her body with his and stretched her from the inside. He settled against her, and she tried to rock and regain her rhythm to come, but his body prevented her from moving.

  He eased out and back again, not allowing her to move. She wrapped her legs around him and tried to pick up the pace, but he wouldn’t have it.

  The tension coiled deep in her belly and her nerves were taut. She grasped Phin’s hair and pulled him to her mouth again. Her tongue stroked his and he moaned. His arms surrounded her and his muscles bulged as he plunged deeper into her. He ground against her and something snapped in her. Her orgasm took her by surprise, and she clutched his head as he lowered his face to her collarbone.

  Phin’s teeth sank into her skin as she spasmed with release. She felt his arms tremble as he came right after she did. His body, which had been only a breath above hers, now lay heavily on her, but not enough to crush her. Her legs slid away from him, weak and worthless, but her fingers still played with his soft hair while they both attempted to recover.

  Phin lifted himself with a grunt and went to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. He glanced over his shoulder at Layla in his bed, soft and sated and still really fucking hot. Totally trouble. And in that moment, he knew he was going to be rebuilding her transmission in order to get in her pants again. He cleaned up and found that he was hungry for more than another round with Layla.

  When he emerged from the bathroom, he saw that she hadn’t moved and thought she might’ve fallen asleep.

  Her left eye opened and she said, “Are you going to stand there all night staring, or are you going to play?”

  Hearing his own words echoed back at him made him laugh. “I’m going to get something to eat. You hungry?”

  She pushed herself up to a sitting position. “We just ate.”

  “I think I burned through that. Maybe next time you should do all the work.”

  She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. He caught it easily.

  “That was your choice. If you recall, I was on top and poised to do the work on the couch. You changed the venue and position.” She stood. “Do you mind if I take a shower? It’s been a long day.”

 
; “Go ahead.” He reached into the closet and tossed her a fresh towel. In the kitchen he pulled out leftover pizza and ate it cold. He heard the water running and thought about Layla dripping wet, making his dick twitch. He considered how long he’d need to rebuild her transmission. While he contemplated whether he wanted to get deeper into Layla’s problems, her phone buzzed. It was a text from someone named Felicity.

  Plane delayed. Call me and I’ll wire money ASAP and get you a hotel room. Be safe.

  So Layla wasn’t as stranded as he’d thought. She had family or friends or someone who’d rush to help. He missed that feeling. It had been five years since he’d left his family, and that was the one thing he missed the most: knowing that someone always had his back. He might have grown tired of the cons and the scams and the stupid rules that guided his father’s decisions, but even now, Phin missed having someone to turn to that he could count on. He kept hoping that feeling would disappear.

  Layla stayed in the shower a long time. He’d pulled on some underwear and already drunk one beer waiting for her. He was about to pop the cap off a second when she finally came out with nothing but a towel wrapped around her. Drops of water dripped from the short ends of her hair and skated over her shoulders.

  “Sorry. I left my bag in here with my clothes.”

  He watched as she attempted to hold the towel closed with one hand and dig through her bag with the other. The towel and the bag took turns slipping from her grasp. He twisted the cap off his beer and said nothing, just waited for the frustration to get to her. Finally she said, “Fuck it,” and dropped the towel.

  Her hand came from her bag clutching a T-shirt and the purple panties he’d picked up from the floor at the bar. Standing in front of him, she stepped into the panties and pulled the shirt over her head, oblivious to how hot she was making him.

  Or maybe not. With the Math Ninja shirt in place, she smirked at him and snatched his beer. She took a drink and sat next to him on the couch.