Chapter 1
The smell of motor oil, degreaser, and coolant were among the very few scents in the world that made Miguel Santos's dick hard enough to drive nails. He blamed that on Faith Bennett. The girl he'd loved with the wild, intense passion only experienced in adolescence. The girl he had slaked all his raging teenage hormones on every chance he could. The girl he'd fully intended to marry and spend the rest of his life spoiling with the sort of expensive gifts, cars, and homes her struggling family couldn't afford.
...until she'd kicked him to the curb the day after his high school graduation.
Miguel pulled the keys from the ignition of the sleek BMW coupe he'd rented at the airport, then slid out from behind the wheel. He took off his sunglasses and stared at the auto shop in front of him. Bennett and Sons Garage looked better than he'd ever seen it. Fresh tan and forest green paint spoke of steady business, as did the number of cars in the service area. They'd expanded at some point, taking over the lot next door that used to be a paint shop. He'd noted on the drive over that the neighborhood had been revitalized. So much had changed in the eleven years since he'd left Rio Penasquitos. He'd changed.
But his memories of Faith remained the same - fierce and heated. Powerful.
Powerful enough to bring him face-to-face with a woman he'd sworn never to see again. He'd finally accepted that he wasn't moving forward because part of him was still clinging to the past. Like every other memory from high school, his recollections were stained by the perceived omnipotence of youth and he'd realized what he had to do. He needed to see Faith again, with an experienced man's eyes, so he could finally cut through the nostalgia and close that chapter of his past.
He headed to the waiting room. Grabbing the metal handle of the glass door, Miguel stepped into the cool air conditioning and smiled absently at those who filled the chairs in the expansive space. A mother was walking her son to the vending machine, an older gentleman was reading a copy of Forbes that just happened to have Miguel's dad on the cover, and a couple college-age kids were laughing over something they were watching on an iPhone.
"Good news, Mr. Sullivan," a husky voice called from behind the service counter. "You don't need a new radiator."
Miguel froze, his body tensing. He dreamed of that voice sometimes. Relived occasions when it had teased him, taunted him, begged him...
First loves were heady; everyone knew that. But his had been soaked with insanely combustible lust. A desire so hot it had seared into his brain.
He exhaled harshly and got a grip on himself. He'd been a kid then, highly-sexed and blessed with a lush, sensual girlfriend. It would be different now. He had control of his dick and libido.
Faith appeared at the counter, her gaze on her hands as she pulled off the latex gloves she wore while working. She was dressed in a baggy blue jumpsuit and her long, dark hair was clipped up, effectively subduing her sexiest assets.
Miguel's cock didn't mind. It thickened and lengthened with rousing appreciation.
Goddammit... She was still hot as hell. Full-lipped, blue-eyed, honey-skinned. A fucking walking wet dream.
Mr. Sullivan set down the issue of Forbes and stood.
"Your radiator hose - " Her gaze caught on Miguel. She paled and reached for the counter.
He stood riveted, rocked by desire so ferocious he could barely string two thoughts together. His brain got as far as him leaping over the counter and dragging her to the floor, then it shorted out.
"Radiator hose sprung a leak?" Mr. Sullivan asked, approaching her.
Faith visibly shook off her shock and glanced at her customer. "Yes. I replaced it and refilled your coolant reservoir. Angela will type up the repair order and check you out."
"Thank you."
She managed a tight smile before pivoting and walking back out of the half-door leading to the service bays.
The last time she'd turned her back to him had been the last time he saw her. She'd slid out of his bed in all her naked glory, her passion-flushed skin on display, her generous curves reigniting the lust she'd sated just a few moments before. Faith fought and fucked with no restraint, and he'd learned to just hang on and enjoy the ride.
"We've had a good time together," she'd said, looking over her shoulder with a cool smile. "I'm sure I'll miss you now and then after you're gone."
Two years together, and she dropped him like a forgettable one-night stand.
He had no idea how long she'd been planning on dumping him. From the beginning? She did it so blithely he knew he'd meant little to her for a while.
Galvanized by his remembered pain, humiliation, and simmering fury, Miguel stepped outside to wait. A moment later, she joined him from the nearest bay, her lips slicked with pinkish gloss. He wondered if she still favored the strawberry-flavored stuff. He used to love nibbling it off her mouth. And seeing the pink stain of it ringing his cock.
"Miguel." She blew out her breath in a rush. "I didn't know you were in town."