SWNOVELS Chapter 5
She paused in the middle of tightening the last bolt and frowned deeply at the underbelly of his vehicle. "Stop getting so worked up. He's just a man, just like the entire other half of your species. If he doesn't remember the drink, it's not the end of the world."
Maybe it wasn't, but Zoey couldn't wait any longer to find out. She finished up the last few things on the Rover then looked at the clock. Ten before five. Perfect timing.
She cut off Shinedown halfway through "Enemies" and hurried to her office, escaping the heavy rain threatening to drown her. Excitedly--and nervously--she flipped through her files until she found Rowan's number. After taking a deep breath, collecting her thoughts, she dialed his number.
One ring.
This is it.
Two rings.
She could barely sit still and was moments away from forgetting how to speak.
Three rings.
Voicemail.
Oh.
Inwardly grumbling, she left a message to let him know his vehicle was ready to be picked up when he was available then hung up. She took a moment to herself and dumped her head on the desk, releasing a long, tired groan. "Get. A. Grip." She had never been like this. Not since high school, anyway, when boys were a mysterious species filled with as many hormones as she was and didn't know what to do with them.
Of course the man was at work. He was probably contracted under a nine to five job, just like she was. What he did under the contract, though, Zoey was curious to know. Like so many things about him. She wanted to know where he was from, if he had siblings, his accomplishments, his failures.
She wanted it all. All of him.
Carlisle knocked on the door. "You okay, Zoe?"
"I need a drink, Carlisle." It was exactly what she needed right now. To unwind. Let Rowan slip from her mind for one more day. She'd been tense for the past two weeks, going over scenarios, asking questions she wouldn't get the answers to. This new obsession of hers couldn't be healthy and, quite frankly, it unsettled her.
He took one long look at her and nodded in agreement. "Some of the boys are going to the pub, why don't you join them?"
"Do you think there's a chance I could get Ross to sing karaoke?" If Ross had enough drinks in him, he would sing fucking "Barbie Girl" at the top of his lungs and get the crowd singing along. It was epic. Every. Single. Time.
Carlisle chuckled, removing himself from the door jamb and straightening out his flannel jacket. "If you buy him enough drinks. I'm heading home to a little thing I call a family. Y'all should get one."
Zoey waved him off. "Have a good night, Carlisle."
"You too."
She packed up her things and hurried to join the others.
Last night was fun. Ross did indeed sing "Barbie Girl" and somehow she had drank enough to join him on stage. It was exactly what she needed to calm her silly nerves. By the time she got home, she was so tired, she immediately passed out when she hit the pillow.
This morning was a little rough, but after two glasses of water, some Tylenol, and breakfast from Joey's Diner, she was ready for anything. She was just on her way to work, holding her jacket close to keep the rain off her back, when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. When she looked across the street, there was no one. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she shivered.
Keep going or you're going to be late.
There was nothing there. Probably just a stray cat or something. She'd watched too many horror movies with Jack. So she kept going, ignoring the creepy, heebie-jeebie feeling crawling down her spine.
Carlisle was expecting her in the foyer. His big arms were crossed, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He slapped a note in her hand. "You pushed too hard last night. Ross called in. You're taking his shift."
Seeing that she had already finished Rowan's Rover and was definitely responsible for drinking Ross under the table, she didn't object. It had been a while since she had done regular work anyway, maybe it wasn't as boring as she remembered.
Halfway through her shift, she discovered her memory was, in fact, impeccable. It was dull. Or, actually, maybe worse. Always the same shit, different vehicle. Change tires. Fix an oil leak. Flush out the engine. No music. The power tools were mind numbing. She tried to turn the radio on--any channel would suffice, as long as it was music--but she earned several curses, grunts, and growls from her coworkers and had to turn it off.
The end of her shift was fast approaching and as far as she could tell from the occasional glance through the window to the lobby, Rowan hadn't come to collect his Rover yet. Or maybe he had come through when she wasn't looking and had left silently, forgetting the drink he had promised.
The thought killed her mood for the last hour of her shift. She kept looking to the clock, counting the minutes, seconds, that went by before she could call her brother to see if he wanted to do another movie night. She regrettably hadn't seen him all week, too geared up and eager to get Rowan's vehicle finished in time, working after hours and yelling at vendors for sending her the wrong stuff and demanding next day shipping for what she ordered or they could kiss her business goodbye.
"Zoey!" Carlisle called from the doorway to the lobby. "You have a visitor."
Fully aware of her mood for the past two weeks, her coworkers whistled and jibed as she made her way to the lobby. To her horror, she caught a glimpse of herself in the small mirror they had off to the side; her hair, even in a tight braid, was frizzy from the rain this morning, and she donned a few grease smears on her face. She looked like a car had swallowed her whole, decided it didn't like her, then spat her back up.
She suddenly hoped her visitor wasn't Rowan. But of course it was. He was all neatly pressed in a tight black tee shirt that demonstrated the hard muscle and dark golden skin underneath. His cargos, also pressed, framed the outline of his buttocks and thighs like a dream. Meanwhile those strange gray-purple eyes watched her with a hunger that set her on fire.
She swallowed. Play it cool. "Hey, Rowan. Come to pick up your Rover?"
He ran a hand through his dark hair, shaking off the last few drops of rain. "I came to take you out for that drink," he headily reminded her. "The car is a bonus."
A hot flush ran down her body. Inside, she felt like a giddy school girl who's crush had recongnised her after summer vacation.
Carlisle cleared his throat, catching both of their attention, and slid the papers over to Rowan. "There is a matter of payment. . ."
"I'll go get my stuff." And have the fastest shower of my life. She rushed to their private bathroom, stripped, and was in and out of the shower in a matter of minutes, most of the grease gone. She dove for her office, grabbing her purse, but then slowed down when she left, adding a cool demeanor to her walk. She stopped in front of Rowan who hadn't taken his eyes off her. She liked the way he looked at her, like he wanted to absolutely devour her.
"Keys," Carlisle coughed, sliding them across the counter to her. She caught them with ease and placed them in Rowan's held out palm.
"You are no longer my client."
He bowed slightly at the waist, an eager glimmer in his eyes. "Zoey Adams, will you have drinks with me?"
She thought the formality of his offer was strange but cute. Most men wouldn't have even asked and just assumed she was still interested--which she definitely was.
"Absolutely." She showed him to the Rover parked to the side of the lot. "I managed to squeeze everything you ask for in your Land Rover." She tapped the hood, which she had replaced, along with nearly every panel, with ballistic steel to bulletproof it.
"Not everything. Not yet." He opened the door for her with a look that made her want to dive for the seat and buckle in, but she managed to slow herself down and sit casually.
He slipped into the driver's seat, marveling at the dashboard she had redesigned to his request. She reupholstered the seats to a more durable fabric instead of the light leather that he had before. Honestly, it could survive a mine or two; she went that crazy reinforcing everything.
"This is amazing," he marveled, looking at her. "I can't believe you did all of this in two weeks. Were you able to follow the blueprints as well?"
She shrugged, playing it off as not a big deal, when in fact she had worked many hours off the clock to ensure she finished on time. She had loved every minute of it. This was easily one of her coolest builds. "Even the blueprints--and I'll tell you, that was not easy. But, when I'm promised drinks by an intriguing stranger, I can do just about anything."
He grinned. "I better make sure I live up to my end of the bargain, then."
He started the car.
His cellphone rang.
Gritting his teeth, he turned the Rover off. "Sorry, it's work. One second." He put the phone to his ear. "What?" As the person responded, the sexy look in his eyes faded to one of irritation and borderline murderous. She would hate to be the person on the other side of the line. "Is there a way you can push it back a few hours?" He didn't like what they said and hung up with a near animalistic growl that made her shudder in response.
He turned to her. She recognised that look from when she was a kid; it was the look her dad gave her mom right before he told her he had to cancel their plans and go to work. "Let me guess. . ."
A little tick worked away at his jaw, murder still on his mind--not directed at her, she knew. "I'm under contract. I have to go."
Yeah, she was used to hearing that too. She sighed. Damn it. He was too good to be true. "Listen, maybe this isn't a good idea."
Trying not to let her disappointment show, she turned for the door. She'd only moved two inches before he caught her hand and pulled her to face him again. The movement was so sudden, but she wasn't scared. As hot and rough as his hands were, his touch was gentle, eyes pleading with her. "Trust me, this is one of the best ideas I've had in a long time. I just can't do it tonight."
Rowan didn't come across as someone who begged for anything. He took what he wanted and asked for forgiveness later. The fact that he was asking for another chance showed her how much he wanted this date with her. She couldn't bring herself to let him go quite yet, despite his annoying work schedule. Despite growing up watching her mom wither away because she lost faith in her husband and blamed herself for not being good enough to stop him from choosing work over her. Zoey had vowed she wouldn't let the same thing happen to her.
Her instincts told her Rowan was different. Somehow.
"Give me your phone," she commanded.
He did so without hesitation and might as well have thrown it at her he was so eager to obey. Something told her that wasn't a typical Rowan thing to do, to obey without question; she loved that he'd do it for her.
She added herself to his contacts. "Call me when you get back."
A smile lit up his face; Zoey quite liked the dimples playing at the edges of his mouth, how his eyes seemed to glow a more fierce purple in his excitement. "I will. Can I drive you home before I leave?"
She took one look at the rain outside then nodded. It was perfect movie night weather.
Rowan was going to kill Jack when he got back to the base. Understandably so, Zoey was not happy that their plans had been cancelled. Rowan wasn't happy about it either. He had been thinking about her nonstop for the entire two weeks, wondering, fantasizing, craving. He was finally going to have her today, hear more about what she thought of space as she knew it, watch her smile light up the room as she talked about flying, feel her soft skin against his.
Ever since Knox had mentioned how soft human females were, Rowan had wanted nothing but to explore every inch of Zoey, lather in her softness. Arthonian women, as expected, shared the same rough, thick skin as the males. Rowan thought he had liked that. Liked that he could let his claws out without fear of hurting his female, that he could drive into her hard and she could take it. And then he felt Zoey's hands. So delicate, so warm and inviting. He didn't want to let her go. Didn't want to go on this fucking mission.
He marched into the hangar, dressed in his gear, and rammed past Jack, who was on the phone, for the Marauder. Since they had gotten her fixed--and the human scientists had confirmed with their little understanding of their technology that they couldn't leave Earth for more than a few days--they were granted permission to use the Marauder as their means of travel instead of borrowing one of their C-130s. It was much faster, quieter, and more convenient since they didn't have use an airport to take off or land.
Knox patted Rowan's back as he joined the rest of the crew. The only one they were waiting on was Jack, who wouldn't get off the phone. Rowan wanted to rip the phone out of his hand and throw it against the ship's shield. The man had the audacity to call him over, tell him it was urgent, then chat on the phone as if he wasn't in a rush. Rowan needed to hit something.
Cas sat beside him, watching him glare at the human. "What's bugging you, Captain?"
He hadn't been called Captain in a while and it was enough to pull Rowan out of his murder fantasy. "I had plans. I've been waiting two weeks already, now we get called away for this bullshit."
"Plans?" Knox, always looking for gossip, scooted into the chair beside him. He leaned in close, grinning from ear to ear. "Do these plans involve a certain mechanic, perhaps?"
Maliki perked up from the cockpit. He left the co-pilot's chair to hop down onto the main deck, as curious as Knox. "Rowan and a mechanic?"
In that moment, Rowan knew he had said too much. Gritting his teeth, he hunkered down in his seat and prayed to the Architect of the universe that Jack would end his call already.
"Yeah," Knox divulged to the all-too-eager group. "He mentioned a female was working on his vehicle. He was pretty testy about her when I kept prying." Knox was brave now that he had his brothers to defend him.
"The next person to ask me about her is going in the airlock when we hit atmo." Rowan knew questions led to curiosity, which would lead to them looking for her. He wanted to keep Zoey all to himself. If she had this effect on him, he couldn't imagine what she would do to Knox or Cas.
He growled at just the thought of one of them touching her.
"See!" Knox slapped Rowan's chest in his excitement.
"Oi!" Mave called from the cockpit. "Enough gossip! Let's go!"
All of them turned to Jack, who had his back facing them now, undoubtedly aware they were getting restless.
"Jack!" Knox called. "Say goodbye to your girlfriend and let's goooo!"
Jack whirled around, face adopting the dark red colour of an Oxavian, looking as mortified as a child that had witnessed the circle of life. "I have to go," he murmured to the phone then hung up. He stormed into the craft and poked Knox in the chest. "That was my sister."
Cas hit the button to close the ramp and made a motion for Mave to get things rolling.
Knox grinned wildly, sitting at the edge of his chair. "What's this now? Jackie-boy, you've been holding out on us! You have a sister? What's she like?"
"No," Jack shut that down immediately. "You don't get to meet her. She's off limits. To all of you." His gaze specifically landed on Maliki and Knox. They had developed quite the reputation on the base and, while his species were sex-positive and open relationships before they found their mates wasn't uncommon, it wasn't like that here on Earth. Some even frowned upon it.
"So she's pretty," Knox decided, teasing Jack more than anything now. "Come on, show me a picture."
Jack looked ready to punch his lights out, which should be physically impossible for a human, but with the way Jack's knuckles were turning white, Rowan was sure he would be the first human to do it.
As amusing as it would be to watch Jack attempt to set Knox straight, they had a mission to do. Rowan wanted to get it out of the way so he could return to Zoey as soon as possible. "Sit down and buckle up," he ordered his men. "What's the situation?"
Jack let out a long breath, taking a seat opposite Rowan. "A few reporters were taken hostage. We've been asked to retrieve them. It won't be easy, but with a few days' worth of planning, it shouldn't be a problem."
It wouldn't be a problem for the mission, but it was a problem for Rowan. He was going to have to wait a little bit longer before he could see Zoey again. If she'll let him.