CHAPTER

One

I don’t even know who that is, but I’d like to take several large bites.” PJ took in the ridiculously badass alpha male across the room from where she and her sister had just been handed drinks at the bar.

“Who?” Julie asked as she paid and they moved to the side. “Point him out. In a non-attention-seeking way!” she added, like PJ was a beast.

PJ blinked a few times before she spoke. “You’re a terrible human being.”

“I get it from Dad.”

PJ tilted her head to indicate the guy whose sheer charisma she felt from across the room. A brunette with a body straight out of a pinup calendar stared up into his face as she stroked a hand up and down his arm.

“She’s all right in a totally voluptuous, drop-dead-sex-bomb way. I mean, for those who like that sort of thing.” Julie’s dry delivery made PJ smile.

“Let’s saunter by that fantastic Camaro over there so I can get a closer look.” PJ started off.

“At the guy or the car?”

“Two birds. One stone,” PJ called lightly over her shoulder.

“Will this end up in some sort of terrible misunderstanding that will embarrass me for years to come? Or, better yet, am I going to have to explain what happened to the police?”

“That only happened once.”

Julie’s brow rose very slowly. Julie was the elegant one. The one who played the piano perfectly. She’d gone to the schools their parents had told her to. Wore tasteful, perfectly tailored clothes. Now had a corner office at their family’s tire company and was set to lead it into the future with their other siblings.

Whereas Penelope Jean Colman had been a “terrible disappointment” because she just never fit anywhere her parents tried to put her. And maybe because she’d gotten her big sister into some trouble once or twice.

“Okay, three times. But I had good reasons for two of them.”

“The other was you being innocent?”

“Heck no. Which isn’t to say how pleased it makes me that I got away with it.”

“He’s standing with Duke Bradshaw. The dark-haired one.”

Julie did a very nice job of looking natural as she shifted to stand next to PJ, giving her an unobstructed view.

“Duke owns Twisted Steel with someone else. Maybe that’s him,” Julie said.

There really was no other word for the man but dominant. Easily six foot three, he stood, feet apart, a beer in one hand as he spoke to Duke. This was a man you could dress in a tux and while he’d look fantastic, you’d know he could punch you in the face without losing a cufflink.

She wasn’t entirely sure why that made him so hot, it just did. There was a sort of barely restrained… something about him that made her take notice.

Dark hair, shaved close at the sides, longer on the top. He had it pulled back from his face, exposing masculine features.

“You have that goofy look.” Julie poked her in the side.

“Ow! What?” PJ asked without tearing her gaze from him.

“You get it at the sight of tacos, too.”

PJ nearly choked on her drink. Thank goodness he hadn’t noticed her almost dying.

Once she could breathe again, PJ glared at her sister through still-watering eyes. “You’re on a roll tonight. Did you take allergy medication before you started drinking?”

Her normally serene sister had a twinkle in her eye. “Someone has to keep me entertained at these things. You seem to like them. I, on the other hand, would rather be home catching up on my Housewives.”

“What a waste that would be. There are handsome single men here. A bar. Food that’s being served from a tray instead of a buffet a hundred people of questionable hygiene have pawed over. Me, of course. All of these things are better than being at home alone watching TV.”

“Says you.”

“Witty. That expensive Ivy League education was totally worth it.”

“I need to dumb it down for state college dropouts to understand.” Julie stuck out her tongue.

PJ turned back to look at him again. He was too far away for her to see the color of his eyes, but she figured they’d be brown or green maybe. She took note of the septum piercing and the tattoos on both arms visible from the elbows, where he had his shirtsleeves rolled up. It was necessary, for reasons of some sort, that she get a better look.

“Since he’s standing with Duke, I say you go on over and introduce yourself. This is an industry party. You’re here for Colman Enterprises. It’s your job to network. Give him your card.” Julie got a little closer, lowering her voice. “And it’s good for you to make some connections for your custom work.”

It meant a lot that Julie was on her side, excited about the direction PJ’s life was headed.

“Come with me.”

Julie shook her head. “I see a few people I should at least buy a drink for. Send out a distress call if they’re weird and you need me to mace them.”

With a wave, Julie headed off in the direction of one of their other clients. Well, all right then.

Ever since PJ met Duke Bradshaw nearly a year before at a race, she’d coveted his work. All the people at Twisted Steel were beyond good at what they did, so the cars and bikes they created and restored were absolutely beautiful. It was art.

Their work had one more thing, the most important thing as far as PJ was concerned. It wasn’t just the money or even the art. It was that they loved cars. And motorcycles and racing and engines.

It was that passion that she wanted more of for Colman Enterprises. Her family was great at selling tires. But it wasn’t the same as it had been when her grandfather had founded the company. He’d raced, too. He’d understood the heart of his customer in a way no spreadsheet ever could.

For PJ, it was a belief system. It was a love of cars, of speed and chrome and the rumble of engines that was the heart of Colman. That would never change, even if the products and services they offered did.

PJ shook that off as she approached, hearing his voice before she got close enough to say hello.

Mmmmm. Deep and gravelly.

Dark brown eyes—and she bet that when he had his hair down it slanted over them so he’d look hot and mysterious all at once—took her in.

His gaze locked with hers and a smile marked a mouth so carnal she probably would have to light a candle in penance for her very naughty thoughts.

She smiled back and the moment between them heated and slowed. He was holy shit hot damn and wow sexy. One of his brows rose. Confident and not a small bit cocky.

He was older. Probably late thirties, early forties. Which was absolutely okay with her. Didn’t matter though, because all it took was a close-up view of this male to know he was totally out of her league. He’d rock her world. Maybe set it on fire.

Just having his full attention left her a little shaky. What would sex with him be like? Wrong. Wrong thing to start to wonder right then. Her cheeks heated and she hoped it was dark enough that he missed her blush.

And yet there she continued to stand, finally breaking that moment and turning to Duke. Also ridiculously hot.

“PJ Colman, how are you?” Duke showed perfect white teeth. The dimple to the left of his mouth made PJ bet it tasted sweet.

“I’m doing all right. You?”

“As well as you can be at one of these things.”

“Asa Barrons,” Manly Man said as he held out a hand.

A big hand that engulfed hers as he shook it.

Duke grinned, making him look like a charming wayward boy. No one could stay mad at that face, she bet. “Sorry about that. I figured you already knew PJ. Asa, this is PJ Colman. PJ, this is Asa; he co-owns Twisted Steel with me.”

“Colman, as in Colman Enterprises?” Asa let go of her hand slowly and she was proud she didn’t gulp audibly.

“Yes.” She looked back over her shoulder toward the Camaro and then back to Asa and Duke. “That’s one seriously delicious machine.”

Asa used that moment to take her in, from the pointed toes of her black heels, up shapely legs, over mouthwatering curves at her hips, to one of the finest racks he’d ever beheld.

The neckline of the dark blue dress she wore—a dress that lovingly caressed her body and yet stayed pretty and feminine—showed off her collarbone and the uppermost curves of her breasts.