Hidden Angel Read online

  Seeing that look on her face, Joey quickly broke the sudden silence. “Calm down, sis. He asked us here to restore these cars. Didn’t you say they were going to be auctioned off at some charity event?”

  At her nod, he continued, “I’m sure he bought them looking this way. Look around you. Mr. Hart would take better care of his property than this.”

  Listening to their conversation closely, Alfred confirmed Joey’s theory. “The Master bought two of these vehicles last week at an auction, and the other two were bought from individual owners a few weeks ago. Go ahead and look them over while I go inform him of your arrival.”

  Joey and Anya circled the four cars. A 1992 Dodge Viper, a 1966 Shelby Mustang, a 1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE30, and a 1995 Ferrari F50. They all had scratches, chips, or dents and needed new paint jobs.

  The Viper was missing the passenger side rearview mirror and, with four deep scrapes down the side, it looked like it had had a run-in with a sharp-clawed comic book character. The Shelby had a busted headlamp and a missing hood latch. Looking at it made her think it had been on the losing side of a bar brawl. The Diablo had a headlamp stuck open, giving it the look of an evil, nosey neighbor with one eye always open and searching for a bit of gossip. Lastly, the Ferrari with its lost rear spoiler brought to mind a peacock missing its tail feathers. What a shame.

  Mind whirling, Anya looked the cars over with a keen eye. Given enough time, these cars could be brought back to their former state of glory. Making cars beautiful again gave her the same rush a cosmetologist felt after making a client beautiful or a home renovator felt when the house was restored to its former glory. Restoring cars was her way of making the world a prettier place. Now, if she could just get past this strange feeling she’d been having since they’d pulled up to the house, she’d be doing good. Her head needed to be clear in order to artfully restore these cars.

  * * * *

  Duncan stood in the doorway watching the two inspect the cars. They were thorough, he’d give them that. The man was tall and broad-shouldered with a slim waistline perfect for crawling under and over cars. Brown hair curled out from under his old baseball cap. He bent to say something to the shorter one, and a tinkling of laughter carried through the room. The laughter was sexy and warm, and it touched his skin like hot sunbeams on a chilly day. His body absorbed it gladly.

  Pushing away from the door, Duncan looked harder at the shorter one. He was pretty sure it was a woman, especially from the sound of that laughter, but it was hard to tell. The person was dressed in cargo pants and a large, loose-fitting button-down, long-sleeved work shirt. But he’d bet his last dollar it was a woman. No boy could ever touch him the way that voice had just touched him. He couldn’t see the hair color because it was tucked under a baseball cap that was on backwards.

  Curiosity drove him forward. The pair turned to meet him as he walked up.

  The man spoke to him. “Hello, are you Mr. Duncan Hart?”

  “Yes, and your name is?”

  “Joey Cleve. Sorry about that. I must have lost my manners for a second.” Turning his gaze to his partner, he added, “This is my partner Anya.”

  Duncan turned to look at her. He lost his train of thought for a moment. She had the most intriguing eyes. They were dark chocolate, and they seemed to see right through to the very center of his being. They were surrounded by the longest dark golden lashes he’d ever seen. Her small heart-shaped face had nice cheekbones, a fine small nose, and very full, kissable lips.

  He felt a strange attraction to her. That was weird because he usually wasn’t attracted to human females at all. He’d rather have a lusty angel from his realm any day. The gods of his realm believed sex was good and natural, and if you were attracted to someone, you were to make love to them, openly expressing and fulfilling the desire they aroused in you. It was an honor to be desired by another.

  His mother was an angel and his father a human. Duncan decided his attraction to her was probably coming from his human side. No problem. He could suppress his human feelings. No need to make love to a clingy human when he could have wild, no-strings-attached sex with an angel, right?

  His cock stirred in protest. It wanted her regardless of what his mind was saying.

  * * * *

  Anya felt frozen in place by pale blue eyes that were richly edged in dark blue. They were inspecting her closely. Her heart was pounding, and she was shocked to feel that sweet spot between her legs start to swell and throb. That didn’t happen often.

  Midnight black hair hung a few inches from the tops of his shoulders. He was close to a foot taller than her and had the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen up close. His waist was slender and his legs long and strong. Desire raged through her with every beat of her heart.

  She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. These feelings were no good since he was way out of her league. She was a freak. Her skin was milky white. No golden skin here. Her hair was light blonde with dark pure-gold highlights, and under it all were pure-silver highlights. The silver only showed if the wind caught her hair, revealing the under layers.

  She’d begged her papa for years to let her dye it brown so she would look more normal, but he said she was pretty the way she was. That was easy for him to say. He hadn’t been the one being teased about having a shiny gold-haired ghost for a mother by the other kids in the park. Her only relief was that he hadn’t had time to take her and Joey to the park very often. It always ended with Joey taking a swing at some kid for making fun of her anyway. Not going saved them all a lot of trouble.

  Hell, she was such a freak that she’d been homeschooled with Joey to keep her away from public scrutiny. She remembered a customer once asking her Papa why they weren’t in public school, and he’d said, “The other kids were mean to little Anya, so I pulled them both out of school at the end of her second week. Nobody’s going to hurt my little Anya again if I can help it.” He didn’t know she’d heard, but she had, and she’d never forgotten what he’d said.

  Freaks never lived happily ever after. She’d be smart to remember that. A man like Duncan Hart would never be truly interested in someone like her. Now, if she could just get her body to realize that, she’d be doing good.

  Not knowing what was going through Duncan’s and Anya’s minds, Joey did as he normally did—he defended Anya. “I know she’s a woman, but she’s one of the best sports car restorers around. She loves sports cars. You can trust her to do an awesome job, Mr. Hart.”

  Duncan and Anya both turned to look in surprise at Joey. They’d been so intent on each other they’d forgotten he was standing next to them.

  Shaking off his confusion, Duncan said, “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

  “I was saying Anya’s one of the best restorers around. You can trust her to do a great job.”

  “I’m sure she is. I’ve been told good things about your company and seen some of the work you’ve done. All of the cars are running, but need tune-ups. Plus, a lot of TLC. Do you think you can get these cars ready for a charity auction I’m sponsoring in December?”

  Anya’s dark-golden brows rose high over her dark eyes, and she snapped, “Are you crazy? These are fine pieces of machinery that are going to require months of attention each to bring them back to their former beauty.” For some irrational reason she couldn’t get a grip on her emotions.

  Joey had been mentally calculating the months necessary to do the work. “That only gives us ten months. One car done to perfection can take that long. We don’t do shabby work. Poor quality work would be an insult to our name and line of work.”

  “I understand it’s a lot of work, but I need these cars to look and sound the best you can get them to in a ten-month time frame. And from what I’ve been hearing, your company does damn good work no matter the time frame.”

  Not able to hold her wild tongue, Anya spit out, “It’s quite obvious you don’t respect the power and beauty of a fine car. The only way we could possibly do these cars
any justice in that amount of time would be if we moved in with you.”

  “Done,” Duncan answered.

  “What!” Joey and Anya cried out in sync.

  “You can live here. Above this garage is a three-bedroom apartment. You can stay there until the job is done. Just give Alfred, the man who led you out here, a grocery list every week, and he’ll stock the fridge and cabinets for you.”

  Anya turned to Joey. “And people think I’ve sniffed too much paint. Let’s go, Joey. This is crazy.” Something about Duncan drove her crazy. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to hit him or rub her body all over his. There was no way she could work for him.

  Joey looked apologetic but started to follow Anya.

  Feeling a need to turn around, Anya looked back.

  Duncan reached out and touched Joey on the shoulder, and Joey immediately stopped and stood rooted to the spot as if waiting for directions. What was up with that? A moment later, Duncan pulled his hand back, and Joey blinked a few times. Anya blew a stray hair out of her eyes. Guys. Who could understand them?

  Looking at Duncan with new determination, Joey said, “Just a moment, please. I need to talk to my partner.”

  Anya shook her head and started walking again.

  Joey ran after Anya. “Anya, wait a minute…dammit, Anya, stop.”

  She didn’t, but he caught up with her and spun her around. “Will you listen to me for a minute? I think we should do the job. The cars aren’t in that bad of shape. I believe we can do it. And think of the publicity for the company.”

  Anya glared at him but knew he was right. The publicity would be nice. She just didn’t know how to handle her strange bodily response to Duncan Hart. Maybe she’d get lucky, and he wouldn’t be around all that much, which would solve her problem and, if not, her sharp tongue would.

  Shaking her head, she stated, “I don’t know. The publicity would be good, but I don’t feel right about this.”

  Joey blew out a loud breath of air and rolled his shoulders. “What’s to feel? We do the job and go back home just like every other job. Come on, Anya, we need this job.”

  Anya gave in grudgingly. “Fine. Just don’t expect me to be nice to him. There’s something about him that rubs me wrong.” Or right, but she wasn’t about to tell Joey that.

  Anya waited in the truck while Joey went back to talk to Duncan Hart. She could see them talking. Listening closely she could make out their words. A strange feeling descended upon her. Nerves jumping, and pulse pounding, she had an inexplicable feeling things were about to change big-time for her.

  Joey smiled at Duncan. “Mr. Hart, my partner and I have decided to take the job.”

  Duncan acted innocent and pleased. “That’s great. I’m glad you’ll be doing the work. When can you start?”

  “Tomorrow. We should be here at around two o’clock. We need to pack our tools and some clothes.”

  “That’s excellent. See you tomorrow.”

  As Joey walked back to the truck, Anya watched his carefree stride and wished she could feel the same way about this job.

  Duncan Hart’s eyes caught hers, and a slow smile turned up the corners of his chiseled lips. Arousal swept through her, and a heated tingle tickled her pelvis. Swallowing hard, she looked away and once again hoped he wouldn’t be around much.

  * * * *

  Anya sighed. The second they walked through the door, Papa was on them. She loved him, but right now, she needed some alone time. Not that she’d be getting it. She didn’t want the men in her life catching on that she was lusting after a customer. That didn’t even sound right. Most of their customers were old enough to be her grandfather. But not Duncan. No, he had to be the hottest thing she’d ever seen. Her heart was still pounding out of rhythm, and she hadn’t even been around him that long. Why couldn’t he have been older, a lot older?

  “How did it go?” Tim asked.

  “Fine. We start tomorrow,” Joey said before he went to the kitchen to get some supper.

  Anya threw herself down on the couch and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes.

  Tim frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” Anya sulked. She didn’t want to sulk, but she just couldn’t stop herself.

  “It doesn’t look like nothing to me. Did the customer insult you? You know I don’t put up with that.” Tim’s brows drew together, and he stared hard at her as if trying to look into her mind for the truth.

  Her nipples hardened as she remembered the look in Duncan Hart’s eyes when he had inspected her face. She crossed her arms over her chest. “No. I just don’t like the man. And he’s not giving us enough time to do a really good job on the cars. Plus, to make matters worse, we need to move onto his property for the next ten months just to get the cars looking somewhat decent. I don’t think we should do it, but Joey said we need the publicity we can get from the auction.”

  “Why don’t you like the man? Was he mean to you? Did he try to hurt you?” Tim’s fatherly radar seemed to have kicked into overdrive.

  There was no way she was going to tell her papa she had some weird lust-frustration thing going on for Duncan Hart. Her job was her boyfriend, and it had always been enough for her—until today, that is. “No, he didn’t do or say anything to me. I just don’t like the situation. We’re not being given enough time, that’s all.”

  “Ten months, you say. How many cars?”

  “Four.” She smiled. “They’re sweet. A 1966 Shelby, a Ferrari F50—a 1995—I think, a 1992 Viper, and a 1994 Lamborghini Diablo. I’m going to have to get a closer look at the Shelby to see if it’s one of the Hertz cars. It’ll sell for a lot more money if it is.”

  At Anya’s smile, Tim sighed in relief. “See, you’re getting into the job already. I’m sure it will all go fine, but if it doesn’t, you two can always call it quits and come home. If it works out, that would be great. People these days like anything convenient. You two going to people’s homes to restore their cars could bring in a lot more jobs. And the publicity would be nice. We’ve fixed most of the cars in this area already.”

  With new determination, Anya decided to make it work.

  Chapter Three

  Anya glanced around the garage. It was large, clean, and well kept. Just like Duncan. Instantly, she chastised herself, “Get your head out of the clouds and get to work.” Mentally, she reminded herself that he was a customer. Yeah, a hot customer. With a groan, she forced herself to think of the job.

  She and Joey had gathered up their gear and moved into the apartment above the garage the day before. It was spacious and well-decorated. Nicer than any guest room she’d ever been in. Duncan must not know anything. A guest room should be small and as ugly as you can make it so that your guest will want to go home.

  They went down for a closer look at the cars before they even unpacked their clothes. Their time was short, so they had to get started as fast as possible.

  Anya was thankful that Duncan hadn’t made an appearance yesterday.

  Her luck had run out today, though. Joey was out getting some parts when Duncan walked in.

  She was making a list of items she would need to restore and paint the I-lost-a-bar-brawl-looking Shelby when he walked in. Swallowing hard, she clenched her jaw in frustration when her nipples hardened at the mere sight of him. This was crazy. How could she work like this? He was just a man, just a man.

  He smiled as he approached her. She dropped her pen and didn’t even bend to pick it up. She was totally enthralled by how handsome he was when he smiled. She creamed her panties as she looked into his black-fringed blue eyes. Looking closer at him, she realized he’d gotten a haircut. Instead of it almost brushing his shoulders, it now just brushed his collar. Still long enough to run her fingers through. Would it be soft or coarse? Groaning silently, she had to gain control of her unfounded lust for him.

  His eyes traveled over the cars. “How’s it going?”

  “Fine. How much do you know about cars?” Anya’s stomach flutt
ered as she asked Duncan the question. She hated her attraction to him. It was annoying and distracting. Something she really didn’t have time for.

  “Not a lot, I must confess. I just know what I like.” His eyes scanned her.

  Her stomach quivered at the look of lust in his blue eyes. Forcing her thoughts back to the job at hand, Anya said, “Since these cars are being auctioned off, it’s important for you to know what you’ve got. One thing you’ve got for certain is an angel looking out for you.”

  Raising a brow and barely containing a grin, Duncan asked, “Excuse me?”

  “It’s just an expression. You are a very lucky man. Joey and I thoroughly inspected the cars yesterday, and you’re going to love what we’ve found out.”

  Anya walked over to the 1966 Shelby. “This little beauty is a 1966 Shelby GT350H. It’s one of a thousand produced to be a Hertz rental car. There were 800 painted Raven Black, so its color is unfortunately not as rare as the other colors, but this one has a four-speed manual transmission.”

  She couldn’t stop the huge smile that spread her lips. “Do you know what that means?”

  He smiled then shook his head no.

  “It means this car is one of the first produced. That makes it rare and sought after. You see, the rental company was getting the cars returned with broken or burned clutch assemblies, so they changed the order and had three-speed automatic transmissions put in the rest of the cars. That change was a race killer, but a car saver.”

  “What do you mean by ‘race killer’?”

  “The Shelby was so fast some people used them as race cars.” Turning away from his intense stare, she looked at the car instead.

  She could feel his heated gaze watching her as she glided her hand down the side of the car. A tingling sensation passed through her. Brow furrowed, she shook off the feeling before turning toward him and continuing. “This one seems to be one of the lucky ones. Some of these cars were returned with holes in them where roll bars had been welded on for racing. It’s also been said that some of the renters would drive these cars to the race track, remove the Cobra engine, put it in their race car, then drop it back into the rental car when the race was over, then return the car to Hertz. Crazy, ain’t it?” A gleeful smile spread across her face. She loved interesting facts.