Gravity (Artistic Pricks Ink Book 1) by Cat Mason Read Free Book Online Page B

beneath. Reaching out, I place my hand over hers on the engine. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”
    Her eyes fly open, fixating on me. Her brow arches and even though I know I shouldn’t, I chuckle at how cute she looks when she’s pissed off. “No thank you.” She replies flatly, yanking her hand free of mine.
    Stepping up beside her, I look down at the engine. “I don’t see you movin’ this any time soon. Unless, you’ve got an extra belt and some tools in the trunk?” I toss out, unable to help my sarcasm. This woman winds me up in weird ways and I like it. “Cell service is a crap shoot until you get off this road.  I also don’t see you walkin’ the fifteen miles it is to your house since it will be dark in about an hour or two.” With a loud grunt, Kionna slams the hood angrily. Even though I know I shouldn’t, I laugh. Her eyes snap to mine, making me attempt to swallow how amused I am watching her. She really is fucking cute when she is all worked up. Her face is flushed and her eyebrows are knitting together showing her irritation, but it’s those lips that draw me in. Her lips are pressed together in a hard line that makes me desperate to run my tongue along them and feel the moment she opens for me to take her mouth. It also has my mind wondering how she looks worked up in more entertaining ways, but I try to ignore the thoughts commanding my focus. “How long were you sitting there before I came along?”
    “Today is just not my day,” She grumbles under her breath, burying her face in her hands. After taking a deep breath, she meets my eyes. Her face now streaked with grease from her hands. “I can handle this, you know?”
    “I’m sure you can,” I reply, reaching out to cup her cheek. Her breath hitches, those brown eyes widening almost frantically. “The thing is,” I start, wiping the smudge of grease from her cheek. When I pull my hand away, showing her my now black fingers, she groans but I continue. “I don’t doubt that you can Kionna, it’s that you don’t have to. I’m here, let me give you a ride. I can call my buddy, we can handle the fix and save you the trouble of the garage bill. It occupies him tonight, and saves you the labor cost and headache of waiting until Monday to get it handled,” I shrug, figuring it will keep Mitch out of the bar tonight and it’s a way to thank her for helping Mom. “Everybody wins.”
    “Okay,” She replies, walking to the driver side door to grab her bag.
    Making my way over to my car, I move the food to the back seat. Taking a step back when I feel her behind me, I hold the door open for her. “All set?” I ask, watching her eyes. Kionna barely nods a reply before settling herself inside. Closing the door, I jog around to the driver side and climb in.
    I start the engine and head down the highway so that I can get some signal on my phone. “Look,” Kionna sighs. Reaching over, I turn off the radio to listen to what she has to say. “I know I was a bitch earlier. You were only trying to help and my day has been shit. I mean, I…”
    Taking my hand from the shifter, I pat her leg making her body tighten. “It’s okay, Kionna. I wasn’t all that nice at first either. I think I’ll get passed it.”
    “Ki, call me Ki.” She corrects me, meeting my eyes. “I haven’t been called Kionna in years.” Her eyes break contact, her gaze going out the windshield at the road ahead.
    “Okay, Ki,” I begin, “Once we get some service on my cell phone, I’ll make some calls to get your car running again.”
    “Thank you.”
    With a final pat to her thigh, I reluctantly return my hand to the shifter. I have had a million questions I wanted to ask her since we met. To make some kind of conversation so that I can get to know more about her. Anything really, even meaningless bullshit. I don’t though. For some reason, I let the comfortable silence last the rest of the drive on the highway. Surprisingly, I am actually fine with