Read Online Blindsided - A Stepbrother Romance Novel by Kylie Walker - Free Book Online Page B

would taste like.
    “So what do you think, Sam?”
    “I can’t wait to get out there,” she said.
    “What do you drive?”
    “I’ve got a ’66 Mustang. She’s hot.”
    Conrad’s eyes moved across her body as he said, “I’ll bet she is.”
    Sam forced herself not to shudder. “My father and I are going to be putting a new engine in her this week. I burned up the last one in my last race.”
    “You can let any of us know if there’s anything we can do to help. Beau is a genius at adding power and nobody can tear a transmission apart and put it back together as fast and efficiently as Stew.”
    “Great, thanks. My dad is pretty good with engines himself, but I’ll keep that in mind.”
    “I’m going to collect my winnings and after we get the cars trailered we’re all going by The Island for a while if you want to join us.”
    “What Island?”
    He laughed. “It’s a bar, that’s the name of it.”
    Sam’s face colored slightly. “There’s a lot of water around here so I wasn’t sure.”
    “I guess it must seem like a lot to someone from the desert. How long have you lived in Arizona?”
    “My whole life,” she said. Sam knew that his next likely question was why she was in California and she wasn’t ready to answer that one so she said, “I’ll check with Shawn and see if he doesn’t mind chauffeuring me back to this Island.”
    He smiled at her and she felt tingles from her core on down. This guy was too freaking hot to ignore, but she never had sex with men she was going to have to look in the eyes the next day. She’d love to know if the image of him naked that she had in her head was accurate or not…but she needed this crew. Even for the hottest piece of ass she ever may have had, she wasn’t going to screw up her racing aspirations.
    **
    The bar was a lot bigger inside than it looked out. There was no one at the door checking I.D.’s so Sam slid right in on the heels of the rest of the crew. The place was decorated with palm trees and wooden Tiki statues and the bar that stretched out along the length of it was adorned with dried starfish, sand dollars and sea shells. It was loud, like hundreds of conversations in raised voices were trying to compete with the rock music that blared out of the old juke box in the corner. The crowd was mostly young and mostly looked like blue collar types. Samantha was grateful for that. She wasn’t crazy about spending time with the upper crust or the college crowd. She’d take a bunch of grease monkeys over that any day.
    The crew took a seat in a large booth near the back, all except for Casey who disappeared back behind the bar as soon as they walked in. Sam slid into the booth first but ended up shoulder to shoulder with Conrad when he slid in from the other side. A server in jeans and a black tank-top came over and took their orders. Sam noticed the way her eyes lingered on Conrad. He didn’t seem to notice, but a guy that looked like him was probably used to women ogling him everywhere he went.
    Sam ordered an iced tea. She didn’t want to take a chance on getting carded and kicked out for a beer that she didn’t even really want. Once they all had their drinks Conrad leaned in close so she could hear him. She once again had to resist a shudder when she felt the warmth of his breath against her neck and the side of her face. “So what brings you to Pasadena, Sam?” There it was, the question she’d been dreading. She took a drink of her tea and told the version of the truth that didn’t involve an abusive, murderous step-father and a mother overdosing on heroin.
    “My mom passed away recently and I came out here with my brother to live with my dad until we can get a place of our own.”
    Something crossed his face. Samantha wasn’t sure if it was sympathy or pain. He masked it quickly and said, “I’m sorry for your loss. That sucks.”
    She gave him the smile she reserved for expressions of condolences. It was uncomfortable for her