“Some people’s mothers make pies,” Carmella told the dog as they headed up the steps to the front porch.

Her key was in the lock when she and Georgie both paused at the throaty growl of a motorcycle approaching.

Duke Bradshaw. The hottest neighbor in the history of hot neighbors.

Considering the morning she’d just had with her mother, it was a nice treat to see all that long, hot, inked man get off a motorcycle and amble to his front door.

“Totally the best thing about this entire neighborhood,” Carmella told the dog.

Georgie got in front of Carmella and sat. Ever protective and also sort of hot for Bradshaw, just like her human was.

Carmella looked to the front door. “We should go in. Come on. It’s weird to wait out here like he’s coming home for dinner at our house or something.” Not like it wasn’t weird to have a full conversation with a dog.

Georgie gave a doggie snort but shook, her tags jingling merrily as she followed Carmella up to the front door.

And that’s when Duke Bradshaw pulled not into his driveway, but into Carmella’s. That caught her attention as she unlocked the door to let Georgie inside. But the man brought Georgie bones from time to time, so the dog had no intention of leaving Carmella alone to greet the big, bad, tattooed biker who lived next door.

“Jeez, dog, he’s on his motorcycle. He’s not carrying bones in his pocket.” Not that she was unaware that he quite frequently appeared to have something pretty hefty behind that zipper of his.

His bike was beyond gorgeous and the sight of it never failed to make her heart beat faster. Flat, matte black. No chrome at all. It was a custom rebuild of a 1963 BMW. It was understated and classic while still being really sexy and super masculine. It also sounded like sex – low and throaty, the bass of it settled into her belly in much the same way his voice did.

He keyed the bike off and pulled it back on the stand before sliding one long leg over. He wore a half helmet bearing the logo of his shop, the T and the S swirling together, looking sharp and badass.

His attention seemed to settle on her like a physical thing, freezing her to the spot.

And then he smiled and every erogenous zone – including a few she hadn’t known existed until that moment – did the wave.

“Just the person I was looking for.” Duke hung his helmet on a handlebar and headed up the steps toward her, still wearing black wraparound sunglasses and his jacket.

She wondered – not for the first time – if he ever wore the sunglasses while he had sex. Would you be able to see your own reflection as he fucked you?

Proud at the calm in her voice, Carmella smiled like she hadn’t just been imagining riding his cock while he wore sunglasses so she could watch herself. “Me? Did Georgie get into something?” She gave a look toward the dog, whose normally erect ears were even perkier at the approach of the guy with the bones.

Duke bent to give Georgie a scratch behind the ears. “Nah. She’s a sweetheart. It’s her owner I’d like to talk about.”

There was honey and lazy afternoons in his voice that day. Charming. He tucked his sunglasses into his shirt pocket and pale green eyes took her in. Laugh lines only made him more attractive.

He had a tiny smattering of salt-and-pepper at his temples, but it worked with the gold and caramel tones of hair that was long enough to touch his collar with just a little curl. Closely trimmed at the sides, long and thick at the top. He had some sort of nouveau rockabilly thing happening.

Her fingers itched to reach out and touch.

“Um.” She shook her head, disgusted with how flustered he always seemed to make her. He’d been her neighbor for going on two years, so there was no reason to get fluttery, but every single time she spoke to him he seemed to turn her into a twit.

Georgie barked and Carmella pushed the storm door open. “Sorry, where are my manners? Come in.”

She let the familiarity of her front entryway calm her a little as she bent to free Georgie from the harness and leash.

Duke’s hand landed on her shoulder when she stood again. “Here, let me help you with your coat.”

She shrugged free, suppressing a shiver as his fingers brushed the side of her neck. Carmella thanked him as he hung the coat on the peg next to his.

Removing herself from the temptation to touch him or his leather jacket, Carmella stepped back with a smile. “You have excellent manners. Your parents did a good job.”

“The army gets most of the credit for that.” Again the grin.

“Want some tea? I was just going to make a pot.” Of course, she’d been pondering whether or not to add a big dollop of whiskey to hers, but those were easily changed plans.

“Sure.”

He placed his hand at the small of her back as he followed her through the house and into her kitchen. Which really threw a wrench into her plan of trying not to think about this big, tall, broad-shouldered man right behind her.

He took up a lot of space, his scent seemed to push itself ahead of everything else, and the electricity of his body seemed to hum from him at a frequency she wanted a lot more of.

Duke was a toucher. Not in a creepy way at all, but he frequently touched her when they spoke. In another man she’d have said something or made enough of a movement away that her Don’t touch me would have been clear. But she liked it when he did it, so she allowed herself that sensual treat.

She pointed to a stool at the kitchen island. “Have a seat and tell me what brings you here at eleven in the morning.”

Georgie kept staring at Duke lovingly until Carmella sighed. “George, leave the man alone.” So easy. Give her a bone and she’d love you forever.

“Aw, she just wants some love. It’s okay, I’ve got some.” Duke leaned down and gave Georgie scratches and pets until she made a groaning sound of joy and fell over on her side.

Carmella wanted him to do something to her to make her create that sound too. And she bet he could. With any combination of his hands, his mouth, and that roll of quarters he carried around in his pocket that was probably a cock that got shit done.

And as if he’d heard her thoughts, he flicked his gaze up from the dog to her and smiled, bringing a blush to heat her cheeks and neck.

“I have a proposition for you.”

She blinked, clearing her throat as she kept her hands busy putting tea bags in the mugs. “You do?” If it had anything to do with his penis, she was ready to accept.

He touched her hand briefly. “Our accounts payable person just quit. As in she’s-moving-across-the-country-in-a-few-days-and-leaving-us-high-and-dry quit. I know you did books before for a few years and I hope you don’t mind, but I called your old boss and he had nothing but great things to say about you. Asa and I would really love it if you took over as soon as possible. It could be a win-win for us both. You need a job. We need an employee. We pay well. We have good benefits. The hours are pretty flexible. The only time you have to be there is when we do inventory, but that’s only once every six months and it’s pretty easy.”

Georgie growl-barked and Duke’s attention shifted for a moment. “Oh, and we’re dog friendly, so you could bring her with you if you wanted to.”

“You called my old boss? He’s my uncle. You know that, right?”

Duke laughed. “I did, yes. He told me several times, along with a few dire warnings that you were a good girl not to be messed with. He still had nothing but nice things to say about you. You have the experience we need. Our shop is bigger, but you understand the basics.”

Her uncle’s auto repair business had been a mainstay in North Seattle for thirty-five years. When the economy took a hit, he did too. And though things had begun to recover, he hadn’t ever been the same. It’d been hard to compete with the quick-serve corporate repair places and in the end, he’d taken it as a sign to close up and retire.