EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2022 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-0-3695-0628-3

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Audrey Bobak

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  HIS NEEDS

  Curvy Women Wanted, 30

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2022

  Chapter One

  Georgina—or Gina to her family—Lowe growled as she looked at the mess in the sink. It was official, Jared Point was a slob. She couldn’t believe she had agreed to share an apartment with him. They had both gone for the same rental apartment and neither of them could afford the costly price, but they’d gotten past their hatred of one another and agreed to share this apartment. She should have known this wouldn’t work.

  They had hated each other for years.

  Not exactly true. There was a time they’d been the best of friends. When they were kids, before they got to high school, where he became one of the cool kids and she became the fat, nerdy girl. Jared would poke fun at her when he was around his friends.

  He did try to be secret friends, but she’d told him to go fuck himself. If he didn’t want to be her friend in front of his cool buddies, then they were not friends. Simple as that.

  She shouldn’t have agreed to live with him.

  “Stupid slob,” she said, rolling up the sleeves of her dress and stepping toward the sink.

  Gina hated messes, and from the look of the plates and pans, he’d made himself some spaghetti sauce. It was now stuck to the dishes, and that just annoyed her even more. She had no choice but to fill the sink with warm, soapy water to allow them to soak.

  Drying her hands on the towel, she shook her head, gritted her teeth, and then stormed across the apartment toward his bedroom.

  She got the smaller of the two rooms, but her closet was bigger than his. Being a beautician, she liked to stay current in her clothes so customers were more than happy to come and see her.

  Opening a beauty salon in the town where she grew up was a risk, seeing as people often saw her as the nerdy big girl. Customers had entered her salon as if they were going to be met with the devil himself. They had all looked scared, but when she’d stepped out with a smile and a joke, they all soon relaxed. Within months of opening her salon, she’d been able to employ a couple of beauticians who were looking to settle down locally, rather than travel to work. In the future, she hoped to allow a training program, but that was nowhere near to happening.

  Now to Jared. He’d never left town, and in fact, was one of the best mechanics around. Women adored him.

  Gina saw why. Jared had gotten sexier with age. She hadn’t given him much thought since she left for beauty college, but seeing him now, she realized that age had been kind to him.

  He wasn’t married, but he had a reputation around town for being a wild boy. No woman had been able to pin him down.

  When she asked him why he wanted to share an apartment with her, he told her straight. She’d be a good shield against women.

  There had been a chance for her to walk away, but instead, she’d snapped up the apartment. It was in one of the nicest areas of town, with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Not to mention, the space was incredible, and there was even a pool, but she hadn’t gotten a chance to sample it yet.

  Storming into Jared’s room, she expected to find his room a mess, but he surprised her by having a very nice space.

  If he could keep his room tidy, then why the hell couldn’t he keep the kitchen clean? It was their communal space.

  This was why she needed to set rules, and starting from this evening, she was going to force him to agree to them.

  Growling, she stomped her heeled shoe on the floor and then walked back to the kitchen, getting all her aggression out on the plates and saucepans. The man was a pig. There was nothing she could do to make him leave. The rent was ridiculous, and even though her business was a success, she didn’t want to run the risk of going into debt.

  With the dishes cleaned, dried, and put away, she grabbed her bag and left their apartment, being sure to lock the door behind her. She took the stairs to her car and smiled at some of the neighbors as she passed, trying to build up good relations.

  Once inside her car, she turned over the ignition and headed straight toward Jared’s workplace. He didn’t own the garage, but he was one of the best mechanics around. It probably helped that the garage was owned by his best friend, Phil.

  Gripping her steering wheel tightly, she saw the large, obtuse sign and quickly brought her car to a stop. After applying the hand brake, she stepped out of her car. Then with hurried steps, she found the man she hated so damn much. He stood next to a car, assessing it with a clipboard in his hands.

  The moment she was close, he turned to face her, and this lazy-ass smile flooded his lips. Why did he have to look so sinfully attractive? This just made her hate him a little more.

  “Don’t you dare smile at me,” she said.

  “What’s got your panties in a twist, babe?”

  “Don’t you babe me either. Have you heard of washing up? Soap? Boiling water? Scrubbing brush?”

  He clicked his tongue and dropped his clipboard. With his other hand, he scratched his head. “Don’t have a clue what any of those mean.”

  “Oh, shut it, Jared. Seriously. Clean up after yourself, okay? I’m not going to live in a pigsty. That’s our apartment. I do my part to make it livable. You need to start doing your own.” She glared at him and wanted to hit him, but instead, she just shook her head. “We’ve got a meeting tonight, at the apartment. Be there.”

  ****

  Jared Point watched his little roommate walk away. The sway of her ass was just too damn tempting to deny himself. Moving in with Gina had been a huge mistake. He shouldn’t have done it. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t need the apartment. The place he had before wasn’t half bad, but he’d been saving and wanted to move.

  That apartment had been a beacon.

  The thing was, so was Gina.

  Ever since she’d returned home, she had been constantly on his mind, in his thoughts. Going for the same place to rent just seemed like the universe or fate, or whatever, was trying to throw them together.

  He smiled as he watched her climb into her car and drive off.

  Phil, his best friend, whistled. “She looks pissed.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  Leaving the dishes last night had been incredibly hard. Unlike some of his friends, he never inherited the slob gene, so just leaving random plates and saucepans to wash up didn’t bode well with him. However, he did it just so Gina would have a reason to come to him.

  They’d been living together for a few months now. Jared had expected them to at least talk or have something civil to say to one another, but instead, she acted like he didn’t exist. He couldn’t have that.

  So, not doing dishes brought her around to him.

  He could imagine her having a whole list of chores for him to do, and he intended to shirk on each and every single one.

  “I know that smirk, and it never ends well,” Phil said.

  “Shut up. Get back to work.”

  “Hey, I’m the boss between us.”

  “Please, the boss you might be, but we all know who runs the place.” He and Phil were the only two from their high school days who hung out. The rest of the guys had settled down with the high school sweethearts they knocked up, or they’d headed off to college.

  For him, college had closed all doors as he hadn’t gotten the grades. Spending way too much time playing sports and partying, and not enough time studying, hadn’t helped. Jared couldn’t even remember some of the lessons, which was why he’d also started to take some additional night courses.

  Phil’s dad was a real gem. He’d seen the potential in him fixing cars on his lot, so he’d helped to send him to college, to learn the ins and outs of cars. The deal was that he had to work for him for at least ten years, and seeing as Jared had no intention of leaving town, he agreed.

  Now, he had a great job, one he loved with a decent income. He was also studying in his spare time. That was the main reason for the quick spaghetti dinner last night. He’d been too busy engrossed in his books to make a real effort.

  He thought about Gina.

  When they were kids, she’d been the one with the brains. Always had her head in a book until he forced her to look up at him and see what life was waiting for. Then high school came.

  That fucking place.

  The guys had all been bros over hos, and all of that. He’d listened. Just thinking back to how he acted then, he cringed.

  Gina had been his best friend. She never allowed him to feel stupid, and she used to spend a lot of time helping him to understand stuff. He’d been a slow learner, but Gina, she’d been patient with him, no matter if it meant spending hours on the same damn page of the same book. She’d find a way to explain it to him.

  Even in high school, when the teacher called on him to answer a question. He’d cut her off. Told her she was usele ss to him, but if he got stuck or was called upon, and Gina was there, she’d cut right in and answer the question.

  She wouldn’t give any derision.

  Some of the guys would say she was nothing but a big fat nerd, but he knew what she did, and why she did it.

  Gina always understood him. Another reason why he wouldn’t allow the guys to make her a target. Some of the guys—not Phil—they wanted to torment and hurt some of the weaker kids at school. Jared had never found that cool. There was nothing great in hurting those weaker, but he made sure they steered away from Gina.

  When they got to their senior year, Gina’s curves had started to show, and damn it, he’d struggled not to go chasing after her. He’d made sure all the guys knew she wasn’t a target.

  Any guy, even those who weren’t on his team, got to feel the hard side of his fist.

  No one touched Gina. It didn’t matter they were no longer friends, more enemies, she belonged to him. That was why he agreed to share the apartment.

  Gina was his.

  “Yeah, well, how are classes coming?” Phil asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

  “Huh?”

  “You know. You said you signed up for a couple of night courses. Have they finished? Did you pass?”

  “Nah, they’re not finished. I’m taking my own pace, you know.”

  Phil nodded. “So, what are you going to do with Gina?”

  “Nothing. We’re roommates.”

  “Oh, come on, man. This isn’t high school. You don’t have to lie to me or pretend you don’t think of fucking her.”

  Jared stared at Phil, who rolled his eyes.

  “Not all of us are dumb, Jared. I saw the way you looked at Gina. Especially through senior year. Half of the guys wanted to bang her, just to see those tits, but you put her off-limits to everyone. I wonder if she knows that’s why no one invited her to prom.”

  “No one deserved her.”

  “Then why didn’t you ask her?” Phil asked.

  “You know why.”

  “Not really. Sure, you’d been a dick to her, but clearly, there was something between you two. You could have taken her.”

  He was a fucking coward, and he hadn’t dared to deal with the possibility of rejection.

  Chapter Two

  Annoyance flashed through Gina as she glanced down at her watch for what felt like the hundredth time.

  Jared was late.

  There was a big surprise. All he cared about was himself.

  She stamped her foot, free from the confines of her heels, and walked into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich. She was hungry, but she had wanted to have this conversation with him without ruining food.

  Her notebook of rules was open on the table. They were rather … impressive. It was just a schedule of chores, as well as dos and don’ts. She had left a section of the rules clear so Jared could add his own.

  He still wasn’t home.

  With her cheese and pickle sandwich made, she walked into the sitting room and sat on the corner of the sofa, keeping the plate close beneath her chin to catch any crumbs. She finished the sandwich quickly, took her plate to the kitchen, washed it up, and slid it into place.

  There was nothing wrong with keeping the apartment clean.

  They were both so busy, if they lost focus for even a second, they were screwed, simple as that.

  After another hour of him not showing, Gina decided to just bite the bullet and accept that he wasn’t going to arrive. She walked into their shared bathroom and stripped naked before stepping beneath the spray of the shower.

  It was nice and cold.

  Ever since she was a kid, she had always loved stepping beneath the cold shower. There was something quite invigorating about feeling the icy pricks of the water hitting her skin.

  She released a gasp as it did exactly that, taking her breath away and making her smile. The water soon warmed up, and she allowed the warmth and soothing scents of her soap and shampoo to loosen her up.

  It had been a long day at the salon. So many clients. Many of them talking about what a dream Jared was.

  She couldn’t care less.

  The more they talked, the angrier she became. It would seem Jared was the man of the moment. The guy they all wanted. The one man not tied down.

  She didn’t even want to think about what else they had said. How rumors of his prowess had spread far and wide.

  Apparently, her roommate had a very large dick and knew how to use it.

  It wasn’t like this came as a shock to her. Many of the girls in high school had been endless gossipers. There were often times she was in the bathroom and overheard them all talking about what a great time Jared had given them. She didn’t care about their experiences. None of them. Just thinking about them all forced her to wrinkle her nose. It was gross. No doubt about it.

  Gina didn’t have a whole lot of experience when it came to the opposite sex. She’d only had one boyfriend since leaving high school. There was no point in counting her teenage years, as nothing had happened during that time. Not a damn thing. No guy had been interested in her.

  Which was a good thing because she had no interest in them either.

  No one had wanted to be her date for prom, so she’d spent it watching movies with her mother and eating lots of junk food.

  Her parents were currently away on a cruise they’d randomly won. They’d been so excited about it. Gina had checked to make sure it wasn’t a scam, and when she was sure it wasn’t, she’d been excited for them. While they were away, she took care of their house.

  They had offered her to come stay in her old bedroom, but Gina didn’t want to live with her parents again. She’d been living on her own for some time. She loved her parents, but they had their own set of rules to follow.

  Gina turned off the shower and wrinkled her nose. She’d turned into her parents.

  Rules. Structure. She cringed just thinking about it. This wasn’t good.

  Wrapping a towel around her body, she put her clothes in the laundry basket. There was a communal laundry room near the basement. She waited once a week to do her laundry.

  Gina opened the door and stepped out, only to face-plant into a large, muscular chest. She looked up, and sure enough, there was the pain in her ass, finally in the flesh.

  “About time!”

  Jared glanced down at her towel-covered body, and his brows rose. He’d been able to do that little action when they were kids. She had tried for hours to do it, but she’d failed.

  He did it without even thinking, or so that what was it looked like.

  “Better late than never, but I had no idea you were going to miss me this much. You had to take a shower to cool off.”

  “Hell, no. Trust me, this has nothing to do with you. You know, I should have suspected that you wouldn’t take this seriously. I’m trying to make sure we can handle living together in this apartment, Jared. Rules and boundaries are going to make that happen, but you cannot even follow a simple request. This is high school all over again.”

  “If you must know, I was working.”

  “Please, the garage closed two hours ago.”

  “Yeah, but Phil got a call to a nasty accident. We’re a tow truck as well as a garage. Three-car accident. One of the cars is mangled beyond repair. We had to wait for the ambulance to get there.”

  “Oh, God, is everything okay? Did anyone get hurt?”

  “No, thankfully, it was all fine. The cars are not, but that’s what took so long. We had to wait for the cops to allow us to take the cars away. It took multiple trips.”

  Now she felt so freaking insensitive.

  ****

  Gina was wet, in nothing but a towel with her wet body pressing up against the plush fabric.

  Jared had never wanted to be a towel before, but looking at Gina, he wanted to be pressed against her body. She held the towel together, and with the way she held her arms, it pushed those tits up to perfection.

  He did have every intention of getting home on time. Only, Phil had said he needed his help, and it was true. The cars were a mess. They had to wait to talk to the owners tomorrow. The mangled car wasn’t going to make it. No amount of TLC would save it. The other cars he could fix though.

 

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