Don't Poke the Luna (Xena and Ryder) novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Xena’s POV

I was about to continue questioning Ryder when the door swung open and my next client walked in.

“Hey!”

“Hey, Penelope! This is the future Alpha, Ryder Nash. Penelope is a member of our pack.”

Penelope gave Ryder a nervous glance but still showed him the respect due to a future

Alpha. Her caramel skin glowed under the shop lights as she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

“Please make yourself comfortable. Bathroom’s over there if you need it. Let me just finish

sending this email, and I’ll be right with you,” I said, fingers flying over my keyboard.

“Sure, no problem.”

Penelope was a beauty. Long legs, golden hair, and those impossibly sharp red nails that I could never manage to maintain with my work. She had a model’s figure but the heart of a sweetheart, and she was one of my assistants.

“Need any help? I’m free tonight,” she offered, her smile bright.

“That would be amazing. I’ll handle the books if you could take care of these?” I handed

her a list of emails and calls that needed to be made.

“No problem.” She walked to the door, opened both sides, and wheeled in her Yamaha YZF–R3–that purple beauty with dual exhaust.

“Thanks, you’re the best.” I took her motorcycle and pushed it to the modification area.

Ryder sat in my office chair while Penelope positioned herself behind the counter and started on my work. Today she wanted her rear suspension modified, replacing the factory rear suspension linkage with a Vortex Racing one to lower it by about an inch.

“Let’s do it,” I said, slipping on my gloves and systematically removing the seat, side covers, and rear wheel. As I was setting the heavy rear wheel aside and loosening the

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Chapter 26

lower mounting bolt on the rear shock, a screw went flying and landed right by Penelope’s foot. Ryder saw it too but made no move to get up.

“I’ll get that for you,” Penelope noticed and bent down to pick it up. The angle gave Ryder a clear view of her chest, but I watched as he immediately lowered his eyes back to his phone. The stark contrast between the intense, borderline aggressive guy who’d been questioning me and this respectful behavior improved my mood slightly.

“Thank you,” I gave Penelope a wide smile and continued working.

About a minute later, Ryder’s phone rang, and he stepped outside to take the call. He stayed on the phone for the entire time it took me to finish the rest of the job. Penelope and I completed our tasks almost simultaneously.

When Ryder walked back in, I was photographing Penelope’s YZF–R3 while she was updating me on her progress.