by Apryl Baker
Janet grinned and nodded. The two of them laughed as they took the elevator down to the first floor and outside to wait on the front steps for the manwhore of the hour.
They didn’t have long to wait, and when he pulled in, Lily gasped in delight. It had nothing to do with Nikoli and everything to do with the car he got out of. It was a black 1970 Plymouth Barracuda. She hadn’t seen a car like that since the one her dad owned when she was a kid. He’d loved it. She gave a squeal of delight, much to Janet’s chagrin, and ran over to the car. Nikoli gaped at her as she lovingly ran her fingers just above the body of the car as she examined it. You didn’t touch them with your fingers. Luther shook his head as he pulled himself out of the passenger seat.
“Are you running a 440 or a 426?” she asked as she squatted and inspected the rims.
“You know cars?” Nikoli asked incredulously.
She ignored him and looked at Luther. “What’s it running?”
“Let me pop the hood for you, and then you tell me.”
Lily waited impatiently and then dived to put the hood up when it popped. There, in all its glory, sat an original 426 engine running 425 horsepower. The car could run, and run fast. There were only a limited number of the ’Cudas manufactured. Her dad had one of the first ten off the factory line, and after he’d died, her mother sold it to help pay the bills.
“426.” Lily grinned like an idiot at Luther. “It’s gorgeous.”
“How do you know about cars?” Nikoli stepped closer to Lily, his arm brushing hers. She took an instinctive step to the side to keep distance between them.
“My dad taught me,” she explained as she examined the engine more closely. “I could put a carburetor back together by the time I was nine, and rebuild an engine before I turned twelve. I used to live under the hood of a car when my dad was racing.”
“Your dad was a racer?” Luther frowned and then gasped. Lily figured he probably just put her last name together with her dad’s.
“Martin Holmes,” she muttered and stepped back out from under the hood. Her dad had been one of the biggest NASCAR drivers on the circuit, but his real love had been rally or strip racing. He’d never let her go to any of those, though. Said it was too dangerous for a kid. She’d grown up on NASCAR tracks instead. “He died in a crash down in Daytona the summer I turned twelve.”
Luther let out a low whistle. “Did he teach you to drive?”
“’Course he did,” she laughed. “I was driving before I could reach the pedals. I used to sit in his lap and steer the wheel until I grew enough so my feet actually touched the gas pedal.”
“Who would have thought sweet, innocent Lily Holmes was a car junkie?” Luther laughed.
“I can still be sweet and innocent and be a car guru,” she said with a wink and turned to Nikoli. “Can I drive her?”
Nikoli frowned. This was not what he’d expected. She knew cars. She knew them enough to know the engine model under the hood of the limited edition car he drove. It threw him slightly.
“Well, can I?” she demanded impatiently.
“I don’t know,” he said slowly. “I don’t even let Luther drive my baby. She’s…”
“A limited edition ’Cuda, only six hundred sixty-six made in 1970,” she interrupted him. “I know what kind of car it is, Nikoli. My dad owned one. He had the seventh one off the assembly line. I promise to be careful.”
He blinked and shook his head. “Maybe on the way back,” he said finally.
She pouted. It was a full-on lip pout, and he didn’t even think she was aware she was doing it. Her lips were beautiful when she pouted, and he took a step closer, noticing she took another step back. He was going to have to get to the bottom of this. He had no chance if he couldn’t touch her.
“Don’t feel bad, Lils,” Luther said. “I’ve known him for years and he barely lets me ride in it.”
“Why don’t I know that you know about cars?” Janet asked from behind them. “You think Mike or Adam would have mentioned it.”
“Mikey doesn’t know,” Lily said, “and Adam wouldn’t say anything. He gets embarrassed when he has to call me to fix his car.”
Janet laughed. “I’ll bet. Well, I’m off to find Mike. He’s supposed to take me go see some new scary movie.” She shuddered. “Why I let him talk me into these things is beyond me.”
“Hey, can you drop me off at my frat house on the way?” Luther asked. “Nik refused to stop on the way over. We were running late.”
“Sure,” Janet said. “Lily, call if you need anything.”
Nikoli snorted at Janet’s very obvious innuendo. Frankly, he was sick of it. For the last three hours, his phone had been blowing up with texts from people he knew telling him to leave Lily alone and not to hurt her. You’d think she was Mother Theresa the way people rallied to protect her.
She was still eyeballing his car with lust when he finally focused his attention on her. Her barreling down the steps toward them and straight for his baby had sidetracked him. Now he gave her a good once-over and laughed outright at her obvious attempt to make herself look awful. Unfortunately, Nikoli didn’t think the woman could look awful in a burlap sack. The pigtails made her look cute, and the baggy clothes she had on only added to her comfortable appearance. She looked adorable, and it made him all kinds of curious to see what she had on underneath them.
“Alone at last, Lily Bells,” he murmured salaciously.
She gave him a startled look and took another five steps back.
“Shall we go?” he asked mildly when she looked ready to bolt at the desire in his eyes.
She was the prey dancing with the predator. The predator fully intended to win this hunt.
Chapter Six
“So, where to?” Nikoli asked as they pulled away from the dorm.
“Doesn’t matter,” she said, distracted, her fingers caressing the interior of the car.
Nikoli grinned. She was too busy examining the car to be nervous with him. If she only knew what watching her fondle his car was doing to him, she’d put her hands under her rump and sit still for the rest of the ride.
“Joe’s okay?” he asked her.
“Sure,” she said. “They’ve got the best Reubens in town, and I’m starved.”
“Didn’t get to eat?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I had too much to do, speaking of which…”
Nikoli glanced over at her and grew slightly alarmed at the pissed off look on her face. “What?” he asked cautiously.
“You made one of my girls cry today.”
Nikoli groaned inwardly. He’d only had sex with one girl today, the lusty blonde from check-in. She was in Lily’s dorm? Damn.
“Lily, we’ve already been over this,” he warned. “Every girl I have sex with knows up front what to expect. I already told you this.”
“Oh, I know.” She nodded. “Stephanie knew it too, but she assumed she could make you feel differently.”
“Her mistake,” he put in quickly. “Not mine.”
“Agreed,” Lily said. “What I’m talking about is the fact you had someone, I’m presuming Luther, throw her out instead of having the decency to do it yourself. Do you even realize how used that makes a woman feel? Especially a nineteen year old girl?”
Well, hell. Who knew the blonde was going to land him in a morality lecture from Ms. Sweet and Innocent herself? Lily needed to stop trying to think of him as a decent guy. He wasn’t, and he knew it. He was a selfish bastard on the best of days.
“What’s your point, Lily?” he asked. “She knew what she was in for when she came back to my place. I was done and needed a shower. I figured she had the good sense to get gone. Not my fault Luther had to kick her out.”
“You really don’t care how your actions affect the women you sleep with, do you?” Lily asked, appalled.
“First, there’s no sleeping involved,” he grinned wolfishly at her, “and second, no, I don’t care. We both get mutual pleasure out of the deal.
Why should I care about anything else?”
Lily opened her mouth, but he interrupted her. “Look, we could argue about this forever and we’d never agree, so let’s drop it, okay? We’re here, and I actually want to eat. I didn’t get lunch either.”
He’d brought her to Joe’s because he thought it would be the one place he wouldn’t run into many people she knew. Joe’s was a little hole-in-the-wall that specialized in Cuban cuisine, and most of the BU students specialized in pizza, burgers, and beer. Nikoli had been surprised Lily knew it. She kept surprising him the longer he was around her.
“Nik!” Joe boomed when they walked in the door. He found himself tucked into a huge bear hug. Joe owned the place and treated the regulars like family. Nikoli loved it here. He’d sat here for hours programming a new game before, and Joe supplied him with food and beer for as long as necessary. Most people did coffee shops; Nikoli did Joe’s.
“Hey, man.” Nikoli grinned when he got loose. “Got a free table?”
“Always for you, my friend.” Joe smiled, and then looked past Nikoli to where Lily stood watching, amused. “And who is this?”
“Joe, this is Lily Holmes.”
Joe frowned, and then he brightened. “Original Reuben?”
Lily smiled and nodded, causing Nikoli to frown.
“I do a lot of takeout from here,” she explained. “Mikey and I found the place last year, and I fell in love with the food. Mikey eats here too.”
“It is good to put a face to the name.” Joe smiled at Lily. “A beautiful face for a beautiful name.”
Lily blushed and Nikoli laughed. Leave it to Joe to try to schmooze his date. “Down, Casanova, she’s here with me.”
“You’ve never brought a girl in before.” Joe winked at him. “She must be very special.”
Lily laughed, but refrained from saying anything, much to Nikoli’s astonishment. He assumed she’d make some wisecrack about their date, but she didn’t. Much to his chagrin, he was glad she didn’t. He sighed and ushered her into the dining room.
“We’re starving, Joe,” Nikoli said. “Where’s the table?”
Joe led them to the back of the small eatery where an empty booth sat. Lily slid in, and Nikoli debated about sitting down beside her. Remembering her earlier reaction, he opted for sitting in the opposite seat. As much as he would have really liked to trap her, he would give her some space for now. The small sigh of relief she let out told him he made the right decision.
“The usual for you both?” Joe asked, and hurried off when they both agreed.
“Pigtails?” Nikoli smirked. “Going for the cute schoolgirl look?”
“Nope,” she said. “I was going for comfortable. Your jeans and t-shirt make me glad I didn’t go all out for a dress and heels.”
“I figured you’d pull something like this,” Nikoli admitted. “I came prepared for war.”
“War?” She laughed. “It’s just a fast dinner so we can go our separate ways and not have to think about each other again.”
Nikoli frowned. Fast was not going to cut it. He needed to get her talking again. “So, your dad was Martin Holmes?”
She nodded, her expression sad. She must miss him a lot.
“What was that like, growing up on the racetrack?”
“Awesome. There is nothing like being in the pit on race day. My dad had a special headset made for me so the noise wouldn’t hurt my ears. I lived for those days. We’d always get there early and talk to some of the other drivers. Dad liked to go over his car himself before the start of the race, and we’d run through the checklist together. Then I’d get to watch the race from the pit. Seeing them fly by lap after lap, it’s the most amazing rush.”
“You were allowed in the pit?” Nikoli quirked an eyebrow. He and Luther had tried to sneak into the pit at one of the smaller tracks once, and security had escorted them right back to the stands.
“My dad was Martin Holmes. What do you think? I lived in that pit thanks to my dad’s crew. They always snuck me in. Being there, feeling the rumble of the ground beneath my feet as the cars sped by, the rush of the trail of wind they left behind them…there is no other feeling in the world like it.”
She sounded like him, Nikoli realized. That was exactly how he felt every time he got behind the wheel for a race. The adrenaline rush was almost better than sex. Almost.
“You never thought about driving yourself?” he asked, curious.
“No. I was there the day my dad crashed. I saw them have to cut him out of the car. I haven’t been behind the wheel of an actual race car since that day.”
“I get that.” He nodded. “Do you still like racing, though?”
“Sure, I grew up on it. I’m still a huge NASCAR fan. My dad loved rally racing too. He used to build cars just for those races. He never took me to any of them, but it was his passion.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl who knew so much about cars.” Nikoli shook his head. “It’s new for me.”
“Well, that might not be true.” Lily smirked. “You admit yourself that you don’t talk to the girls you sleep with, so how do you know they didn’t know cars?”
“Well, I’ve never had a girl completely ignore me to lust after my car, either.” He laughed. “I’m guessing that’s a dead giveaway.”
Lily blushed. “I think lust is a strong word.”
He grinned. “You were caressing the car like a lover, Lily Bells. I know lust when I see it.”
“You are going to let me drive her, aren’t you?” Her eyes lit up with excitement.
“That car is my baby, Lily.” He frowned. “You said yourself, you haven’t driven a racer…”
“She’s a racer?” Lily burst out. “I didn’t see any mods.”
Nikoli stopped breathing for a second. Before him now sat the sexiest woman he’d ever known, even dressed like a high school teeny bopper. She knew cars, she knew racers, and her eyes lit up like Christmas when she talked about them.
“I removed them last year. She’s street legal now, but there are still a few modifications that aren’t noticeable at first glance. She’ll run faster than the average ’Cuda.”
“Maybe not drive, then,” Lily hedged. “Could you take me for a ride, show me flat out how fast she runs?”
“Yeah, I can do that.” He grinned, his own excitement shining through. He loved to drive fast, and he sensed a kindred spirit across from him. For the first time all night, the thought of being just friends crossed his mind. Then she shifted and her breasts bounced slightly, and the thought flew out the window. Nope, sex, and then maybe just friends. Or friends who have sex a lot? He’d never done the friends with benefits thing before. Hell, he’d never done the female friend thing in his entire life.
Lily was gentle and shy at a deep level, and an enigma. She had the courage to stand up to him, but blushed and looked down at the smallest compliment. Her innate tendencies were calling to all sorts of his own dominant ones, including some serious protective ones. Very few women had ever struck that cord in him, and Lily was the only one he’d ever contemplated keeping. He frowned. When had he started to think about keeping her?
His phone buzzed and he pulled it out. Luther wanted to know how the date was going. He made a face at the phone, well aware his friend couldn’t see it, but it made Lily chuckle.
“So you race cars?” Lily surprised him by asking.
He nodded. “Yeah. Luther and I got into when we were seventeen. Been racing since. We do a lot of rally races, as well as a few underground ones.”
“Underground? Can’t you get into a lot of trouble for that if you get caught?”
Nikoli grinned. “That’s the point, Lily Bells. It’s all about the risk you take.”
“You do seem like a risk taker,” she said, her smile infectious.
“You have no idea.” He winked at her and leaned back, letting his leg touch hers. She immediately scooted over. He frowned at her, and she glanced away and then looked relieved.
“Here we go.” Joe beamed at them as he set Lily’s plate down. Nikoli laughed at Joe’s obvious attempt to impress Lily. He never brought food out himself.
“Thank you.” Lily smiled shyly up at him. “It looks wonderful.”
“Only the best for Nikoli and his lady.” Joe grinned. “You let me know if you need anything at all, beautiful lady.”
“Go on back to the kitchen.” Nikoli laughed. “You’ll end up stealing her before I even have a chance.”
Joe turned to look at him, and the censure in his eyes made Nikoli very uncomfortable. Joe was well aware of his one night stands, as well as his other peculiarities when it came to sex. The two of them ran in the same circles. It’s how he’d met Joe.
“Be careful with her,” Joe warned. “Slow, my friend, and you’ll keep her. She’s worth keeping.”
Nikoli nodded his understanding, aware Lily took an entirely different meaning from that statement. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“If you don’t, I might,” Joe warned him.
Nikoli bristled and actually stood up.
“Just warning you, friend to friend.” Joe may have said it with a smile, but the warning was clear in his voice. The man was only twenty-six and handsome. If he wanted to charm Lily, he could, Nikoli realized. He didn’t like the thought of Joe with Lily, not one little bit.
“Stay the hell away from her, Joe,” he growled. A wave of rage he didn’t quite understand hit him hard. “She’s mine.”
“Uh, girl sitting right here,” Lily piped up, “and I don’t belong to anyone except myself.”
“Things change, Lily.” Nikoli’s voice had gone cold, and Joe finally got the message. He backed off and left them alone. Nikoli refused to let Joe anywhere near her, especially knowing what he did about him. If that meant Nikoli letting Joe believe Lily belonged to him, then that’s what he’d do.
“Care to explain that?” Lily asked once Joe had left.
“Joe is worse than I am,” he said after a minute. “I just wanted to make sure he left you alone.”
