“Stop!” he hollered after twenty minutes of a roller coaster between pure terror and raw lust.
She accelerated accidentally before slamming on the brakes, and his seatbelt jerked as he flew forward. Luckily they were in a large empty parking lot, so she was only putting him in danger.
“What? I’m terrible, aren’t I?” She shook a finger at him. “I warned you.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”
“We will?” She sounded hopeful and a little excited.
He looked at her. She beamed, her bright blue eyes shining, cheeks pink and round. There was a light sprinkle of freckles across her cute, upturned nose that he hadn’t noticed before. His heart did a weird kerthunk.
“You just need practice,” he said gruffly.
Her hand fluttered in the air. “Oh! I thought for sure you’d be mad.” She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She smelled so sweet and fresh with a hint of cherries. She pulled back. “Thank you for being so patient. I’ll try to remember what you said, clutch then gas. First gear is very important.”
He pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. A few other gears were important too, but whatever. “Not bad for a first lesson. Lunch and lesson tomorrow?”
She nodded happily.
“Let’s switch places.” He got out of the truck, the feel of the solid ground under his feet a relief after that ride. She strode by him in that nightie, hips swaying, and he turned to see the rear view. Peekaboo with the edge of her shorts nearly did him in. He turned back and got in the truck.
“You’re a great teacher, Nico,” she said.
She was a terrible student, but so enthusiastic he couldn’t say anything about it. “Thanks.”
~ ~ ~
Lily sat across from Nico the next day at a deli, pretending to eat and distracting him from her non-eating by talking up a storm. There was no way on this second meeting he was going to see her spill food all over herself. Instead she was sharing, perhaps oversharing, about law school. He was a really good listener, so she launched into the story about her stuffy first year law-school professor, who she’d tried to make laugh by holding up a series of signs.
“So I figured he was so stiff because he was nervous, you know?” she asked. “I mean, he always stared at a point on the back wall like he was pretending the fifty of us weren’t there.”
“Aren’t you going to eat your sub?” Nico asked.
“Yes.” She stole one of his potato chips because it seemed less messy. “Anyway, after a week of this completely robotic lecture, I held up a sign that said ‘my expectations are set reassuringly low.’”
Nico snorted. “Did you get kicked out of class?”
“No, he laughed. Of course, that just encouraged me, so the next day I held up a sign that said, ‘Pretend we’re not here.’”
Nico shook his head. “What school was this?”
“Yale. My family are alums.”
“What’s that mean?” He unscrewed the cap on a bottled water and took a long swallow.
“That means many Spencers have graduated from there, and they like to keep letting Spencers in. Anyway, long story short, I nailed him.”
Nico spewed his water. She cracked up.
He coughed a bunch and wiped his eyes. “You did not.”
She grinned. “No. But he did thank me for it. Said it was his first time teaching, and he looked forward to my signs.”
“Did you do a different one every day?” Nico asked.
“Yup. For about a month. Then he relaxed, so I dropped it.”
“You’re something. Eat your lunch.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Did you eat already?”
“No.”
“I’m not getting in that truck with a hungry woman. You might be on edge and then—” he whistled and gestured with one fist hitting his palm “—crash.”
She stared at the sub with ham, cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and some oil and vinegar that would surely end up all over her shirt.
“I’ll let you wear my shirt if you spill,” he said. He was a pretty sharp guy. She liked that. On the other hand, he must think she was a total klutz, which was super embarrassing and not sexy. Then again, if she did spill, she'd get another peek at a shirtless Nico.
“You looked cute in my shirt,” he added with a wink. “So I hope you do spill.”
She couldn’t help but smile. She took a bite and a tomato fell out the other side. Luckily, it hit the table and not her shirt.
He leaned back, already finished his sub. “I’ll wait. Go ahead and finish.”
“Not in a hurry to get back in that truck with me, are you?”
“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of things today.”
She grinned. “I’m sure I will too.” She took another bite of sub and chewed. “Tell me about you. You always want to be a mechanic?”
“I wanted to be a firefighter that rode a dinosaur, but then I grew up.”
She laughed. He grinned, his chocolate brown eyes dancing with amusement. “Yeah, I’ve always liked cars. I started working at the shop when I was sixteen. I was lucky to work with Kevin, my old boss, he’s an expert on Ferraris and knows a helluva lot about all the classic cars. I love it."
She listened and chewed as he told her all about classic cars and the intricacies involved in the restoration of them.
He stopped himself. "You didn't need to hear all that."
"I liked it. I think it's wonderful that you love what you do. Not everyone has a job they love."
He inclined his head. "The best part is now I’m the boss.”
“So you own the shop?” she asked before taking another bite of sub.
He bristled and crumpled up the wrapper from his sub. “Almost. I will soon. I’m working on buying out Kevin’s stake. He’s still part owner.”
She chewed and swallowed. “Guess my barn find could help with that.”
“Exactly. That’s why I can’t wait to go.”
Her hopes dashed. Here she’d thought they were getting along so well. Maybe even flirting a little. He’d kissed her twice, which had been amazing, at least for her. It was probably nothing to him.
She nodded. “Of course.” She swallowed hard. “I hope it’s worth it for you. I don’t even know what kind of car it is.”
He crossed his arms. “I’ll take my chances.”
She set her sub down, appetite gone. She felt foolish for all the time she spent fantasizing about Nico actually wanting her. Of course he just wanted the car and the money it would bring him. Everything came down to money.
“You done?” he asked.
She nodded and carefully tucked the wrapper around the half sandwich remaining. “Yup. I’m ready for lesson number two.” She forced a smile. “This’ll be fun. I think I’m getting the hang of it.”
“Great,” he said. “I look forward to kissing the dashboard again.” He winked, and her hopes rose once again. Augh. She was being naive. Just because a gorgeous man was great at flirting didn’t mean it was anything personal. He was probably flirty and winky with every woman he met.
She stood and tossed the rest of her lunch in the trash. “You won’t kiss the dashboard this time. Promise.”
He leaned close, his voice a husky drawl. “I’m holding you to that promise.”
Her breath caught. He took her hand and walked her out the door. He was always touching her. How was she not supposed to get the wrong idea? Maybe that’s just how he was, touching women all the time. She just wasn’t used to it. She’d grown up in a rather formal household, and she’d only had the one boyfriend. John had only touched her in bed.
When they got to the empty parking lot behind the warehouse once more, Nico stopped the truck and looked at her from the driver’s seat. “Ready?”
“Ready,” she answered with a smile.
“Go!”
They got out and ran around the front of
the truck to switch places. She giggled as she passed him smiling at her. She hopped in, waited for them both to put their seatbelts on, and tried to remember his instructions.
First step, start the truck. It made a huge, weird noise.
“It’s on!” Nico cried. “Didn’t you hear the engine?”
“I’m sorry! I was just trying to remember everything. Okay, I got it. So, first gear.”
After a few misstarts and a wrong gear, she was feeling pretty good about the way she went from first to second and didn’t go in reverse at all. After about half an hour of wonderfully smooth lessons with only a few stalls and sudden braking incidents, Nico stopped her.
“I think that’s good,” he said. “I’ll take it from here.”
“You sure? Maybe I should practice a little more.”
“Tomorrow,” he said firmly. She worried for a minute that she’d screwed up and that he was mad, but then he chucked her under the chin and smiled. “Okay?”
“Okay.” She would’ve agreed to anything with that killer smile. And the casual way he kept touching her. This would be a piece of cake to get him to sleep with her. Of course, once they were in bed, he’d realize she had no clue. Augh. Nerves gripped her. Maybe this whole sleeping together thing was a bad idea. She didn’t want him to laugh at her, or worse, pretend she was someone hotter, or, God forbid, stare at her poundage. What in the world was she doing with the gorgeous Nico? He only wanted her for her car. She was fooling herself.
He got out of the truck and walked around to switch places again, so she did the same. When she passed him in front of the truck, he gave her an enthusiastic high five, making her spirits lift. Maybe the lessons weren’t going as badly as she’d thought. Maybe the gorgeous Nico wouldn’t mind teaching her a thing or two more. In bed.
Chapter Six
Nico finally had to cry uncle after a hair-raising turn that nearly tipped the truck sideways. It had been five days, and they still hadn’t left the empty parking lot.
“Brake!” he hollered.
Lily slammed on the brakes, jerking them both against their seatbelts, and then the truck stalled out.
“I know what to do,” Lily said, hitting the clutch and starting the truck again.
“Ya know what?” Nico asked.
She turned, her expression open and eager. “What?”
“I could do the driving on this trip.”
“You sure? It’s a lot of miles, and I really think I’m improving.”
Seriously? “How’s that now?”
She smiled serenely. “I always remember the emergency brake once the truck is off. No more rolling.”
He nodded. “That’s good.”
“Yes, and I’m stalling less.”
“True…” He really didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She’d been a trooper coming back day after day for terrible driving lessons. She tried. She really did. “I like driving, though. I don’t mind.”
She blew out a breath. “Oh, good. I didn’t want to say anything, but it would really help me out if you did. Then I could study for the bar exam.”
He’d nearly gotten killed all week, scared a few years off his life, and struggled with his unaccountable lust under extreme conditions, and she didn’t even want to drive?
He shook his head slowly. “So, all this time, you were being…nice?”
“Well, you seemed so set on teaching me. I figured it was the least I could do. I mean, I did ask you to take me on this road trip. I didn’t want you to have to do all the work.”
He leaned his head back on the seat and let out an exasperated breath. He jolted upright as the truck started rolling. “Brake!”
She slammed on the brake, and they halted abruptly. “Oops.”
“Turn off the truck,” he said through his teeth.
She turned the key, remembered the emergency brake, and everything went quiet as the truck shut off. He took a deep breath. It was fine. No one had gotten killed. So what if he’d suffered? It would all be worth it. He’d get the barn find he wanted, maybe even the holy grail of cars, and by tomorrow night he’d finally get to have Lily. He purposely hadn’t kissed her again because he’d have her under him in two seconds flat and that was no way to teach someone to drive. He forced his mind away from that thought and focused instead on the irritating fact that he’d tortured himself for no good reason. He’d had the worst case of blue balls all week.
She pushed her shades to the top of her head and met his eyes. “This would’ve been easier if we took my Prius.”
“I’m six foot two. You think I can fit in that tin can? And how the hell could I tow a car with it? It’d probably burn out the engine.”
She pursed her sexy-as-sin lips. “You are mad. I tried really hard, you know.”
He couldn’t take it anymore. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close, settling his mouth against hers, taking the hungry kiss he’d been dying for all week. He tasted her and lost himself. There was nothing but her soft mouth and an urgent driving need for more. He desperately wished there wasn’t a console between them as he needed more of him pressed against more of her. She made this little mewling noise in the back of her throat that made him crazy. He kissed her, devoured her, and found himself leaning across the truck, trying to press closer. He tore his mouth from hers. “Let’s go back to my office for a quickie.”
She shifted away from him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She stared straight ahead. “I’m not like you, Nico, okay? I can’t just whip it out in the middle of the day in an office and then go about my business.”
His lips twitched. What in the world would she whip out? “I’m sorry. I got…I don’t know. I got really into it. I’ve been thinking about you all week.”
She looked at him under her lashes, almost shyly. “You have?”
He took her hand and held it. “Yeah. You said I’d get two weeks of sleeping with you. No strings. Remember?”
She flushed and mumbled something.
He tipped her chin up. “What’re you mumbling there?”
She looked at a point over his shoulder. “I said two weeks starts on Saturday.”
“That’s tomorrow.”
“Yup.”
“Lily?”
“What?”
He waited until she met his eyes again and read uncertainty there. “You want out of our deal?” Please say no. Hooking up with the sexy Lily was half the reason he wanted to go on this trip so badly. Fast becoming the main reason he wanted to go.
She looked him up and down, licking her lips, which sent a jolt to his groin. “No.”
He let out a breath of relief. “Okay, then.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So I guess you want someplace nicer than my back office.”
She nodded. “And not a quickie. A slowie.”
He laughed, and she stiffened. Shit. He hadn’t meant to laugh at her. It just sounded funny. A slowie.
He slid his hand into her soft red hair, stroked his thumb over her cheek, and whispered in her ear, “It’ll be so slow you’ll be begging for fast.”
She sucked in an audible breath.
He pulled back to look in her blue eyes. “Promise.”
“O-o-oh,” she sighed.
He loved her responses, so open and honest. He pressed a thumb to her lower lip and into her hot mouth. She sucked it, and his cock pulsed. He stifled a groan. He spent entirely too much time thinking about that mouth, those pink full lips with the bow at the top. He dropped his hand. “Switch places.”
They got out, switched, and he pulled out of the lot.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For understanding.”
“No problem.” It was a problem. It would be hell to take things slow, but he’d do it. At least the first night to put her at ease.
“I’ve got our route all planned out,” she said, “taking route eighty west clear across the country with stops at a few scenic places, and, if we have lunch on the ro
ad, we can still stop for nice dinners and relaxing evenings.”
“Relaxing, huh? I guess eventually we’ll be relaxed.” He glanced over to find her blushing. He had that uneasy feeling again that she was inexperienced, but he didn’t want to come out and ask her if she was a virgin. That would be insulting. Still, he had to know what he was working with here.
“You, uh,” he started. Sleep with a lot of guys? Sleep with any guys? He didn’t know how to ask. He’d never had this strange experience before. The women he hooked up with were all very well experienced.
“What?”
“You ever…” Why was this so hard? “What kind of guys you usually date?” There. Nice and neutral.
She shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“No.” He tried again. “What’re you into?” He congratulated himself on the subtlety of the question that would surely give him the answer he needed to know.
“I love crochet, and I’m a real sucker for superhero movies. Don’t even get me started on Norse mythology!”
He nodded. “Cool.”
“What’re you into?” she asked, all innocence.
She was going to be the death of him.
Chapter Seven
Lily showed up at Nico's shop on time early Saturday morning with a large suitcase in tow. She’d worn a purple wrap dress with a deep V that showed off her cleavage, and had spent two hours trying to get her hair to fall in careless waves and also apply makeup that looked like it wasn’t there. She knew she was trying too hard. Who traveled all dressed up in a truck? But she figured it was her only chance of impressing Nico on this trip. After a while, her clothes would all be wrinkled, and she’d be too busy traveling to fuss for long with her appearance.
“Hey, bella,” he said, greeting her with a warm honey voice and that killer smile.
Her stomach did a few flips. “Hey, bello.” She cocked her head. “Is that right?”
“Sure is. Nice dress.”
She lifted one shoulder. “Just threw this on at the last minute.”
Nico wore a black T-shirt and black basketball shorts, looking every bit the broad-shouldered, athletically inclined hottie that he was. He’d probably just thrown on the first thing he reached for, but it didn’t matter because he was gorgeous in everything.
Rev Me Up Page 5
