Touch Me Not (Manwhore, #1)(34)

“Okay, follow me to the station. Let’s hope there’s enough gas in there to make it. I’d hate to leave it on the side of the road even long enough to go get gas.”

Lily nodded and obediently followed him to the station. Once the tank was full, she grinned. The boy had no idea how well she could drive. Her dad may have died, but she loved cars and had spent her teenage years learning all sorts of tricks. This baby had all the bells and whistles she could ever want. Not only was she in the driver’s seat of one of the most awesome cars ever created, she’d managed to actually touch Nikoli. That still made her smile from ear to ear. It wasn’t major to most people, but it was to her.

Nikoli came out of the store and handed her a cold bottle of water. “You ready?”

“Are you?” She grinned up at him.

“Oh, Milaya, I’m always ready.” His fingers reached out and traced her cheek. She barely flinched and didn’t pull away. She was getting used to the feel of his hands on her. She looked at him, shocked and surprised. Why wasn’t she freaking out? It made no sense to her.

He smiled. “I’m going to win.”

“You keep thinking that,” she said, pulling away from him and starting the car. “See you back on campus!”

With that Lily pulled out, leaving Nikoli running for his own car. She laughed and went from forty to eighty to a hundred. The wind whipped through her hair, and the feel of the car beneath her reminded her how much she loved driving. She’d missed it. There was so much freedom and power in letting a car run flat out. Nikoli was catching up, and Lily smiled an evil smile. The man had no chance. She was in a fully modded racing car. His ’Cuda was amazing, but he would never catch the Mach 1.

Pressing her foot down on the acceleration pedal, she picked up speed and left Nikoli Kincaid in her rear view mirror.





Chapter Twelve




Nikoli cursed six ways to Sunday as he almost ran up the stairs to Lily’s dorm. He had never in his life been outdriven by a girl, and it rankled. Granted, he knew the Mach 1 was faster than the ’Cuda, but still, she shouldn’t have been able to smoke him. Her driving skills were better than he gave her credit for. He’d lost sight of her fifteen minutes after they’d pulled out of the gas station. Fifteen minutes! The woman could drive. He’d give her that, grudgingly, but she could damn well drive.

Ignoring all the stares, he strode down her hallway and banged on the door. No answer. What the devil was she doing? His car was outside, so she had to be here. He knocked on the door again, and still nothing.

“She’s not in there.”

Nikoli turned to see a familiar face. The lusty blonde from yesterday. “Where is she?” he demanded, irritated.

“What do you want with Lily?” she asked.

“I want my damn car keys,” he muttered. “Look, Stacey…”

“Stacey?” Lusty Blonde gasped.

“Suzie?” he tried again.

“Stephanie!” she seethed.

“Where’s Lily?” He ignored her outrage.

“None of your business,” she told him. “She’s not stupid enough to fall for your…”

“Steph?” Nikoli let out a small sigh of relief when he heard Lily’s soft voice. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine, just telling jerk-weed here to leave you alone.”

Lily laughed. “It’s okay, Steph. He’s here to get his car.”

She opened her door and ushered him inside. She stayed to talk to the girl for a minute, and Nikoli used the time to look around her room. He’d been so focused on her last night, he hadn’t really seen anything. There were no pink and purple pillows anywhere as he’d half expected. She didn’t really scream girly to him, but most women he knew had a deep affection for pink and purple.

Instead, her comforter was a deep red. She had an oversized beige chair in one corner. Her laptop sat on the desk, a simple desktop lamp beside it. A microwave took up residence on an end table, and a TV, PS4, and DVD player sat on top the chest of drawers the school provided every student. The most telling thing about the room were the books Lily had stacked everywhere. They weren’t in your face, but if you went to sit anywhere, you’d be hard pressed not to find a book. She loved books. He filed that little fact away. It might come in handy later.

“Done ogling my room?” she asked, closing the door.

“For the minute. Keys?”

She laughed and fished his keys out of her desk drawer. “She runs like a dream.” Tossing the keys to him, she smirked. “Stop being a sore loser and pouting.”

He caught the keys and shoved them in his pocket. “I don’t pout.”

“You’re mad because I won,” she said, laughter shining in her eyes. “You had to know there was no way your ‘baby’ could have kept up with the Mach 1. Or did you expect me not to know how to handle a racer since my dad died when I was twelve? Did you think I’d granny drive her because I’d be afraid of the horsepower?”

Well, yeah, he had thought that, dammit.

“Sorry, Nikoli. Cars are my thing. I’ve been driving for forever, and I can handle a car better than you. Guaranteed.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“How old were you when you started driving?”