Page 57 of Deceit

So, I slide across the hood, Dukes of Hazzard style of course, before jumping into the driver’s seat. Skyla struggles with the harness until I lean over and quickly fasten her in before doing the same for myself.

“Can this thing go fast?” she asks, a hurried rasp to her usually silky voice.

I can’t help but laugh as I fire up the engine, that Rb26dett swap coming to life with a throaty roar, before I dump theclutch and peel out of there. Smoke billows from my rear tires as we burn rubber all the way to the street. Glancing in my rear view mirror I see Ronan standing there, hands on his hips, surrounded in a cloud of smoke, looking absolutely fucking livid.

I drop a gear before sending us into the corner in front of us, a scream erupting from Skyla as I do. Cranking the wheel, our ass-end gives way, allowing us to seamlessly drift around the corner before I right the car. I let off the throttle, allowing us to blend in with traffic as we drive into downtown.

Skyla’s screams slowly dissolve into a fit of laughter. Her smile is wide, eyes squinted and chest heaving as she giggles and squeals. It’s an infectious sound, so light and carefree. It does something to me, forcing laughter to escape me as well.

I don’t know how long we spend laughing like fucking fools while I maneuver us through the streets until we finally get far enough out of town.

“Okay, okay. God, I can’t breathe,” Skyla says softly, as her laughter dies down before she clears her throat. “Alright, where are you taking us, Mr. Walcott?” she teases.

I wince before I can help it, the sound of my father’s name on her lips is like nails on a chalkboard for me.

“Just Liam, babygirl, or daddy. Whatever you’re in the mood for,” I say with a wink.

She doesn’t seem to sense my discomfort, which I’m grateful for, as we drive up the county road before stopping at the start line.

Her mouth drops open as her eyes begin to scan the heavily crowded road.

“Welcome to the drifts, Skyla.”

Before she can respond, I’m parking while undoing my harness and getting out. A crowd quickly forms around me, and I greet several people before pushing past them to reach Skyla’s door. She seems to have gotten the harness off herself as sheslides out the door in the next second. She has a curious smile on her face as the crowd surrounding us gets larger.

Anthony walks up to us, pulling me in for a quick bro-hug before holding out his hand. I drop the wad of cash from my pocket into his hand, and he nods his thanks before disappearing to collect the other racers buy-in for the night.

“How much was that?” Skyla asks.

More people join us, blasting music from their cars and talking amongst themselves. I wrap my arm around Skyla, dragging her against my chest to keep her away from the crowd as I speak into her ear.

“Ten k.”

“Ten thousand dollars?” She asks, as she turns to face me. “For what?”

“A chance to race.”

“And lose!” A heckler calls out from the side.

I roll my eyes at them before looking back at Skyla, who now has her ass pressed against me and is relaxed beneath my touch. I’m not sure if she realizes it or not, but who am I to stop her? In fact, I push things a little further to see how brave she’s feeling tonight.

My hand that was resting against my car moves to her jean clad hip, gripping it in a way that she could pull away from me if she wanted, but shows that I hope she doesn’t. To my pleasure, she doesn’t pull away. In fact, I could swear she sinks into my touch just a little more before giving me a shy smile over her shoulder. Goddamnit, she has a beautiful smile.

The intoxicating scent of her perfume and something that is undeniably her swirls between us, forcing everything else to slowly slip away until all I see is her. Her head is still turned, eyes on me, as she moves forward first. Her eyes are practically begging with me to talk her out of what comes next. Absolutely fuck that shit, though.

When she’s only half an inch from my mouth, an engine rumbles beside us until the exhaust cracks, forcing her to startle and me to curse. She pulls away from me, like she doesn’t realize how she got that close to me in the first place before crossing her arms over her chest. Something like disappointment hits me in the chest, and I stand up to my full height as I open her door before gesturing inside.

She steps in without a word, and I shut it a little harder than necessary. I make eye contact with Anthony giving him a ‘lets go’ gesture. He gives me a thumbs up before I slip inside, doing my harness as Skyla does hers.

“You ready?” I ask.

“Should I be scared?” she laughs nervously.

I give her half of a grin as I shake my head.

“Not with me, babygirl. Never with me.”

She rolls her lips together before nodding once. I gesture to the interior roll cage before pointing to the oh shit handle.

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