Page 320 of The Sinner: James

Adrenaline surges through my blood,making my pulse race.

Fear, pleasure, and power ram through me at once.

I grip the steering wheel, my neck tensing as my arms flex and my muscles harden. I get drunk on that insanely powerful feeling.

I put the pedal to the metal, and the shrilling sound of the peeling tires ignites a fire in my blood.

All revved up, the car dashes away like a bullet, the engine roaring under the hood.

There’s no one else here besides us.

The racetrack is empty.

He chases me, and I chase him, and it’s not much different than what we’re doing in real life.

He’s tough as nails, and I’m stubborn as hell, and we’re seemingly the match ‘not’ made in heaven.

He swishes by me, and I catch up with him and slip ahead of him, or perhaps he just lets me win.

We spend about thirty minutes getting high on an adrenaline rush before slowing down and letting the cars roll next to each until we come to a smooth stop.

Flushed, I jump out, my heart pounding ferociously.

He flashes a secret smile as I pull off my helmet, flick my head a few times and let my hair cascade down my back.

Raking my fingers through my locks, I study him.

“Why did you let me win?”

“I didn’t,” he says, his smirk telling me something different.

“Stop doing that,” I say.

“What?”

“Rigging the game.”

He inches closer, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

His hands slide on top of my car on either side of me as he closes in on me.

My focus shatters.

“That’s how you win, baby,” he says softly.

I’m even more warm.

“That’s how you lose, too,” I toss back at him, smiling.

“Not that often, though,” he says, his eyes dipping to my lips.

He opens his race suit at the neckline, exposing his neck and the top of his pecs. His hard chest glistens, and my mouth waters as I can almost feel his salty skin beneath my lips as I imagine licking the trail from his perfect jawline to his neck and the valley between his pecs.

His warm breath fans over my face, and I can almost feel his heartbeat as he inches closer.

He tilts his chin down and observes me, his eyes feeding on something buried in my gaze.

My heart gets frantic, and my head spins as it always does when he comes too close to me.