Page 12 of Touch Me Not

“You know cars?” Nikoli asked incredulously.

She ignored him and looked at Luther. “What’s it running?”

“Let me pop the hood and you tell me.”

Lily waited impatiently then dived to put the hood up when it popped. There, in all its glory, sat an original 426 engine running 425 horsepower. This 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. 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 could actually touch the gas pedal.”

Luther whistled. “Who would have thought sweet, innocent Lily Holmes was a car junkie?”

“I can be sweet and innocent and still be a car guru,” she told him 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. “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 since we were fifteen, 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 chuckled. “I’ll bet. Well, I’m off to find Mike. He’s supposed to take me to 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 since we were running late.”

“Sure,” Janet agreed. “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. It had the exact opposite effect.

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 beneath them.

“Alone at last, Lily Bells,” he murmured salaciously.

She gave him a startled look and took another five steps back. He didn’t try to hide his desire, and in all honesty, she looked ready to bolt.

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