Page 38 of Touch Me Not

“But what if I don’t?” Lily asked. “What if I can’t get past my fear of people touching me? Or what if youcanhelp me, and I still don’t get Adam? What if we’re both wrong, and he loves Sue too much to leave her? Theoretically, if that happens, you might manage to get me to sleep with you. You win in either scenario, and I get jack. This way, I stand a chance of walking away with a car that I want more than almost anything else.”

Nikoli watched her through hooded eyes. She hadn’t noticed he’d pressed his feet against her thighs. She was so focused on their conversation, she forgot to be afraid. It was definitely progress and proved if he was patient, he’d end up with her in his bed, so why shouldn’t he bet his car? Not a chance in hell he’d lose it, so why not?

“All right, Lily Bells, I’ll bite. If you can stay out of my bed for three months, then you can have my car.”

Her face lit up, and she nearly jumped up and down where she sat. It didn’t take a lot to make her happy. He settled back, content to watch for a minute. She still hadn’t noticed his feet, and he debated telling her. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, but then again, she might be so shocked, she shoved them.

“How old is Kade?” she asked, taking another bite of her chowder.

“He’s twenty-seven.” Nikoli watched the spoon disappear into her mouth then slide out between her lips. He rubbed herleg with his foot in response. “Lives in Virginia and works for the FBI.”

“Really?” Lily asked. “He didn’t go back to Russia?”

“No, none of my brothers did. We might eventually, but we like America. We have more freedoms here than we do in Russian. Kade and I have been trying to convince our parents to move to the States for years, but our mother loves Russia.”

“Hey, Bob, turn that up!”

Nikoli and Lily looked to see the guy behind the counter turn the volume up on the wall-mounted TV screen. A reporter stood in a park, a crime scene behind him. The body of the missing girl who had been all over the news had just been found. People started talking all at once, but Nikoli pulled his attention back to Lily. She was frowning and shaking her head.

“Are you worried about that?” he asked.

“Sad, worried, freaked…all of that. They found that poor girl really close to campus.”

“Whoever he is, he doesn’t seem to be targeting college campuses, at least,” Nikoli offered, hoping to calm her nerves a bit. A lot of the girls on campus were starting to worry about this guy. Campus security had posted flyers everywhere warning women not to go anywhere alone if they could help it. He might be freaked too if he was a girl.

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” she said, staring at the TV screen. “Are you about ready to go? I lost my appetite.”

“Sure.” He signaled the waitress for the check. “One thing, though.”

“Hmm?”

“How do you plan on getting out of your seat?”

She gave him a questioning look, and he pointed at his feet, pressed up against her thighs all snug and cozy. She looked down, and her mouth dropped open. Her eyes darted from his face to his feet. He waited patiently for her to get over the shock.Julie set the check down on the table, and he nodded at whatever she said but didn’t break eye contact with Lily.

Lily gasped and nearly had a small heart attack right then and there. Nikoli had managed to press his feet against her, and she’d never noticed. How had she not noticed this? She could feel them like a hot iron burning through her pajama bottoms now that she saw them, but God only knew how long he’d been like this. She’d been too distracted to realize he’d pulled another sneak attack on her.

Strange thing was, she wasn’t about to hyperventilate. It could be because it was just his shoes and not technically him. There was no skin to skin contact. Did this even qualify as touching? Her brain screamed yes, especially when he rubbed his foot back and forth. She felt it, and it felt…nice. It was such a foreign sensation, she reached out and pushed his foot away from her without thinking.

Nikoli let out a low hum of satisfaction. Lily wasted no time in scrambling out of the booth and fleeing the diner. She went straight to his car and stayed there, trying to focus. She did it. She’d touched him. Oh. My. God. She did it! Relief swept through her. She’d been terrified she couldn’t do it, scared that she was too broken to fix, but she touched him!

Sure, it was only a shoe, but even yesterday, she wouldn’t have been able to do that. His sneak attacks were working, making her more comfortable with him. Nikoli could distract her like no one else, and maybe that was the key to learning to touch and be touched. She could do this. For the first time since she was sixteen years old, she had hope.

Nikoli was smart enough not to say a word when he unlocked the car. She climbed in, buckled her seatbelt, and smiled. “Tell me about Russia.”

Nikoli put the car in gear and started them moving again. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” He laughed and spent the remainder of the car ride telling her about growing up in Russia with his brothers, about their favorite places to play when they were little, and then about their favorite hangouts when they got older. He told her about the castles, the architecture, and the culture. Everything he could fit into an hour, anyway. He did promise to tell her more when they pulled onto the dirt road leading to Ted Moore’s house and his Mach 1.

The house was a bit run-down, the paint peeling, and he could see several shingles on the roof that needed replacing before winter set in. His beautiful car sat in the driveway, prepped and ready to go. When they pulled up, he saw what it cost Lily not to jump out of the car. She was a smart woman, though, and understood you didn’t just go wandering around a stranger’s property. Nikoli honked the horn, and they both waited for the guy to come out.

Ted Moore was just as run-down as the house. His clothes were messy. He had a hole in his shirt, and he looked like he hadn’t showered in days. Nikoli debated telling Lily to stay in the car, but the way she was eyeballing the Mach 1 said she’d stab him if he tried. Suppressing a smile, he got out, and Lily followed close on his heels.

“You Kincaid?” Ted had a raspy voice that sounded like he smoked one too many cigarettes. He ran his gaze over Lily from head to toe, eye fucking her as he did. Lily wasn’t even paying attention; her focus was all on the car.

Nikoli stepped in front of Lily, cutting off Ted’s access to her ass. He did not like the way his eyes had zeroed in and stayed there. “I am. I’ve got the check. Keys?”

Ted pulled them out of his pocket. “You want to start it up first?”

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