Page 39 of Fast & Reckless
“He never had time for stuff like that.”Yes, good. Let’s talk about my dad.That’ll shut down this ridiculous flush of hormones.
“You’d have liked Sentosa Island as a kid. It’s full of theme parks and stuff.”
“You’ve been out there?”
He cleared his throat. “Um, yeah. My first year on the circuit. But not for the theme parks.”
She chuckled. “Got it. If there was a bar involved, I can imagine the rest.”
“Then you know more than me, because I blacked out for most of it. It was on a beach. There were some girls. After that, it’s a blur. The hangover was brutal. And I had to race the next day.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, I was an idiot.”
They were silent for a minute, watching the city grow smaller beneath them. The sun sank lower in the sky, and lights had started to come on across the city. Below them, they reflected in rainbow colors on the waters of Marina Bay.
“Mira?”
She knew. The minute she heard him say her name in that particular low rumble, she knew what would come next. When she turned to look at him, his eyes were fixed on hers. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it, slamming against her ribs. Then he leaned in to kiss her. Except the kiss never came. He stopped, just a few inches away from her mouth. The setting sun brought out a riot of amber highlights in his dark hair that she’d never noticed before, and his blue eyes darkened dramatically. She blinked, unable to pull back or even breathe.
“Are we still not kissing?” he murmured.
His question rippled across her mouth, a seductive warm current of breath. Her lips tingled as if his were already on them. She knew exactly how he’d feel, how he’d taste. It would be good—great—because she’d kissed him before, and now she knew how he kissed, and that was a hard thing to forget. Fingers curling into the metal railing, she fought the impulse to lean into him.
“Yes,” she whispered when she could gather her wits enough to force the word out. Wait … “I mean, no. No, we’re not.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth and he held there, still just inches away. Then he tipped his head to the side and let out a sigh, one that also washed across her mouth, a hot, tantalizing promise of what she could have if she just leaned forward the tiniest amount. Her muscles tensed and she felt herself doing it, like he was a magnet and she was helplessly drawn to him.
“That’s too bad,” he said.
She felt his fingers brush against her hip, across to her lower back. “What are you doing?” The words came out as a whisper.
“Not kissing you.” He flattened his hand, his palm pressing against her lower back. Her thighs clenched and she stopped breathing, imagining the heat of his palm everywhere else, smoothing over every inch of her skin. Maybe if he just touched her enough she could stopthinkingso much.
His lips curved into a wicked smile, and his hand slid lower, over the curve of her ass and down to the back of her thigh. She inhaled and it came back out in a slow, shuddering breath. His eyes darkened and his fingers tightened, fisting the back of her skirt. She’d worn a skirt today because it was so hot and humid, but now she felt half-naked, like any second he could slide his hand under the hem and up between her thighs.
Oh, god, she wanted that. She wanted him to press her back against the railing and lift her skirt. She wanted to slide her own hands up under that stupid overpriced, soft-as-sin T-shirt of his and feel the heat of his skin.
“This is …”
His eyes dropped to her mouth. “Still not a kiss. Right?” His eyes shot back up to hers. “Unless you want it to be?”
Yes, please, just kiss me so I can stop fighting with myself.
But she didn’t say that. She didn’t say anything at all, unable to push him away or give herself permission to give in. He watched her face for another moment, as if he could seethe war she was waging inside. Then he sighed, and his hand dropped away.
Will leaned against the railing, his expression unreadable.
“You tell me when, Mira,” he said, his voice rough.
She was shaking as she turned back to the railing, biting her lip to keep herself from doing just that.
20
When they came down, the night was still young and Will was hungry to keep Mira near him. They were still too close to the track, where she might suddenly decide she was needed for work, so he kept talking, distracting her, as he steered her over the bay through the Helix Bridge, the twisting steel aglow with blue and purple lights, curving over their heads. From there, a path took them along the edge of the marina, the lights of the city glittering on the water as it grew dark.
As the sun set, the temperature finally cooled a bit, although the night air was still tropical. A breeze rippled across the water, blowing Mira’s hair across her face, and the scent of mandarin and clove shampoo drifted over to him.
