Page 12 of Hard Rock Heat
"I didn't know that," I said. "I guess I alwaysassumed—"
"You thought I was always a spoiled, richasshole?"
"Well.Yeah."
He shook his head and laughed. "You don't pull the punches, do you?" He pulled his keys from his pocket and twirled them around his finger. "You need a ridehome?"
"I'm going to call acab."
"Don't waste money on that. I can drive youhome."
"No, thankyou."
"It wouldn't be right to leave a lady to wait all by herself this late atnight."
I looked him in the eye. His green eyes were alight with good humor. He was flirting but it wasn't over the top like it usually was. Maybe a ride wouldn't be sobad.
"Are you okay to drive?" Iasked.
He appeared startled, before chuckling. "You'd need to ply with me a lot more than one shot to get me drunk, sweetness." He gave me a sly smile. "Why? You want to know if I'm wasted so you can take advantage ofme?"
"I would never," I said, repeating hiswords.
He smirked. "Let me lead theway."
Damon tried to put an arm around my waist. I sidestepped to avoid him and slapped his hand away. He chuckled, but didn't sayanything.
There was only one car left in the parkinglot.
My jaw dropped. "Are you kiddingme?"
Damon flicked his eyes to me. "What?"
"Is that… a Ford Mustang Mach 1? The CobraJet?"
Damon whistled. "You know yourcars."
"I grew up learning all kinds of stuff about cars. My sister never cared, but me and my dad always…" I trailed off, a pang of hurt gnawing in my chest. "Anyway," I said quickly. "This is a seriously awesome car." I gave him a side-eyed glance. "What was that about you not being spoiled andrich?"
"I said I didn't used to be. Now that I've got more money than god, I'm going to have some fun withit."
"And you just drive it around? It's your every daycar?"
"Of course. Besides, this is tame compared to my brother's. His cost at least ten times mine." Damon opened the passenger door for me. "Ladiesfirst."
I slid into the seat, mumbling under my breath about rock stars and rich people and showoffs.
I couldn't keep from running my hands all over the interior. It had that vintage car smell. I took in a deep breath and caught the scent of something rich and raw, like tough leather. But it wasn't part of the carsmell.
When Damon slid into the seat beside me, the scent intensified. I breathed in deep again, unconsciously wanting more of that masculine scent. It was him. The car smelled likeDamon.
It wasintoxicating.
My heart began pumping just that much faster, the flush on my cheeks returning. He wasn't even looking at me, wasn't pressed up against me, and I still responded tohim.
I closed my eyes, talking myselfdown.
Yes, Damon appealed to me in many ways. No, I was going to do anything about it. I reminded myself of all the times he got on my nerves and pushed my buttons. He expected me to fall all over him. That wasn't going tohappen.
