“When did you become a car buff?” Mike frowned.
“She’s been a car buff since before she could talk.”
Lily’s entire body froze and she flinched at the sound of Adam’s voice. Nikoli moved closer, and for once, she didn’t move away from him. He didn’t think she was even aware of how close he was, but Adam noticed. His eyes narrowed.
“Seriously?” Mike asked. “Why did I not know this?”
“Who do you think fixes my car?” Adam set his tray down. “Lily, can we talk?”
“She was just leaving.” Nikoli’s voice was cold.
“Lily?” Adam stared directly into her eyes, and she flinched again.
“No,” she said after a moment. “We’re leaving.”
“Lily, please…”
“No, Adam, not today.” She turned to the other guys sitting at the table. “You guys seem all concerned about Nikoli, but he’s not the one you need to worry about. You want to do something for me? Then keep Adam the hell away from me and leave Nikoli alone.”
Nikoli smirked at Boy Wonder, who looked pissed beyond belief. Good. He needed to be beaten for the mess he’d left Lily in last night, and from the looks around him, Adam had some explaining to do. He might just get that beating too.
“So, where are we going that I don’t have time to change my clothes and put a bra on?”
Nikoli’s attention snapped back to Lily, and he zeroed in on her chest. His eyes widened when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra…why had he not noticed this before?
“And stop staring at my boobs.” Her laughter bubbled up and spilled out as she started walking toward the door.
“How about I stare at your ass instead?” he called, and she shook her head. He didn’t have to look back to know the low growl came from Boy Wonder. “It’s a damn fine ass.”
Luther caught up to him. “Do you have a death wish?”
“They’ll get over it.”
“Where are you guys heading?” Luther asked, following them outside.
“To pick up the Mach 1.”
“You’re taking Lily? In her pajamas?”
Nikoli grinned. “She wants to drive, so I’m letting her drive…just not my baby.”
“She’s driving the Mach 1 back?” Luther asked, eyes wide. “What if she wrecks? Totals it?”
“Then she does. It’s just a car.”
“Just a car?” Luther shouted. “It’s a Mach 1!”
Nikoli stopped walking, seeing Lily staring at them curiously. He couldn’t afford to screw this up. “Lily’s not going to total the car. Her dad was Martin Holmes. She probably drives better than either of us.”
“That’s not the point,” Luther argued.
“Look, man. I get that you usually drive them back, but just this once, trust me, okay? You can drive it all day tomorrow. Hell, once the race is over, you can have it for your own baby. Don’t think I didn’t see the way you were salivating over the online images yesterday.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Luther grumbled, but Nikoli caught the gleam in his eye. Luther wanted that Mach 1 in a bad, bad way.
“So where are we going?” Lily yawned when Nikoli reached her. She looked cute. Strange that he’d think of this woman as cute, but he did. To him, women were hot or sexy, but never cute. He snorted. It sounded cliché, even to him.
“You up for some driving?”
“You’re going to let me drive your car?” Lily asked, her eyes wide and excited.
“No, you’re not driving Ellie, but you can drive the Mach 1 we’re going to pick up.”
“Really?” she asked, squealing like a girl.
“Really. We just need to swing by your dorm and pick up your license.”
“I can change my clothes…” She trailed off when he started shaking his head. “Why not?”
“Because I want you comfortable with me, Lily,” he told her. “We’re going to be spending all day in the car, so I want you relaxed. Those penguin pajama bottoms of yours should do the trick.”
She made a face at him, but didn’t argue as they piled into his car. Her fingers started gently running over the leather seats the minute she got in. He stared at them, imagining her running them over his skin. Maybe being in the car with her all day wasn’t such a good idea.
No, he decided a few minutes later when she hopped out and flew up the front stairs of her dorm, his eyes following her ass. It wasn’t such a good idea at all.
Chapter Eleven
“So, what are your brothers’ names?” Lily asked curiously. She hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of spending all day alone with Nikoli trapped in a car, but the bribe of driving a Mach 1? So worth it.
“Kade is the oldest,” he replied, focused on the road. “Dimitri, Viktor, Connor, then me, and Callum is the youngest at twenty.”
“Six boys?” she said. “I bet your mama had her hands full.”
“You’ve no idea. If one of us wasn’t bleeding all over her floor, then we were all fighting. She has this look that could make us all feel both embarrassed and ashamed in a heartbeat.”
“I think all mothers have that look.” Her own mother certainly did. She’d used it when Lily announced her plans to move to Boston for college.
“How about you?” Nikoli asked. “Do you have any other brothers or sisters?”
Lily nodded. “Mom remarried when Laney and I were fourteen.”
“You were twins?” Nikoli interrupted.
“Yeah. Identical.” They couldn’t have been more different, though. Laney hated the racetrack, hated cars in general. She’d have rather stayed home and helped Mom with whatever. Lily grew up on the racetrack, Laney grew up shopping and learning to be the future prom queen. No matter how different they were, though, they were also the same. Laney loved Lily more than anything in the world, and Lily felt the same. She still felt empty inside, like a piece of her was missing without her twin. Sometimes it was a physical ache that hurt so bad, she had to lie down until it passed. “So, back to your question. I have a little brother and sister. Twins again. They run in my mom’s family. Mia and Mitchell.”
“Does your fear apply to them too?” Nikoli asked softly.
Lily sighed. She wished to God she could say no. They were babies and didn’t understand why she wouldn’t play with them or hold them, or even kiss them. She loved them to death, but she couldn’t physically show it.
“I’m guessing that’s a yes?” At her nod, he said, “Well, we’ll fix that soon enough, Lily Bells.”
“Tell me about growing up in Russia.” She needed to get off this line of questioning. It was making her nervous. Just talking about her psychosis made her neurotic sometimes. She wanted to enjoy the day, not slump into a depression.
“I’ll tell you all about Russia if you do one thing for me.” Nikoli’s even and calm tone put Lily’s defenses on red alert. He was up to something.
“What?” she asked suspiciously.
Nikoli laughed. “Don’t look at me like I’ve just asked you to commit felony murder. It’s something simple.”
“What?” she asked again, suspecting it was something worse than felony murder.
“I want you to touch me.”
She stared at him. He kept his eyes on the road. He wanted her to touch him?
“You can poke my arm with your finger if you want,” he offered, keeping his tone light.
“Why?”
“Because Lily, you have to be comfortable with me…”
“And you think I’m going to get there by you forcing me to do something I don’t want to do?” Her voice sounded shrill even to her, but she couldn’t help it. She was already starting to panic just thinking about it.
“I’m not forcing you,” he said calmly. “You want to hear about Russia, I want you to touch me. It’s a fair trade. If you can’t do it, then we’ll talk about something else.”
Lily took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She closed her eyes and counted to twenty like one therapist had taught her to do. This was what she’d asked him to help her with, to help her learn to tolerate someone’s touch. Nikoli was even giving her the control, letting her touch him. Could she do it?