She shook her head to get rid of those unwanted thoughts and to get on board with the change of subject. “My father was killed in a crash at Richmond. Sunday will mark the three-year anniversary of his death.”
She watched, intrigued as he morphed back into the Tight Ass she knew and all traces of lust dissipated.
“I’m sorry. I’d forgotten that happened here.”
“Yeah, well, it gets even better. Remember last year when I had that bad, freak accident?” She waited for him to nod. “That also happened at Richmond. We definitely have bad luck at that place and I almost hate going there each year.”
A weight settled in her chest at the full realization of what her mother was about to put herself through. She dropped her head to her hands and ground the heels of her palms into her eyes. “Why would she want to do this?”
After a long period of silence Adam sighed. “Nikki, I’m sorry I didn’t put it all together. And you’re right. I’m not very well prepared.” He gave her a smile that appeared almost sheepish—almost. “Certainly not as prepared as I should be. It’s no excuse but Nate and I played phone tag for a few days and I didn’t get copies of the letters until late last evening. I’ve only briefly looked at them and didn’t have a chance to ask questions or dig deeper.”
“Hot date kept you from doing your job?” Damn it. She was gonna have to cut out her tongue.
The sheepishness slid away and an egotistical male smile took its place. “Something like that.”
She stiffened as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Shifting in her seat, she stared out the window. “I wasn’t prying,” she said, acting bored and disinterested.
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“I‘m wondering, though, how are you going to protect me and figure out who sent the letters when you’re not prepared?”
“Tell me what to expect when we get to the track.”
“We’ll go straight to the garage and have a team meeting. I have a couple of interviews to do and after those we’ll go eat. In order to make sure my guys take good care of me, I feed them well.”
This time she got to smile as his fingers tightened their grasp on the steering wheel.
He apparently didn’t like the idea of another man taking care of her anymore than she wanted to think about what he did to his subs.
“After dinner we’ll go back to the motor home. Nate and I can catch up on general business stuff, go over last minute details for the car and—” she let out a big sigh, “—
figure out where we’re gonna put Mama.”
“I understand the difficulty for all of you in being at this track. But I don’t understand why you’re opposed to her being there if it’s what she wants to do.”
Nikki struggled for an answer that wouldn’t betray her mother, yet would explain their concerns. “She didn’t handle my dad’s death well. And she’s never wanted me to race. After my wreck last year she got even worse. Nate and I are worried about her but we don’t know what to do. I’m afraid coming here will be her breaking point.”
Adam nodded but didn’t comment and eventually they were wrapped in a comfortable silence. Nikki wondered if he was considering her and the case or reflecting on his hot date from last night.
And why the hell did she care?
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Reaction Time
Adam watched Nikki step into La Paloma’s private dining room and jerk to an abrupt halt. She frowned and then, as she looked around the table at her limited seating options, her expression turned mutinous.
There were four seats on one side of the table, five on the other plus the two seats at each end of the table. Adam was sitting in the last seat on the left side. The seat to his left, at the head of the table, was open as was the seat directly across from him.
When Rob and Joe, two of Nikki’s crewmen who he knew from the local BDSM
group, had invited him to ride to dinner with them, he didn’t realize they had ulterior motives. He thought he was giving Nikki an opportunity to have some time with Nate and a break from being around him.
It wasn’t until after they’d arrived at the restaurant that he’d realized Rob had other plans in mind. Over the past year, Adam had made no secret of his interest in Nikki. And Nikki had made no secret of her desire to avoid him. Rob had immediately picked up on the cat-and-mouse game the two of them were playing and had taken matters into his own hands.
The other members of the crew didn’t know anything about the Dom and sub dynamics. They only knew Nikki had been a true bitch throughout the day and had decided she needed to get laid. Lucky for him, they’d unanimously voted him the man for the job.
Consequently, the crew had taken it upon themselves to arrange it so Nikki only had two choices. She could sit beside him, or she could sit directly across from him.
Adam took a drink of water to hide his smile and watched as she tried to get her mouth in working order. She opened and closed it a few times then clenched her teeth tightly together, causing her jaw muscles to pop and twitch. He found her absolutely www.samhainpublishing.com 21
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adorable when she was mad, and right now—arms crossed, hip cocked, toe tapping—she was royally pissed.
Zeke, the youngest and greenest of the group, made a mistake of flicking a quick apologetic glance in Nikki’s direction.
Nikki made eye contact and smiled. “Zeke, would you please move down there so I can sit here in your seat?”
Color rose in Zeke’s cheeks and he cast a nervous glance to Rob.
Everyone else quickly began drinking from their water glasses, playing with their silverware or burying their noses in their menus. Anything to avoid acknowledging the powder keg with the ticking fuse standing in the doorway.
Rob smiled at Nikki and then, looking more innocent than Adam ever would’ve believed possible, said, “He can’t move. The NHRA has imposed a few new rules that Carl needs to fill him in on before tomorrow.” Nate stepped through the doorway behind her and upon seeing the seating arrangement—and Nikki’s kickass expression—burst out laughing. Nikki faced him with a head-on glare. “I’m glad you think this is funny.” She cast a disgusted look around the table and growled, “Traitorous bastards. Every last one of you should be fired.”
Even though Adam found the situation and her reaction humorous, a part of him felt bad for Nikki. As he considered how ganged up on she must feel, a twinge of tenderness swept through him and his chest constricted with emotion.
Nate glanced around the table, eyebrows raised expectantly. When it became obvious nobody was going to give up their seats, he scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed.
“Well?” he said, gesturing to Nikki. “Where are you sitting? I’m hungry and the quicker you park it the quicker we can get some food.”
Someone sucked in a sharp breath and the tension level around the table spiked as everyone braced themselves for the impending explosion.
The frustration and anger flowing from Nikki was palpable. Suddenly, her toe tapping stopped and the room fell into an eerie silence.
Adam found himself holding his breath and cringing, waiting for the blast.
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Reaction Time
But it never happened.
Without saying a word to anyone, she dropped her arms, squared her shoulders and stomped to the seat across from him. Within the span of a heartbeat, her demeanor shifted from warrior to preservationist. He’d believed their conversation in the car had left her feeling open and vulnerable and the way she moved now corroborated that belief. She carefully pulled out her chair and gently sat, as if afraid to touch Rob or the table. It was like someone protecting exposed nerve endings that were raw and painful.
The questions she’d asked only confirmed his belief in her submissive nature, and he suspected she began to question it herself. For someone as strong-willed and independent as Nikki, that alone was a lot to come to terms with. Now, this close-knit group of men, with whom she worked day in and day out, had sided with him. It had to hurt and leave her feeling alone.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and fought the urge to go to her and pull her into the safety of his arms. She’d kill him for embarrassing her and she probably wouldn’t find him as comforting as he’d like to think he could be.
Instead, he watched and waited and when she finally looked over at him, he offered a reassuring smile. He really did mean it as a show of support but based on her murderous expression she wasn’t taking it as he’d intended.
Angling into the seat at his left, Nate muttered, “You know there’s going to be hell to pay for this.”
Adam chuckled and said beneath his breath, “I swear I didn’t have anything to do with it. I can’t say this often, but in this case, I’m totally innocent.”
The waitstaff began distributing the previously ordered drinks and normal conversation resumed. Right up until the waitress took Nikki’s drink order. Instantly, all conversation ceased.
As all eyes turned in her direction, Nikki looked around the table. “What?” When no one answered, and only continued to stare, she added, “You guys order drinks all the time. Why can’t I?”
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Nate, apparently the only one willing to step into the minefield, said, “Yeah, well…usually when we say, ‘bottle, no mug’ we’re getting a beer. Not wine. You planning on drinking the whole bottle? Straight out of the bottle?”
Nikki pulled in a lungful of air and glared at Nate. Yeah, actually, that was her plan.
But since they were in a fairly nice restaurant, and not on the tailgate of a pickup truck, she supposed that wouldn’t fly. Once again unable to formulate a smart-ass comeback—
dammit, she needed to re-sharpen the edges of her tongue—she shifted her attention back to the waitress and smiled sweetly. “I guess I’ll take the glass too.”
And maybe I’ll use it
.
The waitress left and attention shifted away from her—thank God—and back to Adam. Her soon-to-be-unemployed ignition man spoke, “Adam, what brings you here this weekend?”
“I thought it would be a good chance to watch Nikki race.” Adam paused, took a sip of his beer and looked directly at Nikki. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity.”
She was surprised to hear he wanted to watch her race. However, as his eyes grew dark and heavy-lidded, she had the distinct impression watching her race wasn’t the opportunity he was speaking of.
With perfect timing, the waitress arrived with Nikki’s bottle of wine and poured a paltry half-f glass. Without taking her gaze off Adam—for fear of losing the staring match—Nikki picked it up and downed the contents in one gulp.
The sweet, cool liquid soothed her frazzled nerves and she resigned herself to gulp-sized drinks. As she reached for the bottle to refill her glass she heard Rob say, “Good luck.”
“Thank you,” she said on a sigh, relieved and grateful someone understood her dilemma. She turned to offer him a smile and found his beer bottle tipped in a silent salute toward Adam.
She blinked.
Then blinked again.
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Reaction Time
After a few unsuccessful attempts at speaking, which came out as spits and sputters, she finally choked out, “Why are you wishing him good luck? I’m the one who needs the luck, being stuck with…with…
him
for the whole damned weekend.”
Adam, the cool, calm voice of reason, spoke from across the table. “I’m the one being nice.”
Nikki whipped her head around so fast it made her dizzy and her breathing became choppy and shallow. “As opposed to…”
He chuckled. “I’m not crazy enough to answer that question. I’m sleeping with you, remember?”
She wasn’t normally prone to hysterics but they were crushing in on her with every passing breath. Blocking the roaring in her ears and the spots dancing before her eyes she screeched, “You are not sleeping with me!”
She was aware of low chuckles surrounding her, but she kept her attention focused on Adam. She had never met a man more infuriating in her life. And through it all, he stayed calm and collected while she flirted and danced with insanity.
His expression remained neutral, but his eyes glimmered with humor. “I’m sleeping in your motor home, Nikki. There’s no way I’d piss you off, then close both eyes.”
The image of Adam being afraid of her made her smile. Making him miserable wasn’t working, maybe she could make him think she was psychotic and he’d leave for fear of his life. Given her current state of mind, convincing him she might resort to violence didn’t seem too difficult a task.
After picking up the bottle and chugging a few gulps, she felt calm enough to switch back to the scrawny glass. While she poured and drank, poured and drank, poured and drank, she learned a couple of the guys already knew Adam, and those who didn’t acted as if they were long-lost friends.
While they enfolded Adam into her personal circle, she got cozy with her bottle of wine and studied him. She began to see things she’d never noticed before and would probably be well served not to notice now.
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Like the sprinkling of chest hair visible where the top buttons of his dress shirt were undone. It looked soft and inviting and she wondered what it would feel like under her hand, the curls wrapping around her fingers as she leisurely swept them across his chest, down to his stomach and back to his neck.
Then there were the strong forearms sticking out below the rolled up sleeves. She giggled as a ridiculous image of Popeye popped into her head. Adam most definitely ate his spinach because his hands were huge. She should’ve noticed when he had his hand wrapped around her wrist but she’d been too busy trying to control her breathing and act unaffected to notice particulars.
Is it true what they say about men with big hands and big feet?
She shifted in her seat and crossed her legs, squeezing her thighs tightly together.
Thank God for the table. Without it, she would be embarrassing herself trying to determine whether or not there was any truth to the saying by getting a good look at his crotch.