Suddenly Josh rolled down his window. So did the other guy.
“At the next exit,” he hollered. “If it’s clear.”
She gulped at the implications. The seconds ticked by. Traffic thinned out, as if the universe knew Hot Mechanic had picked the lesser of two evils, for her, and wanted to make this a good one.
Then they swarmed past the next exit, not a cop in sight, and Josh glanced sideways at her. “Count down from three, honey. As loud as you can.”
“Are you—”
“Any second now.”
“Three,” she yelled. “Two…one. Go!”
He dropped down a gear and floored it. The other car jerked forward too, accelerating like mad, but he wasn’t as fast as Josh’s Gran Torino.
She screamed as the roar of the car mixed with the road noise from tearing down the freeway with the window open.
Josh shifted gears again, flying now, and she tried to look around but she couldn’t with the helmet.
The dark world on either side of them whizzed by in a blur, and up ahead were cars. They’d reach them soon, and—
Suddenly, he took his foot off the gas.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He grinned at her. “Was that fun?”
“Oh my god, yes.” She was breathless from the thrill of it. “Is that it?”
He laughed. “That’s not enough for you?”
“No, it’s good! I just don’t know what— how—”
“He dropped in behind me. A sign to slow down. And in a minute, he’ll pull out and curve around in front of me. Then we’ll switch lanes and probably do it again.”
That’s exactly what happened. It was less aggressive than Monica expected, more playful. Like lion cubs eager to tussle.
This time the other car was on her side, and it was her window rolled down so she could count them down. The warm wind whipped her in the face as she screamed the numbers into the night.
The second race was much tighter, with both cars jockeying for the lead until they reached an exit and had to slow down, just in case there might be a cop on the on-ramp.
When the Mustang peeled off, Josh kept going down the freeway, like they were making a break for the desert. He was grinning, his expression cocky and sexy as hell. His already irresistible charm took on a wild edge.
And her soft, needy little crush bloomed into a wicked impulse to do something very bad.
“You can take off the helmet,” he said, nudging her knee with the back of his hand.
The touch was as good as a lick against her bare skin. Wanton desire took firm hold. She pulled it off and shook out her hair.
His gaze caught on her face, holding long enough that she knew he felt the sizzling chemistry, too.
“Want to find the best route back to work?” His voice was husky. Thick with unspoken alternate questions.
And no, she didn’t want him to drop her back at her car. Yes, she wanted him to take her somewhere, anywhere else.
She didn’t trust that this energy would last all the way back to Riverside. His responsibility would win out, and he would reluctantly make her say a chaste goodnight.
That wouldn’t work for her.
