Her?
Adam shook his head. “She’s fine. Not a scratch.” She could see him roll his eyes, even from her spot in the shadows. “No, they didn’t fuck up the upholstery.”
A car.
She stayed where she was listening to Adam discuss the details of his trip. A road trip to Chicago to drop off someone’s car.
Hitching her bag on her shoulder, she waited for him to turn his back then ducked under the garage door. A gorgeous red car took up a good amount of space, hood up, driver’s door open. There was a duffel and a sleeping bag thrown on the backseat.
Yeah, the old Lucy had pissed off her big brothers, done some crazy things, but she’d also been sure of what she wanted, where she was going. This new version of herself, after her disastrous sham of a relationship with Daniel and what followed, didn’t have the first clue what she wanted. She was lost, confused…and, God, lonely.
A zip of electricity shot through her lower belly. That familiar thrill.
A way to find herself again.
She knew what she needed. And Adam was going to be the one to help her.
One last adventure.
She just had to come up with a way to convince him to take her with him. That she wasn’t the kind of girl who would ask more of him than he was willing to give. That one night—or three—was all she wanted, and afterward she’d walk away. It was insane, made no sense whatsoever, but at that moment she knew taking this trip with him, getting him to give in to what he wanted, was what she needed. The only way to pull her from the dark place she’d been living in for too damn long. A way to wake up just a small piece of the girl she’d been, the girl who had been so sure of her future and what she wanted.
I won’t lie. I’d love a night between your thighs…
They both wanted this, and that knowledge gave her a sense of confidence…something she hadn’t felt in a long time. She didn’t want to feel powerless anymore. God, no more.
If she could do this, she’d emerge a stronger version of herself. Because if she could be with Adam, a man she’d been in love with since she was twelve, and keep her feelings in check and walk away whole, she could survive anything.
And she needed to believe that. To know it down to her bones.
Screwed up logic to be sure, but to her it made perfect sense.
The other night at Abella’s, he’d thought his words would scare her off, that she’d scurry away and never look back. She’d thought so, too.
Turned out they were both wrong.
Lucy Colton, the young woman who had walked onto campus four years ago with her future all mapped out, excited, desperate to try new things and tackle new challenges, hadn’t been scared of any damn thing. Well, she’d just been resurrected. A small part of her anyway.
She heard Adam ending his call.
Thinking time was up.
Time to take action.
Chapter Six
Adam cranked up the music and planted his foot on the gas. Tension seeped from his muscles with every mile that took him farther from LA—and the white-hot temptation there.
Thankfully, Lucy had been out when he stopped at the garage to give the Superbird a once-over before leaving. Seeing her face-to-face after what happened… he couldn’t do it. Not yet. Not with the way he was still feeling.
An image of her dancing swam through his head unbidden. Christ. The sundress she’d worn, yellow, as the brightest sun, had made her natural olive skin fucking glow. The soft fabric swaying, lapping at her upper thighs, making his goddamn mouth dry. Her dark hair had been down, swaying across her back, so thick. How would it feel to sink his fingers into all that warm dark hair—fisting it, using it to control her movements, to bring that tempting, sexy, smart mouth down on his?
He shifted in his seat.
Dammit.
Not helping.
This road trip, taking time to get his head straight, wouldn’t do jack if he couldn’t stop thinking about her, fantasizing about her…stroking his cock to thoughts of those goddamn pouty lips parting for his tongue.
The sun was starting to rise on the horizon. He’d driven all night and put seven hours between him and his best friends’ little sister…and it still wasn’t anywhere near enough. You can do this. You can put her back in that safe place and then you can lock it tight. You can let her go. Adam dragged a hand over his face, feeling weary as hell. He glanced out the side window.
Something moved in the backseat.
He jerked around, twisting his body to get a better look, and at the same time veered onto the wrong side of the road. A leg. There was a leg poking out from under his sleeping bag. What the fuck? Adam swerved to the right and quickly pulled over. There was either someone in his car or the fuckers that stole it got off on dismembering people and leaving body parts lying around. He jumped out and shoved his seat forward. The leg didn’t move. It was smooth and tanned, the toenails painted blue.