He hauled her out of the booth and tossed a handful of cash on the table. “Let’s go.” He took her hand and led the way through the back door. In the alley, he paused. “You have a man with you?”
It took a second for his words to penetrate. “Right. Liam.” She dug her phone out of her purse and typed out a quick text. The bodyguard wouldn’t be happy, but there wasn’t much he could do. And, really, he was rarely happy with the stunts she pulled.
They stopped in front of a cherry red muscle car. She raised her eyebrows, but there wasn’t much to say. It fit James perfectly, all coiled strength beneath a rough exterior, ready to unleash at a moment’s notice. He held the door for her and she slipped into the passenger seat. “What would I have to do to get you to let me drive this thing?”
His unexpected grin sent her heart hurtling into her stomach. “For you, lovely? All you have to do is ask. Scoot.” He tossed her the keys and nodded to the driver’s seat.
That was all the encouragement she needed. Carrigan hauled her dress up to her thighs and hopped the gearshift to settle behind the wheel. She turned over the engine, a stupid smile spreading over her face at the responding roar it gave.
“You know how to drive a stick?”
“Yeah.” Her oldest brother, Aiden, had taught her when she turned sixteen. She hadn’t had a chance to use the skill much in the intervening years, but it was like riding a bike. She hoped.
“Then take her down 93 south and open her up.”
This car had the feel of something well loved and completely pampered. She didn’t get the feeling he let many people behind the wheel…and he was letting her. Carrigan glanced over to find him watching her, an unreadable expression on his face. Like he didn’t know what to think of her. Considering she didn’t know what the hell she thought of him, she should find it comforting.
She threw the car into gear and pulled onto the street. It took twenty minutes to get out of Boston, and she kept expecting James to start his interrogation. To be perfectly honest, she would have told him damn near anything he wanted as long as he let her drive this thing. Behind the wheel she felt totally and completely in control, like she could do anything she set her mind to. The only downside was that it was too cold to roll down the windows and really feel how fast they were going.
The comfortable silence continued as she drove south, getting off 93 and working her way by memory through the smaller highways. It was only when she turned into the access road that led into World’s End park that James spoke. “Are you planning on taking me out here and murdering me?”
She laughed. “Just your virtue.”
“Thank fucking Christ for that.” But he didn’t immediately jump her when she put the car into park and turned off the engine.
The darkness felt more absolute here, as if they were the only two people left in the world. “This park used to scare me.” She wasn’t sure where the words came from, but she kept talking. “My family isn’t big on camping—as you can imagine—but my brothers dragged me out here when we were in high school. Nothing particularly traumatic happened, but being surrounded by trees with no noise from civilization still makes my skin crawl.”
“Totally makes sense why you brought us out here, then.”
She glanced at him, but the lack of light made his expression indecipherable. It was easier to talk to him this way, without those blue eyes that seemed to take in too much drilling into her. Strangely enough, a perverse part of her missed them all the same. “The stars seem brighter out here.” She opened her door and climbed into the night. The cold hit her hard enough to make her shiver, but there was something about it that was almost as cleansing as James’s kiss. She inhaled deeply, letting it scour away the last traces of her date.
James followed, meeting her at the front of the car and leaning on the hood. He tilted his head back, revealing a throat she wanted to nibble on. “They’re bright.” Without looking at her, he snagged her wrist and towed her closer. The warmth of the engine battled the cold that made her breath ghost in front of her. The circles he traced on the sensitive skin of her wrist only heated her further. “Now, lovely.”
She looked at the stars because they were easier to face than the man next to her. “My father gave me a list of men he decided were eligible. Tonight was my first date.” She shuddered at the memories pushing against her. It didn’t make any sense. Nothing particularly horrible had happened. She’d had unwanted men kiss her before, had been forced to pull similar moves, and it had never brought up the core-deep revulsion currently leaving an acrid taste in the back of her throat. She’d never lost it like she almost did tonight. Not once. “He got handsy. I was forced to defend myself, though Liam would have taken care of him if I hadn’t been able to.” But she’d needed to be the one to do it. She was so goddamn tired of being forced to rely on the men in her life for every little thing.