No matter what Nicola said, the idea of further depreciating the rare automobile was ridiculous. Undoubtedly, he would come to deeply regret this decision.
He turned his head to stare at me, his intense eyes following the contours of my drawn face. After a few tense seconds, he nodded at me firmly.
“Let me take care of things.”
When he stood up quickly, a blast of icy air hit my skin and drove a wedge between our warm bodies. To be honest, I just looked at him for a second, completely taken aback by his surrender. My uncompromising boyfriend surprised me by backing off when I was expecting him to entice me forcefully.
Before he could alter his mind, I hurriedly pulled off the hood, trembling at the cold that touched my scorching skin.
Nicola instantly encircled me with a corded arm and ran a calloused touch over my rough skin. I embraced him, needing his strength and comfort.
“We’re just going for a little spin around,” he said as he ushered me into the passenger seat. “Once we get your blood flowing, you won’t be able to think about anything except satisfying me,” he said.
The soft words wrapped around me, comforting me but also warning me. Before he brought me to the estate, Nicola was already a demanding bed partner, but now things have become much racier between us. But a shadow had fallen over him, one that made me fearful even as it lured me.
His hands lingered around me as he gestured for me to settle onto the white leather chair. He fastened the safety belt around my shoulders and across my waist. After he made sure I was properly fastened, he fisted the belt firmly at my shoulder and side. The feeling of the tight constraints was both exhilarating and, oddly enough, comfortable, and my head sank back with a groan. In his silence, Nicola reminded me that he had not given up control of my body even if he had temporarily put a hold on his most evil plans for me.
His brilliant blue eyes mesmerized me. His mesmerizing gaze blazed with a mixture of amazement and intense possessiveness, and my breath stuttering as his power fully overpowered mine.
By the time he drew away, I was trembling so badly that he must have been pleased. He locked the door and stalked around the vehicle with predatory ease, eventually making his way to the wall where hundreds of keys were arranged in precise rows. He went to get the keys he needed, came back, and pressed a button on the keychain as he slipped into the driver’s seat.
When the massive garage doors finally opened, the noon sun gleamed off the silver paint. Seeing the teeny-tiny scrapes on the hood made me grimace, but Nicola quickly diverted my focus. He gave the vehicle a good rev, and it hissed like a caged animal frustrated with its confinement. The vehicle shook almost violently from the intensity of the rumbling, and the vibration traveled persistently through my body.
His gleeful smile pierced my heart and left me gasping for air.
I shifted uneasily in my chair, and his low laugh heightened the churning in my pelvis. Even though he wasn’t physically touching me, he was still able to keep me under his control by playing with me.
The gas pedal was already down when he saw me looking at him with my mouth slightly ajar. The squealing of the tires on the road drowned out my startled scream, and the beast rushed ahead, leaving my stomach behind by just a few seconds.
The unexpected acceleration was beyond unsettling; my head was spinning. My fingers clinched around the leather seat sides as I frantically searched for anything to hold onto.
Nicola’s hearty chuckle echoed through the automobile, filling the tight quarters with a wave of pure, unadulterated excitement that could be heard over the noise of the motor.
I tore my attention away from the whirlwind of foliage outside and concentrated on him. He radiated an even brighter version of the enthusiastic energy that had been radiating from him in the garage. As he drove down the long, straight driveway, his eyes were set there with the assurance that only expertise can provide. When he laughed now, it was a sound of almost childish delight rather than the evil enjoyment he had been laughing at before. I found myself transfixed by his radiant expression of joy as I studied his lovely face.
It was in my arms that I saw Nicola’s simultaneous calm satisfaction and sinister delight. But now he was opening up his heart to me and letting me glimpse its pristine depths. His uninhibited happiness made me feel warm and fuzzy all the way to my toes, and his humor carried me away with its buoyancy.
His goofy smile widened, but he continued to focus on the road front of us. My sensation of security enfolded me, despite the fact that I was travelling so quickly that I dared not look at the speedometer. Nicola would never take his eyes off of me for more than an instant.
“Hold on tight, Honey. ”
Not giving me time to answer, he jerked the rosewood wheel to the left. As the car’s rear end swung out at the sharp curve, I shrieked along with the tires.
My scream turned into a pleased chuckle that Nicola and I shared as he leaned into the turn and guided us past the massive fountain in the middle of the circular driveway in front of the home.
The air was thick with the noxious smoke of exploding rubber tires, yet I was startled by a movement to the right of the racing automobile. I could just about make out Mathew’s huge figure as he stomped out of the home through the murky mist. He made a yelling motion with his lips and raised his hefty arms over his head. The boom of the engine drowned out his voice, but the tense tilt of his dark brows and the flexing of his muscles made it plain that he was angry.