Nicola made sure I didn’t even shift in my seat as we came to a smooth halt, despite the evident urgency of Mathew’s inaudible screams.
Mathew hurried to my door as soon as the automobile had stopped moving. He pried it apart with all his might and reached down to undo my seatbelt. His muscles stiffened with rage, yet his huge hands were kind on my waist as he helped me out of the vehicle and laid me down on my feet.
After I steadied myself, he didn’t stop touching me. My mind was racing and I could only gaze at him in silence as his hands moved swiftly over my body to inspect every crevice. His saber-toothed black gaze swept over my body, leaving crimson traces in their wake.
“Are you all right?” His voice whispered softly, matching the gentleness of his hands. Almost mesmerizing was the contrast between his softness and his violence.
I was startled out of my daze by the loud bang of Nicola’s vehicle door and quickly turned away from Mathew. His muscular arm rested over my shoulders, and his massive figure virtually wrapped about me like a protective shield, but my thoughts blanked again from shock.
“What the heck were you thinking?” he growled at Nicola.
I took a few steps back, but his huge arm tightened around me and held me there. I wasn’t being held very tightly.
Nicola came charging at us with his eyes like frozen chunks of blue ice. I “What the fuck, Matthew? Reverse your course of action. ”
Mathew’s square jaw hardened to stone as he stared down the guy I loved with an obsidian intensity.
I moved in his firm hold, uncomfortable. He paid no heed to my feeble attempt at defiance and instead focused his wrath only on Nicola.
,”Are you insane? You are aware of how risky that garbage is. You and Emily shouldn’t go drag racing. ”
Nicola stopped only feet from from us and rocked back as if he’d struck a wall. He took a deep breath through clinched teeth and restrained himself from yanking me out of his buddy’s embrace.
“I know what I’m doing,” Nicola fumed. “It’s no secret that I’ve got a lot of miles under my belt. Also, I’d never put Emily in danger. ”
I said, in a very little and high-pitched voice, “He didn’t take his eyes off the road for even a second.” I did not feel threatened in any way. For the most part, I was enjoying myself.
Nicola gave me an appreciative half-smile, and it appeared like his frigid hatred against his buddy had melted away when I quickly defended him.
When he focused again on Mathew, he slackened a little. I understand your frustration. I should have told you my plans before we went on that joyride.
I was fast to add on. “That’s not who we were…”
My voice drifted off, heat rising from my flushed cheeks. Because I was so focused on calming things down, I nearly told Mathew what Nicola had planned for us in the garage.
Nicola’s grin became wickedly twisted, but he maintained his concentration on his friend’s booming face. ” I’d never do anything to endanger Emily. Do you recognize that? ”
Before finally drawing in a weak breath, Mathew’s stone face remained impassive for a few more heartbeats. His ebony eyes met mine, deep black pits that might have swallowed me whole.
“Are you sure you’re OK, goddess? ” When he spoke, his voice once again had that heartbreakingly sensitive quality.
I gave him a confident nod in an effort to calm his fears.
After he heaved a deep breath of relief, his large hand ran up and down my arm once.
He stomped inside the home after announcing, “Lunch will be served in fifteen minutes.”
When Nicola’s warm hand reached across my back, I startled. ” I apologize for that, Honey. I should have known that not alerting Mathew about the race may cause him to go into a panic. His skewed grin sent shivers down my spine and into my toes. “Sometimes it’s hard to think clearly because of you.”
When I thought back to his careless disdain for the dings on his priceless automobile, I cringed. My mind had just wandered to the gleaming silver cape when he hooked his hand under my jaw and held my face fast. With his dazzling stare, he coerced me into giving him my undivided attention.
And we’ll finish damaging that paint job later, he vowed. “And if I hear even one word of complaint about scratching the automobile, if your gorgeous little body even tenses up with concern, I’ll make you suffer that much longer before I finally show pity.”
Like a caress on numbed skin, his ominous promise danced over me, teasing and exciting my senses. As he pinned me to the bonnet of the automobile, he reawakened the nearly excruciating need I’d had before.
He gave me a hasty, apologetic kiss on the lips and then walked away. “Later.” I don’t believe Mathew has the self-control to be around that automobile again on this day. If he came rushing back out here to rip me off, it would destroy the moment for both of us. ”
There was a furrow formed in my brow. Why Nicola was being so oddly tolerant of his friend’s domineering aggressiveness baffled me. “How upset could he possibly be, you ask? ”
Nicola’s eyes lost their lustful gleam, and a melancholy twist formed in his lips. When Matthew was seventeen years old, he was involved in a life-threatening accident. He was hospitalized for a week after wrapping his Ferrari around a tree. He’s never objected to my drag racing before, but I should have known he’d flip out when he saw you sitting next to me. When he gets serious like that, he scares you, but he was truly terrified. But just don’t tell him I said so.