Allison flipped on a map light and searched for the jewel case. “Gone in Sixty Seconds, eh?”
“Every mechanic in the country must have a copy of that CD. Best car-boosting movie ever made, and best soundtrack.”
She flipped open the case and handed the disk to him. “So you’re not just a C & W junkie?”
“I played Steppenwolf driving out here, didn’t I?”
Allison smiled wistfully. “My aunt Tessa got me hooked on his music when I was little. She was really into the whole Easy Rider, ‘Born to be Wild’ scene.”
“So is her niece,” he quipped.
“Whatever. Anyway, Aunt Tessa always played counterculture music when we were out cruising in her vintage Mustang.”
“Sounds like a cool aunt.” He slipped the CD into the drive.
“Yeah. A lot cooler than her brother—my father. Everyone thinks I inherited my rebellious streak from her.” She gestured toward the CD player. “Hell, my parents would have matching purple cows if they knew I was listening to DMX and Ice Cube.”
He grinned and busied himself adjusting the volume. A silence stretched between them as The Cult began to wail, “Painted on my Heart.” Allison groaned. She’d forgotten that track started out the CD—and it was probably the most torrid love song in Allison’s entire collection. Her audio system was first rate, too. The throbbing lament filled the car’s interior, pulsing with raw power and sexual energy. She squirmed in her seat.
Was the wanton ballad getting to Pete as much as it was to her? She glanced at him covertly. His gaze was fixed on the road, and Allison couldn’t be sure just what he was feeling. But suddenly she just had to touch him; experimentally, she reached out and settled her hand on his warm thigh.
He made a guttural sound, then abruptly pulled the car off the highway, bringing it to a stop in front of a closed gas station, and flipping off the engine.
Startled, she drew back her fingers. “Is something wrong?”
He turned to her, his gaze searing hers in the reflected neon light. His rough fingers reached out to caress her soft cheek. “No, sugar, I’d say something is very right.”
Allison died a little then. For even the steamy music couldn’t match the fervor of the look passing between her and Pete at that moment. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take, wanting him so badly and having him at arm’s length this way. The carnal song only intensified the longing between them, screaming out of dark, secret places, and sweaty bodies locked in passion.
Could he hear her own feelings throbbing on the wavelengths?
Apparently he could as his gaze darkened, smoldered. “Come here,” he rasped.
He didn’t have to beg her. Allison thrust herself into his arms across the console, felt his strength and heat enveloping her. His sigh of yearning mingled with her own. Then he leaned over, his fevered lips teasing her, lingering over her brow, hovering on her cheek, until she thought she would scream if he didn’t kiss her. At last he did—their mouths colliding in scorching need, his tongue slashing deeply inside her mouth.
Allison whimpered and clung to him, seeking his own mouth with her tongue. Oh, he could kiss—kiss as if he were climbing inside her. She was reeling and would have melted away to the floorboards had he not held her. As if he sensed her weakness, he molded her breasts more snugly against him. She moaned and opened her mouth wider, inviting his unabashed possession. Her nipples ached pleasurably against his crushing chest, and when he drew her hand to his crotch she did not flinch, even as the hardness and heat of his sex pressed against her fingertips sent desire shooting inside her, strong and deep. She was trembling, sorely tempted to crawl over the console and take him.
At last the song ended and they moved apart, both slightly dazed. Allison regarded Pete shyly, a bit warily, not really believing the powerful emotions that had just surged between them. She’d known he was sexy, had suspected he’d be a great kisser. She hadn’t expected the intimacy to leave her feeling so shaken, so stripped of all her defenses. That scared her.
The next cut began with more verve and playfulness, yet still Allison remained jolted, her heart pounding in the silvery darkness.
“You okay?” he asked tenderly.
“Sure.” She managed a dry laugh. “You definitely woke me up, cowboy. Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve stopped off to neck with a boyfriend.”
“Am I your boyfriend, Allie?” he inquired softly.
She dared not answer, for at the moment he seemed so much more. They’d started out the evening as strangers, but now she felt as if she’d known him for ages.
He reached across the console to clutch her fingers. A massive groan shook him. “I never thought I’d curse a car with bucket seats. Wanna come straddle me, baby?”
“Here? Are you crazy?” Allison was as aroused as she was scandalized.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Hell, the back seat looks pretty inviting—and dark.”
“Not on your life!” Allison stated the words emphatically, though her voice quivered.
He chuckled. “Well, I can tell I’ve got a bit more taming to do.” He patted her hand, then turned to start the engine. “Go back to sleep, sweetheart. You’re gonna need all your energy once I get you home.”
Allison knew the conceited devil deserved another dressing down, but, damn it all, he was too charming and sexy for her own good. She gave herself over to the mood of playful sensuality. She lay back, relaxed, listened to the erotic music, and finally drifted off again…but this time, with drenching dreams of him.
“Nice digs you got here, sugar.”
An hour later, at Allison’s high-rise apartment overlooking Houston’s posh Magic Circle area, Pete stood across from her next to a sheer glass wall, admiring the sea of skyscrapers with their sparkling lights, and flaunting his gorgeous backside to her—the muscled shoulders and back, the tight butt, the long legs. At the bar in her adjacent kitchen, she restrained a moan. Everything about this man oozed virility; he filled a room with his energy. Memories of the incredible kiss they’d shared set her nipples to tingling and warmed her inside her belly.
Though she had dozed off again on the drive home, she was wide-awake now, riveted by the sight of Pete in her space, imagining him in her space. “Thanks,” she managed to say.
“You must rake in the dough with whatever you sell.”
“Pharmaceuticals.”
“Hah!” He wagged a long finger at her. “You bust my chops for being a lowly mechanic, when you’re a drug pusher, sugar.”
“Hey, watch the lip,” she scolded. “And I’m hardly a millionaire. This apartment may be well appointed, but it’s also small.” She gestured at her diminutive but elegant living room with its posh white carpet, matching couches and chic accessories. “Anyway, it’s worth it to me to live only five minutes away from my job—and this was especially true when I didn’t have a car I could depend on.”
His jaw came up in pride. “Now you do.”
“Right,” she acknowledged. “I’ll admit you know your stuff, cowboy. The engine didn’t act up the whole time we were out.”
“Sometimes, it just takes—”
“I know,” she interjected, too quickly. “Lube, snake oil and a little TLC.”
He stepped toward her, lowering his voice a notch. “I was about to say, it takes the right touch to tame a stubborn creature.”
Allison was not about to comment on Pete’s latest, loaded repartee. Turning to flip open the liquor cabinet, she muttered,