Rylee’s eyes grew big and round as her blush deepened. “Me?”
I winked and chuckled as I returned her hand to my thigh. “Yeah, Rylee. You.” Her expression shifted, appearing a little dubious before she glanced down, trying to hide it.
Before I could ask her why she didn’t believe me, she changed the subject and mumbled, “You said I could drive from the gas station?” Her voice was so hesitant, it came out like a question.
“Sorry, angel. Should’ve told you. I decided to drive while we’re in town in case we need to lose a tail.” I shifted into gear and headed out of the parking lot before adding, “Figured you’d be less likely to strip my gears on the open road too.”
Rylee huffed, and a quick glance at her face showed her frowning indignantly. “I can handle a stick,” she growled. It was cute as hell.
I gave her a heated look and a smirk. “I have no doubt you can handle my stick, angel.”
Her face turned pink again, and she opened her mouth to reply. Apparently, she’d been struck speechless because she snapped it shut and faced forward.
It took a lot of effort not to laugh, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I didn’t tease her any further. “What do you want to eat?” I asked instead.
She shrugged. “I like everything.”
I didn’t argue with her until she picked a place because I wanted to get on the road quickly. So I pulled into the next twenty-four-hour burger joint I saw and ordered. They brought the food out fast, and we were back on the road in less than fifteen minutes.
Rylee bit into her burger and exhaled with a little moan.
Shit. I shifted in my seat a few times, trying to find a comfortable position, but the steel rod in my jeans didn’t make it easy. When she made the same sound again, I bit back a groan.
Not in the fucking car, Rossi. She deserves better, I reminded myself several times.
I nearly sighed with relief when she polished off her burger, but then she started in on the fries, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat my meal.
“Are you going to eat?” she asked softly after a few minutes.
“Not really hungry...for food. I’ll eat later.”
In my peripheral vision, I saw her head tilt to the side and study me for a moment. My innocent little angel was probably trying to figure out why my words had been loaded with tension. “Um, okay.”
I cleared my throat and moved around again. Trying to take my mind off her gorgeous body and all the things I planned to eat off it eventually, I asked, “Were you headed to college before all this?” I wanted to know what I would be dealing with once I made it perfectly clear to her that I wasn’t letting her go.
“Yeah, I was,” she said, though her tone lacked all enthusiasm.
“To get away?” I speculated on a hunch.
After a few beats, she nodded. “I just graduated high school. I don’t exactly have any skills. College seemed like the only option.”
“What were you going to study?”
She shrugged as she stared out the window, watching the scenery as it turned into fields rather than stores and subdivisions. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
The town was well behind us now, so I downshifted and slowly pulled to the side of the road. “Your turn, angel.”
Her face lit up, and she scrambled out of the car, making me laugh.
Once we’d switched places and were firmly belted in, I started explaining, praying she’d take to it easily and not destroy my transmission. “That’s the clutch, that’s the brake. I put the car in neutral, so you can shift into first gear now. Good. Now take your foot off the brake. Okay, slowly ease off the clutch and apply pressure to the accelerator.”
Rylee followed my instructions beautifully, and I breathed a sigh of relief when she shifted into second gear without grinding or killing the car. “Now, shift gears as you gain speed. Around every fifteen—holy shit!”
I slammed back into my seat as Rylee hit the accelerator and took off like a bat out of hell. I started to yell for her to slow down, but she shifted gears smoothly as if she’d been doing it all her life. We hit a sharp bend in the road, and she maneuvered it with complete ease.
My jaw had dropped in shock, but the rest of me was on fire. Watching her handle my car with such finesse was hot as fuck. “Where did you learn to drive like this?”
Rylee threw me a beaming smile. “My dad taught me. He thought everyone should learn manual before automatic. Plus, I wanted to be able to drive the cars we fixed up.”
“Fixed up?” Arya had mentioned that Rylee liked classic cars and went to shows, but I hadn’t realized she’d helped build them.