“I’m sorry, what?” She had said something to him.
“I said what kind of car is it?” Shannon grinned, a smile that made his heart melt.
“It’s a Datsun 280z,” he said. “I asked the guy at the rental place to give it to me just for tonight.”
“It looks like an old racing car or something.” Shannon twisted in her seat, showing more than a hint of her cl**vage. She was breathtaking.
Julian slid into the seat next to her. The leather seats smelled warm and inviting, the steering wheel oversized under the palms of his hands.
“This was the kind of car my dad had when I was a kid.” Julian breathed deeply, running one hand along the dash. “Of course, ours was a junker. He bought it for three hundred dollars and was always trying to get it to run.”
“Did you help out?”
“Yeah, that’s how I learned about cars. Hell, if I hadn’t joined Wilder Side, I would probably have become a mechanic. We must have replaced every piece of that car, twice!”
Shannon laughed as Julian continued. His mind drifted back to the past.
“I was ten years old or so, and he would bring me with him to the junkyards to find the scrap parts. It was so fun, like a scavenger hunt. I remember he would always examine the pieces I brought to him, even if they were completely rusted out and junky, even if they were the completely wrong part. He’d tell me what was wrong about them and I’d go running off to look for more. The junkyards were just filled with acres and acres of scrap cars, and I’d go climbing around on the old piles of junk looking for that one perfect piece that would make the car work.”
“Sounds like an adventure.”
“It was.” Julian sighed. “It was.” He reached down and turned the key in the ignition. The Datsun’s motor roared to life, then backed down to a murmur. He pushed down on the clutch and shifted into neutral, revving the car to hear the engine purr.
“So did you ever finish it?”
Julian paused. There was a lump in his throat. Even now, even after so long.
“No,” he said. “My dad died before we were done.”
“I’m sorry,” Shannon said softly. She put her hand over his.
“His fault,” Julian said. His voice turned bitter. “Had too many drinks and headed home from the bar late one night. Crashed his truck into a ditch. My mom opened the door, took one look at the sheriff’s car outside and knew what had happened.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“We had to sell the car after that, sell it for parts.” Julian said. He looked down. His hand was clutching at the gearshift so tightly that his fingers were white. “Only got half as much for it, after all that work.”
He looked up at Shannon and found that there were tears in her eyes.
“I’ll never do that,” he said. He turned his hand over underneath hers, entwining their fingers together. “I promise.”
Shannon just nodded. Julian let out a deep breath. He was surprised to find that there were tears rising in his eyes, too. He stared out the windshield and blinked hard.
“Hell,” Julian said. His voice was shaky. “I didn’t mean to start this off so bad.”
“It’s not bad,” Shannon said. “I’m glad you told me.”
“You still want to go to dinner with me?” Julian said, trying to smile.
Shannon leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. Her hand squeezed his arm, and he felt something inside of him break loose, fall away. He felt as though the world looked a bit brighter, even with the sun setting.
“Of course,” she whispered.
“Good,” he said. He shifted into first gear and revved the engine. “I wouldn’t want to make you get all dressed up for nothing.”
They drove off into the evening. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, and the sky was still dusky with the faint promises of tomorrow’s light. Julian turned off of the main freeway onto a small county road.
“Where on earth are you taking me?” Shannon asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
Shannon peered out of the window. The first stars were beginning to be visible in the east, but rising up in front of them were the looming shadows of the mountains.
“I think you’re taking me out into the middle of the nowhere,” Shannon said.
“That’s right.” Julian grinned. He had planned everything out perfectly. At least, he thought he had. He looked at the dashboard clock. They still had over a half hour. Perfect.
“I think you’re secretly a serial killer,” she said. “And you just use your charms to lure your victims into a false sense of security.”
“You are absolutely correct, my dear,” Julian said. He dropped into a lower gear as they wove through the first mountain curve. The road grew steeper and the engine made the whole car shiver with tension.
“You’re going to bring me out to the forest where there’s nobody else around.”
“Yep.”
“And I think you’re going to take me up the side of the mountain push me off of a cliff.” Shannon’s eyes sparked with imagination. Julian wanted to lean over and kiss her, but he was focused on maneuvering around the hairpin turns.
“Not at all,” Julian said. “I’m going to chop you up and feed you to a mountain lion.”
“Oh,” Shannon said, crossing her arms. “In that case, carry on.”
“Thank you for being so obliging.”
“Of course. You know what this means, though?”
Julian darted a quick glance over towards the passenger seat. Shannon was leaning her face against the window, looking down at the mountainside below.
“What does this mean?”
“Well, if you kidnap me away to the mountain and kill me and serve my chopped-up corpse to mountain lions, you’ll REALLY owe me big time.”
Julian cracked a wide grin.
“I promised I’d make it up to you,” he said. “So don’t worry about a thing.”
“All I know is this had better be a hell of a dinner date. I was expecting, like, a sunset sail or something.”
“A sunset sail?”
“Yeah, like, on a sailboat. I’ve never been on a sailboat before.”
“I’m so sorry to disappoint you, but we’re not going sailing.”
“I figured that out once we started up the mountain,” Shannon said. “Unless you have a crazy mountain sailboat or something.”
Julian laughed. “No mountain sailboats, I’m afraid.”
“I am SO disappointed.” Shannon giggled.
Ten minutes later they were almost up the mountain, and Julian recognized the turnout. He pulled the car over to the edge of the mountain, the tires spinning gravel underneath the body of the sleek car. In first gear the Datsun rolled slowly over, and Julian positioned the car near the ledge overlooking the city. He pulled up the emergency brake and turned off the engine.
“I don’t suppose you have a picnic lunch in the trunk,” Shannon said.
“You are one saucy lady.” Julian leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “No, we’re early. I thought you might like to see the view.”
He jumped out of the car and slid over the hood, action-hero style. Tonight had made him feel young again, more adventurous. He opened Shannon’s door for her and gestured gallantly towards the view, holding out his other hand for her to take.
She let him escort her out of the car, and when she saw the view below she gasped.
“Oh Julian,” she said. He came over to stand behind her and slid his arms around the front of her waist, holding her close. Her gorgeous red hair smelled like a flowers. Jasmine, maybe.
The city lights stretched out before them, a valley of white and colored gems shining through the darkness.
“Do you like it?” he said.
“It’s just beautiful.”
He held her close to his chest, feeling her breathe under his embrace. She was so lovely. He had never met a girl like her - someone who could make him fall over with laughter one minute and then take his breath away the next.
It had been a while, he didn’t know how long, since he had been sober for any length of time. This past day had been excruciating. Every second seemed like a minute, every minute seemed like an hour. Especially when he had to sit in the back of the tour bus and trade stories with Asher. At times like that he just wanted to reach for the bottle.
But now that he was here with Shannon, he didn’t want to drink. Well, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to - the nagging demon sitting on his shoulder never shut up until he was buzzed. It was just that his desire for Shannon was so much more important that it made all of his other desires seem puny, insignificant. With her, he could forget the darkness that always seemed to be creeping up on him.
She shivered under his arms, and he squeezed her tightly.
“Cold?”
“Maybe just a little.” She turned in his arms and tilted her head back expectantly. “I’ll take some of that repayment now, if you don’t mind.”
Julian didn’t mind at all.
The coolness of the air evaporated as soon as his lips touched hers. He felt himself growing hard against her, and rather than shy away she leaned into his body, showing him her desire.
He kissed her hard, wanting her to feel his own longing, to see how much he needed her. It was a shock to him when he felt her hand between his legs, touching his hardness with her beautiful fingers. Lord, he wanted to suck on those fingers. He pulled back a bit and saw that she was smiling shyly.
“Naughty girl,” Julian said, his mouth curving into a grin. “I like it.”
“I’m not nearly as naughty as you,” Shannon said. “Waiting a week to call and then showing up unannounced on my doorstep.”
She drew a line down his chest with her finger and stopped just above his belt, her fingertip teasing him with the lightest touch. God, he felt as though he would explode if she continued to touch him that way.
He pulled her over to the car, kissing her all the way. Her skin was so soft and smooth, like satin. He couldn’t wait to hold her underneath him. He brought his hands around her backside, cupping her ass cheeks. They filled his hands, taut and delicious, and he could not stop himself from giving them a firm squeeze.
“See? Naughty, naughty.” Her voice made Julian tense with desire. He pushed her back onto the hood of the car, placing one hand on either side of her.
“I told you I would repay you,” Julian said.
“Mmmm, warm,” Shannon murmured, letting herself relax against the heated metal. The car’s engine had warmed up the hood considerably, and Shannon’s body writhed against the surface. Her sinuous curves were too much for Julian to bear, and he almost came when she reached up with one hand and touched the front of his pants.
Grabbing her wrists and pinning them above her head, he leaned forward to kiss her.
“You’re as beautiful as a pinup model,” Julian said, his lips grazing her cheek. “And twice as sassy.”
“You love it,” Shannon said. Her legs came up around him and pulled him tight against her. He had to fight himself to keep from thrusting against her through the fabric. It was impossible. He hadn’t been this hard in years, not since he was a horny teenager. The surge in his libido frightened him at the same time as it excited him.