Speed Demons (21 page)

“How come?”

“It should be obvious. You have to focus on your training. Driving, working out, mental training, the whole lot. You don’t need them complicating matters.” She gasped. “Or me. It could be dangerous.”

Evie grasped her arms and tugged her close enough for their upper bodies to press together. “You’re not going to bail on me out of some misconstrued idea that it’s the best thing for me?” Evie shook her gently. “Blythe?”

“No. No.” Combing her fingers through Evie’s hair, Blythe watched, mesmerized, how the fire danced in her eyes. “If anything, I knew when we left them out there that you need me to make sure they can’t get to you. I mean, literally.”

“That’s why you went all ninja.”

“Ninja. Really, Evie.” Blythe cupped her chin. “You’re not trying to tell me you’re into superheroes or something, are you?”

“Absolutely. Especially the less-obvious ones.” Evie pulled her closer again. “Kiss me?”

How could she refuse? She lowered her head and brushed Evie’s lips with her own. Several chaste kisses with closed lips. Eventually Evie squirmed, which made her smile against her mouth.

“Mmm. Evil,” Evie muttered. “Absolutely evil.”

“Think so?” She slipped her tongue between Evie’s lips. She kissed her with tenderness, but deep enough to make Evie moan.

“I know so.” Evie pushed her hands under Blythe’s T-shirt and caressed her back. “So soft.” She slid her hands up and down, barely touching, creating goose bumps in their wake.

“Apparently it’s contagious.” Blythe shuddered. It must be this feeling Evie had been trying to explain. Knowing that she was fully engaged on all cylinders, with every cell in her being, as well as every emotion, when Evie held her like this, made her both happy and worried. Happy, since she had long thought herself incapable of surrendering to another person while trusting them. Worried, because taking such chances was frightening, and she was drifting toward love, something she wasn’t prepared to acknowledge at all.

This didn’t keep her away from Evie’s lap. It didn’t make her stop Evie from shoving her hands into her pants and cupping her bottom. When Evie pushed her back onto the rug while dragging one of the large pillows under her head, she didn’t object. She didn’t prevent Evie from pulling their clothes off.

She wrapped her arms around Evie’s neck and her legs around her waist. No matter how much this scared her, and for whatever reason, she couldn’t say no to Evie.

Chapter Twenty

“Feels like we’re playing hooky today.” Evie winked at Blythe. “Isn’t that cool?”

“Not if you ask Ben.” Blythe refocused on her computer pad. “He wasn’t happy having to wait for that part, whatever it’s called.”

“It’s custom-made, and replacing it will take twenty-four hours. Maybe more. No wonder he’s unhappy. He hates wasting time. I’m going to put our day off to good use, though. We need to go shopping.”

“We?” Blythe’s head snapped back up. “What do you mean, we?”

“You don’t like shopping?”

“Groceries are one thing.”

“Groceries.” She made a face. “Yeah, well, not what I had in mind. I was thinking—outlet mall!”

Blythe looked dismayed. “Like a shopping mall? Clothes?”

“Well, yes. That and makeup, books, kitchenware, that sort of thing. Gadgets.”

“Gadgets?” Blythe perked up. “Like tech stuff?”

“Absolutely.” She jumped to her feet. “No fun shopping alone. You’ve got to come too.”

“Since you’re bribing me with tech stuff, all right.”

Blythe shrugged, but Evie knew her exasperation was facetious. She had an expression of indulgence and looked so affectionate, Evie wrapped her arms around Blythe’s neck.

“You’re such an adorable fake,” she said, smiling widely. “You try to sound like I’m insufferable, but you’re pretty crazy ’bout me, aren’t you?”

“No clue what you mean.” Blythe lowered her eyelids and managed a rather good haughty look.

“No? You don’t think I’m cute?”

“Not in the least. You’re a pain. A shopaholic pain in the a—ow!”

She smacked Blythe’s bottom just hard enough to make a point. Laughing, she tried to avoid Blythe’s lethal tickle fingers. “God, I don’t know how anyone can have such strong fingers, especially since you have the smallest hands I’ve ever seen.”

“They come in very
handy.
” Blythe tickled her stomach, moving her hands in circles.

“Now, that’s a lame play on words if I ever heard one.” Evie jumped back, out of reach. “Let’s get ready, tickle-meister.”

Blythe stepped closer, but this time, her hands slipped around Evie’s waist and held her close. Looking into her eyes, Blythe squinted, as if searching for something. She could only smile, since Blythe’s expression was so typical of her. Inquisitive, careful, and so damn endearing. She knew better than to even
think
of Blythe as cute, since that had to feel condescending if you were petite like she was. But she did find Blythe adorable, with the best connotation possible intended.
As in “being adored.”
That couldn’t be bad.

Blythe rose on her toes and kissed her quickly. “All right, my shop-loving girl. Let’s go.”

Laughing, and feeling almost giddy, Evie returned to the bedroom to change. It was true. She did love to shop.

*

Blythe found that shopping with Evie was as close to having an out-of-body experience as she’d ever been. The range of emotions Evie displayed would have satisfied any social anthropologist, and it turned out to be surprisingly good camera fodder. To not attract attention she had brought her smallest point-and-shoot camera. This made her work inconspicuous and didn’t alert anyone to Evie’s identity. Also, not all stores permitted photo shoots.

“Oh, look.” Evie held up a pastel pink cardigan. “My color, right?”

“Um. Pink?” She groaned inwardly, but Evie’s bright eyes were irresistible. “Okay. Put it on.”

Evie tried on the cardigan and tied the belt. It was actually a great color against her dark hair.

“Very pretty. It suits you.”

“Yeah?” Smiling broadly enough to light up the whole store, Evie placed the cardigan in her basket. “This comes home with mama.”

“God.” Muttering under her breath, she mustered some more patience.

“Don’t look so long-suffering,” Evie said, and winked. “The next store, just around the corner, is your kind of thing. A tech-geek place.”

“Tech is good. But geek?” Deliberately raising an eyebrow, she pursed her lips. “Really.”

“Brookstone.”

Blythe wasn’t about to confess that Brookstone was one of her favorite guilty pleasures, but when Evie winked at her she guessed her expression gave her away.

“It’s okay to be excited.” Evie signed the credit-card slip and received her bag from the salesclerk. “Thanks.”

“I am. I’m very excited. Close to exuberant.” She strode out of the store and into Brookstone. Soon she’d lost herself among the gadgets and only realized that time had passed when Evie cleared her throat and tapped her on the shoulder.

“I hate to cut this shopping spree short, but I’m hungry. My stomach’s saying food court.”

“Hmm?” She looked up from the Bluetooth speaker she was examining. “Court? What court?”

“
Food
court. God, woman. You sure have a one-track mind. I’ve never seen anyone focus the way you do. Except perhaps last night.”

“What?” Scandalized, she jerked her head up. “Are you crazy?” She scanned the immediate aisle. Nobody seemed to pay any attention.

“No. Hungry. As in starving.” Evie tapped her foot and peered into her basket. “You getting all that? I’m impressed.”

“No. This is my second basket.” She shrugged, trying to sound casual. “And yes, yes, I know. Calling the kettle black and all that.” She marched over to the cash register. As she paid for her items, she kept an eye on Evie, who stood waiting by the entrance with one hip pushed out, thumbs hooked in the waistband of her chinos, the mandatory baseball cap pulled down to her eyebrows. She wasn’t wearing sunglasses indoors, but she wasn’t easy to recognize like this anyway.

“Oh, goodie. I’m thinking Thai food,” Evie said, and linked an arm with hers when they exited the store. “God, can you manage? That looks heavy.”

“I’m fine. Thai? Yes, that sounds great. Love Asian food.”

“Great.”

She couldn’t stop looking at Evie. Happiness bubbled like expensive champagne under her skin. Today looked like it would be great.

*

Evie gazed at Blythe as she finished the last of her food. She might be overstepping boundaries, but she had to ask. If Blythe insisted on being in her corner, facing off with her family, then she ought to do the same thing.

“Does your family still live in Myrtle Beach?”

Blythe dropped her fork. “What? Oh. As far as I know. My parents, anyway. I’ve sent my yearly ‘I’m alive and well’ note to the PO box they’ve had forever.”

“Do you ever hear anything back?”

“No. I haven’t shared my address or my own PO box. In the beginning I just didn’t want to, and now what would be the point?”

“Um. Closure?”

“For whom? Me?” Blythe folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t need it. What happened…happened.”

“Still, Blythe. Wouldn’t you want to see your siblings? You may have nieces or nephews, even.”

A flicker of something painful darted over Blythe’s features, forceful enough to hit her like a fist. “Any particular reason you bring this up when we’re in a public setting, conveniently just outside Myrtle Beach?” Blythe glared at her with narrow eyes.

“No. I mean, perhaps that’s why I thought of it, since we’re here. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Of course not. Bringing up the fact that I’m estranged from my family, who just happen to live minutes from here, while we’re on this shopping spree that came on just like that. Do you think I can’t see straight through your ploy, Evie?” Blythe’s voice was low and soft, but the way her words came out between clenched teeth showed what a mistake this was.

“I’m sorry. Just forget it, okay?” she pleaded. “I was only trying to help.”

“Commendable, but in this case, redundant. Just leave my past alone. It’ll make life much easier for both of us.”

“So that’s how you feel when it’s about you, huh?” Becoming angry, she placed both elbows on the table and leaned closer. “When it’s about you and yours, I’m supposed to clam up like a good little girl because I don’t understand shit, do I? You, on the other hand, take the opportunity to make that abundantly clear when it’s about me. When my well-being is on the line, you step in, and I, like some grateful fool, take that as a sign of…of
caring
and just as stupidly assume that you’ll see it the same way.” Dismayed at how her lips trembled, Evie pressed them hard together and stopped talking.

Blythe had paled but still had her arms folded as a shield between them. “You’re good at manipulating, aren’t you?” Blythe gasped quietly. “You turn it all around, make it about you, and try sending me on some guilt trip. It’s not working, so knock it off. We’re not talking about my parents, or my siblings, anymore. And we’re not going to look them up and seek some sort of closure. I want to go back now.” She stood and grabbed her bags. “You coming, or should I arrange for some other transportation?”

“I’m coming.” She stood, her movements jerky as she took her bags and walked toward the parking lot. She racked her brain, trying to figure out where it all went wrong. Sometimes talking with Blythe was like navigating a minefield, but she refused to give up. She might not be able to convince Blythe to see her family, but they had to get to the bottom of this. If Blythe was going to react this way whenever Evie approached something she considered off topic, they’d never have a chance to…to find any kind of future.

She stopped walking, staring up at the sky. Blue and not a cloud as far as she could see. Around her, she heard traffic and distant voices from other people going to and from the shopping mall. Life, happening all around her. Her head ached a little and she became dizzy for a few seconds.

“Evie? What’s wrong?” Blythe still sounded slightly standoffish, but there was concern in her voice.

“I’m good. Okay. I’m okay.”

“You sound strange.”

“No. I mean it. I’m fine.”

“Now you’re scaring me. Let me drive, all right?” Blythe plucked the car key from her hand and she let her. If Blythe wanted to drive, so be it. God knew she drove enough on the racetrack for the most part.

She gazed up at the sky and knew she’d never forget this fantastic blue nuance or the mundane sounds of the shopping-mall parking lot. After all, this was the exact moment when she’d realized she’d fallen in love with the infuriatingly impossible Blythe Pierce.

Chapter Twenty-one

Blythe kept her distance after the drive back to the beach house. She spent the first hours on the deck, writing longhand notes in her journal. Needing space, she was grateful, and strangely heartbroken, that Evie stayed in the living room with her laptop. Evie was clearly furious. Probably hurt too, but she didn’t realize, couldn’t
know
just how things were. It wasn’t possible to go home.

If it had only been about her, about the way she’d suffered as a kid, then perhaps. But her brother had been hurt, and her parents had blamed her one time too many. She had thought she’d come to terms with it, put it behind her, but being here, with familiar views, scents, and even the local accent, brought everything back. Damn it. It was like the twenty-four years had vanished and she was as skinless as she was back then.

“Ridiculous,” she muttered to herself as she nearly pierced the paper with her pen. She wasn’t that ghost of a kid anymore. A lot had happened since then, and she had been to hell and back on her assignments, but that didn’t seem to matter right now. Clearly all the things that transpired when she was eighteen were still unresolved and simmering just under the surface. She always took care of all the pain by pushing it back so hard it hid in whatever foxhole in her soul it might fit. If she shoved hard enough, it might not reappear anytime soon.