But holy shit. Everything on me was warm. Hot. My blood raced, and my arms felt strong enough to make me fly.
I turned up the music, found the window buttons on the door, and rolled down the window, the much-needed cool air whipping through my hair as the music pounded.
I turned my head toward him, his breath on the corner of my mouth. “Can we go faster?”
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t budge other than to press the clutch, shift gears, and punch the gas.
We charged down the road, and I was having so much fun now. But I wasn’t the one who was losing control. My pulse and breathing had calmed. His, on the other hand…
I felt his chest rise and fall against my back as his breath hit my cheek, shallow and labored.
I curled my lips in a little smile. My turn.
“Tell me when,” I said.
“When what?”
“I want to turn again.”
I felt his head shake side to side. “We’re going too fast for that now, Little Devil.”
I held onto the wheel and lifted up my foot, putting it on top of his and pressing it into the pedal, so he didn’t let off the gas. “Please?”
His voice shook. “Winter...”
I nudged the steering wheel side to side, playing. “Left or right? You choose or I will.”
He breathed hard through his teeth, gripping my hips with both hands now. “No.”
“I’m gonna do it.”
“No,” he growled in a loud whisper. “You do what you’re told.”
I jammed down on his foot, accelerating the car a little more.
“Left or right?” I asked, my nose brushing his. “Tell me.”
&
nbsp; He panted, digging his fingers into my skin through my sweatshirt.
“Three,” I threatened, counting down. “Two…”
“Okay, okay, okay,” he said. “Wait. Just wait.”
I leaned my forehead into his. “One.”
“Okay, three o’clock! Now!” he hissed.
I faced forward, rotated the wheel right, both of us slamming into the door as the car sprung over the dips and uneven earth on the new gravel road.
“No, four!” he shouted, realizing three wasn’t enough. “Four o’clock! Shit!”
I turned it more, but we knew it was a lost cause. I lost the wheel as the car skidded and spun out, and my body coiled up on reflex to protect itself. His arms went around me, covering my head, and I screamed as the car tipped onto one side, balancing for a moment and threatening to flip over, but then fell back onto all four tires again.
The car stilled, the engine died, and I stayed like that, cradled in his lap, taking a mental inventory of my body.
Other than banging my knee on the steering wheel when I brought it up, and an ache in my shoulder from hitting the car door, I was fine. I popped my head up, bringing my hands to his face.