STOLEN SMILE

CATERINA

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

-Leonardo da Vinci

†*****†

I HATED HER CAR, HOW it was infinitely her. How I was suffocated in her space in a way I couldn't find unpleasant.

I hated her car.

But I loved how she drove it.

How her hand fit the wheel, how she sat in the driver's seat with an unpretentious confidence, and how she always drove the speed limit as if to maintain that gentlemanly façade.

It reminded me of the soft sound of fabric hitting the floor, the scrape of teeth on the nape of my neck, the tug of my hair.

My pulse drifted between my thighs, and I pressed my legs together.

I wasn't usually a betting girl, but I would put all of my papà's ill-gotten gains on the idea that this woman fucked just like she drove. With complete control and confidence.

Jenn remained silent as we drove uptown, streetlights flickering and fading across an unreadable expression. Earlier, she'd picked the simple vase and said, "Less is more," and I had to agree with her.

After that, she'd hardly said a word to me. During her silence, I realized I liked her voice. I wanted to know what she would say. There were whole sentences in that head just waiting to be drawled, and I wanted every one of them. I couldn't and wouldn't analyze why.

The quiet, the pressure between my legs, they started to build until I had to break the tension.

"How fast does this thing go?" I asked.

Her head tilted to the side, catching my gaze. She held it for a moment before turning back to the road. "Fast."

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to think of how to respond. What I came up with was, "How fast?"

She didn't glance at me, but a small smile appeared.

"Show me." It escaped my lips on a breath, quiet and suggestive.

"No."

I raised a brow. "Why? Are you scared?"

She flicked a gaze to me. Darkness glinted behind an ounce of amusement. "Scared and reckless are two different things."

I didn't know why considering it didn't help my case, but it was a relief she'd said that. I had a rash brother—I didn't want a similar wife. However, I wasn't ready to give up yet; her attention had sparked a thrill inside of me.

"Are you saying you've never shown off with a woman in the car before?"

"That's not what I said."

"So, you have?"

"When I was sixteen, probably."

That was a long time ago, yet I couldn't stop a sliver of envy from finding its way to me. What girl was important enough to her that she'd shown off to impress her? I shook it off. "I'm marrying a Melgren. Don't you think I should know what it's like before it's too late?"

The glance she cast my way was nothing but heat. "It's already too late."

My pulse fluttered, but I forced a sigh. "It's okay. If you're scared—"

She shook her head before the car accelerated so fast I fell against my seat. A laugh escaped my lips, yet her only response was a look in my direction, a spark passing through her eyes. I watched the odometer hit 90....100....110.