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She shook her head. “I feel so stupid. I was so caught up in the excitement that I didn’t even realize you’d been shifting gears.”

“Well, then, it looks like you’re in for a driving lesson.” He closed the door and went around to the passenger seat. “Do you know the mechanics of driving a manual transmission?”

“Sure. Push the clutch, shift, use my right foot for the gas.”

His lips quirked up in that sexy way he had. “Awesome. Go for it.”

“Wait. What? Can’t I ruin the clutch or something? I’ve seriously never done this before, and this car must have cost a small fortune.”

“Darlin’, I have a small fortune, and you’re not going to ruin the clutch. Let’s give it a try.”

“I like when you call medarlin’,” she admitted, trying to distract herself from being nervous.

“That’s good, because I like calling youdarlin’.” His eyes darkened.

“Do you call all your women that?”Oh shit. Word vomit…Her nerves definitely had the best of her.

He shifted his eyes away, and when he turned back, they were serious. “It’s not like I have a harem of women that I keep around for the hell of it.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry. I’m just nervous and not thinking before I speak.”

“Kat, I’ve been with plenty of women, and I have no idea what I did or didn’t call them, but I can tell you that I’ve never felt with anyone what I feel when I’m with you.Darlin’comesnaturally when I’m with you, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I can call you something else.”

Now she felt stupid for asking. “I’m sorry. Please don’t change. I do truly love it when you call me that. It makes me go all gooey inside. It was a silly question.”

“Gooey, huh? Why does that turn me on?” He leaned across the console. “It wasn’t a silly question at all. It was real, and I like real. Believe me. I have a million questions I want to ask about the men you’ve been with, but the answers would only torture me, so I’m pretending you’ve never been with another man, and for now, that’s working mighty well.”

She laughed. “I’ll try that.”

He tipped her chin up again with his finger—she loved when he did that because he was giving her his full attention, and she knew he wanted her to give him hers, which meant that whatever he was going to say was important. “You just continue being yourself. I’ll answer all of your questions honestly.” He kissed her softly, then settled back into the passenger seat.

“Any more questions before we get started?”

“Just one.” She paused for a moment before asking, afraid of how the answer might feel. “Have you ever done this before for a woman? Taken her to the track after it was closed and let her drive your car?”

His intense gaze never wavered from hers. “Not once. I’ve never let a woman drive any of my cars. Hell, I’ve never let anyone but my team drive them.”

“Then why me?”

He stared at her for a long moment, and when he finally spoke, he began with a knitting of his brows and a smile. “I told you there was something about you that makes me want to be closer to you. I feel like you’re part of me. Like you have always been part of me. I know it’s crazy, but crazy has never felt so right.”

She exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “The camp.”

He settled a hand on hers. “Have I scared you off yet with my directness?”

“Not even a little. I’ve felt like you were familiar, too, and after last night, I can’t stop thinking about you. About us.”

“I think that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard. Now let’s see if we can make you a race car driver.”

“Okay.” She smiled at the excited glint in his eyes. “But here’s the thing. If Idoruin your car, you’ve been duly warned. All my worldly belongings would not be able to pay for whatever I might break. Of that I’m one hundred percent certain.”

“I’m sure you can pay me back in more interesting ways.” His face spread into a devilish grin as he placed his hand on her thigh.

“Gosh, you do know how to keep a girl on her toes.”

“On your toes is not at all where I’d like to keep you.”

How was she supposed to concentrate withthaton her mind?