Page 4 of Touch Me Not (Manwhore #1)

CHAPTER FOUR

She smiled coyly, and he threw her dress at her.

The brazen blonde from earlier today wasn’t exactly happy about that, but Nikoli was not in the mood to deal with her.

He’d worked his frustration out with her, yeah, and the sex had been good but not great.

She just needed to get dressed and then get the hell out.

Walking into the bathroom, he tossed the used condom in the trash and started the shower.

He could hear Luther in the other room explaining to her she needed to leave.

She was a clinger. How had he missed that?

Luther would take care of it, though. He always did.

Nikoli sometimes felt bad about putting him in that position, but not enough to keep from doing it again.

Luther knew him, accepted him for the asshole he was, and never judged him.

They were like brothers. He loved him as much as he did his own brothers.

Luther knew that too. It was why he put up with so much shit from Nikoli.

Those last two words almost caused Nikoli to slip as he got out of the shower.

Luther and his dad had introduced Nikoli to cars, and his very own love affair had been born.

Luther and he both did rally and off-road racing.

Luther’s dad frowned on it but didn’t say much else.

That old man had bailed them out of more than a few scrapes because of racing.

If Nikoli’s father had known some of the shit the two of them got into on the racing scene, he’d personally drag Nik’s ass back to Russia and put him under lock and key.

Those boys in the Miami scene were heavy hitters and pulled no punches.

You either survived or you didn’t, and Nikoli loved it.

They’d been looking for an old American muscle car that already had the modifications they needed for the upcoming race in Miami, or one that could easily be modded.

The race they wanted to enter had a few hitches, and not having to worry about getting the car’s electronics knocked out was the key.

They’d entered the race last year, only to die three hundred yards from the finish line from a tech bomb attached to the car.

Nikoli had bashed a few heads but couldn’t do much else.

“We could still overhaul your Fiat,” Luther offered as Nikoli exited the bathroom. “It’s smaller and lighter.”

Nikoli shook his head. “No, we don’t want any repeats of last year. What’s the payout this year, you heard?”

“Four hundred grand, last count. Entry fee went up to twenty thousand.”

Nikoli nodded. “That’ll bankroll the new programmers.

” He and Luther had started their own business at the age of seventeen.

They’d both been huge gamers and took that love to a new level.

They’d designed and programmed a shooter game that eventually blew up once it was released.

They hadn’t wanted to sell the game, so they’d tried to figure out how to manufacture, promote, and distribute it themselves.

Getting a bank loan just wasn’t possible for the two of them at seventeen, so they found an alternate route—fast cars and underground races.

Luther found the first race thanks to a buddy he played Call of Duty with online.

The entry fee had been harsh—three thousand dollars.

They bankrupted their savings and begged and borrowed from everyone they knew.

Luther’s dad donated a thousand, as had Nikoli’s uncle.

Neither of them realized the money was for a race and not for their business venture, though.

They’d driven down to Miami and won that first race and came away thirty thousand dollars richer.

All they’d told Luther’s dad and Nikoli’s uncle was the money came from an investor who believed in the game.

When Nikoli’s uncle saw how serious they were, he’d gotten them in touch with the right people, and their game had gone into production.

Thank God the old man had a few Marine buddies who were in the industry.

They’d hired a business manager and a marketing manager who’d made deals with all the major players in the world of video games.

A year later, that thirty thousand dollars turned into three million.

After that, it’d been an upward climb. The two of them owed no money to anyone and were able to bankroll any new projects by winning races. Eventually, they’d give it up, but not for a while yet. Luther loved working on the cars, and Nikoli loved racing them. Perfect relationship.

“Show me the car.” Nikoli grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down on the bar stool next to where Luther was engrossed in the laptop.

“Dude’s selling it on eBay,” Luther said with a laugh. “Stupid.”

Nikoli let out a low whistle when the car’s specs came up.

Stupid wasn’t the word—“fucked-up insane” better described the ass selling it.

The original 351 motor had been replaced with a 428 bored-out big block.

Custom three-inch dual exhausts with Flowmaster mufflers, Offenhauser Port O Sonic intake manifold, Barry Grant 1000 CFM Silver Claw carburetor, and the list just went on and on.

This car was still street legal, but it had the heart and soul of a racer under the hood.

They would have to do very little to it.

“Email the seller. Offer him twice what he wants for it, and we’ll pick it up tomorrow, cash in hand,” Nikoli said, his eyes gleaming as he finished reading all the specs. “He’s a first-class dumbass. There’s no way he built this car just to sell it for not even a tenth of what it’s worth.”

Luther snorted before checking his phone. His brow furrowed, and then he looked at Nikoli, perplexed. “What the hell? Is it true?”

“Is what true?” Nikoli asked, not really paying attention. He was still too focused on the car. The deep burgundy color set off the chrome nearly as well as black could.

“Did you ask Lily Holmes on a date?”

Nikoli’s head snapped around. How the hell did Luther know? “Who told you that?”

“Mac just texted asking if it’s true.”

“It’s not a date.”

“So, you didn’t ask her to dinner?” Luther frowned at him then looked back down to his phone.

“Well, yeah, I did, but…”

“Then it is a date,” Luther crowed and burst out laughing. “Oh, God, I never thought I’d see the day when Nikoli Kincaid had to resort to asking a girl out on a real live date.”

“Do you want a beating?” Nikoli growled. How in holy hell did the fact he asked Lily to dinner get out? “Tell Mac to shut his mouth or I’ll shut it for him.”

Luther wheezed he was laughing so hard, and all it managed to do was piss Nikoli off even more. He swung, and his fist collided with Luther’s face. He went down, cussing a blue streak.

“What the hell, man?”

“This is not funny,” he bit out. “I can’t handle her like I do everyone else. She isn’t falling for it. If I have to take her to dinner to get her naked, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“Whatever you say.” Luther laughed. “I told you to leave her alone. If you don’t listen, then I am going to enjoy every minute of your domestication.”

“That just ain’t right.” Nikoli glared down at his friend before extending a hand. “Nikoli Kincaid doesn’t do domestication. Never have, never will.”

“Whatever you say.” Luther chuckled and allowed Nik to help him back up before sitting back down at the computer. “Whatever you say.”

Nikoli gave Luther one last glare and stomped out of the room. No way in hell would he ever be domesticated.

“You did what?”

Lily winced and held the phone away from her ear. How did Adam find out she’d agreed to go out with Nikoli? Less than two hours had gone by, and he was shouting from her phone.

“It’s not a big deal,” she murmured while she unpacked the groceries she’d bought at the market. Cereal, milk, pop, and some snacks had her set. Her little mini fridge was overflowing with cans of cherry Dr. Pepper and bottles of water.

“Not big a deal?” She could hear the frustration in his voice. “Lily, this is Nikoli Kincaid we’re talking about. Do you even know who he is?”

“Yes, Adam, I know very well who he is. I’m not stupid.”

“Right now, I’m not so sure about that,” he snapped.

She pulled the phone away and glared at it, imagining Adam’s head. How dare he? “Did you call just to insult me?” she demanded. “Because if you did…”

“Lils, I’m just worried about you. I know Kincaid. He’s a douche with only one thing on his mind.”

“I’m perfectly aware of that.”

Adam had no right to call her and start trying to dictate what she could and couldn’t do.

He was her best friend, but she was not his sister or his girlfriend.

It was about time he figured that out. It wasn’t like he had time for her anymore either.

She’d agreed to go out with Nikoli more because she was mad at Adam than anything else.

He’d blown her off one too many times for Sue, and today’s latest ditching session had grated more than she’d realized.

“Then why the hell did you agree to go out with him?” Adam exploded.

“Because I wanted to.” She could hear the irritation in her own voice, but she didn’t care.

“Lily, there are things you don’t know,” Adam stressed, “rumors about the kind of stuff he’s into…”

“Adam, I am not having this conversation with you,” she interrupted.

“Well, you obviously need to have it with someone!” He paused to speak to someone in the background, and Lily heard him mumble Sue’s name. She groaned inwardly. He was talking about this with Sue there? Lily’s face flamed up, and she felt mortified.

“Look, I gotta go,” she said. “People are lining up outside, and I have to give them the speech.”

“Lily, this conversation isn’t over,” he warned. “You are way out of his league…”

“I’m not good enough for him?” she shouted into the phone. “And why exactly is that, Adam? Am I not as pretty as some of his girls? Am I too boring? Too lame? What? Explain it to me.” Her voice had gone softer with each word.