Page 12 of Challenge Me

For those few moments, Ghost and I were one.

There was no clean division between his pleasure and mine. His engine purred, and I felt it low in my stomach. My pulse raced, and the dash lights seemed to throb in time with it. His metal frame shuddered around me while my human body trembled beneath him.

He leaned in closer, and my hands traced his features. My eyes could never see them properly in the shimmering shadow his form took, but now, as he was leaning against me, I could touch each muscle, the chiseled jaw, the slicked-back curls.

“Ghost,” I whispered between breaths, and his engine growled in response. I felt it too, the desperate drink of gasoline, the burn and the surge, the rising pressure inside him that matched the pressure building in me until I could not tell which of us was closer to breaking.

In the end, I didn’t even know whether it was Ghost’s climax or my own. My human body was trembling in an orgasm, and his metal frame was shuddering. I thought it was me screaming, but all I heard was the engine. My feet slipped from the dash, and I reached for the pedals in the footwell. I pushed the gas all the way to the floor as my body tensed, my cock spilling between the friction of our bodies. The RPMs climbed, and I saw Ghost’s throat glow like dragon’s fire, threatening to scorch and scald and burn me alive.

I knew that feeling all too well. One more second and all Hell would break loose.

I eased off the gas, my body limp against the leather as a different heat flooded me, pumping me full and spilling over the tops of my thighs.

The roar dropped.

The world came back in pieces.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

There was nothing elegant to say. Nothing clever.

I stared up at him, chest heaving, heart still hammering, and felt the last of the tension drain out of me like fuel burning clean through an engine.

Gods, I needed that.

Chapter Five

Ghost

A car like me could never have imagined the terrifying fragility of being human. I had shown you speed. Wind. Tarmac. The heavy pull of the road beneath us.

In return, you’d let me feel something I had never felt before.

Flesh.

Softness.

You pressed your palms against me, pushing weakly, gasping for breath. I pulled back at once. For a moment, I only stared down at you.

I wrapped my whole being around you before I could stop myself. My shadows curled along your sides, the seat held you more firmly, and I tightened my seatbelt across your chest. It was not enough. A strip of fabric and a promise from the manufacturer were pitiful things compared to how badly I wanted to keep you safe.

Humans were too soft.

Your skin. Your insides. Your bones. Your breathing. Your damned ego. Soft.

No matter how tough you presented yourself to the world, no matter how cold your stare or how sharp your tongue, I knew the truth now. I had felt it.

But I could help you with that. I could show you how to have skin like mine. Steel.

I cradled you in my arms before pulling back, my hand over yours, guiding you to my wheel.

“Lai,” I said, and you grabbed me, your fingers tightening over my leather. “You gotta drive.”

Your eyes narrowed, though your breathing was still uneven. “I…”

I leaned close and kissed the side of your neck, because I had learned very quickly that your dignity had trouble holding firm against that particular tactic. With my other hand, I pushed my seat up, drawing you closer to my wheel.

“You can,” I whispered against your skin. “Ease the clutch. That’s it. Gentle now. Don’t fight it.”