Page 20 of Ignition

“Because, dumbass, I know you.”

“You don’t know shit,” I said uncertainly.

If I so much as shifted, we’d be kissing, Nick’s breath ghosting against my lips, making it hard to pay attention. He was so close my vision couldn’t even fully focus on him, his face blurry as I tried to look at him.

“Fine, if you think fucking her is too easy, why don’t we raise the stakes? Whoeverknotsher first wins.”

This was stupid.

Criminally fucking dumb.

Fucking my new step-sister was going to make my already tense home life even more unbearable. And dealing with Nick’s bruised ego? That was a whole lot of mess that I didn’t want to deal with.

I should’ve told him to go fuck himself, but the hungry look in Nick’s eye—whether it was from the rut or hisdesire to prove himself to me—was too tempting to ignore.

Finally, I forced the question that really mattered past my stiff lips, “What do I get if I win?”

“What do you want?” Nick asked, entirely unfazed.

We were no strangers to betting, but somehow this felt different.

More serious than a schoolyard dare or footrace.

I took a couple seconds to think about it,really think—what did I want from Nick? Right now, nothing that I could ask for without destroying the tenuous peace we’d made. And it wasn’t like he had any money, or that I needed more.

The idea came to me as childish and ridiculous as this entire situation was.

“If I win, you owe me a wish.”

“A wish? I’m not a fucking genie, dude.”

“Yeah, I know, that’s why I didn’t ask for three, idiot.”

Nick laughed hoarsely, low and deep and sinking into me like a stroke against my skin. “Fine, a wish then. Just the one.”

“What do you want?” I asked, embarrassed by the eagerness in my voice.

The other alpha's charming, if not overly smug, smile grew sinister. “Your car.”

I blinked in surprise; of all the things he could’ve said, this was a surprise.

“Which one?”

He mumbled something I didn’t quite catch. “What?”

“Whichever one I like the best, after I’ve won.”

I was pretty sure that wasn’t what he’d said, but every time I opened my mouth to speak, I was flooded with more of Nick’s pheromones, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could handle him being this close to me. “Fine, but you’re going to feel real stupid when it takes me less than a day.”

“You’re an awfully overconfident dickhead for someone who can’t even muster up a single compliment about her.”

“Like that matters,” I shot back.

“You’re so fucking delusional, man.”

“Am not.”

“Are too,” Nick half purred, jerking my hand back toward him so that my lips grazed his jaw.