Irresistible Wildness

assic Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS (1969) and th

employees. After he'd learned the hard way as a kid how lies and cruelty could ruin a life, he'd worked like hell to turn his

ng the powerful car eve

out of an elementary school binder. Having watched Darius's clip on the TV show Hot Cars, Zion had written th

ing in Darius that he couldn't defin

as he blew through the open gates of the municipal airport on the San Martin Gardens. The

a woman and a young man, taller than she was and younger, too

gas and tapped the brakes, slowing as individual features came into focus. The two had similar bone s

lush lips, the blond hair cascading in waves over her shoulders, and the business suit that failed to disguise her sweet curves. She wasn't dressed Satur

of his sneakers. In one hand, he gripped an orange spiral notebook, shaking it wildl

gh the printing in the letter had been, at best, at a third grade lev

om Greece, he'd paid a fortune for it and had done the inspection himself. Driving the Chevrolet Camaro to this meeting had been a last-minute decision, and the Bay Area traffic had been

e boy's face as he raced around t

spoke so fast it w

the boy as she did so. Her voice was as smooth as the aw

e nose, the same blue eyes. But at somewhere in her late twentie

tures over the car for a few moments and turned

o meet you,

lso by how soft her skin was. So soft that he didn't want to let go, especially when

She smiled fondly again at her brother, who was kneeling to study the rim on the right rear tire, lovingly running one finger over it.

ed to meet a gorgeous woman-and single, judging by her bare left hand-here tod

fection...and that it wasn't necessarily a given between family

t word carefully and Darius didn't have the heart to correct it to Extinctio

fan. Besides, maybe distinction was a better word in this case, considering that Nathalie Adler was already a woman of distinction in Drake

e star of Vanishing Point what got y

t if I could, I'd go fast fast fa

there was that odd

, too," Darius agr

always be his father's son no matter how much he wished he wasn't. Nonetheless, he'd worked long, hard years to put

ed-a feeling of emptiness that working harder hadn't been able to fix. When even millions in profits from a

athalie Adler was having th

say I feel the same way." She offered an apologetic smile and

n the bedroom? Mr. Spencer, c

he forced himself to push it away, since

re you'll want to obey all the traffic rules." But his tone was tongue-

d of rules Nathalie had...and which one

e. But she doesn't like to go fast. Not like we do." He nudged

y times. She didn't offer an explanation as to why Zion couldn't drive, but Darius had realized by now tha

n the interest of time, mayb

er as he said, "I

ause he wanted some time to get to know Nathalie better before he asked her out, but also because Zion was bo

both. He had eight more classics in Ly

held up a picture pasted to a page. "James Bond.

ome because the Toyota 2000 GT was great on the rural roads of Lyrciu

t for long. "That's okay, Darius.

n the red light flashed to green, he tapped another button for the roll-up door. Inside, two rows of overhead l

voice went s

e was clearly the indulgent older sister, here to make her brother happy, a

tool chests lined the metal walls, along with a couple of floor jacks for lifting the cars. Darius had a full-time mechanic, Lake, who k

"Wow." His gaze was bright in the lights shining down on him as

g stripe, but Lake had rolled his eyes heavenward as if commiserating with the paint gods, then asked if Darius wanted to be like e

aid in that polite voice that tota

bran

replica of a '67 mercury cougar." The project had taken a year. He could have done it faster, but he'd enjoyed t

o hear it. She ran a finger along the finish, as

are my

stolen car, with illegal drag racing coming a handful of years later. It wasn't until Darius had turned eighteen that he'd vowed t

" She pointed to

on said before Darius c

you. Your classic ca

e contrary, he was flattered. Zion seemed so open, so hopeful, so happy. All the things Darius had never been in his youth. He couldn

rm touches, her affection easy to read on her face. The bonds of blood could be meaningless-or worse, they

w York, they'd been seven kids brought together by misfortune and neglect. Their bond had been forged in need, not by blood. Most people believed blood relations automatically deserved devotion, but he knew better. Devo

oo?" she asked, gestu

s the re

eeled shoes tapped on the concrete with every step, her hair shifting acro

" Zion turned to smile brill

your sister what that means." He winked conspiratorially, while hopin

h that, he sprinted down the center aisle, pointing as he went. "1968 Lamborghini Espada." The gold tones of th

proud, and Darius experienced an ache under his ribcage

heir bond. In on the pride and

im need things he hadn't craved in thirty years.

light of some special emotion shining in her e