Hunting Season (Aurora Sky by Nikki Jefford Read Free Book Online Page B

hair. I shook my head in the mirror.
    â€œWhat are you doing, Aurora?” I asked my reflection.
    Nothing. This wasn’t a booty call. I simply wanted to finish car rehabilitation. The more I could rely on myself, the less I had to count on anyone else, including Fane.
    I waited on the front stoop, not wanting Fane to get any ideas by letting him in.
    He pulled in soon enough, the bottom of his car scraping the driveway as he came up. I winced. From behind the windshield, Fane grinned. At least the little things still amused him.
    As Fane stepped out, I moved toward him. He pushed his car door shut with his shoulder and straightened. My eyes traveled up and down his body before I could stop myself.
    He wore combat boots, black jeans, a black belt, and a black V-neck taut across his chest. No man dead or alive had ever made a T-shirt look so sexy.
    There was a wide black leather bracelet wrapped around his right wrist. It looked like the kind used to shackle a person’s wrist to a bedpost.
    My feet stopped working. Fane had no trouble closing the distance. He stopped in front of me, shoving a hand into his front pocket, thumb resting over his belt, which caused me to look down, directly into the danger zone. My eyes shot back up. Fane smirked, missing nothing.
    â€œAren’t you going to invite me in?”
    I nodded in the direction of the Jeep. “Can you teach me to drive a stick?”
    Fane studied me a moment. “This is a car we’re talking about, right?” The bastard stroked his belt with his thumb, drawing my attention back down.
    â€œOf course I mean the car,” I said. “Can you teach me?” I made a point of leaving the stick part out the second time.
    â€œWhatever you want,” Fane said.
    I pulled the key from my pocket and dangled it by Dante’s Alaskan Brewing Company keychain.
    â€œGreat, know a good parking lot?”
    Fane grinned mischievously. “I know a great parking lot.”
    I knew Fane wouldn’t take me back to Denali High’s parking lot, not with school in session, but the last place I expected him to drive up to was a big-ass compound with an even bigger cross raised on top of the roof.
    â€œReally?” I asked. “A church parking lot?”
    â€œIt’s spacious and it’s empty.”
    â€œYou really are the Dark Prince,” I muttered.
    This made Fane’s smile widen.
    â€œFine, let’s get on with it before lightning strikes us down.”
    Fane had already gone over the gears on the way over, narrating his actions: first gear to second, second to third, third back down to second in a curve, and so on. I’d only half-listened as I watched his fist over the shifter and the black leather around his wrist moving with each thrust of the hand-lever.
    Fane pulled into a parking spot in front of the church. He turned the car off.
    â€œReady to trade places?” he asked.
    I pulled off my jacket, tossed it in back, and jumped down from the Jeep. We crossed paths in front of the hood, Fane grinned in passing.
    Back inside the vehicle he said, “You can start by backing up.”
    I reached for the key to turn on the ignition. Fane put his hand on my arm.
    â€œWait a second. The vehicle’s in gear.”
    â€œRight,” I said, exhaling. “I need to put it in neutral before I start it up.”
    I put my hand on the gear shift and jiggled it until it loosened up and settled into the middle position. I glanced at Fane. He shot me a relaxed smile. I loved the way he didn’t make me feel rushed, like I could spend the entire morning just backing up and he wouldn’t utter a word of complaint.
    I turned on the ignition, right foot on the brake. I pressed the clutch down with my left foot.
    â€œGood job,” Fane said. “Now put the car into reverse.”
    I pulled the gear shift down carefully and let up on the clutch and brake. The Jeep grumbled and quaked in response. I quickly