People always say Eastern women are gentle and faithful, Western women passionate as fire.
In his previous life Hunter had been crushed by mortgage, car payments, and marriage; he'd never tasted either Eastern grace or Western fire.
Who'd have thought that less than a month after transmigrating he would savor the blazing passion of a Western girl.
"Mm…?"
A languid murmur yanked Hunter—already awake for a while and admiring the beauty in his arms—back from his drifting thoughts.
Noticing Mia's long lashes fluttering, he knew the mixed-race girl who'd kept him up half the night was waking.
He dropped a light kiss on her forehead.
She opened her captivating amber eyes, in which his own handsome face was reflected.
"Morning, Mia."
He greeted her softly.
"Morning, Hunter."
Mia answered naturally and brushed a kiss across his forehead.
She clearly had no regrets about the night before.
But when she tried to sit up her body felt limp—they'd overdone it; teenage boys and girls are always zealous about the unknown.
Blushing when she saw his grin, she punched his chest.
"You're in trouble,"
she murmured, voice languid.
"Dom will kill you."
"No,"
"it'll be Vince who comes after you."
Mia herself wasn't sure what had come over her last night—
her mind had felt sucked away, leaving her not only sleeping out but also giving her first experience to a Chinese-American boy she'd barely met a few times.
Still, she didn't dislike it; he was handsome, a good cook, and, judging by last night and this morning, impressively capable—
better than what she'd once overheard between her big brother and Sister Letty.
Thinking that, she decided he might actually make a decent boyfriend.
Hunter's gaze burned as he took in the graceful curves revealed when she rose.
He didn't share her worries.
"Let them come."
"Relax, I'll be fine."
At first he had indeed feared Dominic and Vince, but no longer.
Over the past twenty-odd days he had awakened more than a dozen skills, and his physique had improved dramatically.
Even against the underground racing kings of the West Coast he felt no fear.
And if pressure cost him his job at the garage?
Yesterday, while heading to the beach with Mia, he'd stopped at a seaside ATM and found an extra twenty thousand us dollars in his account—
Old Parker's payment for his recent work.
Hunter had tested Old Parker's attitude several times and, coupled with his own investigations, was certain that while Old Parker and Dominic were close partners, Parker still took private jobs modifying cars and fencing stolen vehicles for his own profit.
So even if Hunter was publicly kicked out of the garage, arrangements for him would still be made behind the scenes.
Besides, the levels of his key life skills had already been raised.
Finding a job to support himself would be effortless for Hunter.
Dominic's arrogance and swagger wouldn't last much longer.
The only real downside was that if things got too ugly, Hunter would have trouble joining the later fast & furious story line.
Mia was recalling how wild things had gotten last night.
Annoyed by her big brother's incessant calls, she'd lost control in the heat of passion and flung her phone across the room.
That was when she heard Hunter's confident declaration.
She had no idea where her Chinese-American almost-boyfriend found such certainty.
Mia figured Hunter simply didn't understand how terrifying her big brother could be.
Even she wasn't sure exactly how far her brother would go.
After all, Dominic had always shielded her, doing his best to keep her from learning he was the infamous California highway bandit.
Yet living under the same roof, plus news reports featuring familiar cars and blurry silhouettes, had slowly revealed everything.
Over the years, Mia had pieced it all together herself.
Her big brother not only ruled the underground racing scene but was also the mastermind behind more than a dozen California highway heists.
Though she'd never taken part, Mia had seen her brother's weapons cache.
They never used guns during the actual robberies, but besides racing and tuning cars, their biggest hobby was heading to the Shooting club to practice marksmanship.
So even Mia couldn't predict what her brother might do in a rage.
"Hunter!"
Mia decided she had to douse Hunter's swelling confidence with cold water.
"I'll go home and talk to Dom—make sure you protect yourself."
"As for Vince, I'll think of something."
She felt helpless about Vince: her brother's right-hand man and the childhood friend who'd grown up with them.
Mia didn't really understand why Vince, who'd barely acknowledged her as kids, had suddenly fixated on her once she started high school.
The guy had a nasty temper and an ego to match.
Yet while her brother had never said it outright, letting Vince pester her amounted to tacit approval of a match.
It all drove Mia crazy.
She once complained to Sister Letty, but Letty—her brother's girlfriend—had also grown up with Vince, so Mia felt she faced the pressure alone.
Vince clung like chewed gum: disgusting and nearly impossible to scrape off.
Through the window Mia could tell it was late.
She'd stayed out all night and smashed her phone; Dom would be furious, and she knew she had to hurry home.
She struggled to her feet, but her legs went soft—an odd mix of exhaustion and satisfaction washed over her.
She stumbled, nearly collapsing, and had to hunt for clothes flung across the room during last night's frenzy.
Hunter watched in amusement but, knowing she really had to leave, didn't stop her.
Mia heard his stifled laugh, shot him a glare, and steadied herself against the wall as she left the apartment.
She groped her way down the stairs, slid into her car, and only then muttered,
"How am I going to explain this to Dom?"
"Maybe I'll hide at Letty's place for a few days."
As the lingering tingles spread through her body, memories of last night and this morning flooded back, flushing her cheeks.
She started the engine and sped toward Letty's house…