Free The Secret 00.5 The Prelude of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen Page A

dirty, little cheat.”
    I wave him off. “That wasn’t a bite. That was a mere teeth nick.”
    He stares at me unfathomably as his hand falls to his side. “How the hell did we end up in this conversation?”
    “Because I’m drunk, and it’s funny watching you get all squirmy.” Then, just because I can, I spring forward, dip my head, and gently bite his neck. “Ha, ha.” I move back, smiling proudly. “Now I stole your first real neck bite.”
    His jaw is practically hanging to the ground. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
    I bat my eyelashes. “I’m sorry, did you not want to play?”
    “No … that’s not it.” He glances from left to right. When I follow his gaze, I get blindsided by him as he jumps at me. His arms circle my waist, and before I can react, his teeth graze the skin of my throat. “What was that thing you were saying earlier?” He bites at the side of my neck again, and something inside my body explodes. “Payback’s a bitch.” He pulls away, grinning.
    And I stand there, breathless and stunned as I cup my neck.
    “Don’t start something you can’t finish, Ella May.” He raises the bottle of vodka he must have stolen from my pocket while he was biting me. “And you can have this back after I win the race.” Then he stuffs the bottle into the back pocket of his jeans and starts for the crowd again, doing his swagger walk.
    I chase after him, pouting over the bottle and confused over my tingling body.
    “What the fuck took you so long?” Ethan Gregory suddenly shoves his way out of the crowd. He is tall and slightly sturdier than Micha with dark hair and lots of tattoos on his arms, and he adds to that growing collection monthly. “You left the shop like three hours ago.”
    “I had stuff to take care of,” Micha replies evasively. He knows that, if he says it has to do with me, Ethan will give me shit. “Besides, I’m here now, so quit getting your panties in a bunch.”
    “I’m not.” Ethan crosses his arms and targets a glare at me. “I just know why you’re late because it’s always the same reason.”
    “Fuck you, Gregory,” I say, marching toward him.
    Micha grabs my hand and pulls me back. “Easy, feisty girl. No fights until after the race.”
    “Shut the fuck up, Ella,” Ethan retorts, and Micha scowls at him.
    “You’re an ass,” I snap at Ethan.
    “And you’re a bitch,” Ethan bites back.
    I step forward again with my fists balled at my side, but Micha draws me back by the shoulders
    “Okay, you two”—he raises his voice over the bustle of the crowd—“chill the fuck out. I need to focus on racing, not on keeping you two away from each other.”
    Ethan and I shoot one last death glare at each other but keep our traps shut. Neither of us wants to distract Micha. Drag racing is intense, and if he’s frazzled or not in the right place, he could end up crashing into a tree or flipping the car over.
    “Thank you,” Micha says to both of us before he steers me toward the front of the crowd with his chest pressed against my back.
    While I push people out of my way, making a path for us, a few girls scowl at me, but then they notice I’m with Micha and bat their eyelashes at him. When we passed Ditzy, her eyes light up.
    “Hey, Micha.” She shoots me a dirty look then waves her hand in the air, pressing her boobs against everyone as she makes her way up to us.
    I roll my eyes at her and look up at Micha, who dazzles me with a charming grin.
    “What?” he says innocently. “Is something bothering you, pretty girl?”
    “No.” I know I should stop there, or I’m going to end up sounding jealous, but like usual, my mouth takes on a life of its own. “It’s just that I don’t get it. How can you sleep with someone like her?” I point over my shoulder at Ditzy, who’s gotten distracted by a guy with a ponytail.
    “Who said I slept with her?” he questions, tapping his chin like he’s actually forgotten.
    I slap his arm, and he