Summary: Lin's undercover assignment isn't just dangerous. It is also frustrating. The distance wedged between she and Wei Sheng is only relieved on rare, hidden occasions.

a/n: Written to fill a prompt sent in by twistedsinews. "A kiss because I have literally been watching you all night and I can't take anymore." Thank you so much for the prompt.

Race Nights

-1-

Music blared from at least half a dozen top of the line sound systems, the heavy bass beats competed with one another while the melodies were lost in that fight for dominance. Cars still crept down the street, drivers and passengers alike just wanting to be seen and noticed by the bystanders lining the mostly abandoned commercial street. The recent arrivals found whatever slots remained on the side of the avenue, though they weren't in the heart of the action. That treat was reserved for the early birds.

Gang affiliation flags waved up and down the line—Saints purple, Carnales red, VK gold, but the most dominant shade was Rollerz blue. Those Westside knuckleheads did know their cars, even Wei Sheng Liu would admit that. They pretty much dominated the street racing scene in Stilwater; and these seemingly impromptu races were the only time these four groups could be in the same place together without gunfire overpowering the bass and the ring of bullet casings singing out against the pavement.

There was always drinking and dancing. The racing didn't start until later, and only after someone, somewhere in the city monopolized the attention of the cops. A street party wasn't interesting enough to attract the berries, but the first call about an illegal street race would send racers and spectators alike scattering like roaches when the lights came on.

While others showed off their engines or had their deck lids open to display their sound systems, most of the cars out there were tricked out and waxed to shine in the orange-yellow light of the street lamps. Even if they weren't racing, people were there to peacock, flashing their feathers for all to see. It not only gained them rep, but also their crews, by extension.

Wei Sheng leaned against the front quarter panel of his Rattler, which sat next to Johnny Gat's Venom. The pair of purple sports cars drew more than a little attention. Adding to the crowd of gawkers was the woman Gat had his arm draped around. Aisha was popular, especially in her hometown. Wei Sheng stole glances at them here and there. A twinge of jealousy twisted between his ribs, not over Aisha, but over the simple fact that his friend had his woman in his arms.

The woman who snatched Wei Sheng's heart out of his chest with the tiniest lift of the corner of her lips was on the opposite side of the street. Despite her place in and allegiance to the Saints, Lin wore blue. Even her pride and joy, the Voxel she tuned herself, was draped in Rollerz colors—bright shimmering blue with a wide white racing stripe and decorative pin striping down the side in the same shade. She was the only one of the new midtown crew who could pull off an infiltration of the tuners. Not only could she drive like a bat out of hell, she was a mechanical genius.

Wei Sheng pulled his attention away from the Westsiders. Throughout the night he'd steal quick glances, and as the event progressed, he realized something else about Lin. She was far more gifted at playing her role than he was. Though he did manage to keep from staring like a total lecher, it was harder than he realized not to steal a glance far more often than he should of, at least by his own estimation.

Johnny elbowed him in the arm, pulling Wei Sheng's attention off the mass of blue across the street. His friend offered him a beer, which he took. As Johnny lifted his bottle, the more junior member of the Saints did as well.

"You know if you keep staring over there, Lin's going to lay you out next time you see her," Gat said with a matter of fact tone as his own dark eyes moved over the congregation of Rollerz.

Liu took the hint. Swallowing a mouthful of chilled Olde Steel, he turned his back on the object of his attention. Johnny was right. Just because they were together didn't give him immunity to her wrath—or her right hook.

"You worried?" Johnny asked quietly.

"No," Wei Sheng answered without even having to think about it. "If anyone can handle it, it's Lin—she's got bigger balls than you."

"Then why the lost puppy BS?"

"Fuck you, Johnny."

Gat chuckled into his bottle. "Then she might just beat both our asses."

Wei Sheng glared at him.

"Then, what's up?" Gat asked with a shrug.

When Liu shook his head, Gat just took another swig of his beer.

"You starting shit again, Johnny?" Aisha asked in her melodic voice. She was a hell of a mediator. Her voice alone could capture attention. Her arm slipped around Gat's waist as she planted a quick peck on his lips.

"Me?" Gat asked as if scandalized by the insinuation.

"Always," Wei Sheng told her as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on Aisha's cheek.

She laughed and hugged his neck with her other arm.

Wei Sheng appreciated his friends, but they couldn't tamp down the kind of loneliness that hollowed out his chest. What really got to Wei Sheng was knowing he couldn't just walk up to Lin and kiss her, or touch her. Not without shattering all her work, all the effort they'd put into ingratiating her to those tweakers. Hell, even looking at her could create an issue, not only for him, but for her and her ability to do what the Saints needed from her.

Tipping his beer back, he gulped down most of it in one go, then dug his keys out of his pocket. He grabbed Aisha's hand and wrapped them in her palm. "Do me a favor? Drop it at my place. I'll get the keys from this one," Wei Sheng tipped his head in Johnny's direction, "tomorrow."

"You sure, Wei?" she asked.

"Yeah. And at least you won't strip my clutch," he said with a laugh as he kissed her cheek again. Liu squeezed Johnny's shoulder then looked at the celebration, which was heating up as a few cars moved toward the orange line spray painted on the pavement.

His eyes caught Lin's for the first time that night when he crossed the street. She was among the first group of racers—the main event. Most of these races only managed to get through one competition before the cops intervened and everyone scattered. So, they always started with the big race. Any other runs were just gravy.

He didn't nod, didn't smile, didn't acknowledge that moment of contact with Lin in any way. Instead, he turned his head forward again. Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, he stalked off into the shadows of the city.

-2-

Winning the race was expected, and it meant sticking around to celebrate, at least until the sirens drowned out the thudding bass of a dozen different songs. Lin jumped into her Voxel and led the scattering rats away from the pack. The combination of so many cars and her being among the first out meant that once she hit the freeway, she had nothing to worry about. The cops that crashed the races only ever brought enough cars to potentially chase down a small fraction of those in attendance.

And I won't be one of them, Lin thought as a smile curved her lips.

Even though the smooth turns and long straightaways of the highway stretched out before her, lonely and almost empty, she quelled a deep desire to drop her right foot to the floor and open her Voxel up. The rush would surely be short-lived and she'd already beaten the berries once. Pushing her car to 100 miles per hour or faster was just tempting fate. Despite that, a part of her itched to floor it.

The quick succession of electronic chimes pulled her mind in a different direction. She lifted the phone from the console and glanced at the display.

"Ugh." Donnie, she thought and dropped it back where it had been resting. If she had to guess, he was calling to invite her to his garage, which might be where some of the Rollerz likely relocated the celebration of their—her—win.

Her fingers tapped the steering wheel in time to the song on the radio as she considered it. Donnie was close to Price. It was the best route to the inner circle of the Rollerz. Then she remembered the look Wei Sheng gave her when he crossed the road. Thinking about them made the decision more difficult.

"Fuck," she mumbled, taking the next exit off the freeway. The Voxel threaded through the sparse street traffic until she pulled to a tire-screeching stop in front of her building.

Lin burst out of the car, throwing the door closed behind her. The alarm chirped as she entered the lobby. Taking two stairs at a time left her breathless by the time she reached her door.

Even in the total darkness of her tiny apartment, she knew he was there. The door slammed behind her as she strode toward the darkest spot in her rickety studio apartment. A warm hand seared against the skin of her bare midriff. Another cupped her cheek just before his mouth met hers a heartbeat later.

It wasn't the sweet, reverent kiss he usually saved for private moments. No, as Wei Sheng pulled Lin into a firm embrace his lips moved with ferociousness. Deepening fast, the kiss was all passion, teeth and tongue. Lin clung to his shoulders, not like a damsel being taken, but like a tigress, exerting her own level of control onto the exchange.

"Did anyone see you?" she asked as his mouth burned a trail down her neck. The caress of his lips broke her skin out in goosebumps and she let her head tip backward. Wei Sheng knew her too well; but she didn't stop him, even when he dropped the zipper on her top. They hadn't stolen a moment in more than a month and she wasn't known for her patience even in the best of situations. Just because she was a Saint didn't make her a saint.

"No," he replied against her skin, the words teasing her puckering nipple.

She sighed, despite her better judgment when he took it in his mouth. As she cradled his head to her breast, his hands retreated to her hips. The touch started as a tease; his thumbs skimming her waistband as he inched the blue track pants incrementally lower.

With a pop, he released her taut nipple, leaving it aching as he straightened. "I came in from the alley. Went to the roof, then snuck in from the fire escape. You should really lock that window," he teased.

Lin could hear the smirk in his voice. "I'll be sure to do that," she lectured with a sternness in her tone. "Keep wannabe thugs like you out of my apartment."

A low growl emanated from his throat. Even though he didn't make a smart-ass quip, she knew he wanted to. Her back stung when it hit the wall, but Wei Sheng's lips sealed against hers, swallowing any sound she might have made.

She knew just which buttons to press. And she didn't have time for playful. Even so, she still wanted him. She cared about him, not that she admitted that to herself, let alone him. If he knew how she really felt about him, he'd certainly use it to her disadvantage—of that she was certain. She'd witnessed it far too many times. And Lin wasn't willing to put herself into that kind of position.

She marched out of her kicks and her pants as he pushed them lower. His hands only traced over her thighs for a quick moment, before one nestled between her legs. Lin matched his action, her palm pressing over the front of his jeans.

He groaned into her mouth, then pushed his tongue past her lips in a demanding fashion. When his mouth detoured again, she just watched his descent to his knees with anticipation. Lin had to admit he looked good like that, staring up with her. The scant light and shadows played over his features adding mystery and menace as Wei Sheng smirked at her and slipped her leg over his shoulder. He dropped sucking kisses on sensitive flesh. Each throbbed as he moved toward her core and Lin knew she's see bruises along her inner thigh in the shower in the morning. But she allowed it—they were his way of reminding her of their time together, as well as being a sign that he'd been there, though he was the only one currently getting that far with her. Besides, she knew he wouldn't escape this encounter unscathed. She'd leave her own possessive traces on his body as well.

Her head fell back in a sigh when his tongue flicked against her clit. Lin settled some of her weight on his shoulder as she leaned back against the wall. With her hands slipping into his silky hair, she let her eyes slip closed. Time seemed to slow down as he lapped at her pussy.

A fleeting thought … that letting one man affect her like this, letting one man know her so well was a mistake … flashed through her mind. Wei Sheng's greedy suck at that bundle of nerves kicked the realization to the back of her mind. The shallow dip of a finger, and it's curling stroke brought her gaze back to his.

Wei Sheng Liu watched her body intently as he ate her out. While one hand worked inside her with the determined precision of a math genius doing calculus, the other skimmed her rear, scratched at her ribs, and, finally, as she neared climax, it crept toward her breast.

His touch varied between ethereal caresses, firm rubs, and savage, twisting pinches. She cried out when the combination of his clever tongue, curling fingers, and a vicious pinch and pull at her nipple sent her body into a crashing climax. Her head dropped back again, resounding off the wall. Her eyes screwed shut as her hips bucked against his machinations, riding out her orgasm against his face.

"Damnit, Wei," she growled. Her hands tightened in his hair, keeping him right where he was until the electric sensation faded away.

To his credit, he didn't fight her on it like he had early on in their relationship.

Once it ended, she pulled upward at his jet-black silken hair. He didn't need much encouragement to get to his feet.

-3-

Revered by most of the Saints, Lin was stoic and as hardcore as they came. Most were more intimidated by her than they were Johnny, and rightly so. She was as calculating as any of them; though Wei Sheng also knew she felt she had something more to prove. Ruthless. Demanding. Skilled. Dangerous. Lin was all those things and more than most people could ever realize.

Wei Sheng met her gaze, the darkness of which was more mysterious than usual thanks to the way the combination of moonlight and light from the street lamps played through the room.

"Fuck me," she ordered, giving his shoulders a push.

He smirked, but didn't argue as she brushed past him. He caught her wrist and pulled her back again. He hooked it behind her back and pushed her against the wall, facing it this time. She caught herself with her free hand. His mouth busied itself traveling the length of her neck and the breadth of her shoulders.

Lin pushed her hips back against his as he undid his belt and lowered his fly. Only when he had the condom packet from his pocket did he let go of the arm he'd steered her with. Both her palms flattened against the thin, fake wood paneling as her rear jutted out toward him. Wei Sheng grabbed her waist, gripping his cock in the other hand; he wasted no time or gentleness.

After watching her most of the night, after having to keep his distance with her right there within reach, with the taste of her still on his lips, Wei Sheng was keyed up. His hips slammed against hers as she pushed back into each stroke. Grabbing her chin, he turned it, contorting her body to steal deep, greedy kisses meant to telegraph just how much he wanted her—how much he missed her.

But, like her, he had something to prove as well. Even if it was only to her.

When her breaths shortened, every other exhale becoming a moan, his free hand dipped between her legs again. He loved to feel her come at least as much as watching it.

Deft fingers chased rhythmic circles around her clit as their sweat-slicked bodies slapped against one another. Her head dropped between her arms, which flexed with every push away from the wall. Wei Sheng leaned over her back, kissing and biting along the length of her spine until she unraveled.

Lin went stark silent. He didn't let up. Then came the flutter around his cock. With a low moan, her hips rolled violently like they had when he was kneeling between her legs. As her body grabbed at him, the pressure built. By the time he came, he was gripping her hip hard enough to bruise as he jerked her body toward his erratic thrusts.

Spent, he rested his forehead between her shoulder blades. A moment later, she shifted between his body and the wall. She was gone before he could have stopped it. The feint bathroom light flicked on and the swish of running water flowed through the lingering haze of his orgasm. When she reappeared, her top was righted. She grabbed the clothes she'd stripped out of earlier and put them on again. Wei Sheng disposed of the condom and pulled his jeans back up.

"You shouldn't be here when I get back," she said, lacing up her white kicks.

"I won't be."

That parting, as much as everything else has become their new normal—a quick fuck and a terse goodbye. Wei Sheng and Lin had never been a touchy-feely couple, but her infiltration of a rival street gang gave their relationship a new dynamic. A strange distance they both worked to maintain.

Wei Sheng crossed the room, brushing the back of his fingers down her bare arm. Perhaps it was the gentleness of it, or the intimacy, but it made her stop and look up at him. Wei Sheng held her gaze.

"Congrats," he whispered then kissed her softly. He didn't even need to ask if she won. He knew she couldn't lose. Sure, she called herself the best racer to ever come out of Chinatown, but he knew it to be more than just an egotistic boast.

"Thanks," she replied, giving him a crooked grin.

He watched her lace up her other shoe then crossed the room and climbed out onto the fire escape. Wei Sheng chuckled quietly to himself when he heard the window lock click behind him. From the roof, he waited for the high-pitched whine of her Voxels' engine to start up and fade away. Then he made his own exit. Walking a few blocks to the subway platform to wait for the train that would get him back to Mission Beach, and eventually back to his own tiny apartment. On the way, he couldn't stop himself from wondering when he'd see her next.