Author's Note: In re-watching this one, it struck me just how much calmer Lee was during the scene at Nedlinger's than he had been on the street after the car wreck, so I thought, hmm, whatever could have calmed him down that quickly? This is my answer to that. For those of you who missed the "Thank you" bit, I suggest rereading Chapter 35. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 39-Woman Driver

"Car Wars"

"Are you upset?" Amanda asked timidly at Lee pacing in front of the car and running his hands through his hairs, something that she knew he did mainly when he was frustrated or upset.

"Am I upset," Lee said with an incredulous look at her. "Gino is gonna' kill me for this.

"Lee, I'm really very sorry," Amanda said apologetically.

"You're sorry? You are sorry? You don't know Gino! Gino can get mean sometimes!" Lee grumbled at the sight of the damaged grill on the Stratford.

Amanda, trying to be the voice of reason and logic in the face of her partner's hotheadedness suggested trying to get the care repaired which seemed to cool Lee's anger as he agreed it was a good idea. Good, he's calmer, Amanda thought just as Lee started again with, "You realize you only had this thing for 43 minutes..."

Maybe not, she thought as she said, "Lee, I thought you said we weren't gonna' talk about this anymore!'

"Yeah," Lee said trying to cool his anger.

"Yes," Amanda said with a nod.

"That's right," Lee said also nodding. "Absolutely right," as he continued to repeat himself, he just kept thinking of the beating Gino had threatened him with if he didn't bring the car back in the same pristine condition it have left his lot in.

As Lee's temper flared again, Amanda put a halt to it, by saying firmly, "Lee, before that nasty little phrase "woman driver" crops into this conversation, could we please just drop it and get this car repaired?" At seeing Amanda's shaky smile, Lee sighed. "Please?"

"Yes," Lee said with a nod. "Yes, yes, yes," he repeated while Amanda thanked him. He took a deep breath and reached to open the door for her just as she reached for it at the same time their hands touching as their eyes locked and the next thing they knew, they were in each other's arms, kissing feverishly, their anger with each other only fueling the underlying desire that constantly burned between them. Reaching behind her, Lee yanked open the car door, however, just as he was about to push her to the seat, she took the lead and he soon found himself on his back on the front seat of the car, her atop him. They continued to kiss as he felt Amanda tugging at his belt with one hand, while the other cupped him boldly through his pants. "Yes," he hissed through clenched teeth as he broke away from their kiss breathlessly and ran his hands under her skirt to show her the same attention, running his hands up her thighs, under her skirt and slipping one inside her already damp panties.

"Oh," Amanda gasped at Lee's touch as she finally freed his erection from his pants. Needing more, she pushed his hand aside, gripped him firmly and adjusted her underwear just enough to guide him into her as she sank down on him to drive him deeper, causing them both to cry out.

Lee gripped her hips as she began to move against him, and muttered, "Woman driver," with a grin. She slapped at him playfully, just before he pulled her head down to his to capture her lips in another searing kiss, his tongue plunging into her mouth as he pushed his hips up against her to plunge his shaft harder into her at the same time.

"Mmm," Amanda moaned into his mouth as the change in angle only heightened each sensation driving her closer to her peak. She pulled back from their kiss, pressing her hands against his chest as pushed against him harder and faster, "You like my driving," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, my God, yes," Lee said as he met each of her movements with a thrust of her hips, his excitement building at her taking the lead. Never had he imagined that not only would Amanda have continued to sleep with him for over a year while he still hedged about his feelings for her, but here she was, riding him like a triple crown winner in the front seat of a borrowed car in broad daylight. God, how he loved this woman; she never ceased to surprise him.

"Oh," Amanda cried again, just before clamping her mouth against his again, muffling the sound of her cries of release.

Lee groaned into her mouth, tugging on the back of her head as he once again deepened their kiss, his own cries muffled against her mouth as he felt himself exploding within her warm, welcoming body. He couldn't help his cries growing louder as she continued to push against him, milking him dry until it became too much to handle, his body twitching at each move she made now. He pulled back from her and gasped out, "Too much."

Amanda giggled at hearing that and knowing that it would make him just a little crazier, pushed against his overly-sensitized length once more, then at seeing the look in his eyes, once again causing more spasms from him, delighting in his reactions until he finally clamped his hands on her hips tightly to still her movements with a shake of his head. "No more," he said.

"No?" Amanda said with a sly grin.

"No," he panted. "No, no, no." As he tried desperately to get the thundering of his heart to slow and get his breathing to slow, he took in the satisfied smirk on her face. When he was able to breathe a little more normally again, he said, "Okay, okay, I get it. You made your point. You are a damn good driver."

"Yeah?" she said with a smile.

He grinned his impish, dimpled grin at her, his eyes dancing in amusement and said, "Yeah, though now I'm suddenly feeling that your comment about the nasty..." he paused for emphasis, "...little phrase "woman driver" just took on a whole new meaning.

She slapped at him again, but couldn't help laughing and said, "Good," with a firm nod. "Listen, we should...uh...we should probably get this car repaired before it gets too late." She then moved away from him enough to straighten her clothes.

"Yeah," Lee said as he rearranged his own clothing and sat up. "We'll call around to some body shops and get some estimates and see where we go from there."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan," Amanda agreed as she settled herself into the driver's seat.

Late that day, at Nedlinger's, she couldn't get over his change in mood as they went over the estimates they'd obtained. He'd even offered to pay for the whole thing out of his own pocket. "Oh, Lee, it would be awfully hard for me to pay for all of this, but I'd at least like to try to split it with you," she offered.

"No, Amanda, no," Lee said firmly. He wasn't going to take money from her, knowing she was a single mother with two children to provide for, especially since it was his fault that she was in this mess. He softened his tone and said, "I got you into this. You wouldn't have been driving the thing if it hadn't been for me, right? Now, I can handle it somehow." He smiled at her.

"You're being awfully nice. I really thought you were still pretty angry with me," Amanda said with a smile, knowing that she'd mostly cooled his anger at her, but when he replied and starting grumbling about the amount of the estimates, she realized he was still angry, just no longer at her personally. Well, that's something, she thought.

Late that afternoon while Amanda in her flustered state, rattled on about how much trouble that car had been, Lee's thoughts were in a whirl as he thought about the events of the day and he had to admit that she was right. The only good that had happened since picking that car up from Gino's was their frenzied lovemaking in the front seat. "I know, I know," He said trying to soothe her rattled nerves. "I know it's been trouble," he said reaching for her hand and squeezing it lovingly. "But I'm just glad that you're all right." He then ran his hand up her arm and it struck him just how glad he was that she was all right. He couldn't help looking at her, his eyes locking on hers and he knew he was betraying his feelings for her on his face. "That's what's im-" He broke off at the intensity of the look they were sharing. Amanda was the first to break the intense eye contact glancing down at his hand on her arm. "important," he finished quickly removing his hand.

"Well, I..." she cleared her throat loudly horrified at the fact that she'd nearly just blurted out that she loved him when she'd seen the undeniable look of love on his face, but she'd be damned if she'd say it first only to have him deny that he felt the same way. Instead, she said, "Thank you."

"Yeah," he said with a nod of acknowledgement. Since his uncle's visit, "thank you" had sort of become their own private code for the words that neither of them could bring themselves to say. "And you're safe now, so you can calm down."

"I'm very calm," Amanda said with a nod and a slight smile. It was utterly amazing to her that after having her life threatened yet again, all it took was being in his company to make her feel safe, secure and well, calm.

The next day, Amanda was surprised to find Francine answering the phone at Lee's desk, "Francine, It's Amanda. Could I speak to Lee, please?"

"Amanda, Hello," Francine said gleefully. "No, Lee isn't in right now, but if this is one of those suburban gossip calls, would I do?" Truth be told, she was burning with curiosity and dying to get Amanda's side of the story when it came to her ongoing liaisons with Lee. More importantly, she wanted to know exactly what it was about her that kept Lee going back to her more than any other woman he'd ever had in his bed. It couldn't just be that she was willing because there were plenty of women willing. In fact, she'd heard the whispers in the steno pool that Lee hadn't been prowling there in a good long time.

"Francine, I really need to speak to Lee," Amanda said firmly in the same scolding tone she used on her children.

"Oh," Francine said, her face falling in disappointment. "It's one of those calls." As she explained to Amanda where he was, she jabbed at the buttons on the phone harder than she'd intended to, her irritation getting to her. One of these days, she was going to get Amanda cornered and get the real scoop out of her. If she could crack tough-as-nails KGB agents, she could certainly get information out of a suburban housewife. She just needed time to figure out the right interrogation technique.

After finding Amanda missing, Lee's anger had finally reached its boiling point as he questioned Mario. "Your friends out there on the street, they took the car back again, only this time they took somebody with them."

"So, what's that got to do with me? That's none of my business," Mario protested.

"It's not business anymore, Mario!' Lee said rising to his feet and glaring down at the goon in front of him. "It is personal. You understand me. Personal! Now, they took a lady with that car."

"So?"

"So," Lee said pointedly. "That lady happens to be a very, very good friend of mine." God, what's wrong with me? Why can't I just say that I love her? He drilled relentlessly at Mario, knowing that if he didn't, Amanda could die and he'd be responsible because he was the one who'd arranged for her to drive that car in the first place.

He must have broken every speed record in the book on his way to rescue Amanda, but now he had been happy to have her back by his side in his car, chasing down the bad guys together, proud of her for keeping her cool during this whole ordeal and how she'd kept her eyes peeled and gave him subtle direction to help him nail the bad guy. He now sat happily in the passenger seat of her care watching how smoothly she navigated the city streets in her station wagon on the way to Gino's. He found in watching her, he'd never be able to hear the words "woman driver' the same way again.