Heartless Legacy (Heartless Heirs of Canyon Falls #4)

99. Pax

Chapter 99

Pax

I ’m in fifth place with four laps to go. I’ve been fighting to hold this position, but the sixth-place car is right on my tail. This S-curve will be the difference between maintaining my spot and losing it. My instincts say to slow down so I don’t hit the wall and speed up when I hit the straightaway, but just that small drop of speed will cost me time, so I do something stupid. Probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done since learning to drive. I turn my wheel left, release my foot from the gas, then quickly accelerate again.

My car slides left, the back end starts to over-steer. I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, trying to keep the front wheels facing the direction I’m traveling so I don’t spin out. Just before I reach the end of the first bend of the curve, I repeat the process steering to the right. Alternating the amount of gas, I give it as I drift left and right. My steering wheel bounces and I almost lose control.

The straightaway is right in front of me. I level the wheel and floor it, zooming past the cars that are hugging the outside and inside of the turn. Three laps to go. I take the curve the same way I did before. This time it’s a little easier. By the time I’m down to my last lap, I go all out, pushing my car as fast as it can go. I’m right behind the first place car. As I come along his right side, he tries to crash me into the wall. I slam on my brakes and try to maneuver around him. He does the same on the left, forcing me to brake.

Coming into the first bend of the curve, I speed up. He bumps my back tire. Instead of slowing, I go with the turn, yanking my wheel, and pump the gas. My car careens around the center of the curve. When I turn the wheel right, he takes the inside lane to avoid me. I yank my wheel again, dropping the throttle at the very last second. I shoot out of the last part of the turn, switch gears and barrel down the straightaway to the finish line.

I pull past the checkered flag, slowing down as I near the edge of the track, skidding my car to a stop next to Thea. I shove the door open, unfolding myself from the seat, and stalk over to where she’s standing. She stares up at me, looking smug as shit. The problem is, I can’t tell if it’s because her input helped me win the race or because I told her ass to stay away from these clowns, and she didn’t listen.

It’s Thea, so it’s probably the part where she defied me. “I’m pretty sure I left you on the other side of the track.”

“You did. Good thing my feet work or I’d have been stuck over there.”

Somebody pushes closer and says, “I can’t believe this shit.”

I scowl at him, prepared to push him back when he lifts a hand towards her. She holds out her hand palm up, and I watch as he drops a stack of cash in it. He holds back the last stack. “You sure you don’t wanna double down on next week’s race?”

“Nah. I’m good.” She plucks the money from his hand and slaps it into mine. “You’ll have to wait until the next time he races to win this cash back.”

I grab her arm before she gets lost in the crowd, dragging her to my car and shoving her into the passenger seat. I dodge her kick, closing her inside. “Look here, asshole!” She screams when I get behind the wheel.

“Not a word, Nem. Not one. Fucking. Word.” I warn, throwing my car in drive.

Did I say taking her advice was the stupidest thing I’ve done? I was wrong. This is. Eloise is here, and I think I saw one of the guys who was on assignment with The League. He’s usually drunk as shit and sprawled across the ground at our parties, but I guess that was all an act. A very convincing one, since none of us ever suspected he wasn’t just a drunk frat boy. Is he even a student at CaFa U? None of that matters right now. All that matters is her.

“What the hell is your problem?” She yells as I take a curve too fast. I pull over when we’re far enough away from the crowd that no one will see us. She shoves her door open, her little fists flying at me as I get close.

I let her get some hits in. Her fighting me won’t stop what’s about to happen. I grab her wrists, holding them in one hand to keep her from swinging again, then grab her around her middle with my other arm, hoisting her onto the hood of my car. My chest heaves as I push my way between her legs. “You bet on me?”

“Betting is kind of the point of these things.”

“No. Thea. I mean, you took your money and bet on me to place in the top three?”

She scoffs at me. “Um, you’re kidding, right?” She fans her wad of cash back and forth. “You don’t win these kinds of stacks for top three. I bet on you to place first with at least point forty-five seconds between you and the second place car.”

I’m dumbfounded. There are tons of things I want to say, but the only question I can get out is, “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? I like money and saw an opportunity to make some.”

“But you didn’t know I was gonna follow your suggestion.”

“That’s why the lead was less than half a second. If I thought for sure you were going to listen, then I’d have definitely given it three quarters of a minute.” She frowns up at me. “What’s the problem? I paid you out.”

“You expect me to keep the money?”

“Of course. You earned it.”

“And you’ve earned what’s about to happen.”

She yelps when I pop open the button on her jeans, yanking them and her panties down her legs, before pushing her further up the hood. I ignore her protests, hooking her legs over my arms and burying my face between them. I eat her from taint to slit because I meant it. She. Earned. This. No one at these races bet on me, and if they do, they’re not saying so or paying me a cut of their earnings. I don’t need the money. I’m not taking her money. But that she sees me as an equal in this world. That means a lot to me.

“God, you’re so good at that.” She moans.

I don’t want to think about why I’m so good. I focus on her and genuinely wanting her to enjoy it. To please her, because she’s pleased me. “That’s it. Right there. Stay right there,” she gasps when I suck her clit. “Fuck, you make my pussy feel so good.”

Her talking to me like this makes me feel good. In my world, you’re not supposed to seek validation. Of course, you want to be the best. You fight for it. But it’s all points, money, power, and measurable data. Nobody tells you good job , just for the hell of it.

“Oh, yes. Oh yes. So good. Don’t stop.” She grips my hair with both hands, holding me in place. Working her hips. Using my face. I’m so hard listening to her. Hard letting her use my face like this. I ignore the ache in my chest. Ignore the voice saying to ask for something I’m not supposed to want.

“That’s it.” She coos. “Stay right there, big guy. Right there. Eat this pussy like it’s your last meal. Make me cum for you.”

I growl, doubling down on my efforts. When her legs clamp around my ears, I pry them open, pushing her knees to her chest, shoving two fingers inside her as I suck and slurp her down, wishing they were my cock.

“God, oh, god, oh god. You want my cum? You want me flooding your face?” I grunt. I can’t think of anything better. “Such a good boy. You eating me so good. Suck it, suck my clit.” Her hands press against the back of my head, smothering me. I can’t breathe, but I don’t care. I suck her clit as hard as I can. She keens, her back bowing off the hood, nails digging into my scalp.

Her body convulses, and she stutters, “Ffff-uuuuck.”

I groan against her clit as I lap up her release. Her hands loosen, then fall away from me. I back away, licking my lips and sucking my fingers as I watch her come back to reality.

She’ll probably take another swing at me, but her taste on my tongue is totally worth it.

Thea lets out a wary sigh when I drop into the seat beside her, and say, “Good Morning.”

“It was shaping up to be one until you sat here.”

“It can still be one. I’ll move if you really want me to, but there’s a bit of business we need to settle first.”

“I gave you a fair cut of the money I won at the race.”

“You gave me more than that.” I swipe my tongue across my lip, emphasizing my point. “But the race isn’t what I’m talking about. I don’t think I ever thanked you for what you did for Finn at your amnesty challenge.”

“You didn’t. I’m surprised you even care.”

“There’s tension between us, because of the choices I’ve made or not made, but they’re still my best friends.”

She smirks at me. “Are they though? I heard about what they did to your companion. Shouldn’t they be enemy number two and three?”

“Who would be enemy number one?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” She flutters her fingers. “It’s me.”

“You’re not my enemy Thea. Neither are Finn and Holden. I care about the three of you more than I do anyone or anything else in this world.”

“I’ve seen no proof of that. If anything, the only thing you’ve proven is that you’re just like your father. You care about power more than anything in this world and will screw over your Trium just like he did to get it.”

My stomach sinks. I’ve been stealing little moments with her when I can, but my face between her legs is doing nothing to change her perception of me. “I’m nothing like him, Thea. On a fundamental level, I don’t agree with him. I never have.” Dropping my voice, I say, “I hate what he did to you. I tried to stop him, and the only way I could make sure you were safe was to go along with his plan to marry Eloise.”

“I wasn’t safe, Pax. He had me drugged to force my compliance. And then he’s so good at pissing people off and making enemies -that the guy who was supposed to be helping him hide me- stole me from Rockridge and shoved me in an even worse hell hole, where none of them gave a shit about compliance. Do you know what they did in there, Pax? They bid on me for the right to inflict pain.”

She shoves to her feet. “I wasn’t safe, so your supposed motives don’t mean shit to me.”

She bolts past the students at the door and is gone by the time I reach the hall. She had maybe a forty-five second head start. How the hell did she disappear that quickly?

I spot her coming out of the bathroom as I head back to class. When she sees me, she runs back inside, as if that’s going to stop me from finishing this conversation. The person at the sink pulls her hands away from the water stream and snatches a folded paper towel from the basket, drying them as she scurries past me. Thea isn’t so lucky when she tries to do the same. I snag her arm, pulling her back against me, as I check the rest of the stalls to make sure we’re alone, then flick the lock on the door, preventing anyone from walking in on us.

She warns, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

My shoulder raises a fraction of an inch. “This conversation is important enough that I’m willing to risk this turning into another session where our bodies are pressed together.”

“My body isn’t the body you should be worried about. Or did you forget I have a team whose mission is to forcibly remove anyone who pollutes the air I breathe?”

Crowding her against the sink, with my voice lowered, I say, “I’m willing to risk that too.” I search her eyes. Whatever vulnerability she offered in over sharing earlier is gone, tucked away in favor of the part of her that’s like a placid lake, so unmoving that you question if it’s a sheet of ice.

“I’m sorry.” Her adorably cute nose crinkles. I repeat the words that I don’t often say in my life. “I’m sorry. For all of it, Thea. For what I didn’t do while you were gone. For what I’m doing now that you’re back, and I’m sorry for what my bastard of a father did and tried to do to you.”

I press my forehead against hers, even at the risk of it winding up slammed into the mirror or sink. “I’ll fix this. I don’t know how, yet. But I vow to you that I’ll do whatever it takes, for however long it takes, to make sure he pays for this.”

She grips my shirt, pulling me closer, then goes to knee me in the balls. Expecting that move, I dodge the full brunt of it, but avoiding the attack put space between us, which was her goal. She darts under my arm and hurries to the door. “You can keep your empty promises, Pax. I can get retribution for myself.”