Chapter 13
Time couldn’t fly by fast enough. Henry’s mental countdown clock activated the second Elle agreed to meet him in one hour at the freight elevator in the hotel’s garage.
He knew she still had a few minutes before it was time—she had a morning breakfast with the girls—so to ensure he got the entire afternoon with her, he’d offered up his credit card to his mum to take Sarah shopping for any last-minute things she might need for her honeymoon. They’d snapped up the offer.
Chuffed about the day, he’d arrived about ten minutes early because he wanted to see her. He wanted to kiss her too—and do a lot more, but today was about proving to her that he was in this for more than the sex … as fuck-tacular as it was.
While they’d seen each other twice since their agreement, it had been in public and at wedding events, so they’d had to pretend to be indifferent toward each other. Well, she’d been indifferent toward him; he’d used every opportunity to send her secret looks and touches. Today, he needed a moment alone with Elle to check in with her.
So, after his workout, he’d called her room and asked her to meet him. She immediately replied with a yes, then hung up on him as if someone were listening on the line. Which made him smile.
Finding himself uncharacteristically nervous, he cupped the bill of his ball cap, then asked himself what the hell he was doing. Henry didn’t do nervous—ever. Around his opponents, the press, and especially not around women.
Giving himself a mental check, he started to pace when the elevator door opened.
Elle.
She was in a pair of hip-hugging jeans, a fitted green top, and her hair was pulled up in a ponytail. She looked beautiful.
“Come here,” he said. She slid her small hand into his and he tugged her around the corner and into the stairwell. Pushing her up against the wall, he stepped into her, loving the way her breath caught.
Before he could make his move, she fisted her hands into his shirt and dragged him against her. And then?—
Then . . .
Holy Christ, then.
The spiciest woman he’d ever met was kissing him in a way that had his blood catching fire. Her hands slid up his chest as her tongue boldly explored his mouth. It took him a moment to catch up, but when he did, she made this mewling sound in the back of her throat that was pure sex.
He ran his hands down her spine and into her back pockets, cupping her bum and bending her backward. He plundered her mouth. Her hands, which were tangled in his hair, tightened to the point of pain and he loved it.
And just about when his dick was ready to burst through his zipper, he pulled back. Her mouth chased his as if eating the air between them before they finally broke apart, both breathing heavy.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Payback for all the brushes of the ass you delivered last night at dinner.”
“If that’s your payback, I can’t wait to see what happens when I smack it.”
She grinned as if that were something she’d be open to. “So what do you want to do?”
“Take you up to my room and fuck you until you can’t walk straight.”
“Then why did you have me meet you in the garage where anyone can happen upon us?” She swatted him away like a pesky gnat.
“Because I want to do this right. So today we’re going on a date.”
Her face went completely white as if he’d said they were going on a murder spree. “A date? Like in public? We’d be as discreet as your cherry-red car.”
“Which is why we’re taking my Range Rover with tinted windows. And we’re going to a place that will be completely abandoned. No one but you and me.”
Her panic faded into a bright smile that made his chest tighten.
“What are we going to do?”
“It’s a surprise.”
She clasped her hands in delight. “I love a good surprise. But can I have at least one hint?”
He had to laugh. “That’s not how surprises work.”
She wrapped her thumbs in his belt loops and gave him a coy look. “A kiss for a hint.”
How could he say no to that? Say no to her?
“Let’s just say I want to share a piece of me with you.”
“How fast are we talking?”Elle asked, looking down at the high-performance Kart car. It was exactly like the ones Henry used to race in when he’d been a kid.
“One hundred eighty kilometers per hour, but we’re going to take it slow,” he promised her even though it was more of a reminder to himself. It was hard to take things slow when the entire ride over he’d had his hand on her knee, her leg, her thigh. He’d been surrounded by her unique scent, her essence. Then there had been the conversation that had covered everything from family to favorite foreplay. Unlike other women, she didn’t try to hide her interest, instead taking bold looks and moving his hand higher when she pleased.
“If you say so.”
He snapped her helmet’s chin strap in place and held her hand as she climbed in. “You remember what I told you about how to drive this thing?”
“Did you really just ask me that?”
“Sorry, I just want to make sure to keep you safe.”
She rested a hand on his arm. “I know it’s hard being Superman and all, but I can take care of myself. Have been since I was a kid.”
“I never said you couldn’t. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”
And there it was. That rare moment of shyness that drove him crazy. But this time it also rubbed him a little wrong. What kind of pricks had she been spending time with that something as simple as wanting to keep her safe was a foreign concept?
“I would say let’s place a bet, but I don’t think I want to take on the reigning world champion, so let’s just have fun.”
He chortled. “It’s driving you crazy that you can’t make this a competition, isn’t it?”
“A gentleman would never point that out.”
“I never claimed to be a gentleman.” He gave her ass a cute little spank and she squeaked. “Now, let’s race.”
Henry tried to belt her in the Kart, but she shoved him away in a statement of independence. That didn’t stop him from double-checking her safety harness and controls before they went out on the track.
It took her less than a single lap before she was nudging him to go faster, and by the third lap she was zipping by and laughing her head off. And this was exactly why he’d brought her here. Not just to show her a part of his world, but also to let her blow off some steam. She’d been there for his family all week, working hard and selflessly, and she deserved to have a little fun.
They went until they ran out of gas and then Henry took her to a patch of grass where his buddy, the owner of the track, had set up a picnic before disappearing. They polished off lunch and now were lying back on the blanket, on their sides staring at each other.
He could do this for hours, he decided. Just stare into her eyes.
“How old were you when you started racing?” she asked, a gentle breeze blowing through her hair and dislodging a few strands that fluttered around her face.
He pushed them back with his finger. “Six.”
She gasped with disbelief. “Your parents let you drive one of these when you were six?”
He chuckled. “Not this kind of Kart exactly, it was a little smaller and went a little slower, but yeah. Why, love, are you worried?”
“I just can’t imagine letting my kid get behind the wheel of any car before they’re old enough to drive.”
“Well, it turned out I was old enough at six. I took third my first race.” She gave his shoulder a playful shove. “Do you want kids?” he asked, and the playfulness faded into something deeper, more intimate.
“I don’t know. I think so. Maybe?”
“I’m glad you cleared that up.”
“It’s just, I didn’t have the best role model for a mom and my dad died in a car crash when I was a kid. So I don’t know if I’d know how to do it right.”
“I thought you had a typical growing up?” he asked, because that didn’t quite track with what she’d told him at the winery.
She lifted a slim shoulder and let it fall. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to say?”
“I want you to say the truth.”
She rolled onto her back and looked up at the sky. It wasn’t often that she broke eye contact, so he knew she was fighting her emotions. He cupped her hip and drew her closer, until her side was nestled into his stomach.
“My mom was never the warm and fuzzy type. Not that my dad didn’t love her, but they got married because she got pregnant with me. I don’t think she ever really wanted kids. She was ambitious, very career-focused, and after my dad died, she threw herself into work even more.”
“That sounds lonely.”
She looked up at him through her thick lashes and the sadness he saw there tore his heart in two.
“It was. At least I had my dad for the first twelve years. He had enough love for ten parents. But when he died there was just this big void. You know?”
“Yeah. My dad was my hero. He’s the one who got me into racing. We shared the same love for the sport. He was at every race, every practice, even worked as my mechanic as I got older. So when he left and didn’t even look back, I was so angry and confused. But at least I had my mum and sisters. It sounds like you didn’t have anyone.”
His heart ached at the idea of her being so alone in those crucial years with no real family to lean on. Especially after losing her dad. Henry’s father had walked away of his own accord, but Elle’s had died, leaving behind no hope of a second chance.
Not that Henry wanted a second chance with his dad any longer. That ship had sailed. But there had been a time, after the initial anger had worn off, where he’d thought that maybe someday his dad would come home, and their family would be whole again.
He knew that there was a part of Sarah who still wanted that. A piece of his sister who’d never given up the hope of a reconciliation. Henry was stuck between protecting her from further hurt and bursting her bubble, so whenever she brought up their dad, he’d just listen.
He’d never imagine that one day it would lead to Will showing up at Sarah’s wedding.
“In high school and college, I made some friends, who are my whole world. They are my family now.”
“Is that how you met Finn and his mom, through your friends?”
She nodded. “Georgia works for The Wish Foundation and when she shared his story, I knew I had to help if I could.”
“You could have just asked me,” he said, making lazy patterns on her hip, his fingers sliding just under the hem of her top.
“I didn’t want to be just one more person who wanted something from you. You get that all the time.”
“It would have been different coming from you.” Because he knew now that Elle would never take advantage of him or his family. She was as real and genuine as they came. It was her most attractive quality.
Was she gorgeous? Hell yeah. He hadn’t been able to keep his eyes or hands off her all day. But it was her spirit and inner beauty that he was starting to fall for. And he was starting to fall. How could he not? She was everything he had been looking for and didn’t know he needed, all at the same time. And she was leaving in less than a week.
Her life was in the States and his was on the circuit. Then again, his season didn’t go year-round. Training never ended, but he could train anywhere.
Jesus, was he really considering this?
He looked into her fathomless green eyes and decided, yes, he was.
“You could never be that. You wouldn’t take advantage,” Henry said.
He wasn’t sure if it was shyness or something else, but she quickly turned away as if unable to look at him, which was not normal for his firecracker. “I’ve never met anyone like you.” His words seemed to upset her, which was the exact opposite of his intentions. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s still a lot about me you don’t know.”
“Which is why I’m glad we have time to learn about each other. And who knows, you might even start liking me.”
“Liking you isn’t what I’m afraid of,” she said, and before he could ask what she meant, she abruptly stood. “We should get going. Sarah and your mom should be back soon, and we can’t be late for the wedding rehearsal.”