Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
GRIFFIN
Her pulse thrummed against my lips, a staccato beat under sweat-damp skin. Mine hadn’t slowed either.
Amusing, really.
All that stubbornness, all that cold restraint, shattered the second I had my mouth on her. She thought she could resist me. Could shove me into some neat little box labeled off-limits and pretend she didn’t want to climb inside it with me.
One kiss, and she fucking folded.
A smirk pulled at my mouth. I dragged my nose along the curve of her throat, just to feel the goose bumps spread down her arms, just to remind her that she was still pinned beneath me, exactly where she swore she wouldn’t be.
It was unfair, really. The way she made me feel like I’d won something massive and impossible, like outmaneuvering her meant more than trophies and podiums and crowds chanting my name.
Ridiculous how this sharp, quiet victory thrummed through my veins, more intoxicating than champagne sprayed across a winner’s podium.
I braced on my forearms, keeping my weight off her, but I let my fingers drift down, tracing the dip of her waist before settling on her hip. Holding her there. Not that she was trying to move.
Violet’s fingers twitched against my ribs, hesitant. A silent warning.
I pressed my lips to the corner of her jaw. “Don’t start thinking, Princess.”
Too late.
A tremor ran through her shoulders, and I pulled back. She blinked up at the ceiling, avoiding my gaze with a steadfast determination that sank beneath my skin and made my stomach flip with dread.
Fuck. I knew that look. The one that meant she’d started calculating risks, weighing consequences, remembering all the reasons we shouldn’t be doing this.
I braced both hands on the table, elbows locked, keeping her trapped beneath me. The wood creaked under our combined weight.
“I should get dressed,” she muttered, but she wasn’t really talking to me.
“Should you?” I kissed the edge of her throat.
She sucked in a breath.
Good.
She could pretend all she wanted. Pretend she wasn’t shaking. Pretend her fingers weren’t still tracing circles on my ribs, like she couldn’t help touching me even while her brain screamed at her to stop.
“You’re going to say this was a mistake,” I murmured, dragging my nose along her jaw. “And I’m going to tell you to try again.”
Her throat bobbed. “Griff—”
My lips brushed her ear. “Didn’t sound like a mistake twenty minutes ago.”
A shudder ran through her, before she got a grip on herself. Her hands found my chest, but not to pull me closer.
“Don’t,” she murmured, barely above a whisper.
I angled my head, brushing a kiss just beneath her jaw. I couldn’t stop touching her. Some part of me terrified that if I stopped, I’d never get to again. That this moment would evaporate like tire smoke after a perfect start.
“Don’t what?”
Her voice faltered. “Make this into something it’s not.”
I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “Liar.”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. This is something. It was something when you moved in and you couldn’t keep your eyes off me.”
Her whole body stiffened and I tilted my head, studying her, watching every small betrayal of her resolve. Her pulse sped up, her fingers curled against me like she wanted to hold on instead of push me away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I dragged my nose along her jaw. “Don’t you?”
“Stop!” She shoved at my chest, harder this time.
I let her have the space. But only just.
She pushed herself up, hair mussed, lips still red from me, and she refused to meet my eyes.
Not fucking happening.
I reached for her wrist before she could bolt, fingers curling around delicate skin. Not tight. Just enough to make her pause.
“Don’t run from this.”
Her shoulders tensed. “I’m not—”
I laughed, a rough sound. “Really? Because it looks a hell of a lot like running.”
She swallowed hard, still staring at the floor like if she avoided my gaze long enough, I’d give up.
I wouldn’t.
Not when her bare breasts heaved, still flushed, still fighting a battle she’d already lost. Not when I could still taste her on my tongue.
I tugged her hand, forcing her to look at me. “You can pretend all you want, Vi. But we both know you’ll end up right back here.”
Her lips parted, some retort on the tip of her tongue, but she caught herself.
Got you.
My thumb traced over her pulse. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“I need to get dressed.”
“Not until you admit it.” I eased closer, my voice low. “You want this. You always have.”
Her chin lifted. Stubborn. Always fucking stubborn. “Wanting something doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
I grinned. “You ever known me to be interested in good ideas?”
She gritted her teeth. “Just because you’re an adrenaline junkie, doesn’t mean I should let you drag me under too. This,” she gestured between us, speaking with exaggerated slowness, “is a bad idea for a thousand reasons.”
I smirked. “Convince me.”
“What?” She blinked.
“Convince me this is wrong and I’ll back off.”
She stared at me, her eyes narrowing as she searched for a sign that I was joking. “You’ll really stop?”
I nodded. “Sure, but you won’t be able to do it.”
Damn woman had no idea how much she had infected me.
“First of all, you’re you. You don’t do serious.”
“Funny, I was feeling pretty fucking serious five minutes ago.” My hand found its way to her throat, thumb tracing her collarbone, fingers curling gently around her nape. I couldn’t stop touching her, not when her pulse still hammered under my palm.
Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t waver. “You’re impulsive.”
I shrugged. “So are the best overtakes.”
She exhaled sharply. “My father—”
“Isn’t here,” I said, tilting her chin up with my thumb. “And he’s not the one I just had spread out on my kitchen table.”
Her lips parted, but she snapped them shut, nostrils flaring.
I smiled. “Next?”
“You can’t just shrug that off. He threatened your career.”
My hand slid from her throat, down her shoulder and along her arm, trying and maybe failing to soothe her.
“I know exactly what he threatened.”
She stiffened under my touch, but her hands didn’t leave my chest. “Then why are you acting like it doesn’t matter?”
I leaned in, so close she had to tip her head back to hold my gaze. “Because it doesn’t.”
Her eyes narrowed, disbelieving.
“You think I don’t know the risk? That I haven’t had to fight for my seat since the day I got it? Your father stopped wanting me on the team when I failed to win a third year in a row. The second he finds a reason to push me out, he will. But that’s got fuck-all to do with this.”
Her throat bobbed. “How can you be so sure?”
A humorless chuckle left me. “Because he already played that card. The second Hazel showed up, my career was on borrowed time.” My fingers tightened on her arms, voice steadier now, colder.
“You think I don’t hear them whispering?
That I don’t see the way the team watches me like I’m already slipping? Like I’m not worth the investment?”
“That’s not true.”
“People who rock the boat don’t last long at Aedris.” I smiled, swiping a finger across her kiss-swollen lips. “I’m rocking it so damn hard the water’s coming over the sides.”
“Then stop it.” She shook her head, looking so damn adorable in her naivety. “I’m not worth losing your seat.”
Something sharp stabbed at me, like brakes locking at full speed.
She actually believed that. That I’d choose a fucking team over her.
My hand cupped her jaw, thumb tracing the delicate slope of her cheekbone. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“Griff—”
“No.” I edged closer, tipping her chin up until those dark eyes locked on mine. “You think I’m worried about losing a contract in a team that prioritizes me less and less each year when I could have you instead?”
Her breath stuttered and my fingers drifted lower again, brushing the smooth column of her throat, the quick pulse beneath my touch. Each heartbeat like a countdown to the moment she’d either run or stay.
“Do you really think Julian Carter is the only man in this sport who’d put me in a car? That Aedris is the only team that would kill to have me?”
She stared up at me, lashes damp, lips parted like she wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words.
“I know exactly who I am, Vi. I know exactly how good I am.”
A sad smile tugged at my lips, and her hand rose to brush my cheek. The first time she’d reached for me without hesitation, without that practiced restraint. The gesture knocked me off-balance more than any corner ever could.
“I might not have won a world championship in a couple of years, but with the right car, I can still win.”
Truth was, I’d been neck and neck with Callaghan all season and if Julian hadn’t screwed me over in Singapore, I might have managed to beat him.
“I can walk into any team on this grid and get a seat tomorrow.”
We’d left it late, but Dominic managed to find me multiple offers.
Turned out, my career wasn’t as dead in the water as Julian had tried to make me believe in the last few years.
On some level I’d known that. I was only twenty-eight and some drivers lasted past forty, but that knowledge hadn’t stopped his backhanded remarks from sinking their teeth into my ego.
“But tell me,” I ducked my head, and forced her to stare into my eyes, “where the fuck am I supposed to find another you?”
A tear slipped free, streaking down her cheek.
I caught it with my thumb, tilting her chin up, forcing her to stay with me.
“You are worth it, Princess.” My jaw flexed, words thick in my throat. “More than racing, more than my fucking career, more than anything I’ve ever given a shit about before.”
Her breath hitched.
“I’ve never wanted anything like this,” I murmured. “Never needed something the way I need you.”
Her fingers curled into my shirt, tight, shaking. Her mouth opened and I kissed her before she could tell me I was wrong.
Slow.
Certain.
A promise.
And when she kissed me back, I knew I had her.
She kissed me like she didn’t trust herself. Like if she leaned in too much, she’d never stop.
I wasn’t stopping either way.
Her fingers curled against my chest, holding on to me. I could’ve kept her there all night, laid her back on the table and reminded her exactly what she’d just let happen.
But then her shoulders tensed. She broke away first, lips still flushed, body still warm against mine.
I smirked. Go on, Princess. Pretend you’re still in control.
“Fine. You win.” Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table as I grinned. “But we need ground rules.”
“Oh, this should be good.”
Violet tapped her fingers once against the wood before she squared her gaze on me. “No one finds out.”
I rolled my eyes. “Agreed.”
She narrowed her eyes. “No press. No slipping up. Not even a look.”
I grinned. “A look?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
She tried to act unaffected, to pretend that if I so much as looked at her too long in public, she wouldn’t be thinking about us. About the way her body still burned from my hands.
I dragged my knuckles up her thighs, enjoying the way she squirmed. “Fine. I won’t look at you.”
Her lips parted, but she caught herself. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.” I squeezed her hip. “I won’t slip up.”
Her brows pulled together, but she nodded. “No distractions.”
I smirked. “You mean like the way you’re staring at my mouth right now?”
Her jaw clenched. “You need to get your head back in the race.”
“I know.”
Her nostrils flared. “Then prove it.”
I grinned. “Oh, I plan to.”
She sucked in a slow breath. “Winning comes first.”
I dragged my thumb along the inside of her thigh, watching her body react, pupils dilating, breath catching.
“It does.”
Her spine stiffened, but she didn’t shuffle back. “Then focus.”
I hummed, tilting my head, watching her. “You’re the one keeping me distracted.”
She swallowed hard. “Then I’ll stay out of your way.”
The mere suggestion lanced deeper than any criticism from the press, any disappointed look from Julian.
I caught her wrist. “That’s not how this works.” I leaned in, lips just brushing her ear. “I win. You stay.”
Violet scoffed, a sharp noise that barely covered the way her fingers twitched against my ribs. “Smug. Fucking. Drivers.”
I grinned. “You love it.”
She huffed, grabbed my jaw, and kissed me.
Hard.
Like she hated that I was right.
Like she was trying to shut me up before I could push her any further.
I kissed her back because she could pretend all she wanted, but there would be no turning back now.
She was mine.
She broke away first, thumb brushing my chin. Her tongue darted out, wetting swollen lips, and my stomach clenched hard.
Fuck.
I wanted to drag her right back in. I wanted to keep kissing her until she forgot whatever excuse she was about to make. Until she was too far gone to pretend anymore.
“We’ll reassess at the end of the season,” she said, voice firm, like she actually thought she was in control of this. Adorable. “But until then, this has to be a secret.”
Yeah. Because secrets had worked out so well for us so far and I’d done such a brilliant job hiding how I felt when she walked into a room. Not.
“If that’s what helps you sleep at night.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, Griffin. We keep this quiet. No mistakes. No—”
“Press, no slipping up, no getting caught.” I smirked, nudging my nose against hers. “You just told me. I was listening, Princess.”
She shook her head, lips pressing together like she was trying to be exasperated, like she wasn’t still sitting on my table, legs parted, skin warm beneath my hands.
“Put your clothes on,” she muttered. “Before you get any more ideas.”
I slipped my finger between her legs, finding her still wet and sensitive. “Too late for that.”
Her eyes fluttered shut, a strangled groan escaping her throat. She gripped the table edge until her knuckles whitened. “We agreed—”
“We did.” My mouth brushed her jaw. “And we agreed that no one will find out. Which means…” My fingers pressed into her hips, sliding her closer to the edge while my other hand teased her clit. “We have time.”
She swallowed hard, breath catching for a second before she forced herself to scowl at me. “Hazel—”
“Is still asleep.”
Her nostrils flared. “No shit.”
I grinned. “So you can’t use her as an excuse to run away from me this time.”
“I’m not...”
I dropped to my knees and her voice trailed off as a half-gasp, half-protest escaped her. Her hands flew to my hair, nails dragging, thighs parting on instinct.
A fucking masterpiece of a reaction.
I let my fingers slip inside of her. Her walls fluttered, still sensitive from before. Her head fell back, a shuddering breath escaping her lips as I curled my fingers, finding that spot that had made her fall apart minutes ago.
She wasn’t going anywhere.
Not now.
Not ever.
“We’re going to make the most of every second of adult time she gifts us tonight.”