Shifting Gears

by Jayne Rylon

  “After all I shared, don’t you dare hold back.”

  “Fair enough.” Sloan laughed then sighed. “I’ve been aware of Mark for a long time, but it’s been only a couple days since I really started to get to know him. So take this with a grain of salt.”

  “Time doesn’t matter.” Lynn shook her head as a soft smile crossed her face. “Bastian’s mom told me that when I first started dating him, and she was right. When you meet your mate, you know them. Right away. I don’t want to curse you two, but I can’t mistake how you and Mark are together. It’s a perfect partnership. If you have a gut instinct about him, go with it. It’s probably right.”

  Sloan nodded. “Mark feels inferior to Sebastian. Like a second-class citizen in their friendship.”

  “What!” The other woman bolted upright. “How can that be? We love him. Bastian is closer to him than a brother. There’s no way we would ever disrespect him like that.”

  “Shush, I don’t think it has anything to do with you two. It’s more that Sebastian captures all the glory in the league.” Sloan shrugged. “I think years of playing second fiddle have started to make him doubt his worth. It would mean a lot to him if Sebastian shared himself. You know, let Mark drive for once.”

  “He’s been hurting yet he hasn’t said anything.” Lynn bit her lip and Sloan caught the sheen of tears in the other woman’s eyes. “He never would have either. Damn him and his noble streak. We would have made things right. Did you know Sebastian is the only driver in the league who splits his winnings evenly with his navigator?”

  “I didn’t, but that’s very generous.”

  “In the months I’ve known Bastian, he’s woken up in a sweaty mess about half a dozen times in the middle of the night. He has a recurring nightmare about crashing. So do I, but this is different. He’s terrified that he’ll do something while driving, cause an accident.” Lynn’s eyes shone with the fear all race wives endured. “He doesn’t care about himself. He obsesses about injuring Mark, or worse. I think he’d love to let go of the burden of control for a night or two every once in a while. It weighs heavy on him.”

  “Damn, they’re so close and still so secretive. I’m glad we talked.” Sloan covered Lynn’s shaking hand. “And that you invited me to be a part of all this.”

  “Mark chose you. Smartest thing he’s done. I’ve been around him every day for months but I didn’t notice what you did in an instant. You get him. You’re looking straight into his heart and you like what you see.”

  “Like might be an understatement.”

  “I hope so.” Lynn hugged her. “For both your sakes.”

  “I think we can make this work for everyone.”

  “I do too, Sloan.” After a minute or two of reflective silence, Lynn laughed.

  Sloan raised an eyebrow in her direction.

  “The Cougar Challenge ladies are going to be so jealous.”

  “Damn straight. Go us!”

  “Rawr!”

  Chapter Nine

  During the taxi ride from the ferry back to the train station in Hong Kong, Sloan’s cell phone started buzzing, flashing and ringing like mad. It could only mean one thing.

  “Shit, someone stirred up a hornet’s nest.” She dug in her purse until she snagged the offensive device, aligning her mind to business and away from her holiday.

  “You need to get here. Now.” Her assistant sounded frazzled, an uncommon occurrence.

  “On my way, how bad is it?”

  “Really bad.”

  “Shit. Hold things together until I get in. About two hours.”

  “Will do. But it’s not the usual—”

  Crap, her cell must have been searching for a signal the entire time they were on Cheung Chau. She’d drained the battery. It died before she’d finished receiving her assistant’s message.

  “Damn it!”

  “An emergency?” Mark took her hand in his. “If one of the guys did something stupid, I’m going to kick his ass. I was looking forward to spending a quiet night in with you.”

  Lynn exchanged a meaningful look with her.

  “Same here.” Sloan grimaced. “Probably not going to happen now. Sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault, Cougar.” He patted her hand. “I’ll be waiting whenever you’re ready.”

  Closer to three hours later, because of the unflagging traffic in the city—she’d never figure out how they managed to jam five cars wide in two lanes—they jogged into the international housing complex.

  Mark and Sebastian strode side by side, each with his woman on his arm. Sloan expected them to part ways and head upstairs, but her friends stayed close on her heels when she angled toward the office space she’d been using for official business.

  Their support touched her.

  But it made it that much worse when she opened the glass door and recognized the irate man shouting at her poor assistant.

  She tripped, landing in Mark’s secure embrace. The room spun as several things happened at once. Lynn and Mark kept asking if she was okay as Sebastian stepped in front of her, blocking the advance of the man who’d waited on her to return.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Larry didn’t seem to notice the illness swamping her gut. No surprise there, it’d always been all about him. “I flew halfway around the fucking world to see you and you couldn’t show up any quicker?”

  Why now? After all this time, her bastard ex-husband had to choose this day—the best day of her life—to ruin.

  “Wh-what do you want?” She peeked around Mark and Sebastian’s intimidating forms.

  “Give me another chance…sweetie.” The red splotches on his cheeks made it hard to take him serious.

  “Hang on. Is this tool your ex?” Mark transformed in an instant. His chest puffed up and his shoulders dropped back. He cracked his knuckles. From affable and gentle to protector in half a second. God, that made her moist.

  “Yeah.” Larry confirmed his suspicions. “I mean, I’m her husband. Not a tool.”

  “Ex-husband,” she whispered.

  “Do you want to talk to this asshole?” Sebastian looked to Sloan for confirmation.

  She hesitated as she recalled all the sleepless nights she’d spent vacillating between outrage and regret. She’d sworn, if she had a chance to do things differently, she would have made sure her husband had what he needed, that he hadn’t had to turn to the comfort of others.

  But that was before she’d accepted the truth.

  No matter what she did or did not do, she couldn’t control Larry’s behavior. If he had loved her, he would have worked things out instead of lying and cheating. An honorable man would have broken things off, if it came to that, before screwing around.

  Mark had shown her what a caring lover should look like.

  Larry could never match up.

  If she scoured her soul, she knew she’d find she never truly loved him. Her heart had never ached after two seconds apart from him as it did for Mark. She never remembered losing herself to pleasure and drifting in the shelter of his arms as she had with Mark.

  Mark was the man she needed to talk to.

  “No.” She turned away. “There’s nothing left to say.”

  “Wait! Sloan, please.” A fat tear dropped from Larry’s bloodshot eyes. Had he been drinking again? Unfortunately for him, the sight inspired no sympathy in her. “I fucked up. I know it now. I didn’t appreciate you. I…I miss you.”

  His pathetic attempt to lure her had zero effect.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.” Sloan brushed past everyone, crashing into the door hard enough it smacked against the wall outside then bounced back, the handle banging into her hip. It would leave a bruise but she hardly noticed, her entire body numb.

  At the end of the hallway, someone exited the elevator. She dashed for the closing doors, waving her hand to keep them from shutting as she slipped inside. Her eyes widened when she saw Mark less than two steps behind her in the mirrored wall of the car.
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  He tapped the up arrow and had the doors opening once more.

  “Damn, you’re quick when you’re upset.” He reached for her.

  Slow, steady, he gave her a chance to evade his touch.

  Nothing could have been further from her mind. She launched herself into his spread arms, soaking in the comfort of his embrace. Larry’s sudden appearance had shocked her, leaving her no time to think or respond to his ridiculous plea with the snappy comebacks she’d crafted for months while she nursed her wounded pride.

  None of that mattered now.

  Sloan prayed for the doors to shut so she could be alone with Mark—attempt to explain the jumble of emotions overwhelming her—but someone slapped the button again, preventing their assent.

  “Sloan? What the hell is this?” Larry glared in their direction. “I thought I was the moron, fucking around with women half my age. What are you thinking? You know what? It doesn’t matter. You’ve had your fun. Now come home with me.”

  “My home is here.” She squeezed Mark’s supportive hand.

  “With this kid? Grow up, Sloan. You’ll come back to your senses, like I did. I can’t guarantee I’ll be waiting when you decide you want a man.”

  “Mark’s more of a man than you’ll ever be, jackass.”

  “And I’d never be foolish enough to let my Cougar go.” Mark tucked her against his chest then stared at Larry’s finger, which continued to depress the elevator button. “I suggest you take your hand off that if you’d like to keep it in one piece, gramps.”

  When Larry would have argued, Sebastian stepped in, shielding them from his sight. Several other crew members spotted the commotion and joined the driver to create a damn effective wall. They crowded Larry until he relented, abandoning the controls.

  Sloan chuckled as the narrowing gap between the closing elevator doors obscured Larry’s sputtering face. She tossed him a finger wave before turning to Mark, her smile dimming as she considered his declaration. “Did you mean that?”

  “Yeah.” He stepped closer then picked her up as though he needed to hold her as much as she craved the comfort of his embrace.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders so they could see each other eye to eye.

  “I’ve always had a thing for you, Sloan. Some part of me recognized you were meant to be mine even when I didn’t think I had a chance at claiming you. But…are you sure? I’m betting you spent a lot of time wishing your husband would grovel like this—that you would make him suffer but ultimately forgive him.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because my heart understands you. You wouldn’t read all those romance novels if you didn’t hope for a happily ever after of your own.” He shifted his grip to cradle her while staring deep into her eyes. “Be sure, Sloan. If you still have feelings for him—”

  “I don’t.”

  “Then how did he impact you so strongly down there?” Mark frowned, the expression so atypical for him, his mouth couldn’t quite pull it off. “It killed me to see you run like that—”

  “He didn’t.” She silenced his objections with a soft kiss. “He startled me. Worse, I frightened and disgusted myself. How could I have given so much of my life to a man I don’t love? Never did. The waste of time is horrifying. I feel nothing for him.”

  “And for me?” Mark did a good job of masking his hope. His fear. But she saw right through the brave façade.

  Could she take the risk? Change her life? Shift gears?

  Sloan rubbed their noses together then whispered, “Everything for you.”

  “Yes, Dio.” He swallowed so hard she heard it. “It’s the same for me, Cougar.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him until stars danced in her vision.

  “I…” Sloan stalled. What could she say? She wished she could assure him this time it was the real thing but the promise stuck in her throat. She’d made the mistake of jumping into a relationship once before. Repeating history would destroy her, no matter how tempting her young stud made it.

  “Shh. I don’t expect any vows, not after a few days of fooling around. I don’t need them because I know. For the first time in my life, I’m certain I’ve found what I need. In myself. In you.”

  “I want to believe it too.” She kissed him. Gentle. Tender. When they arrived on their floor, he walked them to his room without putting her down. “I feel more for you than I have words for. But I need time, Mark. To be sure—”

  “As long as it takes, Sloan.” He smiled as he nuzzled the hair at her temple. “I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you, Cougar.”

  “Not even inside? There’s a nice big bed in there. A tub full of jets too.” She peeked over his shoulder as she rubbed her pussy across the bulge in his pants. “I need a place to hide from my psycho ex-husband for several hours, until he gives up and slinks away. Why don’t you try to convince me some more?”

  “I like the sound of that. But it won’t be very hard.” Mark’s newfound confidence fired her blood. Then left her speechless when he dropped the bomb. “You’re going to love me. As much as I love you.”

  When she would have sputtered some meaningless reflexive objection, Mark hijacked her mouth and swallowed her fear. In the heat of his all-consuming passion, she melted and let him have his way.

  Defeat had never tasted so good.

  * * * * *

  A knock at the connecting door to Sebastian and Lynn’s room drew Mark and Sloan from the action movie they watched late on Sunday evening.

  “Come in, it’s open,” Mark shouted from the bed, too relaxed to move.

  “Hey, we heard Larry was escorted to the airport. The crew confirmed he’s off the continent. Left on the nine o’clock flight.” Lynn and Sebastian walked, hand in hand, to perch on the edge of the mattress. “We came to see if you’re all right.”

  “Relieved.” Sloan held out her arms and the pair closed the gap. “Thank you for letting me know.”

  The group exchanged hugs all around. Knowing his friends would protect Sloan filled Mark with gratitude.

  “Everything’s good.” Sloan nodded toward the couple who gauged the atmosphere.

  Something was…off.

  Sebastian and Lynn hovered as though they expected Sloan to make a move or something. Instead she said, “But I didn’t approach Mark about…what we discussed. I didn’t have time or the energy to handle it alone. Sorry.”

  Uh-oh, he didn’t know if he liked the sound of that.

  “Don’t apologize, babe.” Sebastian stroked Sloan’s hair then dropped a quick peck on her cheek. “I should have done it myself anyway.”

  The sight of Sebastian’s tan skin against Sloan’s pale delicacy made Mark long for the days when he’d shared women with Bastian. He would have enjoyed gifting her with the pleasure two men could impel. Before his imagination could run with the thought, his best friend shocked the hell out of him.

  “But, in that case, I need to talk to you about something, amico.” Sebastian didn’t tiptoe around. He snatched the remote, clicked off the movie then met Mark’s stare directly.

  Mark definitely didn’t like that.

  Sloan took one of his hands in hers and Lynn grabbed the other.

  “Holy shit, who died?” Panic threatened to overrule his calm.

  “Nothing like that.” Sebastian’s strangled laugh confused him further.

  “Then spit it out already.” Mark would have tugged on his hair if he’d had his hands free.

  “Fuck.” Bastian looked to the women for encouragement then paced away and back. “This is harder than I thought.”

  Mark growled a warning.

  “Okay. Son of a bitch. Here it is.” Sebastian inhaled so deep his breath might have expanded his toes. “Remember when I first met Lynn and the three of us got together on the jet?”

  Mark’s cock rose to instant attention. Would Sloan freak if she noticed?

  He stared at a spot on the wall acros
s the room from him and tried to will the arousal inspired by the memory to fade, but his stubborn hard-on firmed further.

  Sloan giggled from his side then cupped his cheek in her palm. She angled his face toward her then kissed him with a brush of her lips, lighter than a butterfly. “Don’t start pretending now, Marco. You told me how horny it made you to touch them both.”

  Holy shit, he’d never spoken of the incident with Sebastian and Lynn. Not since that night. Admitting his extra-dirty streak freaked him out. He ended up one-down from Sebastian enough. He didn’t need to add this to the pile.

  “So you guys are trying to ambush me?” He leapt from the bed, putting his back to the wall.

  “No, amico. That’s not it at all.” Sebastian held his hands out and inched toward Mark. The navigator took baby steps backward until his shoulders hit the solid surface behind him. “It’s… I wondered if you were interested in experimenting a little more. Our Cougars are hot to watch us. Together. They promise they’ll make it worth our while. Imagine. A foursome, Marco. With the women we love. And each other.”

  “You thought that if you all ganged up on me, I’d bend over for Bastian?” He accepted the panic and rage overtaking him as though he were a bull facing down a matador but he couldn’t contain it a moment longer. Not after all this time. He swept the glasses and ice bucket from the table by his side. “Like always!”

  “They were right.” Sebastian halted the cycle of anger, betrayal and humiliation spiraling out of control when he staggered as through sucker-punched, one hand clutching his chest. Lynn rushed to Bastian’s side, shooting Mark a look that flipped between regret and anger for hurting her mate. “How did I miss it? I had no idea you felt like that.”

  “Fuck.” Mark spun, slapping his palms on the wall then attempting to regain mastery of his bellowing breath. The comfort of Sloan’s delicate grasp encircled his waist. She rested her check on his spine. Having her near leached his anger, replacing it with shame. “I’m sorry, Bastian.”

  He looked over his shoulder at the man smothering his fiancée in a desperate embrace. Despite everything bubbling to the surface, Mark still cared. He hadn’t intended to hurt the other man. Sebastian wasn’t to blame for Mark’s moronic insecurities. He crossed to his friend then knocked him on the shoulder.