She had been possessed ever since she found out Sonja was coming over, not a joking bone in her body when it came to her mom. I had my own feelings about seeing Sonja again. This woman, who for a moment I thought of as my mother, the woman who cared for me, taught me to cook, coached me on dating; the same woman who left me behind so easily. Who took away the only family I had left and then asked me to stay away. I was angry but I knew it wasn’t my time; I wouldn’t do that to Mack.
“I couldn’t tell her.” I wound my arm around her waist and pulled her towards me to help still her shaking voice. She felt fucking fantastic pressed against me, her chin tipped up at me, that sweet freckle just below her lip that I wanted to kiss. This was not going to be easy. All eyes would be on her tonight, and I wouldn’t be able to hold her hand. I had waited 10 years, not knowing what I was waiting for. And now I had to stand idly by, by my own stupid fucking decree, and not hold proudly what was finally mine.
“Ok, kid, don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Before I could even steal a kiss the door swung open behind her.
“Makay…” Her eyes landed on me and she stopped speaking, she may have stopped breathing for a second. I dropped Makayla’s hand and tipped my jaw, looking over her shoulder at an already disapproving Sonja. Mack looked up at me, her eyes growing wide before she took a deep breath, dropped her shoulders and turned to her mother.
“Mom, you remember Kelley.”
“Of course, I remember Kelley,” she returned not looking away from me. “You look well,” she said, her voice unsure. “It’s nice to see you again.” She offered me her hand awkwardly and I took it, gave her a cordial shake before I dropped it, an easy, practiced for the press smile across my lips. To say a million things didn’t come rushing back when I saw her would be a lie, but to assume that I wasn’t going to fight that wave of emotion with every fiber of my personal strength would be a mistake. She left me when I was a boy. I was a man now, a man well versed in giving people exactly what they expected and not a fraction more. I would do what was best for Makayla, my personal feelings aside.
I excused myself and found Robert. He and I went out to meet the cars and waited for everyone to arrive. Chase showed up in his obviously new to him, classic 911 pulling slowly around the drive to show off and parking beneath the carport on the side of the garage. Garrett by comparison, and in true Garrett style, plowed into the gravel drive in his jacked up truck, the wheels kicking up dust as he spun around and came to an abrupt stop just short of the garage.
Chase was without a date, which surprised me. Garrett hopped from the truck and came around, dropping a cigarette in the gravel before he opened the passenger door. Cressida kicked her legs around and he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her from the truck.
Chapter 18
Dog and Pony Show
We arrived as a team, but in separate cars. Robert, Garrett, Aidan and I in one car. The rest of team in the other. This was always the unofficial unveiling of the teams, arranged by the table settings. There was no escaping that spotlight tonight for Makayla, as much as she wanted to avoid it. Not only would she be revealed as part of the team but the fact it was the 10th anniversary of her father’s death, and that Ina had Sonja brought out all meant spotlight on her. I wanted to be at her side, to hold her hand but I couldn’t, by my own choice. Instead, I watched her stick to her mother’s side like glue.
I walked the carpet with Aidan letting him field the questions as usual and we quickly ducked inside and headed for the bar as we usually did at these functions. The onslaught of fanfare called for a drink. We stood at the bar and watched as the ballroom filled. People filtered in and moved around the auction items and mingled.
Every once in a while, I would catch her scanning the crowd and give her a nod which always seemed to illicit a smile, and I hoped brought her a bit of comfort from afar. She shined in her dress, she had described it to me but did herself no justice. She looked like a fucking princess in that mint colored gown. It was like she was floating on air when she walked. Yet somehow she managed to look just like herself which was impossible for most women in the face of hair and makeup and designer dresses. Her loose hair cascaded around her shoulders and all I could think was how I wanted to wind it around my fist while I had her on her knees. I had to banish those thoughts. Needed to get my head back in the game and focus or I would be the one to blow this.
The slow reveal took place as the teams were called to take their seats. Primaries and the execs at the head table, the development team at table two. I kept my eyes fixed on the room.
Most of the faces were the same, drivers didn’t turn over, and the fresh, excited faces of the few new development drivers couldn’t be mistaken. It was the suits that were ever changing. The finance teams, the technical advisors, management, and partnerships. Money made it a revolving door. This year most teams seemed rather intact. The American team had picked up two new development drivers and partnered with Red Bull. Ferrari was intact, as was Martin, but it was the Mercedes tables that caught my eye, and then captured my attention.
Mario was a damn good driver, but he was arrogant and reckless and that made him dangerous. Mercedes had been in the midst of a shakeup in the last few years with Mario driving out the entire development team, forcing them to start from scratch, and there was the root of it all. Mercedes had wanted me, Mario wanted me. He knew we had these plans, Dale’s plans. He wanted new development, but he wanted control. There was no fucking way I was going to hand over Dales plans, no way I would hand them over to Mario, and really no way that I wanted to be his partner.
I did not want to drive with Mario. I was meant to beat Mario and this was the year I was going to do it. I narrowed my eyes at him as he took his seat and then felt a lump in my throat as I watched his date take the chair next to him. I’d known her too long to mistake her for another, Jo. Unfuckingbelieveable. She looked over and smiled, raising her hand and waving a few fingers in my direction before turning to Mario in a transparently calculated move.
I knew she would be here, it was just a matter of who she would show up with. I should have known this would be her play, be his play. I watched her sit next to him and he wound his arm around her shoulder and I couldn’t take another second, I didn’t even want to scratch the surface of what was going on. I pulled my eyes from them and focused back on Makayla.
I watched her take a seat next to Chase, the way she smiled at him was easy, and the way he smiled back was maddening. The way the crowd reacted was priceless. A low collective gasp swept across the ballroom as the team rosters were revealed on the big screen, Mack’s name being listed directly below mine. She looked nervous, she looked like she was going to be sick until Chase leaned over and whispered something that made her giggle and pissed me off. Her shoulders relaxed and she looked into his face before they both started laughing and I found myself on my feet and heading right to her.
“You two having a good time,” I asked, my hand wrapped tightly around the back of Makayla’s chair, my eyes fixed on Chase.
“Just calming down our girl a bit, she’s feeling nervous.” Our girl? The notion irritated the fuck out of me. Makayla looked up at me with a pained smile and I wanted to reach out and touch her, claim her. I wanted to brush her cheek and tell her it would be ok. I couldn’t.
“They are about to do the Memoriam for my father. My mom wants me to go up there with her.” She said, a slight shake in her voice.
“You’ll be great, kid,” I said wanting to give her some strength, support. What I really wanted was to hold her, to stand next to her and take the hits that were going to come.
“Thanks,” she looked up at me through her lashes, a small coy smile lifting one side of her pretty mouth.
“I was just telling her to picture everyone in their underwear,” Chase laughed and Makayla snickered, covering her mouth with her delicate fingers.
Her mother stepped up to the table and the air changed immediately. M
ack’s attention evaporated and her mother was all she could see, concern and protection on her face. She stood and they locked hands looking at one another for a brief moment before leaving me and Chase to watch ‘our girl’ walk away.
She was poised and impressive as she stood holding Sonja’s hand while Charles Cooper recapped Dale’s career and his tragic end. He introduced Sonja and Makayla to a subdued somber fanfare but the way Makayla talked about her father captured everyone’s attention. She was articulate and strong and beautiful and funny. She told stories I had heard, quips about his day to day life that made me remember more vividly than I had allowed myself in ages. Sonja said a few words about her late husband and his love of racing, Makayla all the while acting as her mother’s strength.
The look of relief and glee and sadness mingled on her face as they stepped from the stage to watch a montage of clips from Dale’s career, but she didn’t watch and she didn’t come back to the table. I watched her slink through the crowd and duck away towards the bar, turning her back to the massive projection screen, turning her attention to the bartender.
I hadn’t watched tape of Dale in years, it was bittersweet. In the first year after he died, I watched it religiously, as I thought I could absorb all I still needed from him by watching. As the years passed I put Dale away, but now he was roaring back into my life in a myriad of ways. It was his car we were banking on, his daughter was testing it, his brother developing it. Who was I kidding, Dale was still here, and I as I looked up at the screen and saw the opening clip from the race in Spain, his final race, I looked over to Sonja who also had her back turned to the screen, Aidan following a few steps behind her.
The night started to drag after the auction and for the first time in years all I could think about was getting out. I used to love these things but tonight all I wanted was to be with Makayla. I had to watch her from afar all night as she was swept up in the inertia of the evening.
She was glowing as people circled around her and her mother. Sonja was well practiced, even after all these years, she shined right alongside Mack. She was still beautiful, as she always had been, but she looked a bit worn, having never fully shaken the sadness. I knew the feeling, as that same sadness sat in a deep pool in my belly, something I had never let go of, but also hadn’t felt in quite some time, until tonight. I stood at the little cocktail table and scanned the room for Mack, having lost sight of them when I got a fresh whiskey.
“Nice to see some things never change,” her quietly commanding voice carried as she stepped up to the table, champagne flute in hand, a practiced smile on her face.
“Sonja,” I tipped my glass in response. I examined her while she focused on her champagne. She and Mack looked alike. Their eyes were the same, thick black lashes framing those deep chocolate eyes that they hid behind. She didn’t bare the freckles which must have come from Dale, but they shared a smile, although Sonja’s didn’t seem to reach her eyes.
“Dale used to love these things.” She didn’t look directly at me as she took a sip. “He would be proud to see how far you have come, Kelley.” Our eyes finally met and we were locked. I took a long sip of my drink and counted to ten.
“I appreciate that. He meant a lot to me.”
“You meant a lot to him,” she returned, her voice softer. “He wanted all of this for you.” I watched her for a moment and saw the woman I used to know, and I longed for those times in her kitchen. Longed for those family dinners, for that structure that she gave me, that she then took away.
“I want you to stop encouraging Makayla, Kelley.” Her voice was quiet but packed a punch.
“What?” I choked back, watching her run he finger nervously around the rim of her glass, fidgeting, refusing to meet my eyes.
“I don’t want this for her, it’s not what she is meant for. I am just asking that you do the right thing for my daughter.”
“This is all she has ever wanted, all Dale ever wanted for her. He would be proud of her.” Her eyes shot to me with a new vigor.
“Dale would want you to protect her, Kelley. Protect. Her.” She emphasized, her eyes wide. “Not encourage her.” Her eyes glassed over with not to be shed tears, then she lifted her glass to her trembling lips before looking away. I looked past her to see Mack heading towards our table, a hesitant half-smile on her lips, worry in her eyes. I looked to Sonja who was watching me and I grabbed Cressida’s arm as she walked by.
“Cress,” I whispered, pulling her close but keeping my eyes on Makayla.
“Kelley,” her eyes flashed and she smiled wide before she swung around and gave me half her slender body in a familiar hug. I swept her hair away from her ear and gave her my directions.
“Take Makayla to the bar, keep her occupied for me.” She wrinkled the whole left side of her face in an attempted wink and turned her mouth with a sly grin.
“Do I get to be in on the secret?” She whispered, cocking her head in curiosity.
“No,” I said flatly, but her enthusiasm met no resistance from my denial. Her smile was even wider if possible as she whirled around and headed into the crowd and straight for Makayla.
She flashed me a blinding smile before Cress spun her around and pointed her towards the bar and away from us. I turned back to Sonja and took a fortifying pull from the drink in my hand before I quietly informed her of what was going to happen, my voice low but not to be mistaken, I was pissed.
“I don’t believe for one minute that is truly what Dale would want, Sonja.” She squared her shoulders, both of her arms resting on the table, her delicate fingers fiddling with the stem of her champagne glass.
“Don’t presume to know anything about my daughter or her father, Kelley. She is my daughter, this is my family.” I narrowed my gaze at her, seeing the pain in her eyes, she knew exactly what she had done, knifed me from the side.
“She is Dale’s daughter, Sonja and she is a driver,” I declared quietly feeling the weight, the truth of the words as they left my lips. “She wants to be a driver and has been working her ass off. I will continue to encourage her because it makes her happy and she is fucking talented. You should want to see her happy.”
“I want to see her breathing, Kelley.” The words rushed out in a panic. “I want to see her walk down the aisle; I want to see my grandchildren. I want her to grow old.”
“You know,” I paused, making sure I had her full attention. “In all the time she has been back here I have never once heard her talk about any of those things.”
“You can’t possibly know what she wants; you haven’t even seen her for ten years.”
“You made sure of that, didn’t you Sonja.” I saw that glimmer of guilt in her eyes before she diverted her gaze and seemed to shut down. “Even back then all she wanted was to drive. She lived to be a part of his world.”
“He is dead,” she bit in a pained whisper that set me back on my heel. I watched her eyes scan the room and grow, taking a deep breath like a weight had been lifted.
“I am beginning to understand her blind determination when she showed up here. All you have ever done is doubt her.”
“That’s not true,” she whispered in a desperate rush.
“Now I would be more than willing to talk more about this, but we will not do it here. You will not come here and dash her dreams. Dale would never have wanted that.”
“You don’t know what he would have wanted.” Her voice cracked and faded on the last word.
“I think I have an idea, Sonja, and this,” I pause tipping my head closer to her, “isn’t it,” I said finishing my whiskey and surrendering the glass to the little cocktail table that stood between us. “This,” I bit quietly, “is me protecting her. It’s just a shame I have to protect her from you.” I left her at the table shaking my anger off with every step, making a b-line towards where I last saw Makayla, wanting nothing more than to get the fuck out of there.
I scanned the room as I skirted the edges and found h
er, talking to Jo, fucking Jo, her back against the bar. Fuck, this night just keeps getting better. I stopped at the table to say my goodbyes, ask Aidan to take Sonja home and set out to free Mack from the clutches of my ex.
Chapter 19
Claimed
She ran her tongue across my belly taking my cock in her mouth, her small hand wrapped around the base, her grip tight, her lips soft and wet. Heat stirred in my balls and spread as she pumped me in her mouth. Fuck, she felt amazing. I reached down and grabbed her other hand, pulling it to my chest, wanting to feel those small fingers pressed against me. When she looked up at me through a curtain of hair, her big brown eyes wide and focused on mine, I fought to maintain my control.
“So fucking beautiful with my cock in your mouth, baby.” Her eyes flashed and her round hips swayed in the air because she sucked me to a rhythm that moved her whole body and mine in turn. She moaned with me in her mouth and I couldn’t wait another minute.
“Stop,” I growled, grabbing a handful of her hair, pulling her mouth off of my throbbing dick. She stilled, watching me, her lips swollen, cheeks flushed, fuck but she was adorable.
“Climb on, I want that pussy.” A wide smile broke across her face. She swept her hair over one shoulder and climbed me slowly, pressing her soft lips to the ridge of my belly all the way to my throat. She swayed above me, still moving to her rhythm, her body not touching mine, her hair swinging above my head. Her eyes were sleepy and dazed and she looked positively radiant. I swept her hair away from our faces and held her steady between my hands. “You’re beautiful,” I said sweeping my thumb across her mouth. Her lips parted and she pulled my thumb between them and closed her eyes, a tiny moan escaping her throat. Fuck
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