Play By Play [6] One Sweet Ride

by Jaci Burton

  She laughed. “I don’t know about that, but I have goals. Pretty lofty ones.”

  “So what do you want to do when you grow up?” he asked with a teasing smile.

  “Seriously? I’d like to run for office. Start locally, then work my way up to a statewide office. Then . . . we’ll see. I don’t want there to be limitations.”

  “Those are good goals to have. And you’re plenty young enough to see them through. Are you even thirty yet?”

  “Not quite yet.”

  “Lots of time to have everything you want, Evelyn. The career, the husband, the kids, and that house with the tire swing.”

  She sighed and stared at the fountain. Gray was right. She could have it all. She had to continue to believe in herself. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For believing in the things you think I can do. You don’t even know me.” No one knew her. She did her job and did it well and efficiently. That’s how she ended up working for someone as high up the political ladder as Senator Preston. She had a social circle of friends who knew her, at least knew the Evelyn Hill she wanted them to know. But no one knew the child she had been, knew her dreams about the tire swing.

  Now Gray knew. He was the last person she would have thought to tell that story to.

  She figured him to be the silent, brooding, good-looking type, more about himself and his cars than interested in hearing about her life.

  Yet here they sat in this garden while she had done all the talking. He asked all the right questions, made it easy for her to open up, something she so rarely did. Usually she was the one asking all the questions.

  What a twist.

  “Hey, are you two hiding and making out here? We’re about to set fire to my cake.

  A lot of candles, you know.”

  Gray stood and laughed at Craig, then he held out his hand for her.

  “Wouldn’t miss that for the world,” Gray said, and he led her down the path toward the house.

  SEVEN

  THE CAKE WAS THREE TIERED, AND CRAIG WAS RIGHT, IT had been filled with candles—definitely more than thirty. It took him three tries to blow them all out. After everyone ate, they were led out a side door where a band had set up on the deck. People took seats around the deck and pool area where the band had started to play.

  Gray led Evelyn to a cushioned love seat near the pool. They still had a great view of the band and the dance floor that had been created in front of the deck.

  “In college, Craig always aspired to be a deejay,” Gray said. “And a singer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got up and sang with the band tonight.”

  One of the singers got up to jam a seriously cool hip-hop tune, one of her favorites.

  She half turned to face him. “I can’t quite picture him belting out a song like that.”

  “Oh, you might be surprised. He’s the Vanilla Ice of our generation.”

  “Not Eminem?”

  “Not even close.”

  She laughed.

  A slow R&B song came up, sung by a female member of the band with a voice as smooth as melted butter.

  Gray stood and held out his hand. “Dance?”

  She shouldn’t, but she loved the song and couldn’t resist. “I’d love to.”

  He led her down the path from the pool toward the dance floor. When he pulled her against him, she couldn’t resist the thrill as her body met his.

  It was innocent, just a dance and nothing more, and the only reason he was holding her in his arms. The patio was crowded with people and they weren’t alone. Other couples merged in very close to them, trying to find their own spots to dance. There was nothing intimate about this, and yet as Gray looked down at her, his fingers grazed up and down the bare skin of her back. Electricity sizzled between them, and as she met his gaze, and it suddenly occurred to her that it didn’t matter how many people surrounded them—the chemistry between them was as intimate as it could get.

  There could be a thousand people dancing nearby and it would seem as if it were only the two of them. The music was slow and sinful, her pulse had kicked up, and Gray only looked at her.

  She was grateful for the public venue, because the intent in his eyes was clear. And if he leaned in for a kiss, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to say no.

  Fortunately, she was fairly certain he wouldn’t do that in this crowd of people. But suddenly he moved them through the crowd, maneuvering her away from the others to a side patio shielded from everyone else. It was a walkway leading from the backyard to the front, only no one was here.

  No one but Gray and her.

  He took a step forward, pressing her against the side of the house, the brick still retaining the day’s heat. Not that she needed it. Her body was already in flames, and as he bent and put his mouth on hers, she couldn’t muster up a single thing to say or do in resistance, because kissing Gray seemed as natural to her as breathing.

  He brushed his lips across hers—a tease, maybe, or a test to see if she’d push him away. She had no intention of doing that. Her breasts swelled and her nipples tightened, and with his body flush against hers, the only thing she wanted to do now was deepen the kiss and explore. So when he did, pressing his mouth more firmly against hers, she sighed in contentment.

  Evelyn lost herself in the sensations bombarding her. Gray’s mouth was pure heaven, his slow, drugging kisses slowing down time. She felt dizzy, swamped with a heavy fog of desire that enveloped her in a hazy cloud. Gray swept an arm around her back to tug her against him, his fingers dipping toward her butt. They were just resting there—he was being such a gentleman, when all she wanted was for him to grab her ass and draw her closer.

  And what kind of sex-starved woman did that make her? Granted, it had been a long dry spell, but she worked for his father, and now they were making out in the dark at his friend’s house and she was mentally complaining that it wasn’t going fast enough?

  If this kiss had been happening in her hotel room—or in his trailer—right now she’d be figuring out a way to get him out of his clothes. With her hands on his arms, she felt the flexing of his biceps. She knew he had a body and she longed to see it, to feel it, on top of her, inside her.

  She shuddered and his fingers dipped lower, his tongue delving into her mouth at the same time he grabbed a handful of her ass and drew her against his erection.

  Oh, yes.

  He slid his lips from hers and pressed a kiss to the column of her throat, using his teeth to nip at her flesh. Goose bumps pricked her skin and she could imagine his mouth—his teeth—on other parts of her.

  Oh, most definitely yes. She would have to get him naked, and her, too. She wondered if Craig and Miranda had an extra bedroom they wouldn’t mind them using.

  “I don’t know, but I sure as hell could ask them.”

  She pulled back to look at him. “Did I say that out loud?”

  “Yes. Hell yes. Let’s go.”

  She grabbed his arms as the cold slap of reality hit her. They were an hour away from her hotel. At his friends’ home. And she wasn’t behaving at all like the woman who worked for his father. What must he think of her?

  “Yes. Let’s go. Back to my hotel.”

  His lips curved. “You sure you want to wait that long?”

  His bottom lip was full. Sexy. She wanted to lift up and take a bite out of it.

  Good lord, what was wrong with her?

  The need for him warred with that damn logic and common sense that told her this was the wrong thing to do.

  “No. I mean. No. We’re not doing this.”

  Now he frowned. “This being sex.”

  “Yes. I mean no. Definitely not having sex.”

  He took a deep breath and let it out. She expected him to lead her out of the walkway. Instead, he leaned his hand against the wall and stared down at the ground.

  Concerned, she asked, “Gray. Are you all right?”

  “
I’m going to need a minute here, Evelyn.”

  She rubbed up and down his arm. “Is something wrong?”

  He lifted his gaze to hers and gave her a wry smile. “It would help if you didn’t touch me like that.”

  It took her a few seconds, then her gaze drifted to his very obvious erection. She took a quick step back. “I’m sorry.”

  He laughed. “Don’t be sorry about that. I’m sure as hell not. Though I’m sorry we’re not seeing things through, but that’s your call to make.”

  She blew out a very frustrated breath. “Believe me, if we were anywhere but here, your . . . problem, wouldn’t be a problem for long.”

  He dropped his head and gave her a look that scorched her. “Not helping the issue here, Evelyn.”

  “Sorry.” She turned around, thinking that might help.

  “Neither is that great view of the skin of your back, your very fine ass, and those legs of yours.”

  She couldn’t help but smile as she turned back to face him. “I think I’ll go seek out the restroom to . . . repair the damage.”

  “You do that. I’ll find you in a minute or two.”

  Despite the frustration, she smiled the entire way there.

  True to his word, Gray was waiting for her as she exited the bathroom a few minutes later. She couldn’t resist glancing down where his shirt covered his slacks.

  “All better now?”

  “Not if you keep staring.”

  She grinned. “I’m not going to apologize again.”

  He laughed and took her hand. “Let’s go find Craig and Miranda. This is going to be a long drive back.”

  They found Craig, who was singing with the band, just as Gray said he would be.

  And like Gray said, Craig was definitely no expert rapper, but his exuberance was infectious and the crowd bobbed up and down, clapping and singing along. Craig appeared to be having a blast. They waited until he finished, then made their way over to tell him they were leaving.

  “Thank you. I had a wonderful time,” Evelyn said.

  Craig hugged her. “You keep watch over this one. Make sure he doesn’t drive too fast.”

  She laughed. “I’m not sure I can do anything about that, at least when he’s on the track.”

  After she gave Gray a hug, Miranda clasped both her hands. “Thank you for coming. And for your offer.”

  Gray slanted a curious gaze her way. “What offer?”

  Miranda answered. “She’s going to enlist your father’s aid with some of my charities. I’m so grateful. You know how hard it is to get anyone in the political sphere to even take your calls when you’re trying to cut through red tape. She’s going to help me leap a few steps.”

  Gray looked over at her, and he didn’t look happy, but he smiled at Miranda. “Isn’t that just great.”

  They said good night and made their way back to the car. Gray was silent for at least ten minutes. She could tell from the tight set to his jaw that he wasn’t happy, but since he hadn’t said anything directly to her, she had no idea what had upset him.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “So you couldn’t resist the opportunity to play politics with my friends?”

  She blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “Miranda. Her charities.”

  “Oh, that. She told me about the issues she’d been having getting funding and access for some of her causes. I know your father could assist with some of that, so I offered. Is that a problem?”

  “You also know that Craig and Miranda have a lot of money. My father helps them out, then they help him out. That’ll work out well for the senator’s campaign, won’t it?”

  She was momentarily stunned and without a comeback to that, something that rarely happened to her. She was well trained to handle insults. Politics was all about firing insults and innuendo, and she could deal with anything thrown her way. She just hadn’t expected it to be thrown by Gray.

  “You’re kidding, right? I didn’t even know where we were going tonight. Do you think I hid in the bathroom and pulled up Craig and Miranda’s bio and financials, then decided to feel her out to see if I could finagle a way to do her a favor so they’d be in the senator’s debt and toss some money his way?”

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I don’t know. Did you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “No. Of course not. And I’m offended you’d even think so.”

  “Well, I don’t really know you, do I?”

  “No, you don’t. Which is why we will not be sleeping together tonight.”

  He pulled onto the highway. “No, we won’t.”

  She fumed silently on her side of the car, and he did the same.

  “But if we had ended up in bed together tonight, I can guarantee you there wouldn’t have been any sleeping, Evelyn.”

  Asshole. He just had to throw that out there, didn’t he? Not that she cared anyway.

  He’d pissed her off and she no longer found him appealing in the least.

  And she wouldn’t even think about having sex with him ever again.

  EIGHT

  IT WAS A DAMN GOOD THING GRAY HAD HIS HEAD screwed on straight, and that he was back on the track where he belonged.

  He’d almost done something stupid last night, had almost taken Evelyn to bed. He’d listened to her background story and had actually felt sorry for her, when the whole time she’d been manipulating him behind his back.

  What a sucker he’d been. It was just like all the times his dad had shown up at his sporting events at school. Those were such rare occasions, and Gray had gotten his hopes up, so excited to see his father there. And during the opportunities he’d had to glance up and see his father in the stands, it would turn out his dad hadn’t been watching the game at all. Instead, he’d been off wandering the bleachers, glad-handing all the parents and stumping for votes.

  God forbid he actually show up for his own kid. No, that wouldn’t be self-serving, and if there was one thing Mitchell Preston did and did well, it was serve himself.

  Obviously his father had been teaching Evelyn the finer points of that game, a game Gray wanted no part of.

  She’d suckered him in well enough with her sad story of how she wanted a family and a tree swing, how she wanted to be able to balance that with a career. He’d been impressed, and he wasn’t often impressed, especially by anyone in politics. He’d even been dumb enough to believe her, too, which was his own damn fault. He’d started to think she was genuine and honest, that her rockin’ killer body also accompanied a true heart, something so rare in the political world, and even rarer in his father’s circle.

  He’d been wrong.

  That wouldn’t happen again.

  He pulled out onto the track, pushing Evelyn and anything about her to the back of his mind. Now it was time to concentrate on his car and his practice run. He wanted the pole for this weekend’s race. That was the only thing he needed to focus on, because there was nothing better than starting the race in front of the pack.

  He hit top speed and his mind went blank, like it always did when he surrounded himself with a great track and an awesome car. Ian and the crew had done their jobs this week. The number fifty-three was running in optimum condition, and by the time he finished his laps he was sure he had a good shot at grabbing the pole in this weekend’s race.

  “That was a good run,” Ian said after Gray climbed out. “Keep running like that and you should kick everyone’s butts in qualifying.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping for. The car’s running good. The only thing I felt was a shimmy in the left front when I hit top speed.”

  Ian nodded and plugged that into his notebook as they walked along. “We’ll take a look at it. Probably nothing.”

  Gray hoped not. He was ready to race.

  He hung around to watch Donny during his practice run. The kid did decently, seemed to have a little more focus than he’d had the previous week, and his spe
ed was where it needed to be.

  He also noticed Evelyn hanging out in the stands with Stacie, the two of their heads bowed together during Donny’s run. He hadn’t spoken to her since last night, figured she wouldn’t even show up at the track today. Instead, she’d been there as soon as the track opened, sitting in the stands. Stacie had joined her there early, too, both of them hanging with the other women watching all the drivers.

  Whatever. He didn’t care what she did as long as she stayed the hell out of his way.

  She’d shown what she was after last night and he wanted no part of it.

  “So what’s the deal with the new chick?” Donny asked as they made their way to the garage to go over their cars’ performances.

  He shrugged. “Nothing.”

  “Stacie seems to like her. She came back to our trailer the other day busting my balls about ‘Evelyn said this and Evelyn said that.’ Kept me up half the night wanting to talk. Man, I hate talking.”

  “Yeah, well, Evelyn doesn’t know everything.”

  “So you think I’m right.”

  He paused in the walkway, his head filled with track speed and not focused on what Donny was talking about. “Right about what?”

  “On wanting Stacie to stay with me this season. She said Evelyn was filling her head with going back to school.”

  “Look, Donny. Whatever your relationship is with Stacie is none of my business.

  That’s up to the two of you to figure out.” He started walking toward the garage.

  When they got there, Donny said, “That’s what I told Stacie. But no, she has to talk to all her girlfriends about what’s best for her. For us. Things are working fine.”

  “Are they?”

  Donny frowned. “Huh?”

  “Are they fine? Because it seems to me your woman isn’t happy.”

  Donny looked down at his shoes. “Okay, maybe she isn’t.”

  “Then figure out a way to make it work so that you’re both happy. It isn’t always just about you and what you need. Sometimes you have to meet your lady halfway.”

  “She wants to finish school. I want her with me. She can do school during the times I’m not racing.”