by Leslie North
Gregor squeezed the fleshy part of her hip, reveling in her meticulous planning. He could relate to that. “And it will. With you behind it.”
They shared a smile that warmed him, and as the front doors slid open a flurry of conversation and camera clicks made him jerk his head up. Reporters swarmed the hospital, waiting for his exit. He sighed, pulling Kara closer. “Ready to face this mess?”
He walked quickly through the reporters, heading for the private car waiting for them just around the corner. He used his free arm to shield them, a move that felt instinctual as they navigated through the thick crowd of reporters. Shouting clogged his ears, but even in the fray he realized that he’d just passed up a perfect chance to flaunt Kara and get all the photo ops he could want to prove their burgeoning relationship. But he’d hustled through and blocked them…like it felt right to do.
The car ride back to their hotel in central Milan passed quickly, and although Gregor asked her more questions about the school planning, he could tell she wasn’t quite settled about the car crash. Once they were inside the penthouse, door shut behind him, Kara turned to him with that telltale look on her face. The one where she’s about to bring up something serious.
“So why isn’t this type of crash a big enough deal to tell me about?” she asked, crossing her arms.
He sighed. Why couldn’t this just be settled? “I told you. Crashes happen. It’s part of the sport, and I didn’t want to worry you needlessly.”
“But you knew that I would worry, so you had someone lie to me on your behalf, which in my book, is kinda worse.”
He paused, clenching his jaw as he mulled over a response. “Don’t you get it, though? I’m saving you stress.”
She scoffed, turning on her heels. She paced the room a few times before responding. “Don’t you say that to me. I don’t need you to save me stress. That is bullshit.”
Her voice wavered as she spoke, which made his brows draw together. “It’s the truth. You don’t need to worry about this. I’m a professional.”
“I’m so fucking sick of people lying to me thinking it will make things better,” she spat. When she swung to look at him, her eyes were full of tears. “And I don’t need you doing that to me either.”
Gregor looked her up and down a few times, unsure how this got so heavy so quickly. “This is nothing to cry about.”
She let a heavy sigh, wiping at her eyes. “I’m not crying. I’m just…upset.”
“But why?”
She looked to the ceiling, as if pleading with the gods. “I’ve been lied to like this enough in my life. You don’t get it. My father…when he was dying…everyone kept it from me. My entire family lied to me, not wanting to upset me. So of course when it happened, I was…shocked.” She sniffed hard, looking away. “I don’t like being lied to, okay?”
Gregor’s stomach sank, and he approached her slowly, holding out his hands like a peace offering. “I didn’t realize. Honestly.”
“So just tell me. Be real with me, Gregor.”
He covered her hands with his, bringing them up to his chest. His heart had resumed its frenetic rate from earlier and suddenly, he was desperate to kiss her. “The car’s computerized system caused the accident. As far as we can tell, the glitch has been there for at least three years but has never caused any problems…until today. We don’t plan to fix it though, because I’ve logged thousands of hours of driving time in that car without issue. Addressing it would mean ending the racing season early. I won’t do it.”
Kara blinked at him a few times. “Okay. That’s more like what I want to hear.”
Gregor ran his tongue over his bottom lip, unable to look away from the fascinating softness of her face. She was a goddess in plain clothes. But up this close, her radiance was impossible to ignore. She could cast spells on him, and these past few weeks had proven it. Never in his life had he felt, much less thought, the things that Kara inspired in him.
My witchy goddess. He trailed a hand up the side of her arm, fingertips grazing lightly enough to cause goosebumps. She jerked her gaze up to his.
“I didn’t want to bore you with the details,” he said in a soft voice, dragging his fingertips over the curve of her neck.
“They aren’t boring,” she said, her eyes fluttering shut. So his touch had the desired effect. He pressed himself against her, their bodies forming a warm seal. She inhaled sharply but didn’t open her eyes.
“Look at me, Kara.” He cupped the side of her smooth face. Her eyes opened a moment later, their chocolatey depths making his chest tight.
“What are you trying to do?” Her voice came out a dreamy murmur.
“I don’t know.” His cock twitched in his pants and became rock hard beneath the waistband of his briefs. “But it seems like the right thing to do.”
“Mmm hmm.” She sounded a million miles away, and when he grazed her lips with his thumb, she caught it in a kiss. Her tongue met the rough pad of his finger, and then a moment later she’d welcomed it into her mouth.
“Mmmm.” Gregor’s cock pulsed, and he swooped down, catching her lips in an urgent kiss. Kara grappled with the back of his head as their mouths met, over and over again, sloppy, uninhibited. She made a small noise as he tracked his hands down the sides of her body, hooking his fingers under her ass. He pressed her groin to his, wanting her to feel the proof of his passion, the unmistakable evidence that she was the only woman on his mind.
“Jesus Christ,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. “This can’t be real.”
“Oh no.” He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her soft scent. His mind spun with desire. “This is as real as it gets.” He ground his pelvis in a slow circle against her, her breath catching.
“We shouldn’t,” she said, a total lack of conviction in her voice.
“I’ve been wanting to since the day I laid eyes on you.” It was true. God, it was the truest thing he’d ever said.
She pinched her eyes shut, groaning. “Ugh, me too.”
“Give me more of this sexy mouth.” He pressed his lips to hers, getting lost in another fervent round of kisses before he pulled away, panting. “But this is your call. Clearly you know where I stand.”
He held himself against her, heart pounding as he waited for her response. Her eyes were hooded as she watched him, chest heaving. “Seriously?”
“Deadly.” He raked his gaze over her, gritting his teeth against the swell of desire that threatened to make him rip her clothes off.
“If you stop now, I’ll fucking scream.”
His grin spread so wide he thought it might split his face in two. “Maybe I want you to scream for me.”
She grabbed him by the shirt collar and yanked him down to kiss her. Together they stumbled backward toward the low-backed couches lining the living room. Kara pushed him backward so he flopped onto the cushion.
“I strongly suggest you revise your nickname from theater class,” he said breathlessly as she tugged her shirt off. “You are most surely a Kinky Kara.”
She giggled, tossing the shirt aside. “And you’ve been Gorgeous Gregor from the start.”
He snagged her at the hips, stilling her hands. “Save some for me, please.” He pressed his lips to her low belly, and then made slow work of unbuttoning her dark jeans, pushing them down to her ankles. When she stood half-naked in front of him, he took a moment to appreciate.
“You’re the gorgeous one here,” he said, running his fingertips up and down the sides of her legs. Her skin prickled in response.
“Take your pants off,” she said, nudging him. He complied instantly, unable to rip his gaze off her as he fumbled to push down his track pants and tear off his dark shirt. His cock made a tall ridge in his briefs, one that Kara didn’t look away from.
“Well,” she said softly, climbing onto the couch slowly. He grabbed her by the hips, cementing her to his body, her legs splaying open to straddle him. She leaned close, and the warmth of her seeped into him,
making his vision fuzzy at the edges.
“I’ve imagined how this might go a thousand times,” he whispered, the truth spilling out of him. “And though I think I’d love to go so slow that it lasts until sunrise, I don’t think I can do anything slow, now that I’ve got you on top of me.”
Her face flushed and she gave a throaty chuckle. “Why is that the hottest thing anyone’s ever said to me?”
He gathered her hair to one side, fumbling with the strap of her bra. It released a moment later, falling away, exposing those big, beautiful breasts that had been the center of so many of his fantasies.
He tweaked one rosy nipple and growled appreciatively, grinding his hips against her. “See what you do to me?”
“You could kill a man with that dick,” she cracked, leaning back to sit upright on top of him. The weight of her reminded him how badly he wanted to be buried inside her. How desperate he was to feel her from the inside.
Gregor’s fingers wandered to her panty line, and she sucked in a sharp breath when his fingertips danced over the silken crotch of her panties. The moisture there made him clench his teeth. She was so wet for him. He grazed the hard nub of her clit through the panties. Her head lolled to the side, and she moaned low.
“You’re so sexy, Kara,” he said in a strained voice. She’d started rocking on top of him, rubbing that damp pussy right where it counted most. He might come in his briefs if she kept that up. “God, too sexy.”
He reached up to cup a breast, tweaking each nipple in turn as she rocked on top of him, his fingers making a moist trek over the top of her panties. And then he pushed his fingers beneath the fabric, connecting with the velvety heat below.
Kara moaned and there was an edge to it, something that let him know the time was coming. “Do you want to sit on it, Kara?”
She whimpered and nodded, her eyes fluttering shut.
Gregor guided her to standing, tugging her panties down to her ankles. Her pussy was neatly trimmed and shiny, and he rubbed his lips against her crease, studying the intense look that crossed her face.
“Do you have a condom?”
Gregor stilled, raking his memory for where he’d put them. Of course he always had them. His former life demanded he be prepared at all times. But already that seemed like a lifetime ago. “Yes…but where, is the question…”
She shook her head, a tight smile on her face. She grabbed for her purse on the table nearby and fished out a neat little condom package. He grinned as he shucked his briefs, then squeezed her ass cheeks when she resumed her position in front of him.
“Kinky Kara indeed.” He tore it open and rolled the condom on quickly. Kara gripped his shoulders, nails biting into his flesh, and then eased down on top of him. He held her hips in his hands, tensing when his cockhead met the warmth of her pussy. He steeled his jaw as she sank down, his cock disappearing into the velvety heat inside her. His mouth parted, breath coming out in jagged pants.
“Fuuuuck,” he moaned, ass tensing as she swallowed up the last few inches of him. He grunted, spanking her bubbly ass cheeks.
“Mmmmm.” Kara’s head lolled to the side, her gaze vacant as she rocked in a slow circle on top of him. “You’re so big.”
“Yeah? Too big?” He stilled beneath her, letting her set the pace. He didn’t want to hurt her. No, he had to have more of these encounters. Plenty more.
“Gigantic Gregor,” she said, voice just barely above a whisper. She palmed his chest, pressing into him, her knees digging into the soft indents of the leather cushions as her slow rock turned into a heated rhythm.
He gritted his teeth, fighting the surge of pleasure that threatened to tip him over the edge early. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman, maybe a month, and Kara pushed him to the edge in a way he hadn’t felt with anyone else. She set his skin on fire, every cell in his body ready to leap forward at the same time.
He smoothed his fingers over the tiny patch of hair between her legs and then rubbed at the slick nub of her clit while she rocked on top of him. Her head fell back and she let out a low, throaty moan. He sat up suddenly, wrapping his arms around her body so that their skin touched as much as possible, her breasts smashed into his chest. He placed kisses along the top of her shoulder, matching her movements from below.
“God, that feels so good,” she panted, moving faster. “Oh my god, Gregor.”
He tipped his head back to meet her gaze, finding fire and starlight there, something passionate and deep and entirely foreign staring back at him. Their gazes didn’t break as they bumped and grunted, and when the first prickles of heat spread through his groin a moment later, he knew there was no turning back.
“I’m close Kara,” he said, but it sounded more like a plea.
“Mmmmmm, me too,” she said, moving her hips in a wide circle before leaning down to snag his lips in a kiss. Her tongue pressed into his mouth and through the warring sensations, the sweet intimacy of the kiss and the thunderous rhythm of her on top, his orgasm crackled and burst through him, sending his whole body into ecstasy.
He cried out, gruff and loud, at the same time her pussy began contracting in waves around him. She bit down hard onto his shoulder and whimpered through the orgasm, the jolt of pain there mixing into the maelstrom of bliss swarming his body.
“Jesus Christ,” he panted a moment later, stroking her hair as his heart fought to resume a normal rate. “How did…what…”
“Fuck.” She rolled her forehead back and forth on his shoulder, her body limp. He wrapped his arms around her, relishing the sticky heat of their embrace, wishing for all the world he could capture this moment in a bottle and tuck it away forever.
He’d had plenty of sex with plenty of women. But it had never been like this before.
There’d never been someone like Kara.
9
Kara damn near floated through the entire next week. How could she expect to stay grounded with so many sweet, thrilling orgasms being handed to her like candy? That first time on the couch in Milan was the crashing wave that destroyed the dam. Now, everything gushed through, all the pent-up passion and attraction and lusting they’d been trying to keep under wraps since day one. It was all out in the open, laid bare and throbbing.
And hell if she could remember the last time she’d ever been fucked so good.
She gave a contented sigh, one of thousands from that week. Gregor had arranged a special day for her in Milan while he made last minute preparations for the upcoming race. A tour of local theaters, including visiting with the house directors via interpreter. A whole day of education, exploration, and research. It warmed her that Gregor cared enough to do it; he could have just bought the theater in Seattle and left it at that.
But he was seriously interested in her venture. He wanted her to succeed, and it seemed like he wanted to actually be part of it. She couldn’t tell if it was the Beaumont entrepreneurial drive or something more…intimate. Maybe even something more romantic. The whimsical side of her desperately wanted to take it as a sign of his growing affection for her, much like the mind-blowing sex and all the other countless gestures that flitted around like lightning bugs in the night. If he was still performing, then he was a better actor than he’d ever let on. And if he wasn’t, then…
Then maybe he feels the same about you as you do about him.
This possibility stalked through her so frequently that she was often unaware of its presence. It was the one thing she wanted, and the only thing she was scared to hope for. Because what if this was still just a totally convenient arrangement for Gregor? What if all the lingering glances and heartfelt touches after sex were contrived, or worse yet, blown up in her mind from wanting it too much?
The emotional pendulum inside her swung too wide, too recklessly, for her to control it. Thankfully, the theater school planning left plenty to focus on. Lexie back home was a constant source of updates and excitement as well; she was eager to be on board for this next chapter of theatrical deve
lopment.
It was a bittersweet victory. Externally, she had all of the markers of success: a career, her lifelong dream under construction, a sexy, famous man at her side, a supportive team. But he was constantly facing danger every time he stepped onto the race track. And only she knew that that man at her side wasn’t there because he wanted to be.
She tried to flush these thoughts as she toured the extravagant theaters dappling Milan, footsteps echoing through empty auditoriums as guides explained in hushed voices how the patrons and directors worked together. Directors came out for brief, enthusiastic conversations, often a combination of rapid interpretation and stilted English. She took notes on her cellphone when she could, but mostly she just took it all in, gawking at the heavy red curtains and ornate artwork that had seen more generations of audiences than her little theater in Seattle might ever hope for.
The day of touring passed quickly, and by the time she returned to the penthouse in central Milan, she realized Gregor would be gone for a few more hours still. She flipped open her laptop, mind swirling with notes and ideas, but before she opened up her word processor, she tapped out a quick search: “Formula One crashes.”
She gnawed on her lip at the results loaded, aware of the morbid manner of capping off her invigorating day out on the town. Truth was, she’d been itching to learn more about the dangers actually posed by Gregor’s profession. He’d come clean about the problems last week, but what was he really up against? Maybe he’d downplayed the crash aspect. She’d fought off searching for information, trying instead to just trust him and let it go…but she couldn’t.
Because now, the truth was clear: she’d be devastated if something happened to him.
Blame it on the sex. She blew away some hairs that had fallen over her forehead as she scrolled through the results. Multiple headlines dotted the screen: Worst Formula One Wrecks Ever!!! All Time Worst Crashes F1.
She clicked hesitantly, scared to know just how bad it could get. But after the first video, which featured snippets of the trademark engine whine followed by spectacular and often crunchy wrecks from the driver cam, she’d fallen down the rabbit hole. She couldn’t stop gobbling them up. Each video led to ten more. And by the time Gregor walked in the door, she was near tears.
