by Dena Blake
He picked up his glass and sucked down another shot of amber liquid. “Well, I’d better make the rounds.” He twirled his glass across the bar.
She grabbed his wrist, his eyes narrowed, and she released it immediately. “Will I see you later?”
“Nope.”
* * *
Drew turned and Sam was gone. Weaving through the crowd, she spotted her at the bar with Brad and rounded the dance floor. From the way she took off, it didn’t seem like they were having a friendly conversation.
“Hey. What happened? You left me all alone with Paddy and that chatterbox. Man, he can talk.” She cupped Sam’s shoulder and let her hand glide down, enjoying the soft silkiness of Sam’s skin.
“All that dancing made me thirsty.” She held up her glass as if trying to justify her trip to the bar. “I needed some water.”
“Deserter.”
Sam plucked Drew’s hand from her arm. “Besides, you should get back to your date.”
She smiled, amused by Sam’s obvious jealousy. “And you, yours.” She motioned to Brad, who was mingling with a small group of women.
“Actually,” Sam said, giving her a big smile, “I’ve suddenly become dateless.”
“Well, in that case, I’d like you to meet someone.” Drew glanced over her shoulder, trying to spot Liza. “There she is.” She raised her hand and waved her over.
Sam’s eyes widened when she saw the blonde approaching, and then her brows pulled together in irritation. “You’re going to introduce me to your date?”
She nodded. “My sister, Liza.”
Drew saw the color drain from Sam’s face as she rushed past her. “You’ll have to excuse me for a minute. I think Paddy needs me.”
“What?” She spotted Paddy in the crowd. “He’s not even looking this way.” She glanced back, only to catch Sam’s backside as she headed across the room in the opposite direction.
The woman was a complete mystery. One minute the connection between them was as obvious as the finish line. The next it was clouded with exhaust.
Sam’s black velvet dress was clinging to her hips as Drew watched her slip away in a slow, sexy motion. One thing was clear. No matter how blurred things seemed, she was hot.
“I could have used some help back there,” Liza grumbled, straightening her dress. “Some woman just locked me in the bathroom.”
“Locked you in?”
“Yeah. She jammed something in the stall door. They had to call maintenance to remove it.”
Drew turned around quickly, just in time to catch Sam biting her bottom lip as she watched them. Her body tingled. It had been a long time since a woman had flattered her so indirectly.
Drew turned back to Liza. “You could’ve just crawled under.”
“Are you crazy?” She ran her hands down her body, continuing to adjust her dress. “This is a Versace original.” Collecting herself, she scanned the crowd.
“Description?”
“Redhead in a black dress. I only caught a glimpse of her as she held the door when I went in, but I’d know that designer knockoff anywhere.” She put her hand to her head. “She totally blindsided me. How’s my hair?”
Drew laughed, listening to her sister babble on at the speed of light. The woman could get more information out in a matter of minutes than Drew could absorb in an hour.
Her eyes flared. “There she is,” Liza squealed, trying to push past her. “I’m going to wring her neck!”
Drew curled her arm around Liza’s waist and pulled her back.
“Let me go. She’s getting away.”
“Remember what Mom said about causing scenes.” Liza was a bit high-strung, and although she never looked for trouble, it seemed to follow her. “Besides, she may have mistaken you for someone else.”
“You know her?” Liza’s finely arched brows rose.
“Intimately,” she said with a grin.
A slow smile crept across her face. “She thought you and I…”
“Apparently.” Drew smiled, thoroughly pleased that she’d gotten under Sam’s skin enough for her to do something so outrageously immature.
Liza frowned. “I guess I’ll have to let this one go, then.”
“I don’t know about that. A little backlash couldn’t hurt.”
“You are a very bad girl, Drew.”
“That’s what the woman wants.” Drew watched Sam at the coat-check. Their gazes met again, and she gave her a scorching smile. Slipping her coat on, Sam pulled her gorgeous red hair from her collar, then turned and took off out the door.
“Aren’t you going after her?”
“Nope. I’m going to get another drink.” Weaving through the crowd to the bar, Drew knew this would be continued later.
* * *
Sam entered the hotel bar and found Drew exactly where she thought she’d be. The familiar shiver of excitement surged through her. She’d done a terrible thing earlier, but in her own defense, Drew had never said anything about having a sister. She strolled across the room and dropped her bag onto the bar. “Dance, stranger?”
Drew swung around, slid off the stool, and followed her to the dance floor.
Feeling the slow burn of Drew’s fingers trailing down her back, Sam shivered before turning and melting into her arms. “Sorry about the party. I didn’t know she was your sister.”
Drew smiled, and those damn dashing dimples appeared. “It would’ve been okay if she wasn’t?”
“You know what they say. All’s fair in—” What was she saying? She couldn’t be in love with Drew. She’d known her less than a week. “Well, anyway. I am sorry.” She let herself relax.
She so enjoyed the touch of this woman holding her, and the way she made her feel about herself was incredible. Sam actually felt like a woman again. Staring into Drew’s soft brown eyes, Sam wasn’t confused anymore. She was sure she was treading in dangerous waters. She closed her eyes and let her mouth fuse with Drew’s in a soft, searching kiss.
Drew groaned. “It seems like we’ve been here before.”
“I think we have.” Pressing herself against her, Sam could feel Drew’s heart pounding. “You want to try again?” Gazing up at her through long, darkened lashes, Sam felt a vulnerability she hadn’t before. What if Drew rejected her?
“Are you sure?”
She nodded before sucking Drew’s bottom lip between hers and letting her teeth drag across it. Without another word, Drew took her hand and pulled her along behind her.
Once they made it to Drew’s room, they tumbled onto the bed. Sam was enjoying Drew’s warm hands roaming her body when suddenly she was clammy. Oh God, not now. Her stomach churned, and bam. It was in her throat.
“Stop.” She shoved Drew to the side and ran to the bathroom. All the bits of food she’d managed to choke down at the party were coming back to haunt her.
“Are you all right?” Drew’s muffled voice came through the door.
She heard her grip the doorknob, and she scrambled to twist the lock before Drew could open the door.
“I’ll be okay in a few minutes,” she managed before retching again.
“Sam, open the door, so I can help.”
“Please, just give me a minute.” No way was she going to open that door. Throwing up in front of any woman was bad enough, but being in the process of making love to her when it happened was absolutely horrifying.
The rattling of the doorknob stopped. She must have given up. Sam pulled herself into the corner and let her head rest on the edge of the cold, porcelain tub. Squeezing her eyes shut, she begged for this to be a dream. A burst of air whisked across her face, and she opened her eyes. Drew was standing at the sink, dousing a washcloth with water.
“Something you ate?” She sat down next to her and slid the cool, wet cloth around Sam’s neck.
“Apparently.” She groaned and leaned against her.
After a few minutes of silence, Drew nudged her and got up. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”
&nb
sp; Sam reached for her hand, and she pulled her unexpectedly weak body up. Stopping at the sink to rinse her mouth, she stared at the ragged woman in the reflection. Totally drained and embarrassed, she followed Drew out and crawled into bed.
“I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t believe this was happening.
“It’s all right,” Drew said, pressing her lips to Sam’s forehead. “There’s no hurry.”
“Right.” She nestled neatly into the crook of Drew’s shoulder. “No hurry.” She shouldn’t be here, and she knew it. This was a sign, some sort of confirmation. After all, she wasn’t actually a free woman.
Chapter Eight
Sam fired the engine and let it run for a time before turning it off again. “Ray, check out this injector.” It wasn’t obvious, but Sam could see fuel.
“I don’t see any cracks.” He looked over her shoulder, then reached down and swiped the bottom of it with his finger. “It’s a leaky injector. Must be the sensor.”
“Over-worked and underpaid. Must be something wired wrong inside. Just like us,” she said with a chuckle. “Do we have a new one?”
“Yeah. There’s one in the bus. Want me to get it?”
“Hey, speaking of the bus. I found some clothes in one of the lockers. You know anything about them?”
“I must have forgotten to clear them out after the last road trip.”
Sam knew that wasn’t true. She’d cleaned out the bus herself.
“I’ll get that pump,” Ray said, and headed for the door.
“Ray?”
“Yeah.” He swung back around, continuing to walk backward.
“How’s Jenna?” She’d realized he hadn’t said much about his wife lately.
“She’s good.” He stopped walking. “Anything else?”
Sam smiled. “Just one more question.”
“Shoot.”
“Have you heard anything about Drew Thompson?” That was a loaded question. “I mean anything I need to know about her driving?”
“Word around the track is she’s a little crazy but has the skills.” He hedged, scratching at the small amount of hair left from his flattop haircut. “I hear her family’s got money.”
Sam cocked her head. “Money?”
“Yeah. Lots of it.”
“Really? I wonder why she doesn’t buy her own racing team.”
“Don’t know. Maybe you should ask her to pitch in and sponsor us.”
“Oh, shoot.” She touched her forehead. “I almost forgot. I have to meet with some guy from a local winery. Do you think you can get started on that sensor for me?”
“Sure. Go ahead. I’ll take care of it.”
* * *
Drew’s hair flew freely around her head. The air was crisp and the temperature an exhilarating sixty-five degrees. A welcome contrast from the past few weeks of constant heat. It would’ve been a perfect morning if she hadn’t woken up in an empty bed.
She went through the evening again in her head. She’d told Sam it was all right, but that wasn’t totally true. She’d never wanted anything or anyone as much before. Last night, she’d curbed her desire, held Sam in her arms, and thoroughly enjoyed it. One way or another, she’d had to feel her warmth.
Drew slowed, flashed her pass, and continued through gate number one, down into the main paddock. With qualifying runs set to begin this afternoon, the track was busy with race teams from all over the country. She whipped into her usual parking spot and hopped out of the Jeep. After checking her reflection in the side mirror, she raked her fingers through the mass of dark hair and headed to the garage.
Drew grinned, watching Sam as she snapped up the maintenance chart and flipped the pages. She was thoroughly amused at her own string of bad luck. Twice now, she’d had Sam right where she wanted her and was unable to complete the task at hand—a task she’d originally been reluctant to undertake but now was determined to accomplish, even though it would shatter every rule she’d ever made for herself.
* * *
“Ray, throw all those winery stickers away,” Sam shouted, letting the door fling open and bang hard against the building.
Propositioned again. If that idiot thinks I’m going to sleep with him for a few measly thousand dollars, he’s got another think coming. It didn’t happen all that often, but when it did, the jerk was usually pretty sorry he’d ever made the mistake by the time Sam finished with him.
“Did you get that injector replaced?” Sam pushed the office door open. “Ray, you in here?”
After dropping the sponsor papers on the desk, she headed into the bathroom. She ripped open a package of antihistamines she took from the cabinet, popped one into her mouth, and chased it down with a gulp of cough medicine. Something in the air was sure making her sinuses go crazy. If she didn’t nip it in the bud, she’d have a full-blown sinus infection by race day.
She picked up the thick black marker on the desk and wrote RAT across the sponsor sheet. Paddy would know what she meant.
Backing up, Sam felt a warm body against her back and stiffened.
“I keep having this same dream.” Drew’s voice was slow and mysterious. “This beautiful woman keeps showing up in it.”
There they were again. Sam let the usual string of sensations Drew triggered zap through her. She didn’t move until Drew took her shoulders and gently nudged her around to face her. The scrappy style of her naturally blown-dry locks made Sam’s heart flutter. She was unbelievably sexy this morning. In a move of pure self-preservation, she backed up to create some much-needed distance between them.
Drew moved closer as Sam retreated. “Last night she was in a slinky black dress.” She was good at this game, definitely an experienced player.
“A dream?” she said as she cocked her head.
“It had to be.” Drew shrugged. “She was gone when I woke up this morning.” She trailed her thumb across Sam’s cheek and cupped her face in her hand. “Slick.” She smiled. “The name fits. You are a slippery one.”
Sam hesitated a moment before reaching up, curling her fingers around Drew’s wrist, and moving her hand. “Maybe that’s where you should keep her…in your dreams.” Sam wasn’t much for wearing her feelings on her sleeve or rehashing embarrassing moments.
“You’re probably right about that.” Drew reluctantly agreed and backed up. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”
“After I finish replacing this injector, you’ll need to take me out on a test run.”
“Do I have time to grab something to eat?”
“Sure. Go ahead. I’m gonna be a few more minutes here, anyway.”
“You want something? Eggs? Sausage? Bacon?”
“No thanks.” She went to the sink, filled a plastic cup with cold water, and took a large gulp. “And don’t bring any of that into my garage,” she shouted after her.
Her stomach rumbled as she rounded the car. It didn’t have anything in it besides the herbal tea she’d drunk this morning and the medicine she’d just taken, but the thought of food made it threaten to spew.
* * *
After about thirty adjustments and as many laps around the track, Sam was still stumped as to what was causing the flat spot in acceleration. Whenever the engine hit ninety-five miles per hour, the car felt like it might stall. She’d thought it was the sensor, but she’d changed that this morning, along with all the gaskets and seals that went with it. Still she detected a flat spot. It had to be some kind of compression leak, but damned if she could find it.
Frustrated, she was losing her focus. The heat, the stress, everything was getting to her. Having Drew peer over her shoulder was also taking its toll. Questions, questions, and more questions. Finding the problem was hard enough without having to explain everything to her. Plus, she smelled so damn good. Drew was a distraction she didn’t need.
Sam slid into the car and turned the ignition over. “Keep an eye on the sensor.” Punching the pedal, she revved the engine hard. No miss at first, but the longer it ran, the mor
e the engine began to falter. “Is the PSI somewhere between four and six?” she screamed over the engine’s roar.
“It’s just below four, and I hear a hissing sound,” Drew shouted back.
She turned the ignition off and the garage was silent. “Damn. I just changed that.” Dropping her head back onto the window frame, Sam let out a low grumble. She didn’t know what the hell was going on. Something was heating up, expanding, or shrinking.
Slapping her hands to the roof, Sam pulled herself up out of the driver’s seat and sat on the door. Think, Sam. This can’t be that hard to figure out.
Paddy came through the side door and let out a suffocating cough. “Smells like fuel in here.”
“Bad injector sensor.”
“Turn those fans on and get this car out of here now,” he said.
The crew scrambled to push it outside, and Paddy ducked his head under the hood. “What the hell is going on here, Samantha? There’s fuel visible here.”
“I don’t know.” She threw up her arms and followed him back inside. “I just changed that sensor an hour ago.”
The pages rustled as Paddy checked the maintenance chart before tossing it to Sam. “Right after Ray changed it. Damn it, Samantha! What’s the matter with you?”
“That’s impossible.” She flipped through the pages quickly, stopping cold when she saw the single page with Ray’s handwriting on it. “This entry wasn’t here earlier. I know I checked it.”
“Plain as day, Samantha.” Paddy shook his head. “Plain as day.”
Drew took the clipboard from her. “I know you’re not feeling good. Maybe you just overlooked it.”
“No. It wasn’t there.” She went to the bench and picked up the empty carton. “It was still in the box,” she whispered, her mind working, trying to figure out how she could have missed the entry.
Paddy followed her to the bench. “What’s wrong with you, Samantha?”
“She had a little bout with the stomach flu last night,” Drew answered for her.
