Page 10 of Driving the Billionaire Wild

‘They’re not sure yet. It’s unprecedented.’ He sipped from his own glass, a faraway look in his dark eyes. ‘The rumours were true that I left Accardi due to a disagreement between myself and my grandfather. He was a proud man, as underhanded and ruthless as the press made him out to be. Still, I idolised him as a boy. He was the one constant in my life during my parents’ divorce. He spent more time with me than my own father, introduced me to karting, trained me up and channelled my hurt feelings into something positive.

‘But as I grew up I saw a different side of him. I disagreed with many of his team tactics and that was a large part of why I walked away from Elite One for so many years. Still, for some reason he decided to make me his sole beneficiary. Everyone assumed that my cousins would inherit, considering they all three hold important positions in the team.’

Astrid felt her breath catch at the remorse in Apollo’s eyes. She didn’t dare speak, waiting for him to continue, even as she began to realise what his admission was revealing.

‘I never wanted to leave Elite One. I left because I found out secrets within Accardi Autosport that had been meant to be kept hidden from me. Secrets that threw doubt upon all of my successes as a driver for that team. The corrupt deals and moves that Enzo had made in Elite One was only part of the rot that filtered from the top down.I ran away. I made my own fortune, tried to clear my conscience. Then, when that didn’t work, I came back to win the championship on my own terms. Which is what I planned to do, until this happened. I now have an opportunity to step in and put an end to Nonno’s legacy of corruption. Not just to prove myself, but to pave the way for the next generation.’

Astrid felt her heart sink. ‘And that’s what you want?’

‘I don’twantto do it, Astrid.’ Apollo practically growled as he stood, looming over her. ‘You think I want to be a team owner? I just want to race. I never wanted to be pulled into the family business in that capacity.’

‘You could sell the team.’ She stood her ground without faltering, far too used to standing toe to toe with hot-headed drivers.

Apollo sighed, sitting back down and finishing the end of his drink with one smooth swallow. He stared at her. ‘My grandfather locked down any chance of a sale for five years after my inheritance. My cousins still hold minor shares, and they’ve made it clear they plan to contest the will, if they can. Allegra and her brothers are leading the movement; they’re furious that my grandfather left them nothing in the will.’

‘That’s what the argument after the funeral was about?’

He nodded. ‘People like them…they fear change. They wish the team to continue on as it always has, that’s why they want to inherit it. A part of me wants to find a way out, to have nothing to do with any of it. But another part of me feels that I have a duty to undo the legacy of corruption and discrimination at Accardi…that maybe it’s time for the team to accept some consequences. And maybe I’m the only one who will do what needs to be done.’

‘You really believe that’s your responsibility?’ Astrid asked gently.

‘I walked away from it all once,’ he said coolly. ‘I don’t think I can do it again.’

Astrid knew all about the work Apollo had started before he’d left Elite One. His outspoken call for diversity and inclusion had paved the way for people like Grayson and Nina to set up academies and initiatives of their own, and set real progress in action to remove the many prejudices that so often blocked access to the sport for so many people. Still, they had a long way to go.

She felt unease rise within her at the knowledge that she had failed at the task Tristan had set her to stop him from breaking his contract. There was no way to spin this kind of news. Unless, of course, it became overshadowed by an even more shocking personal revelation.

She closed her eyes, grappling with the other reason she’d come here with him. Every passing moment she didn’t tell him about Luca was a weight upon her conscience. Her thoughts raced as she paced to the other side of the room.

‘For what it’s worth, you were the first person I thought of when I realised I needed to break my contract.’ Apollo’s gaze heated as it skimmed down the length of her body for the briefest moment. ‘Although, not for noble reasons.’

She froze. ‘There are some other things we should speak about, Apollo.’

‘Let’s step away from the serious stuff for a moment,’ he murmured. ‘See, I’ve spent the past year respecting your “no drivers” rule…only to find out we already broke it all those years ago. I’ve thought of nothing but breaking it again all day long.’

‘We shouldn’t.’ She straightened, placing her wine glass down on the table with shaking fingers. She had done her best to keep away from this man for the past year and the strange nervous energy she felt in his presence. He made her feel too much. He made her want too much. She closed her eyes, trying and failing to get a handle on her rapidly scrambling train of thought and ignore how delicious he smelled as he slowly encroached into her personal space. She had to control this situation; she had to tell him what needed to be said and let them both deal with the fallout.

‘Do you remember our first kiss, Astrid?’ His low whisper was wicked. ‘Do you remember how clumsy we were in the dark?’

‘Yes,’ she heard herself answer. ‘We bumped foreheads a couple times.’

‘I had a small bruise the next day.’ He smirked, leaning closer. ‘I told myself, if I ever found you again, that I’d do it right. I’d kiss you slow and perfect, like you deserved.’

In the glow of the fire, she watched him lick his lips with exaggerated slowness and she suddenlyneededto kiss him again, to know that she wasn’t alone in feeling this crawling need that refused to shift whenever they were around one another.

When he reached out and gripped her hips, she nudged closer. When he urged her down sideways onto his lap, she obeyed and heard a sound somewhere between a sigh and a moan escape her lips right before his lips claimed hers.

* * *

Apollo almost gave a roar of triumph as he took his fill of Astrid’s soft mouth. He kissed her in slow tastes at first, savouring the fact that he’d finally got her right where hewanted. His hands traced a slow path up the soft curve of her hip until he cupped the underside of her breast through the material of her shirt. It was chaste and nowhere near enough, a fact he knew she felt too, as she pushed herself against him, seeking relief but not finding any.

He fought the urge to rip the garment from her skin, slowly unbuttoning the front of her blouse and letting it slide down over her shoulders. Her bra was white lace, and he ached to remove that too, but they had time, he reminded himself. They’d have the entire night this time, if he had his way.

She straddled him fully now, her skirt bunched high up on her hips. The heat of her core was right…there… .separated only by the thin layer of her underwear. With her lips devouring his and her soft bottom filling his hands, he had to fight not to thrust up hard as they ground against one another, her tiny gasps of breath indicating she was just as eager to find her pleasure too. It was the hottest thing he had ever seen.

His memory of his mystery woman’s sounds in the dark from that long-ago night was nothing compared to seeing Astrid Lewis beginning to come apart in his arms in the present. He’d thought perhaps he’d exaggerated his recollection of the powerful desire he’d felt in that darkened lift; that her walking away from him before he’d had his fill of her had been the reason he’d not been able to shake the thoughts of her for years afterwards. Their encounter had been short, but the chemistry had been as undeniable then as it was now.

The soft lamplight illuminated her fair skin, pink spots high on her cheeks as she moaned her approval and rubbed herself against the hard ridge of his jeans-covered erection. Apollo thought his eyes might roll back in his head from the pleasure of it.