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He kissed my shoulder, then reached up to cup the back of my head and pull my lips to his. “I can’t wait.”
His tongue pressed to the seam of my lips and with a low moan, I opened for him. My tablet tumbled to the floor as I leaned closer, tasting him and getting lost in his lips. I arched into him as his soft, biting kisses teased me with the promise of more and then he dove in and devoured, making me dizzy. Arousal burst to life, making me hate that we had at least three hours before we got to our home away from home.
I felt Axel fumbling between us, and our armrests lifted out of the way. The next thing I knew, I was in his lap and he’d scooted into my seat, his back to the wall. Holding me tight, he brought my head to rest on his chest, his solid heartbeat beneath my ear. Carefully, he tucked the blanket around us.
This was probably totally against the rules. Axel clearly didn’t care.
“Relax,” he whispered into my hair. “Get some rest.”
“I can’t.”
“Try, okay?” He slowly rubbed his hand up and down my back. “For me. Take deep slow inhales and exhales. Think about the feel of the sun on you when we get to Daytona, warming your skin and making you feel drowsy.”
He brought my lips to his again, kissing me with lazy exploration, his mouth and tongue claiming every part of mine, relaxing me more than any visualization could, even though it aroused me, too. After a long while, I cuddled into his chest again while he continued the slow caresses up and down my back. His steady heartbeat lulled me like magic, and we both drifted off to sleep.
Thirty-One
Bristol
At the top of the empty stands where I’d chosen to watch practice, I yawned while I watched the #18 car flying around the track as Axel got the feel of the car he’d be driving. I wasn’t sure if this was a regular practice time designated for him, or if a special allowance had been made, but just watching him took me back to old times when I’d watched him race at the local tracks.
I didn’t yawn because watching him bored me. Quite the opposite! I could barely quell my excitement over this opportunity. It was just that we’d gotten to the motorhome just before four this morning. We’d had a few hours to sleep before Axel had needed to report to the Pressure hauler to meet with his new crew chief.
After I’d dawdled around our home away from home, finishing my morning coffee, I’d left the RV, to-go cup of my second coffee in hand, and made my way to the track. I’d been thrown curious looks while I walked across the grounds. Despite the rivalries on the track, I’d heard the drivers and their families were close with each other. They probably recognized Axel’s rig, and to that end, didnotrecognize me as I exited it. I had no doubt Axel and his situation were the talk of the circuit, and by extension, I would be, too.
Sipping my coffee and letting the caffeine wage a battle with my fatigue, I kept my eyes pinned on Axel. There were no other vehicles on the track for him to race, but his car screamed past. I hoped he could channel that speed on Sunday. This morning, he’d explained that the driver he replaced had qualified tenth, but the rules would have Axel starting dead last. He’d need every tick of speed and every inch of his skill to place well. A difficult task, but not impossible. I had faith in him.
I tensed as he rounded a bend, mere inches from the wall. My heart galloped as fear pulsed through me.
“He knows what he’s doing,” I whispered to myself. “He’s a pro. He’ll be fine. It wasn’t as close as it looked from here.”
Axel was already around the track, going by me again, before I got my wits back together. I took deep breaths, studying the speedway. With the pass I’d been given, I could access to the stands and all the drivers’ areas. I’d picked a place to watch where I’d be alone. As happy as I was that we were here, I needed to acclimate, so I’d settled down away from the throngs of people, yet close enough to see the action.
I set my mostly full cup on the cement beside me and pulled out my phone to make notes in my writing app. Being here gave me ideas for another book. Not that I’d give up the Cherish Cove history I’d been working on, but this could be another project to look into.
Movement caught my attention as I navigated through the programs on my phone.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath while I pretended not to see the woman climbing the stands toward me, looking as if she should be on Rodeo Drive and not a NASCAR track.
With a sigh, I bypassed my notes app and activated a different one then set the device face down next to my coffee.
Leaning back on my hands, I turned my face toward the sun to soak in the rays. It was so beautiful here. Sunny. Warm. This was so much nicer than the snow we’d left behind yesterday.
“Don’t even start your shit about Axel being yours,” I warned when her shadow blocked my sunlight.
“As if I ever wanted him,” Marta scoffed.
I raised an eyebrow but didn’t look her way or respond.
“I see you’ve been moving fast, though,” she taunted, her bitter voice poisonous. “A ring already? Girl. Axel only wants you to salvage his reputation and clean up his image. Do you really think you can keep a man like him? You’re small town, and he’s Hollywood.”
“Axel is just as small town as I am,” I replied, keeping my tone breezy even though her words hurt. “You can take the boy out of the village, but you can’t take the village out of the man.” I lifted my left hand to look at my gorgeous ring, letting her get a good look in the process. “And no… I haven’t moved fast at all. Axel and I have been together since we were thirteen. And we’ve been married for almost seven years now.”
Marta tried to hide her surprise, but I saw it.
“So,” I snapped off. “You can try to smear him all you want, but it’s not gonna work.”
Marta scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
