Page 11 of Risk

His lopsided grin faded and turned into a thin line. “Will one of them die if you hand them off to another therapist? I believe if you’re not there with Callum, he very well could die out there on the track. If it’s money you’re worried about, I will pay you more than you could ever make in a year.”

I didn’t like the fact he was trying to guilt-trip me or trying to buy me. I wasn’t sure how I would ever live with myself if anyone died on my account, though.

“I can see you contemplating my proposal. Think about it. You’ll get to travel around the world with plenty of time to see the sights. Callum doesn’t want anyone to know it, but he’s the cheesiest tourist wherever we go. I’m sure he’d love some company while he journeys out.”

I seriously doubted Callum wanted anyone with him. While he was charming, he also seemed to be a bit of a loner.

“It’s only until the beginning of December.”

“UntilDecember?” I sputtered out. “But it’s only May.”

“It’s a long season. I can’t possibly travel the tour with my wife in California and my duties to my company. It would give me…and Callum great relief to have you with him.”

Turning back to the track, I had no idea what to do. The thought of Callum getting hurt or worse because I wasn’t there with him was unbearable. But what of my other patients? They were just as precious as he was.

I didn’t turn back to look at him when I asked. “Can I think about it?”

“Of course, you have a few days before we fly out to Monaco.” I could hear the triumph in his voice even though I hadn’t agreed, making me grind my molars together. “I’ll leave your ticket with Callum. Good day.”

I spun around, only to see his back as he walked away. Unwilling to follow, I sat back in my seat and tried to sort the jumbled thoughts in my head. I had an impossible decision to make.

Callum

Monaco

Aspen waiteduntil the day before I was set to fly from Spain to Monaco to make her final decision. Most racers dreaded the track here, but I loved it. Rumors were flying about whether I’d ever race again after what happened in Bahrain, but I planned to show them I was a better racer than before.

With all my free time, I’d been working out more than ever. I was stronger, and I believed with one hundred percent certainty that with Aspen talking to me, I couldn’t be beaten.

“I can’t believe we’re stuck in this tin can during a storm,” Aspen grumbled to herself from her seat.

“If it was bad, they would have gone around, delayed our flight, or landed. We’ve done none of those things, so we must be safe.”

“Safe,” she scoffed.

While Aspen had tried to keep me from knowing anything personal, I had learned she hated flying. It seemed crazy that I was fine flying across the ocean during a storm, yet I couldn’t race without the woman beside me. I knew it was all in my head and hoped now that she’d agreed to follow me through the season, I’d eventually be able to race without her.

Even if I desperately wanted to fuck her.

Perhaps Colton had seen me checking out her ass as she walked away, or maybe it was the desperation in which I needed her that had him demanding that we agree to keep our relationship strictly a doctor-patient one. We could be friends, but nothing more.

Aspen shifted in her seat, making her shirt dip to show more of her cleavage. The unintentional move had my dick twitching in my pants. One peek of her creamy breasts, and I was like a teenage boy hungering for more.

“Doesn’t the flying from country to country get old?” she asked, breaking me away from staring at her chest.

When I looked up, she gave me a knowing look, but I saw the slight upturn to her lips. She didn’t mind too much. I knew she was just as attracted to me.

“It’s not so bad. Maybe for the crew who fly from one location to the next, packing and setting up in city after city, but I like to stay and explore. If I was hopping on a plane the day after a race, I doubt I’d enjoy it too much.”

The plane jostled from turbulence, causing Aspen to grasp onto the armrests on her seat and look over at me with big brown eyes that were pleading with me to somehow get her off this plane. Her face went white with the next bump as she squeezed her eyes closed.

“I knew this was a bad idea. I should have stayed home with my patients. Now we’re going to die.” The terror in her voice twisted at my heart.

Turning in my seat as best as I could with my seatbelt on, I reached across the narrow space that separated us and took her cold, trembling hand in mine, trying my best to distract her. “How long have you lived in Spain?”

One eye slowly opened to peek out at me. “For a little over a year.” Her words were rushed as she spoke.

“Have you always wanted to live in Spain?”

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