Page 83 of All That Glitters
“I do. It might take some time.” He lowered his head and placed a small kiss to the hollow of my throat. “It might take a little work.” He kissed the pulse throbbing in my neck. “It might even take…” He licked and kissed his way along my jawline, to my chin. “…coercion. But I always get what I want.” And then his lips were on mine, tasting of sea and salt, stealing my words, my breath, my sanity once again, proving that yes, indeed, he did always get exactly what he wanted and in that moment, he wanted me and I wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while.
19
Ashton
“Do you know anything about Darien Cross?”
I shook my head. Helen kept her eyes on the road and I kept my eyes on her. Focusing on her was what kept me from freaking out that I was in the front seat of her Jeep. That and the death grip I had on the whatever I could get my hands on.
It had taken fifteen minutes for us both to get me seated and belted in. I’d broken out into a cold sweat and at one point, I’d been shaking so badly I almost called the whole thing off.
Helen would’ve let me. She’d suggested calling and suggesting this last minute meeting be done over Zoom, but I’d said no. I had to become more bold. I had to stop letting the fear steal days and weeks from my life. I had to confront and face the demons riding shotgun inside my head. And if I couldn’t do any of that with Helen by my side, helping me, doing exactly what I’d asked her to do, then…
Watching her, how smooth she was behind the wheel, how effortless driving was for her… God, I fucking missed it. Race cars, street cars… I missed it.
“Gentleman driver. Businessman. Could buy all of Monaco on a good day.”
“Because it’s a little strange that he wants to meet with you right now, today. What could be that urgent?”
She wasn’t wrong. Darien’s assistant Amber was pleasant when she’d called earlier, but also pretty insistent without giving away any details. I was intrigued.
“I guess we’ll find out. Um…” I paused before uttering the next words because right now, they were so foreign to me. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She’d been more than a little put out with me when I sprung it on her. I hadn’t been ready for her to leave. Hell, the more I was with her, the less I wanted to be away from her. Things had changed and shifted and gotten away from me. Nothing was going as it was supposed to, as I had planned it out in my head.
“Do you know anything about him?” I asked. The more I could get her to talk to me, the more I’d stay out of my head which was better for everyone. “Have you ever met him?”
“No. I’ve never met him. I think Hale has, but I’m not sure and I don’t know a whole lot. While you were in the shower, I looked him up. I was able to find out that he owns several luxury dealerships on the west coast and has some other businesses that I’m not familiar with. He did an interview early last year. He’d driven in some of the endurance races a couple of seasons ago and wanted to drive more but had a hard time finding a seat on a regular basis. He’d been looking to fund a team or build his own from the ground up, but then he dropped out of the news cycle. That was all I could find.”
“I don’t understand why he couldn’t find a team to join, even if it was a different one each year. Gentlemen drivers have always been around. It’s been a pretty welcoming sport. It’s the one form of racing that allows all levels. If he had the talent, the determination, the money, I don’t understand why no one would work with him.”
From actors to businessmen like Darien to drivers from other racing series, endurance opened the doors. Especially if they had money they could invest.
As the sport became more and more popular, I hoped that aspect didn’t change. It’s one of the things that made it special, separated it from others.
“Well, I guess we’re about to find out what he wants with you.”
“What do you want with me?”
“I don’t think either of us are ready for that conversation.”
I turned my head to look out the window but smiled. I wanted to ask her if she was still angry about last night. She wasn’t acting like it, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t and it didn’t mean that I didn’t deserve it.
“Let’s just get through the meeting,” she said. “Are you nervous?”
“No. I’m more curious than anything.”
“Do you want me to wait in the car?”
“Fuck no. I want you right there beside me.”
“Okay.”
“Did I mess anything up for you today?”
“Do you really care if you did?”
