by Emma Louise
“The only gorgeous thing in here is you.” His voice against my skin has me shivering. “Everything else is just stuff.”
Spinning around, I pull him down so our lips meet in a sweet kiss. I should probably be concerned about how fast this thing between is moving, but I can’t deny how right it feels.
“Come on. I made breakfast.” He pulls me by my hand to the island where two plates of food wait for us.
“You cooked? Is it safe?” I ask, amused, because the Tucker I knew couldn’t boil water without incident.
“Cooking is a slight overreach, but I can fry a mean piece of bacon these days.” He chuckles as he pulls out my stool for me. He’s not wrong, it might only be bacon and eggs, but it's delicious.
“Remember that time you tried to make spaghetti?” I giggle at the memory as Tucker groans. His cheeks heat into an adorable shade of pink.
“That was your fault.” He tries hard to keep his face straight, but amusement tugs at his lips. “If I wasn't so obsessed with kissing you, I would have noticed the pan had boiled dry, and there wouldn’t have been that fire.”
I have to bite my lip to try to contain my laugh, but it’s pointless; the memory of Tucker panicking that my parents were going to be mad at us for almost destroying their kitchen is hilarious. We lied and told them we were engrossed in homework. I’m pretty sure Duke knew what we were up to, but thankfully he let it go.
The amused look on Tuck’s face has me losing the grip I had on my laughter and soon, we’ve both lost it.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Tucker says quietly as he leans over and swipes away the tears that have leaked from my eyes. Peace. That is what I feel right now, here with the man I thought was lost to me forever. When he looks at me like this, with open affection, I feel peace.
***
“Things have been crazy for us over the last few weeks, but I should have said this before now,” I say a little while later as we lay together out on his balcony. “I’m proud of you.” Tuck’s arms convulse around me as his face buries into my hair.
“Baby...” he murmurs quietly. Twisting around, I lean into him and rest my hands on his chest so I can look him in the eyes as I say what needs to be said.
“I mean it,” I push on. “I knew you’d make it. Never doubted it for a second, but seeing all you’ve achieved.” I wave my hand around, indicating the insane penthouse that must have cost more than I can comprehend. “I’m happy you’re living your dreams, Tuck.” For the briefest second, something hard flashes over his face, but it’s gone before I can work out what it is. I just hope I’m still a part of that dream, like I was when we were kids. I don’t say this out loud, but the words hang between us anyway.
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he rolls us off the sun lounger, picks me up, and carries me to his bed. Laying me back, Tuck makes quick work of getting us both naked. He still doesn’t speak as he drops down to the bed, shoulders his way between my legs, and without preamble, licks right up the center of my pussy. He doesn’t devour me; his licks and nips are soft and exploring. Still, it’s not long before my hands are buried in his thick dark hair, and I’m riding his face. He brings me to the edge only to shift slightly, pushing back my impending orgasm. I want to groan in frustration as he kisses his way up my body, but I’m silenced when his mouth hits mine. I can taste myself on his lips as his weight presses me into the bed. His arms bracket my head, so I have no choice but to keep staring into his eyes
“I want to be inside you when you come,” Tucker says against my lips as he hitches one of my legs up and around his waist. And then he’s there, his length pressing inside. My breath halts as a tumult of sensations hit me.
His arms cradling me create a safe haven. A place where it’s just us, we’re all that exists right here in this moment.
His weight on me, feeling like a cocoon, an impenetrable wall.
His cock driving into me sparks a fire that will soon be a blazing inferno of bliss.
His eyes on mine burn with the words he’s not ready to say yet.
Maybe I should be concerned that he’s using sex as a distraction from a conversation he isn’t comfortable with?
As he forces me closer and closer to the edge, I get the feeling that he is having that conversation with me. He’s telling me, in the only way he knows how, that I’m not the only one who feels the magnitude of what is happening between us. There might be conversations we need to have, but they can wait. Right now, we’re together again, and that’s all that matters.
I just pray that I’m strong enough to stay this time.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
TUCKER
“When do we get to meet her?” It’s Zander who asks the question, but looking around the table, I see Colton and Becks are waiting for an answer too. One week. I’m surprised they’ve given me this long if I’m honest. I half expected to be ambushed long before now.
“Those two clowns have met her already.” I point to the other end of the table. “And you can meet her just as soon as you and Getty want to set it up.”
“We barely got to say hello before you ran her off.”
“Thanks for the reminder, asshole,” I grumble, flicking Becks the finger for reminding me I was an ass to Brooke that night.
“Bring her to our place this weekend. We’ll keep it informal,” Colton offers. I still find it strange when my idol offers up his friendship so effortlessly.
“I’ll check if she’s free, but I’m sure she’d love that. She loves working with Rylee, so I don’t see it being a problem.”
Plans are made for the weekend, and the room begins to empty until it’s just Becks and me.
“You ready to start hitting the road soon?” he asks as he packs up the files he brought to today’s team meeting. The season is starting in just two weeks. Physically, everything is in place. I’m the fittest I’ve ever been, and I’m driving the best times of my career so far. I’m ready to grab this season by the balls and make it mine.
“Can’t wait. I have a feeling this year will be my best yet.”
“Your girl gonna be okay with it?” He asks the question lightly, but I hear how much he really wants to know the answer.
“What are you really asking, Becks?”
“She left you once. She going to be able to handle it this time?”
“She left because I was a punk that thought he was invincible. Not because she didn’t want me to race for a living.” He studies me for a beat, gauging how honest I’m being, not just with him, but with myself.
I’m happy you’re living your dreams.
There’s no question Brooke meant those words. She’s not talking about the penthouse, the flashy cars, or anything like that. She means racing. She’s happy I’m getting to do the only thing that ever meant anything to me. She wouldn't be here with me now if she didn’t want me in a car.
***
“You sure you don’t want to go out to eat? You’ve been on your feet all day. The last thing you want to be doing is cooking tonight.” We’re in the grocery store just down the road from my apartment. I’m in charge of the cart while Brooke fills it with more food than I think my refrigerator has ever held.
“What I want is to get my hands on your kitchen,” she mumbles, too engrossed in reading the packaging on two different kinds of pasta to pay me much attention. She’s too fucking cute. “Your oven deserves better than the ready meals you warm up in it.”
This last week of being an us again has mostly been spent with us between my bedsheets. Food has been a series of take-outs and frozen pizzas that have been eaten between rounds of phenomenal sex.
“Crap.” Brooke looks up from the list in her hand. “I forgot to get tomatoes. Can you go grab some while I get the rest of this stuff?” The domesticity of the moment should feel odd. I’m fast approaching my thirties, and I’m pretty sure I’ve only done grocery shopping a handful of times, none of which have been with a woman. But something about being like his with Brooke feels
right. I want this with her. I want the mundane. I want the ordinary. I want what I’ve never had before.
“No problem.” Giving her a swift kiss and a pat on her pert ass, I take off to the front of the store. Grabbing the tomatoes, I take a detour to pick up a few bottles of wine and a pack of beers. I’m trying to decide between two bottles of Rose when I hear the very last voice I want to hear right now. Or ever, if I’m honest.
“Well, well, well. I never expected to see you here.” Karlyn’s voice is a saccharine laced purr as she stalks toward me.
“Karlyn.” I nod politely before turning back to the wine, hoping like fuck she takes the hint and moves on.
“How have you been? You haven’t been answering my calls.” She presses on, oblivious to how she's pissing me off. It’s not entirely her fault. I know I’m the one who fucked up that night, and now she thinks she can get her claws back in me. Even knowing that, I don’t try to hide the venom as I speak.
“I’m not answering because there’s nothing I have to say. I’ve told you, more than once, it was a mistake. One I have zero interest in repeating.”
Her eyes flash, but it’s not anger; she’s enjoying this. She sees me as a challenge. Something she can conquer.
“You said that before, but it didn’t stop you from coming back for round two. Or rounds three, four, and five for that matter.”
She lifts a hand like she’s about to touch me and with my hands full, the only defense I have is to step back. Not that it deters her; she just follows me.
“Enough,” I bark, tipping my head down to stare in her eyes, hoping like fuck she can read in mine that I’m not kidding around. I’m done with this bullshit. “You were an easy lay, Karlyn. That’s it. You're making a fool of yourself, so back off, and leave me the hell alone.”
“Tucker?” Brooke’s sweet voice trembles as she takes in the scene she’s just walked into. "What’s going on?”
“Baby, sorry I took so long.” I ignore the question, hoping she’ll let it drop until we’re out of here. I can’t protect her from knowing I have a past, but I pray I can get us out of here before Karlyn can tell her just how recent that past was.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” The viper at my back asks, her amusement obvious in the smirk she’s wearing all over her face. Brooke glances up at me nervously before she turns to offer her hand in greeting.
“Hi, I’m Brooke.” Karlyn’s eyes flick down to Brooke’s hand before she looks back to me.
“Really, Tucker? What makes this one special enough to go slumming it in the grocery store?”
“Excuse me?”
“Back off,” I growl as Brooke bristles at the ridiculous comment.
“Trust me, sweetheart, I’m doing you a favor. He might be playing house with you now, but it was only a few weeks ago he was trying to fuck me through my mattress.”
The air turns frigid. Brooke stays stock still, but I don’t miss the flinch at Karlyn’s vile outburst or the way her mouth tightens. I don’t know if she’s holding back her anger at me or Karlyn.
I don’t give a shit if anyone sees or overhears what I'm about to say. She needs to hear me and know that I’m not fucking around here. “If I see you anywhere near me or Brooke, I’ll ruin you,” I seethe, fury searing its way through me. She has enough sense to look panicked, at least for a second, but it’s not long before her usual sneer is back in place.
“Fuck you, Tucker,” she snarls. “Oh, I forgot, you already did.”
Gripping the handle, I swing the cart around. Hooking a still silent Brooke around her waist, I guide us through the checkout and to my truck.
I expect her to explode at any minute. To tell me to take her home, that she didn’t sign up for this nasty bullshit. Instead, she stays silent. The tension comes from her in waves, and I’m too much of a coward to say anything to break through it.
The silence follows us the whole way back to my place. It’s weighing heavily on us as I park the truck, grab the half-finished grocery shopping, and guide us to the elevator. She won’t even look at me as we stand side-by-side on the ride up to the penthouse.
She’s still here, though; that has to be a good sign, right? I don’t take my eyes off her as she slips her shoes off and wanders over to the over-sized sofa. She curls up in the corner, grabbing one of the fluffy cushions and hugging it to her body tightly.
She doesn’t look my way as I put the groceries away, or when I’ve finished and am walking toward her. Her eyes are trained out the windows.
“Brooke—”
“You should rearrange this room so the sitting area is next to the window.”
“Brooke—” Who needs a dining table with a view? She waves a hand toward the never used dining table that sits in front of the floor-length glass window. “I mean, the view from here is good, but over there is even—”
“Baby…” Putting my fingers under her chin, I gently turn her to look at me. The stark pain in her eyes guts me. She’s not mad at me; she’s hurt. My fucking heart twists knowing that I’m causing her pain like this. “I’m sorry. That never should have happened.”
“It’s not your fault.” Her voice is flat, and the sound grates on me.
“Brooke...” I sigh, trying to work out how to navigate my way through this minefield of a conversation.
“Weeks, Tuck? You were with her a few weeks ago? Was it after you saw me?” The strangled words score a direct hit. Her pain is a bullet to my fucking chest.
“Baby, it was a mistake. I was drunk ... a mess after seeing you. I don’t even remember it.” She shrinks back into the seat, my fumbled explanation obviously making this whole situation worse. I want to touch her, to scoop her up into my arms and love on her until she forgets the last hour ever happened. “I’m so sorry, baby.” It’s a feeble apology, but it’s all I have right now.
“You don’t owe me an apology, Tucker. You’re a single guy—”
“Don’t do that shit. Don’t brush this off.”
“I know you lived a life without me. But knowing is not the same as seeing it with my own eyes, so yes, I was hurt by what she said.”
“You think I lived? Baby, I’ve traveled the world. I’ve had some incredible experiences. I met people. But I didn’t live. I never loved. Not once. Not since you.”
Haunted blue eyes stare up at me. Even hurt she’s stunning. Swiping the tears from her cheeks, I take a chance and plant a soft kiss on her trembling lips. “Not since you,” I repeat, praying to any god that will listen that she actually hears what I’m saying.
“I was caught off guard.” She stares down at her fingers as they pick at the threads on the cushion she’s gripping on to. “Seeing an old girlfriend of yours blindsided me.”
“Not a girlfriend, Brooke.” I cut her off. “She’s a pit bunny.”
“What?”
“A pit bunny. A track tramp. A road header, whatever you want to call them. She’s someone who hangs around hoping that one of the drivers will want to get in their pants.” The way her lip curls up at the description of how I met Karlyn has shame sitting heavy on my chest.
“I was a wreck when you left, and I might have made some wrong decisions over the years but, baby, if I would have thought for one single minute I’d ever have you back in my arms, I’d take it all back. In a heartbeat.” She shocks the shit out of me when she burrows into me, sliding her arms around my waist. I finally breathe a little easier knowing she’s not about to walk out the door.
“We both have a past that doesn’t include each other. It's not fair of me to hold yours against you,” she says softly.
Tipping her head up toward mine, I kiss her once more, trying to push down the flare of jealousy I feel at her words. “The very last thing I want to think about is you with other men. Can we agree that the past stays in the past from now on? I promise I’ll protect you from mine from here on out.” Just the thought of her with someone else is enough to piss me off. I can’t begin to imagine how I would have ac
ted if the roles were reversed today and I had to hear the shit she has done.
“I really want this, Tuck. Do you think we can make this work?”
“As long as we’re together, we can do anything.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BROOKE
We’re at the race track for the first race of the season. The smell of gasoline and motor oil hanging heavy in the air causes a pang of nostalgia to hit me. I’m catapulted back to the first time Tucker took me to a race.
“If you squeeze my hand any tighter, you’ll cut off my blood flow.”
“Is it safe? What if they crash?”
“You’re always safe with me.”
I never doubted how sincere Tucker was when he said those words. I never felt unsafe or scared for myself, but watching him climb in to a car, to risk his life week after week, had taken its toll on me back then. It was so bad I would have to hide in the bathroom so Tuck wouldn’t see the panic attacks I was having.
“I used to think nothing could be more terrifying than watching Colton race. Then Zander got in a car, and I thought my heart was going to jump right out of my mouth.” Rylee laughs lightly from next to me. We’ve gotten a little closer since Tucker and I have been to her and Colton's house for dinner a few times over the last few weeks. We’re sat at the back of the bay while the guys are a flurry of activity around us. Ace, Rylee’s son plays with a handful of toy cars at our feet.
She thinks I’m about to freak out, and I’m not going to deny that I’ve come close to having a freak out a few times this morning, but I only have to look over at Tucker to be calmed.
He's with his race crew, huddled around an iPad as they go over last-minute details before the race. He looks incredible. His long legs are encased in his tight fire suit, but he’s currently got the arms tied around his waist. His strong arms are shown off by the tight faded black T-shirt he’s wearing. His hair is already a mess from where he keeps running his hands through it.