“I don’t deserve you.” she whispers back.
I turn her body towards me and tears are gleaming in her green eyes. I wipe them away with my thumbs and she doesn’t flinch from my touch. That gives me all the encouragement I need. The announcer is still standing next to us with the microphone pointed in our direction. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“Izabella Jones, you’re the most important person to me." My voice booming through the speakers. “I’m not complete without you by my side. I’m not whole without you. You’ve had my heart and soul since we were kids. These last few weeks have been torture without you by my side. I don’t blame you for anything. None of what happened to us is your fault. I see you, Izzy. I see you. You belong with me, you are my better half. You bring hope and love when I gaze into your beautiful green eyes. You give me light in a world of darkness when you smile at me. I love you, Izzy. I love the way your eyes light up when I crack a stupid joke, I love the way your body trembles when I touch you. I love the way you look at me like I’m the only person in the world. I want to give you forever with me."
I bend down onto one knee carefully and pull a velvet ring box out of my pocket. I hear a loud gasp leave her lips when I open the box and reveal a sapphire diamond sitting in a heart shaped setting on a white gold band.
“I know I already asked you once, but I need to ask you again. Izabella Iris Jones, will you give me forever? Will you give me the light in this world of darkness? Will you be my wife?”
I hold my breath waiting for an answer. Her eyes are red from crying and she is still the most beautiful woman in the world. She looks around us and spots Austin, Mia, Christian, Ashley, Nolan, my mom, and my dad next to her car. Austin nods his head in approval. The crowd is so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
Izzy’s green eyes finally land on mine. She takes a deep breath. “Why Xavier? Everything that happened to you is my fault. Why would you want to tie yourself to someone who hurt you?" Her question throws me off for a second, but I recover quickly.
“Izzy, I want to tie myself to you because I love you. Through thick and thin, we’re connected in a way no one can understand. You are it for me. I don’t blame you for other people’s actions. I don’t blame you for what happened to us. I blame you for stealing my heart when we were kids. I blame you for loving me all these years, when I felt I didn’t deserve it. I want to spend the rest of my life waking up next to you, stealing my heart every day and never letting it go. I want us to get our forever."
She wipes away the tears in her eyes. “I want that too.” she whispers. I slip the ring on her finger with shaky hands, and carefully stand up.
“Then give me forever. Say yes.” I tell her.
Izzy nods her head, “Yes X, I’ll give you forever." My lips crash down on hers and she opens her mouth to my assault. I pull her against my body, her soft curves fit perfectly in my hands and my cock growing in my jeans.
The crowd starts cheering and catcalling but it all fades away as I’m consumed by her lips, her body and her soul. Izzy breaks the kiss, breathing hard. I rest my forehead against hers.
“I’m sorry I pushed you away.” Izzy says, her breath fanning against my lips.
“I’m sorry I let you, let me make it up to you. I love you, B. Always have and always will.” She runs her fingers through my jet-black hair, tugging my head towards her.
“I love you too, X. Always have and always will.” she whispers before kissing me again.
The announcer breaks through our bubble. “There you have it folks, Miss Jones and Mr. Sweeney finally have their ever after. Let’s give them another round of applause."
The crowd whistles and cheers and we break our kiss and turn to our family. Austin wraps Izzy up in a hug and squeezes her tight.
“I’m so proud of you baby girl.” he tells her.
“Thanks dad.” Izzy answers. Mia and Christian are holding onto each other and they both have a smile on their faces as they make their way to us. Christian gives me a bro hug.
“Congrats man.” he says.
“Thanks.” I answer.
“It’s about time you pulled your head out of your ass.” Nolan tells me. I laugh as Izzy comes back to me.
“Yeah it is.” she says. Nolan narrows his eyes at her.
“It’s about time you pulled your head out of your ass too, Miss Jones.” he tells her.
She shakes her head. “It’s now Ms. Jones, soon to be Mrs. Sweeney to you Mr. Ryan. Better get that straight, boss."
Nolan barks out a laugh, his eyes land on Ashley. The laughter dies on his lips and his face turns red. Ashley is watching him carefully, guarded. Izzy breaks the tension between them.
“Ashley, when are you going back to LA?" Izzy asks her.
Nolan’s eyes grow wide, like he didn’t expect her to leave. Ashley shrugs her shoulders, watching Nolan instead of looking at Izzy.
“I don’t know yet.” she answers.
I pull Izzy to me and kiss her again, breaking up the conversation. Yeah, I know, I’m an ass, but after a month apart, I really don’t care.
“Well, soon to be Mrs. Sweeney. Are you ready to get out of here? I’m more than ready to make up for not spending every moment inside of you." I push my hips into hers and she shudders when she feels how hard I am for her.
“Yes Mr. Sweeney, I’m ready.” she says breathlessly.
I pick her up and carry her from the track and set her onto the passenger side of my truck. She’s cursing me the whole way, but I don’t put her down. I never want to put her down. I climb in the driver’s side and kiss her hard before pulling away from the track. Away from the lights and the smell of performance fuel, away from where she first stole my heart. We’re not done yet, our story isn’t complete, but it is for now.
Epilogue
Nolan
It’s been three months since Xavier proposed to Izzy. Three long months since Ashley left to go back to Los Angeles and I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind. Three long, lonely months.
The night Xavier proposed to Izzy, passion must have been in the air. I saw the way Ashley was looking at me and watching me, so I went for it. We spent a memorable night together and the next morning, when I woke up, she was gone. We’ve talked and texted since that night daily, but I’ve been throwing myself into my work, trying to stay busy and keep my mind from her. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve heard from her. I’ve taken on more top security details and my team has been extremely busy.
I look out the double paned windows and watch the snow falling to the ground. The weather man said there is a Nor’easter that's supposed to hit tonight and drop twelve inches of snow on us. Most people are out trying to get home before the storm hits, but I’m here in my plush office thinking about a certain blond-haired woman with light brown eyes and tanned kissed skin.
There’s a knock on my door, bringing me out of my thoughts of strong, lean legs wrapped around me, a voice like an angel screaming my name in passion as I make her come repeatedly, one blissful night.
I look up and see Iverson standing at my door with a raised brow waiting for an answer. Damn it. Ashley consumes me everywhere I go, everything I do always leads back to her.
“What?” I bark at him.
Iverson cleared his throat. “Boss, you have a call on line one. It’s urgent." I scowl and wonder who could be calling me at this time. It’s almost eleven o’clock at night. We’ve been working late every night, trying to catch up on our cases.
“Thanks, go ahead and tell the rest of the team to get home before this storm hits. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” I say dismissing him.
Iverson leaves my office and closes the door without saying a word. I pick up the phone on the corner of my red oak desk and hit the button blinking on line one.
“Ryan here.” I answer in a formal clipped tone. Silence on the other end greets me. I can hear harsh breathing, but that’s it.
“Look, I don’t have time for this bullsh
it. Either speak now or I’m hanging up.” I bark in the phone. A familiar deep breath hits my ears and everything else fades away.
“Nolan.” the small voice on the other end sounds scared. I’d recognize that voice anywhere.
“Ashley? What’s wrong?" I ask her.
“I need help. I’m in trouble. I can’t say anything more.” Ashley whispers into the phone.
“Where are you?” I ask gently.
Silence greets me and my heart hammers in my chest. She takes a deep breath before answering.
“I’m in L.A. and someone is after me, please help me.” her voice is quiet, and I can barely hear her.
“I’m on my way. Stay put and stay safe.” I answer.
“Ok, please hurry. I’m really scared.” she says, and the line goes dead. I grab my suit jacket on the back of my leather chair and run out the door. Ashley needs my help and I’ll be damned if I let anything happen to her.
**********************
The second story of Nolan and Ashley will continue. Will Ashley’s mysterious phone call push Nolan over the edge. Will she still be alive when he finally reaches her? Coming soon, Ashley story, Racing Dirty, L.A.
Thank you for taking the time in reading this book, Racing Dirty. I hope you fell in love with these characters as much as I did.
I want to thank Sarah D. for being my go to girl, my ride or die, when I was struggling with plot lines or questioning my sanity on writing this book. She has been a tremendous help in making these characters come to life and I couldn’t have done it without her.
Thank you to my husband for supporting me in writing this book and for putting up with my early hours and sleepless nights as this book called to me.
My two children, one day when you read this, (when you’re much older!) I hope you see how much passion I have for writing and someday follow in my footsteps in achieving your dreams. You can do anything you put your mind to.
My dad, if it wasn’t for your passion for reading you passed down onto me, I never would have written my first poem or my first short story. Thank you, dad!
Thank you to my Beta Bitches, Joy, Stormy, Katie and Holly for picking apart and helping put this book together. Without you guys, I’d still be wondering if I should hit that dang button!
Table of Contents
Cover
Racing Dirty
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Epilogue
Racing Dirty Page 28