FEARLESS: Standalone

by Simone Elise

  Emotions and I can’t explain them, spread across his face before he dips his head, his eyes still locked on mine. “I don’t know whether I want to hurt him or her right now.”

  “How about neither?” I say and push on his chest, to get him to back away but he doesn’t. Instead he stands to his full height, dominating over my five foot nothing.

  “You saying you don’t want me to kiss you?” He tilted his head to the side and I don’t think there was one woman, who didn’t want Kace Striking to kiss them after locking eyes on him. He was that type of man, he just lured you in. Perhaps it was the fact he stood for everything you wanted but couldn’t have or the fact you could never tame him.

  I don’t know but my hesitation gives him an answer and his lips are rough against mine but it is the type of roughness you want. He is firm, demanding, hard and every part of me loved it. My hand went to his hair, and the moan that escapes my lips I’m not proud of.

  Then he pulls back a smirk on his face. “Think I got my answer.”

  “To?” I say breathless.

  “If you are worth the trouble that comes with you.”

  I blinked not understanding and he gives me a wink before walking off.

  Leaving me breathless, speechless and really damn confused.

  A pair of fingers clicked in front of my eyes and I come back to the moment. “What Gabe?” I pretend like I’m with the moment when I’m not. My mind was elsewhere. It was on fucking Kace Striking. My mind continued to go back to the night Kace kissed me.

  “What’s with you?” Gabe looks at me like an alien has taken over my body. “You are always switched on with the car, but right now you aren’t listening.”

  He runs a hand over his blond hair and I can’t help but think he was right. I’ve been distracted lately. I’ve been doing most things on autopilot.

  I inhaled and came back to the moment. “Okay. What were you saying?”

  Gabe being Gabe, pointed a finger at me, shaking his head. “Who is he?” he asked the question that sends my expression to the floor. Oh my god, was I that transparent! When Gabe gets an idea in his head, it takes everything for him to shake it. Usually in fact, he doesn’t drop it until he gets to the bottom of it.

  “Cough up a name little sister.” He adds.

  I can’t even form words. I just stare at him—speechless.

  “No one.” I finally splutter out and he looked at me like he knew I was lying. “Have you seen me anywhere but here?” I add and Gabe frowns.

  And then his expressions drop. “No I haven’t.” he looked me dead in the eyes. “Which is a fucking problem now you mention it.”

  I frown.

  “Has Kace been near you?”

  Oh. My. God. How could he connect the two? “No.” I said quickly and pretend like Kace hadn’t consumed my thoughts lately. “Why would he?”

  “Good.” Gabe looked at me firmly. “He’s bad news Ivory.”

  I couldn’t stop my eyes from narrowing on him. “Like you, you mean?”

  “No.” His hand covers mine on the table. “Him and I are nothing alike.”

  I scoff. “Thrill seekers, check. Both have a crush on the same woman. Check. Both like tattoos. Check.” I listed the things on my fingers, and Gabe’s eyes narrowed on me as I went on.

  “He broke up with Olivia.”

  “I think she broke up with him.”

  His eyes sharpened on me. “How would you know a thing about it?”

  I was quick to swipe my hand out from under his and grab my water bottle.

  “Ivory. I want you to stay away from him.”

  “I haven’t gone near him!”

  “He’s after you.”

  I laughed, full on laughed and looked Gabe in the eyes. “Why would he be interested in me?” I wasn’t a race track model, like he was surrounded by. I wasn’t the girl to captivate the newly prowling bad boy.

  “Because he wants to hurt me.” Gabe says oh so simply. “And I won’t let him hurt you in the process.”

  I just shake my head, trying to drop subject but Gabe’s eyes and attitude tells me he is serious. He really thinks Kace wants me, just to hurt him. But what he doesn’t know is Kace isn’t interested in me at all— he had opportunities to talk to me, he hadn’t.

  So that told me, he wasn’t interested. And I don’t know why that bothered me so much.

  Gabe

  “Ivy it’s not fucking working!” I roared and slammed the car door shut. “It’s still not going into fourth right.” I looked at my sister, my mechanic, my Chief Crew—for fucking answers. She stepped out from the bench, a frown on her face.

  “Let me have a drive.”

  I scoff. “Not happening. Last time you slammed it into a wall. We both know,” and I pointed at her. “you can’t handle speed.”

  “Say’s the man that can’t tell if he is putting it in the wrong gear.” She ran her fingers through her long ash blonde hair. “Come on Gabe, we both know you are skipping a gear here, that the problem.”

  I scoff again. “I know how to fucking drive.”

  “Yes, but do you know how to drive, this car.” She waved a hand at our NASCAR. “Cause this car I built from the ground up, with a gear box that doesn’t match your sports cars.” She didn’t intend for her words to be nasty, but they were—come on being told how to drive by your little sister isn’t ideal.

  “Run through the gears with me then.” She stubbornly says, not wanting to accept the fact that her gear box which she had built from the ground up has a mother fucking problem. She walks to the car and gives me this look where I just know she won’t stop or accept the fact that something else is wrong other than my driving—so I climb back in the car and show my little sister I know how to drive.

  “Right there, you slamming it into fifth instead of fourth.” She says through my first run through. “Just as I said.” She adds, locking eyes with me. “Learn the new gear box Gabe. And stop complaining about my NASCAR.”

  “Our NASCAR!” I say to her back as she walks off, thinking the problem is solved. I go through the gears again, and then I realize my mistake. Fuck. I just made a scene about it. I shake my head. Rookie fucking mistake. In saying that, I must have gotten into a bad habit while driving the automatic sports cars which were collecting in my garage.

  “If we increase the motor size, it means more speed,” Ivory said and took a drink of her beer while everyone else was drinking wine. “Come on, Gabe. You’ve got to risk it for this title.”

  Ivory and I were the odd sheep of the family. We chased highs, thrills and sometimes hospital admissions from near misses. Regardless we love what we do—our family, however, didn’t see the sense in it. But they supported the NASCAR business because it was my life.

  Ivory’s involvement, however, wasn’t accepted as well as me racing. Lincoln our older brother, always says, don’t mix family and business. And I didn’t listen to his words of wisdom. Employing Ivory as my Crew Chief. But fuck, she was a good one. We had four titles under our belt and more coming.

  “We change the motor now, which means I need to learn how to control a bigger motor before qualifying,” I frowned, and ran a hand through my blond hair. Then I cracked a smirk. “You really want to do this?”

  Ivory nodded her head and opened her mouth,

  “Enough business talk,” My mom piped in. “God knows it is the only thing you two talk about.”

  Ivory and I share a look. If we changed the motor now, it meant serious work on our behalf. We didn’t’ have time for family dinners, this right now was a waste of fucking time.

  Lincoln, and Asher—my two older brothers were discussing their latest investments. While I was trying to keep a war between us Henderson’s and the King’s Deceivers MC from happening.

  Kace Striking, my competition on the track, had amped his game up this year. He wanted the title. And he had already taken three from me over the years. I wasn’t letting him take this one. Which was why I was considering cha
nging the motor. Ivory had never given bad advice before. Never.

  She knew her shit about cars, especially NASCAR’s.

  So it was settled were changing the motor last minute. At least we had sometime before qualifications.

  I knew I could handle any car Ivory built me. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was Kace was getting under my skin, our feud was getting notorious. Even our fans were picking up on it.

  Kace was an arrogant one percent biker.

  How did the bikers have money to compete in NASCARS? Well the simple answer is, they have an empire of dirty drug cash, which led to them entering my competition. It wasn’t unknown that bikers have stakes in other sporting competitions. Owning football teams, soccer teams, jockeys. But this was the first time they entered Nascar and fucking Kace was a good driver, which was the problem.

  Their feud with us, came down to, we had money—and control. They live for money and control and hate sharing. So naturally, things didn’t go peacefully between us on the tracks or off the tracks. I knew Kace and his Crew Chief were up to something this year. I had a feeling Ivory knew this too, so that was another reason I was trusting her judgement right now with the motor change.

  I loved my sister, well both my sisters—Elle was Ivory’s twin. But they were bipolar opposites. Elle was into the billionaire lifestyle. Ivory, well, right now was a clear example. She was dressed in jeans and a loose singlet. While Elle was in a formal dress, and looked like she stepped off a magazine. Don’t get me wrong Ivory is pretty, stunning even, she just had this edge to her, that you couldn’t tame. And I knew that edge, would one day be her undoing.

  Gabe

  Qualifications were always a slaughtering ground. Ivory had kept her word and had the car ready for qualifications. If you had said to me that my little bookworm of a sister would be the Crew Chief of my NASCAR I would have laughed.

  Hell she didn’t fit in with the crowd. She looked like one of the girls that parade these stands for men—one of those models. I didn’t mean that meanly. Ivory was your stereotypical blonde. Which made me the overprotective brother.

  The only difference was, she had brains, and fuck she wasn’t scared to use them. It was my bad influence that had her starting a tattoo collection. Much to our parents' disapproval. Still the point was, my little sister, could naturally draw a males eye. And right now she had scored a mans attention. Not just any man, but the bikers. Fucking Kace Striking.

  He was gawking at her, watching her bend over under the hood of my car. I was a minute away from storming off at him and throwing a punch. But I knew that would result in a massive fight and we would both get disqualified before qualifications.

  I was so busy glaring at Kace that I nearly didn’t feel the woman that ran into my side.

  “Oh my god. I’m so sorry.” She splutters out, looking at her coke all over my jumpsuit. I was ready to race. I couldn’t stop the glare, that she scored, perhaps it had more heat on it because a moment ago I was glaring at Kace.

  Then I realized who this woman was—and yeah it had started as a game, but the more she played back, the further I was willing to go for this ‘game’.

  So I try not to crack a smirk. I take a step towards her, closing the gap. And my mouth goes to her ear. “That won’t be the only thing you are spilling over me.”

  She pulls back, scorching me with her eyes. “Keep it in your pants Gabe.” And Olivia bats those long eye lashes before shouldering past me.

  “Winning this one for you baby.” I say to her back, loud enough for Kace to stop staring at my sister. And he realizes I’m flirting with his misses.

  He was quick to pull Olivia to him, and plants a kiss on her lips, before shooting a glare over her shoulder at me.

  I give him a wink, which pisses him off more.

  “Okay the car is ready.” Ivory was at my side, and I take my eyes off Kace and his woman, to look at my little sister.

  “Fucking hell you got any idea who was just staring at you?” I say to her, and she just blinks, completely so soaked up and absorbed in getting the car ready for qualifications she had no idea she had scored the attention of Kace for the last ten minutes.

  I shake my head, unable to have a conversation with her about it now. Heading for the race car, ready for qualifications. I knew now Ivory had done everything she could do to get us ready for these races, it was now up to me to make sure we got a good place.

  I loved thrills. I loved danger. I loved everything to do with racing, right up to risking your life. There was nothing like the feeling when you are racing around the track at a speed that if you lose control it would cost you your life.

  Some call it madness.

  I call adrenaline my blood type.

  We cracked a beer over the car, after qualifying in first spot. Kace was right behind me, by a hundredth of a second keeping us from second.

  Ivory hadn’t stopped grinning. “When you didn’t throw in the second lap, I thought we were in trouble.” She voices her concerns. She was referring to when a NASCAR driver takes the second lap off. Because it usually adds time, then takes it off. Some drivers were known to send their car to the pits on purpose.

  Me however? I liked the speed and couldn’t get enough of it.

  “You looked angry when I pulled back in.” I said, as a few people approached me, whacking me on the back, congratulating me and then walking off. Everyone knew better than to get in the middle of one of Ivory’s and mine’s conversations.

  She gave me a sharp look. Which I caught. “Come on Gabe, everyone knows second laps add time.” She shook her head. “Your addiction to the road, is going to cost us one day.”

  “As long as it is time and not my life, I’m not fazed by it.” I shrugged and then caught a woman storming past our set up, heading for the parking lot. It wasn’t just who it was, it was her expression.

  “I’ll be back alright?” I say to Ivy and swipe another beer from the cooler and take off after the woman. Olivia and I flirted, a lot, and I was only a man. I wanted more, but she wasn’t interested. She liked her men bad. Really bad. And I was still trying to convince her, just because I didn’t have a criminal record, didn’t mean I wasn’t her perfect bad boy.

  Hell I could make sure she didn’t go without a thing, without leaving her to go to prison. I wasn’t bragging or anything but I thought I was the perfect bad boy for her. Hell if she was worried about the bedroom, I had that shit covered. However, I had a feeling her crying in the car parking lot, trying to get into my sister’s car, had something to do with that bad boy she loved so much.

  “Olivia?” I said to her back, watching her trying to get in Ivory’s car. Ivory wouldn’t let us upgrade but why Olivia would want to steal Ivory’s car, was beyond me. “You alright?”

  She froze, slowly glancing to her side, seeing me. She shallows sharply and I see the tears running down her cheeks.

  “Again, I’m going to ask if you are okay?” I say and place the beers on Ivory’s car roof.

  “He was meant to be the love of my life.” She says so slowly and emotion coats every word.

  “You mean Kace is the love of your life?” I just assumed she got it confused. She shakes her head.

  “He’s not, that’s the problem.” She blinks and tears roll down her cheeks. “I just need to get out of here.” She pulls on Ivory’s door handle again.

  “Well my sister isn’t known for being nice, so I wouldn’t be trying to steal her car. Perhaps pick another.”

  She frowns, and steps back. Cursing. “This isn’t even my color car! What am I thinking!”

  “You’re thinking I made amazing time darling. Don’t blame yourself it was one hell of a qualifying and I smoked that boyfriend of yours.”

  “By less then a second. I’ve heard all about it.” She sighed, rolling her eyes and then looking at me. “Ex boyfriend too. Not boyfriend.”

  My mouth goes dry. Suddenly the king of words—me, goes speechless. Fuck. What do I say? Sorry? Or th
ank god about time, maybe now I can really make a move?

  “I haven’t been single since I was fourteen!” She explains, shaking her head. Like she couldn’t believe it.

  “Well darling.” And I step to her side, and place a hand on her hip, forcing her to turn into me. “We can fix that.” I keep the grin to myself. “I think you dating me, will piss ya ex off plus make me happy. So I’m up for it.”

  She whacks me hard in the chest. “Do you ever not think a lot of yourself?!” She pushes me again in the chest and I don’t move, which makes her even madder causing me to have a loose grin on my face.

  “Come on darling, lighten up. You broke up. He didn’t break you.”

  She scoffs. “How would you know?”

  “Cause.” And I cup her cheek, dipping my head, my eyes going to lips. “Cause if you were broken, you wouldn’t be fighting with yourself to not kiss me.”

  She blinks—spacing out and looking at me like I was a mind reader. “Stay away from me Henderson.” She blows out and swipes my hand off her cheek.

  “When you going to give me that date?” I say and she rolls her eyes. “Come on Olivia I can be just as bad as him.”

  She looks me dead in the eye. “I know you can be.” And she exhales sharply. “That’s the problem. He broke my heart but you Gabe Henderson could get the power to destroy it.”

  I was taken aback by her words. Was it possible that all my flirting had gotten to her? That she felt this chemistry?

  She scanned the car parking area, and I think spotted her car. Giving me a tight smile, she slowly backs away. I realize I have to say something. But I don’t and I watch her taillights pull away; and I think to myself, that she was right. My stomach, my gut was screaming that fact at me—to stay away from her. That she was right I wouldn’t just hurt her. Because I knew my need for thrills would claim my life one day.