Race For Revenge (Lynsey Stevens Romance)

by Stevens, Lynsey

  ‘And I wanted to blame someone for Rick.’ Danni swallowed. ‘I know he would never have asked that of me. I’m so sorry, Shiloh.’

  He lifted himself on one elbow and leant down to place a soft kiss on her trembling lips.

  ‘Do you think you have laid those ghosts?’ Danni asked shakily. ‘I mean, your nightmare the other night, it must be awful.’

  ‘I don’t have them as often as I used to.’ Shiloh sighed again. ‘Chris Damien understood why I needed to race again and he helped me convince the officials. He’s quite a friend.’ He was silent for a moment, his hand absently rubbing her bare shoulder. ‘I used to think motor racing was my life, but last week, watching you on the track, I couldn’t take it, Danni. It wasn’t just because of your father’s feelings that I was so angry. If anything had happened to you I’d have gone quietly insane.’ He grimaced self derisively. ‘I started thinking that if you felt half as bad about me while I was out on the track then, well, I guess motor racing lost some of its appeal for me.’

  ‘Oh, Shiloh!’ Danni put her lips softly to his chin.

  He took her face in his hands. ‘You and I, we can make a go of it. I’m not saying it will all be smooth sailing, we’re both too volatile for that, but it could be the best.’

  ‘The very best,’ she smiled.

  He pulled her into his arms, settling her head on his shoulder, and murmured appreciatively. ‘I wonder if an unemployed ex-racing driver will look as attractive to Marla Damien?’ he asked seriously.

  Danni struggled up to look at his face, seeing the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. ‘I’m beginning to suspect you’re quite vain, Shiloh O’Rourke,’ she said with mock exasperation.

  ‘About Marla. I knew her before she married Chris. It didn’t take me long to realise she was an empty package in pretty wrapping, and after the accident when she found other diversions I was considerably relieved.’ He grinned. ‘That little scene you inadvertently witnessed, the running was all Marla’s, believe me. Besides being blind to any female but you, I wouldn’t do that to Chris, no matter what. He’s too nice a guy.’

  His grin left his face. ‘But before I could reach you to explain all that you were out on the track. God, if anything had happened to you I wouldn’t have forgiven myself ! And I’d have slowly throttled the life out of Marla.’

  ‘She does fancy you, you know.’ Her fingers wove patterns in the mat of curling fair hair on his chest.

  He laughed. ‘Me and everyone even slightly well known. Marla likes to be the centre of attention.’

  ‘I saw your photo, dining together. It was in the Sydney paper.’ Danni watched his face.

  He grimaced again. ‘I only went because Chris asked me to go. He was there as well. We were discussing my joining his racing team. He’d gone to take a phone call when that wretched photographer turned up. A very boring evening it was, too. I kept comparing all the women with you, and none of them came close.’

  ‘I’ll give you a lifetime to keep telling me that,’ Danni laughed.

  ‘Now that’s a promise I won’t have any trouble keeping.’ He was serious again. ‘About your racing, I had no right to place that kind of stipulation on you. I don’t want you to give up the Driver to Europe Competition unless you’re absolutely certain you want to. You are ahead on points and I don’t want you to feel—’

  She put her finger over his lips. ‘I’m more than sure. I want to retire. The series somehow lost its appeal when you came on the scene. And it isn’t a feeling that happened at Oran Park last week. It was right from that moment you walked on to the practice track at Mallaroo. That’s when it began. Besides,’ a dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth, ‘I can’t see a barefoot and pregnant lady, no matter how liberated she is, being allowed to hare around the racing circuits in Europe, can you?’

  ‘If you took it into your head to do it, I’ve no doubt you would,’ Shiloh chuckled. ‘While I turned white-haired, of course.’ He kissed her soundly and their desire rose again.

  ‘Shiloh, I have to go to work in a couple of hours,’ Danni murmured.

  ‘Ah, yes. Well, you’ll have to have the day off. Your husband needs you,’ he said in a lordly tone, and then looked down at her seriously. ‘You don’t have to continue working unless you want to either.’

  Danni paused, pretending to give the idea serious thought and then she smiled. ‘I enjoy my job. And besides,’ she ran her hand lightly over his taut midriff, let her fingers tease his firm skin, and he covered her hand with his own.

  ‘Besides?’ He raised enquiring eyebrows.

  ‘Well, I’ll have to work for a while. I mean, my ex-racing driver husband is apparently out of work.’

  He chuckled. ‘You have a valid point. But there’s no worries there. As you may have guessed my father isn’t exactly enamoured of my racing career, and never has been. He’s been pressuring me to come into the family business for years. The time hasn’t been right for me but, well, now it is.’

  ‘You’re sure?’ Danni asked him. ‘You don’t have to do something you don’t want to do. Not on my account.’

  ‘I know. But I think now’s the time to use the engineering qualifications I spent years acquiring. I had every intention of doing just that when I came home from the UK, as well as doing a little racing. My father and I locked horns over it constantly. Over the racing, I mean. Then I had the accident. When I told my family I was going back to racing World War Three broke out.’ He grinned crookedly. ‘Maybe my father and I can call a truce now.’

  ‘I think he just might be overjoyed. ‘

  ‘So it will be goodbye Shiloh O’Rourke, Racing Driver, and hello Shiloh O’Rourke, Engineer.’ He winked at her. ‘Now I have a wife and family to support.’

  ‘Family? Aren’t you being a little premature?’ Danni laughed delightedly, putting her lips to the firm line of his jaw.

  ‘Just leave it all to me, Mrs O’Rourke. In fact, it might not be a bad idea if we began working on that project right away,’ he said, lowering his lips to hers.