by Audra North
It was that thought that had Ranger lifting his head and moving away from her. Kerri must have been lost in that hot intensity, too, because the way she was looking at him nearly destroyed him.
Shit.
What had he done? It was one thing to pretend at romance to get what he wanted. It was something else entirely to get so lost in a case that he felt … lost.
Ranger Colt didn’t lose. Not to his own father. And certainly not to a headstrong, quarrelsome race car driver. The need to put some distance between them again, to find his equilibrium, had won out over the urge to yank her close and kiss her again, press conference be damned.
That’s why he’d told her the kiss was “pretty good,” then suggested that she slap some makeup on. He’d hoped that it would get her hackles up, wipe that dreamy, seductive look off her face and make it easier for him to resist her.
It had worked. Sort of. She’d certainly lost that look of slumberous desire. But the crackling retort she’d fired back hadn’t done anything to tamp down his libido. The pressure in his groin increased, and he’d had to work to keep his tone lightly mocking. “I’m just teasing you, dear.”
“Well, it wasn’t funny, asshole.”
Damn. He hadn’t wanted her all out pissed, either. They had to look convincing when they went out there in front of the press. Anything less, and they’d get eaten alive—and he’d fail.
And he never failed. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It wasn’t funny.”
Her expression mellowed somewhat. “Look, let’s just get this over with, all right? And keep the kissing to a minimum.”
They walked into the pressroom, Kerri on his arm. Not surprisingly, the place was a madhouse. Everyone was still amped up from Earl’s madcap proposal, so much so that the reporters began shouting questions as soon as they were in sight of the media. Grady was standing off to one side speaking to the race director, but the two came forward immediately to join Kerri and Ranger at the podium.
Ranger stepped up to the mic and held up his hand for the reporters to quiet down, summoning his most affable aw shucks smile. He had to suppress a laugh when a female reporter in the middle row actually winked at him. Kerri, still holding his arm, stiffened when she saw it.
Interesting.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice, y’all. I’m sure there’s no shortage of questions after this exciting turn of events. But I want you to hold them until I’m finished talking.”
He looked over at Kerri and took her hand. “We’d been hoping this news would come out at a little less public venue, but I guess there’s no better time than the present, right, sugar?”
“No time would be better, indeed,” she bit out. Ranger wasn’t sure whether to applaud her reply or strangle her for looking so unhappy about standing next to him, but he ignored it and soldiered on.
“What with all the excitement today, we knew there might be some folks who were wondering why Kerri would turn down the proposal she received. Now, we know it was exciting, and thankfully she is a skillful driver who managed to avoid hurting someone who was clearly trying to make a statement. But as many of you might recall, Earl Scanlon and my Kerri here ended their relationship quite some time ago, and Kerri and I recently began quietly dating. We worked hard to keep our relationship private, but in light of today’s events”—he had to raise his voice then to be heard over the questions that were shouted throughout the room—“we felt that it was time to share some important news.”
They’d quieted again when they heard those last words, and that was when Ranger dropped the bomb.
“Kerri and I are engaged.”
The press went wild, but Ranger refused to say anything further until they’d all calmed down. He squeezed Kerri’s hand gently, feeling a strange rush of pride and excitement that she hadn’t pulled away.
It took a few minutes for the ruckus to settle, and when it did, Ranger continued. “Y’all might already know that Colt was thinking about sponsoring Hart Racing last year. Well, the first time that I had the pleasure of meeting Kerri, I knew she was something special. I was ready to propose within minutes, but that probably would have been too fast, even for a race car driver.”
He grinned, and the reporters chuckled in response. He heard Kerri give a soft snort, the sound masked by the laughter in the room.
Well, tough. She might be angry at him, but she made a deal. Besides, he’d bet his promotion that she’d enjoyed that kiss as much as he had.
“I know this is fast. But from the first moment I met her, I knew. A few months of dating might not seem like much, but I just couldn’t wait any longer before I found myself asking her to be my wife.” That much was true, at least. “I’m looking forward to becoming a part of the Hart family, but it’s not just our families that will be united through our marriage. And that brings me to my other announcement. Colt International is now an investor in Hart Racing. We’ve formed a partnership that will strengthen our ties on every level.”
Kerri made a move forward, as though she were going to lean into the mic and say something. Usually, he wouldn’t have minded that she wanted to speak. But given the mood she’d been in just before they’d come out, he didn’t want to risk her saying something that would destroy the credibility they’d just gotten back. He rushed to add, “We will now take questions.”
He’d expected the press to jump right into questions for him and Kerri, so he was surprised when the first one was aimed at Grady.
“Mr. Hart, what would your dad say about this partnership?”
Grady stepped forward, shrugged, and gave a small smile. “Well. I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I say that Dad was all about family. So it seems reasonable to believe that he would have welcomed Ranger as a son, just like I welcome him as a brother. I think that says it all.”
He would have welcomed Ranger as a son.
Ranger gripped the edge of the podium, fighting the wave of jealousy that washed over him at those words. Grady wasn’t the kind of man to dissemble. His emotions were always written all over his face. Even after such a short acquaintance, Ranger could tell that Grady’s answer had been honest and heartfelt.
It made Ranger jealous.
What kind of a sick person got jealous when hearing how his fake fiancée’s father would have welcomed him as a son?
Someone whose own father had turned his back on a wife and an infant son in favor of money.
Someone with a dad like Al Colt.
“Miss Hart? Will you cut down on your races to spend more time supporting Mr. Colt’s work?”
Beside him, he felt Kerri stiffen.
“Miss Hart, how will you divide your chores at home?”
“When will you have children?”
“How does your brother feel about your relationship?”
How the hell did these all these reporters come up with questions like these? Ranger looked around the sea of faces, eager reporters wanting to hear things that they never would have asked a male driver.
Kerri’s face was bright pink, but for once she wasn’t spouting off obscenities. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she was embarrassed.
Her fingers tightened around his, and he squeezed back, trying to reassure her, then pounded on the podium with his free hand. “Quiet! Quiet in here!”
Anger made him loud as hell, and the room went silent immediately. “Ladies and gentlemen.” He tried to keep himself from sneering. More like a pack of rabid dogs than ladies and gentlemen. “Miss Hart is my fiancée. But first and foremost, she is a race car driver. I would never have asked her out if I didn’t think I could respect that. And I do. I respect what she comes out here to do every day. I respect her as a person. And that is all you need to know.”
Her hand hugged his, a caress so close that he could feel the blood beat in her palm.
“Now, if any of you have questions about racing, let’s hear ’em.”
The room was silent for a moment, and then a reporter pu
t up his hand. “Miss Hart, you’re up against Ty Riggs for Rookie of the Year. You ran out of practice time today without another run after your spinout, while Riggs got his car calibrated well before the end of the session. He’s also assured a spot in tomorrow’s race. Do you think you’ll be able to qualify?”
He could feel her grip relaxing. She took a half step forward, smiling into the mic.
“Not only am I going to qualify, but it’s going to make it even sweeter when I beat him.”
The room laughed.
“Seriously, Ty is a great racer and a good friend. We grew up together and cut our teeth on aluminum wheels. We’ve both got high octane in our blood. I think it’s fair to say that either of us could take the Rookie of the Year title.”
“What about the series cup?”
“Well, again, I think it’s anyone’s race. I wouldn’t be surprised if even some of the Coate Tailers got beat out by us rookies.”
Grady leaned forward at that and whispered, “Ringers.”
Kerri nodded. “Right, sorry. Ringers. You know how it is with old racing families.”
Oh, she was good. He had no idea what the hell a Coate Tailer or a Ringer was in the racing world, but she’d taken the perfect opportunity to remind the press that she came from racing stock, that she was one of them, and that she deserved to be treated with respect.
And it hadn’t been just an act. What she’d said, and the charming way she had delivered it, had been as natural as breathing. He could tell. Neither she nor Grady were good at hiding what they felt. Even more incredible was just how strongly they seemed to feel—well, just about everything. How long had it been since he’d experience that depth of emotion? That passion?
Kerri had it, whether she was kissing him or talking about racing. She poured herself into things with a fervor that no one could fake. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to really taste that passion … to kiss her and taste it, not because she was obligated to kiss him but because she really wanted to.
Don’t be a fool. This is just a pretense, remember? You don’t need Kerri when you have everything you worked for. Money, prestige, the chance to deliver a comeuppance to the man who took it all away from you in the first place.
He pushed the feelings aside. Probably the insanity of this day doing things to his brain. One more day, maybe two, getting acclimatized to this inconsequential little world and he would be back to normal.
And then nothing would distract him from getting what he wanted.
Chapter Five
“I think that went pretty well. Right? What do you think? Do you think it went okay?”
Kerri was going to smack Grady if he didn’t stop bounding along next to her and Ranger, talking a mile a minute, as they all walked back to the pit after the press conference. She knew that Grady was trying to work out his nerves, but at this point, her own nerves were pretty frayed, and all she wanted to do was wrap up and get back to the hotel for some rest before tomorrow’s race.
A few photographers were still trailing alongside them, but fortunately not too close. Most had gotten their shots while they’d still been in the media building. No doubt a photo op of her looking sickly adoring of her new “fiancé” was much more interesting than their walk back to the pit.
“Yeah, it was good.” Next to her, Ranger gave Grady that slow easy smile Kerri had already come to think of as his I’m-about-to-ask-you-to-do-me-a-favor smile. “Listen, Grady, can you do me a favor?”
Bingo.
She was tempted to tell her big brother not to listen to the suit-clad devil, but that would probably result in Ranger causing a scene of some sort, and no doubt he’d blame it on her.
Unless he decides to kiss you. You wouldn’t mind taking the blame for that, would you?
Traitorous libido.
But there was no denying that Ranger Colt was hot. There was no way she’d be forgetting any time soon how his body had felt against hers back in the pressroom. They’d fit together so perfectly, she’d almost wanted to suggest that they take things a bit further to see if the sex would be as good as she suspected.
Not that there was going to be any sex. They were pretend engaged. It was only for the media. Behind closed doors, they’d probably end up just snarling at each other, anyway.
“What’s that, Ranger?” Grady sounded so eager that, for a moment, Kerri wondered whether her older brother was actually desperate to get away from them. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he wouldn’t look at her, just stared at Ranger all goggle-eyed and expectant.
Ranger pitched his voice low and nodded his chin toward the pit. “Can you run ahead and let Bit and the crew know what’s going on? You don’t need to go into details, just warn them not to be surprised if Kerri and I need to perform a little from time to time. I want all this excitement to die down within a week. Two, tops. All right?”
Grady nodded enthusiastically. “Got it. Yeah. Roger that. On my way.” With that, he practically sprinted off toward pit road, leaving Ranger and Kerri behind. She was staring after him when Ranger reached out and grabbed her hand, making her jump in surprise.
“What are you—”
“Showtime, sugar,” he whispered, lacing his fingers through hers. She stiffened while he tightened his grip, both of them using infinitesimally tiny movements so that no one would realize that there was a game of tug-of-war going on between them.
He stopped and turned to face her. His eyes on her were hard, boring into her as if willing her to understand. “We’re public now. Grady just left us alone—well, almost alone…” he glanced around at the reporters, photographers, and other people milling about on the infield, then he gave her a grin, like he was sharing a private joke with her.
Damn. That grin should be illegal. And he was definitely a good actor.
Not that she was surprised. He probably had a lot of practice pretending to be something he wasn’t, since he was a money-grubbing, power-hungry asshole who had somehow wormed his way into her life and was making her suffer for it.
Although … despite that it galled her to have to go along with this stupid plan, she had to admit that he was nice to look at.
She forced herself to relax, and her fingers wrapped around his, too. His eyes softened to match his smile, and some instinct she couldn’t control had her smiling back. His hand was big and warm and solid, and when he gave her a gentle squeeze, all those feelings he’d inspired in her earlier, when his lips had been on hers, came rushing back. She leaned toward him without even realizing, her own movement surprising her and making her stumble a bit.
Ranger reacted immediately. His free arm went around her back, her breasts landed against his chest, and she found herself at eye level with his incredible, alluring lips.
This time, there was no coaxing. No asking. They both moved in harmony, her head tipping up and back as he brought his chin down. Their lips met, her eyes fluttered shut, and then there was only Ranger’s mouth, Ranger’s body, Ranger’s vibrator …
Wait. Vibrator?
Kerri broke the kiss, frowning at his chest. She could feel something buzzing there. Her mind still felt a bit fuzzy from the intense kiss, and it took her a second to realize that cameras were snapping and flashing all around them. The photographers who had been following them from the media center were having a field day with that kiss.
Damn it. What had she gotten herself into? That was part of the show, not something real. She didn’t even like him!
Yes, but you like his kisses.
His chest was still buzzing.
Ranger blinked, looking as confused as she probably had a second ago, then he grimaced and stepped away from her, opening his suit jacket and grabbing a phone from the inside pocket. He glanced down at the screen, and a shadow passed over his face before he slid the phone back into his pocket, ignoring the call.
And he didn’t try to kiss her again.
She couldn’t tell if she was disappointed or relieved.
Reli
eved! Of course you’re relieved. This is all a setup, and he’s not the kind of guy you need to get involved with for any other reason than business. That’s all he is.
Right. She needed to remember that the next time he kissed her as part of their “performance.” Guys like Ranger Colt didn’t belong in a family sport like car racing. She’d made him a deal, and she’d deliver, and then he’d be gone. That’s what she wanted. That’s what was best for the team.
This time, when he took her hand and started walking toward the pit again, she was careful to watch her step.
She wasn’t going to let herself fall.
* * *
“I’ve got five minutes.”
Ranger tried to keep his voice neutral. Professional. But all the history between him and his old man made that pretty fucking difficult. Not to mention finding out that Al had been sniffing around Hart Racing months before and hadn’t told Ranger.
He was still reeling from that discovery. Hadn’t he warned himself to keep his guard up around Al? The very first day he’d started at Colt International, three years ago, he’d looked himself in the eye in the bathroom mirror and promised he wouldn’t let that foolish old hope get in the way.
Hope, all during grade school, that his dad would show up in his classroom one day and apologize, in front of all the other kids, for staying away from his son for so long. Hope, through the rough years of middle school, when he hadn’t filled out yet and was still skinny and gawky, that Al Colt would call and take Ranger to a baseball game and explain why it had taken so long to get in touch.
Hope that had finally died when Ranger turned eighteen and money was no longer a reason for Al to stay away … and still he hadn’t come.
But it seemed that, in the past three years, since Colt International bought out the company where Ranger had been and he’d ended up right under his sonofabitch father, that stupid hope had been creeping back in.
Until today.