Race to the Top: Book one in the Racing to Find Love series

by KT Shears

  She stood, waiting for Erik to say something. She hadn’t a clue what to say after that, wasn’t sure she even still had the power to speak. Her heart was thudding in her chest, and there was a warmth spreading through her body. She wanted him to lift her up and carry her into the hotel room, throwing her onto the bed.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Erik said, eventually.

  ‘Don’t be,’ Anna said, shaking her head.

  ‘I should be focusing on the race,’ he said, sounding rueful, ‘but I couldn’t resist. I’ve been thinking about doing that for months.’

  Anna was dancing inside. So he did like her.

  ‘I have too,’ Anna said, deciding honestly was the best policy.

  They stood in silence for another second.

  ‘I suppose I’d better let you get some sleep,’ Erik said, but he sounded pretty reluctant to Anna.

  ‘Unless…’ Anna said, trailing off.

  ‘Unless what?’ Erik was looking at her, keenly.

  ‘Would you like to come in for a drink? It’s ok if you have to get to sleep, I just thought…’

  Erik was inside the room within seconds.

  Anna closed the door, her courage suddenly evaporating. Racing megastar Erik Jonasson was in her hotel room – and she couldn’t remember if she was wearing matching underwear.

  She was wondering what to do, when Erik strode over to her and started kissing her again. It got more intense, his hands starting to wander over her body. Anna allowed hers to do the same, feeling the hard muscles under his shirt. As her hands moved downwards, she found that he was clearly enjoying himself. She grazed the bulge in the front of his jeans and he gasped, pulling her into him and continuing to kiss her intensely.

  Was this really happening? Were she and Erik about to have sex?

  Erik peeled off the straps of her dress.

  Yes, Anna thought, they were. She briefly considered. Could she live with being a notch on his bedpost? She liked him, liked him a dangerous amount, and the thought he would have sex with her and then cast her aside was awful. But not as awful as not having sex with him, she decided.

  Erik was kissing her neck and Anna squirmed with the pleasure of it. Her hands roamed over his muscles, and she could tell from the quickness of his breath that he was enjoying it.

  Suddenly he lifted her, pressing hard against her, and carried her to the bed, laying her down. She felt exposed, suddenly, as he drank her body in, but he clearly liked what he saw. He pulled her dress off in one fluid movement, so she was lying there in just her underwear, and began kissing her all over. When his lips grazed her thighs, her body jerked, out of her control.

  ‘You like that, huh?’ Erik whispered, his eyes meeting Anna’s. She nodded, mutely.

  She gasped as she felt Erik flick his tongue out and teasingly trace circles on her inner thigh – so, so close to the wet material of her underwear. She twisted and turned, trying to angle herself so that his tongue would slip inside and touch her skin. She heard Erik chuckle softly – he obviously knew what she was trying to do.

  ‘Please,’ she murmured, gripping onto him.

  She moaned as he pulled off her underwear, and his tongue finally touched her clit. It was intense and she gasped loudly as his tongue started to gently twirl around it. His hand had worked its way up her body and he cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb over her nipple. Anna moaned again, the pleasure almost too much to bear.

  ‘Please,’ she murmured again, most desperately this time.

  Erik listened, and started sucking gently on her clit, his fingers playing with her entrance.

  Anna wanted him inside her, now. She reached down for his penis and found it easily. It was rock hard, a slight drip of moisture at the top. She stroked and Erik groaned, losing the rhythm of his licking and sucking. His hand groped wildly around beside him, and Anna heard the sound of a condom packet being torn open.

  Suddenly, he was inside her and the sensation was overpowering. Anna arched her body, willing him to push in deeper and deeper. Erik obliged, on top of her now, his breath hot and urgent in her ear. Anna could hear little moans as he thrust, and she responded in kind. She could feel her orgasm building – it had been ever since he had started teasing around her thighs.

  ‘You’re going to make me come,’ she panted, and Erik groaned, loudly. It seemed he quite liked being talked to, so she continued.

  ‘I’m going to come all over you,’ she said, as Erik’s thrusts got wilder and less rhythmic. ‘And I want you to come inside me, I want to feel you coming.’

  ‘It’ll be soon,’ Erik moaned, as he thrust ever deeper.

  Anna couldn’t hold back any more, and she let her body go. She let out a cry and felt her body grip onto Erik, inside of her. Her cry and the feel of her muscles contracting pushed him over the edge too, and he shouted something in Swedish as he came. Anna could feel him throbbing inside her during his last, desperate thrusts, and gripped his shoulders, pulling him in as far as he could go.

  They lay, bodies intertwined, both dripping in sweat, for a few minutes. Anna was breathing heavily. Erik, clearly fitter than her, had regained his breath easily and was breathing deeply and evenly. Anna wondered for a moment if he had fallen asleep, but then he spoke.

  ‘That was worth the wait.’

  Chapter twenty-two

  Erik lay, Anna asleep in his arms, feeling utterly relaxed. What a night, he thought. It had been even better than he had dreamed, and he had dreamed of it often. When he had plunged inside Anna, he thought he would come almost immediately. Her body had gripped him like they had been designed for each other. The taste of her too…she had been exquisite. Better than all the fine champagne in the world.

  He thought back to his long list of previous sexual encounters with women. They’d had nothing on this. They had been enjoyable, of course, but this? This had been a whole different ballgame.

  He craned his neck to look at Anna as she slept, naked, in his arms. He loved her body, the full breasts and bottom making him feel aroused again. But he let her sleep, her hair messed up and mascara around her eyes.

  He wasn’t sure how they’d ended up like this. He had just been planning to say goodnight and go up to his room, and suddenly his tongue was in Anna’s mouth, his arms circling around her. It was like he had totally lost control of himself. He laughed silently at the thought of that – he was one of the most in-control people around.

  Anna stirred in his arms slightly, and he kissed her gently on the forehead, taking pleasure in the smile that crossed her face. He hoped she was dreaming about him.

  He lay awake for a while, his mind drifting to the weekend of racing. He thought of his parents and Anna being in the crowd, willing him to win. He couldn’t lose and let them down, he just couldn’t.

  ***

  Erik strapped on his helmet and headed to his car. It was time for qualifying, and he had to beat Devlin. His teammate had been more obnoxious than usual – perhaps because he had sensed Erik was in a good mood. That seemed to make him angry, and he’d rounded on Erik, accusing him of being underhand in their last race. Erik had just shook his head, walking away and leaving Devlin standing there in a haze of fury and hurt pride. He wasn’t going to let anything ruin this weekend for him, especially not Devlin Carter.

  His practices had gone well, and Erik thought he was in an excellent position. If he could just keep his head in the game, he would be fine.

  Anna had stayed over again last night, this time in his room. She had joined him and his parents for dinner again – his mother had been delighted and whisked him away at an opportune moment.

  ‘Is there something going on with you two, Erik?’ she had hissed, clearly in some state of excitement.

  Erik had smiled. It would be cruel, he thought, to lie.

  ‘Perhaps, Mama,’ he had said, laughing as she beamed at him. When they got back to the table, his mother seized Anna’s hand, much to her surprise. Erik was mortified, but his mother just clasped Anna’s
hand, telling her they were so glad to have met her.

  Erik and Anna’s passion for each other seemed only to have intensified overnight, and he allowed himself a smile under his helmet as he recalled the previous night’s activities. They had taken more time with each other, more time to explore each other’s bodies. He had loved every part of hers, especially the bits she seemed embarrassed about. He found her soft curves utterly delicious, and thought he had been missing a trick all these years by only dating models.

  He climbed into his car, noticing with pleasure that his parents and Anna were already seated in the VIP section. He threw them a small wave, and they all waved back. He hoped his mother wasn’t giving Anna the third degree.

  ***

  Pole position. Those words always sounded so sweet, and he rolled them around his mouth. Devlin’s face had been a picture, but not as much as Anna’s. When he’d got out of the car, she’d come running towards him. He thought she was going to hug him for a minute but she seemed to check herself and settled for a beaming grin.

  ‘You were amazing! Your mother and I couldn’t watch the last bit, we had our hands over our eyes, but your dad was telling us exactly what was happening.’

  The last lap had been a very close-run thing, with just hundredths of a second between him and Devlin.

  Erik laughed, surprised by how nice it was to have someone other than his parents rooting for him. It made the whole thing feel sweeter, somehow.

  ‘I’ll get changed,’ he said, pulling off his helmet. ‘And then I’ll come find you all and we can go get something to eat.’

  As he spoke, Devlin appeared, looking irritated. Erik was in such a good mood, he couldn’t resist baiting him.

  ‘You were close, Dev.’

  Anna giggled and he saw Devlin look between the pair of them, as if calculating something.

  ‘It’ll be closer tomorrow, when I get you off the start.’

  Erik’s parents came over, and Devlin flashed them a winning grin.

  ‘Mr and Mrs Jonasson, it’s so nice to see you again.’

  There was a brief exchange of pleasantries, and Devlin excused himself, with his customary wink at Anna as he left.

  ‘That boy is so full of himself.’ Erik’s mother shook her head. ‘I’d love to have a word with his parents.’

  Erik laughed. Not even a racing superstar was safe from his mother’s wagging finger.

  Chapter twenty-three

  ‘You had sex?’ Jules screamed down the phone.

  Anna laughed and held the receiver away from her ear. She heard Dan shout in the background.

  ‘For God’s sake, Jules – the kids!’

  ‘Whoops, sorry!’ Jules said, not sounding sorry in the slightest. ‘Tell me every little…or not so little…detail. Was it amazing? Are you dating? Was it just sex?’

  ‘It was amazing,’ Anna said, dreamily. ‘It was everything I imagined. I think we might be dating. At least, I hope so. I’ve met his parents, and he was talking about me coming over to his when we get back from Germany. He was going to go away to New York to see friends, but he’s cancelled so he can see me.’

  Jules squealed.

  ‘You have to bring him to dinner here, Anna. Dan would go wild! And I really want to meet him.’

  Anna hesitated.

  ‘Maybe,’ she said, ‘I’m not sure what our plans are.’

  Jules knew her far too well.

  ‘Anna, if he’s put off that you have a normal family who live in a normal house and do normal things, then he’s not the one for you, is he?’

  Anna knew she was right.

  ‘I know, I know,’ she said, ‘It’s just… I’m so not his usual type, I know that. I’ve Googled and looked at pictures of previous girlfriends. They’re all models, Jules, and I don’t mean that they’re just attractive, they are literally models. What does he see in me?’

  Jules tutted loudly.

  ‘What does he see in you? Let’s see: you’re gorgeous, you have great curves, you are smart, funny, you are passionate about your writing, you’re interesting.’

  ‘Well, when you put it like that…’ Anna said, laughing.

  ‘Just stop the pity party,’ Jules said. ‘He obviously wants to be with you, so let him. And bring him for dinner!’

  ‘I’ll see,’ Anna said and the sisters hung up.

  Anna checked her watch. She should go to sleep. Erik had wanted her to come back to his room again but she had refused.

  ‘You’ve got a big race tomorrow,’ she had said, admonishingly. ‘And I will not be held responsible for tiring you out beforehand.’

  He had complained but eventually accepted that it was, perhaps, sensible. So off he’d gone, with just a passionate kiss in the doorway of her hotel room. She was regretting it a bit now, of course, and she toyed with phoning him and asking him to come down. But she knew it was important he got a good night’s sleep – tomorrow would be important. Closing her eyes, Anna eventually drifted off herself.

  ***

  ‘I can’t look, I can’t look!’ Anna sat with her hands over her eyes.

  ‘He’s holding on,’ Erik’s dad said, sounding grim. ‘But Devlin is really pushing.’

  Erik’s mother looked like she was about to faint.

  ‘He’s getting too close to him, Alfred,’ she said, in a panicky voice.

  ‘It’s alright, Erik knows what he’s doing. He won’t put himself in any danger,’ Alfred said, soothingly.

  Anna sneaked a peek from behind her hands. Devlin was right behind Erik, pulling out to try to overtake. But Erik was blocking him at every opportunity, and the cars were coming so close they were almost touching. The commentators were going wild on the TV above their heads, and the mood in the garage was extremely tense.

  Anna could hear Gary in the background, swearing every time the cars came close.

  ‘Tell Devlin to back off,’ he snarled at Devlin’s race engineer. ‘He’s going to cause an accident. If he can’t get it done cleanly, then tell him not to do it all.’

  From the body language of the hapless race engineer, Anna thought it was evident that Devlin didn’t care, and her heart was in her mouth as she watched the cars almost touching, at speeds that would make her feel sick if she thought about them.

  ‘It’s the final lap,’ Alfred said. ‘He just needs to hang on for one more lap.’

  Please be safe, please be safe, Anna chanted to herself. She watched as the cars hurtled around the corner, Erik’s car wobbling slightly. Oh god, please be safe, she prayed, and she could tell his mother was thinking the same thing. She grabbed her hand and they sat there together, gripping onto each other.

  ‘He’s done it,’ Alfred said, the relief evident in his voice.

  Anna and Erik’s mother shot each other a relieved smile, too.

  ‘I wouldn’t like to be there when those two have it out,’ Alfred said.

  Chapter twenty-four

  ‘Are you out of your mind?’ Erik was furious and he was right in Devlin’s face. ‘You are crazy, absolutely crazy.’

  ‘It’s called racing, Erik,’ Devlin spat, ‘Why don’t you try it sometime?’

  ‘In case you hadn’t noticed, Devlin,’ Erik spat back, ‘I won, so I think I know how to race.’

  ‘Come on guys, why don’t we chill out a bit.’ Felipe Gotteri hovered in the background. Erik thought he must be starting to wish he’d come fourth instead, to avoid being caught up in this scene.

  ‘Back off Gotteri, this is nothing to do with you,’ Devlin said, pushing him out of the way.

  ‘Woah, woah , woah,’ Erik said. ‘You need to calm the fuck down.’

  ‘Or what?’ sneered Devlin.

  Erik was about to show him, when Gary entered the room and, in a second, gauged what was going on.

  ‘Children,’ he thundered, striding over and standing between them. ‘Just what the hell do you think you’re doing? Not only could one of you have been hurt out there, but the cars could have been wrecked.’


  Despite himself, Erik had to bite back a smile at Gary’s priorities.

  ‘Hit the showers and get back to your hotels,’ Gary snapped. ‘We’ll discuss this later when you’ve both stopped throwing tantrums.’

  Erik shot Devlin a filthy look and stomped from the room.

  ***

  By the time he was back at the hotel, Erik was feeling a lot calmer. Seeing his parents and Anna had taken the anger out of him. Anna had waited until they were out of the sight of the hordes of cameras and press, and then flung herself on him.

  ‘I’m so glad you’re ok,’ she said, hugging him tightly.

  He hugged her back, surprised by the strength of her emotion.

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘I hope you and my mother weren’t panicking.’

  Anna looked abashed.

  ‘Maybe slightly,’ she said, and threw up her hands. ‘How could we not? I thought that idiot Devlin was going to kill you.’

  Erik shook his head, but he had been a bit worried at some points too. Devlin really seemed to be gunning for him, and it wasn’t even that he was just trying to get past. It was like he was almost trying to damage Erik’s car – and him – at some points of the race. Surely not even Devlin would be that spiteful, though.

  ‘That’s racing,’ he said, shrugging, eager to change the subject. ‘Hey, so I rearranged my flights and stuff. I couldn’t get on the same one as you, but I’m arriving later tomorrow evening. Probably too late for you to come over…’ he trailed off, questioningly.

  Anna nodded sadly.

  ‘I have to work on Tuesday,’ she said sounding glum.

  ‘What about Tuesday night?’ Erik asked and was glad to see her perk up.

  ‘That would be good,’ she said, nodding.

  ‘I’ll come pick you up from work,’ Erik said.

  Anna stared at him and Erik thought he’d said something wrong.

  ‘Or not…’ he said, confused.