The Race

by Alice Ward

  “Of course I was.” He took a step over the side and slid into the water with me, and the bubble swirled around his broad shoulders. Already, every cell in my body was standing on end. It felt like I was being electrified by his mere presence.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, an incredulous tone lacing my voice, even though I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the hands that were moving just below the water, parting the bubbles, as if he were itching to touch me.

  “What do you think?” he responded, reaching one of those hands toward me. One strong arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me flush to him.

  For a moment, I stiffened, but then I quickly realized that in his arms was exactly where I wanted to be.

  “That’s my girl,” he murmured, his voice so low and salacious that my bones practically melted. It should’ve been illegal for a single man to be so alluring, and yet Caleb was unapologetic for how maddeningly attractive he was.

  “I’m not your girl,” I answered smarmily, running my finger down his jawline, the bristles of his five o’clock shadow catching my skin deliciously.

  “No, but you could be.” His hand went lower, to the dip of my back, smoothing across my hips before stopping when he cupped my bare ass.

  “You don’t think that would be a bit inappropriate?”

  “And why would it be?”

  “Because you’re my boss?” I said with a laugh. It was killing me to be sensible, but I had to be sure he was completely aware of any line we might be crossing.

  “No, I’m not. I’ve invested in you, but nothing more.” He smiled crookedly, and my woman parts sang with glee. “I can respect your space though, if you just want to just be colleagues. All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll leave you alone.”

  “Hmm.” I stalled, trying to think and buying time by continuing to trace my finger across his collarbone and up over his shoulder. But it was so hard to concentrate when I could feel his breath on me, warming my skin.

  “What’s the word?” he asked patiently, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “I think we might be good,” I answered slowly, accepting that I was absolutely sure I wanted to be exactly where I was. Here. With his arms wrapped around me, his hand massaging my bare buttocks, making me want them to move lower. “But…”

  “But?”

  “It would be better if you kissed me.”

  One of his eyebrows raised, and the look he gave me could only be described as pure sex. “I suppose I could manage that.”

  I was ready with a retort, when suddenly his lips were crushed against mine, and he was pressing me solidly against his form. I all but collapsed into him, my mind lighting up with a rush of pleasure and surprise at the feel of his skin against mine. My eyes slid closed, and I completely lost myself in the moment.

  It was everything I’d thought it would be and more. It was exactly what I’d needed since the moment he walked into my prep room after the fight. What I had been craving since I first laid eyes on Caleb but had been denying every waking moment of the days that followed. Who knew that such denial could result in absolute ecstasy?

  His fingers walked up my spine and kneaded, sending waves of relaxation up my vertebrae that were in sharp contrast to the frenzy brewing in my middle. His cock was responding, pressing against the front of his trunks with a desperate sort of urgency. That realization made me burn that much hotter, and I deepened the kiss, wrapping my arms around his shoulders, digging my fingers into his neck.

  Caleb broke contact and pulled back. I was surprised when a tiny whine escaped my throat, but then his lips ghosted over the point where my jaw met my neck. Along my chin, down the other side of my neck. He alternated between a gentle press of his lips to sharp nips of his teeth, bringing sounds from me I hadn’t even known I could make.

  I wasn’t virginal in any sense of the word. I had a long-term boyfriend through three years in high school that lasted until the summer before we moved to Louisville, and then another boyfriend for a few months after that. But neither of them had elicited the kind of reaction Caleb did.

  “Don’t stop,” I gasped, nails digging into his skin as I clung to him.

  “I wasn’t planning on it,” he rasped into my neck, making me giggle.

  I didn’t giggle. And yet that was the only word to describe the giddy sound that escaped my mouth.

  My embarrassment quickly faded, however, as his fingers left my lower back and trailed up until they circled my breasts, squeezing the tender flesh.

  I gasped at the sensation and leaned back to allow him better access.

  “You’re beautiful,” he breathed.

  I ground against the hard shaft beneath his shorts, an uncontainable sort of pressure rising within me. I could feel myself growing slick for him, even in the bubbling water of the hot tub. “I—”

  “Cherry…” His head dipped, and my nipple was in his mouth, being suckled and nipped by his teeth.

  My hips responded, rubbing his hard length down my middle, and he growled low in his throat as one of his hands plunged deeper into the water. His fingers glided beneath the material of my suit and over my labia. I moaned, throwing my head back. “Yes.”

  “You’re so passionate. I want to make you come. Watch you come.” One finger slipped between my folds, finding my clit, circling as he took a breast in his mouth, his tongue making the same motion around my nipple.

  I rode him, giving in to every desire that had risen in me since we’d met, his finger dipping inside then slipping back out to tease my swollen bud. I could feel him beneath me, so hard he must’ve been about to burst, but as he increased the pressure on my clit, all reason flew away, and all I could do was answer my body’s demands.

  “Caleb…” His name came out as a plea.

  “Come for me, Cherry. My Cherry.” He was watching me now, but the tension in my core was so frantic that I didn’t care. “Come for me.”

  I burst at his words, heat flooding my pussy as he continued his onslaught until I shuddered in slowing waves of ecstasy. Panting, I collapsed on his chest, his warm, wet skin feeling like a dream.

  “Cherry?” a tiny voice said from a distance.

  I sat up, breaking away from Caleb, the voice taking me out of the moment. “Did you hear that?” I asked, disoriented, looking around what now seemed to be an unfamiliar bathroom rather than a hot tub on the deck.

  “Cherry, are you in there? Mama wants to know!”

  I opened my eyes, confused at first when I was staring at my bedroom ceiling, not the unbelievable vision of Caleb in my bathtub slash hot tub.

  “Cherry!” It was Clementine outside my door.

  I sat bolt upright in bed, breathing hard. It had been a dream. The whole thing had been a damn dream! Even though it had felt so real, I expected my skin to be wet.

  “Dude, are you dead in there? Because that would really suck. And I’m too young to see a dead body in real life.”

  “I’m fine!” I snapped a bit harsher than I meant to. “I was asleep.”

  “Oh, my bad then,” my sister chirped as she opened the door. I loved Clementine, but she did not get personal space or inopportune timing at all. “Do you want me to let you go back to bed?” Her green eyes sparkled, alive with the hope that I would get up and pay attention to her. It was Clementine who had adjusted to living here in the city faster than any of us, collecting friends like some people collected knickknacks. She didn’t have a shy bone.

  I rubbed my eyes and pushed my hair away from my face. “No, it’s fine. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell Mama.” She grinned, showing the adult teeth that looked too big for her mouth and walked off, probably planning who she could bother next.

  I sighed, sleepy and sore, my body caught between satisfaction and wanting more. More of Caleb.

  The dream had been so real. Real enough that I’d actually orgasmed in my sleep. I flopped on my back and let out a breath. I’d enjoyed the ride, so to speak, but no matt
er how nice the dream had been, I was sure the next time I saw Caleb was going to be awkward.

  Shaking my head, I threw the covers off and fought my way out of bed. In addition to being sore, I was now stiff, which wasn’t nearly as sexy a combination compared to how it had been in my dream. I was ready to get to the point where I was used to the new workout regimen so I could feel less like an overly tenderized cut of steak.

  I headed to the kitchen, trying to shove thoughts of Caleb and the dream out of my mind, but I couldn’t help but wonder if my three years of abstinence was the culprit behind what was going on with me. Maybe I just needed to go out, find a cute guy and add to the nonexistent notches on my metaphorical bedpost.

  But if I had been too busy to have sex since I started trying to contribute to the bills, what made me think I would have time now that I was finally training full time? I guessed I was just going to have to suck it up and kick that dream out of my mind so hard that it would be scared to come back.

  That was easier said than done, since every time I moved and the air touched my skin it reminded me of Caleb’s warm breath on me as I came apart in his hands.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Caleb

  On edge since Hunter had so astutely pointed out my Cherry obsession, to make things even more stressful, I’d had a niggling feeling all week that something wasn’t right at work. Some of the staff and the guards in the building had been looking at me funny. Neddie especially. He hadn’t been as friendly as usual, not by far.

  I slapped my pencil down on the desk and stood, my mind made up. Avoiding the guards, I took the elevator to the basement, then the stairs to the subbasement, using my phone to contribute to lighting like those people in the tunnels on the way to the illegal fight where I met Cherry.

  Fuck.

  Every thought I had led back to Cherry. I needed to work her out of my system. Was starting to think I wouldn’t be able to until I’d had her to my fill. Which I couldn’t do… so the circle continued, driving me insane.

  At the old rusty door, I was surprised when the latch unhooked easily, not sticking as it did when Neddie tried to open it before. The door swung open, and I wasn’t greeted with the darkness I expected, but the glow of a lantern.

  I blinked, taking in the scene.

  An old man’s mouth dropped open, and he staggered to his feet. He wore a warm cap and a wool coat that was streaked with dirt. Once on his feet, he moved to stand in front of a woman and little girl who couldn’t have been more than four, her brown eyes wide at my sudden intrusion.

  “Mommy, that’s not Mr. Neddie.”

  Her mother shushed her and pulled her onto her lap.

  “We were just movin’, sir,” the older man said, fear making the words tremble. “Don’t mean no harm.”

  I shook my head, stunned at what I was witnessing. “Wait,” I said when he crouched to pick up a bag. There weren’t many belongings, a few bags, but what struck me was the camp stove, the sleeping bags spread out. These people were camping out in the belly of the city. I was damn sure they wouldn’t be doing it if they weren’t desperate. “You know Neddie?”

  “Neddie’s my friend,” the little girl piped up. “I’m Isabella, what’s your name?” Her mother shushed her, frightened blue eyes locked on mine.

  “It’s okay,” I said, stepping into the tunnel and into the light of their lantern where they could see me better.

  The older man’s eyes ran down my suit, and his eyes turned chilly, his stance more protective than before.

  “You’ve been living down here.” Silence followed my words, Isabella apparently having accepted that the woman wanted her quiet. I took in the area again, which had been swept clean but was still damp and musty. There was a kind of kitchen where the propane stove sat with cans stacked in small rows along with one pot and a rusty looking pan. Where they were sitting next to the lantern, books were piled up next to a makeshift couch made out of discarded cushions piled up on the floor. “For a while.” Silence still as I met their eyes, each of them holding their breath. “No one should have to live down here.”

  “We have to,” Isabella said, her voice so soft and innocent. “The shelter kicked us out.”

  The little girl’s eyes got big as the woman huffed. “We did not get kicked out!” Taking in a breath, the woman put the girl on her feet and stood, retreat all over her face.

  Before they could move to start packing, I held out my hand. “I’m Caleb Birchmeir, I’m—”

  “I know who you are,” the old guy said, nodding respectfully. “Wayne Donaldson. This here is my daughter, Rosemary, and my granddaughter. There’s one more, Rosemary’s husband, but he’s at work right now. Been blessed to find him a job just recently.”

  Jesus Christ. I’d stumbled upon an entire family living in a concrete tunnel. What did one do in this situation?

  “You can’t continue living down here.” I held up a hand and began talking faster when the hard, agreeable light came into Wayne’s eyes, and he moved to pick up the bag again. “I mean, this isn’t right. For you to have to live here.”

  “We got no choice,” said Rosemary, whose proud voice was anything but flowery, and for good reason. “The shelter we were staying in was shut down. There’s others, and we tried them, but it’s safer down here. Kyle’s got a job now, so—”

  Isabella coughed, and it hit me just how bad living in these conditions could be. She could end up with pneumonia, they all could.

  “Listen, I have resources. I want to provide you with a hotel room, or two hotel rooms adjoining. You’ve got to get out of here. If, god forbid, it rained heavily, these tunnels could flood.”

  A spark of hope lit Rosemary’s eyes, but Wayne shut her down before she could open her mouth. “Thank ya, but we’ll just move on. Can’t take such a thing.”

  “Dad…” Rosemary objected, her eyes pleading with the older man.

  He turned to her, frowning. “You don’t even know how Kyle would react to something like that.”

  “Kyle is your husband?” I asked Rosemary.

  She nodded, tears glimmering unshed in her eyes.

  “Why don’t you stay here, talk to Kyle, then make a decision. I’ll send Neddie down later to talk to you. And don’t worry, he’s not in any trouble. If anything, the guy’s impressed me more now than ever, and I didn’t think that was possible. He’s a paradox.” I shook my head and grinned. Neddie had obviously been checking on them, probably bringing them supplies.

  Wayne nodded, scratching his chin. “We can do that, guess we can do that.”

  “In the meantime, in case there’s anything you need…” I dug out my wallet, pulling out all the cash I had, and held it out to Wayne. “Here.”

  The stubborn mule of a man didn’t move.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Isabella’s big eyes going from me to her grandfather and back to me. She said, “Are ya crazy, papaw?”

  He scowled at her as her mother gasped.

  I laughed, sorting the bills until I found a five. I tucked it in the sweet little girl’s dirty fist, then crooked my finger at her to get her to come closer. When she did, I whispered in her ear. “That’s for you, but you give this to your daddy when he gets ho—” I stopped myself. This place should never be referred to as a home. “When he gets back, okay? It’s for anything you might need.”

  “I will!” she shout-whispered, nodding her head emphatically before pocketing the bill. “I won’t even do my jumping jacks so I won’t lose it.”

  I stepped back to the door, on a mission now. My stomach clenched when I had the cold steel in my hand. I didn’t want to shut it and leave them in there, but I couldn’t leave the door open. It would be a security breach for the building. I guessed they had another way, probably several to get out.

  “Talk to Neddie and let me know what Kyle says. Neddie knows where to find me.”

  Wayne inclined his head as Rosemary sat back down on the pillow couch. “Thank you, Mr. Birchmeir.”<
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  “Please, no thanks necessary.” I nodded and swung the door shut, throwing the latch that secured it. If I’d needed a distraction, I certainly had found one.

  I went straight to ground level and the delivery entrance where Neddie had his office, but he wasn’t there. Finding another guard, I was informed that Neddie had a doctor’s appointment and wouldn’t be back until the next day. It would have to wait until then. I hoped they wouldn’t get nervous and leave, but if they did, I’d given them several hundred dollars, enough to get by for a little while.

  With my distraction on hold, my mind swiftly drifted to Cherry again. I pondered asking Hunter if he wanted to hit the club tonight. I needed to get laid, and bad. For now, though, I’d have to settle for a quick workout.

  I was on my way to my car to head to the gym when I realized Cherry would be there right now, training.

  Fuck. I’d have to go in after hours if I planned to avoid her, and I definitely didn’t need more fuel for the fire she’d somehow set.

  The day passed as I tried not to grumble at my staff, but I knew I bit a few heads off if my secretary narrowed looks were any indication.

  I worked late, and at ten before nine, got in my Mercedes-Maybach S560 and drove to the gym.

  When I entered, Chris was preparing to close up. I nodded at him. “I’ll lock up. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I haven’t done a last check for patrons yet, sir. Andre and Cherry are still in the ring.”

  I hated it when people called me sir — it made me think of my father, who ruled his business with an iron hand — but the thought of Cherry in the ring about made me salivate. “That’s fine. I’ll do the check after they go. Have a good night.”

  I ushered him out the door, automatically tweaking my plans to a workout in the section of the gym farthest from the ring. I’d needed some alone time. Time to work out the fantasies of Cherry that had been plaguing me since that night at the fight. Now, with her here, I knew that would be impossible.