Risk: A Driven World Novel (The Driven World)

by Harlow Layne

  “You guys and your superstitions. I love watching all the guys go through their routines before the races.”

  “How long has it been since you were in the States?” she asked as we rounded the corner to where a van was waiting to take us to our hotel.

  “It would have been two years next month. Can you believe that?” I widened my eyes at her. When I was growing up, I never thought I’d live outside of the United States.

  “No,” she shook her head. “I can’t imagine living anywhere but in California. Did you miss it?”

  I hummed and tilted my head to the side as I thought about it. “In some ways, yes, but in other ways no. Traveling the circuit with the team, I’ve realized how much of the world I haven’t seen and that I want to travel. I want to incorporate that into my life somehow, I just don’t know how I’m going to do that.”

  She bumped her shoulder with mine. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. I don’t know how the guys do it. I’d be homesick after one race.”

  “I’m not homesick yet.” Although Callum had a lot to do with why I wasn’t missing home—that and the fact that I didn’t have any friends there. I only had my work, and even though I loved it, it wasn’t enough to fulfill me for the rest of my life.

  The door to the van slid open to reveal Cal, Colton, and Beckett all in the back, leaving the front open for us. The men were in deep conversation as we were driven to the hotel. I had no idea what they were talking about, and when I looked over at Rylee, she only smiled and rolled her eyes. I had a feeling she was used to it and didn’t mind it one bit.

  “Don’t forget dinner at seven. Your presence is required,” Colton ordered as we dispersed off the elevator toward our hotel rooms.

  “Ugh,” Cal groaned as we broke apart. “This dinner is going to be torture with Udo and Eduardo there.”

  “Why?” My brows furrowed with confusion. “You won, and Udo came in tenth, what could he possibly say?”

  “Oh, trust me, he’ll find something to say or do. Those two live to make my life miserable.”

  When I stopped at my room and slid my card inside, Cal stopped behind me. I could feel his body heat, he was so close. I wanted to lean back into him, but I held back from temptation. “What are you doing? We can’t let anyone see us.”

  “You don’t have to remind me,” he growled. “I can’t wait until we’re back at my place, and I’ll have you all to myself for almost two weeks.”

  Stepping inside, I turned and placed my hands on his chest. “You can’t come in. If you do, you know what will happen, and we can’t risk someone coming to either of our rooms and finding us in bed together.”

  “What? You won’t let me inside?”

  “You need to take a shower and get ready for dinner,” I said as nicely as possible. He was sweaty and stinky from his race but still gorgeous. It wasn’t fair that he could still look good with his hair stuck to his head. I wasn’t sure why he wouldn’t take a shower until he got back to the hotel, and normally I didn’t have a problem with it since I helped get him clean.

  “We can’t do that together?”

  “Not tonight.” When he stuck out his bottom lip and pouted, I wanted nothing more than to give in. He was too damn cute. “Please, Cal, wait until we get to California.”

  He hung his head and shook it. “You’re staying with me, and I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He lifted his head with a big smile on his face. “To know we’re going to be at my house before and after Mexico…” His smile grew wider. “I’ve never been this excited to be home.”

  I wasn’t going to let on how eager I was to see where he lived when he was at home. I was expecting a total bachelor pad with very little furniture.

  Grabbing the fabric of his shirt, I pulled him to me and out of the hallway before I gave him a chaste kiss and pushed him back out. “You’ll get more once we land in California.”

  “It’s going to be a long night. I can’t even flirt with you,” he pouted.

  “Maybe we can have phone sex. We haven’t done that before.” I tried to entice him to not be in a sour mood all night. I knew how much he disliked Udo and Eduardo, and how they liked to taunt him when in the same room.

  “If that’s all I can get I’ll take it, but I’d rather have the real thing.” He looked up at me with puppy dog eyes.

  “I feel like you want me just for sex,” I said in a joking tone. In reality, though, I wasn’t kidding around when every comment he made was about him missing out on sex with me.

  His face screwed up in anger before he pushed into my room and slammed the door shut. “Don’t say that about me. While the sex is nice, more than nice, I want you in my bed. I like falling asleep with you in my arms and waking up with you by my side.”

  Instantly, I melted at his words and moved toward him. He knew exactly what to say. “Fuck, you deserve a blow job for saying that.”

  His face went from pissed to lustful in the blink of an eye. “I’ll happily take you up on that after my shower. Or you could join me.”

  “Not today.” I reached out and took his hand in mine. Running my fingers over the back of his hand. “I’m sorry for my words, but sometimes I do feel like I’m a convenience to you, and sex is all you want.”

  “I never wanted to make you feel that way. If we can’t have sex, I still want to hang out with you. I hate that we have to hide our relationship, but I know we can’t be caught as well.”

  Relationship? I liked hearing him call what we had a relationship.

  Pulling me into a hug, he wrapped his strong arms around me and rested his forehead to mine. “For the first time in forever, I want someone by my side, and I can’t share you with the world. I hate that I’m your dirty little secret.”

  “Oh, Cal,” I brushed my lips lightly across his. “You are in no way my dirty little secret. You are quickly becoming my everything, and someday we’ll be able to share it with the world.”

  His blue eyes turned dark like a raging storm as his hold loosened, and he took a step back, clearing his throat. “Before I tackle you on your bed, I’m going to leave. May I escort you down to dinner?”

  “Of course.” I wanted to kiss him and make him feel better. I wanted to tell him that I was falling in love with him. Instead, I stood strong and watched as he backed out of my room. I didn’t move until I heard his hotel room door slam shut. Only then did I let out a shaky breath and move to get ready for dinner.

  The moment we stepped up to the table, I knew Cal’s other teammates were going to be trouble. They leered at me as I took my seat and kept their eyes on my breasts until Cal cleared his throat. It didn’t help that they were sitting directly across from me. Neither did the fact I couldn’t wear a bra with my dress. When I bought the slinky number back in Monaco, I hadn’t thought about a bra. Silly me. And the only other dress that I had for the occasion that everyone hadn’t seen was the one I had on tonight. It was champagne-colored with a deep V neckline that stopped only a few inches above my belly button. The hem ended mid-thigh, leaving a lot of skin showing. Too much for this dinner with Cal’s bosses and teammates. Now I was regretting not buying more clothes throughout the season. Callum always had so many amazing destinations for us to visit that I never had the time or even thought about shopping.

  Colton looked at Cal with a furrowed brow. I was sure he was wondering what he’d missed or what the problem was now. I didn’t think Cal, Udo, or Eduardo had ever got along, and it made me sad to think of Cal always traveling alone without anyone to talk to. The only ones he seemed to get along with were Kaspar, who always seemed to be busy, and Colton and Rylee, who were only at a few races each season.

  “Where have you been hiding yourself?” Udo asked from across the table. Before I could answer, he smirked over at Eduardo, letting me know they were up to no good. I wasn’t going to play into their hands and have Callum get upset. They did a good enough job at that as it was.

  “Today I was in my hotel room enjoying a book. How
about you?” I asked sweetly before I took a sip of my water.

  “Looking for you. I thought you might want someone to show you around,” he gave me his best fake smile.

  “That’s nice of you, but I’m good. I’m from the US, so I don’t need to do the tourist thing here.”

  “That reminds me,” Rylee interjected. “What are you going to do between now and Mexico?”

  I felt Cal’s hand twitch against my thigh at her question.

  “I’m going to be staying in LA so I can continue to work with Cal during the break.” That was true. He’d have his own car, and I wanted to make sure he’d be okay driving in California’s crazy traffic.

  Rylee leaned over to him with a smile on her face before she whispered something only for him to hear. I loved how much she cared about him.

  “Maybe we need to head out to sunny California, too.” Eduardo smirked at Udo.

  “Yeah, maybe, then we can show the lovely doctor around town and get to know her a little better.” He waggled his eyebrows, and it took everything in me not to cringe. “Or if you want, we could take you out tonight. It’s such a shame a dress like that is going to waste on only dinner.”

  It would be a cold day in hell before I met up with them anywhere.

  Cal growled from beside me, making me want to kick him under the table. I’d watched enough movies to not follow through. Knowing my luck, I’d kick the wrong person, and then people would really be wondering what was going on.

  “Stop it, the two of you,” Colton ordered. “I don’t appreciate you making our guest uncomfortable.”

  I gave him a grateful smile, hoping it would work, and it did until we all left the table. Somehow, we ended up being the only two in the elevator with Eduardo and Udo. Cal and I were on opposite sides of the elevator looking straight ahead while their eyes roved over every inch of my body. Pulling my phone from my purse, I checked my email, and when nothing was there, I opened up Instagram. Anything to not meet their eyes. The more they watched me, the creepier they became. Were they whispering to each other and looking at me suggestively only to get at Callum, or were they really that damn creepy?

  Since I’d left Barcelona, I’d been posting all the places I’d been to, but not interacting with any of my friends. I’d only post a few pictures and then go back to living in the moment. It was something Cal was good at. I learned quite a bit about myself from being in his presence, and once this was all over, I wanted to continue to change my life. To live in the now and appreciate the beauty of the world. The only thing I was uncertain of was if Cal would be around for those changes.

  As I went through my notifications, I saw that I’d gained a few thousand followers since Cal had appeared in a few of my pictures. All of them strictly platonic for the media. Along with all of those notifications were comments from Alejandro. He always had something nice to say on the pictures without Cal in them and then said how he wished he was with me. I guess he was no longer with the woman he cheated on me with. On the pictures with Cal in them, I noticed he didn’t say anything except on the last one. His comment made my stomach churn.

  Alejandro511: You used to look at me that way.

  Could he see how much Cal had come to mean to me? Could others? I couldn’t risk anyone coming to the conclusion we were together. With the creepy dynamic duo watching me and making me feel like I was under a microscope, I went through and deleted all the pictures on my account with us together.

  When the doors slid open on the floor below ours, I was happy they stepped off the elevator, and I could no longer feel their eyes on me. I sagged against the wall for a moment as we ascended to the next floor. With his hand on my lower back, Cal ushered me out into the hall and toward our rooms.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I rested my head on his bicep as we walked. “I feel like I need a shower after the way those two were looking at me. I couldn’t decide if they were only acting that way because of you or if they’re really that creepy.”

  “I’m sorry they made you feel that way. If I had to guess, a little bit of both. I definitely didn’t like the way they were watching you all night long, and I think that was the point. I’m not sure if they’re on to us or if they just like fucking with me that much.”

  We stopped in front of my room, and I pulled out my card. “I hope you know I’m going to miss you tonight.”

  “Good.” He flashed me a devastating smile. “I’m glad I’m not the only one. If you get too lonely, you can call or knock. I’m only a phone call or a few feet away.”

  I turned and leaned my back against the door, closing my eyes.

  “What are you doing?” He chuckled lowly.

  “I’m imagining myself kissing you good night,” I whispered and smiled with my eyes still closed.

  “Why?” he asked quietly back.

  “Because I know if your lips are anywhere on my body, I wouldn’t be able to fight the need to have you. To touch you. Feel you. This is all I’m giving myself for tonight.”

  I opened my heavy-lidded eyes to find Cal only an inch away with his gaze on my mouth.

  “Fuck, Doc, you make me hard. You better get inside that room of yours before I say fuck it and take your mouth out here for anyone to see.”

  He took my keycard from my grasp and slipped the card into the door behind me, bringing him even closer to my orbit. I could smell his expensive body wash with his chest against mine, and I wanted nothing more than to say the hell with it and pull him into my room with me.

  When the door clicked open, he grabbed my arm, making it so that I didn’t fall into the room, and then just as quickly let go. His breath lingered against my skin as he moaned.

  “Goodnight, beautiful.”

  11

  Callum

  Malibu, California

  Aspen’s eyes lit up, and her jaw hung open as we pulled up in front of my house. “This is your house? Does anyone else live here?” she asked in awe, not taking her eyes off of it.

  “Only me,” I answered, feeling embarrassed by having such a place when I was hardly ever here.

  After helping her out of the car and grabbing our luggage, I stayed back and watched her take my place in. It was different seeing it through someone else’s eyes.

  “Oh my God, Cal. If I lived here, I’d never leave. It’s gorgeous and…” She stopped in the middle of the living room and cringed at what she was about to say.

  “And?”

  “While it’s beautiful, it’s not you.”

  “Did you expect it to be filled to the brim with racing trophies or something?” I laughed, unsure of what she thought it would look like. I did have a room with all my trophies and awards I’d won throughout the years.

  “No, but I thought it might have things from your travels.” She moved closer and rubbed one hand up my arm. “This looks unlived in.”

  “That’s because it is. I’m here maybe three months out of the year. The rest of the time I’m on the road and traveling.”

  “Well, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to enjoy the shit out of this place while we’re here.” She laughed as she spun around and made her way through the living room. She stood at the floor to ceiling window and looked out. “This pool and the view. Can we live out here until we head to Mexico?”

  This was the first time I’d ever had anyone in my space other than the designer. I loved her excitement and what it brought to the place. I knew I’d never be able to look at the place the same way again if she wasn’t by my side.

  “If that’s what you want.” I chuckled as she slipped her shoes off and dipped her toes into the pool water. I was glad I’d had the forethought to have the woman who cleaned the place once a month turn the heat on in the pool. I knew once the temperature dipped when the sun went down, she’d change her mind.

  While I’d planned on taking her in every room in my house, now I was thinking about all the places outside I could lay her out or pin her to and fuck her without the worr
y of who might hear or find us.

  Aspen started to shimmy out of her clothes as she walked around the backyard, taking everything in. Her hands were at her hips, ready to pull down her jeans when she looked over her shoulder at me. “Now I understand why you bought this place. If I had the money, I’d pay for this view.”

  “I’m glad you like it because I plan to fuck you until you can no longer stand, and then I’m going to carry you to my bed and fuck you unconscious.” I growled the last part as I started to stalk toward her.

  “I like the sound of that.” She turned her head from side to side. “I also like the fact that you don’t have neighbors close by. I don’t know how the hell you managed to do that with such limited real estate space in Malibu.”

  “Lucky, I guess.”

  I stopped only a foot away from her, grabbing the back of my t-shirt and pulling it over my head. My eyes stayed transfixed on her as she wiggled her jeans over her hips and pulled them down her long, lean legs. Fuck, I couldn’t wait to have them wrapped around my waist while I sunk deep inside of her.

  My hands went to the belt of my cargo shorts while she slipped her shirt over her head, leaving her in only a tiny black lacy bra that her tits were spilling out of. I surged forward and latched my mouth onto one of her nipples and sucked both the flesh and fabric into my mouth. Aspen moaned, tangling her fingers into my hair and holding me in place. I was glad she liked it when I played with her tits because I was a boob man all the way, and she had the most spectacular pair I’d ever encountered.

  “More,” she moaned, pulling on my hair. That was my cue to lavish attention to her other breast but didn’t leave the first without any attention. I pinched her nipple and then rubbed my thumb over her now diamond peak. My dick throbbed, wanting to break through my zipper. Why hadn’t I taken off these stupid shorts before now?

  Kissing up her chest and along the column of her neck, my hands went to work, removing the clothing from my lower half. When my shaft sprang free, one of Aspen’s hands squeezed the tip until I let out a moan of my own.