Pride After Her Fall

He must have felt it, too. ‘Your hair,’ he said, leaning in to inhale.

She felt his lips momentarily against the warm top of her head.

‘Silky, soft... It smells like you.’

Breathless, Lorelei barely had time to react before the helmet was coming down, obscuring her pink cheeks, her questioning eyes.

He buckled the strap under her chin and Lorelei realised she’d been waiting for this ever since she saw him helping the little girl.

She’d wanted him to help her with the same attention to detail, deliberateness, care...

She felt like an alien in the helmet. It made her smile.

Nash held the door. ‘Get in.’

* * *

Possession was nine tenths of the law, Nash figured. Once he had her in Blue 16 she was pretty much his. A court of law might argue the toss, but he wasn’t much interested in anyone else’s opinion other than the girl sliding into the high-performance car.

He hadn’t planned any of this, but when he’d seen her standing over here by the cars, just waiting for him, everything male and predatory in him had fired up. If he was going to do this, he might as well do it right.

He couldn’t help tracking her legs in those leave-nothing-to-the-imagination jeans, the curve of her peachy derrière as she slid into place, her small breasts pushing up against the disco-dolly top. Everything about her was lithe, delicate, incredibly sexy. Feminine. Everything about that, about her, got him going.

This was hardly the first time he’d used a touring car and high speed to get a woman in the mood, but it was over ten years since he’d felt it necessary and right now it felt new. It felt like the first time.

It felt incredibly right.

He swung in beside her.

He adjusted his own helmet and ran a soundcheck.

‘How do you feel about a bit of speed?’ he asked through the mike.

‘Exactly how fast are we going to be travelling?’

‘Fast enough.’

She made an I’m-in-your-hands gesture.

How right she was.

He accelerated off down the track, keeping it simple, hugging the edges. Then he ramped it up. He loved this—those first moments when the car leapt from routine into supersonic and then there was just the rush.

The velocity shoved Lorelei back against the seat. She was grabbing the leather under her knees. He was going to scare the bejesus out of the little princess and then take full advantage of the results.

As the car flew down the track he could hear her panting breaths through the amplified mike. He could sense her tiny movements, her shakes and shudders. This was what he wanted. Her response, her subjection to his desires.

‘Are you okay?’ He spoke into the mike above the roar.

‘Mon Dieu!’ she panted.

And he knew, without taking his eyes off the track, that she was loving it. Every minute. And in that moment he wanted to give her the ride of her life.

She gave a shout as he rode the corner hard and tore down the strait. She squealed again, shoulders thrown back by the velocity, and he knew exactly what she was feeling because he’d felt it, too. The first time. Every time after.

This was why he raced.

It didn’t explain why, with her, it felt new.

As he pulled back the speed and gradually rolled the car to a stop he could hear her breathing, her little murmurs of, ‘Oh, my...oh, my...oh, my.’ He knew he had her. What he didn’t understand was why this felt so important.

They got out in silence.

He had his helmet off, but she was still unbuckling hers.

She threw her head forwards and back to release her flattened curls. They fell about her head in a messy tangle she didn’t even try to smooth down as she lifted sparkling eyes to meet his. She was absolutely how he wanted her: messy, confident, excited.

Her lips parted and she was breathing hard and laughing. He knew exactly how she was feeling. The blood was surging through his body but it had nothing to do with speed or the adrenalin rush. She stepped towards him and he found himself making the same move.

Neither of them spoke.

All Nash could think was that he wanted her so badly he would have thrown her across the bonnet of Blue 16 if half a dozen other guys hadn’t been within gawking distance.

Lorelei was looking up at him as if she shared every one of his thoughts.

‘Wow,’ she said softly. ‘Thank you.’