Millionaire Daddy (Freeman Brothers 2)

I was so shocked by the revelation when he pulled me in to kiss me, I couldn’t even respond.

33

Darren

Everything felt completely different the next day when I got to the compound. Instead of walking across the field toward the garage with a sense of dread and worry about seeing Kelly, I was looking forward to it. I was excited to look at her, to see her smile, and to know everything was going so well between us. Everything had changed, and I couldn’t believe it was turning out like this. I thought it was over. I thought there was no way Kelly and I were going to be able to piece everything back together, but the day before, the way she kissed me back told me more than any words she ever needed to say.

I went to her locker and set a snack inside, the way I had before everything crashed and burned. Then I went to my office and made her a cup of coffee. It felt good to be back into the same rhythm, but to have it mean even more. There was no question in my mind when I told her of my intentions that I had deep feelings for Kelly and was never going to be able to deny them so we could just be friends. I started courting her so she would know how I felt and because I wanted the beginning of whatever relationship we could have to be meaningful.

Now those feelings were more. After what we’d already been through and what was ahead of us, I was making a deeper, more intentional choice. I hoped she could see that. After what she’d told me about her father and growing up with the string of men who’d disappeared from her life and left her reeling, I wanted to be there for Kelly. I wanted to show her how much I really cared about her and how precious she was to me. It might take time to build trust and for her to really know I was there for her, but I was willing to do it.

I went into the garage and set the coffee down at her workstation before going over to my bike. I’d gotten a lot of work done the day before, but I still needed to reconstruct part of the machine and do a few upgrades I’d been planning. After my performance at the last race, it was going to be even more difficult to defend my title. That’s how it worked with every season. Other racers got even more intense and did everything they could to improve their performance and shave seconds off their time in hopes of landing a position in the top rankings. They could see their chances at making a name for themselves, earning money, and attracting the attention of potential sponsors slipping through their fingers. It meant I couldn’t get complacent. I couldn’t sit on my laurels and just expect to continue to dominate. For the next few races, I needed to be even more focused and push to stay on top.

Kelly arrived a few minutes later and picked up the coffee with a smile. She looked over at me as she took a sip, and I smiled back at her. Before I could say anything to her, Quentin came in to check on the progress of my motorcycle. I went over everything I was doing with him, and he gave me a few more orders for the custom bikes.

“These are becoming so popular we might have to hire a new team to handle the orders,” he said.

“No need to do that yet. Kelly and I can handle it,” I told him.

I noticed her smile, but she didn’t turn to look at me or get involved in the conversation. That day was packed full, and we were going full force until just before lunch. Dad left the garage to head up to the field, and I took advantage of the free minute. Dragging her behind a stack of tires, I gathered her up into my arms with the intention of kissing her senseless. I’d been thinking about it all morning and couldn’t wait to get a taste of her lips again. I wasn’t angry anymore. Far from it. And without that negativity and fury taking up most of my brain, the wanting and desire for her were so much stronger.

I pressed her back against the tires and kissed her deeply, slipping my tongue into her mouth to explore her and holding her close against my body. The best part was her reaction. She was letting me kiss her, was kissing me back. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her body held against me, she tangled her tongue with mine and nibbled at my lips. With the way she felt in my arms, I figured this was more than enough to start a relationship on, especially when we counted in our history and the shared blood that was sleeping at her place.