Page 84 of Well Played

I chuckle. The agency liked to make friendly wagers about the client’s results. “Will do. Talk to you later.”

Around me, people swarm through the airport terminal. There’s still a half hour before my flight boards and I close my eyes, savoring the last few moments of vacation.

I took a week off to relax at home in California before summer gets into full swing. Now I just have roughly six hours of travel left in my break before one of my crew guys picks me up in Harrisburg.

Focus Charly. This is going to be big.

Winning one, if not more, races during Speedweek could launch my reputation forward and help get me a sponsorship deal before the end of the season. The manufacturer I’ve been working with wants to put me in an Indy car, but we haven’t been able to find all the financing for it yet.

With the last few minutes left before my flight, I pull up my saved race tapes and start downloading them so I can watch them on the plane.

William’s Groveis a mecca for dirt racing, but late in the morning it’s still quiet. Just a sleepy corner of a small Pennsylvania town. Throughout the property, a few track workers focusing on prep for tonight’s race. Around the back, the bright blue and white of the Faraday Racing hauler lures me.

I pull my ball cap down and tuck my hair underneath the edge so it’s not showing. My hauler got delayed on the road, soan agency driver picked me up from the airport and dropped me off.

Right now, it was looking like it’d be at least two hours before my hauler got here.

They wouldn’t want me to just sit around in the sun, right? It’d make sense for me to be with the Faraday guys. Especially since our teams have been spending more and more time together this year.

As soon as I realized we’d have this opportunity, I sent Robbie a message, asking him if I could drop in. His response was immediate and firm.

Robbie: Hell yes. Guys aren’t here yet.

As I stride around the back of the empty stands, I pick up my pace, half running and half walking. There’s one other team’s hauler here, but no one else is outside. He must see me coming because when I’m a couple yards away, the door pops open and I barrel inside, straight into Robbie’s arms.

He scoops me up and I feel the cold press of metal against the back of my legs. With deliberate intent, his hands slip down my sides, teasing along the hem of my shirt before slipping underneath and tickling along the skin above my waistband.

I lock my legs around his waist and tug him closer, using my hold on his shoulders to pull him down for a kiss. My lips part on a contended exhale and his tongue sweeps inside. His fingers kneed into the curve of my hip and my heels press into his ass.

With a groan, he breaks away but doesn’t go far, resting his forehead against mine with his eyes closed and a half smile on his face. “Missed you this week.”

“But now you get to see me every day.” I say with a relaxed smile. The thing that’s wound tight inside me easing now that I’m with him. He doesn’t make me feel like I have tobeanything. I’m not Charly, the driver, or Charlotte, the social media star.With Robbie, I don’t have to be the person everyone is relying on to perform every second of the day.

I can just be me.

“I have been looking forward to that.” His fingers slide upward, along each bump in my spine. My back arches toward him and my head falls back.

The warm puffs of his breath fan against my cheek, tickling the loose hairs that have escaped my messy bun. He nips along the curve of my neck and I have to remind myself that his crew could be here any minute. Now is not the time to tear his pants off and urge him to keep going.

Robbie doesn’t have the same concerns. One hand is circling around to massage my breast and his other is gripping my ass cheek, urging me forward on the counter so that our hips can roll together.

I gasp at the heightened sensation, and it only spurs him on. Through the layers of our clothes, I can feel the hard ridge of his erection. I grind myself against it, using the leverage from my heels at his back and the advantage of sitting on the counter to slide myself up and down, back and forth.

I’m unbelievably wet and I can feel an orgasm building low in my body. “Robbie. Oh God. Please.” Words burst from me in a staccato beat.

“Come.” He pants before sucking at my neck. Thank God I wear collared shirts for a lot of interviews, because that’s going to leave a hickey. “Please.” He laves at the spot he just bruised with his tongue. “Give me one.”

I shudder, pulling him closer so that every part of me that can touch him is in contact. Stars burst behind my eyes and my heart pounds in my chest. The heady, floaty feeling that only he can give me lowers me back to earth with such ease that I don’t even know how much time has passed.

“God, you are stunning.” He’s stopped moving against me, but his hand is still down my shorts, rhythmically squeezing my ass.

My eyes peel open, thoughts not coherent yet. I gaze up at him, marveling in the warm brown of his eyes, the genuine adoration he shows for me. The only regret I have about this thing between us is not being able to be honest about what’s happening with everyone around me. We haven’t told anyone we’re together, even though we’ve promised each other that we are. That we’re exclusive and serious and that there are deep feelings building between us.

Robbie leans down, pressing a soft kiss to my lips before pulling away and helping me off the counter. When my feet hit the ground, he hugs me to him. I can still feel the swell of his erection behind his pants and I reach for his zipper, but he stops me. “Not now.” He nuzzles into my hair, inhaling the scent of my shampoo. “The guys will be back soon.”

It’s like being doused in cold water. I peel myself away, crossing my arms as a physical barrier to remind myself not to get carried away. Robbie’s fingers trail along the outside of my forearm before falling to his side.

There’s a flash of something in his eyes, almost like regret, and I wonder how long we’ll be able to keep this up before one of us breaks. We’ll either do something that gets us caught on camera or we’ll burn out from the pressure and secrecy.

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