Page 147 of Down & Dirty

“Don’t feed his ego,” Billy’s voice came from behind him. “Even in retirement he walks around this place like he owns it.”

My friend’s smiling face peeked up from behind the bike he was working on, and I set Micah down to give both of them handshakes. Billy tugged me into a one-arm hug, muttered under his breath so only I could hear, “It’s good to see you, old man.”

“You too, brother.” He let me go and I looked around the tent. Not much had changed. But some things had. “How’s it working out with Stone?”

He glanced over at Ronnie who was talking to Sky and Micah. “He’s a pain in my ass,” he laughed. “But he reminds me a lot of you in that way.”

“Hey, I came around eventually.”

His expression flattened. “The hell you did. You’d still be fighting me if you had the chance.”

Billy knew he was right. We worked well together because we each knew when to push the limits and when to back off. Ronnie still had to learn to trust Billy’s experience. But if he did, there was no better wrench in the business.

I shrugged. “At least I bought you tacos for your trouble.”

Billy laughed, shaking his head as he turned back to the bike. “Not enough tacos in the world.”

When it was time for the guys to head for the gate, we made our way back to the stands. Next to Skylar’s parents, we found my dad and brothers had already arrived. Beau wasn’t home for long, and he’d had to get special permission to make the trip. But seeing him beside Mack and my dad—at a motocross race no less—gave my gut a quick kick of pleasure. It would be really nice if gatherings like this could become a regular thing.

“Grumpy!” Micah yelled, scrambling from Sky’s arms to climb his way toward her dad.

Jacob laughed as he clambered over Mack and Beau like they were part of a jungle gym. Their faces twisted up as his boney little knees and elbows dug into their legs.

“Jeez, kid,” Mack muttered, but there was no venom in it.

“Sorry,” Skylar apologized, but Jacob shook his head.

“They were worse when they were his age. They deserve some payback.”

When the gate dropped, all eyes were on Ronnie as he tore from the pack. Our spot on the top of the hill gave us a perfect view of the course and as Ronnie dug into the first corner, I held my breath. By the time he made it around to us again, he was in third, but he was neck and neck with a rider from the Yamaha team, and just before they headed back down the hill, Ronnie got pushed aside.

“Damnit, come on Ron,” Skylar muttered, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

I realized I’d never seen her at a race. She was just as intense as I’d imagined, but there was something more. She tilted and leaned, as if she was on that bike with him, her whole body going rigid as she watched him take each jump. She was practically willing Ronnie up the hills and over the rollers, and it was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.

Of course, I’d never tell her that. The competitor in her would hate being called cute. But it was fun to see her like this. Sky didn’t do anything halfway, which was good, because neither did I.

“Hey, we don’t have a lot of time before dinner,” I said, skimming my hand across Sky’s back as she took off her jewelry. “Why don’t we save water and shower together?”

She eyed me in the hotel’s wide bathroom mirror, a spark of mischief behind her smile. “Since when are you an environmentalist?”

I chuckled under my breath, bending to kiss a line along her shoulder. When she angled her head to give me access to the smooth skin of her throat, I grinned. “Being retired has given me new perspectives on a lot of things.”

“Oh?” Her eyebrows shot up, the challenge in her smirk making my cock jump in my pants. “Enlighten me.”

With our eyes locked in the mirror, I reached around to unbutton her shirt. “Fast fashion is terrible for the planet.”

She pushed her hips back, grazing my erection and making the air rush out of me. “So says the model.”

“Formermodel,” I corrected her before slipping her shirt off her shoulders.

The sight of her prefect breasts in forest green lace distracted me, my hands sliding up her body until I held both in my palms, twisting her nipples with just a little pressure.

A breathy sigh slipped out of her, as her head lolled back onto my shoulder. “What other wisdom have you gained?” she asked, with her eyes closed and her hands reaching back to tug my hips forward.

I ground myself against her ass, hissing at the contact. Skylar was effortlessly seductive. Her power such a quiet version compared to mine. She barely moved and I was ready to pounce on her. But I held back. Teasing out her pleasure had become my new favorite hobby and the longer I took, the more frustrated she got. And when her control frayed, it felt like the whole world dropped out. It was just us. Exactly how I liked it.

With my lips dragging up the column of her throat I popped her bra clasp open and skimmed the straps down her arms, goosebumps fanning out and hardening her nipples even more.

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