Page 28 of Fast & Reckless
When he turned, she slid her hands away from his face, leaving them to rest on his shoulders.
“Francesca. Thisisa surprise.”
Francesca made her living as a spokesmodel for some sponsor or another, one of the ubiquitous hot women peppering Formula One races. He’d hooked up with Francesca once, back in his first season. He wasn’t surprised to see her, but he was a little surprised that she’d sought him out. They’d crossed paths at a few races over the past three years, but Francesca had chosen not to remember him, not when there were more successful drivers to pursue. But here he was, back in F1, and hereshewas, suddenly very happy to see him again.
“You were fantastic today, Will,” she said, running her fingertips down the lapel of his jacket.
“Thanks.” Over her shoulder he scanned the room for Mira. He’d been hoping he’d run into her at the after-party and convince her to go do something fun. They’d made a deal. If he got on the podium, she’d celebrate with him, but now she was nowhere to be found.
“Will, I seem to have lost my drink someplace. Isn’t that sad?” He pulled his attention back to Francesca. After all, she was putting on quite a show with the dramatic pout. She was undeniably gorgeous, with long dark hair and sexy dark eyes. Her tight red dress left little doubt that every inch of her still looked as delectable as he remembered.
“So sad,” he agreed.
Waiters were everywhere. All he had to do was raise a finger and one swept in with a full tray of champagne flutes.Francesca plucked one off and took a sip, eyes on him the whole time.
“Mmm, delicious,” she moaned, licking her lips deliberately. Had she been this blatant last time? “Will, how have you been?”
“Fine. Brilliant, really.”
Francesca ran a hand up the back of his neck and slid her fingers through his hair. “Yes, I’m sure you are. Shall we go someplace a bit quieter and find out?”
He blinked in surprise. Sothiswas an option, if he wanted it. Although it was a little surprising thatFrancescawas throwing herself at him, an invitation like this was nothing new. In F1, “pussy was plentiful” as the guys back in Juniors used to say. Even after he’d fallen down the rankings, he’d still had plenty of options for female companionship whenever he’d wanted it.
Did he want it with Francesca tonight? He stared down at her, the gorgeous face, the inviting cleavage, the killer body. This would be very easy, and no doubt a lot of fun. An interest of a sort stirred in his gut.
But not with Francesca.
He knew what he wanted and whom he wanted it with, and it made him annoyed with himself. Was he really about to blow off some no-strings sex with a hot brunette who’d spend the evening making him feel like a hero, to go find Mira, the only girl in F1 who was explicitly off-limits? Yes. Yes, apparently he was. What the hell was he doing?
“Uh, Francesca, I’m afraid I can’t.”
“You can’t?” She probably wasn’t turned down very often.
He scanned the crowd over Francesca’s shoulder, desperately searching for an escape. He spotted Violet. “I see someone from our PR department frantically waving me over. You know how it is. I’m sure someone wants a word.”
In truth, Violet was chatting up a bartender, not paying Will the slightest bit of attention, but Francesca didn’t have to know that.
“Why don’t you take my number so you can call me later?”
“I’ve got it already.” Will patted his cell in his jacket pocket. He absolutely did not have her number.
“So I’ll see you later?”
She hadn’t wanted to see him during his three demoted years, so he didn’t feel all that bad for stringing her along now.
“Absolutely.”
She leaned up to kiss him, but he didn’t notice in time. He jerked back, but she still planted a peck on his lips. He didn’t look back as he slipped away from her and disappeared into the crowd.
“Violet,” he said, when he finally reached her. “You’ve got to save me. Make sure I look very busy for the next ten minutes.”
She gave him a bored look. “Why?”
“I’ve got a particularly persistent spokesmodel on my tail.”
“Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to save yourself, mate. I’m about to shove off.”
“Where are you going?”
