28

Mira’s phone alarm went off at its usual six thirty. She woke in a groggy blur, groping blindly for the nightstand, every muscle protesting. After tapping to silence it, she dropped her head back on the pillow. Her arms felt weak and the insides of her thighs ached. Will’s naked body, hard and unbelievably warm, was pressed up against her back, one arm slung across her waist, his face against her shoulder.

Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she watched the light glow through a crack in the drapes, reliving the night before. First came that long, painful trip down memory lane, but then after …

They’d crossed a major line last night, one she’d tried so hard to avoid, and there was no going back now. As unwise as it still might be, though, she just couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

Maybe last night was nothing extraordinary for him, but she couldn’t say the same. It had never been that good. Not even close. Everything felt tender, glorious, and brand new, and she was absolutely determined to enjoy it.

“Why are you awake at this ungodly hour?” he rumbled behind her. His breath was hot against her shoulder as his hand swept up her naked side. God, how did he do that? Just a few words and a touch and she was already aching for him.

She did her best to keep her voice steady, so he wouldn’t know how desperate he made her. “I always get up at six thirty.”

“But there’s no race today.”

“I get up early anyway. I’m most productive in the morning.”

“Of course you are,” he muttered, then he pressed a sleepy kiss to the back of her shoulder, making her bury her face in the pillow to hide her grin.

“Well, I suppose I don’t have to get up right this second.”

“No, you don’t.” His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her in against him until his cock, hard and ready, pressed into her lower back.

“No, I don’t,” she sighed, relaxing into his arms. Oh, god, there was no way she was getting up now. With his free hand, he brushed the hair away from the back of her neck so he could drop a trail of kisses down it. She arched back, pressing her ass against him.

His hand slid up her rib cage and cupped her breast and she sighed. When he rolled her hardened nipple with his fingers, the sigh transformed into a moan. “Maybe you don’t need to go anywhere at all today,” he said, shifting his weight so that his cock slipped between her thighs. She was already so wet for him.

“But we’ll have to get up eventually.”

“Let’s think about that tomorrow.”

But tomorrow was going to come. And they’d have to decide what happened when they got out of this bed. A wave of insecurity made her throat constrict. If he wanted to just slip out of her hotel room and go on with business as usual after today, it was really going to hurt.

“Um … do you need to … I mean, do you want to … do you have to be somewhere?”

Will paused. Then he took her shoulder and turned her in his arms until she was on her back and looking up into his face. His hair was adorably wrecked, his eyes were squinty, and he had a sheet crease up one side of his face. She’d never seen anything hotter.

“Is that your way of asking me if I’m about to do a runner and pretend this never happened?”

That was probably exactly what they should do, but her stomach gave a sickening lurch at the idea. Right or wrong, that was not what she wanted.

“Um …”

“Because I’m not,” he said. Then his expression grew cautious. “Unless you want me to? Is this not …”

The surge of relief would have brought her to her knees, had she been standing. “No. I mean, yes. I mean—” She let out an exasperated breath. “I don’t want to forget this happened. Unless you do.”

A slow, devastating grin spread across his face, and she knew she was in so much trouble with him. “I don’t.”

“So we’re …”

He ducked his head to start kissing his way down her neck as he slid his knee between her legs. “We’re whatever we want to call it.” His hand came back to her breast, kneading and pinching. She was about to lose her mind entirely, to pull him over on top of her and forget the rest of the world existed. Except the rest of the world did exist and it was complicated.

She’d spent the whole of last night relating the disastrous fallout of her last major relationship, and now here she was in bed with the one guy who could drag the whole sordid story back into the light.

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way—”

He lifted his head to look at her. “This almost never ends well.”

“No, it’s just—you saw what happened at the restaurant last night. With my parents. And Brody.”

“Yeah?”

“This? Me and you?”

Understanding dawned in his eyes and his expression cooled slightly. “You want to keep it a secret.”

“That sounds so terrible.”

Something flickered across his face and the muscle near his jaw clenched. “It’s true, though, isn’t it?”

“Will, it’s not you.”

He exhaled and started to roll off her. She grabbed at his arms to stop him. “Listen. You heard all about the last driver I was involved with. And you’re not just any driver. You drive for my dad’s team—”

“Got it. I’m just another bastard that can’t be trusted.”

“I didn’t say that. I trust you. I do. But you weren’t here, so you don’t know what it was like for me. What people said about me. I just can’t—”

He hesitated. “Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I get why you’d be worried about what people would say.”

“Worried doesn’t begin to cover it.” Just the thought of it set off a low-grade panic in her chest.

He nodded tightly. “Understood. I’ll keep it quiet.”

Those were the right words, but she didn’t like the way he said them, like she’d offended him in some way.

“I promise, it’s better for you, too. The last thing you need at this point in the season is that kind of heat.”

“I can handle heat, Mira. I’ve done it before.”

“I know you can. But the only thing people should be talking about right now is your driving. Anything else is a distraction.”

He looked at her from under his furrowed brows for another beat before nodding tightly. “You’re right. Sorry I was a dick about it.”

“You weren’t. And I’m sorry I come with all this bullshit.”

He was still propped on one elbow, leaning over her, looking down the length of her body as he considered. Then he reached out and slowly dragged a fingertip up her thigh. By the time he got to her hip, every inch of her was on fire.

“Right now, I’m thinking the bullshit is worth it.”

“Is it?” She was practically panting already.

“Spending a whole day in bed with you? Yeah, worth it.” His teasing was a relief. She’d been so afraid she’d scared him off before anything had even started, like he’d get up and storm out of the room and everything they’d shared until now would be burned up in his wake. But he was still here. And he still wanted her, even with all the bullshit. She was so relieved she could cry.

“Spending a whole day in bed with you sounds like heaven but it can’t be this morning. I’m meeting my mom for breakfast. I’d ask you to come, but—”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be suspicious at all , rolling into breakfast together, you looking freshly—”

She slapped a hand over his mouth. “Stop right there.”

He chuckled and kissed her palm. “I’m teasing. I saw her last night, too. She’s terrifying. I’m not about to draw her fire in my direction.”

“Wise man.”

He slid his knee between hers, until his thigh pressed against her sex. Her breath caught. “Surely you’re not meeting your mother at this hour.”

He rocked into her and her eyes slid closed.

“She runs her own business,” she mumbled, trying desperately to hang on to her thoughts. But it was so hard when his mouth was doing that to her breasts. “She’s an early riser, too. And I need a shower.”

His hand slid between her thighs. “A shower? Happy to join you. In a minute.”

“A minute?”

“Many minutes. When we’re done.”

“Okay. I guess I can be a little late.”

“Yes, you can.”