Firebird, the ’67 Chevelle, the ’69 Charger Hemi, and finally the ’68 Shelby GT. With each reveal, Evelyn gasped with delight.

He had to admit, secondary to racing, these cars were what fueled him. He didn’t take much pride in possessions, frankly could give a shit if he lived in a multimillion-dollar house on the beach or a one-bedroom apartment somewhere. Material things didn’t matter to him. But these cars did, because they represented the one thing he enjoyed the most—fast cars.

“Can I get close?” she asked.

“You can touch. Don’t worry about it.”

She ran her fingers across the hood of the Chevelle, almost reverently. She turned to him. “When I was in college, there was this one guy in my government class who had a car similar to this one. He’d drive it to class every day and when I was walking along, I’d hear the roar of the engine. It never failed to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I had to cross the parking lot to get to the building, so I found myself lingering outside and waiting for him to show up just so I could see him pull that car into the lot.”

He leaned against one of the cars. “So, you had a thing for him, huh?”

She laughed. “No, I had a thing for his car.”

“Did you go out with him?”

“No. I was very . . . bookish back then, very much into focusing on school and not so much on guys. But oh, he had a hot car.”

“That’s what I keep telling you. You missed out on having some guy take you riding at high speeds in a muscle car.”

She threw a gaze over her shoulder at the Chevelle. “You could rectify that now, you know.”

He loved that she shared his passion for these cars, even if she wasn’t yet aware of it. “Sure. Choose one.”

She didn’t even hesitate. She pointed to the Chevelle “This one. Definitely.”

“You got it.” He walked over and pulled the keys off the rack. “Slide on in.”

Her cheeks pink with excitement, she slid into the passenger seat while Gray hit the garage door button. Lap belt fastened, he put the car into gear and backed out, then drove onto the highway, knowing exactly what stretch of deserted road he could take her to. When he pulled off, the road was pitch black.

“Where are we going?”

“Nowhere special,” he said, then downshifted, let out the clutch, and hit the gas, cranking up the speed, conscious of his surroundings. No one was ever on this road.

He’d tested the cars on it before, so he knew he had smooth sailing for the next several miles.

He got it up over a hundred and twenty, pretty slow by his standards, but by the time he slowed it down to under sixty, he took a glance over at Evelyn. She had a death grip on the seat and the armrest and her cheeks were dark pink. He pulled to a stop.

“Okay?” he asked.

She slowly turned her head to face him. “Oh. My. God.”

He didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, at least until she broke into a wide grin and asked, “Can we do that again?”

He laughed. “Sure. I’ll turn around and we’ll hit it on the way back.”

He downshifted again, then cranked the speed up, this time going a little faster.

Sure, he was showing off for her, but he also knew the capabilities of this car and wouldn’t do anything to overstress the engine. By the time he slowed it down, she had her hand on his thigh and was clutching tight.

“You okay?” he asked with a short laugh as he pulled to the side of the road.

“Honestly? It made me wet.”

Which made his dick instantly hard. “How wet?”

She gave him the kind of direct look a man definitely paid attention to. “You have a condom on you and I’ll show you how wet.”

Thank God he had shoved one into the pocket of his jeans before they went out tonight—just in case something like this might come up. And something was definitely up. He turned off the engine, jammed his foot on the emergency brake, and shoved his hand into his pocket, retrieving the condom. “It just so happens . . .”

She slid off her sandals and unbuttoned her shorts. “How alone are we out here?”

He unzipped his jeans. “Alone enough. Get those shorts off and get over here.”

It was a flurry of activity as he shifted the seat back as far as it would go while Evelyn shimmied out of her shorts and panties. She grabbed the condom packet from his hands and tore the wrapper open while he pulled his c**k out and shrugged his jeans and boxer briefs down far enough to pull out his cock.

She got the condom on him, giggling as she did. “I feel like a teenager, only I never did any of this when I was a teenager.”

He grabbed her and kissed her until his balls throbbed, then licked her bottom lip.

“Babe, you missed out.”

She braced her hands on his shoulders. “Time to start rectifying that.”

She straddled him and he grasped her hips, holding on to her while she slid down on his aching cock.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, watching his shaft disappear between her sweet pu**y lips.

“You feel good.”

She tilted her head back, her ponytail bobbing in the moonlight. He slid his hand under her shirt and pulled the cups of her bra down so he could get to her br**sts while she rocked back and forth on his dick.

When she met his gaze, she leaned forward and kissed him, the kiss so blistering hot he could blow his load right now. But he held, wanting her to come. The look on her face was so beautiful as she rode him, dragging her cl*tover his flesh, her lips open as she breathed heavily.

She grabbed his hand and put it on her clit. “Touch me,” she whispered. “Make me come.”

God, he loved that she was so open, so expressive and eager to explore new things.

He shifted back so he could have better access and rubbed her clit, giving her the friction she needed by arching his h*ps upward. The sounds she made told him she was close, which was a damn good thing because it was killing him not to come.

And when she tightened around him and let out a hoarse cry, he let go, gripping her hip with one hand while he continued to rub her cl*twith the other, releasing and jerking as he came with her. She dug her nails into his shoulder and rode out her own orgasm until she collapsed against him, her lips pressed against his neck.

It took her a while to raise her head. Her hair was mussed, her ponytail had come undone, her lips were swollen from his kisses, and one bra strap peeked out of her tank top. She’d never looked sexier.

“Your poor, pristine car,” she said, smoothing her hand over the back of the seat.

“The car is fine,” he said, pulling her forward for a long, lingering kiss that made his c**k spring to life again. When he released her, she arched a brow.

“Much as I would love round two, my h*ps are cramping from being in this position.”

He laughed and she crawled over to the passenger seat. They fixed their clothes and she found her ponytail holder on the floor of his side of the car.

“I probably look like I’ve been out drinking all night,” she said, taking a glance at herself in the rearview mirror.

He grabbed her hand. “You look well and truly fucked, which to me makes you look sexy as hell—and gorgeous.”

She grinned. “Good enough.”

They put their seat belts on and he started up the car. It growled to life and he put it in first, heading back toward the house.

It was late, and he knew tomorrow—the Fourth of July—would be a big day.

Tomorrow, he’d have to face his father again.

Fun time was over.

They climbed into bed and he pulled Evelyn against him.

“I had a wonderful time today,” she said as she laid her head on his chest. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for spending the day with me.”

He lay there silently while he looked outside and listened to the ocean waves. The one thing he loved the most about being here was the ocean, how it could always obliterate whatever thoughts plagued him and lull him to sleep.

Not tonight, though.

“You’re not sleeping,” Evelyn said, smoothing her hand over his chest.

He looked down at her. “If you’re noticing me not sleeping, then neither are you.”

She smiled up at him. “Something on your mind? Tomorrow, maybe?”

“Maybe.”

She sat up. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He didn’t even want to think about it. He pulled her down and smoothed his hand over her hair, content to remember the day he’d had with this remarkable woman. He refused to let thoughts of his father ruin what had been such a special day. A relaxing day. A day he’d needed, one that had really surprised the hell out of him. Evelyn continually surprised him.

“No. There’s nothing to talk about. It’s just one day.”

“Yes, it is.”

Running his hand down the silky strands of her hair had a calming effect on him.

He closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.

SEVENTEEN

GRAY HADN’T COUNTED ON HIS FATHER’S PRIVATE JET picking them up at the airport and whisking them to Oklahoma, but it shouldn’t have surprised him. He figured Evelyn had booked them a commercial flight, but she said it was easier for them to use the senator’s plane.

Gray had long ago stopped making use of Preston money for anything, other than the money his grandfather had left specifically for his use. Otherwise, he’d made it on his own by working hard and earning his own money.

He hadn’t flown in the Preston jet in years. Then again, he hadn’t been to the ranch in a long time, either, so as one of his father’s cars took them from the airport to the ranch, he wondered how much, if anything, had changed.

He and his mother usually met on neutral ground, which didn’t sit well with her, but it was what it was and that’s how things had to be these days. He didn’t come home for holidays anymore because he knew his father would be there. His younger sister, Carolina, didn’t appreciate that, either, but she’d always been Daddy’s girl. She worshipped their father, and Gray would never get in the way of their relationship. He missed his sister, but there were other ways of seeing her, too, though she was busy with her own life. At least she’d show up at a few of his races every year and the two of them would catch up on each other’s lives.

“Do you know my sister?” he asked Evelyn as they rode in the backseat of the private car.

Evelyn smiled. “Yes. I see Carolina a lot when she visits your father in Washington.

We’ve become friends. I can’t wait to see her today and catch up.”

There was an interesting dynamic. Evelyn and his sister—friends. He hadn’t expected that. “I’d appreciate it if you’d keep what’s going on between us, just between us.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Of course, Gray. I’m very discreet.” She gave a quick glance to the private screen between them and the driver before shifting her gaze back to his. “I’d also appreciate your discretion. Though you don’t think much of your father’s politics, my job is very important to me. If your father senses any impropriety, or thinks I’m not giving this campaign my all, it could put my position with him in jeopardy.”

He’d never thought about it from her position, only how everything having to do with his father—with his family—affected him. Sometimes he really was an insensitive ass. He picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Despite how hard it’s going to be to keep my hands off you today, Miss Hill, I’ll do my best to pretend we’re just working together. I’ll even let my father know how much I resent your interference in my everyday life.”

She beamed a smile. “That would be perfect. And speaking of my interference in your life—” She pulled out her laptop. “This is the agenda for today, including media opportunities and what I plan to post to your social media accounts. I’d like your approval before you get too busy with family things.”

He looked it over. True to her word, she kept it all pretty benign, the information she’d put together saying only that he’d be spending the holiday with his family, including his father, the senator, and his mother. No campaign stuff, at least not yet, though she had mentioned they’d be taking photos throughout the day. They could go over those later.

“This looks fine,” he said, swiping his knuckles across her cheek. “Thanks for checking with me.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for letting me post something about today.”

“You’re welcome.”

Her gaze lingered on his. It was going to be difficult not touching her today.

Yesterday had been great, because he’d been free to be with her, to spend time with her, and to put his hands on her whenever he felt like it.

Today they’d go back to being professional strangers again.

“Have you been to the ranch before?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m excited to see it. Your father talks about it a lot, and your mother loves this place. She tells me she can’t wait for your father to retire so they can spend more time here.”

He couldn’t imagine his father ever retiring from politics. “Which could be a while, especially if he gets the VP nomination and they win.”

“That’s true.”

The car pulled down a dirt road. Gray had to admit he was looking forward to visiting the ranch, and when they pulled up to the main gates and he saw Preston Ranch scrolled in iron, he took a deep breath.

His issues with his father aside, this was home. Thousands and thousands of acres of home.