“Come on, baby,” he said, tightening his grip on the wheel as they rounded the curve to take the white flag.

One lap to go.

Adrenaline pumping, he hoped to God Donny didn’t do something stupid like try to pass him for the win. His time would come later, and he wasn’t in the points race. His job today was to push Gray to a win.

As Gray took the checkered flag, he yelled out and pumped his fist, then downshifted, giving Donny a big f**king thumbs-up. He thanked his crew on the radio, then did the burnout of all burnouts for the screaming fans.

Damn, that was a good race. And it put him in solid position in the points.

In the winner’s circle, he climbed out and sprayed soda all over his crew. Donny came up and gave him a big hug. When he pulled back, he slapped Donny on the back.

“You did a damn fine job out there today, kid.”

Donny grinned. “Second-place finish is all right by me, boss. I’ll take it.”

“We’ll get you in the winner’s circle yet. Really aggressive driving. I’m so proud of you.”

After that it was interviews and photos with the sponsors. Today, Gray didn’t care.

He coveted this win and his team needed it badly. Now they were virtually a lock to make the finals, so he handled every interview, and at the end of the day, headed back to his house on the beach.

This morning he’d given Evelyn a key to his house so she wouldn’t have to wait to go back to her hotel. She was already there, and had grabbed them some food. She was wearing a sinfully sexy sundress, her feet bare as she lounged on his sofa, her laptop in her lap.

She put it aside when he walked in and threw her arms around him, planting a seriously hot kiss on his lips.

Now this was much better than coming home to an empty house. He wound his arms around her and tugged her even closer, then carried her upstairs to his bedroom.

He needed her touch, craved her sweet scent, and since he’d been nonstop busy since they’d returned to the racetrack, they’d had no time together, because she’d been scarce, too, catching up on her own work.

He laid her on the bed and climbed on, laying his hand on her breast. She moaned against his lips and rubbed his already hard cock.

He liked that no words needed to be spoken between them, that she needed him as much as he needed her.

He drew the straps down on her sexy little dress and bared her breasts. “I could use a shower, and I likely smell like sweat and gasoline. I know I need a shave,” he said as he finally pulled his lips from hers.

She dragged the palm of her hand across the scruff on his face. “Don’t you dare leave what we’ve started here. You smell good and I like this stuff on your face. Now make love to me before I die.”

With a low growl, he bent and took a nipple between his lips, sucking it deeply into his mouth. Evelyn’s low moan of approval made his dick twitch. He rocked against her hip as he cupped her breast and fed more of it into his mouth. When he rubbed his face over her tender flesh, she whimpered.

“God, I really do like that scratchy beard. I wonder what it would feel like between my legs.”

Now that was an invitation if he ever heard one. He stood and dragged her legs over the edge of the bed, then lifted her dress to reveal pink silk panties, barely held together by thin straps at her hips.

He carefully grasped those flimsy strips and dragged her underwear down her h*ps and legs, parting her legs to kiss her inner thighs.

“Please, Gray.”

He murmured against her inner thigh. “Please what, baby?”

He could feel her entire body shudder. “Please lick my pu**y and make me come.”

“I like it when you beg.” He snaked his tongue out and slid it across her sex, rewarded with her primal moan that drove him crazy. He cupped her butt and raised her hips, then put his mouth on her and laid his tongue over her clit.

She lifted her head and met his gaze. “You’re going to make me come. Fast. It’s been too long.”

He rocked his tongue back and forth over her clit, then slid it inside her.

“Gray. Yes. Do that again.”

He did as she asked.

“Faster. Go back and forth like that faster. Oh my God, that feels so good.”

He did exactly as she wanted, watching her expression as her mouth opened and her breaths came in short bursts. She gripped the covers, arched her h*ps toward him, and let out a wail as she came, shoving her pu**y in his face as if to tell him she wanted a lot more of what he was giving her.

Oh, man, he liked making her come, loved the way she trembled as she let go. He loved her taste, the way she gave him everything when she cl**axed.

He grabbed a condom and unzipped his pants, pulled out his cock, and sheathed himself. He pulled her butt to the edge of the bed and sank into Evelyn while she was still throbbing from her release.

She raised up and grabbed his arms, pulling herself onto his cock, burying him deeper in her.

“Fuck.” He held on to her as she impaled herself on his aching dick. He leaned over and covered her body, then lifted and thrust again, pressing against her tender flesh.

His hands roamed over the sweet softness of her hip and leg as he rolled her knee back so he could drive in deeper.

She swept her hand over his hair, his face, her thumb brushing his lower lip before cupping the back of his neck to bring him down for a deep, shattering kiss that nearly undid him. He closed his eyes and lost himself in her scent, the taste of her, the feel of her wrapped around him, squeezing him until he couldn’t hold back and all he could do was power into her over and over until her whimpering moans turned to harsh cries.

She raked her nails down his back, demanding, unrelenting. He continued to lever his h*ps and roll against her clit, needing her to shatter again, wanting her to come with him, to bond her to him in a way that even he couldn’t explain.

And when she did, when she cried out, he absorbed the sound with his lips and let himself release, his own groans mixing with her cries as he poured himself into her.

He wasn’t sure, but he might have passed out. It had been a long, really hot day.

Coupled with the earlier part of the week, he was done for. All he could remember was scooting over onto the bed and cool, soft hands stroking his brow.

“Congratulations, by the way,” Evelyn whispered.

“Mmm, thanks,” was all he could recall saying before his eyes shuttered closed and his mind went blank.

When he woke sometime later, he was alone in the bed. The lights were out, but his throat was sand dry. He was still half dressed and felt like he had a hangover. And Christ, he needed a shower and some food.

He climbed out of bed and jumped in the shower first, then grabbed a pair of shorts and slid those on.

When he ventured downstairs, Evelyn was in the living room, in the same position she’d been in when he first walked in, when she’d jumped up and kissed him and he’d jerked her into his arms and taken her up to his bedroom and made love to her.

And that’s all he remembered.

He whisked his fingers through his still-damp hair. “I guess I passed out?”

She looked up and smiled at him. “Not surprising. You were tired.” She laid the laptop to the side. “Are you hungry now?”

“Starving.”

“I put the food away. Let me heat it up.”

“I can do that. Were you working?”

She nodded. “I’m behind and getting caught up.”

“Then you stay where you are and I’ll heat up the food. Did you eat?”

“Earlier. I was hungry.”

“Don’t blame you.” He fixed himself a plate and warmed it up in the microwave, then grabbed water and took a seat next to her on the sofa.

“Will it bother you if I turn on the TV?”

She looked over at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Not at all, but thank you for being considerate and asking.”

Damn, she was pretty in that dress. He could take her back to bed right now and go for round two, but his grumbling stomach won over thoughts of sex, so he left her alone. He turned to the race channel and watched interviews and recaps of the race while he shoveled in food. After he was full, he put the empty plate in the dishwasher, grabbed another water, and sat beside her. She looked to be concentrating, though on what he had no idea. Some social media stuff, he could tell, but she kept switching screens to her email, and then another document and a fancy spreadsheet, too. It made him dizzy, so he caught up on sports until she started yawning and put her laptop away.

She laid her head on his shoulder and placed her palm on his chest. “Get enough to eat?”

“Yeah. I feel a lot better now. Sorry about falling asleep on you earlier.”

She lifted up to look at him. “Don’t apologize for that. You must have been exhausted. It was so hot out there today. I could hardly stand it, and I was in the shade in the pit box. I can only imagine how sweltering it must have been in that car.”

“It was like a hot box in there. But nothing I’m not used to.”

“Still, it’s no wonder you fell asleep. I’m surprised you could even get it up.”

“Honey, I can always get it up for you.”

She laughed. “Good to know.” She stifled a yawn.

“Now I think it’s you who needs some sleep.”

She yawned again. “No, I’m fine.”

“Caught up on your work?”

“For the most part, yes. I posted photos from the Fourth of July party at the ranch, integrated the social media accounts, and I have some sound bites, both photographic and video, that need your approval before I post them.”

He nodded. “Send them to me and I’ll look them over. After you go to sleep.”

“I can stay up with you.”

“No. You go to bed. I’m good for another hour. Email me those files.”

She grabbed her laptop and addressed an email to him, explaining that she was attaching the files along with a short explanation of where she was going to send them once he approved them.

“Good enough.” He stood and took her hand, then pulled her up. “Now, bed for you.”

“Wow, you’re no fun.”

“I was fun earlier,” he said as he took her to the bedroom.

She laid her head on his shoulder. “Yes, you definitely were.”

Once in the bedroom, he drew the straps of her dress down, and when it dropped to the floor, she stepped out of it.

“Into bed with you.”

Without so much as a squeak of a protest, she climbed into bed and turned on her side to face him.

“I don’t like sleeping without you.”

That admission made his stomach clench. “I’ll be back soon.” He bent and brushed his lips across hers. She smiled, but her eyes were already closed. He turned off the light and shut the door.

He opened his laptop and retrieved the email from Evelyn, reviewed the photos and videos. She had a good understanding of how innocuous he wanted his association with his father to be. There were photos of him standing in the vicinity of his father, a few family shots of Gray with his mom and dad and Carolina, videos of Gray interacting with his family as a whole during the Fourth of July gathering, along with Gray talking about how happy he was to be back at the family ranch again. Nothing political, nothing of him directly endorsing his father. He shot her a “Good to go”

email and closed his laptop, then stared upstairs.

Yeah, he didn’t like sleeping without her either, but the day would come when they would each go their separate ways.

Then what?

He didn’t want to think about that day.

TWENTY-TWO

THE NOMADIC NATURE OF AUTO RACING REMINDED EVELYN of the campaign trail, so it was no hardship to pack up again and move to yet another city. And the city after that, and the city after that.

After Daytona Beach, Gray had suggested she stop staying at hotels, since she spent all her time sleeping in his bed, anyway.

They’d argued that point in every city the past few weeks.

She told him she had an expense account and she had to book a hotel room in each city, otherwise everyone would wonder where she was sleeping. Gray said it was no one’s business where she was sleeping. She disagreed. She had a reputation that mattered to her, so she continued to book a room in each city, and not once had she spent a single night in said hotels.

And as she looked out over the racers from her perch on the pit box, spotting Gray’s car instantly, she was reminded of last night, when she’d tried to admonish Gray that it was late and he had a race today and he should be asleep.

Instead, he’d kept her up and kept her coming time and time again with his hands and his mouth and his beautiful c**k until she couldn’t remember how many orgasms she’d had.

She wondered if he was tired, if her staying with him every night at his trailer would affect his concentration on race days. She’d have to monitor his performance today, because she wouldn’t want to be the cause of him wrecking or having a poor race result.

She sighed and leaned back, trying to relax but finding it increasingly more difficult to do so.

She was embedded so deep in this relationship with Gray, and she had no idea what she was going to do when it was over.

Walk away with a giant smile on her face and a heart in tatters, she supposed. She’d promised herself she’d guard her heart, and she’d done a lousy job of it, because she kept growing closer and closer to him, which was dangerous not only to her heart, but to her career.

She hadn’t come here to fall in love. She’d come here to work, which was heating up and keeping her busy, thankfully. It was becoming clear to her, to the senator, and also to the media, that Senator Preston was the front-runner to be selected to be on the ticket with John Cameron as his vice presidential running mate. It wouldn’t be announced officially until the convention in a few weeks, but the time was drawing closer and her time with Gray would soon be coming to a close.