Victory Lane (Shady Falls #1) (29 page)

I sat back on my haunches and stared into her eyes. I wanted to know what she was thinking and how she was feeling. She was exposed to me, and she was so beautiful. The only thing covering her was the small slip of satin at her hips. She stared at me, her eyes pleading for me to accept her. To make her feel desired and wanted. I knew deep down she wasn’t ready for this, but the moment she sat up and pressed herself into me again, I was lost. I wanted to help her; I wanted to be able to drown out whatever tormented her. My eyes traveled from hers, across her face, stopping at the exposed flesh pressing into my chest. I leaned her back, placing her back on the bed. My hands moved from her waist, up to her breasts. She was all curves and perfection. Every part of her was gorgeous.

I pressed my lips to hers, feeling her heat and desire searing into me. She never ceased to make my blood run faster in my veins. My pulse quickened, making my heart feel like it would burst from my chest. Her hair spilled around her head like a dark halo on the blue pillows. I wanted to savor every inch of her. I wanted her to know what I felt for her and for her feel it over each inch of her body. I never wanted her to doubt my desire for her and my love.

I pulled my shirt over my head. Her hands ran scorching tracks down my chest, stopping just above the waist of my shorts.

“Jules, please,” she whispered once more. Her eyes imploring with me. I could feel her needs and see her desire reflected in her eyes. She skimmed her delicate fingers under my waistband and pushed the shorts over my hips. Without thinking, I pulled at the flimsy material still covering her until it snapped and fell from her perfect skin.

I hovered above her, staring into her eyes, trying to make sure this was truly what she wanted. “Baby, are you sure?” I asked. “We can stop,” I promised. “If you want to stop, please just tell me. We don’t have to.” I wanted to be sure that she wanted this as much as I did.

Her eyes darted to mine, surprise and shock registered on her face, as if she couldn’t believe it was her choice. As much as I knew we should wait, I felt how badly she needed this. She needed this distraction. She needed to know I wanted her. “You would stop? Now?” she asked quietly.

“Baby, you say the word and we stop. Is that what you want? Do you want to stop?” I asked. Lord knew it would be difficult and I’d definitely need an ice cold shower, but I’d stop. For her, I’d do anything.

She shook her head. “No, please don’t stop.”

I kissed her slowly, languorously, pouring everything I felt for her into that kiss. I wanted her so badly. Her hips moved up, meeting mine, wrapping her legs around my hips. She pulled me to her, pressing my hips to hers. I moved above her gently, her arms and legs wrapped around me, caressing me. Her hands lightly gripped my shoulders, her whole body moving with mine, her skin glowing, flushed with desire. Every fiber of my being exploded with sensation once I moved with her, feeling her soft warmth wrapped around me. My lips lightly brushed hers as I lowered myself into her loving embrace. We moved together, as one, taking and giving everything we had to one another.

We woke the next morning, wrapped in each other’s arms. I loved waking up with her. She was the first woman I’d woken up with since Anna. I kissed her gently, trying to bring her from her dreams.

“Wake up, baby. We’ve got a lot goin’ on today,” I said quietly.

She opened her eyes, blinking, trying to adjust to the morning sun. She smiled up at me, but then it immediately fell. She looked at me, as if trying to guess what I was thinking. She didn’t say a word, just looking at me, waiting.

“We need to get up and get ready for the day, angel,” I said, moving my fingers across her cheek. “We have qualifying in about two hours.”

She still gazed at me. When she finally spoke, I was surprised by what she was thinking. “You still want me to be there?”

I shook my head, confused, “Of course I do, honey. Why wouldn’t I want you there? You’re on my team aren’t you?”

“I thought, after last night …” Her voice drifted off. She sounded so unsure of herself.

“What?” I asked. I had no idea what she was thinking.

“I just thought … You told Audrey you only …” She huffed, a frustrated sound escaping her throat.

“Audrey?” I asked confused. Then I thought back to my conversation in Daytona. I had tried to let her down as gently as I could, but Audrey just wasn’t taking no for an answer. “What I told Audrey wasn’t true, Toni. She wouldn’t back off. She refused to listen when I told her I wasn’t interested.”

“But you said …” She drifted off again.

I pushed her back and hovered over her. I leaned in so the only thing she could see were my eyes gazing down at her. “Listen to me now, my love. I want you. I want you in my bed, on my team, and in every other aspect of my life. I want everything you’re willing to give me. This isn’t about sex, Toni. I don’t want you just for sex. I want all of you. The good, the bad, and everything in the middle. Do you understand me?”

She smiled, nodding her head. “Yeah, I understand you.”

For the rest of the weekend, she seemed like her old self. She seemed to smile often and to be more open. She also spent every night that weekend in my trailer. We kissed and touched, but nothing more and that was fine by me. But looks were definitely deceiving when it came to Toni. She seemed fine, but she wasn’t. When she thought no one was paying attention, her whole demeanor would change. When we were alone together, the moment she thought I was sleeping or busy, she would crawl into herself. The following week, things just got progressively worse. She became increasingly angry and I soon realized that she was barely sleeping. Her work was slipping; she was making mistakes, and missing things when she was working on the cars. Everyone saw what was happening, but no one pushed. We all knew she was barely keeping herself together.

When we returned to Charlotte the following week, all hell seemed to have broken loose. I walked through the garage to one of the VIP signings that I had to attend at the track and saw her talking to another man. He was shorter than me, barely taller than Toni. He had shaggy light brown hair and he was plump around his middle. I could tell by the way she stood there that she was afraid. When he placed his hand on her shoulder, I just about lost it. I saw her cower from him, darting her eyes around, searching for an escape. Going quickly over to where they stood, I pulled her away from him. She was visibly shaken, and the look of fear in her eyes was more than I could bear.

“Get your fuckin’ hands off her,” I growled. I pulled her behind me, keeping hold of her trembling hands. I knew in that instant that he was who made her life hell. He was the monster in her frequent nightmares. He was the reason she was always so alert and nervous.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” the man snarled in return. “She’s my fuckin’ fiancé.”

She tightened her grasp on my hand, both of her hands squeezing mine. I could feel her desperation and terror. “She’s not. She’s with me. Keep your fuckin’ hands off her and stay the hell away from her,” I rumbled. “Now get the fuck outta here before I have someone carry your carcass out.”

Stepping forward, he looked up at me. “I don’t care who the hell you are. I’m here to take back what’s mine and that fat bitch hidin’ behind you is mine.”

That was all I needed to hear. I pulled my hand from the death grip she had on me. Before the asshole standing in front of me knew what happened, I lunged at him, punching him in the face. Never in my life had I been so furious. Not even when I caught Anna cheating.

Moments later, Kyle, Kevin, and several security guards pulled me off him. His face was bloodied and his eyes were already starting to swell.

“What the fuck, man?” Ky exclaimed. “Have you lost your fuckin’ mind?”

“That’s the asshole,” I roared. “He’s the reason she ran away last week. He’s the reason she’s so sad all the fuckin’ time. Just let me go Ky.”

“Hell no,” Ky growled. “Kevin, take them to the garage.”

I knew hitting him would be a problem, but I couldn’t help myself. My adrenaline was still pumping through my system when Kev released me in the garage area. Toni stood there, tears falling from her eyes and fear etched on her face.

Kyle came bursting into the garage, a look of fury on his face. “Care to tell me what the fuck that was?”

“He had his fuckin’ hands on her. You shoulda let me kill the bastard,” I growled.

“You ain’t killin’ no one. Chill the fuck out, Jules.” He paused for a minute then turned to Kevin. “Take Toni back to Julius’ trailer and stay with her.”

Nodding, Kevin gathered a weeping Toni and led her out of the garage.

Kyle stood and just stared at me. “What the fuck, man?”

“Yeah, exactly, what the fuck? You’re supposed to have my back, not drag me away.”

“You beat the shit outta a man at a VIP event, Jules. What the hell were you thinkin’?”

“She was scared. He called her a fat bitch. He’s the reason she’s got so many issues. He’s the reason she ran away last week.”

Realization dawned on his face. “Shit,” he rumbled.

“Yeah, shit,” I echoed. I stood and walked in the direction Kevin and Toni went only minutes ago.

“Where’re you goin’?”

“I’m goin’ to my trailer. I’ll see you tomorrow mornin’.”

Ky nodded and said nothing more as I quickly left the garage, only to find the asshole standing outside. His bloodied face was cleaned up but his eye and lip were already swollen.

“What the fuck are you doin’ out here?” I barked.

“Where is she?” he snarled.

“Somewhere you’ll never get to her again. I see you near her again and I’ll fuckin’ kill you. Get the fuck outta here or you’ll be leavin’ in the back of a police cruiser.”

“She’s mine. You can’t keep her away from me. I’ll have her one way or another. She owes me.”

Grabbing him by his shirt, I lifted him off his feet and pulled him into my face. “You better listen to me now, asshole. You ever put your hands on her again and I’ll make sure no one finds your fuckin’ body. You got me? Stay the hell away from her. She’s with me.”

“That’s what you think,” he choked out. “She’ll always be with me. It’s my voice she hears in her head, not yours.”

With that, I threw him to the ground. Standing over him, I hissed a warning that I hoped he would heed. “You come near her again or threaten her in any way, I’ll rip you apart. If you as much as harm one hair on Toni’s head, I’ll find you and I’ll gut you. I’ll kill anyone who harms what is mine. And make no mistake Toni is mine. You don’t put your hands on a woman, and you definitely don’t put your hands on my woman.”

When I finally got to my trailer, I found Kevin standing outside. “She wanted to be left alone,” he explained. “But I didn’t want to leave completely.”

“Thanks, old man. I got it from here.”

“Who the hell was that guy?”

“He’s the reason our Toni disappeared last week. He’s what scared her. Could you get the security tape and find an image of him. I want it passed out to security. I don’t want him anywhere on the track again. He’s dangerous.”

“Will do, boss. Take care of our girl.”

“I got her,” I told him.

With a nod, Kevin left toward the security suite. Pulling in a deep breath, I tried to clear all my anger before entering the trailer. I didn’t want her to think I was out of control. I was resolved that today was the day she was going to tell me what the hell that man did to her. 

“Toni,” I called out, once I climbed the stairs.

Without a word, she poked her head around the door where the bedroom was. She just stood there and stared at me, sadly.

“We need to talk, angel. You need to tell me who that man was.”

“Jules, not now. I don’t want to.”

Stamping down my anger, I stepped toward her only to see her cower. I stopped dead in my tracks. She was terrified. She was like a caged animal. “That’s not an option anymore, Toni. Was that Todd?”

She nodded slightly but didn’t answer. She was back to the nonverbal communication that we dealt with last week. She stepped back into the bedroom and I followed as she sat down on the bed. She must have known I wasn’t going to back down.

“What did he do to you, Toni? And don’t tell me he didn’t do anything or that it’s all in the past. It’s obviously not in the past at all. He’s here and his actions are still affecting you. It’s time for you to talk to me, angel.”

“What if I don’t want to?” she asked quietly. Her face red and raw from constantly wiping away the tears that continued to fall. Her golden eyes were red and glittered with tears. Her dark hair covered her face when she looked down to avoid my gaze. She seemed broken, lost. I wanted to help her, but she had to let me. Unless she let me, I would never be able to help her the way I wanted. I also realized Todd was right, unless she trusted me she would never be mine. He still had his hold on her and only she could break it.

“Then I can’t help you, baby. I can’t do anythin’ for you if you don’t talk to me. I also can’t guarantee I’ll be around forever. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone, but you have to trust me. If you don’t trust me then we have nothin’.”

“I can’t,” she whispered. Those two words made my world crash. She didn’t trust me and if she didn’t trust me, then she’d never be able to be with me. This was it. If she couldn’t find a way to let me in, at least a little, anything we could have had was over.