Fast Track (25 page)

He watched her
speak with the gentleman at the limo stand before forcing himself
to step out of his Lamborghini and close the distance between them.
When she finally spotted him, the crowds bustling around them fell
away, the cool breeze stilled, and the city traffic faded. The only
thing that mattered was that she was there. With him. Where she
belonged.

“Anna…”

“Justin…”

They spoke at
the same time, sharing a smile when he stopped just short of
touching her. “My mother asked me to meet you here.” He’d lost an
entire night’s sleep thinking about what he would say when he
finally saw her again, but it all vanished at the sight of her
smile. He hadn’t seen her smile in so long, too long. Just when
he’d given up hope of ever seeing it again, his mother gave him the
gift of one more chance.

“I hope you
weren’t busy.” She gripped the handle of her suitcase. “I mean, I
hope I didn’t take you away from anyone-thing. Anything.” She
blushed furiously, lowering her head to hide her embarrassment.

“There’s
nowhere else I’d rather be, no one else I’d rather be with.” He
knew that said it all. The ball was in her court. The only question
that remained was whether they would both walk away losers, yet
again.

“There’s so
much I need to say to you, Justin.” She stepped closer. “Could we
go somewhere and… talk?”

“How about my
place?” He knew reminding her that his career permitted him to live
in the lap of luxury may be a mistake, but his only thought was of
being alone with her again.

“That sounds
good. Your mother… Is she expecting me?”

“Not for a
while.”

“Okay,
good.”

He reached for
her suitcase, sliding the handle into place before picking it up.
His hand drifted to the small of her back as he guided her through
the people crowding the sidewalk.

Weary travelers
whispered and pointed, at both him and his car, but the dark
sunglasses should buy him just enough time to escape without the
autograph seekers descending. Once he had her and her luggage
settled inside the car, he wasted no time easing into the line of
cars exiting the airport.

“How have you
been?” she asked, folding her hands in her lap.

“Okay. The
season wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be, given all the races I
missed, but there’s always next year. At least, that’s what I keep
telling myself.”

“Right, there’s
always next year.”

He cussed
himself out for reminding her of the looming obstacle blocking
their path to happiness, as if she needed to be reminded. “How’s
school? Are you enjoying your class?”

“Not as much as
I have in previous years, unfortunately.” She looked out the
window, refusing to look at him until he reached for her hand.
“It’s not the kids; it’s me. I’ve been so miserable.”

Struck
speechless by her honesty, he lifted her hand to his lips. “I have
been too.”

“What are we
gonna do, Justin?”

“I’m hoping we
can figure that out while you’re here.”

They rode in
silence for the next few minutes, each of them lost in their own
thoughts, weighing their options and the cost of making the wrong
decision.

“Here we are,”
he said, waving to the security guard at the gatehouse as he
pressed a button to open the gates.

“Oh wow,” she
said, looking around. “I don’t know why I’m surprised.”

He didn’t
either. She’d grown up around wealthy people, and given her family
and social circle, his lifestyle was no different than theirs. “Not
what you expected?”

“No, I think I
had you pegged for a penthouse kind of guy.” She smiled. “I guess I
was wrong.”

“I like my
privacy too much. Besides, I need wide open spaces, a place to keep
my horses.”

“Right. I’d
almost forgotten about your family’s interest in horses.”

“My father’s
pretty impressed with the horses Nick’s been putting out lately. He
suggested a joint venture.”

“You should
definitely talk to Nick about that.” Her eyes drifted to the
stables where his stable manager was exercising his horses.

“You’ve grown
up around horses, too. There’s something we have in common.”

“I never
thought about that.”

“We have a lot
in common, Anna.”
We love each other. Why can’t that be
enough?
Instead of saying what he thought, he cut the engine
and walked around to the passenger’s side to open her door. He
could almost hear the clock ticking on their time together, and he
was desperate to make the most of it.

She allowed him
to hold her hand while leading her up the stairs.

The house was a
two-storey stone mansion on forty-five acres. Way too much space
for a single guy, but he hoped to fill it with a big family. He’d
bought it with the future in mind, knowing he would never want to
leave. But Anna’s life was in Nashville. Would she ever consider
relocating, even for part of the year, just to be with him?

He led her
inside, giving her a moment to take in her surroundings. The inside
of the house looked nothing like the outside, which was the way he
wanted it. Despite the 20,000 square foot interior, he didn’t want
it to feel like a stuffy mansion, so he’d worked with the best
interior designer in the state choosing masculine, oversized
furniture, dark paint colors, and richly stained wood
furniture.

“It looks so…”
She laughed, as though she was considering how he would perceive
her comment. “Comfortable.”

“You expected
it to be formal and stuffy, right?”

“I guess
so.”

“I want this to
be a place where my nieces and nephews can hang out and play
without having to worry about breaking some priceless antique.” He
shrugged. “I’m not big on that stuff anyways. Family, that’s what
important, not possessions.” He stopped speaking when he caught her
staring at him. “What is it? Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” She
touched his chest. “You just reminded me that we do have a lot in
common. Those days we spent on the island, the weeks after when we
talked for hours on the phone, I’d like to think I got to know you
pretty well.” She pressed her hand to his heart. “I feel like I got
to know who you are when the cameras are off and you’re… just
you.”

“You did get to
know me, probably better than any woman ever has.” He covered her
hand with his. “I felt like I could be myself with you, and that
meant a lot to me.” He leaned in closer, testing her boundaries.
“Maybe that’s why I missed you so much. It was like there was this
void. Every night around the same time, I’d pick up the phone and
think about calling-”

“Me too.”

“Why didn’t
you?”

“I was
scared.”

“You don’t ever
have to be afraid to tell me what you’re thinking or how you’re
feeling, Anna.”

“I feel like
you already know,” she whispered. “I don’t know what it is about
this connection we have, but I feel like you can read my mind.”

What he
wouldn’t give for that to be true. He needed to know if she wanted
to make up for lost time as much as he did. Did she want to slip
under the covers, shut out the world, and explore each other’s
bodies until the sun rose to remind them there was another world
outside? Did she want to lie on top of him and feel his heartbeat
as she took him to the edge of a blinding climax…

“Anna…” He
closed his eyes when his house phone rang. It was the distinct ring
of his gatehouse, which meant he had an unwanted visitor. “Damn it.
I have to get that. I’m sorry.”

Her hand fell
to her side, and she took a step back to let him pass. “It’s okay,
go ahead.”

He dashed to
the phone, breathless, not because of exertion, but because he’d
come so close to realizing his fantasy of kissing her again. “What
do you want, Mac?”

“I’m sorry to
bother you, Justin. There’s a reporter here: Deborah Bancroft. She
said you had an interview scheduled.”

“Damn it.” He
pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “I forgot all
about that. Tell her to hold on a minute. I’ll be right down.” He
hoped he could satisfy her with a brief statement about his season,
his injuries, Todd’s accident, and his plans for next season. The
questions were always the same, and he’d memorized the answers by
now.

Anna stood in
the foyer, looking into his study when he turned around.

“You have to
go,” she said, setting her purse on her shoulder. “A date?”

“What? No, God,
no.” He couldn’t believe she would even think that. He hadn’t
wasted his time with another woman since she gave him his walking
papers. There was no point. She was the one he wanted, and anyone
else would be a poor substitute. “It’s just a reporter. I’d
promised her an interview, but I think I can wrap it up quickly. Do
you mind waiting?”

“No, of course
not. Do what you need to do.”

Justin couldn’t
stand the physical or emotional distance between them any longer.
“What I need is to be right here… with you,” he said, pulling her
into his arms. “This is what I want, what I’ve been waiting for...
every day, every night, every damned minute we’ve been apart.” He
touched his forehead against hers when she wrapped her arms around
his waist. Feeling her arms around him again felt so good. Even if
the road back to each other was painfully slow, Justin knew it
would be worth every second.

“Take your time
with the reporter,” she said, reaching up to kiss him. “I’ll be
here when you get back.”

He wanted
nothing more than to deepen the kiss, to explore her mouth and
break through her defenses, but he had to take care of business
first. He didn’t want any interruptions once he finally had her in
his arms again. “I’ll be as quick as I can. I promise.” He kissed
the tip of her nose, grinning when she held on to him as though she
was as reluctant as he was to let go.

***

Anna was about
to take the biggest risk of her life. Her heart was pounding, her
palms were sweating, but she wasn’t going to back out. Not this
time.

She heard the
front door slam and closed her eyes, praying for an ounce of the
confidence she’d felt when she hatched the plan.

“Anna… where
are you?”

She heard the
slight panic in his voice, the heaviness in his footsteps as he
crossed from room to room looking for her. Clearing her throat,
swallowing, and sucking in a big breath, she forced herself to
respond. “I’m up here.”

His footsteps
were heavy on the stairs, drawing closer, and for a split second,
she thought about hiding in the closet.

“What are you…”
He looked her up and down, his pupils dilating, his breath coming
in short gasps. “Jesus, Anna.”

The urge to
cover herself was great, but she stood her ground as his eyes
scanned every inch of her naked body. “I’m tired of living in
fear,” she said, her voice trembling. “I want to take risks,
starting here, now, today, with you.” She knew she was babbling,
but when he didn’t say anything, she couldn’t help herself. “If you
don’t want to or can’t…” She hadn’t even considered that
possibility. Her eyes flew to the front of his jeans as her cheeks
flamed. “I guess that’s not a problem.”

“No,” he said,
stepping into the room. Closing the door behind him, he flicked a
switch to activate the gas fireplace beside the bed. Another switch
to dim the lights, yet another to fill the room with soft music.
“That definitely won’t be a problem. I get hard looking at you
fully clothed. Now, like this…” He came closer with every step,
stopping just short of touching her. “You don’t even realize how
beautiful you are, do you?”

In a world of
beautiful people, Anna had always felt plain by comparison, and she
was fine with that. She knew there were more important assets than
physical beauty, but when he looked at her like that, like her
beauty rivaled any sunset he’d ever set eyes on, she felt…
treasured.

“Everything
about you,” he said, trailing a finger over her collarbone, down
the front of her chest, between her breasts, over the peak of her
nipple, until she grabbed his hand.

“Make love to
me, Justin.”

Closing his
eyes, he brought her closer, sheltering her in his arms. “If I make
love to you again, I can’t ever let you go. You can’t ask me to do
that. I won’t.”

She loved the
vulnerability she heard in his voice, that brief break that told
her his control was slipping. “I won’t. I promise.”

“Anna,” he
said, surrounding her face with his hands, “what does this mean?
What do you want from me?”

“I want you to
love me.” Anna knew that was the only thing she’d ever wanted, and
she’d wasted time running from it. If she’d learned anything from
the mistakes she’d made with Justin, it was that she had to stop
living in fear.

“I do, more
than anything.”

Her hands shook
as she worked the buttons on his shirt. Pushing it over his broad
shoulders, she peppered kisses over the warm skin she uncovered.
She took a deep breath, taking pleasure in the spicy scent of his
cologne. The scent always taunted her with painful memories when
another man wore it. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said, locking
eyes with him as she reached for his belt buckle.

Justin watched
her work his jeans down before he stepped out of them. “I can’t
even breathe,” he whispered. Chuckling, he said, “This is so
unexpected, so amazing, I can’t even breathe.”

She knew how he
felt because she felt it too. That mysterious link connected them
the first time, only now it felt stronger, unbreakable, and she
knew her fear was no match against their alliance. “I knew if I
came back to you, if I asked you to take me back, I had to be
willing to take a risk, to bare it all, be completely vulnerable
and exposed and ask you to love me exactly the way I am, flaws and
all.”