Authors: Nana Malone
Race For Love (23 page)
K
iss fully relaxed
in her seat. This was where she belonged. She knew this course like the back of her hand. Every groove, divot, and turn. On her outside, one of the Mercedes cars tried to overtake, but she blocked his path. In her rearview, she could see Gifford's car on her tail. It wasn't Antonio though; he'd received a suspension for a race infraction with another driver.
On the edges of her conscious thoughts, Christian started to creep in, but she shoved them aside. She had a race to win. As she went to the inside, the Red Bull car just clipped her tail end and she could feel herself losing control.
She clamped her hands on the wheel and fought to keep her driving straight.
"Kisima, you're fine, you're doing great." Despite her intense concentration she smiled. Just hearing his voice was enough to calm her down. "You got this. Don't let them get in your head. I believe in you. I love you. Push now."
Her pit boss must have handed Derek the mike. It wasn't a bad move because it gave her the jolt she needed. Once she felt on even ground again, she passed three more cars, zigzagging between them. Owning it. This was her race to lose. And after everything she'd already been through, she wasn't giving up.
She pitted because there was no other choice, she'd avoided it for two laps more than she should have. She had ten more laps to go. All she had to do was move on. Keep pushing.
With every lap it was Derek's voice in her ear. Telling her that she could do it. That he loved her. With five laps to go, she sank into the zone. All she could hear was the purr of her engine and Derek's voice.
On that last straight, she was neck and neck with Gifford and Red Bull as they zoomed over the finish line and the checkered flag waved. It didn't even matter to her if she'd won or not. She'd raced for her heart and won. She pulled into the pit, undid her safety harnesses and climbed out easily. There was a method and madness to these things, but she ignored everyone. She had one place she wanted to be. In Derek's arms.
She found him easily enough because he was running right toward her. He scooped her up and swung her around. "Hell of a race, Speed Racer."
"Thanks, Kent. I had a decent cheerleader, though I really would have liked some commitment with some pom-poms."
His laugh was clear. "Then I guess I shouldn't tell you."
She grinned at him. "That you love me? Newsflash, I already know that."
He grinned even as he muttered, "Smartass. So you don't want to know that you won?"
Holy cow
. "Are you serious right now?"
"That I am. I'm really proud of you. I love you, Kisima."
She kissed him. "And I love you, Mr. Donovan." She wrinkled her nose.
"What's the matter?"
"You'll always be Mr. Kent to me."
"I don't care what you call me. As long as I get to kiss you for the rest of my life."
"Done deal."
The End
If you enjoyed this book and would like
to be notified when I release a new book,
please sign up for my newsletter:
If you enjoyed reading
Derek and Kisima’s story and would
love to tell me about it,
I’d like to hear from you
here.
T
hank
you for reading RACE FOR LOVE! I hope you enjoyed this installment from the DONOVAN Series.
Would you like to know when my next book is available? You can sign up for my new release newsletter
here
, visit me at
www.nanamalone.com
, follow me on twitter at @NanaMalone, or like my Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/nanamalonewriter
. And if you want to chat with other peeps who love my books and spread the word, you can join my Sassy Street Team
here
!
Reviews help other readers find books. I appreciate all reviews. Please leave a review on your retailer’s site or on Goodreads to help other readers discover my books.
Don’t miss the first books in the Donovans Series in reading order
COME HOME AGAIN
(DELILAH & NATE)
LOVE REALITY
(MIA & RYAN)
RACE FOR LOVE
(KISIMA & DEREK)
What’s Next? Stay tuned for Dylan’s book, Love in Plain Sight coming this fall/winter. In the meantime, check out the fabulous Chase Boys!
Blurb
It wasn’t exactly like spunky, photography student, Abbie Nartey ran away from her life…except, that she left under the cover of darkness and put three thousand miles between her and her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal. She went to London searching for her dream. She never expected to find love, or herself.
Heir to his family’s tech fortune, sexy, Alexi Chase, is looking for freedom—from his family and from his past. What he’s not looking for is love. With secrets like his, he can’t afford to let anyone get too close. But a chance rescue has him wondering if the price of keeping secrets is too high.
Will Alexi risk losing love to keep his past hidden? Will Abbie trust herself enough to love again? Or will their pasts keep then from accepting true love?
Available on ARe!
Blurb:
Pussy came easy…
But then, for photographer, Xander Chase, most things came easy…except love. His portraits are renowned for revealing the heart and soul of his subjects, yet, he keeps his own heart hidden behind a playboy facade. All he cares about is revenge, and for that, he needs a stand-in girlfriend for a weekend fling.
Struggling actress, Imani Brooks, has been offered the coveted role of a lifetime…playing the part of an escort in a renowned play. When Xander proposes a weekend of
research
in Paris, she jumps at the chance. Their pretend relationship is the perfect way to dig into her role. She just has to remember that what they have is only for show. Xander is not the kind of man to fall in love.
Love is harder that it looks…
Everything goes as planned until passion erupts and blurs the line between fiction and reality. Can Imani get past the walls Xander’s built around his heart and find the real man hidden behind the camera lens? Or will Xander’s hunt for revenge leave her heart in shreds?
LONDON CALLING
is a full-length, standalone, BWWM, New Adult contemporary romance. It contains adult themes intended for mature readers.
Available on ARe!
USA Today Bestselling Author, Nana Malone’s love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she borrowed from her cousin on a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana at a precocious thirteen. She’s been in love with kick butt heroines ever since.
With her overactive imagination, and channeling her inner Buffy, it was only a matter a time before she started creating her own characters. Waiting for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, Nana, meantime works out her drama, passion and sass with fictional characters every bit as sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is.
Nana is the author of four series. The Love Match Series includes sassy contemporary romances: Game, Set, Match and Mismatch. The In Stilettos Series includes ultra-sexy and fun multicultural romantic comedies, Sexy in Stilettos, Sultry in Stilettos and Sassy in Stilettos. The Protectors series includes dark and sexy superhero romances, Betrayed (A Reluctant Protector Prequel), Reluctant Protector, Forsaken Protector, and Wounded Protector (Coming June 2014.) The Chase Brothers Series includes sexy, Interracial New Adult Romances, London Bound (Coming April 2014) and London Calling (Expected release October 2014). She also writes sizzling erotic novellas as Q. Malone, Corporate Affairs, Exposed, and The Flirtation.
The books in her series have been on multiple Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists as well as the iTunes Breakout Books list and most notably the USA Today Bestseller list.
Until that ninja job comes through, you’ll find Nana working hard on additional books for her series as well as other fun, sassy romances for characters that won’t leave her alone. And if she’s not working or hiding in the closet reading, she’s acting out scenes for her husband, daughter and puppy in sunny San Diego.