Race to the Top: Book one in the Racing to Find Love series (11 page)

Being in his bedroom somehow felt more intimate to Erik. The
sex in the hotel had been amazing, but now Anna was in his home, sitting on the
end of his bed, looking nervous.

Erik crossed over to her, and started kissing her, pleased
when she responded instantly. He could feel his body responding to and
marvelled at the effect this woman seemed to have on him.

He stroked her face and her hair with one hand, and his
other hand roamed over her body. He slipped it under Anna’s top and stroked the
skin. She moaned and shifted slightly and Erik felt his penis throb. Anna moved
her hands then, stroking his chest and nipples. He had to try to control
himself – he wanted to throw her down on the bed right away and plunge himself
inside her, but he knew he couldn’t last long with her tight body gripping him,
so he wanted to draw this out.

He started to kiss further down her body, revelling in the
scent of her soft skin, wanting to taste even more of her. He reached the
waistband of her tight jeans and shot her a quick grin. Then he unfastened them
and pulled them off in one quick movement, so she was just lying in her
underwear. Anna gasped as his lips touched her thighs, grazing the skin. She
arched her hips to push herself closer towards his mouth and Erik smiled.

‘Not yet,’ he said, teasingly, and Anna moaned with
frustration.

Erik chuckled, and resumed his task. He swept his lips near
to the thin strip of cotton between him and Anna’s clit, and then pulled back,
peppering her thighs with kisses.

Eventually he couldn’t stand it any longer and ripped off
her underwear. Anna jerked her head at the sound of the fabric tearing.

‘Sorry,’ Erik murmured. ‘I’ll buy you some more.’

He bent his head and breathed her scent in. It was
intoxicating to him. He began swirling his tongue over Anna’s clit, his penis
twitching with desperation as she moaned and twisted. When he sensed Anna was
getting close, her breath coming in short and urgent bursts, he started sucking
on her clit. He gently worked one finger into her entrance and Anna gasped.

‘I’m close,’ she said, panting hard.

Erik knew what would tip her over. He only had to be careful
it didn’t tip him over, too. He withdrew his finger and plunged his tongue
inside her. Anna screamed and her body jerked as she came, hard. Erik could
feel her convulsing around him, and he pushed his tongue in as far as he could
as Anna’s body continued to writhe and twist.

He felt her struggle to sit up and withdrew his head,
grinning at her. She was out of breath but she straddled him, pushing him back
on the bed.

‘Your turn,’ she said, and Erik had to use all his willpower
not to come immediately as she took his penis in her mouth.

She ran her tongue up and down his shaft, and he groaned. He
wanted this to go on for a while, but he could already feel his orgasm building
and his penis throbbing more intensely. Anna seemed to sense his thoughts,
though, and she slowed right down, her tongue slowly teasing the tip. Erik
fought to regain some sort of control, but gasped as Anna took him inside her
mouth. It was hopeless, he would just have to let his body do what it wanted to
do.

He lay back, moaning in pleasure as Anna increased the speed
and intensity.

‘I’m going to come down that pretty throat of yours,’ he
murmured.

He was close now, so close. When Anna’s hand slid beneath
his legs and gently took hold of his balls, that was it.
With a shout he came hard, ramming himself into her mouth. He felt himself
come, felt Anna swallow every last drop of him. His penis throbbed from the
intensity of it and he just lay there, as the waves of pleasure ran through his
body.

Anna appeared beside him and laid her head on his chest. He
stroked her hair.

‘That was amazing,’ she said, dreamily.

Erik nodded.

‘It certainly was,’ he said.

He thought for a second and then said, ‘You get holidays
from your work, right?’

He saw Anna look at him, a puzzled expression on her face.

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I have quite a few days to take.’

‘I was wondering,’ Erik said, then paused. What if she said
no? ‘I was wondering if you would perhaps like to come with me to Monaco in a
couple of weeks.’

Anna stared at him and for a second Erik thought he had
overstepped a line. Maybe she only saw what they had as sex and nothing else.
He hoped not; the sex was incredible but he loved spending time with her.

‘I’m not sure I can afford it,’ she said, looking sad.

Erik laughed.

‘I’ll pay,’ he said, but Anna shook her head.

‘I don’t want you to pay for me,’ she said. ‘Is it expensive
out there?’

Erik thought of the yachts.

‘A little bit,’ he admitted. ‘It would really be my pleasure
– it’s only fair since I’m inviting you.’

He could see her consider.

‘And we can stay with friends of mine, I’m sure,’ he said,
trying to seal the deal. ‘So it’ll only be flights and stuff. And we’re
sponsored by an airline company so I get a big discount anyway.’ Not that he
ever took it – he could afford to pay full price for a flight. Discounts should
be for people who need them.

Anna nodded her head slowly, starting to grin.

‘Well, okay,’ she said, laughing. ‘This is crazy. I’ll
arrange the time off tomorrow.’

Erik settled back, grinning too.

Anna stared as the car pulled up outside Erik’s friends’
home. It was like something from a movie and she shook her head. How had little
old Anna Sawyer ended up here?

Erik appeared at her door and opened it, bowing as she got
out.

‘You’re the perfect gentleman,’ she said, and he kissed her
on the lips.

Anna heard the door behind them open and Erik stepped away,
turning to greet his friends.

Anna watched as he did what she referred to as a ‘man hug’ with
a man in his late 30s. He was attractive, with brown hair and eyes, and a
well-defined body. This must be Jack, and the woman next to him must be Elena.
She was stunning and looked like a real racing driver’s wife, not a hair out of
place and oh, that hair. Sleek and dark brown with caramel highlights running
through it. Her face was stunning too, full lips and eyes that sparkled.

Jack and Elena spotted Anna and came over, both grinning.

‘You must be Anna,’ Jack said, holding out his hand. Anna
took it, feeling nervous.

‘I’m Jack, and this is my wife, Elena.’

To Anna’s surprise, Elena pushed past Jack and embraced
Anna. After a second, Anna hugged her back.

‘I’m sorry,’ Elena laughed as she detached herself. ‘It’s
just…we have been waiting for Erik to bring someone like you here for
years.’

Anna shot a glance at Erik who was shaking his head, but
looking at Elena fondly.

‘Come inside,’ Jack said, going to the back of the car and
taking out Anna’s suitcase.

Elena led her inside and Anna stopped in the hallway. There
was marble; so much marble. Elena saw the look on her face and laughed.

‘It’s incredibly ostentatious I know,’ she said, waving a
hand around her dismissively. ‘We’ve only lived here about six months and it
was like this when we bought it. Some Russian oligarch or something lived here
before. It’s not our taste at all, but it’s hard to get any time to sit down
and work out what we want to do with it when we’re both so busy.’

Anna wondered how busy a racing driver’s wife could get.

‘Jack races, doesn’t he?’ she said, as they climbed the
stairs, Anna taking her suitcase from Jack. Erik and his friend headed through
the house, probably to get a beer.

Elena nodded.

‘He used to race along with Erik,’ she said. ‘That’s how
they know each other. But a couple of years ago, Jack switched to touring
cars.’

She glanced at Anna and saw the look on her face.

‘Don’t worry,’ Elena said, laughing. ‘I’m not really sure
what the difference is either. Touring cars look more like proper cars though,
and there can be a bit more contact.’

‘Do you go to all the races?’ Anna asked, following Elena
into a large bedroom with a four-poster bed.

Elena set the suitcase down.

‘I do,’ she said, ‘but it’s quite a commitment. It’s hard to
juggle all that travelling with my own business.’

‘You have your own business?’ Anna was stunned. Erik hadn’t
mentioned that.

Elena nodded, smiling at her surprise.

‘Yes, I run my own fashion company. I have a few great
people working for me and that makes it all possible, but I’m forever on my laptop
or phone. Everyone on Jack’s team laugh at me when I’m sitting watching the
race with my laptop on my knee and phone glued to my ear.’

Anna was impressed. She couldn’t imagine having a career
and
travelling round the world during the season. She said as much to Elena.

Elena smiled at her, thoughtfully.

‘You’re a writer, though, aren’t you? You could work
anywhere. In fact, travelling might even be good for you.’

Anna considered. She
could
work anywhere, that was
true. But she would have to work for herself and lose the security of working
for a company.

‘Believe me,’ Elena said. ‘You find a way to make things
work. When I first met Jack, I didn’t want anything to do with him. I grew up
in Monaco, you see, and I’d seen what some of those racing drivers got up to
when their wives weren’t around.’

Elena smiled, wistfully.

‘But he was persistent, and eventually I agreed to go on a
date. And now here we are.’

Anna smiled. She had worried she wouldn’t have anything in
common with Elena, but she thought she would enjoy their time together.

‘Come on,’ Elena said. ‘Let’s go
find out what the boys are doing.’

They found them in Jack’s huge
gaming room playing…a racing game.

Anna laughed as Elena rolled her
eyes at them.

‘You boys are ridiculous,’ she
cried, looking from Jack to Erik, neither of whom had the good grace to look
sheepish.

‘Hey,’ Erik said, holding up his
hands and then grabbing the controller again. ‘I haven’t raced against this
lunatic for a while.’

‘Well turn it off and come and be
sociable,’ Elena said, arms crossed.

Anna grinned as the boys huffed and
puffed, making a big show of getting up.

She thought she was going to have a
good time in Monaco.

Erik reached for the wine and poured Anna another glass.

‘So,’ Elena said, looking between the two of them. ‘How and
when did you two get together?’

Erik considered. He thought back to that night in the hotel
a few weeks ago. He stole a glance at Anna, who had gone a bit pink. She was
remembering it too, clearly.

‘I suppose in Germany,’ he said, running his finger round
the rim of his wine glass.

‘You suppose?’ Elena said, brow furrowing.

Jack roared with laughter.

‘You are so dense sometimes, El,’ he said, shaking his head
and rubbing her on the back.

‘Hmm?’ Elena said, and then the penny dropped. ‘Oh…Oh!’

Erik laughed too, even harder when he saw Anna who had gone
bright red.

‘Well Anna,’ Elena said, laughing too. ‘It’s about time Erik
found someone like you. We had almost given up hope and thought he was going to
end up living in our basement.’

Erik shook his head, chuckling.

‘I’ve been thinking about buying out here,’ he said. ‘I
think I must be the only racing driver alive who doesn’t have a house out
here.’

‘You should,’ Jack said. ‘I can put you in touch with some
great property agents. Then we’d be neighbours.’

He reached across the table and high-fived Erik.

‘Great,’ Elena said, rolling her eyes theatrically. ‘Does
that mean you’ll always be round at each other’s houses, playing those stupid
racing games?’

Erik shook his head.

‘I’d only be here off season and sometimes between races,’
he said. ‘I need to stay near the team the rest of the time.’

He thought about Anna suddenly, and saw she looked a bit
uncomfortable.

‘Are you coming to the race this weekend?’ he asked, changing
the subject.

Elena nodded.

‘We’ll make the race,’ she said. ‘But I was going to whisk
Anna away on Saturday for some shopping. Do you mind terribly if she misses
qualifying?’

Erik pouted and Elena laughed.

‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘Just bring her back safe and sound.’

He would have to have a word with Elena and give her his
credit card. He knew Anna wouldn’t be able to afford anything here, and he
didn’t want her to be embarrassed.

‘Will that poor girl Felicity Carter be there?’ Elena asked.

Erik nodded.

‘Probably,’ he said. ‘This is the only race she goes to
every year. I suppose even Devlin can’t keep her away given that they live out
here.’

Elena shook her head.

‘It’s such a shame,’ she said. ‘She’s a sweet girl and
doesn’t deserve to be married to that idiot.’

Erik agreed. Felicity wasn’t his cup of tea but she was nice
enough.

‘Why
doesn’t
he want her at races?’ Anna asked,
sounding curious.

Erik shrugged.

‘He’s a playboy,’ he said. ‘Devlin Carter likes women and
drinking, preferably both at the same time. Having his wife there would cramp
his style.’

‘That’s awful,’ Anna said, shaking her head.

‘I agree,’ Elena said. ‘I wish the poor girl would have the
gumption to get up and leave him. I see her around sometimes and she always
looks so lonely.’

Erik thought of Devlin. He was never lonely. The table was
silent for a few seconds.

Jack and Elena exchanged a glance over the table. Erik
looked at them, enquiringly.

‘We have a bit of news,’ Jack said, grinning.

‘Oh?’ Erik said, looking from Jack’s grinning face to
Elena’s beaming one.

‘We’re having a baby,’ Elena squealed, and Erik jumped up
from the table.

‘No way!’

‘Way,’ Jack said, laughing. Erik wrung his hand and Anna got
up and went round to Elena, hugging her.

‘I can’t believe you guys waited all evening to tell us,’
Erik said, shaking his head.

Elena laughed.

‘We really wanted to get to know Anna,’ she said. ‘I didn’t
want to make it all about us.’

‘You
have
to call it Erik if it’s a boy,’ Erik said,
wagging a finger at Elena. ‘I’ll be horribly offended otherwise.’

Jack shook his head.

‘No son of mine is going to be called Erik,’ he said.

‘It’s a girl anyway,’ Elena said. ‘I’m sure of it.’

Erik and Jack exchanged glances and Jack shook his head
slightly. Erik laughed.