Without Limits: Austin (Rugged Riders Book 4) (11 page)

N
o matter
how hard Trent tried on Monday morning, he couldn’t keep his mind off of Zaira. It wasn’t that he wanted to anyway. The issue was that he had about twenty-four hours of work to do in what was usually a nine hour day for him.

Someone knocked at the door. Trent looked up, startled. It was Marcus.

“Hey Stone.”

Trent nodded. “Brooks.”

“So…I heard about Saturday night.” Marcus was grinning from ear to ear as he walked into Trent’s office.

“Word gets around really fast here,” Trent replied, giving his closest R.R. brother and best friend a fist pound.

Marcus sat down and leaned back in the chair. “What are you going to buy with your winnings?”

Trent shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet. Something to remember the night, I suppose.”

“Man…” Marcus leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You could be making a killing. You
were
making a killing as a gambler. Then one day you just quit.”

“I retired. I don’t quit,” Trent said. “You’re my best friend, dude. You know me better than that.”

“When most people retire, they cease working the normal nine to five,” Marcus replied.

“I work to keep my brain functional. After all, it is a muscle.”

“Then why retire from something that makes you more money than all of your other jobs combined?” Marcus asked. “And even if you have retired, I know you’re sitting on major bank roll. You told me this.”

“I told you because you’re the only one I trust with that information.” Trent sighed. “Marcus, I’ve been homeless and I’ve had the privilege of sleeping in billion dollar mansions. One thing holds true, money doesn’t bring happiness.”

“Very true.” Marcus stood. “Well, we’ll talk later. Gotta get back to work.”

“See ya around.”

Marcus stopped at the door. “Someone said they saw you there with Zaira.”

Trent nodded. “We went together, like old times.”

Marcus chuckled. “You’re something else. Are you two…um…having sex?”

Zaira appeared in the office entryway, in full business dress with briefcase in tow. “What business is that of yours?
Marcus?
”

“Uh…” Marcus scratched the back of his head. “I was just…yeah…good morning.” He exited the office leaving a glaring Zaira standing there.

“Really?” Zaira protested.

The first thing Trent noticed about her was her hair. It was pulled back and every strand except for some tendrils along her face was hidden. The hairstyle on her was exquisite. Her face was made up lightly and the rose coloring on her lips made them look extra kissable. Her black dress was tight, hugged her hips, and pushed up her breasts. As soon as his gaze dropped to her legs, he got a vivid vision of them wrapped around his waist.

By the time he was done assessing her from head to toe, his dick was rock hard and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Trent rose from his chair and greeted her at the door. “Good morning, Zaira. You look gorgeous today.”

It looked as though Zaira was trying to hide a smile, but her face brightened. “Morning. I had a meeting with a client earlier.”

He took her suitcase, her hand, and brought her toward the desk. “I’m not sure how much you heard, but I don’t want you to think that I was talking about what we did last night.”

She settled down in the second chair behind his desk. “I wasn’t eavesdropping either. I just happened to hear Marcus asking you if we had sex.”

“Marcus is my most trusted R.R. brother and my best friend. Are you okay with me telling him how I feel about you?”

Zaira leaned back in the chair and the sparkle in her eyes dimmed a bit and her forehead creased. He couldn’t tell if it was from indifference, worry, sadness, or something else entirely. Something akin to sympathy tugged at his heart, gripping it like a vice. He wanted to make Zaira’s doubt disappear; he’d do anything to make that happen.

He took her hand. “Zaira—”

“Trent…don’t. Not right now.”

“Then when?” he asked.

This was the part where he was supposed to tell her that he really really liked her, had been infatuated with her since she almost ran over him with her motorcycle, and would do anything in his power to prove himself worthy of her trust. But he didn’t know how to say the words, they didn’t come easily. And he somehow knew that by opening up his heart again, he’d be vulnerable. But Zaira was different. He had to believe that, first and foremost.

“Friends are forever, Trent. You know that right?” she asked.

“I do.”

“Then why would you want to mess that up?”

“Who said anything about messing up our friendship?” he asked.

Zaira bit her bottom lip, and then shook her head. “I know you’re into one night stands.”

“People change,” Trent said.

She pinned her accusing gaze on him. “Do they?”

He exhaled. “So what do you want me to be to you?”

Zaira pressed her lips together and the veins on her throat moved as she swallowed. She chuckled, sliding her palm down her face. “Trent, you and I…we used to talk about our sex lives with each other. The good, the bad, the ugly. And you know what? I loved that. If we were to become
sex buddies
it would never feel the same.”

“We can talk about anything you like. It doesn’t matter if we’re friends or lovers.” He stroked the underside of her cheek. “Do you understand?”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

“Now that you’ve reminded me about our talks, how was it for you? Good, bad, or ugly?”

Zaira lips curled up into one of those bright smiles of hers. She was even sexier when she blushed. “It was incredibly exhilarating and what I needed. And for you?”

“Being with you is what I imagined it would be and more,” he said.

“What do you think we should do about all this?”

“We can take it one day at a time. We don’t have to rush into anything. But all of this feels right to me and it’s not just because we had sex.”

“All right.” She nodded. “But you’ve got to promise me one thing.”

“And that is?”

“I don’t want to get between you and your work here. That would complicate things, don’t you think?” she asked.

She was right. No matter how much he wanted her, he had to admit that she was a sweet distraction. He’d earned her father’s earnest trust over the years. Now was not the time to let Loyd Wright down. He was hired to oversee the finances of the company and he doubted his R.R. brother would be happy about him overseeing his daughter instead.

He nodded. “I agree. Some complications might arise.”

“Good. You understand me. I understand you.” Zaira pushed her chair back away from him and stood. “Just a few more weeks and my contract will be over here soon, and then…”

She reached out and traced the seam of his lips, sending a strong sensation shooting down his spine straight to his dick. He parted his lips and let her delicate finger inside. She tasted like jelly or jam, maybe something she had for breakfast on the way over here.

“And then,” she continued. “We can fuck all we want and anywhere we want.”

“Hmmm, just try and keep your hands off me,” he teased.

She shrugged. “I can do that.”

“We’ll see.”

Zaira walked around the desk to the other side and sat in the chair facing him. “Today we’ll look at the capital assets report. I hope you’ve had your coffee already this morning.”

She was definitely Loyd Wright’s daughter—attitude, ambition, and all.

“
O
h my gosh
,” Zaira panted, as she steadied herself on the ground after the bike ride. “That was so fun. I haven’t ridden like that in forever.”

Trent took her helmet and hung it on the handlebars with his own. “We should do that more often. The best time to ride is when the interstates aren’t too busy and then we can let loose for real.”

“I’d love too.”

“Shall we?” He held out his palm and shifted the sack filled with their lunch in the other.

Zaira looked over her shoulder where Tanya and Marcus were standing beside Marcus’s bike. The lovebirds had arrived before Trent and Zaira ever got here and it didn’t look like they were going to part anytime soon. They were lip locked and in a heated embrace. Her best friend was in love and it made Zaira smile.

“It looks like we lost our picnic buddies, so I guess we shall.” Zaira placed her hand in his and they headed toward the park and down a trail of large overhanging trees and thick bushes.

They spread a towel on a grassy area under a shady tree and took out the four mason jars and utensils. Cobb salad and strawberry shortcake were on the menu for lunch.

“Where did you get the idea of putting food in the jars from?” Trent asked, unscrewing the caps

“Something I saw on the food network channel,” she said. “I found the recipes there too.”

He passed her a fork and they began to enjoy the meal. “I’m glad that one of us knows how to cook. We were in and out of shelters so much, I barely learned how to scramble eggs. I don’t think I would’ve been much of a cook anyway. Even before my mom left, we were living on cheerios, hotdogs, and spaghetti.”

“I bet you can make a mean spaghetti and meatballs though,” she said.

He smiled. “Now that…I can do. You still know me very well.”

“Of course. I hope so, at least.”

“What else do you want to know? Our agreement still stands. You can ask me whatever you want?” he asked.

She stirred the salad around in the mason jar and ate some of it. “I’ve learned bits and pieces of how you came to be initiated into Rugged through Marcus, but how did you really meet him?”

“Hmmm.” Trent crunched on his salad. “I can’t believe I haven’t told you this yet.”

“Well things happened quickly when that scandal leaked.” Zaira shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about that right now. “And that’s because we picked each other’s brains all the time for other things.”

“How could I forget that you loved picking brains? You could be a lawyer, you know.”

“That’s what my dad wanted,” she said.

“Fathers always want what’s best for their daughters.”

Zaira stretched her legs outward on the blanket. “True…so about you and Marcus…how did you meet him?”

“At a car and bike show that I was working at. I had just gotten thrown out of my apartment at the time. Apparently my dad had put all of our money up in a bet. The entire checking account and all of our savings. He lost and didn’t tell me. I thought the rent was being paid—it wasn’t. By the time I found out, the account was clean except for the negative balance.”

“That’s awful.” Her lips parted in shock. “But you were living on your own in high school, weren’t you?”

“Basically. My dad never stayed put because he was all over the country gambling. Because I had to attend school, I needed an address and had to stay somewhere.”

“So you got kicked out of your apartment?”

He nodded. “And lost almost everything we owned when they evicted us.”

“You said the last time you slept on the streets was in middle school. So where did you stay?” she asked.

“I had full intentions of taking what I made subbing in at the car and bike show to pay for a few nights at a hotel. My next big betting round wasn’t for another couple weeks or so. Someone or something must have been looking out for me that day because I met Marcus. He’d just moved out of his parents home and was renting a two bedroom pad near the Virginia Tech campus.”

She nodded. “Isn’t that where Marcus earned the full scholarship?”

“Yep,” he confirmed.

Zaira put down her food jar and scooted closer to Trent in Indian-style fashion. “And that’s where you studied. Right?”

Trent nodded. “I could have enrolled anytime I wanted, but I kind of got used to getting into Marcus’s books and lecture notes. I guess I was discouraged because my mom once told me that I wasn’t good enough for the big universities.”

“Look what came of it. You are the exception and you’re smarter than anyone I know. You don’t need college smarts…you’ve got book smarts and street smarts.”

Trent smiled. “You have a way with your words. They make me feel good inside.”

Zaira took his hand in hers. “So you and Marcus were already Rugged members when you became good friends?”

“Yeah, but that’s only the gist of how Marcus and I came to be so close. I’ve never told you that I met Sean before Marcus, have I?”

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Sean? Do you mean Marcus’s youngest brother?”

He nodded. “Sean had been a member of R.R. long before Marcus and I. I had to stay put so my dad wouldn’t go to jail for not having me enrolled in school, but I still gambled. I was on the verge of getting my first big win when I met Sean at a race, but I didn’t know it yet…of course.”

“I hardly know Sean. He comes to one maybe two events a year and says maybe one or two things. And leaves. What’s with that?”

Trent scooped up the rest of his salad. “He’s just going through a hard time right now, but he was always the silent type anyway. Rebellious and independent.”

“Then he’s like Marcus to the tenth power,” she offered.

“Exactly. He goes after what he wants, but for the rest of the time he keeps a low-key profile. After the accident, he calmed down a bit though.” He screwed the cap back on the empty salad jar and reached for the canteen of water. “Sean races cars and bikes for a living and I met him right before one of his competitions. I’d never bet on races before that day. I was mainly into gambling, the act itself…not betting on someone else. I felt lucky that day. Sean ended up winning and I cashed in big. Every time I bet on him, he never lost. I had the courage to jump the security fence at a practice one day to meet him and ask for his autograph. He invited me out to have a beer and the rest…well you know the rest.”

“Interesting.” She opened up the desert jars and handed one to him.

“My turn,” he said.

“Okay.”

“Why’d you turn down your dad’s offer to lead his accounting department?”

She sighed. “I want to pave my own way to the top. Kind of like how you did it. I don’t believe in hand outs.”

“Fair enough. Where do you want to be five years from now?”

“Owning my own firm,” she said.

“Very ambitious. Sometimes you need a little help though. A bit of push in the right direction. It’s okay to accept help,” he said. “By the way, this lunch is really hitting the spot. I can eat this all day.”

Zaira blushed. “Why thank you.”

They talked like that all afternoon until the clouds darkened and the sun same down to meet the city horizon.