But she wanted the fourth option, and thank fuck for that.
I removed my helmet, setting it beside hers, and remained on the bike. I propped a boot on the frame slider and rested an elbow on my knee, wanting nothing more than to enjoy the pleasure of watching her.
She had no idea how beautiful she was. The flickering excitement in her eyes. Her tight, curvy ass in those jeans. And her abandoned smile when her attention caught on Evader’s BMW S1000RR.
For a ridiculous moment, I was jealous of that damned bike. I wanted that smile pointed at me. But at the same time, it was her interest in racing that initially drew me to her. The mysterious Miss Ducati at the finish line captivated me long before I knew who she was.
Her attention shifted, and her eyes locked onto mine. She nibbled on the corner of her smile and shook her head. “So this is Evader’s cave.” She walked slowly toward me. “It’s unreal to be here.” Three more steps. “With the man I’ve fantasized about for so long.”
I felt something press against my breastbone from the inside, and just beneath the pressure, it strummed and warmed.
Her steady gaze held mine as she approached. I couldn’t look away. There was nothing hotter or more breathtaking than the view before me. Not just as a body to bury myself in or a purpose to fight for. Her beauty was in her loyalty to her best friend, her goodness amid a family of corruption, and her need for…something more.
It took me weeks to understand it, why I was so driven to be near her, why I wanted more than just sex with her, and why I wanted to give up everything to make her happy. She was my connection to life, my reason for fighting. She was why I felt so alive and wild and terrified. Because I felt all those things in her.
When she reached my side, she threw a leg over my lap and straddled the spread of my thighs around the bike. Face to face, she stared directly into my eyes, her body melting against mine, merging, conforming into a single beating heart.
Then she kissed me, melding her lips to mine and shoving her hands in my hair. I groaned and wrapped my arms around her back, inching her closer as I slid my fingers over the soft cashmere of her jacket. Coaxing her tongue, I deepened the kiss and flexed my hips, rocking against her and prompting her thighs to clench around me.
My pulse swished past my ears, and there was another sound, too. A voice clearing.
Kaci pulled back, and I followed her gaze to the door.
Benny leaned against the doorframe with her arms loosely crossed over her chest. She tilted her head to the side, wearing a gentle smile. In ten years, I’d never brought anyone home. She’d never seen me with a woman. I braced for some ridiculous wisecrack about my heavy breaths and the desperate way I’d been grinding my hips.
But she didn’t say anything, simply smiled. She seemed oddly…subdued. Not just her mood, but her appearance. Long brown hair framed her face, her huge green eyes soft and tranquil, tan cargo pants, and a white t-shirt. This was Benny without the glitter and hair-dye and obnoxious antics.
Kaci climbed off my lap. I was reluctant to let her go, but we had a million details to iron out before the race.
I followed her through the garage, eyeing Benny sharply. “What’s wrong?”
She straightened away from the doorjamb and shrugged. “It’s good, Logan. It’s just…” She looked between me and Kaci. “It’s really good to see you happy.”
After all the years she’d worked with me, navigating around my mercurial tempers, I supposed she wasn’t the only one with a sudden change in disposition.
She reached out a hand toward Kaci. “Hey. I’m Benny.”
Kaci accepted the handshake with a warm smile, and the reception moved into the main warehouse.
Mountains of boxes filled the basement. Benny had been busy, and perhaps that was another reason for her placid mood. After a decade of suffocating in plans of revenge, it was drawing to a close and there would be no resistance. She wanted to retire from illegal activities as much as I did. It was time to begin a new life, and I felt it take root in the softness of her eyes as she welcomed Kaci.
I took over the packing while Benny briefed Kaci on the race, the map, and the technology wired in the helmet she would be wearing. To maintain her anonymity, she wouldn’t be racing in her silver leathers, and her Ducati would remain at Trump Tower.
Benny introduced her to the bike I’d selected for her. The MTT Turbine Streetfighter wasn’t painted silver like the Ducati. But the chrome finish on the exhaust and bodywork suited the Lady Silver moniker. Her new helmet had a chrome-like veneer and was decked out with the same gadgetry as mine. Her excitement radiated from her pores as Benny taught her how to use it.