I dried myself, took off my wet shorts and tugged back on the rest of my clothing. After dumping the towel in the bin by the pool house, I picked up my shoes.
As I walked back through the gardens towards the house in the moonlight, my bare feet warmed by the sun-heated stone, a plan formed.
I wanted Belle to accept my support. But I knew how stubborn she was and how independent.
That said, I also still needed a reserve driver, and her credentials as a fuel-efficiency expert were exemplary. Galanti’s latest prototype was still in development and the R&D team was struggling to recruit engineers of her calibre.
Perhaps there was a way to satisfy both my personal responsibilities and my professional needs where Belle was concerned. But I could not risk getting close to her again until I could control the hunger.
As I walked through the silent house to my bedroom, and shucked my damp clothes to step into the shower, the heat that had pounded in my veins ever since that afternoon swelled and throbbed again...
I took the stubborn erection in hand, feeling like a teenage boy. Why could I not control this need?
I pumped my shaft in fast, efficient strokes, the steaming water cascading over my back. The orgasm ripped through me and I let out a muffled shout.
But as I stepped out of the shower and my heartbeat slowed I could feel the tension tightening the muscles at the base of my spine all over again as I imagined seeing Belle again tomorrow—and the heated negotiations that were likely to ensue.
Belle as a love-struck girl was a temptation I had been unable to ignore. Unfortunately, Belle as an independent woman was even more irresistible.
CHAPTER SIX
Belle
‘YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS? I can’t possibly accept.’ I stared at Alexi, concerned not just by the stubborn line of his lips but the traitorous leap in my heart.
Apparently I still yearned for his approval, despite everything that had happened in the last five years. But, what was even more disappointing, I was fairly sure it wasn’t just his approval I wanted. I’d spent all night unable to sleep in the luxury surroundings of the guest cottage, obsessing about our kiss.
‘Why not? I need a reserve driver and you would be an excellent addition to my development team.’
‘It’s too much money,’ I said. The sum he’d offered to pay me for my work was ridiculous—and I suspected had more to do with what he perceived to be his financial responsibilities to Cai than to me. I had already refused a similar financial settlement offer the day before.
‘Of course it’s not. Your expertise is unique—the only reason you believe it is too much is because that cheapskate Camaro is paying you too little.’
‘I can’t be a reserve driver—I’ve already told you that.’
‘I know you have, but you never gave me an answer as to why not. And don’t lie to me and tell me your dreams have changed. No one changes that much. Being a driver was as much your dream as Remy’s.’
‘Which is precisely why it’s not my dream any more,’ I said, forcing myself not to flinch at the probing intensity in that pure blue gaze. ‘Remy died pursuing his dream. I can’t afford to take that risk.’
‘The risk is minimal and you know it,’ he shot back. ‘Remy was never as talented as you are. He was too easily distracted, too confident and too addicted to the adrenaline rush of speed. If he had lived he would have learned to curtail those impulses, but you already have.’
The thrumming in my chest increased, my ribs tightening as the desire to defend Remy’s impulsive behaviour was combined with the realisation that I had won Alexi’s admiration at last, and it mattered, even though it shouldn’t.
‘I appreciate the compliment, Alexi, but I don’t want to drive professionally any more because I have a son.’
He blinked, clearly surprised by this line of argument, which had my ribs squeezing my lungs. He really was clueless about the responsibilities of parenthood.
‘Childcare will not be a problem. Anything you need will be made available,’ he said, still not getting it. ‘In fact, if you would just accept the financial package my legal team outlined yesterday you wouldn’t even need to consider the boy’s care a problem.’
‘I don’t consider Cai’s care a problem. But it’s not childcare that’s the issue.’
‘Then what is the issue?’ he demanded as he paced towards me, throwing up his arms in exasperation.
‘The issue is, I can’t and won’t risk my life to pursue a dream, however slight the risk, because that would mean leaving my child without the only parent he has.’
He stiffened as if I had slapped him. And I realised what I’d said. Cai didn’t have just one parent, he had two. But I held back the knee-jerk apology.
I still wasn’t prepared to drive professionally—Alexi was a total stranger to Cai and, even if he weren’t, I would never want to leave my child without a mother.