Stacie gripped his arm. “You did good. You got a top fifteen finish on a course that’s not your strong suit.”
Donny shrugged and bit into his pizza.
“She’s right,” Gray said. “You suck at road courses, and a top fifteen isn’t bad. I’d call that a win.”
“And you’re still leading in points,” Donny said with a wide grin.
“Which is important for our team right now,” Gray said. “We’ve got some tough races ahead. It’s only going to get more competitive. I’m only leading by thirty points.
McClusky and Stellen are right on my heels. They’re both hungry. I have to drive every race like it’s the championship.”
“I don’t know how you do it,” Evelyn said. “There must be incredible pressure on you.”
Gray shrugged. “You just have to focus on each individual race, not look too far down the road.”
“That’s what I keep telling Donny,” Stacie said. “One race at a time.”
“It’s a good philosophy,” Gray said. “If you start overthinking, you’re screwed.”
After they ate, the guys parked in front of the television to watch recaps of the race and to dissect their team performances. Evelyn and Stacie hung out in the kitchen.
“So, how are things going between the two of you?” Evelyn asked, keeping her voice low so the guys wouldn’t overhear.
Stacie grinned. “Better. I’m going back to school in the fall.”
“Are you? That’s great.” She took a quick glance over to where Gray and Donny were engrossed in the sports station before turning her attention back on Stacie. “And how does Donny feel about that?”
“Actually, he’s being very supportive. He told me I can’t help him with his career until I finish my education. He wants me in school, and he told me even though he’ll miss me, he promises to pull his head out of his ass and become the best driver on the circuit.”
“Good for him. And for you.”
“I’m excited. I’m going to miss him like crazy, but I’m also so close to being finished with school that I know if I just concentrate my efforts, I’ll be done in no time and then the two of us can be together permanently.”
“I think you’re making the right move.”
“I do, too. Plus, he’s hinted he wants to get married in the next year or so. I told him we need to take it one step at a time, but this is the first time I’ve really seen him so focused and committed.”
“I’m happy for you, Stacie.”
The glow emanating from Stacie was evident in her wide grin. “Thanks. I’m happy for me, too. For a while there it looked like there was no way things were going to work out for us. Now, everything’s falling into place. I just had to have faith in him.
And he has to learn to trust me. I love him and he has to realize I’m not going to leave him just because I’m not with him every second.”
“I have faith in both of you. I know it’s going to be fine.”
Stacie looked over at Donny, who caught her gaze and winked at her.
“See?” Stacie asked, lifting her shoulders and holding out her hands. “Freakin’
perfect.”
Evelyn wished she had the same confidence in her relationship with Gray, but there was no way things would work out between them.
There would be no miracles at the end of their relationship. Technically, they weren’t even in a relationship. They were working together, and they were bed buddies. And that’s as far as it went.
But being with Gray made her crave a relationship. Someone to come home to at night, to discuss the day’s events with, to snuggle under the covers with and make love with. She’d gotten used to that with Gray, and despite having spent the majority of her adult years alone—contentedly at that—now she wanted something different.
The idea of some nameless, faceless stranger, though, didn’t appeal to her in the least.
But that person wasn’t going to be Gray, and she’d just have to deal with that.
After Stacie and Donny left, Evelyn put away the leftover pizza and pulled the trash bag out. She was headed to the front door with it when Gray came out of the bedroom.
“Where are you going with that?”
She stopped and turned. “The Dumpster.”
He laughed. “Give me that. I’ll take it.”
She put a fresh trash bag in the can while he took out the trash. When he came back in, he leaned against the wall near the kitchen while she finished wiping down the counter. She looked up to find him staring at her.
“What?”
“Nothing. Me taking out the trash, you wiping down the kitchen counters. This just seems so domestic and . . . comfortable.”
She laughed. “Uh oh. Is that a bad thing?”
He came over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against him. “No.
It’s a good thing.”
He kissed the side of her neck, one of her favorite spots. She tilted her neck to the side to give him better access. And when he began to use his teeth to scrape across the tender spot between her neck and shoulder, she shuddered and let out a low moan.
“Aren’t you tired?” she asked as she rested her head against his chest.
“Is that your polite way of saying you’re not in the mood for sex?”
She smiled and snaked her arm around his neck. “I’m always in the mood for sex.”
“See? This is why we’re compatible. And no. I’m never too tired to make love to you.”
He cupped her br**sts, massaging them through her T-shirt and bra, driving her crazy because she wanted his hands on her naked flesh, while he was content to tease her with caresses. She finally pulled her T-shirt off and flicked the front clasp of her bra, popping it open.
He pulled it off and reached for her br**sts, brushing his fingers over her ni**les.
“That’s what I needed,” she said, her voice filled with the desire that never failed to capture her whenever Gray put his hands on her. The wonder of how she fell under his spell in an instant wasn’t lost on her. And when he put his arm around her back and bent to take one aching bud between his lips, he made her gasp. She watched as he sucked her ni**les until her clit and pu**y throbbed.
And then he turned her around and leaned her over the counter. “I want you this way,” he said, dragging her shorts and panties off.