Page 36 of Drive Me Wild (Drive Me #2)

THIRTY-SIX

THEO

Another text from Martin comes in, but I don’t bother reading it. Just like I’ve ignored the other seventy-five texts I’ve received today. I don’t need to justify or explain my decision to anyone. It’s my life. And right now, this is exactly where I want to be.

I’ve heard Josie talk about Gemini enough that walking in shouldn’t be as awe-inducing as it is. The entry is a record shop, minus a cashier and cash register. My eyes zip and zoom around, not knowing where to focus. CDs from the 2000s and first-generation iPods sit in a display case, artist and band posters are tacked to the walls, and shiny instruments sparkle under the lighting.

The floorboards covered by a Persian rug creak under my weight as I explore the space. I briefly sift through a bin of vinyl records and laugh because only Josie would position The Beatles and Megan the Stallion next to one another.

Taking a deep breath, I head toward the real entrance of Gemini. Goosebumps ripple down my arms. I haven’t seen Josie in five weeks. Five weeks without her smile that feels like a hug. Five weeks without her hair fanning across my chest as she cuddles me in her sleep. Five weeks without her lips on mine. Five weeks without my best friend. My person. My heart.

I push through the door with an alarming amount of force and briefly worry that it’s about to fall off the hinges. Stepping forward, I’m greeted by Kelsey standing behind the bar holding a knife. In his defense, he’s cutting lemons and limes, so it makes sense, but still, the sight is frightening.

Kelsey lifts his head. “Theo? What’re you doing here?”

“I’m just, uh—” I crack my knuckles, and take it all in. “Wow. The place looks amazing.”

He wipes his hands on the apron tied around his waist before waving me over. I keep my eyes focused on the knife that’s still within his arm’s reach as I head over to the bar.

“All Josie,” he comments. “Assuming you’re here looking for her?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s in the back, but should be out in a minute or two.”

“I just want to wish her luck tonight,” I explain awkwardly. “Let her know how proud I am of her.”

Kelsey slides a glass of water across the bar. “She watched all your races religiously, you know. We both did. She even had me rooting for you instead of Lucas for some of the races, but don’t tell him that.”

Rubbing my neck, I shrug. “Well, Jos is a McAllister fan through and through.”

“She’s a you fan, mate,” he corrects me. “Don’t think she knows McAllister even has another driver.”

There’s no use trying to fight my smile. “I’m a Josie fan, too.”

“I hope the two of you work things out soon, because I don’t know if I can listen to one more of her Taylor Swift playlists.”

“Hate to break it to you, mate, but they all have Swift on ‘em.”

He groans and takes a sip of his drink. “I should’ve guessed. The?—”

A voice I’d recognize in a chorus of thousands interrupts whatever Kelsey is about to say. I whip my head around and the breath gets sucked right out of my chest. Josie stands there in a svelte green knit dress, looking positively radiant. She’s a rare flower—so breathtakingly stunning that it’s an honor to even look at such beauty, both inside and out.

“What are you doing here?” Josie rushes over to me and jabs her finger into my chest. “Are you aware there’s a Grand Prix tomorrow?”

As if on cue, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Probably another text from Martin. Or Blake. Or Russell. Or one of the million people who have been blowing up my phone all day, asking where I am. All I told my team was that something came up and McAllister needs to call up a reserve driver. Blake’s probably torturing the poor bloke right now.

“I am.”

Her eyebrows furrow. “You’re missing qualifying.”

“Yep.”

“You can’t race if you miss qualifying,” she says rapidly.

“I’m well aware, angel. I’ve driven in Formula 1 for quite a while now.”

Voices of staff arriving through the back entrance filter through the room. My timing could not have been worse, but Kelsey saves the day and offers to let us chat in his office. It’s hardly an office considering the small space barely fits a desk and a chair, let alone two people, but at least it’s private.

Josie’s lips part slightly as she stares at me in utter confusion. “What are you doing here, Theo?”

“This is a huge night for you, babe, and I wanted to support you. Show you how proud I am of you.”

“I… I thought you were mad at me,” Josie says quietly, her eyes downcast.

Now it’s my brows that dip forward in confusion. “Jos, what could possibly make you think that?”

“You’ve been ignoring my calls and texts for over a week. I thought you were upset I made you deal with,” she waves her hands in front of her, “everything on your own. I wasn’t there for you, and I should’ve been.”

“No, Jos,” I reassure her with the shake of my head. “You needed to focus on you. And the time apart made me focus on my own shit. It’s what I needed, too.”

As much as I want to spend the next hour filling Josie in on everything that’s transpired over the past week, this is her night, not mine.

“But I really fucking missed you,” I add.

“Missed you, too, baby.” The familiar pet name loosens the tension in my back. Josie rests her hands on my chest and my rapidly beating heart goes wild at her touch. “And I don’t want any more alone time. I want you. I want us .”

My aim wasn’t to speed up Josie’s timeline, but I’d be lying if this wasn’t the best-case scenario. “Oi?”

“Oi,” she says in a terrible Australian accent. “I love you.”

Grinning like an idiot, I say, “Thank fucking fuck.”

I bow my head and tenderly press my lips against Josie’s. My tongue finds hers and we explore each other with soft caresses, with no care in the world. There isn’t the slightest doubt in my mind that I’m the luckiest man alive.

Josie pulls away first. Brown eyes meet blue, both filled with magnetic intensity. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I kept holding out hope that things would change,” I admit. I run my fingers through her hair, loving the way her blonde locks feel soft against my skin. “And when they didn’t, I was embarrassed, I guess. Hurt that a team I invested so much time in didn’t care.”

“Theo.” She cups my face in her hands. “If there’s anything to be embarrassed about, it’s how horribly you sing in the shower. And you yourself said it. You’re number one at everything, especially at giving me orgasms. But your team should know that first and foremost—not the orgasm part, I meant the part about you being the best.”

I cover my lips with hers in a silent thank you. “Love you so much, angel. I thought I lost you, eh?” I murmur against her lips. “It hurt worse than getting kicked in the nuts.”

Josie’s head flings back as she laughs. “You get that off a Hallmark card, Walker?”

“Pinterest.” I run my palms against the material wrapped around her waist. The voices filtering through the crack in the door are getting hard to ignore, so I ruefully suggest, “You should probably go greet some people, yeah? Socialize and schmooze?”

She deserves to be celebrated for the hard work she’s put into Gemini. Hell, she deserves to be celebrated every day for simply being her. Josie clasps her hands behind my neck and tenderly works her fingertips into the base of my skull. Her soft touch is my Achilles heel and I grit my teeth to block a moan from slipping out. “I hate when you use logic, Walker.”

“I’m a smarty pants, Bancroft.” I chuckle. “Or did you forget?”

“You didn’t know the plastic applicator was supposed to come out when a woman puts in a tampon,” Josie reminds me. “You’ve also referred to salt as ‘white pepper’ on numerous occasions.”

“That happened twice !”

She rolls her brown eyes. Damn, I missed her being annoyed with me. I missed everything about her.

“You’ll stay?” A flicker of nerves passes through her eyes. “For the party?”

My fingers dance across her shoulders. “Of course, princess. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

The party lasts until nearly two in the morning. It’s by far the latest I’ve ever stayed up the night before a race, even one I’m not racing in, but my body is on high alert. I tried, and failed, to keep my PDA to a minimum, but I’m stuck to her like a magnet.

Once the last guest leaves, Kelsey and Josie dissect every aspect of the opening.

“Do you think people had a good time? They liked everything?” Josie swivels her head to me. “What did you think?”

“I think it was brilliant. The food was outstanding. I get why you freaked out over Jamie Wolff. He lives up to the hype.”

Russell’s going to have to whoop my arse back into shape after all the bang bang shrimp I ate.

“You were brilliant, Josie,” Kelsey adds.

Her cheeks flush under his praise. She made the right choice. Jos deserves to have a job—and boss—who appreciates the hell out of her.

“Why don’t you two head out of here? I’ll make sure everything gets locked up for the night.”

Josie tilts her head. “Are you sure? We can stay to help. It’s not a problem, Kelsey.”

He looks at my hand, which is lightly rubbing Josie’s bare arm. “I think this one is eager to get you alone.”

I’ve never loved another man so much.

We’re barely through the door to Josie’s flat before my hands start removing articles of clothing. I need to be as close to her as humanly possible. Tell her she’s all I ever want. Taste the warmth of her lips pressing against mine. Feel her body desperate to be joined with mine.

I press my lips against her collarbone and gently pepper her chest in kisses until her breathing quickens. I grab a condom from her bin of eclectic sex toys and then fit myself on top of her, and our limbs tangle together in all the right places. There’s no need for foreplay, and I easily settle deep inside her.

“Jesus Christ,” Josie moans.

I grin cheekily. “Nah, just me.”

Her laughter turns to gasps as I begin rocking into her. I wish I could make a playlist out of all the noises she makes. Josie wraps her legs around my waist to pull me deeper, and I happily oblige. Our moans fill the air as we give each other what we’re hopelessly craving. Josie writhes beneath me, rotating her hips against mine as I dip my head down and gently suck on her pert nipples.

“You feel so good, princess,” I rasp.

Josie lifts my head by grasping my jaw and greedily sears her lips against mine. I could kiss her forever. Hell, I plan on kissing her forever. I melt into her touch and bask in the feel of her under me, touching me, loving me.

Littering kisses across her exposed skin, I feel her involuntarily clench against me. I brush back her hair so I can watch her face as she comes undone.

“Come for me, baby,” I whisper against her lips. “Let me feel you.”

Her orgasm consumes her, and she arches her back, lustfully moaning. I don’t let up and pound into her until the twist in my belly gets closer and closer to my own release. Deep guttural noises come from my chest as my orgasm rolls through me. My arms tremble from holding myself up, but fuck if it’s not the most magical feeling in the goddamn world. The Disney World of sex, if you will.

It’s only been a few weeks since I’ve been with her, but that time made me forget how good she makes me feel. How good I make her feel. It’s like I’ve hidden our lovemaking deep into my subconscious to help me survive our time apart. And now that we’re reunited, it’s overwhelming. Slow tears fall from my eyes as I cradle Josie’s face. My beautiful angel. What the hell did I do to deserve her?

“Oh my God. Are you okay?” Josie stammers, her words rushed. “Did I break your penis? Because it’s possible; my mum told me. I know the penis isn’t actually a bone, despite the word boner, but it’s more of a pressure overload than a break, anyway. Do?—”

I kiss her deeply so she stops her insane but adorable worrying. “I’m just happy, is all.”

“I’m happy, too,” Josie says, her eyes fluttering as exhaustion finally sets in. “Want me to sing Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ for you?”

I flop onto my back and pull her on top of me. She settles against me like she’s done thousands of times before. Usually, Mademoiselle is tucked underneath a pillow, but now she’s snuggled comfortably next to Monsieur to the left of my head. Josie doesn’t bother hiding her stuffed animals anymore.

“What about ‘Walking on Sunshine’?” I suggest.

“Or ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’?”

We go back and forth, listing off feel-good songs until Josie dozes off, her warm breath hot against my chest. Even in a bed with low thread-count sheets and permanently dented pillows, I’ll sleep better than ever just because I’m with her.

That’s what Josie does. She makes everything better. Every cup of coffee and matcha latte tastes more delicious when I’m drinking it next to her. Every song sounds better when she’s singing it because it’s so completely her. Every story I tell is funnier when she lets one of her giggles loose. She makes the most mundane, everyday type of shit exciting. She’s the love of my life. And here, with her, is exactly where I belong.