Page 51

CHAPTER 51

Connor

My back aches from the tension of the Coulter family argument. I rub Senna’s shoulders and arms from behind as we stand in the lift in the Coulter office building, although it’s more to comfort me than her. Her reflection in the lift mirror offers me a half smile, which makes my stomach jittery.

We could’ve returned home, where I would’ve fed her spoonfuls of ice cream or held her close. I’m sure she needs to be in control of something, and while I can’t book a secret race track with Hypercars at a minute’s notice, I can do this.

We slip into her office. I wasn’t lying about wanting to go down on her beneath her desk. I’ve had a ridiculous number of fantasies about her and this desk, but this is about what she wants and helping her recognise her power.

“Connor, did you mean what you said about me earlier?” she says timidly.

She stands awkwardly near the door. I read her wrong. She didn’t need to be the boss. She needs to be cherished and adored.

I gather her in my arms, basking in her orange blossom scent and the softness of her blond waves. “Which bit, Coults?”

“All of it?”

I brush kisses to her forehead. “Yes, baby. I meant every word. You’re incredible. And I count my blessings every day that you chose me. You love me. I’ve waited every day since the summer for you to come to your senses and realise I’m nowhere near good enough for you.”

Her lips whisper against my skin, “Never. I adore you. I loved you when we were younger. But this is different. It’s like I might die if I don’t see your face or hear from you. I never want to be with anyone else. When you race, I’m terrified something will happen to you because my life would be over if it did. But I don’t want to stop you being you.”

I lift her and carry her to her desk, propping her on the edge. “I don’t want to stop you from being you, either.”

Her smile breaks my heart into a million pieces and then sews them together again. Now, it’s made for her.

“Have you been in love before?” she asks, running her fingers through my hair. I close my eyes and let her grazing touches soothe me.

“I’m surprised you don’t know. But maybe there were times when, during the years we weren’t speaking, you didn’t follow my life because it hurt too much. That’s how it was for me.”

She hums in agreement. All those years, we were emotionally holding hands through our conflict.

“I’ve been in love three times.” She gasps. I stand between her thighs and pin them with my hands so she can’t go anywhere. Moonlight streams through the window. Her curvy earrings spin, and the light cascades off them. “And all three times were with you.”

I smooth the lines of her forehead before dropping a kiss against her lips.

“The first time I knew I loved you was the night before your last race. I sat beside you on the sofa. You slept against me, making the same cute snores you do now.”

“I don’t snore.” She gives me a playful shove, but I take her hand and brush my lips against her wrist.

“Yes, you do, baby, and I fucking love those sounds.” She twists her mouth into the cutest smile. “That night, as you slept beside me, I knew what I felt for you wasn’t a teenage crush. I loved you as much as an eighteen-year-old lad with no sense can. But I couldn’t tell you. I was scared your brother would kill me because of that fucking pact or you’d laugh at me. There was stuff going on with my dad, too, but I still had this need to ask you out. And then I hit you, and you crashed and?—”

“And I refused to speak to you ever again.” She holds my face between her hands.

Tears collect in her eyelashes, and my vision blurs from the painful memories.

“And part of me thought I’d never recover. All I wanted to do was hold you and promise to be better, but you didn’t want anything to do with me. Over time, I pushed the feelings down, but really, I still loved you. You were always here.” I press her palm against my heart. “And then I went to Ralf and Myles’s wedding last summer.”

“I didn’t see you there. I searched,” she admits with a flush to her cheeks. I kiss the little dots of red.

My smile is sudden and unwavering. “Because you hated me and wanted to beat me to death with your bridesmaid bouquet?”

She chuckles.

I curl a wave of her hair around my fingers. Her tears haven’t fallen but still make flecks of gold shine from her hazel eyes. “I hid in the back because, as much as I was invited, I also knew it might cause unwanted attention.”

“Because you’re such a big star?” she teases.

I wrap her arms around my neck. “No, because Myles’s daughter had a massive crush on me. Before I slipped out, she chased after me. I explained I was in love with someone else and always had been and that although they didn’t love me, there would never be anyone else for me. She wasn’t happy, but she respected my issues with unrequited love, and then she went straight on Tinder.”

“And I was the person you loved?” Her voice is so light. I want to make love to her and hear her sing my name from her beautiful lips, but I’m not done yet.

“Yes. The moment you stood at the front of the ceremony with your hair in that delicate style, my heart stopped. I wanted to play with that pink flower behind your ears and carry the shoes you would’ve ditched somewhere so you could be barefoot. You were beautiful.”

She shrugs. “I was all right.”

“You were a vision. Before I left, you told the best man he couldn’t tell a cruel joke in his speech. You were around a corner from me. I couldn’t see you, but I heard you. Ralf’s brother was such a big bruiser of a man, yet there you were, standing up to him and ensuring the speech must be words of love. That was the second time I fell in love with you.”

Her laughter makes me want to close my eyes and immerse myself in it forever. “Because I told off a grumpy bastard?”

“Because I was reminded of the Senna who cares about her people and wants everyone to be happy. I wanted to be one of your people and feel that care. It also helped that in the ceremony, the slit in your dress opened, and I caught a glimpse of your phenomenal legs.”

She smiles, and my heart stops again. “I insisted the hair and make-up team make me stunning because Ralf told me he’d invited you.”

I gulp loudly. “You wanted to look your best for me?”

“Yes. Even though I hated you. They said they’d never worked with such a bossy bridesmaid before.”

“That’s my girl.” I kiss her smiling lips hard. “I left the wedding after you berated Ralf’s brother and I realised that my love for you hadn’t gone away after all those years. I knew you hated me, so I’d never be truly happy. Nothing in my life would be enough because I’d never have you.”

“Oh.” She fists my shirt, unable to meet my gaze.

“I was a mess. I didn’t want to be with any other woman after that. I struggled with driving because it didn’t give me the joy I craved. It got worse after Niki’s crash. When I started working for you, I hated it because, deep down, I still loved you. But I was reminded how much you detested me. I couldn’t have you, so I didn’t want to be around you.”

Tears slip down my cheeks, and Senna cradles me.

“It’s okay. We have each other now. Nothing will change that,” she whispers, kissing away my tears.

“Hopefully your brother won’t kill me.” I’m shaking at the words that were on my tongue the entire drive to her office. “I’d sacrifice everything for you. I’ll go up against him and do anything to keep your heart.”

“I won’t let him hurt you. We’ll convince him that we should be together. You’re not a fuckboy. You’re the most loving man I’ve ever met. I only want you forever.”

“Forever sounds perfect.”

I tangle my fingers in her hair, and she pulls my shirt out of my trousers and unbuttons it. I’ve never allowed myself to be this vulnerable with anyone, but she won’t hurt me.

She blesses my skin with kisses. I unsnap my trousers. Her fingers stroke the tattoo of her best lap time under my arm. She can’t resist touching it when we’re alone together. My nerves spark like lightning as she appraises me.

“You’re so beautiful. I could stare at you for hours.” Slowly, she pushes down my underwear, and I kick off my shoes and rid myself of my trousers and boxers. She wraps her hand around my dick, and my head falls back. “This is what I want.”

“That’s my girl,” I hiss as she fists my cock.

She strokes me up and down, and my legs shake. Little hairs rise all over my skin, and I moan in desperation for her.

She moistens her lips in a way that is so fucking tempting. “Connor, you’ve given me more than I hoped. You believe in me in a way no one else does. You challenge me and listen to me. You trust me and give me the safety to be me.”

“Yes, baby,” I growl. I struggle to focus on her words even though I understand their importance.

My body demands I stay with her hand wrapped around me, yet somehow, I step back. I lift her dress up and off until she’s seated in her purple underwear on the edge of her desk. My mouth goes dry as I take my time to stare. She reaches for my cock again, but with an arched eyebrow, I pin her wrists with my hand.

“Not yet, beautiful. I want to remember the moment I finally see my sexy boss in her underwear sitting on her desk for eternity.”

Her smile is coy, and my heart flutters. I clear my throat. I pull her into my arms and lift her. She wraps her legs around me, grinding on my erection as I carry her over to her new cream-fabric sofa and lay her on it.

I settle between her thighs. I tuck my fingers under her bra straps and drag them down.

I ghost kisses to her shoulders as she huffs. My lips follow the curve of her bra. I’m hard for her, but this isn’t the quick fuck I initially fantasised when I imagined our time in her office.

“You’re so sexy, baby. You’re this badass boss woman, and yet you chose me.” I pull down one cup and run my tongue around her nipple. She pushes her pelvis up to me, demanding more.

“You chose me first,” she says between gasps. “And now you’re mine forever.”

Her hazel eyes swirl with colour.

She whimpers and moans as I duck down, lathering and biting one nipple while pulling down the other cup and trailing my fingers across the other nipple.

My mouth hovers over her breast as I blow across it. She shivers. My fingers slide down her belly and into her knickers. She’s so wet for me. I tease her clit, never pressing hard enough but not pulling away.

“Yours,” I reply, pressing my fingers inside her as my thumb rubs her clit. She grinds against the palm of my hand, and I push against her.

My cock presses against her, and I slide down her knickers.

“I love you, Coults.”

I ease my cock inside her and wait. She moves and writhes, desperate for me to fuck her, but this is the moment I’ve waited for. Nothing compares to being inside the woman I love in the sanctuary of her office. We’ll remember this moment when I return for a meeting, especially if she’s reprimanding me. My cock stretches her. Her legs and arms are around me as I feather kisses across her body.

“I love you, too, Connor,” she whispers as I pull back and press deeper.

I lose track of time as we cuddle, kiss, and revel in our intimacy. The world could burn around us, and I’d still be here with the woman I love, keeping us safe.