Deceive (Declan Reede: The Untold Story #2) (17 page)

“What?” she asked with a smirk.

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

“Tell me.” She pouted.

“No way, I value my manhood and everything that goes along with it too much.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, then quirked her eyebrow. “Speaking of your manhood and everything that goes with it . . . you might wanna put the car back in the garage.” She nodded her chin in my direction and then started laughing as she began to throw her belongings back into her suitcase.

Glancing down, I saw what she meant. My prominent morning wood was hidden only by my boxers—and barely hidden at that. My pants hung low on my hips with my zipper wide open.

Tucking myself back into my pants, I did up my zipper before dragging myself off the couch. It was only when I stood that I felt the effects of my night of drinking. A headache pounded just behind my eyes and my mouth tasted like arse.

The last thing I needed before my big date was a hangover. Worse, butterflies were doing loop-the-loops in my stomach making me feel nauseous. I put it down to an empty stomach after a long night of drinking. Coffee, food, and a few painkillers would hopefully make it a little better. If not, being with Alyssa again would definitely help.

At the thought of Alyssa, the butterflies turned into dive-bombers, smashing against the walls of my stomach. It was as if I was nervous about seeing her again, but that couldn’t be the case. What I had planned for the day was perfect, wasn’t it? I was going to be back in my element, albeit with Alyssa by my side, but that only made it better. If nothing else, I was going to show her my world—my life. That thought had me floating into the bathroom with a change of clothes. I needed to shower and shave before our date.

An hour later, I pulled in to the airport to drop Eden off. I offered to escort her all the way through to check-in but she argued with me, telling me in no uncertain terms that she was a big girl and there was no point in keeping Alyssa waiting. She pecked my cheek and wished me luck as she climbed out of the car.

Before I drove off, I glanced at Eden waving at me in my rear-view mirror with a knowing smile on her face.

When I stopped for a quick bite to eat on the way back to Browns Plains, I popped a couple of paracetamol to shake the remnants of the pounding headache from a night on the daiquiris.

As I closed the distance to Alyssa’s house, my hands started to shake and I had to grip the steering wheel tighter to stop the quivers. It was ridiculous how nervous I was. It was only Alyssa after all, but then again . . . it was Alyssa. With everything else that had happened, it felt like the date was a last chance attempt to be together. If I fucked up, she would be lost.

When I pulled up in front of her house, I saw the curtain ruffle. By the time I turned off the car, she was already locking the door, with Phoebe standing beside her. Both of them were smiling broadly. Clearly they’d been waiting for me. I checked the clock to confirm I wasn’t running late.

I wasn’t.

Without even stopping to think about my actions, or whether it was a good idea, I ran from the car and pulled Alyssa tightly into my arms. It felt like I hadn’t seen her in a week, even though it had only been a day. I placed one hand behind her head and buried my face in her neck, breathing deeply, before turning my face and kissing her softly on the cheek.

“I missed you,” I whispered against her skin. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. I could see her mouth turning up into a smile. After I knew she was happy, I knelt down beside her, and turned my attention to Phoebe.

“Hey, Pheebs,” I said quietly. Her eyes met and held mine as she gave a small grin.

“Declan!” she squealed, throwing her arms around my neck and surprising me. “I’m going to see Aunty Kelly today.”

I gave Alyssa a quizzical look. “Aunty?” I mouthed.

Alyssa shrugged and glanced at Phoebe. I guessed it meant she wasn’t willing to say more while Phoebe was around.

“Do you like Aunty Kelly?” I asked.

Phoebe nodded and her ponytails bounced in time with her enthusiasm.

“That’s good, ’cause I have it on good authority that she’s very excited about spending time with you.” I stood back up. “You both ready to go?”

Alyssa seemed anxious, but they both nodded. I indicated my car and Phoebe ran over to it and smiled at me.

“Do you like my car?” I asked her, because she’d only been in the tiny Barina the last time I was with her.

“Yes!” Her eyes lit up.

“Well, hop in. We’ll go for a quick spin before we go to Aunty Kelly.”

I helped her into the backseat and then stepped back so Alyssa could do up the child seat, granting me exactly the view I’d fantasised about before I’d taken them on the date to Maccas. It was everything I’d imagined it would be, but with my sweaty palms and dry mouth, I couldn’t really enjoy it as much as I’d thought I might.

Alyssa climbed into the passenger side and gave me a small, nervous smile as she put her seat belt on. I leaned over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, giving her what I hoped was a calming look. The flutters in my stomach had gone from loop-the-loops to full aerial acrobatics, including death-dives and barrel-rolls.

For a few minutes, I drove around the local streets. Each time we reached a set of lights, I took off hard, mostly because it elicited a round of giggles from Phoebe. After a ten minute joyride, I pulled up at Mum’s and waited beside the car while Alyssa helped Phoebe out.

With a wide smile firmly in place, Mum opened the door almost the same second I finished knocking. Phoebe dashed into her arms, and they gave each other a hug. I was amazed to see the relationship they had despite the struggle of having to dance around my mistakes and my fuckwit father. Mum whispered to me that the box I needed was in my room.

I left the three of them to say their hellos as I walked down the hall to grab the box Danny had sent. Other than the few dents, holes and scratches in the walls, the room was completely straightened and it was impossible to tell the extent of damage I’d caused in my rage. Making a mental note to thank Mum later, I took the box out to the car, ignoring the strange glances from Alyssa as I passed.

“You ready to get going?” I asked her when I returned to the house.

She took a deep breath before swallowing audibly. After a moment, she nodded. She seemed to recognise, like I did, that today was pivotal for our relationship. I hoped after today we could stop the pussyfooting bullshit and just be together. We needed to decide whether we were going to have a relationship or not, and move on either way. My heart ached at the thought that it might go wrong. There was a chance Alyssa might run after today. But I could only hope for the best and do what I could to sway her in my direction.

“What was in the box, Declan?” she asked when we were pulling out of Mum’s driveway.

I smiled at her. “You’ll see. I promise.”

“When?”

“Soon. Real soon.”

After all, it was only a little under an hour’s drive to Willowbank.

To Queensland Raceway.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: QUEENSLAND RACEWAY

“SO,
AUNTY KELLY
?” I asked Alyssa, to break the silence in the car.

She shrugged. “It was just something we agreed on after the twins were born. We could hardly call her Nana. Not without telling the whole town that I was your loser ex-girlfriend who—”

“Don’t,” I said, cutting her off.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t ever call yourself that.”

She shrugged.

I grabbed hold of her hand and brought it to my lips. “No. I won’t let you refer to yourself that way. You are the woman who’s held my heart captive for years, even if I was a fuckwit and didn’t see it.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shake her head as her tears fell. “I haven’t though. I wasn’t enough for you.”

I checked my blind spot, ensuring no one was in the lane next to me, then swerved into the emergency stopping lane and pulled the car to a hard stop. Before she could resist, I turned her and gently cupped my hands around her face. “You can’t think that. This—all of this shit—it’s about me. It’s my fault and has nothing to do with you. You were always too good for me. Too pure and wonderful. You held my heart in your hands from the first moment I saw you, and that scared the fuck out of me.”

She closed her eyes, and the tears fell in earnest. “You left. So easily. And you never once called me or asked anyone about me. I didn’t hear from you for four years . . . except the email.”

Her pain was etched onto every line of her face and clear in the timbre of her voice. I needed to explain the one thing that I had only just recently understood myself. “I left . . . and I
couldn’t
ask about you. Don’t you see? If I’d asked about you, if I’d allowed myself to believe for even one second that I still cared about you, I would have been back in Brisbane in a heartbeat.”

I gently brushed the tears off her cheeks before leaning forward to kiss the salt trails left on her face. My eyes closed as I tasted her sorrow on my lips. It was a palpable presence around her, and I knew the path to
us
would only be accessed by confronting it.

Her fear and mistrust were born of that sorrow. They were the walls and gatekeeper, protecting the entrance to her heart and soul. I saw it clearly in that moment. I couldn’t say exactly when I had grown the fuck up and understood that fact, but I knew that it could only be a good thing. A positive thing for myself, for Alyssa, and, most importantly, for Phoebe.

I gave Alyssa one final chaste kiss on the mouth before pulling back and taking in her beauty. My thumb grazed along her right cheek and she leaned in to the touch. “You may not believe in me, but believe in that. Believe in my touch and our love. I know you feel it too . . . that
thing
that happens when we come together. I’ve never found that with anyone else.”

She opened her mouth to talk, her eyes filled with self-doubt, but I pressed my finger lightly to her lips to silence her.

“And I don’t want to try. Not ever again. I’m not my father, Alyssa. I am committed to you . . . to us. Until the day you send me away.”

“Declan, I . . .” She trailed off with a sigh and put on a smile, which was obviously forced. “I’m sorry I brought it up. Let’s just go to Willowbank.”

“Okay, that’s—” I stopped when I realised what she said. “Wait, why do you think that’s where we’re going?”

She laughed, and it almost rang true. “You think I don’t know the way to Willowbank? I mean, honestly, what else is out here? Not to mention you look like a schoolboy who’s just been told his school is closed for the day.”

I held up my hands in protest. “Fine. You caught me,” I said jokingly. “Do you still want to go?”

“I’m still willing to see what you’re going to subject me to,” she said with a smirk. Her smile turned more genuine, and I made a silent oath to keep it there all day. Grinning, I winked at her, put the car in gear, and then pulled back out onto the highway.

Once the car was back up to speed, I reached across and grabbed Alyssa’s hand. With a smile on my face, I rested our joined hands on my lap. She didn’t attempt to pull away or shake off my grasp, which made my smile wider. After a few minutes she did break away, but only for long enough to turn on the radio before placing her palm back where it had rested on my thigh.

The radio proved to be the perfect distraction, and soon we were both singing along at the top of our lungs. The radio station was doing an “All Naughties” music special, playing all the songs we’d fallen in love to. I took it as an omen that it was going to be a fuck-awesome day.

I pulled into the car park and stopped in front of the sign that read,
V8 Experience
. Alyssa turned to me with a dazed look on her face.

“Is this . . . is that what we’re doing? Are you driving us around the track? In one of those?”

“No,” I said, with an innocent smile on my lips.

She breathed out in relief.

“You are.”

Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened. “Really?”

I jumped out of the car and ran around to her door before she had a chance to open it. “Really.”

“So then . . . what’s in the box?” she asked, with a little bit of fear—or possibly anticipation—in her voice.

“Your suit and helmet. And mine.”

When she looked at me she had a wide grin on her face.

“
Really
?” her voice was high-pitched, almost a squeal. The doubt I’d felt over my choice in date evaporated.

“You want to check it out?” I asked, and offered her my hand.

As she nodded, her excitement was evident and rippled through her. Her fingers clutched tightly around mine. I led her to the back of the car and pulled open the boot. Resting just inside was the box that Danny had sent up—complete with two Sinclair Racing race suits and two matching helmets.

“Can I?” Alyssa asked, her hands already extended halfway to the box.

I shrugged. “The small one is yours to do with what you will. Although, I do hope you’ll put it on and go for a spin.” I ran my eyes over her body, just imagining her curves squeezed into the suit. My dick sprang to immediate attention. I turned toward the bumper so that my
situation
wouldn’t be obvious to Alyssa. Then I reached for the box and positioned it to provide coverage.

“C’mon,” I said, nodding toward the office.

“I’m not going to have to drive with someone else am I?” she asked, glancing around anxiously.

“Alyssa, look who you’re with!” I said, pretending to be offended. “Danny’s organised the lot. I’m going to take you round and show you how to do it. Then it’ll be your turn. You’ll just have to trust that I’ll keep you safe and listen to my instructions carefully.”

“So are we really going on the track?”

I put the box down on a bench. “This track and the car are ours exclusively for the next four hours. Obviously the safety people have to be around, but other than that, we’ll be left completely alone.”

“Wow.”

I smiled. I knew this date would either bring us closer or drive a bigger wedge between us. Judging by the wide-eyed expression on her face, the day was going exactly as I’d dared to hope.

“Through there to get changed,” I said as I threw her suit at her. “Just make sure you leave your t-shirt on underneath, otherwise it’ll chafe like a bitch.”

She giggled a little as she caught the suit and disappeared into the ladies’ room less than a second later.

Yep, she was fucking excited. My heart skipped a beat or two at the thought.

After she’d disappeared, I grabbed my own suit and headed to the men’s room. I dressed as quickly as I could because I didn’t want to leave Alyssa alone for long with the number of wolves that were no doubt hanging around the track. I’d seen the draw of female drivers often enough. There was something about a sexy girl in a tight-arse driving suit in control of a fuck-hot V8 that just did things to men.

When I left the men’s room, I stopped short. Alyssa was waiting for me and walking was no longer an option. She was red-hot; so hot she was on fucking fire. I’d seen plenty of women wearing a race suit, and none of them even came close to looking as sexy as she did.

She’d taken her hair out and was shaking it loose, sending the curls flowing down over her shoulders. The black of the suit contrasted deliciously with her milky skin. I swallowed as hard as I could to remove the lump in my throat, but nothing was going to shift the one in my pants.

She must have heard my steps, because she started talking to me.

“What’s the matter?” she asked as she turned toward me. “Cat got your—”

She stopped short as her eyes raked over my body. For the first time ever, I felt self-conscious in my race suit. I’d done promotional shoots with at least a dozen grid girls, but no one had ever made me feel so attractive, and at the same time attracted me so much, as she did in that instant. I felt the need to run over to her and mark her as mine in any way possible. Particularly in any way that including rubbing up and down against her lemur style. Instead, I gave her an unsteady smile and released the breath that was stuck in my throat. “You ready?”

She nodded, but her lip quivered and her hands shook.

God, she’s going to be the death of me.
Reaching for her helmet, I slid it under my arm and closed the distance between us. When I was close enough, I kissed her forehead then whispered, “Trust me.”

I didn’t know if she understood that I meant in general, and not just on the track, but either way, she nodded as I slipped her helmet on.

Reaching for the box again, I grabbed my own helmet before linking arms with Alyssa and leading her out to the V8 we’d be driving. It wasn’t quite as powerful as my own ProV8, but it was a Tickford XR8 that had been modified with high-performance ECU and was race prepared with roll cages, safety harnesses, race seats, and slick tyres. It was going to be a decent enough ride and would definitely give Alyssa the closest possible experience she could have to my life. At least until I could convince Danny to let me take her out in one of our cars.

“Just remember, I’ll run through everything first, take you on a couple of laps, and then I’ll hand it over to you,” I said to her as I opened the passenger door. The most important thing for me was to keep her relaxed and excited. If the experience wasn’t a good one for her, I might never be able to truly make her understand why I loved racing so much,

With wide eyes and a nervous smile, she looked around the relatively bare interior. Once she’d settled into the race seat, I leaned into the car to strap her into the racing harness. As I did, I took extra care to ensure all the straps were tight enough to be protective, but loose enough that they wouldn’t cut off her circulation. To check, I ran my finger down the lines of each strap, first following the length from shoulder to waist across the front of Alyssa’s chest. Both of our breaths grew shakier with each extra inch of her body my finger travelled along.

When I moved to check each of the straps that rested across her hips and the ones along her inner thighs, my gaze met hers and I lost my mind. Her eyes stared at me, practically unblinking but filled with lust that scorched straight through any sense of self-control I had. All I wanted to do was kiss her and then maybe use the restraints for something a little more fun . . .

My mouth went dry at the thought, but before I made a suggestion which might get me into trouble considering Alyssa’s whole wait-until-I’m-ready rule, I reined in my desire and continued with my safety checks.

I gave the buckle one final pull to ensure it was secure before reluctantly withdrawing and moving to the driver’s side.

For the next half hour, I ran through some of the key aspects of driving a race car. I showed her how to keep to the racing line, how to approach the corners, and where to hit the apex for maximum exit speed. I ran through braking techniques and general car control.

During the first two laps, she clung tightly to her harness. Because of her nerves, I didn’t push the car as hard as I knew it could go. Instead, I concentrated on training her and trying to show my natural passion for the sport. Watching her carefully, I saw the moment when her nerves broke and she allowed the excitement to creep back in.

That was the moment I knew she was ready to take control. I pulled the car up and helped release her harness. When I guided her out of the car, she clutched at my arm. It was as if her nerves were back in force now that she knew she was going to be in control.

“Are you sure I can do this?” she asked with a shaky voice.

“Lys, baby, you can do any fucking thing you want.” I didn’t even think about the endearment until it had slipped past my lips. Her eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing about it as she slid into the driver’s seat.

Once again, I helped her do up her harness, taking extra care while checking the straps this time. Not because she hadn’t been safe the first time, but because it gave me a chance to touch her without complaint. As I slid my hand between the strap and her breast, I watched her face. When I ran my fingers beneath the straps on her hips, I bit my lip and held my breath. The breath released in a slow, steady exhale as I checked the strap between her legs. I might, or might not, have imagined the small, low moan that she issued in response to the caress of my fingers.