Faster Dirtier (Take Me...#5) (A Team Ferrelli Novel) (20 page)

“Sounds like a plan,” Enzo replies. “I’m all out of big
announcements anyway.”

“Thank god for that,” Bex laughs, pulling Charlie over to
join the rest of the group.

“Should we head back to the hotel?” Harrison suggests.

“You know what?” I say, a light bulb going off in my head,
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you all come back to our place in Brooklyn?”

“Yeah?” Siena smiles.

“Yeah, why not? We know how to throw a party, don’t we big
brother?” I say to Alec.

“Hell yeah we do,” he grins back, “I’d be thrilled to host a
little bash for Ace’s big debut. How does beer and barbecue sound? It’s perfect
grilling weather.”

“Count me all the way in,” Harrison says.

“Us too!” Rostov and Landers add.

“All right!” Alec laughs, “Last one back to Brooklyn buys
the brews!”

Chapter Twenty-One

Our modest Brooklyn backyard is absolutely jam-packed with
people as the sun sets over the park. After the most tumultuous month of my
life, this seems like the perfect celebration—a crowd of wonderful new friends
coming together to eat, drink, and be merry at my childhood home. It’s only
October, but it already feels like Christmas to me.

“OK, who wants a burger, who wants a dog?” Alec calls out
from the grill.

Harrison and Charlie are standing at his elbows,
“supervising” the grilling process while Alfie runs laps around them both.
Siena, Bex and I are sitting at the patio table, beers in hand, while Enzo,
Sven, and Alexi talk shop on the steps. Nils lingers at the edge of their
conversation, looking uncomfortable as hell. It’s going to take me a while to
forgive him fully for his actions, but he’s Sven’s little brother—like it or
not, he’s going to be around. And hey, who hasn’t made a stupid decision because
of an unrequited crush?

“OK, so be honest,” Bex whispers conspiratorially, “How the
hell did you and Enzo end up as an item?”

“Bex,” Siena groans, “Leave the girl alone.”

“Come on!” Bex protests, “We haven’t had a proper romance
around here since you and Harrison. I need
details
.”

“It all happened so fast,” I say, shaking my head, “It’s
like the second we bumped into each other at that party, the rest was
inevitable.”

“I know a little something about that,” Siena smiles,
glancing over at Harrison. Her husband shoots her a knowing wink before
scooping up their son into a piggyback ride. “I hope I didn’t come down too
hard on you, Ace,” she goes on, “I think I was just worried about you both. I
know exactly how it feels, getting run through the media ringer. Though I have
to say, you’re handling the attention just as well as you handled that car this
afternoon.”

“A true champ,” Bex grins.

“Thanks, you guys,” I laugh, “And really Siena, I totally
understand. This team is your family’s legacy. You have every right to take it
as seriously as you do. I just hope you know that I take it seriously as well.”

“I know that now,” Siena smiles, laying a hand on mine. “I
was silly to ever doubt it. We’re going to have quite the season, the lot of
us.”

“That certainly seems to be the case,” I say, catching
Enzo’s eye across the yard. Meeting my gaze, he excuses himself from the huddle
and strides my way.

“Pardon me, ladies,” he says, cradling a beer in his hand.
“I was hoping to borrow Ace for a minute?”

“Oh, go on,” Bex giggles, “I can feel the sexual tension
from here.”

“Bex!” Siena cries, laughing, “You’re relentless.”

“Be right back,” I tell them, rising from my seat. “Tell
Alec to save a burger for me!”

Enzo laces his fingers with mine, and we make our way back
inside the house together. The happy murmur of voices outside dies down as he
slides the glass door closed behind us.

“What’s happening, Prof?” I ask, leaning back against the
foyer wall.

“You just looked too fucking gorgeous over there for me to
not kiss you,” he replies, planting his hands on the wall above my shoulders. I
tilt my face toward his, happily accepting his kiss. Though we’re standing in
the house I grew up in, it’s kissing him that truly feels like coming home. How
about that?

“Wanna see my room?” I ask wickedly, feeling like I’m back
in high school.

“Of course,” Enzo grins, following me along the hallway and
up the stairs.

I lead him into the space that saw me grow from a child to
an adult. I’ve stripped down most of the little girl accents, but a few
artifacts from my youth remain. Enzo steps into the room with an almost
reverently solemn look. He runs his fingertips along the top of my dresser,
looking at the array of pictures there. With a sad smile, he picks up a picture
of my parents.

“They would have loved you,” I tell him softly.

“My dad would have gone nuts for you too,” he replies, his
voice quiet.

“It was so crazy this afternoon,” I say, sitting down on my
bed. “When the race started...It was like I could feel them watching over me.
Making sure I was OK.”

“I feel that way every time I get into a car now, since my
dad’s passed,” Enzo says, sitting down next to me on the narrow twin mattress.

“But just think of how much good you’re going to do for
other families who have lost someone,” I say, taking his hand. “I honestly
don’t think you could be more perfect if you tried. But I’ve thought that for
longer than is probably cool...”

“What do you mean?” Enzo asks.

“Just look,” I tell him, crossing to my closet and pulling
out a big box of childhood memorabilia. I dig through the pile of keepsakes and
find what I’m looking for—an F1 racing calendar from ten years ago. I let the
well-worn booklet fall open to the centerfold and hold it up for Enzo to see.

“Oh my god,” he cackles uproariously, seeing the photo above
the grid of the calendar.

“Hello, Mr. January,” I grin, looking back and forth between
the flesh-and-blood Enzo sitting on my bed and the glamor shot of
twenty-something Enzo, preserved forever in this goofy promotional calendar. He
pouts dramatically at the camera in the picture, and his chest sports far fewer
tattoos. The shot is also covered with magic marker hearts that I drew myself.
“See? I’ve always had a thing for you, Enzo.”

“You must have been such a little nerd!” he crows, falling
back onto my bed.

“At least I wasn’t a male model!” I laugh, dropping the
calendar and tackling him on top of the mattress. “God, if my fifteen-year-old
self could see me now...”

“To be honest,” Enzo smiles devilishly, “I wouldn’t want any
children watching us right about now, Ace...”

He brings his lips to mine, kissing me long and hard. After
this insane couple of weeks, culminating in the adrenaline-packed spree that
was today, this is the perfect conclusion. But of course, today’s setting sun
doesn’t mark the end of anything. This was just the first leg of a very long
journey. A journey that I’ll get to make with Enzo by my side.

Epilogue

A few months later...

The steaming water caresses my every muscle as I sink into
the hot tub. After a long day of test driving and smiling for the cameras, I’ve
earned a bit of relaxation. This is the last week before the F1 season kicks
off for the year, my first season as an affiliated driver of Team Ferrelli. And
even though this has already been the most important year of my life, I know
things are only going to get more intense when this World Championship kicks
off. But you know what I say? Bring on the intensity.

I feel a strong hand running down my thigh and pry open my
dozing eyes. Enzo sits next to me in the Jacuzzi, raking his eyes all along my
bikini-clad body.

“I’ve been wanting to do this all day,” he murmurs, his hand
traveling dangerously close to my sex.

“Wait a little longer,” I grin, glancing around the terrace
of the Lazio family villa, “Everyone’s watching.”

“Everyone will always be watching us, Ace,” Enzo reminds me,
“Surely you’ve figured that part out by now.”

He’s got a point. If there’s one thing this off-season has
taught me, it’s that the world is going to treat my personal life as fair game,
now that I’m famous. But I’ve already gotten pretty damn good at ignoring the
haters. I can feel my skin growing thicker with each passing day. But still,
that doesn’t mean I want Enzo feeling me up in front of his entire family.

“You know there’s a whole guest house right over there,” I
remind him, nodding to my quarters. Or should I say
our
quarters. Enzo has been sharing the
smaller house with me for the better part of the off-season.

“Is that an invitation?” Enzo asks, trailing his fingertips
across my toned stomach, cupping my barely-covered breasts with his capable
hands. Despite the heat of the water, I feel my nipples go hard as rocks the
second he brushes his fingers over them. I cross my legs tightly, trying to
contain the pulsing need I feel for him.

“Aren’t you sick of taking me to bed yet, Prof?” I laugh, as
he lifts me easily into his lap.

“I’ll never get sick of you,” he says ardently, letting me
feel the hard length of him through his swim trunks. “You know that, don’t
you?”

“I suppose I could have guessed,” I say softly, grinding my
ass against his throbbing cock. I never could keep my hands to myself, when it
comes to Enzo Lazio.

“The rest of the family is fast asleep by now,” he coos,
sliding his hands over the rise of my ass. “Come on...let me have you. I need
to blow off some steam before the season kicks into gear. You’d be doing a
great service for your team.”

“Oh, is that what you’re keeping me around for?” I tease,
breaking away from him and floating across the wide Jacuzzi.

“It was a joke…” he groans, clutching the sides of the tub
in a fit of barely contained lust.

“Whatever you say,” I sniff, pretending to be offended.
Making a great show of it, I stand up slowly from the hot tub, letting the warm
rivulets of water course over my every curve. The cooler spring air tickles my
skin, sending goosebumps dancing all over my body. Or maybe it’s the ravenous
look in Enzo’s eye that has me so excited.

Continuing my charade of being offended, I snatch up a
fluffy white towel and wrap it around my body, gathering my strawberry blonde
locks into a messy bun. I turn on my heel and walk across the patio, back
toward the guest house. Right on cue, I hear the splashing sound of Enzo
bursting up out of the water in my wake. I look over my shoulder and see him
striding toward me, his staggering, inked body alive with anticipation and
want.

I dash off ahead of him, laughing as our game of cat and
mouse commences. The towel falls from my body as I wrench open the door of the
guest house, with Enzo right on my heels. We’re dripping all over the place,
our skin and hair glistening from the hot tub. But neither of us can be
bothered by a few wet footprints. Not now.

“I thought you were supposed to be fast or something, World
Champion,” I bait Enzo, standing at the foot of the stairs.

He pushes the front door closed and squares his broad
shoulders to me, a wicked grin twisting his lips.

“I’ll give you a head start, kid,” he growls, “But only
because you’re a rookie. Five. Four. Three. Two—Hey!”

I race up the stairs before his countdown is finished,
giggling as my wet toes slip on the hard wood. I can hear Enzo charging up
behind, gaining with every passing second. Just as I reach the upstairs
landing, he catches up with me. I feel my feet leave the ground and Enzo
catches me up in his arms and carries me into the bedroom we’ve been sharing,
of late. He lays me down on the pillowy bed, pinning me there with a smile on
his face.

“Looks like I’m still the reigning champ,” he says, running
his hands along my body.

“For now,” I counter, arching my back at his touch. “And
besides, it looks like I got what I wanted anyway. So who’s the real winner,
Prof?”

“I guess we both win,” he says, reaching around my back to
untie my damp bathing suit. “How’s that for a perfect arrangement?”

Our banter falls away as Enzo strips off my bathing suit
bottoms, taking in my naked body lying beneath him. By now, we’ve had each
other dozens upon dozens of times. But he still looks at me with such
reverence, such awe. I’ve never felt sexier in my life than I have with Enzo—or
more satisfied.

He tugs his swim trunks down over his hips, and I groan as
his massive cock springs free. My hands wrap around that gorgeous hardness at
once, stroking along its impressive length. I love the feel of Enzo in my hands
more than ever. Almost as much as I love the feel of him inside of me.
Almost
.

Enzo lowers himself to me, catching my hands and pinning
them over my head. The tip of his cock brushes against my slick sex, and I can
feel my legs begin to tremble.

“I love how wet you get for me, Ace,” he murmurs, kissing
along my neck. “I barely have to touch you before you’re ready for me. But that
doesn’t mean I’m not going to...”

I gasp as Enzo grabs hold of my hips and flips me onto my
stomach. I pull myself onto my forearms as I feel him move behind me, keeping a
firm hold of my waist. Just as I’m about to peer back at him, I feel his breath
against my sex. Seconds later, his expert tongue is licking all along the
length of my slit. From behind, he lavishes my pussy with his mouth, parting my
pink flesh with every pass. The illicit thrill of having him his way makes my
arms go weak. I fall against the bed, my limbs trembling, as he presses his
tongue flush against my clit.

I scream out as pleasure shoots through me, throwing my head
back with a wild cry. Thank god I remembered to close my bedroom
windows—otherwise the entire countryside would be able to hear us from here.
Enzo bears down on my clit from behind, his fingers digging into my hips. The
bliss mounting in my core reaches a fever pitch, and I come into his eager
mouth. He licks up every drop of me, groaning with delight at getting to taste
me.

Shaking, I pull myself onto my hands and knees. Gazing back
at Enzo, I watch as he kneels behind me, his cock massive and pulsating with
need. With a grin, I let the tip of his cock rest against my dripping wet slit,
but only for a moment. I can’t wait to feel him any longer. With a groan of
delight, I press back against his throbbing member, spearing myself on his
sturdy length. Enzo moans as he drives into me, thrusting hard and deep. I
swear, it feels like he could tear right through me as he rears back and takes
me again. And again. And again.

I bury my face in one of the pillows, hoping to stifle my
ecstatic screams as Enzo drives his cock further into my tender body. I love
how deep he gets when he takes me this way, love the primal feel of it all.
Biting down hard on the soft cushion, I feel Enzo’s grip tighten around my
waist. He’s right on the edge. I can feel it.

With one final, powerful thrust, he’s toppling over the
edge. I feel his hot, surging desire fill me up as he holds me fast, emptying
himself into me. We press into each other with all our might, savoring the
thrill of this moment. The only thing that’s anywhere near as good as this
feeling is the moment your car revs to life, flying away from the starting
line.

And even that is a very far second. 

Enzo collapses into bed beside me, pulling me against his
heaving chest. I curl into him, my reddish hair sprawling across the pillow.
Our breath comes hard and fast as we lie there in silence, our skin flushed
with exertion. Though we’ve had each other every which way over the past few
months, he still manages to surprise me every time we sleep together. And
something tells me that isn’t going to change any time soon.

“I knew that F1 life was going to be exciting,” I manage to
say, finally catching my breath, “But this is a whole other level than I was
expecting, Enzo.”

“Tell me about it,” he laughs, “I feel the same way, and
I’ve been at this for years. F1, I mean. Not—”

“I know, you perv,” I giggle, rolling onto my side to face
him. “I just can’t believe sometimes that you’re as into all this as I am.”

“You can’t? Really?” he laughs, “God, Ace. If you had any
idea how amazing it feels to be with you, you’d have no trouble believing it at
all.”

“Guess I’ll just have to take your word for it, Prof,” I
smile, running a finger down his firm chest.

“Can’t you always tell when people are lying?” he asks,
catching my hand in his.

“With 100% certainty,” I reply, swinging my gaze up to his.

“Then you’ll know I’m telling you to truth now,” he says,
his voice growing more serious. “I’m absolutely crazy about you, Ainsley
Vaughn. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and I doubt that I ever
will again. You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and I hope that you’re a part
of my life for as long as you care to be.” He pauses, looking deeply into my
eyes. “What do you say to that?”

“You really do mean it,” I whisper, my smile spreading
across my face.

“Every word,” he assures me, catching my chin in his hand.
“And if you ever want to make what we have more...official...Well, that’s a
conversation I’m ready to have whenever you are, Ace.”

“Enzo Lazio, I hardly know what to say,” I tease gently,
taking his scruffy face in my hands. “Are you asking me to go steady with you?”

“More or less,” he laughs, closing the space between our
naked bodies. “You’re the only woman I want in my life, Ace. And I want to be
the only man in yours.”

“It’s only been you since the moment we met,” I say softly,
“It’ll only ever be you.”

“That’s...exactly what I was hoping you’d say,” he murmurs,
kissing me gently on the forehead. “You’re amazing, Ainsley.”

“Right back at you,” I giggle, burrowing against his hard
body.

My heart swells to the point of bursting as he wraps his
arms more tightly around me. I can feel the joy radiating from him, doubled by
my own deep happiness. We certainly aren’t the most conventional couple, nor
will we ever be. Our status as teammates, public figures, and die-hard athletes
means that we’ll never get to do the “regular relationship” thing. But you know
something? I don’t really care about any of that. I know how to spot the truth
when I feel it, and nothing has ever felt more true than lying in Enzo’s
strong, supportive arms.

It’s impossible to say what this next World Championship
will be for us as a pair. We’ll certainly have our highs and lows, our
victories and defeats. We may even find ourselves at odds with each other, now
and again. But what we feel for each other is too strong to be shaken, no
matter how high the stakes. After what we faced down at the very start of our
relationship, we’re too strong to fail. It’ll take a lot of work, a lot of
patience, and a lot of honesty to keep this thing afloat through the trials and
tribulations of a long F1 season, but I know that we can do it.

Getting drafted to Team Ferrelli was a dream come true for
me, the realization of a hope I’d had since childhood. But finding Enzo was
something very different. I’d never dared hope for a relationship of passion
and trust like the one we’ve built. But would you look at that—I found it
anyway. Who knows what else is lying in store for me, out there beyond my wildest
dreams? All I know is, I can’t wait to find out.

And I have the feeling I won’t have to wait for long.