Trinity (38 page)

The first test was not as stellar as I had hoped. We have a lot of work to do to align what I need while unlocking the max performance of the bike. It’s always a trial of the engineer’s and rider’s abilities, but I know it can be done.

I sink into the mattress in my silent hotel room. I’ve only been in Malaysia a few days, and although I don’t normally miss the States while I’m gone, today is particularly hard. I close my eyes and begin to drift off. I’m hoping tomorrow will be a better day, but before I can fully immerse myself in sleep, my phone rings. I barely move from my burial position as I reach for the nightstand. When I look at the screen, I break out into a smile. I hit the green button and wait for the video chat to connect.

“Hey, moto,” Kayla beams.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Happy birthday.” She blows me a kiss.

“Thank you. How did you know?”

“A guy who looks just like you told me.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sort of jealous he’s the only one who gets to spend it with you.”

“Well, if you weren’t halfway around the world, I would give you your present in person,” she flirts, “but for now . . .” There’s a knock on my door.

“Hang on.” I climb out of bed to answer it. On the other side is a man holding a small chocolate cake with glowing candles and a small wrapped box.

I look at the phone. “Are you responsible for this?”

“Guilty. I couldn’t let the day pass without seeing you blow out your candles.”

I can’t stifle my elation. And like the excited child I am, I blow out the candles, the loneliness disappearing as quickly as the flames. The man hands me the cake and small box with a wide smile, bowing as he backs away.

I close the door, drop the cake on an end table, and crawl back into bed.

“Thanks, Kayla.”

“You’re welcome. When you get home, I’ll give you your real present. But that one will have to do for now.”

I hold the box up and shake it next to my ear. It weighs next to nothing. I tear the red paper off while Kayla watches. I pop open the lid and break out in a fit of laughter.

“You like?”

I pull out the hot pink pair of panties. “I love.”

“Good.” She smiles. My girl has the best sense of humor around. “I’ve finally reached the UPS stage of a relationship.”

“Yes, you have. Is Dev taking good care of you?”

“Of course. But it’s a little lonely in the house without you.”

My life is lonely without you.

“I’ll be back soon. You’ll get me for four whole days after Qatar.”

“Four whole days?” She curls her lip disappointed. “Not nearly enough time.”

“I know.” I yawn, the exhaustion hitting me like a ton of bricks.

“Go to sleep. I didn’t mean to keep you up. I just didn’t want to miss my opportunity to wish you a happy birthday.”

“Thank you. I love you.” I close my eyes. Jesus, I’m totally shot.

“I love you, too. Sweet dreams.”

“They’ll only be sweet if I dream of you.”

“Then by all means.” She giggles flirtatiously. “Night, moto.”

“Night, baby.”

I
watch Kayla pace around the family room like a loon. It’s Reese’s first race of the season, and we promised we’d watch. I mean, I always watch, but this is Kayla’s first time witnessing Reese race. Calling her nervous would be putting it mildly.

After traveling from Malaysia to Australia to Spain, he’s now in Qatar, a small country in the Middle East. Reese has told me the shores of the country are some of the most beautiful and majestic he’s ever seen. And I believe him, considering he’s surfed on every continent applicable in the world.

“Babe, relax.” I lounge on the couch as she paces off the top layer of the rug.

“I can’t. I’m so nervous.”

“About what?”

“What do you mean about what? The first time I met Reese, he was riding a motorcycle and nearly died right in front of me. An experience like that kind of sticks with a person.”

My smile fades. Kayla’s been scarred by a motorcycle accident, so her apprehension is suddenly warranted. The camera on the television screen pans out, displaying the multiple lines of bikers ready and waiting under the stadium lights. The mass takes off, and I swear I hear Kayla’s heart hit the ground.

“Will you come here?” I scoot forward and tug at her hand.

“I don’t think I can sit.” Back and forth, she goes.

“Fine. Have it your way. I’m here when you’re ready.” I lean back on the leather.

I’ve watched what feels like a million races with how long Reese has been competing, but I have to say, observing Kayla experience it for the first time makes it much more interesting. Reese’s place on the grid was lumped somewhere in the middle, so he’ll have to fight for the lead, which he’s currently doing, gaining ground and passing the other racers at lightning speed. The animated announcers keep the excitement hyped, calling play-by-plays as the riders make their dangerous moves.

“Jesus!” Kayla covers her eyes as Reese sneaks between a Ducati and a Honda to steal third place. He sets a good pace as he charges on for what he’s really after. First.

“Oh!” She nearly goes through the ceiling as a rider is ejected from his bike and flies across the track. By the twelfth lap, the appeal is lost. This is usually where I take a bathroom break, but Kayla can’t peel her eyes away from the screen. Reese is riding fantastically, hugging the curves with the utmost precision, leaning spectacularly. His elbow and knee touch the ground as he hits a particularly sharp apex, and the friction actually causes sparks.

“Why does he have to go so
low
?” Kayla complains through her covered mouth. She hasn’t removed her hands from her face the entire race.

“Because that’s his job, and that’s what makes him the best. His incomparable ability.”

“This is torture.”

“If you are like this in my family room, I can’t imagine what you’re going to be like in Austin.”

Reese made it crystal clear that Kayla and I must be at his one and only American race. I’m cool with it. I go every year, but Kayla? She may need a sedative. Especially when she watches the race from VIP seating, i.e. Reese’s garage behind the paddock, where the entire team is housed.

“I’m going to be a stark raving lunatic.”

“That will probably be bad for Reese’s image.”

She turns and glares.

As it comes down to the final lap of the race, Reese is still fighting for first, a blue and yellow blur whizzing over asphalt. He battles it out with another rider, the front tyre of his Yamaha kissing the back of the Ducati’s. Kayla is now screaming at the TV mounted on the fireplace as they race neck and neck. The announcer’s yelling and the crowd roaring as Reese crosses the finish line a hair before the other racer.

“He won!” Kayla jumps up and down. “Holy shit, he won!” She catapults herself onto my lap.

“Did you doubt him?”

“No, I just . . . I’ve never seen him in his element.”

“Pretty intense, huh?”

“Yes. Just as intense as watching you perform surgery.”

“You don’t have to try and make me feel better just because my brother is a world-famous champion.”

“I’m not.” She presses her chest to mine and runs her fingers through my hair. “I’m just pointing out the magnificent talents of both of my men.”

“Oh? Is that what you’re doing?”

“Yes.”

“Is cardiac catheterization the only magnificent talent I have?”

“No.” She eyes me wickedly. “You have many, many magnificent talents. And I can’t wait to find out what else you have up your sleeve.”

Ever since our little adventure with the cuffs, feather, and pinwheel, Kayla has been an insatiable kink fiend. I definitely exposed her to the dark side, and she took to it like a duck to water. Could I be happier? No. The past few weeks have been the very best of my life.

Which, in my mind, raises a serious concern. I’m getting used to having Kayla all to myself. It’s what I wanted from the very beginning.

But we all know that notion is a fallacy. I’ll never have Kayla to myself, because even though Reese isn’t here, he is always a phone call, text message, or a whisper away.

Phantom is an appropriate nickname because his essence is always haunting me.

I brush my teeth in front of the television in my room while Kayla showers. I steal glances of both the news and her naked body. This amazing normalcy has been my life for over two months. I’ve never lived with a woman, and even though Kayla still has her condo, she’s basically moved in. She even has her own drawer in the dresser and some clothes and shoes in my closet. I’ve gotten way too used to it being just the two of us—a notion I’ve tried to ignore. She isn’t just mine, but being together feels as natural as spring rain or a warm summer night.

Before I make my way back into the bathroom to spit, an image of Kayla’s aunt flashes across the screen. The news cuts to a commercial, giving me just enough time to run into the bathroom and rinse my mouth before ripping Kayla out of the shower.

“Dev!—”

“You need to see this!” I wrap a towel around her just as the story airs.

“A historical drug bust went down last night as nearly
a million dollars’ worth of heroin was seized from an abandoned church off Town and Country Road. The church, which had been under surveillance for months, was a loading and unloading point on the ‘Highway to Hell’ drug route stretching from Virginia to New York. Police brought into custody Theodore Wells, a low profile drug runner who is believed to oversee the distribution of heroin in the local area.”

Well, I’ll be damned. Theodore Wells is none other than Viper, and seeing him hauled away in handcuffs is surprisingly gratifying. Every biker in a hundred-mile radius knew he was dirty but to be involved in such a complex drug ring comes as a shock. Who knew he had that much brain power?

“Did you know about any of this?” I ask her, as the mayor makes a statement behind a podium. Kayla’s aunt is standing right beside the distinguished-looking gentleman, with his graying hair and tailored suit.

Kayla shakes her head, looking a little pale. “I knew she was working on something big. I just didn’t realize it was this big.”

“
The tireless effort our police force has put forth to apprehend these criminals is commendable. Tonight, our streets are safer because of these committed brave men and women.”

The news story ends after the mayor’s statement.

“Wow, your aunt is pretty bad ass.”

“She worries me to death,” Kayla contests. “It seems everyone I love walks on some kind of wild side.”

“Not me.” I take her face in my hands. “I’m boring.”

Kayla laughs. “Yeah, right. You are anything but boring.”

“Okay, maybe that’s partly true.” I smile deviously.

“It’s one hundred percent true.” Kayla leans in for a quick kiss. “I need to call Sam.”

“After.” I keep a firm grip on her face.

“After what?” She cocks an eyebrow.

“Not what you may think.” I release her and open the top drawer of my dresser. I pull out a little velvet bag and dangle it in front of her.

“What is that?”

“A surprise I’ve been dying to give you.” I open the bag, showing her the metal spade-shaped apparatus. She inspects it curiously. “Since I’ll be at work all day, and you’ll be here hanging around, I wanted you loose and ready for me when I get home.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “Loose where, exactly?”

“I think you know.” Actually, I know she does. We’ve shopped online for sex toys enough for her to know exactly what I’m holding in my hand and exactly what it’s used for.

“I want your ass tonight, baby. And I don’t want to wait,” I murmur in her ear. “It’s been way too long.” Kayla expels a moan, and I know I have her. It doesn’t come as a surprise. There’s isn’t much she won’t do. “Open your mouth.” She parts her lips instantaneously, and I slide the butt plug between her lips. My cock rapidly hardens. “Suck. Get it nice and wet.”

She does, the little minx, working her mouth in a seductive way she knows will drive me mad. “Naughty.” I pull the plug away from her.

“Look who’s talking.”

“Touché.” I spin her around and walk her over to the bed. “Bend over.” Kayla plants her hands on the mattress and spreads her legs. The position is so enticing, incessant desire tempts me to take her right here and now. But I refrain, knowing her pussy will be so much sweeter later, the plug playing with her need all day.