“Fuck off, Sinclair,” Ricky snaps and my eyes flick to him, smelling the alcohol and cigarette smoke on his breath.
“My track, my rules,” I remind him, “And last I checked, I told you to get gone and stay gone, yet here you are.”
“That was a year ago.” He sneers.
“And I’ve been lenient, but my patience has worn out.”
He curls his lip, and he looks behind me to Jake, but he knows he’s not the only one here who willgive him a handoff my property should he choose to kick up a fight.
He steps toward me and bumps my shoulder, “I saw her first.”
“And she saw me,” I grin at him, knowing Marly is still watching.
“Prick.” He grumbles before he storms off, shoving his way out to the makeshift lot behind the track.
Jake has already moved in on Marly’s friend, leaving her wide open for me.
“You look lost,” I hand her my beer which she looks at for a second too long before she accepts it and brings it to her mouth, taking a sip. There’s no hiding the cringe that crosses her face before she hands it back to me and swallows.
“Not lost,” She finally speaks, “Just never been here.”
“I can tell,” I study her a little closer. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail, tied together with a blue ribbon and little diamond studs glitter in her ears. She’s dainty, pixie-like but she has legs that go on for days and I can’t help but eat her up. Such a shame about who she is related to.
“What’s your name?” She cocks her head when she asks the question, her voice so quiet it’s almost inaudible against the loud track around us. Car’s rev and tires screech as several cars race behind us and with the roar of the crowd watching and the music playing, it’s a wonder how I managed to hear her.
“River,” I answer.
“I’m Marly,” She shoves her hand out, her nails trimmed and painted the same color as the ribbon in her hair. I take her hand in mine, engulfing her much smaller one and once I have her in my grasp, I give her a gentle tug toward me, closing the gap between us.
Her sweet little gasp is like music to my ears and this close I can smell her perfume, she smells like fucking summer, sweet and floral, delicate like a petal.
“Not sure you made the right choice coming here tonight, princess,” I lean close to her, my words a whisper for only her to hear.
“Why not?” I don’t miss the tremor in her words or the goosebumps rising across her body.
Before I can answer, her friend interrupts us, her brown eyes narrowing on me. I catch Jake’s eye but he just shrugs, “Is he bothering you?” She demands, glaring at me before she checks on her friend. At least one of them has some sense of self preservation and it isn’t Marly.
“I’m okay, Zara,” Marly frowns a little, shaking her head as if coming out of a spell. “We were just talking.”
“We should probably head home,” Zara suggests, glancing at me again. I can see the distrust, especially with the way she positions her body in front of her friend like she needs to protect her. It only makes me want to get to her more. I know just how valuable Marly is.
But more than that, I see how much she wants to live a little. She’s sheltered, and this must be her first taste of freedom.
And that’s something I can use.
“Yeah,” Marly agrees before she looks over to me, “It was nice to meet you.”
I grin at her, “Come find me when you want to live a little, princess, I might even take you for a spin around the track if you ask nicely.”
I don’t stay to revel in the burn of her blush and let her go.
She’ll be back.
I’ve always been a patient man, but these last several months have really proven that and as it turns out, it’s paid off.
I just need to wait a little bit longer and that payment I deserve, it’ll land right in the palm of my hand.
Chapter Three
