“Oh fuck, they’re fast.” I leaned against the railing of the luxury yacht, taking in the F1 cars as they zoomed past us at the Monte Carlo track. They were missing the walls by inches, moving so fast I almost cracked my neck a few times watching them fly past. I’d never seen a live race, and they were so much faster than I’d imagined.
Sloan laughed and the sound sent shivers down my spine. I loved it when he was happy, and since Lorcan Lee had finally taken his last breath and his Irishmen had rocked up at the house to shore up his private army, he’d been a lot more relaxed.
I looked at him where he half lay on a sun lounger, taking in his casual style and handsome face. He wore a green Lacoste polo shirt and white shorts of the same brand, his feet covered in loafers that I was sure were as expensive as the rest of his clothing. The smile on his face was wide and tranquil.
“Are you happy, Pet?” he asked. This entire trip was my idea. I’d jokingly asked him to take me to the race in Monaco and within a few days, he had everything set, even though it should have been impossible. These spots at the marina were bookedout over a year in advance, but he’d made it happen. I didn’t want to think about how much money he’d spent.
Sloan still had his cane, much to his irritation. His knee had its good and bad days, and because he didn’t know what he’d get, he had to bring it along. I’d argued with Sloan, encouraging him to bring it to the track, and like with all things, he gave in because it was me and I always won with him.
“What do you think, Boss? You take such good care of me.” I grinned and bounced on my toes, careful not to go over the top of the rail and into the ocean. Our men were with us, acting as though they were enjoying the race like us, but in reality they were guarding our position. Well, most of them.
“Careful, Sloan, he’s got a wee crush on the Irishman,” Senan said as he snuck his way through the crowd of our men, a glass of wine in one hand and some kind of dessert clutched in his other. He shoved the food in his mouth and chewed until he was done as he came to my side. “Not that I blame him. Tobin’s hot and he’s bloody good in that car.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’d rather Hancock or Arias.”
“Hand on his cock Hancock?” Senan laughed and took a sip of his wine. “That bastard loves himself.”
“Like you don’t?” I drawled, unimpressed.
“I got good reason, don’t I?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Well, you can’t drive a car at two hundred miles per hour, can you?” I snatched the glass of wine out of his hand and chugged the rest of it before passing it back to him. “Thanks.”
The F1 cars zoomed past us again. Church, an Aussie driver, was in first position with Arias in second and Villarreal in third. Hancock had a shitty start, so he was seventh. The Irishman that Senan was talking about was fourth, and he came around the corner near our boats with speed. His wheel hit a curb too hard, and I sucked in a breath as he lost control of the car, and it veered left, straight into the barrier.
“Oh, fuck.” I leaned forward, but I didn’t have a chance to see anything because the accident was too far away from us. Instead, I focused on the big screen which had zoomed in on the crash.
The yellow flag came out immediately, as did the safety car, and the others slowed down, taking special care around Tobin’s collision. The driver slowly rose from his cockpit, and even from here I could tell he was shaky on his feet. One of the marshals that’d rushed over grabbed his elbow and leaned his head in to talk to Tobin.
Sloan’s hand touched my lower back as he came to stand beside me, his cane clutched in his left hand to take the weight off his injured knee. The bastard still walked with the elegance of the king he was, even with the cane and being on a boat that rocked ever so gently with the water beneath us.
“Do you think he’s all right?” I eyed the women on the next boat as they stood up, too, but their attention wasn’t on the accident, but rather Sloan. They eyeballed him appreciatively and a man at their side did the same. I couldn’t blame them. Myfiancéwas hot.
The crowd cheered as Tobin raised his hand to say he was okay, and I joined them, clapping and hooting.
“It’ll be a while before they get this race back underway.” Senan stretched his arms above his head. “Fuck, this sun’s nice.”
I took the opportunity to poke him in the ribs, hard, and he flinched away from me with a grunt.
“What the feck, Conall?” He glared.
I raised my eyebrows as I stepped close to Sloan. He wrapped his arms around me and placed a kiss on my cheek, and I burrowed deeper into his embrace, grinning at Senan over Sloan’s muscular arm.
“Yeah, ye hide behind yer man,” Senan grumbled, but he returned the wicked smile. “Ye just wait until ye’re all by yer wee self.”
“You’ll do nothing to him.” Sloan shot Senan a sharp look.
Senan was a smart-arse most of the time, but even he knew when to shut up. He lowered his head in respect and stepped away, giving us privacy, which earned him a nod of appreciation from Sloan.
He turned to me and cupped my face with his right hand, not in the least bit worried that there could be a camera on us right now. He leaned down to kiss me, and I hummed in pleasure. “Is this what you imagined, Pet?”
“Yep.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, my chest flooding with warmth. “You know. ..one of the teams is going bankrupt. They’re looking for an investor. Maybe someone to take control.” I licked my bottom lip. “What do you think, Boss? Ownership of an F1 team?”
Sloan traced the curve of my nose with the tip of his finger, smirking. “All you have to do is ask, Pet.”
My heart sped up, hammering in my chest. My enjoyment of F1 had always been a background passion, something I’d watched when I had the time, but I’d never imagined myself in a spot where I could see a live race, let alone possibly own a team.
“I want to own an F1 team. Please buy me one?” I murmured, barely loud enough for anyone outside of Sloan to hear, scared I’d jinx the whole damned thing. They may not accept Sloan’s offer, especially because he’s an alleged criminal, but I’d seen worse people join teams.
