The guests had all arrived. The interviews were over. The speeches were done. The checks were given, and pictures taken. The party was in full swing. Children were running through the yard playing games with various animals painted on their faces. Their friends and her family were mingling with shelter staff and various sponsors. The charity crew were schmoozing sponsors or corralling the kids. All Killian could do was smile as he watched Emma on the other side of the yard, talking to the representative from his main sponsor, and probably finagling even more money from them.
To say he was proud of her was a vast understatement. He had known she was perfect for the job, and every day, she kept proving him right. But he could also see her blooming in the role and as she did more and more, her confidence in her abilities growing as well. The smile on her face as she talked passionately to the rep told him just how much she loved her new job. He was so focused on watching her that he didn't notice the person that stepped up to his side.
"She did an amazing job."
The words broke Killian from his trance and he looked toward his boss. He gave Regina a smile and bobbed his head. "Yes, she did."
She turned to him. "I wasn't just talking about the charity." She gave him a sly grin, and his got even bigger as he nodded in agreement at her meaning. She took a drink of her champagne, adding "You're good for each other, and you're happy."
"I am," he admitted. He was beyond happy.
Regina took another sip. "You should look into a way to keep that happiness."
He could tell by the significant look and brow raise exactly what she was telling him, and he laughed. "Plan is already in the works."
Regina's shocked but happily surprised smile was worth letting her in on the secret. But her only answer was to clink champagne glasses with him, give him a nod, and walk off towards Robin and his son Roland.
Looking back to Emma, he noticed her conversation had ended and she was walking towards another group. He decided to cut her off before she got there, hurried over to her, and wrapped an arm around her from behind. She jumped for a second, and then relaxed back into him. "Jesus, you scared me."
"Sorry, love," he whispered into her ear, and then left a small kiss behind it. "I need a few moments of your time. Can I drag you away for a minute?"
She looked around and noticed that everything seemed to be handled. "Okay. What is it?"
He took her hand and led her back into the building and then to her office. She walked inside and he followed. "I've already had to share your time with everyone else here today, and I just needed some time with you one on one."
He locked the door behind him, and she raised her eyebrow, the idea of one-on-one time now taking a bigger meaning, "And that needs the door locked?"
The heated look he gave her almost had her knees buckle as he walked towards her, and she leaned back on her desk. He came right up to her, placed his hands on her hips, and slid her up further to sit on the desk as he moved closer. Her long, flowing dress allowed him to stand between her legs. His hand came up to the back of her head and tilted it back to look up at him as his thumb caressed her cheek. "For what I have in mind, that door will need to be locked, and you will need to try to not scream."
His mouth descended on hers and his tongue immediately delved inside. She moaned against his lips as her arms wrapped around him and moved up his back. When they broke to breathe, she warned, "All the people outside." They could see them milling around the lawn through the windows.
He smirked and then leaned in to kiss up her neck to her ear. "One-way glass, remember, love?" His teeth pulled gently at her earlobe. "Just think of me having you on this big desk, with all those people not even ten feet away."
She shuddered, the forbidden thought exciting her. Her eyes closed as his lips trailed down her neck and throat, and she moaned out, "We shouldn't."
His tongue dipped into her cleavage and she gasped. He then left a kiss there as his hand traveled down her back lowering the zipper to her strapless dress. "Oh, I believe we should." He stood in front of her and lightly pushed her back onto the desk; she went willingly and rested on her elbows. His hands came up and pulled the top of her dress down, and he bit his lip to see she had no bra underneath.
He leaned over and sucked one nipple into his mouth, as his one hand found the other. She groaned and her head tilted back. Her eyes saw the people outside chatting. It was so wrong, but the excitement of it enticed her, turned her on more, and damn it, he knew it. "Watch all those people out there, standing so close. If you are too loud, they'll hear you—they'll know what we are doing."
His mouth sucked hard making her moan louder and then he switched breasts. As his free hand came up to squeeze the flesh he just left, the other hand started to pull up her flowing skirt. "It excites you doesn't it, love? Almost being in public. The possibility of getting caught." His hand found under the skirt and trailed up her inner thigh, then pressed at her underwear—a small silk thong that had him groaning at the thought, and then even more so when his fingers caught just how wet she was. "Well, I have my answer."
He went to his knees and pressed the fabric of the skirt farther up her body as he pulled her hips to the edge of the desk and removed her underwear. She let out a sharp squeak at the quick movement only to let out a long moan as his tongue delved into her folds and swirled over her swollen clit. "Tell me, love." He flicked his tongue against her clit. "Have you been wanting me all day?" He thrust his tongue deep inside of her a few times. "Or did the idea of doing this here get you this excited…" He twirled his tongue around her clit again making her legs shake. "...And oh so wet, so quickly?"
Her legs pressed his face closer to her core. "Both...God...don't stop," she pleaded as her one hand came down to grasp his hair, pulling slightly, as the other hung onto the edge of the desk. Her head rolled back, eyes open to the unsuspecting crowd outside.
He smiled against her as her sounds of pleasure got louder. He should warn her again, but honestly, the thought of getting caught turned him on, too. He was rock hard and he loved hearing her pleasure. He brought his fingers up and plunged two deep inside of her as his mouth refocused on her bundle of nerves. Her legs quaked, her sounds got closer together, and at the last minute, she must have remembered because as she came around his fingers her hand came over her mouth, muffling her screams.
Normally he'd wait, but he couldn't. He removed his fingers, sucked them into his mouth as his other hand undid his pants as he stood. He pushed down his pants and underwear, and then brought his hands to her waist, pushing her the top of her dress further down her hips. She came back to her senses enough to understand what his intention was, and she braced her feet still in her heels on the desk and lifted her hips. He pulled the dress to her knees, and she rested her hips back down and released her feet. He removed the dress carefully while leaving her heels on and sat it in the chair next to him.
He pulled her hips up from the desk, and let the head of his cock brush her folds. He spread her legs a little wider, opening her more fully to his view, and brushed the head again over her clit. "Stop teasing," she begged. With the next press of his hips, he slowly pressed inside of her, taking her fully in one long, slow, deep thrust. "Fuck yes."
"God...Emma." He stilled and she wrapped her legs around him. When she squeezed her legs tight, one of her heels pressed against his ass, and he groaned and started to thrust hard and fast. "Bloody...hell…" he ground out as her body was already trying to grip him tight. He watched as her breasts bounced from the impact of his thrusts. Her biting her lip as she tried in vain to contain the sounds of pleasure, along with the own bite of painful pleasure of her heels into his skin, was pushing him further. His eyes darted between the people outside, the look of bliss on her face, the movement of her glorious breasts, and the obscene view of his length glistening in her pleasure as he drove into her again and again.
When her gasps got closer together and the flutterings of her inner muscles got stronger, he sped up his movements. Her back arched and her hand came up again to contain her scream as her body let go but tightened around him. He gritted his teeth and rode through her pleasure, slowing enough to allow her a minute to come down.
When she came back to her senses, her eyes widened in realization that he was still fully hard inside of her, but the smile that followed let him know she was looking forward to whatever he had planned. He regretfully pulled out of her, and they both moaned. "Roll over, my love."
She shakily got to her feet with his help and turned around and leaned over the desk onto her elbows. Her high heels putting her at the perfect height. His hands came under her to caresses her breasts, and then traveled down to her hips. He lined himself back up and plunged back inside of her, making her back arch and another moan come from both of them. He leaned over her, his chest pressing her into the desk as his hips started to thrust slow and deep. "Keep your eyes on the window. See all those people—our co-workers, friends, your family—only feet away as I make you mine." He bit at her lobe as he thrust hard, and she shuddered at the feel and his words.
He stood back straight, and then pistoned back into her in long, hard, fast strokes. His body was no longer willing to wait, wanting it's own completion. His one hand left her hip to move under her, and stroke her clit as his hips continued to pound into her from behind. "Ohhh...Killian...yesss…" she groaned as her hands gripped the other end of the desk, her own hips pressing back against him. This time her quivering inner muscles were enough to set him off. He leaned over her and pressed his chest to her back and his mouth to her shoulder as his hips thrust hard three more times, hoping to extend the pleasure, and when she came around him, he grunted hard at the extra stimuli.
He managed to muffle his own sounds into her shoulder, as she did so into her arm. Both were breathing heavy, when he placed a soft kiss on her shoulder. "I guess that took more than a minute of your time." He said and they both started laughing. "Stay right there for a moment." He told her and then stood and pulled out. He found her underwear and cleaned her up the best he could. He pulled up and fastened his pants. She turned over and raised an eyebrow when she saw him pocket her underwear. "Well I don't believe you would want to wear them now, or keep them at work, would you?"
She shook her head no. "But now what am I supposed to wear?" she said getting to her feet.
He picked up her dress, and helped her into it. "Well, I have to admit I quite like the idea of knowing you aren't wearing anything under this dress." He gave her deep kiss as he pulled up the zipper, and then moved his lips to her neck to kiss back to her ear. "I also love the idea that my release will be dripping down your thighs for the rest of the night."
She blushed at the comment, but he didn't miss the spark of heat in them. "You are so bad."
He smirked back her, "But you love me for it."
She smiled and pulled him close. "I love you for a lot of reasons."
"I love you, too," he said and caressed the side of her face. That's when he noticed it, or noticed the lack of it. He looked to the other side. "I think we might have dislodged an earring."
Her hands came up and felt the lack of the dangling gemstone. "Yep. Sure did. I wonder who's fault that was?"
Killian grinned. "True, but you enjoyed it. Here, let me." He started to get to the floor to start searching and she stopped him.
"Killian, don't worry about it." She took the other earring out and opened her desk drawer and pulled out two diamond studs, and started to put them in. "It's not a big deal."
"You keep diamonds in your desk drawer?"
She laughed at the look on his face and his question, "Are you kidding me? No. I keep fake diamonds that I got for ten bucks in my drawer. And that.." she said pointing at the one earring left of the pair she had been wearing, "With the necklace was maybe fifteen. Now if you had done something to this…" She said holding up the bracelet she still wore that he got her for Christmas, "Then we would be on our hands and knees looking for it. Because not only is it probably the most expensive piece of jewelry I own, but probably also the most sentimental." He smiled at that, and reached for her hand to kissed her wrist with the bracelet, while he thought he would need to rectify the situation. "We should really get back to the party before they know what happened. Does my hair look okay?"
He gave her quick look over. "You look beautiful." She tilted her head in annoyance, and he raised his hands in surrender. "Truly. Your hair doesn't have a curl out of place." With that he offered her his arm and they went back out into the party. The rest of the party goers were completely unaware of what occurred just feet away from them a little earlier.
It was always nice when the race was at the home track in Charlotte. It meant they did not need to travel, and they could stay at their own home. However, that also meant except for practice, qualifying, and the race, they weren't with their friends because they were also relishing being at home. This time, however, the possibility of Hurricane Matthew hitting was making everyone ansty.
Practice and qualifying went well for Killian despite the upcoming weather problems and he would start fourth. Victor wasn't as lucky and was starting in fifteenth. Emma wanted to jump for joy when she found out Jefferson was starting back in twenty-third. She hoped it meant that he wouldn't be anywhere near Killian for the race.
NASCAR decided to postpone the race night race until Sunday afternoon as on Friday night, the track was being pelted with rain. But that Sunday, after the weather cleared out, the race went off without a hitch, and it was a green flag until lap 107 when a car blew a tire and ran into another, both hitting the wall towards the back of the pack. By then, Killian had made it to first and had led all the laps since then, while Phillip, Eric, and Sean traded spots behind him. The restart mainly helped Victor and unfortunately Jefferson by bringing the pack of cars all back together again instead of being spread out. On the restart, both of them were able to pass some more cars within the first few laps.
But Jefferson was being himself once again, the aggressive driver playing chicken. The only problem was sometimes the other drivers, especially those not as experienced, didn't know how to handle the situations he would put them in. And on his one attempt to get in front of a car, the side draft pushed the other car into the other lane. That car along with the one it crashed into hit the wall and brought out another caution, all without a ding to the 12 car.
Emma gave Robin a look, who shrugged and shook his head. She could hear Killian over the line not liking it either and saying exactly what he thought about it. He might not have been involved, but that didn't calm his anger any. Robin sighed, "He's still back in sixteenth, mate; don't let him get to you. Stay in the lead."
That is what Killian did, at least until the last restart with four laps to go. It was he and Phillip at the starting line with August behind Killian and Sean behind Phillip. Phillip was able to keep up with Killian, as they both battled for the lead for the remaining laps. One in the lead and then the other, with the cars behind them right on their tails. But somehow, Phillip must have been saving some power in that car somewhere because coming out of the fourth turn, he was like a freight train and held a good car length lead on Killian.
Phillip made it past the finish line first, then Killian with Sean right at his quarter panel. August, Eric, and Victor, who had made his way through the pack, came in soon afterwards. Jefferson finished in twelfth.
While it wasn't a win, second place kept him high in the points, so Emma was happy. She quickly headed over to pit lane, but slowed when she saw a reporter already talking to Killian as Phillip was doing his burnout.
"You lead most of the race, second's got to hurt." The reporter told him.
He smiled, "Every driver wants to finish first. That's what you want, but second is pretty good and I'll take it. However, I'm going to have to ask Phillip where he got that extra bloody boost from. I wonder if he slowed down at all in that corner." Killian laughed, and so did the reporter. "There is always the next race. I'd like to thank my team, without them I wouldn't have done as well as I did. I'd also like to thank…" Emma smiled to herself already knowing the speech for for word by now. Once the reporter left, Killian was pulling her into a hug and then a long kiss. "How about we go home?"
"That sounds like a great idea," she replied and they walked back to the garage hand in hand.
"I can't wait to see her face," Killian said into the phone. On Wednesday, he didn't go into the charity after his team meeting. Not that he even needed to go to that anymore, since the crew had everything well within hand without him, but he liked being there and liked working with Emma. But today, he had much more important things to do. He nodded in answer to Victor's question on the phone as he walked back and forth in his living room, "Yeah, mate. She has no idea. Also, I need to keep it that way, okay? Please don't tell Ruby until the last minute." With an agreement from the other driver, they said their goodbyes and hung up.
"Okay, that's covered," he said to himself and then went through his mental checklist. He snapped his fingers and called another number. An older gentlemen answered. "Hello, this is Killian Jones…" The man instantly recognized him, and greeted him. "I'm just checking to see the status of what I ordered last week. Will it be ready in time?"
Killian smiled at the man's reply, and let out a large breath of relief. "Perfect. Just let me know when the order is ready for pickup." The man agreed, and they ended the call.
He grinned and wandered into the kitchen, and then his brain remembered what else he needed to do. He plopped down on the sofa in the family room, and pulled up the browser on his phone. Food wasn't an issue, but he needed to find a bakery in the area of the track. He knew Emma's penchant of sweets, and wanted it to be perfect.
After a lot of searching and looking at yelp reviews, he found the perfect place, and called them and put in his order. Everything was all set. Now he just had to figure out a way to not spoil the surprise in the meantime.
The race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday had Killian starting in sixth, Jefferson in ninth, and Eric won the poll. It took almost 57 laps for Jefferson to catch up to Killian, who by then was in third place. Eric was still in the lead, with August behind him, while the rest of the pack stayed back. None of them wanted to get in the way of the feud between the two drivers.
Killian refused to back down, but at the same time, he wasn't going all out against him. He had yet to win a race in this round and wasn't yet guaranteed a place in the next round. So a few times he actually let the bastard go around him while he grumbled and cursed over the comlink, only to then later take the lead back on a restart or through one of the corners.
Phillip, on the other hand, seemed to be happy in the middle of the pack, he would make passes that were easy, but he wasn't straining himself or his car. Having won the last race, and his way into the next round, meant he didn't worry about his finish.
Emma knew that Killian wished he was in a similar position, but in a way she was glad he wasn't. If he wasn't worried about his place in this race, he would be in all out war with the insane driver. And each of those battles had her gut twisted in worry. No matter how many other crashes she had witnessed from other drivers who got out and walked away, all she could see was the image of Killian's crash.
Each corner, each restart was a battle. Other cars tried to give them a wide berth and get around them, but the two were all over the track in their fight, which lasted all the way till the end. August was able to get around Eric just before the finish for the win. Then came Killian and Jefferson, neck and neck to the line, with Killian just inches ahead of the 12 car, to make it fourth. Victor and Sean were next with Phillip over the line in 10th.
After his interview, and on their walk back to the RV, Killian wrapped his arm around Emma as they walked. "I'm still leading the points; as long as I stay up, I'll be in the next round." He leaned over and kissed her temple.
She laughed. "But you really want the win."
He grinned. "I always want the win."
She bit her lip and then took his hand to pull him back to the RV faster, "Well, until then, how about something we can both win at?"
All she heard was the small growl from him, and soon she found herself over his shoulder as he ran back to the trailer. She smacked his ass from her position which made her laugh, but it soon turned into a small moan as he gave her one in return, with his hand lingering there. It didn't take long for her to find herself on her back on their bed, with him leaning over her, and their mouths joined in a hungry kiss.
Emma finished up her staff meeting and watched as Belle and Will headed out of the the conference room together, heads tilted to talk to each other quietly with smiles on their faces. Emma attempted to hide her smile behind her coffee cup. She followed Merida out the door, and then walked back to her own office to see Mulan leaning against the volunteer's table as she and Dorothy were chatting animatedly. Both were grinning and laughing at their discussion.
She glanced at the lingering eye contact between Belle and Will as he went into his office and then the woman took a deep breath and turned to her own. Emma walked over to Belle's office, and leaned against the doorframe as she watched her get settled at her desk, the large smile still on her face.
Emma knocked on the door and the other woman's head shot up. "Oh, Emma. Can I help you?"
She pointed at the chair in front of Belle, "May I?"
"Please," Belle told her, and then Emma took a seat.
"You know," Emma started and then bit her lip thinking how to say what she wanted to say. "Umm, we don't have a...uhh…" She smiled, and shook her head. "Belle, we don't have an anti-fraternization policy here."
Belle's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "What?"
Emma held up her hands. "All I'm saying is you and Will don't have to keep things a secret...unless you want to."
A blush quickly bloomed over her friend and co-worker's cheeks. It took a moment for her to speak. "It's not that we are trying to keep it secret, it's just...we just started seeing each other. It's still so new. We aren't even sure what it is yet."
Emma nodded. "No worries. I just wanted to tell you that there is no issue."
"Thank you," Belle told her. "We're that obvious, huh?"
Emma stood and gave a small snort. "Ohh, yeah. But, it's quite adorable, really." She was almost out the door when she turned back around. "You are Mulan are close friends, right? I know you you go to lunch." Belle nodded. "Maybe at one of those lunches, you might want to let her know we also have nothing wrong with the staff and volunteers together, too."
Belle chuckled. "I have a feeling she will be glad to know that."
Emma gave her a wink and then headed back to her office. Her fingers traveled over her desk, and the memories of just what she and Killian did on that desk not too long ago came to mind. Her own cheeks flushed at the thought, and she sighed as she sat down. She missed him here, but lately he kept saying he had team meetings and other things he had to take care of. She wasn't worried at all, but she was curious as to what he was doing with his days.
At almost that exact moment, Killian was in downtown Charlotte, his eyes gazing at the contents of a velvet box. He smiled up at the older man across the display case. "Perfect. Thank you for the quick turn around." The old man closed the box, put it into a small bag, and rang him up. Soon Killian was out the door and driving back home. Now he just had to hide the box so she couldn't find it until it was time to give it to her.
Practice and qualifying at Talladega was a victory for Killian; he got the poll. Eric would start second, Victor in third, and Jefferson would be back in eighth. They went out for a nice celebratory dinner then headed back to the RV to watch a movie, though they got preoccupied prior to watching the movie. So instead, after their bedroom activities, she shrugged on one of his t-shirts and he put on his pajama bottoms as they snuggled together and he turned on one of her favorites, 'The Princess Bride.'
She eventually took a look at the time. "There is still close to an hour left of the movie and it's almost midnight. We should probably just finish it another time. Besides, I know it by heart."
He laughed, because he knew just how true that statement was. Not to mention with how many times they watched it together, he probably did, too. Killian looked at the clock and saw that she was right—it was two minutes to midnight. He sighed, "I guess you are right. How about your turn off the TV, and I'll be right back."
He went into the kitchen, and took out the opaque tupperware container with the false food label, popped the lid and slid the contents onto a plate. He then opened one of the drawers in the kitchen, took out the box from it's hiding place, and put it in his pj's pocket. He got everything ready and then made his way back to the bedroom with his hands behind his back.
She was already laying down, with the covers up, on her side away from him. "Emma?"
She turned around to look at him. "Yeah?"
He brought the dish out from behind his back, revealing A chocolate cupcake with a single lit candle on top. The look on her face was priceless: absolute shock that turned into complete joy and happy surprise. Then he started to sing, 'Happy Birthday.'
Her hand went to her mouth as she sat up on the bed, and he crawled over it to her, as he finished the song. "Happy Birthday…tooooo...youuuuu." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Now make a wish, love."
She closed her eyes, the smile unable to leave her lips, and thought about what she could possibly wish for. She was already so happy; she didn't need anything else. So she just wished that she would be able to keep her happiness safe. To keep the people she loved safe. With that wish, she opened her eyes and blew out the candle. Then she looked up at him, amazed. "How did you know?"
"Well, you didn't make it easy," he teased her.
She laughed. "Well, I guess we both have that in common."
He grinned. It was true; he hadn't told her about his birthday either. "Well, I may have received a heads up much like you did. Dave told me."
"Of course he did." Part of her thought she would need to give her brother a talking to, another, larger part of her though thought she would really need to give him a big hug.
"Before you dig into that cupcake, you first need to open your present." Her eyes lit up even more at his words. He sat the plate on the bed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the small wrapped gift and handed it to her.
She dug into the little wrapping, and her eyes turned into saucers when she saw the small velvet box. She looked up at him in question, and he immediately regretted using that type of box. He waved his hand at her. "Calm down, love. I'm not proposing." He could see her relax but luckily there was a bit of disappointment as well. He reached for her hand. "All I'm saying, Emma...is when I propose," he caught the subtle grin and happiness as his choice of words, "It will be it's own event. Not as a gift. Not during your birthday. Your birthday is your own special day." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. "I'll also remember to be more selective on my choice of boxes."
They both laughed at that. "Okay, what are you waiting for? Open it."
At his words, she nodded, took a breath, and then opened the box. Inside was a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings: a large square-cut diamond sat in the middle with marquis cut on the side, in white gold, all made to look like the bloom of a rose. This wasn't her normal costume jewelry, she knew that. Her fingertip reached out and traced them; words were hard to find, and finally, "They're beautiful."
"They don't hold a candle to you, my love." His hand reached out and caressed the side of her face. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with happy tears. His thumb wiped away a stray one that ran down her cheek. "We'll just have to be careful not to lose one of these the next time we have fun in your office."
"Next time?" She asked incredulous and lightly slapped his shoulder. He pulled her to him, and she hugged him back hard. "Thank you so much. For the earrings, for the cupcake, for just finding out and…"
She hid her face in his neck, and he hugged her tight, while his hand stroked her hair. "Happy Birthday, my love."
Emma didn't really like the big super tracks. Because of the restrictor plates, drivers typically had to work in pairs to push each other around the track. That pushing could easily result in accidents, so to say she was on edge was an understatement. She wasn't the only one that felt that way—a lot of the drivers also didn't like this type of track being in the chase as well, but for different reasons. The chase was all about getting a winner, not about working as team. But at least it was now and not further on in the series.
The only problem was that this was the last race of this segment, and Killian hadn't won a race yet. He wasn't guaranteed a place moving forward. Of course, the team had done all the numbers and ran all the calculations and possibilities. Since he had done well in the other two races, and based on how the others had done, as long as he placed nineteenth or better, he was in.
Emma knew he should be able to to do that without issue, but there was a wild card out on that track. A wild card who had to place much higher in order to get in than Killian did. She was worried about what Jefferson would do; hell, they all were. The crazy driver needed at least a seventh place finish to make into the next round.
With Killian starting third and Victor right behind him, they took the early lead; the two worked well together even if they liked to bust each other's chops. She knew that the two of them wouldn't go after each other, well, until the last lap. Then it was no holds barred.
Victor and Killian led until the first pit stop under the green flag, when they got into a bit of traffic, so Eric and Sean were able to take the lead. While Victor pushed Killian, they were not able to catch up and only keep pace. When they switched off to give Victor's car a chance to breath, Killian's car was able to push them a bit more and they were starting to make headway.
They had almost caught up when a caution came. Jefferson and August had a scuffle back to sixth and seventh places, and each skidded against the wall. Debris from their cars flew across the track. The good news was it saved gas and allowed Killian's car to cool back down and breathe, not to mention an easy pitstop. The drivers timed it perfectly to get lined back up with their dancing partner.
After the restart and those that followed, Eric and Sean stayed in the lead mostly, but Victor and Killian were able to take it back here and there. Emma swore she could tell they were all having fun out there. Of course, their competitive spirit was running and they all wanted the win, but it was a race between friends. The rest of the pack was another story. Everyone seemed to be gunning for each other and bringing out cautions left and right. She was pretty sure that there wasn't a car in tenth and back that didn't have a spot on it.
Killian had to have been saving some power in his car, because breaking out of the fourth turn, he was able to gun it and push him and Victor in front of Eric and Sean. She could see the moment that he tried to get around Victor for the win, but he wasn't able to pull it off and Victor came in first just ahead of him. But it didn't matter—second place was way more than enough to ensure Killian's place into the next segment of the race.
However, when Jefferson came over the line in fifthteenth, her stomach dropped. The 12 car was out of the chase. There was no reason for him to even attempt to hold back, if he even had before.
Emma walked with Robin over to the pits and saw Killian already talking to the reporter, who must have asked him a question similar to her own concern. "He's always a concern for everyone on the track; every time we get out there on the race. I'm not really sure how much worse he could actually be. However if he is, I'm hoping the officials will call him on it. This behavior and driving are already bloody atrocious and dangerous."
He finished answering questions while Victor drove his car to victory lane. Once they wrapped up, she came up and gave him a big hug. "Do you really think he can't get any worse?"
Killian sighed. "I really hope so. But honestly, I don't know." They began walking back towards the RV. His arm wrapped around her and he pulled her closer. "I promise to be careful."
She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked. "Thank you." When they got inside, she pulled him close, and kissed him as her hands went to the front of his firesuit.
"Whoa," he said pulling back.
"What? It's still my birthday. I have one more present I want to unwrap."
Her eyes and the biting of her bottom lip almost had him give in, but he had other plans. "How about I make sure the 'gift' is all nice and clean before you get it?"
"Oh, come on," she said pulling him closer, as her lips dragged up his neck. "It's not like I haven't had you all sweaty after a race before." To make her point her tongue darted out tasting his skin, and he couldn't help the small moan that came from his lips.
It took all his willpower to pull back. "Emma, please. Just let me take a shower, and I promise, I'll more than make it up to you."
She pouted but let him go. "Fine."
He took a breath and headed towards the bathroom, and then had a thought and turned around. "Don't change." At the question on her face, he quickly added with a smirk for good measure. "I want to peel you out of that."
She rolled her eyes and he smiled as he grabbed his phone and headed into the bathroom. He turned on the water as he checked his phone. He knew he wouldn't have a message yet; Victor winning had put a small delay in his plans. However, he was happy to see another text message from the store in Charlotte. "Your order is ready," was all it said, but he knew exactly what it meant. He couldn't contain his smile as he stripped off his firesuit and got into the shower.
He took a relatively quick shower, but left it running as he checked his phone. Still no texts or calls. He knew how long it took for the reporters and the pictures, but it shouldn't be too much longer. As he dug out his change of clothes he had put in the bathroom, a text from Ruby came in. He read it quick and smiled. He dried his hair, gave it a quick brush, and then left the bathroom.
The puzzled look she gave him as she shut off the TV, had him almost laugh. "Why are you dressed?" She stood up from the bed, and walked over to him, her hands on his shirt ready to pull it off him. "I mean, I know I said I wanted to unwrap my present, but a towel would have sufficed."
He chuckled and held her hands still, not allowing her remove his shirt. "Ruby sent me a message that everyone was coming over to celebrate all of us making it to the next round." As she eyed him, he was hoping his stretch of the truth wouldn't give him away too much.
"Killian...is something wrong. Do you not want—"
He refused to let her even think that, and leaned in and pulled her to him for a passionate kiss. He only broke it when they were both breathless, "I always want you. Trust me." He gave her another soft kiss. "Let's just go see our friends. Have a quick celebration. Then we can come back and do whatever you wish. I'll let the driver and Dusty know we won't leave till tomorrow morning. Will that work, love?" He hoped she would say yes, since the RV's driver and Dusty already thought that was what was happening anyway.
She knew he wasn't telling her everything, but she agreed with a sigh anyway. "Okay, let's get this over with."
He shook his head with a smile as he led her out of the RV. "I will admit, it's nice to know you want me so bad."
She gave him a glare. "Yeah, well...we'll see how I feel when we get back. You may be sleeping on the couch."
He wasn't worried by her thinly veiled threat at all. He could see everyone in Victor's RV when they got there, but that wasn't a shock to Emma; what was a shock was when they got inside and she saw the banner, balloons, and every screamed, "Happy Birthday!"
She was once again in shock; her mouth hung open as she spun around, and then looked towards Killian. "I thought you already...what?"
He pulled her into a hug. "You thought I had already celebrated your birthday so you weren't expecting anything else?" When she nodded he looked up at the others. "Well, I guess my plan worked perfectly then."
She shook her head with a smile and playfully swatted his chest. She then got hugs from everyone else and then a round chocolate cake from the bakery he found was placed in front of her, as they all once again sang Happy Birthday to her. Emma just smiled, and wished that this would be what each of her birthdays would be like: happy.
Killian then leaned in and whispered into her ear. "So, am I still sleeping on the couch?"
She pulled him into a kiss by the collar of his shirt. "I'm not sure." At his questioning look she smiled. "I don't know where we will finally pass out." He chuckled and pulled her back in for a kiss as their friends laughed. It was Victor throwing a pillow at the two of them that finally broke them apart, and got Emma to start opening her presents.
They got back to the RV much, much later, and oddly enough they both fell asleep on the couch, naked, sated, and smiling in each other's arms.
Point Standings:
Car - Driver - Points - *=leading ^= Win in round
(These are now 'The Chase' points system)
#71 - Killian Jones - 3129*
#8 - Phillip Haven - 3119^
#36 - Victor Whale - 3127^
#53 - Sean Herman - 3122
#65 - Eric Sirena - 3126
#92 - August Booth - 3122^
#12 - Tarrant Jefferson - 3104