paddock princess [ln4]

sweetheart

A violent stream of light fell on her face, causing a painful ache to invade every sense in her body. Charlie let out an involuntary groan at the intrusion and settled back into the comfy bed, automatically the girl felt relief at the furnace-like comfort it brought. Turning her body away from the harsh light, she wiggled around, desperate to let slumber overtake her mind once more.

Suddenly, a harsh pinch nipped her exposed waist, before gently settling on the smooth skin of her hip. Charlie's eyes widened when a hand tenderly reached out towards her silky hair, moving strands away from her neck.

"Stop moving," a husky voice said, his breath caressing her ear, "Go back to sleep."

A foggy stream of memories flooded Charlie's head and she instantly turned over to face the man laying behind her.

Her wide eyes were met with Lando's transfixing green ones.

He sent her a sleepy grin before reaching out with his hand again. This time tracing her jawline up to her cheeks, her nose, down to her lips.

He was in an unspoken trance, purely focusing on the girl in his bed.

Meanwhile, Charlie's heart was racing for all the wrong reasons. Now that the heavy stream of alcohol is nothing more than a bad headache and a desperate need for greasy food, she could not make sense of what the fuck happened to lead her to this point.

A one-night stand was not something out of the ordinary for the girl. Sure, she wasn't regularly practiced in the field; especially since attending university, but she had had her fair share. The fact that she ended up in someone's bed didn't bother her. 

It was the fact of whose bed she was in that made her stomach sink.

She remembered the letter and how she had gone to the club in a sad attempt to drown the emotional turmoil it caused. She remembered Lando's sudden intrusion and reuniting with her boys.

Hell, she would be lying if she said that she didn't remember leaving the club with Lando.

She remembered the gentle hand on her back, leading her through the busy streets and guiding her to his car. She remembered the oversized jacket being thrown across her shoulders after mumbling about how cold the wind was from inside the open-roofed vehicle.

She remembered his giddy smile as he led her through the condo doors and how that smile had changed into something deeper the minute he eagerly gripped her hand, guiding her down the corridor.

The pale-green of his eyes that had clouded with need. The harsh grip on her hips and thighs and waist in complete desperation that would surely leave bruises.

She remembered the way her name rolled off his tongue in pleasure and just how fucking good he was with that tongue.

Facing the man beside her, his gaze traveling across her face in complete adorning focus, as if he was memorizing every detail on her skin like treasure, Charlie remembered exactly how she had felt safe and protected in his arms.

She was a flower wilting away with thirst, and he submerged her in enough water to last a lifetime.

Even now, with the full understanding that, for her own good, she needed to get away from him as soon as her weak, sore limbs would allow–she still felt like the safest, most comforted person in the world.

Lando gently tapped her nose, instantly bringing her focus back towards his lazy grin.

"Good morning."

Charlie gulped with embarrassment. Who she was last night, is most certainly not who she said she was going to be coming to Monaco, Yet, it had felt exhilarating and fun and absolutely perfect.

"Good morning," she replied, "What time is it?"

Leaning away from the girl, Lando reached for his phone on the bedside table. The thin sheets pooled around his waist and Charlie had to do everything in her power to not reach for the tanned muscle on his stomach.

"It's 9:30." he replied nonchalantly before turning back towards the girl, reaching out for her once again.

His words sent a shiver down her spine and, just like that, the magic was over.

"Wait," she spoke with urgency. Instantly sitting up, Charlie reached for her own phone and scrolled through the hundreds of notifications from Stassie and Emerson, and Seb, and every fucking gossip page imaginable.

God damn tequila!

"No, no, no," she sighed, hiding her face in her hands out of the sheer mess that she found herself in, "I missed my fucking flight!"

Lando's eyebrows furrowed at the girl before settling his large hands on top of hers and forcing them away from her face. His heart broke at the sight of tears threatening to escape.

"Hey," he gently spoke, "It's going to be okay, Charlotte."

"That's so easy for you to say, Lando!" she snapped, and almost instantly was filled with regret at her misplaced anger.

Her eyes softened immediately and she wanted to kick herself when his face recoiled in hurt.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, "It's just that, this isn't how things were supposed to be."

"What does that mean?" He forced out, a strained tone lacing his words. She bit her lip, suddenly uncomfortable underneath his intense gaze.

"Lan," she started, and instantly her mind flooded with memories from last night, where the nickname left her lips in sheer pleasure, "This was supposed to be easy. I wasn't supposed to meet you, or see the other drivers."

She reached for his hand and rubbed her thumb across his palm, "I'm not the person everyone remembers me being, and I can never be that for them again.

The eyes that hadn't left hers since she woke up suddenly wouldn't meet her gaze. Lando's jaw clenched as he released a harsh sigh, "That's bullshit, and you know it."

His accusation gave her whiplash, and despite her aching muscles, she was suddenly very ready to leave.

"Look, I don't know who you used to be, Charlie." he started, "But, I don't care because I like this Charlie good enough."

She shook her head at his words. Lando didn't even know who she was enough to have an opinion of her.

This–whatever it was, was too much. She suddenly was suffocating underneath his gaze and his telling words sounded fuzzy in her ears.

She focused all of her attention into clumsily placing the abandoned Ferrari hat over her messy curls and hopped down from the large bed, desperately searching for her missing clothes. 

Looking up towards Lando, her breath hitched as her eyes fell on him lying back against the headboard, arms lazily laced behind his head, which instantly pulled the girl's attention towards the veiny muscles covering his arms. 

A snarky smile laced his face as he watched the girl struggle in amusement.

"Where are my clothes?"

The man teasingly cocked his head at the question before running a hand through his disheveled curls.

Without warning, Lando jumped out of the bed and Charlie had to force herself to not look at his exposed lower half as he made his way over to where she was standing.

"I put them in the wash last night, like the perfect gentleman I am."

Charlie tried to speak but the words were suddenly caught in her throat as she peered up at the man. Their closeness made Charlie notice the moles trailing across his face.

"Thank you," she croaked out, an embarrassing pink flooded her face at the poor attempt of words.

Lando bit his lip to prevent smiling before giving the girl a slight nod, "You're welcome, Sweetheart."

Kill me now