Racing Hearts (Hollows Garage Book 3)

“No, no, no,” I said. “Not a chance.”

“What now?”

“You are not wearing one of your BDSM outfits today,” I said, taking the piece of leather out of her hand. “This is a charity event and children will be there.”

“And? I’m not showing off anything. I’m completely covered.”

I set the leather down and grabbed her arm, pulling her to me. “No, but I have to look at you, knowing what’s underneath, knowing what you taste like. I can’t do this all day. I will end up dragging you into a room and fucking you senseless or passing out from blue balls.”

She gave me a sweet smile. “Those both sound pretty entertaining. Although, can option number two even happen?”

“When you have been teasing me for days and wear shit like this, yes, I have no doubt that it could happen. It very well might happen either way.”

She made an appreciative sound. Every inch of me focused on her lips so hard that I didn’t notice her hand moving down until it reached my hard cock.

“Please don’t stop doing that,” I groaned. Even over my jeans, her touch felt like heaven. “Or maybe do stop. If you don’t, we will have another incident.”

“You’re the one who ruined it with your naked friend’s comment. I was about to strip you in the kitchen before you said that.”

“You were not,” I said.

“Well, now you will never know.”

“I feel like you’re enjoying teasing me more than anything, so I think I have a pretty good idea,” I said, leaning down to kiss her. I ran my hands down her sides to her back, and it was taking everything in me not to pull her into the bedroom.

“I am enjoying that, and now I guess it will just keep happening,” she said, her hand running over my dick again. “We really are on a time crunch, so I’m going to get ready.”

“You know I’m going to get you back for all of this. The teasing, the party incident, touching me constantly so I can’t think straight.” I groaned as I kissed her. “But fine. Let’s go race. Here,” I said, grabbing a shirt from my closet, “wear this shirt and leave the leather behind for today. Please.”

“What is this?” She held it up, looking it over. It was one of the shirts we had made for racing, a picture of my car and my last name across the back with the Hollows Garage logo on the front.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re asking me to wear this on purpose.”

“Absolutely. I want everyone there to know that you’re mine. Maybe certain people will get the hint and keep their hands to themselves. Now I’m going to shower.” I leaned down to kiss her, running from the room before she could argue any further.

TWO HOURS LATER, I was sitting behind the wheel of a Holt Racing track car, waiting for another kid to slide in beside me.

I had agreed to do this today, and was honestly happy to be here, but my morning with Carly was the only thing on my mind and it was making it harder and harder to focus. I kept trying to look for her, catch any glimpse of her, and it was taking everything in me to focus on the road. Luckily, I knew this car and the track well enough that making laps had become second nature for me.

The door opened, and I didn’t look over, still scanning the crowd for her.

“Ready?” I asked, as the door opened, and someone slid in next to me.

“Nope. I’m only here to check in on the driver, not actually go for a ride.”

“Carly,” I breathed, turning to see her smiling in the passenger seat.

My pathetic heart exploded in happiness until I looked down.

“What the fuck are you wearing?”

“Hello to you, too. A kid spilled water all over me, so I was letting the shirt dry. I didn’t think everyone here needed to see my nipples,” she said, her eyebrows jumping up with a smirk.

“Why didn’t you come get me?”

“Because you’ve been in the car for hours? I couldn’t wait.”

“And you haven’t changed back into it yet?” I asked. I had only been daydreaming for the last two hours about her in that shirt, and now it was gone.

“This one is pretty comfortable.” She smiled, and I knew she was doing this on purpose.

“I know you’re provoking me, and you know it’s working.”

“Is that another threat?”

I pulled off my harness type seat belt and leaned over to her. “Yeah, it is. You’re going to be the one begging me to stop giving you orgasms. And you can fucking bet that the first thing I do when we get to my car is going to be cutting this damn shirt right off of you.”

She leaned closer, putting her hand on my bicep, and I tried not to be an idiot and flex, failing immediately.

“You know I’ve never been interested in racers before. Never really saw the appeal.”

“Great, another point in my favor,” I said, the sarcasm obvious.

“If you let me finish, I would tell you that all of that was true until I had to watch you out here driving, teaching people about the cars, all hot with your hat turned back and those sunglasses on. Then you pulled your shirt up, and I saw all of this.” Her hands slid under my shirt. Her fingers splayed over my stomach and moved up to my chest before her nails raked lightly back down until she reached the waistband of my jeans.

“Carly,” I said. I could barely breathe and I knew she could hear the tightness of my voice.

I kept my hands glued to the steering wheel, worried I wouldn’t be able to control myself if I touched her again.

“Yes, sunshine?”

I don’t know what needy part of me had to react so strongly to that nickname, but it worked every time. It was like she was praising me for who I was and it immediately made pleasure roll through me, making my dick hard again.

“That’s it. You are not going to tease me and tell me how hot you think I am and use cute little nicknames. We are leaving. Now.” I moved to shift the car, but her hand slid down to mine, stopping me.

“We can’t leave yet. You still have more driving scheduled,” she said.

“I don’t care. I can’t stand this any longer.”

“I think you’ll be fine to wait a few more hours.”

“And what if you decide to tease me all night?”

“Then you’re about to have a very fun night,” she said in her playful tone. I meant what I said when I called her hot when she was grumpy, but her flirty and sweet could bring me to my fucking knees.

Somehow, it made it all feel special, or at least made me feel special. I was the only one getting this side of her.

“You’re terrorizing me, and I’m going to pay you back for every second.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Now get back out there and keep looking all hot so I can decide if I really do want to have sex with a street racer or not.”

That was enough. I leaned over, kissing her hard. “You already have, sweetheart, and the way you’re teasing me, I can guarantee you’re going to be doing it again soon.”

I could hear her suck in a breath, but she wasn’t going to give me any more.

“Really? Who? I think Kye is your only single guy friend? I mean, Raf is a racer, so I guess that could work.”

I wound my hand into her hair, using it to pull her closer.

“I know you’re kidding, but you know it’s working. Say it again, Carly. Taunt me again and I will cut this shirt off of you right now,” I said, my hand moving down to the hem of the shirt and pulling it up.

She smiled up at me, the devious smile already letting me know I lost.

“You can make your threats, Jax, but I already know how jealous you are. You wouldn’t put me on display like that in front of everyone.”

“I am not jealous.”

“No? Then I’m going to go talk to Raf. I’ll see you soon.”

She moved to open the door, but I grabbed her, pulling her back against the seat. “Fine. I might have a jealousy issue, but in my defense, it has never been this bad. I’ve also never had someone driving me this far out of my mind. I just want you next to me all day.”

She laughed, but I suddenly wasn’t kidding. I leaned over to buckle her in and she immediately slapped my hands away.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting you buckled in and safe? You’re coming with me. I need you to not flirt with Raf and I also want to continue touching you, but I have to keep driving, so now you’re coming with me. Problem solved.”

“No way. I’m not riding with you to race. I thought you were taking these kids for rides.”

“I was, but I’ll tell Kye to take a few laps with them for now. I need a break anyway.”

“Then you shouldn’t be driving at all if you need a break.”

“I need a break with you, not from driving. Come on, we are only going around the track a few times.”

“You know that I don’t like the fast car stuff. And this isn’t doing donuts in an empty parking lot. I saw how fast you are taking those turns.”

“Because it scares you or because you’ve only ridden with shit drivers?”

“Probably both.”

“You’re in luck then. You know I wouldn’t put you in any danger and I’m a good driver. It’s also on a closed track, so Kye and Fox are the only other two on it right now. It’s fun and at this point, I’ve probably done it a thousand times.”

“Yeah, fun for you. Not for me.”

I couldn’t imagine the problems she had with Slaughter and Tristan along with their driving, but I also couldn’t imagine her not liking it once we got out there.

“Try it with me once. If you never want to do it again, I won’t ask.”

She seemed to think it over, looking over the track. “I will go around once and if I want out, you stop and let me out.”

“Okay.”

She let me buckle her in this time, and I didn’t miss how her fingers were already gripping the door handle.

I left my hand on her thigh, reaching over with my left hand to shift before taking off at a slow pace.

“You really don’t need to hold my thigh.”

“I don’t mind. It brings a new challenge to shifting,” I said, reaching over to hit the shifter again.

“No. I mean, you don’t have to because I’m way too self conscious for you to have your hand there.” She peeled my hand off, setting it on the shifter.

“Self conscious of me touching your leg? You know I have already touched a lot more of your body? And will be again?”

“That’s different.”

“How?” I picked up the pace, trying to keep the engine noise to a minimum.

“Because when things are like that between us, I forget to be self conscious. When we’re like this, all I can think about is how huge my thigh is and I think that it’s all you’re thinking about.”

I yanked the car to the side of the track, kicking in the clutch and braking before turning to her.

“I am absolutely, without a doubt, never thinking about you like that. If my hand is on any part of you, all I can think about is one, how long you are going to let me keep it there. And two, is how I got lucky enough that such a perfect woman would let me touch her. And honestly, three is all sexual. I’m not even going to lie. If my hand is on your thigh, I’m also wondering how long until I can move it upwards. More the first two though, I swear.”

She mumbled something, but I couldn’t hear her over the engine.

“I don’t know what I can say to make you feel a hundred percent in believing me, but please understand that I am only thinking amazing things about you. I am only thinking about how perfect and beautiful you are. Constantly. Like so much that it hurts. As for other people, most of them are too self absorbed, and the other half are probably looking at you because you dress so hot.”

That made her smile more, and I reached back over. “If my hand there really makes you that uncomfortable, I won’t, but please tell me the moment I’m allowed to again.”

She was quiet for a second before looking back over at me. “You really don’t think anything bad about me? Ever? That seems extreme.”

“No. Why would I? I like everything about you. You’re funny, and smart, and mostly nice to me.”

“Ugh, you are so sweet. Fine, take me around the track, touch my thigh. I don’t even know how I am supposed to say no to that face.”

I shifted back into gear, taking the win and pulling out.

“And, in the event you think I could possibly think you’re anything but hot, please always think back to the most humiliating night of my life, the party, and what happened when you touched me. There is no part of you that doesn’t turn me on.”

“For someone who is always saying the wrong, sarcastic things, you really know what to say when I’m feeling bad.”

“Good, if there’s one thing I would like to be able to do in life, it’s making you happier.”

“Then don’t wreck this car. That would make me happy.”

“I can do that. I will do that,” I said, taking off again. We went around once, before I slowed to check on her.

“You good?”

She nodded, a smile on her face. “Okay, that was more fun than I thought, and you were right.”

“About?”

“About me having sex with a street racer. I will definitely be doing it again with the way you just showed off.”

I could only laugh, pulling out onto the track again as it hit me just how deeply I was falling for her.