Racing Hearts (Hollows Garage Book 3)

Jax handed me my cup of coffee, making it exactly the way I liked it, before sitting on the other side of the couch.

“Drink up and then get ready.”

“Another date?”

He shrugged. “I guess it could be considered a date. Actually, yeah, let’s make it a date.”

“Are you going to make every outing a date?”

“Sweetheart, going to the grocery store feels like a date with you. Maybe stop being so cute and flirty everywhere we go.”

“I do not do that!”

“Right, right. Keep telling yourself that. Now go on, get ready.”

I did, changing fast and almost racing him downstairs to the car.

I didn’t ask where we were going and really didn’t care. I somehow enjoyed everywhere he took me. His hand moved to sit on my thigh, but he froze, ready to pull it away.

I grabbed it, setting it down, and he smiled, leaning back in silence until we reached his apparent destination.

A bookstore.

“I still can’t believe you read and read romance at that.”

“If you’re going to start making fun of me, we can leave. I honestly hate that you know already.”

I reached for his hand as we walked in and he started to look over the shelves. “You can’t hate that. I like knowing your dirty little secret.”

“Just for that, I’m going to pick out a book that makes you cry.”

“None of them are going to make me cry.”

“I bet I will have tears running down your face by midnight.”

I slid between him and the bookshelf, blocking his view, but he only smiled down at me, his dimples growing as he grinned.

“There are other ways that we could have tears running down my face by midnight if you’re interested,” I said, running a hand down his stomach.

He groaned, leaning his forehead against mine. “Respectfully, you are the sluttiest virgin I have ever met.”

“No need to be respectful about it and I am not a virgin anymore, so you have to stop calling me that.”

“Do I if I’m the only one you’ve been with?”

“Are you saying it doesn’t count unless I sleep with someone else?”

His smile fell, and he pushed against me. “No. That is definitely not what I’m saying.”

“Then you better knock it off.”

“I take it back. Would you like to leave so I can make up for my comments?” he asked, grinning.

“Why leave? You could probably figure it out here if I just–” I adjusted myself onto the small table behind me, it was hidden enough back here. I reached up, wrapping a hand around his neck to pull him closer to me. He groaned, pushing hard against me.

“I love when you get all cute and in charge, but don’t even think about it,” he said, laughing as he pulled me off the table. “Now, let’s get our books and get out of here before you start ripping my clothes off. Who would have thought a bookstore turned you on so much?”

“Fine. You’re no fun.” I stuck out my tongue, and he leaned down, grabbing it and sucking it as my mouth fell open.

When he pulled back, I was almost speechless. “If you don’t want your clothes ripped off, maybe don’t do weirdly hot things like that,” I said, breathless. He wasn’t smiling, the dark look on his face making a shiver run through me. It was the same dangerous look he would get when he was jealous or ready for a fight, but this time, it was all for me.

“Should we go check out and get home, or do you want to find more?” I asked with a smile.

“Just so you know, I will be getting you back for getting me so fucking turned on when I can’t do anything about it. And no, now I definitely have one more to get.”

“Which is?”

“One to make you cry.”

“I don’t know why you want to see me cry so bad.”

“It’s not that I want to see you cry. It’s two things. One, it proves you do in fact have a red, beating heart like the rest of us. And two, I want you to see that, while it might hurt sometimes, love and romance are one hundred percent worth it.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are so sweet and sappy. I honestly don’t know what to do with you. And I don’t know how you say that when you’ve been hurt so badly before.”

“Because I learned my lesson and moved on to better things. That better thing being you.”

“You can’t claim to like me that much. You don’t even know everything about me,” I said, my words growing quiet at everything he really didn’t know about me. That laptop was haunting me now, and I knew time was running out to come clean.

“Stop thinking you’re not special. I don’t need weeks or months or years, Carly. I was falling for you the moment I saw you. I know this is going to be hard for you to understand, but loving someone does not mean that you know everything about them. It means that you are agreeing to love everything you already know and the things that you find out. Good and bad.”

“And what if the bad is really bad? What if it’s an instant problem for you?”

He shrugged. “Obviously, if it’s cheating or lying, I’m not going to be okay with that.”

“No, I mean things about me, about my past, not that I would purposely hurt you. I don’t know how anyone could willingly hurt you.”

He laughed. “No one will be able to when my girl wants to fight to the death for me every time.”

“Or maybe I don’t like people trying to hurt my friends.”

“Friends? Just admit you have fallen in love with me so we can move on.”

“Would you really want me to admit to something like that out of pity?”

“No, I guess you’re right,” he said, throwing an arm over me. “I want to watch you fall so in love with me you fall flat on your face.”

“Wow, first you want to make me cry and now you want me to fall flat on my face? And you say I’m the mean one.”

“Mmm,” he said. “It’s not meant to be mean. I’m just getting desperate to make you see how much you like me.”

“Keep giving me orgasms, and you might change my mind,” I said, trying to not talk about falling for him a second longer.

“Done. Prepare for the rest of your day to be absolutely wrecked.

THE DOOR to the apartment shut behind me and before I could take another step, I was being forced up against the door. My face pressed against the cool wood as Jax’s hand wrapped around my neck.

“I’ve made a decision,” he said, the deep rasp to his voice only turning me on more.

“Which is?”

“For every minute you get me turned on in public, is one more minute you’ll be doing exactly what I say when we get home.”

I laughed, his hand tightening at the sound. “What if I don’t want to do exactly as you say?”

“Listen or don’t listen. I already fantasize about your ass being red so I have my fun either way.”

He grabbed my hands, pinning them behind my back as he pushed me towards the bedroom. We made it in the doorway before he stopped.

“Undress.”

“Completely?”

“Well, I won’t be licking every curve of your body with clothes on.”

Heat flushed, but I didn’t move. If he cared, he didn’t say anything, choosing to start kissing my neck instead.

“Now, get undressed.”

“I can’t stand in front of you completely naked.”

He pulled off my sweater, and then moved to my leggings, hooking his thumbs under the band and pulling them off. “You can because you’re going to be doing a lot more than standing in front of me naked. Now bend over, put your hands on the bed.”

He pulled at my shirt, taking it off until I stood naked in the room, frozen.

“You aren’t listening very well, brat.” He pulled my arms, pinning them to my back and walking me forward. He kept moving until I was on my knees, moving across the bed.

“Good,” he said, wrapping his hand back around my neck again. “Look at that, you’re here naked, and I’m harder than ever.” His hand moved higher, tipping my head back against him. “I can’t wait to have these lips wrapped around my cock again. I will tell you a thousand more times, you are perfect, every single thing about you is perfect and I would give my entire world to have you in this bed with me every single night.” I leaned back into him, realizing he was naked against me. I could hardly breathe, each harsh whisper turning me on and I could already feel how wet I was.

“Now bend over,” he said, leaning me forward on the bed until my face was against the blankets. He let me go, my hands moving to hold myself up. “Not a chance,” he said, pushing me back down as his hand slapped against my ass.

I bolted up, the sting of it sending a thrill up my spine.

“Jax!” I yelled, more shocked than anything.

“Yes?”

“I…I like that.”

He groaned. “Of course you do because you’re a dream come fucking true.” He moved closer and I could feel his cock pushing against my entrance now. “I’m going to take you just like this now, holding these perfect hips that make me lose my mind. I want to sink my fucking teeth into them, grab them every second of the day.” He grabbed them now, and for the first time, I didn’t care that they were a little soft, didn’t care that they had some extra weight on them with how he grabbed onto me. His fingers dug in before one pulled away to spank me once more. “Fuck, please yell if this is to much,” he said.

“If what is—” My words were cut off as he slammed into me. I expected pain with the pace he was going, but my body stretched around him easier now.

He didn’t stop, thrusting into me as my body responded, liking the roughness of his touch.

Soon, I was pushing back, moving in rhythm as my orgasm built.

He reached down, wrapping an arm around my hip until his fingers found my clit. I yelled as he hit that sensitive spot, the blinding pleasure almost too much to take, but he didn’t stop. In seconds, I was falling apart, turning my face into the bed as I yelled out. He finally slowed, both of us staying like that as we tried to catch our breath.

He rolled next to me, pulling me against him as I tried to come down off the high of my orgasm.

“Living with you is like living in a fairytale and a porno all at once. I can’t figure out which one this is,” I said.

“Obviously I’m doing my best to make it both,” he said, his chest rumbling with a laugh.

“Well, you are doing great. Are you always like this with girls?”

“Like…what?”

“Sweet, caring, hot and demanding. All of this.”

He gave a small laugh, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close.

“No, not quite the same. Although, I do like to think I’m sweet and hot all the time.”

“Of course you do,” I said, rolling my eyes. “That’s why I asked.”

“Ahh, worrying that you aren’t special again?” he asked, rolling to his side to face me. His hand moved along my jaw and I reached up to grab it, needing an answer first.“I’ve never been like this with someone else because I’ve never felt so much like myself with someone. I’ve never felt like someone likes me for me the way that you do, which is ironic because you don’t seem to like anyone,” he said with a small laugh. “You let me be me, and I already know you secretly love me for it. So no, I have only given all of this to you. All sides of myself, every part of myself, to you.”

I didn’t say anything, deciding to kiss him instead of admitting that I did already secretly love him. I loved everything about him.