#FinishLine (GearShark #5)

by Cambria Hebert

  “Hell,” I muttered.

  She laughed, letting her hand fall and turning to me. “Actually, it wouldn’t matter. It could be a string around my finger and I’d still want to stare at it just as much.”

  I believed her.

  “The GearShark interview is in like ten minutes.”

  Josie gasped and sat up. The blankets fell around her waist, exposing her naked body and velvety skin. Her round breasts practically called my name, and the second the morning air brushed over them, they tightened into hardened pebbles. “I forgot!”

  Palming the breast closest to me, I massaged the flesh, playing with the nipple, trying to nuzzle her neck. She yanked back and smacked me. “Are you crazy! We have an interview.”

  “It’s a phone interview,” I reminded her. “What did she call it? A flash round…”

  “A rapid-fire round.” Josie corrected.

  I grunted. “Whatever. It’s just a catch-up basically. We can do it from bed.”

  Without a word, Josie glanced down my body, realizing I was just as naked as her. “Wanna do it naked?”

  “Don’t we always do it naked?”

  She rolled her eyes. “The interview, Jace.”

  “Giving an interview to a national magazine while naked?” I mused. “I like it.”

  Laughing, Josie began shoving the hair out of her eyes and brushing it back behind her shoulders.

  There was a faint mark on the side of her breast from last night. I brushed a finger over it lightly. “Did I hurt you?”

  She made a sound. “You know you didn’t. I like it like that.”

  Last night had been all kinds of erotic. After we finished up at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, we went up to the observation deck, a full story above where we ate dinner, and got an even better view of the city.

  After that, I summoned the limo driver and told him to drive around for a while. I put up the privacy screen and proceeded to get some in the limo from my new fiancée.

  Seeing that ring on her finger made me hornier than ever.

  We went at it again when we arrived back to our room, finally passing out sometime in the early hours.

  A knock on the door out in the other room had me banking the erotic thoughts. “Room Service!” someone yelled.

  Damn, that was fast.

  “Stay here,” I told her, yanking the blankets up to cover her bare chest.

  I was partway out the door when she yelled, “Jace!”

  Glancing over my shoulder, I lifted an eyebrow. “Yes?”

  “I’m all for a naked interview, but giving the waiter a show is a little much.”

  Flashing my teeth, I put on my best arrogant voice. “Maybe the waiter is a woman. Some tips don’t require cash, baby.”

  Josie shot up so fast the sheet fell, putting both her beautiful, shapely breasts on display. It was an amazing sight.

  “I will kick your ass, Lorhaven!” she all but roared.

  Chuckling, I backtracked, still staring at her chest, to grab a pair of shorts, swiftly pulling them on. As I sauntered out of the bedroom, I told her, “That’s Jace to you, sweetheart.”

  She was laughing when I closed the door behind me. Moments later, I shoved the door open wide again, wheeling in a cart of food that smelled like heaven.

  “Mmm.” She moaned, and I glanced up. Little minx dropped the sheets and was stretching her arms over her head, breasts on full display again.

  Maybe doing the interview naked wasn’t one of my better ideas. Talk about distracting.

  Josie’s cellphone, which was plugged in and resting on the bedside table, started going off. After glancing at the caller ID, she looked up at me. “It’s Emily.”

  I motioned for her to pick it up as I poured some coffee. I was gonna need this shit to get through the questions. Why Emily Metcalf needed to follow up with us I didn’t know, but as they say in business, any publicity is good publicity. I wasn’t about to complain.

  My sponsor for the NRR was thrilled when I let them know I got tapped for another interview. Might as well make the most of it. Besides, it wasn’t every interview a man got to stare at a pair of perfectly round, perky breasts while he talked.

  “Hey, Emily! This is Joey Gamble,” Josie said, answering the phone. She sounded a hell of a lot more awake speaking to her than she did to me.

  “Hi, Miss Gamble. Thank you so much for agreeing to this rapid-fire interview this morning. Is Lorhaven with you, or do you need a moment to get him?”

  “Call me Joey,” she insisted. “And Jace is here. Let me put him on speaker.”

  Josie motioned for me to say hi when it was done.

  “Lorhaven here.” I took a sip of my coffee and carried a mug to Josie, who was still in bed.

  Darts shot from her eyes, so I figured that meant she thought I was being an ass. So I cleared my throat and tried again. “Thank you for calling this morning.” I glanced back at Josie, and she smiled, so I figured she was happy now.

  “Wonderful! And it’s my pleasure. This is going to be such a fantastic issue for GearShark. The interview with Hopper and Arrow went so well, and to have you both a part of the issue along with Trent and Drew? Fans will devour this!”

  “Trent and Drew are doing an interview?” I asked, drinking some coffee.

  “A rapid-fire round like you,” Emily replied. “I interviewed them via phone yesterday.”

  “That’s great, Emily,” Josie said. “We’re glad to be part of this.”

  “Okay, so this is how it will work. I’ll just ask you a few questions, you answer them, and then I’ll write up a quick piece for the magazine. It’s nothing crazy, and it shouldn’t take too much of your time this morning.”

  I settled back against the headboard, drinking more coffee… I hated interviews.

  Josie scooted closer, set the phone between us, and grabbed my hand. I moved over to grab her boob.

  When I glanced at her, she smiled slyly.

  “All right, Emily,” I said, “ask away.” Suddenly, I was feeling a lot more amenable.

  I think I made it weird.

  Anyone who can make it weird with a guy while they’re naked in bed, right after an epic proposal, while giving an interview to a national magazine is especially talented.

  So how does one go about making things weird?

  Tripping up over an answer that might have been easy but obviously wasn’t. Well, it was an easy answer… Just not one I’d talked to Jace about and maybe one I was still mulling over in my own head.

  Leave it to GearShark to go fishing for a story.

  After the interview was over, we ate the room service and I distracted him with sex. Or so I thought.

  Stepping out of the shower, toweling off, and making sure the bun I’d piled on top of my head hadn’t gotten wet, I loaded my arms with clothes and went out to the bedroom to get dressed.

  The ring on my finger sparkled as I moved and totally caught my attention. Wearing something this beautiful and large all the time was going to take a little getting used to.

  “Want to go wander around the strip today?” I asked.

  Jace didn’t answer, so I spun, looking to where he sat in a nearby chair. The dark hair on his head was wet, so it looked darker than usual. It was combed back, the sides still short as they always had been. The defined muscles of his chest and arms were on total display because of the way he sprawled out in the chair, wearing only a pair of jeans, which were still unbuttoned.

  “Jace?” I questioned. He was broody. I could tell just by looking at him.

  Dark eyes flashed up to mine. The serious look on his face confirmed I wasn’t going to put this off. “You didn’t say anything.”

  I sighed, turning back to the bed and my clothes. “There’s nothing to say.”

  He made a rude sound. “You want to have a baby, Josie.”

  This time I made the rude sound, glancing over my shoulder, hugging the towel a little tighter around me. “I thought you knew that. We always said we
were going to have kids.”

  His eyes bore into me. I knew what he was thinking. “You want a baby now.”

  “I didn’t say that,” I argued, dropping the towel to dress.

  “You didn’t not say it.”

  Stupid interview.

  I said nothing, instead focusing on dressing in a pair of wine-colored shorts. They were a silky material and tied at the waist, perfect for walking around the strip on a summer day. Over the shorts, I added my bra (of course), then a black tank top with wide straps. I felt Jace’s eyes as I slid my feet into a pair of black thong sandals.

  “Josie,” he intoned. God, it was delicious when he talked to me that way, even though it was his not-playing-around tone. “Come here.”

  Giving up to the conversation, I wandered over. He pulled me into his lap. Sighing, I rested my cheek against his bare shoulder.

  I’d known immediately he picked up on the vibes bursting around me the second Emily asked the dreaded baby question. I hesitated, avoided his gaze, and then stammered out an answer that was pretty general.

  Why couldn’t she have pressured us about marriage? Oh, that’s right. ‘Cause we already gave her the 4-1-1 about our engagement.

  “Why didn’t you say something to me?” Both his arms rested on the chair. I didn’t like it. He usually wrapped them around me. He was mad. I didn’t like that either.

  “Because I knew you’d react like this,” I muttered, sour.

  “Act like what?”

  “Mad.”

  “You think I’m mad you want to have a baby?” Jace was choosing his words carefully. Something he didn’t often do.

  Lifting my head, I met his eyes. They were dark and unreadable, but mine still clung to his as if his stare were magnetized. “Are you?”

  Suddenly, he sucked in a breath and just held it there in his lungs. After a few seconds, it whooshed out. “So you do?”

  “I always figured I’d have kids, you know, like we both said we would someday. But I never really thought much about being a mother… To be honest, I’m not really sure I’ll be a very good one. My own mother moved out when she and Dad got divorced and really hasn’t looked back. I wasn’t what she wanted. And then there’s my father…”

  “He didn’t always make you feel too wanted either.” Jace finished.

  Shrugging one shoulder, I replied, “He’s always been there for me, which is more than I can say for my mother. And I know he loves me. Our relationship has been a lot better the past year or so, but yeah.” My voice quieted. “He didn’t always make me feel like I was enough either.”

  “Ah, baby,” Jace whispered, closing his arms around me.

  My heart skipped a beat. My cheek went back to his shoulder and my world shifted back on axis. “You’re so much more than just enough. And I know for a fact you’re going to be a better mother than most.”

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked, vulnerability stark in my tone.

  “Because you know exactly how you don’t want to make a child feel. Because you’re so good at love you made me, a guy who was pretty much a confirmed bachelor, change his mind and propose on the freaking Eiffel Tower, for Chrissakes.”

  Holding my hand out a little, I gazed down at the ring. “Last night was the best.”

  I felt his lips brush the top of my head. “It’s nothing compared to what our future is going to be like.”

  I didn’t say anything. I just sat there thinking.

  “You should have said something to me,” Jace said, not willing to let it go. “I shouldn’t find out stuff like that during interviews.”

  “It’s not like I told the world I’m pregnant,” I burst out, looking up. “I didn’t even say anything to that degree at all, just that we would have kids someday.”

  “I saw your face, Josie.”

  “It was a phone interview. No one else saw,” I muttered.

  His stare was stony. He was being a butthead. I sighed heavily. “Yes, okay. I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently.”

  “You didn’t say anything.”

  “I’m beginning to think you’re madder because I didn’t tell you every single thought that goes on in my head versus the fact I actually want to have a baby soon.”

  His lips lifted on one side. “I am.”

  Well, that got my attention. Sitting up straight, I felt my mouth round in a little O.

  Jace laughed low, rubbing his hand up my back. “I can’t give you what you want, baby, if you don’t tell me what it is.”

  I gaped at him. Nervous excitement fluttered around inside me. “I didn’t think it was the right time. We weren’t even engaged. You had enough pressure from my father and everyone else just to marry me. I wasn’t about to come home one day and tell you I was getting a case of baby fever.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Baby fever.”

  I smacked him lightly in the chest. He was making fun of me.

  Catching my hand, lifting it from his chest, and kissing the backs of my fingers, he said, “Tell me about this baby fever, Josie.”

  I shrugged again. “I don’t know. Just one day I was out, planning Arrow’s wedding, and I saw this woman… She had a baby and a stroller. The image stuck with me, kind of made me feel a type of longing I’ve never really felt before. We’ve been together a while now, Jace. It will be two years soon. During that time, I feel we’ve built a family around us. My father, Hopper and Arrow. Hell, we have family dinners now.”

  Jace laughed.

  “I love it a lot,” I whispered. It was kind of silly, but it made me feel shy to admit. I was always the strong woman, the woman who didn’t need anyone. And really, I didn’t. I could survive on my own.

  I just didn’t want to. Not ever.

  “That’s a good thing.” He stroked his hand up my back.

  “We have our house together, and I love waking up to you. It just feels like our life is so good. Hopper said something to me before about what our kids would be like.” I pressed a hand to my stomach without thinking. “I just…”

  “Just what?” he cajoled.

  I met his eyes. “I want that piece of you. I want your baby growing inside me. I want more of us, more of our family.”

  “I like the picture you paint.” His hand joined mine over my stomach.

  I know he said he liked it, but this had to be a surprise. Geez, he just asked me to marry him. I never even planned to bring this up, not for at least another year. “I didn’t tell you because it’s just that, a picture. A thought… maybe a dream of what we might have in a few years. I’m so happy right now with you, just you.” Laying my palm against his cheek, I went on. “I know we aren’t really ready for a baby. I don’t want to pressure you.”

  He laughed.

  “Why are you laughing!” I demanded. I was trying to pour my heart out here!

  “Baby, you know I don’t succumb to pressure.”

  I rolled my eyes and tried to vacate his lap. He wouldn’t let me go.

  “I gotta tell you, though. I didn’t see this convo coming. Not right now.” He went on as if I wasn’t trying to escape him.

  I stopped struggling. “Why?”

  “I thought you were loving the NRR.”

  “Why can’t I love the NRR and want a baby?” I wondered.

  He growled deep in his chest. “There is no way in hell I will let you behind the wheel of a race car with my baby inside you.”

  I slumped back against him, his arms loosely around my waist. “I’m not even going to argue with you.”

  His voice took on an edge he usually reserved for other people, manly people who thought he was an asshole. “Good, because this one fight you will not win.”

  “Let me finish,” I demanded. “I won’t argue with you because you’re right.”

  Jace’s body went rigid for a moment, as if he’d been stung by a giant wasp. He’s surprised I’m not arguing. I smiled to myself. “I can’t race and be pregnant at the same time.”

  “I won’t
have you or my child at risk.”

  My, my, he sounded like a grizzly bear. I liked it.

  “The season is almost over. It’s been a good season, but I don’t know… Racing has kind of lost some of its spark for me.”

  Jace exhaled. “Because of the hazing and everything that happened when you were still in NASCAR?”

  I nodded slowly. “But also because I don’t really feel like I have to prove myself anymore. I’ve already busted molds and stereotypes. I’ve gone against the grain a long time. I’m tired, Jace.”

  He made a sound and stood, bringing me with him. When my feet hit the floor, Jace spun me so we were facing one another and pressed his forehead to mine. “I don’t want you to be tired. And this seems like a much bigger conversation than just a baby.”

  I shook my head. “Not really. It’s all connected. I just feel like things are changing inside me… I don’t have to fight as hard now. I feel like I’m growing and I want more out of life.”

  “You didn’t tell me about this, Josie.” His brow furrowed, agitation back in his voice.

  “I am now.”

  He scoffed. “Because I’m forcing it out of you.”

  “You would never force me,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his neck.

  Dragging his knuckles down the side of my cheek, he whispered, “No, baby, I wouldn’t.”

  I kissed him softly.

  He lifted his head after. “If you quit racing, what will you do?”

  Pulling back, pacing away, I said, “I’d like to become even more involved in the foundation I started with Dad. Maybe start a mentor program.” I turned. The last thought kind of stuck to my tongue, not wanting to come out. It was sort of a leap.

  “And…” He coaxed as if he sensed there was more.

  Taking a breath, I spun. “I’d kind of like to write a book.”

  His face belayed his surprise. “A book? Like with words and shit?”

  I giggled but then nodded. “Yeah, kind of like a tell-all, but more than that. Behind the scenes of racing, what it’s like to be a female in a male-dominated sport. What it was like growing up as the daughter of a near billionaire, my mother leaving. How to be strong as a female without losing yourself.”