“Jesus!” Carrie panted for breath. Struggling with her seat belt, she climbed out of her car, waded through waist-high weeds and ran across the road. The elderly man inside was conscious, but shaking, hanging suspended by his seat belt. She recognized him instantly. “Mr. Hawkins? Mr. Hawkins? Are you hurt?”
“N-no, I don’t think so.”
“Hang on. I’ll call for help.” She raced back across the highway, grabbed her cell phone and made a call. She stayed with Mr. Hawkins through the ordeal, seeing him safely freed from his disabled truck and explaining to the police what had happened. When she finally left the scene, she was shaking. There was no damage to her car, so she did a careful U-turn and went home.
Carrie walked straight to the bar and splashed a measure of bourbon into a squat glass and drank it down in one gulp. She didn’t care for the stuff taken like that but, for medicinal purposes, it served the purpose. Inhaling sharply from the burn, gasping, she poured another and carried it with her to the sofa.
Curling up with her legs tucked beneath her, she gripped the glass and let the entire incident replay in her mind. That it had been a close call was without question. She started to shake. Tears rolled steadily down her face. Oh, God. Things happened. Life happened. Every single day was a risk of either losing someone you loved or dying yourself.
Pleasant thought but there it was.
Nope. It was much better to live and do your best and love your hardest. It had taken a slap of reality right in the face to make her see the light.
She plunked the now empty glass on the coffee table and simply lost it. How could she have been so blind? As she wept, she wanted J.T. She needed his arms around her. She wanted to lay with him in bed every night and enjoy all the good things. Passion, love, caring. All of it. She buried her head in her arms and ached for the man she loved. Yes, he was in a dangerous job but he was good at what he did. Life held risks and only the worst sort of coward hid from it.
A feeling of warmth, of power coupled with a blast of enlightenment swept her up. Getting up from the couch, she decided then and there to take her life back and she knew just who could help her do that. Carrie took her cell phone from her purse and pulled up the contact list. Knuckling away her tears, she pressed the call button and waited until a familiar gruff voice picked up.
“Carrie, darlin’, is that you? How the hell are you, honey?”
“Hey, Gus. Am I catching you at a bad time?”
“Hell, no. Never too busy for you. What’s up?”
“Well, Gus, I need a big favor.”
* * * * *
As J.T. ran a solitary victory lap at the Texas Motor Speedway at the conclusion of the five hundred, he heard the distant roar of the crowds who filled the stands to capacity. He provided them with a show and did a couple of doughnuts in the grassy area in the center of the oval track then jerked to a stop and stuck his arm out the window for the obligatory wave. The car had run smoothly and there had only been a couple of minor accidents in the course of the race. From the pole position, he’d varied running between the number seven and number ten spot until making his final move during the last twenty laps to take the lead.
It had been a good race but it didn’t change the fact he’d been running on empty since leaving Carrie’s place several days ago. Yeah, he’d managed to clear his mind of his hurt during the race because not only his life, but the lives of others, depended on him keeping his head. If he’d had his deepest wish, he would’ve skipped this event entirely and crawled into a hole somewhere to lick his wounds but that wasn’t possible. This was his job. But it wasn’t just that, he thought, as the crowd roared around him. It just wasn’t in him to pout and whine, when he could do something about it.
He spotted the press in the distance and as his crew rushed up to offer congratulations, he formulated his plan. Not an intricate, detailed plan. Not by a long shot. Nope, he was gonna hop into his truck and go get her. He’d make her see reason and show her that she had nothing to fear and everything to gain with him.
He was just going to grab her up and fuck her until her eyes rolled back in her head and she pleaded for mercy from all the pleasure he was going to give her. And then he’d—
J.T. stopped short as the crowds parted and he caught his breath at the sight of Carrie standing there with her heart in her eyes.
Jesus, she was beautiful!
He watched her mouth move as it formed his name and he felt his throat dry up. Ignoring those around him, he handed off his racing helmet and stalked toward her. She was wearing a light blue top and a pair of jeans. Her blonde curly hair whipped around in the wind, catching the afternoon sunlight. Her eyes were bright and shiny with tears. She was smiling.
That was a good sign.
Yeah. Smiling was good.
It took everything in him to not grab her up the minute he approached. All he could do was look at her and try to absorb the fact that she was here, in a place she swore never to go again.
“Hi,” she said, breathlessly. “Good race. Um, I called Gus and he picked me up at the airport and got me here.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Sorry. Babbling.”
“It’s okay.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. I’m glad you’re here.” J.T. put his arm around her shoulder and looked around. He wanted to get away with her, just escape, but he had to take care of business. If he had anything to say about it, he’d have the rest of his life to make it up to her. “Hang out for a minute? Then we’ll talk.”
She laughed. “I know the drill.”
For the first time since he’d left her, he smiled.
* * * * *
Carrie stood at the window of the high-rise hotel in downtown Dallas and watched the row of headlights, like a bunch of electrified ants, move along the busy expressway. She’d showered and donned a pair of cotton drawstring pajama bottoms and a matching tee. They were staying in tonight and she was pretty thrilled at the prospect. From the bathroom, she heard the sound of water running and knew J.T. was probably expecting the same thing that she was.
Hot, sweaty sex and lots of explanations.
Glancing toward the king-sized bed, a little shiver of anticipation raced over her limbs. Oh yeah, she knew what they’d be doing in that big bed and she couldn’t wait. A memory of the day J.T. had fucked her in the kitchen swam to the surface of her thoughts, vivid and seductive. His cock had been dark with color, wet with her juices as he had stroked it in and out of her willing body. Carrie felt her body grow wet, drenched from the memory and her current need of him.
After he’d done the obligatory interviews and posed for the cameras, he’d swept her off through the throng under a steady stream of shouted questions.
“Hey, aren’t you Mark Salem’s widow?”
“You guys dating?”
“What have you been doing with yourself since your husband’s tragic crash all those years ago?”
J.T. hadn’t stopped. She hadn’t answered. They’d just gotten the hell out of there. Words hadn’t been necessary as he maneuvered them through the traffic and to J.T.’s plush hotel room. Since she’d come to the track straight from the airport, Carrie had her bag with her, so it was no big deal.
Now here she was, waiting for the man she loved to come and get her.
Wow. She loved the sound of that one.
Over in the corner sat a table covered with assorted finger-foods and an iced bottle of bubbly. A couple of long necks were iced down in a standing bucket. They’d get to that later, she mused, knowing she was ready to jump his bones the minute he stepped from that steamy bathroom.
She heard the shower turn off and stilled watching the door.
The big question at the moment was which to do first. The bone-jumping or the huge change-your-life talking?
Unable to stand the suspense a minute longer, Carrie sat at the foot of the bed to wait but it didn’t take long before J.T. emerged, all damp and ridiculously sexy wearing a white towel around his
lean waist and a sexy grin on his face. Lord, she was a sucker for a man like this. He could melt her bones in a heartbeat with one of those devastating smiles.
“Food’s here. You hungry?”
Carrie shook her head and stood. “Not now. I think we should talk.”
The grin disappeared and his gaze turned solemn. “Maybe I can start this little pow-wow by asking why you’re here? A change of heart? An epiphany? Act of God?”
She sank her teeth into her bottom lip and then let it all go. “All three I think.”
J.T. reached out, took her hand and led her to the side of the bed. Reaching down he gave the towel around his waist a yank until he stood naked and semi-erect. She eyed him hungrily, wanting his hardness buried deep inside, wanting him. “I don’t want anything between us, darlin’.”
“Okay.” She reached for the hem of her tee and pulled it over her head, baring her body from the waist up. His eyes darkened as they lowered to her breasts but just as he started to reach out, she stopped him by tugging at the drawstring of the pajama bottoms and pushing them down her legs.
“Holy shit, honey. You’re smokin’ hot. Gorgeous.”
“Talk first.”
“Okay.”
Carrie turned and drew down the bedding and crawled into the center of the bed. “Come to me,” she said when he just stood there staring.
Silently, he joined her. When he stretched out his arm to draw her close, Carrie sighed at the feeling of homecoming that curled through her belly, made her heart pump strong and fierce. “I’m here, Carrie. Tell me what happened to change your mind.”
She spilled it all. The self-pity, the crying, all of it, but when she told him about her near miss on a Texas country road, she felt him stiffen.
“You’re okay? You weren’t hurt?”
“No. We were both okay but the point is, I’ve been a coward. You were right about that just like you were right about a lot of things.”
J.T. blew out a breath and drew her in close. Tenderly, he ran his hand down the length of her bare arm. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Carrie. You’ve had a lot on your plate for a long time now.”
“But that’s not the point,” she argued. “The point is that things happen in life and a strong person learns how to deal with it, ya know?”
“Yeah. Are you saying you want to make this whole love thing work, honey?”
Carrie sighed and reached over to run her hand over the curves of his chest, loving the feel of his hardness and strength. “Oh, yeah, J.T. I’m not going to hide from life anymore. None of us knows what’s waiting around the next corner but I’m not going to live with this fear anymore. Life is to enjoy and I plan on doing quite a bit of enjoying with you.”
“Damn. I love you so much. You done talkin’?”
“Yeah,” she said smiling. “Come and get me, J.T. I’m dying for you. Fuck me silly, sweetheart.”
J.T. growled low and kissed her as his hand found her breast. The warmth of him had her shifting against the bedding, struggling to get closer. When he took a pebbled nipple deep into his mouth to suck, her pussy gushed. His wandering hand found that fount of cream and his sound of satisfaction just made her hotter. “God, Carrie, you have the juiciest, sweetest little pussy.”
“Yours.”
“Yeah. Damn.”
He drove his fingers deep, curving them slightly to rub that delicious spot deep inside and Carrie felt her body react as it always did when he touched her. He plucked her swollen clit. Her back bowed sharply as an erotic ache swept her center and caused her womb to contract in a throbbing rhythm. “Yes. Yes. Ah, God, J.T.”
He had her gasping and moaning his name as he kissed and nipped a path down her torso. Her ribs were treated to the rubbing of his lips, her belly got a tender nip, he took her clit into his mouth and had her screaming her pleasure.
It still wasn’t enough and perhaps J.T. wanted to drive her completely over the edge because, with a rough sound, he flipped her over and stuffed a pillow beneath her belly. He spread her thighs and ran his hands over her ass as if he couldn’t get enough. A secret thrill rushed through her at the wicked vision of how she must look played through her mind. He spread her ass and played at the pucker of her anus then dipped his hands lower until his fingers were once again plunging deep into her channel.
She couldn’t see a thing but she felt his breath, heard the sounds he made, and it was like a strange aphrodisiac, this not knowing what came next.
But then she knew.
His mouth settled at the base of her spine as his fingers played in her sopping wet flesh. He nipped her ass in various places until she was writhing, aching for what she wanted. Him. She wanted him.
Suddenly his mouth was there at her pussy, eating hungrily until she shivered, tried to get closer, to get more. The sounds of what he did threatened to send her flying over the edge. And then she fell. Crying, weeping from the spiking pleasure, she jumped from the tip of pleasure’s peak and hung suspended as the thrill whipped through her body.
Then, just as suddenly, he was gone. She heard him curse as he reached for the bedside table and snagged a condom. She heard the tiny tear and waited and waited until she felt the head of him, big and broad, pulsing with life poised at her entrance.
“J.T.”
“Hell yeah.”
He pushed deep as tears coursed a path down her cheeks. She felt him clasp her knee and move it high and up, opening her further. The thought that he was the sexiest man alive whipped through her mind but then she couldn’t think at all. Pistoning hard and deep and fast, he made every sense she possessed come alive. Pounding roughly through the depths of her body, he whispered rough, erotic words that had her squirming below him, aching for fulfillment, needing to come. Then suddenly the flash fire was upon her and she stiffened, reaching, reaching, until the world fell apart leaving her a shivering mass of well-pleasured woman.
They’d fucked before and it had always been sweet, powerful. This time was different.
“I love you,” he whispered as he stiffened above her. “Love you so much.”
As he blasted his seed and came, jerking with the pleasure of it, she suddenly realized what was so different. When he lay limp over her like a warm blanket and she felt his breath on her neck, smelled the delicious male scent of him, it all became so clear. His love made her ready to face her demons and gave her the courage to take each day as it came. Life might not always be perfect but she was damn sure ready to live it.
About the Author
Regina Carlysle is an award winning, multi-published author. She likes writing that is hot, edgy, and often humorous, and puts this trademark stamp on all of her stories. Regina lives in west Texas with her husband of 25 years and counting and is a doting, fawning, and over-indulgent mother to her two kids. When she’s not penning steamy erotic tales or hot contemporary stories, she’s indulging in long chats with friends who help her stay sane and keep her laughing.
The author welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Regina Carlysle
Tempting Tess
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