After brushing out my hair a second time, I dug for some clothes. After putting on a white bra with a sheer lace band beneath the cups (that I thought accentuated the way my waist curved in) and a matching pair of panties, I chose a pair of dark cut-off jean shorts and a silky dark-green top with cap sleeves.
Just as I finished, his text came through.
The second I typed out my room number and hit send, I tossed the phone down like a teenager and rushed into the bathroom. It only took a few seconds to get some BB cream on my fingertips and rub it into my face.
BB cream = a fancy tinted moisturizer.
I wasn’t big on makeup, but I liked to look nice and put together. The BB cream gave me a natural glow and just evened out my skin tone. When that was done, I quickly dusted on a bit of bronzer and some lip balm that tinted my lips pink because it was cherry flavored.
When the knock echoed through the room, the stuff fell out of my hand, landing in front of me. Quickly, I capped it, glanced up to make sure everything was on right (hey, I barely looked when I put it on!), and then fled the small bathroom.
Jace was leaning in the doorjamb when I pulled it open. The movement seemed to bring a burst of his scent right at me. My fingers tightened on the handle, holding me steady as the rest of me took in all of him.
Loose jeans that didn’t seem very committed to staying high up on his hips, a black T-shirt pulled taut across his chest, flirting with the waistband of those teasing jeans, as if it, too, were in on the game of maybe concealing his skin from my sight.
The jacket he wore wasn’t black, but white with black seaming and two black bands around his left sleeve. The cuffs were rolled up enough that his forearms were showing, and black Converse covered his feet.
Clearly, he was also fresh from the shower. Not only did he smell good, but his hair was still damp, as if he’d rubbed a towel over the wet strands at the top and brushed them back, away from his face.
I noticed then the way we were just now. Standing in a doorway, eyes roaming the other like we were completely new to each other.
It felt that way… like I hadn’t already been thoroughly sexed up by him. Like I was waiting for that first touch.
“Josie,” he finally said, his voice deep like the smoothest liquor, his eyes hungry like a wolf.
“Jace,” I replied.
We had a thing with each other’s names. Probably because with them came exclusivity. Names weren’t supposed to be exclusive; they were attached to us at our first breath as identifiers. A name was a person’s calling card, a signature that went beyond scrawling a line of letters on a page.
It was different with Josie and Jace. It wasn’t just the names that were exclusive; it was the people we were when we used them. Like letting someone into a place no one was ever granted access. It was the possibility that the person standing right here in front of me saw me better than anyone else.
Whenever my name slid off his tongue, I felt as if chains were being unshackled from my wrists. I felt the things no one knew I hid became transparent, leaving the only thing for him to see was all of it.
All of me.
He pushed off the doorjamb, his movements almost lazy. One hand curled around my side. Through the silky fabric of my shirt, his fingers pressed as he stepped forward, bringing me in.
All at once, his body brushed close, his mouth teasing mine. Thoroughly, his lips rubbed over me, the flavor of my cherry gloss exploding between us, adding yet another layer to the already satisfying kiss. I sighed into him, and he smiled but didn’t stop kissing, instead increasing the pressure times two. My hand grabbed his hip, my finger sliding through the belt loop on the side. The jeans stopped teasing and slid down so my thumb could caress the newly exposed skin at his hip.
Jace cupped my face, shifting even closer, the pads of his thumbs pressed beneath my cheek bones, right in the hollow space, and coaxed my jaw to open.
Fluidly, his tongue invaded, massaged against mine, and everything went fuzzy.
My free hand fisted in the front of his worn T-shirt while we stood halfway in my room and halfway in the hall and made out like two teenagers who were victims of their hormones.
But, oh, I wasn’t Jace’s victim. I was an instigator. And judging by the way he kissed me just now, I would also call myself a victor.
My skin felt flushed when he lifted his head. I couldn’t even be upset when he shifted back an inch because I loved just watching his body move. My hand loosened against his shirt and slid down to fall away. He caught it, linked our fingers together, and gave my arm a tug.
“C’mon,” he said, motioning to the hallway. “Let’s go.”
I felt my nose wrinkle. “Go where?”
“You’ll see.”
I started forward, only to stop and turn back. “Wait.”
“You don’t need any of that shit girls carry around. I got cash.”
My stomach flipped a little. Such a stupid, silly thing to stumble over. I mean, really. It was hardly the first time anyone had offered to pay for a date.
Wait. Is this a date? Oh, man, I should have made more effort with my face.
This didn’t feel like that. It didn’t feel like impatience for him to get me moving either. It was like he was taking on responsibility for me tonight. Like he would make sure we had everything we needed wherever we went as long as I stayed at his side.
The feeling weighed a lot. But not in a too heavy to move kind of way. In a grounding kind of way, like maybe I’d found a place I belonged.
Funny, I never knew I was searching.
I didn’t let go of his hand. Instead, I tugged back, trying to bring him with me.
“I need shoes.”
He glanced down. I wiggled my toes at him, and he chuckled.
“Those look like shoes.” He pointed out, still looking at the black flip-flops I wore in the shower.
“Yeah, for in the shower.”
“You have shoes for the shower?” He wondered, allowing me to pull him back inside the room just a foot.
“I’ve seen pictures of toe fungus.” I shuddered, kicking them off only to slip my feet into another pair of flip-flops. These were a little more stylish, though, with brown leather soles and straps. In the center was a dark-green gem I thought looked pretty when the light caught it.
I reached for my phone, still on the bed where I threw it.
He made a sound. “Shoes, yes. Phone, no.”
“No phone?” I gasped like I was outraged.
His white teeth flashed. They were perfectly straight, like mine. His father probably insisted on braces, something we had in common.
“No phone,” he echoed.
I left it there and stepped to his side, I noticed the way his fingers enclosed mine just a little tighter as I snatched the room key off the dresser and shoved it in my back pocket.
Behind us, the door closed with an audible latch, and together we walked down the hall. Such a simple thing, but it seemed just having him next to me inspired all sorts of excitement.
Balmy was the best word I could use to describe the air when we stepped out of the simultaneously AC and fire-crackling lobby. The sky was dark, stars lit up the sky, and a calmness that only darkness could bring shrouded the evening.
We walked without saying a word into the lot where it didn’t take long for me to find his Lotus.
“You brought your car?” Mild surprise tinged in my voice.
“They drove it out here for me on the trailer with my racecar.”
“Didn’t they already pack up and go?” I questioned.
“My driver leaves tomorrow. I have some press to do, and they wanted the racecar for the shoot.”
I tried not to feel a little jealous he had yet another big press opportunity. It wasn’t his fault, if given the opportunity I would take it as well. Besides, he had to do this. It was his job. Brickstone sank a lot of money into him, I knew. Not only with the car, the travel, entry fees, etc., but with whatever he was gett
ing paid. I was certain the powers that be behind his deal were insistent they get their money’s worth.
“I’m sure everyone in your camp was beyond thrilled with your race today.” I poked him in the ribs.
He grinned and opened up the passenger door. I angled so I was between him and the seat, the door in front of us so I was boxed in on almost every side.
“It was a good call to get,” he allowed but ruined his humble speak with a huge grin.
“You drove really great today,” I said. It didn’t bother me to compliment other drivers, especially when they deserved it. I guess I’d always hoped they would do the same for me.
The only one who ever had so far was Drew.
“We make a pretty good team,” he murmured, stroking his palm against the side of my head. “I like your hair like this.”
“Yeah?” I murmured, pushing my head into his hand.
He nodded and leaned close. I rose up to meet him, but he suddenly pulled away and smiled. “Get in.”
I blinked, and he was halfway around the hood toward the driver’s side. Laughter trailed behind him like he knew what he’d done.
I slipped into the passenger seat and forgot all about his teasing ways. The interior of his Lotus was just as incredible as the body. Black leather with red accents, spotless dash, polished chrome, and sleek… so sleek.
It was small in here, only a two seater. The back window was close behind my head. There was a hard top on this one. A lot of them came with only soft covers, but this was clearly more of a special order car.
I closed my eyes, thinking about how it would be to pull off the piece of roof and let the balmy air brush over my skin.
Beneath my legs, the seat was buttery soft. I was no stranger to luxury, but this wasn’t just luxurious. It was sexy.
The driver’s seat was all the way back, allowing for Jace’s long, lean legs. Instead of looking too big for such a compact car, he just appeared to really own it. The car hugged around him like a lover, like it, too, wanted to be as close to him as it could get.
I didn’t pay attention to where we were going. I watched him drive. I watched the way his hand gripped the stick in the center, and I was turned on by his sure and steady movements. The car was responsive, but he seemed to know exactly how to drive it. The performance it gave was beautiful, and it showed me a new appreciation for the way he drove.
“You’re staring,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road.
“You drive the car the way you do a lover,” I said.
“Cars and lovers are a lot alike.”
Shivers raced up my spine. “How so?”
“Because you have to be gentle yet in control. You have to be sure but willing to let the it do some of the work.” He glanced over at me, his eyes darker than the night sky. “Because the better you treat it, the better you get treated in return.”
The words coupled with the sound of his voice reached inside my chest and squeezed. “All this time, I thought you were just an asshole.” I smiled.
He winked, turning back to the road. “That’s what I let you think.”
“How many people do you let think you’re an ass?” I asked, rueful.
He made a rude sound, and I laughed.
That meant everyone.
“We’re here,” he said a few minutes later.
I glanced up as the Lotus slowed and turned into the raceway where we’d just spent the entire day. “What are we doing here?” I asked.
“Nothing better than a track all to yourself.” His crooked smile was nearly my undoing. It was playful, but it did things to me. Things like loosen my lower belly and start an ache in my breasts.
God, everything about him is foreplay to me. Even his car.
“It’s closed up,” I said, trying to ignore the fact I was horny. I was worse than a guy. Geez.
But when I was sitting so close to someone who literally embodied pleasure, it was hard not to think about sex.
“I talked to someone before I left. He did me a favor.” He eased the car through a tunnel, stopping at its closed gate at the end. Without a word, Jace got out, punched in a code, and the gate swung inward.
Flashing a smile that was almost as bright as his headlights, he jogged back to the driver’s seat and we drove into the raceway. I turned back to see the gate closing on its own behind us. Must have been on a timer.
“He just let you in here.” I scoffed, my stare glued to the empty, wide track.
“I promised him I’d behave.”
I laughed. He couldn’t even make that sound innocent. What a crock. Jace was far from innocent. “So you paid him,” I surmised.
Beneath the fabric jacket, his shoulders shrugged. “Money talks.”
Yes, it did.
“Pretty cool, huh?” he said, his voice quieter, almost reverent. His gaze was locked out the windshield. I watched him take it all in, as if he were seeing the place for the first time.
When I didn’t answer, he looked over at me. Through the glowing dash and dim lighting, our eyes locked. He continued to drive along the track, but he looked only at me.
My chest felt tight when he stared at me this way. Trying to find the words to express exactly what it was about his eyes or the emotion burning a hole inside my chest was impossible.
I couldn’t describe something I’d never felt.
It was like trying to name a color I’d never seen before.
All I really knew was I sincerely hoped whatever this feeling was never went away.
Jace made a small sound, releasing it into the close space around us as the car slowed, ultimately coming to a complete stop.
With the engine purring, one hand dropped off the wheel into his lap as his torso rotated to me. “Wanna drive?”
“You’re gonna let me drive?” I stuttered, still trying to exist in a world with so much emotion and at the same time carry on a conversation.
I wasn’t sure I liked this. You know, being the one who was a little more interested.
Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean. How sometimes people say in every couple there is always one that loves the other just a little bit more…
That was me. I wasn’t in love, but I definitely was in like. And totally in lust. It was very apparent I had it worse than he did. After all, I was the only one struggling to string a sentence together.
He was over there driving a car, looking at me, and speaking.
The big, fat jerk.
“You have a total lady boner for my car.” He smirked.
“Really?” I scoffed. “A lady boner? Did you learn that in third grade?”
“Probably.” He snickered.
Oh my God, he’s cute, too.
I am totally going to be the one who loves more.
Oh shit. Did I just think about love?
I grappled for the handle, pulled it swiftly, and ejected myself from the car. The pleasant night air brushed over my burning skin, and I heaved a grateful sigh. The door closed softly behind me, and I leaned against it, listening to the smooth hum of the engine.
“Hey,” Jace said from close by.
I glanced over. He was standing beside the hood. The white on his jacket practically made him glow.
“I thought you were coming over for sex,” I blurted out.
Way to cut to the chase, Joey!
He laughed. Somehow, the sound relaxed me. “Oh, there’s gonna be sex,” he drawled, like it was already written in stone.
I kinda liked his confidence.
“And I’m not talking about sexy as hell on the hood of a car sex, either.” He went on, moving closer. “I’m talking the kind that takes all night. The kind where even after I have to let go tomorrow to get on a plane, whenever the air around you shifts, you’ll still smell me on your skin.”
I swallowed so hard I heard it. My tongue jutted out to wet my lips. “Then why are we here?” I asked.
I wasn’t the kind of girl to play head games. I didn’t like to wonder
, and holy hell, was I wondering. He was turning me into a giant tight knot that would never be untied, and if by some chance I was able to untie myself, I would never be the same again.
He moved in, dropped both his hands on the side of the car, caging me between them. “Because, Josie, it won’t be enough.”
I sucked in a breath for him to say more. The sound of his voice hummed across my skin, making me vibrate. “It won’t?” I asked, breathless.
He shook his head, eyes never once leaving mine. “I don’t want just sex from you, Josie. I want more. I want your time, your laugh, your dirty, filthy mouth. I want to know you in ways no one else does.”
“Well, if that’s what you want…” I tried to joke, but my voice literally shook.
“Know what else I want?” he whispered.
I shook my head.
“For you to want the same.”
Oh, I wanted it all right.
“Do you want it, Josie?”
My voice didn’t shake. Not even a little. “Yes.”
“Good. Now get that sexy, round ass of yours in the driver’s seat.” He stepped back, giving me space to get by.
I held up a finger. “First, we need to get one thing straight.”
His impossibly dark brow arched up the side of his forehead. “Demanding.”
“Me?” I rolled my eyes. “You’re the one who just laid claim to like everything.”
He shoved me back against the car, pinning me with his tight body. “Oh no,” he growled. “I don’t own you, baby. Some things are just too beautiful to be tamed. I’m gonna be a choice, one you make every single day.”
“You seem awfully sure of that,” I said, dry.
He leaned in to whisper, his lips brushing against my ear and tickling my hair. “I already see it in your eyes.”
“Be careful,” I warned, turning my head away to stare off to the side. “The untamed are hard to keep up with.”
“I’m not worried.” He mused. “I’m pretty good with speed.”
A rude sound vibrated my neck, and he laughed. Jace stepped back, poking me in the stomach. “Tell me.”
“If you ever say lady boner again, I’ll shave off one of your eyebrows when you’re sleeping.”
#Swag (GearShark #3) Page 20