Behind the Wheel (Hearts & Horsepower Book 2)

by A. K. Evans

  “Confident?” I repeated.

  “Babe, you’ve got to be the most confident woman I’ve ever met,” he said. “You don’t balk at pulling apart a car, you don’t have a problem putting a customer on hold and pretending to ask Logan their question, and you’re good at standing up for yourself. I’ve seen that twice now. If that’s not the mark of a confident woman, I don’t know what is.”

  I liked that.

  No, that’s not right.

  I loved that.

  I loved that he saw me as strong and confident.

  “That’s nice of you to say,” I replied softly.

  “It’s the truth,” he deadpanned. “Anyway, you won’t have anything to worry about with your car this time around. You’ve got me. You’ve got the guys. Kieran will make sure your engine is built to precision. Ryker will lend a hand on installing anything we need an extra set of hands with. Nash will make sure it’s going down the track straight for you while keeping all four tires on the ground. Logan will make sure the motor is safe with a precise tune. And I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “I thought I needed to go into this being confident,” I teased. “I’m not supposed to be thinking I’ll need to put the cage to good use.”

  “No, you shouldn’t,” he agreed. “But things can happen. In this case, it would be some freak accident. Nobody here would be sabotaging you. Regardless, on the off chance that something ridiculous happens, the most important thing is that you’re safe.”

  “And you’re planning to see to it that I am?”

  “Absolutely.”

  At his promise, Knox and I fell into a comfortable silence as we finished our dinner. It wasn’t just the two of us sitting there eating, though. Even though there wasn’t any talking, we were still communicating with one another.

  Intense stares.

  Wicked grins.

  Heart-stopping winks.

  If I was being truthful, it was all doing a number on me. And I really wanted to bring up something that was continuing to plague my mind. But I didn’t. Knox hadn’t. Part of me wondered if he was embarrassed by it or worse, regretted it.

  Since I couldn’t bring myself to confront the one thing I truly wanted to, I decided to go back to our previous conversation. If nothing else, I wanted to give Knox something that would let him know just how grateful I was.

  “You know,” I began after I stood up and took a sip of water. Knox had stood as well and was rounding the table when I continued, “Getting this job at LT Motorsports is the best thing that’s happened to me since my dad died.”

  “Avery…” Knox trailed off, coming to a stop in front of me.

  “I’m serious,” I insisted. “In the beginning, it was all about me needing to get away from where I was and the people I was around. I didn’t like being associated with any of those guys. So, this job was about me being able to recognize from afar that what you all stood for was much different than what Ricky and his team stood for.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Knox mumbled.

  “But if I’m being completely honest, this has turned out to be so much more than that,” I shared. “Yes, it’s refreshing to be part of a team that cares about the work they do and the people they do it for. I’m sure that much is obvious. Beyond that, though, I never expected to get what I’ve gotten working here.”

  “What’s that?” he wondered.

  I paused a moment, feeling my emotions trying to get the best of me. It took me a minute to pull myself together, but when I did, I rasped, “I might not have my dad anymore, Knox, but I’m starting to feel like I’m where I belong with really good people. While I don’t have any blood family left, I do have a racing family. And that feels really good. It feels good to have a family again.”

  No sooner did I get the words out when Knox’s hands came up and framed my face. He walked me two steps backward until my body was pressed up against the wall with his pressing into me.

  His face dipped close and he whispered, “I want to be more than just part of your racing family, Avery.”

  I blinked in surprise. “What?” I murmured.

  He closed his eyes briefly, clearly needing a minute to get a handle on something. When he opened them, he said, “I kissed you two weeks ago, and I’ve had a hard time thinking about anything else since then. I’m sorry for doing that to you that night. I know how much it upset you, and—”

  “It’s okay, Knox,” I assured him, cutting him off. I couldn’t let him continue with what he was saying. I didn’t want him apologizing for it because he really didn’t need to. I had overreacted that night, especially because I wasn’t the least bit upset by his kiss. “We’re in a different place now. We’ve moved past it. Luckily, what happened hasn’t made things awkward between us, and we can be friends now.”

  Knox swallowed hard, his face so close to mine, before his voice dipped dangerously low. “I’m not looking to make it awkward now, babe, but I think you should know something.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, not sure if I really wanted to know.

  Closing the distance between our faces, Knox’s lips brushed gently against mine. Then he said, “We’re not going to be just friends.”

  He barely gave me half a second to let that sink in before he stopped teasing my lips with his and captured my mouth. His kiss was incredible. Claiming. Bruising. And I never wanted it to stop.

  Pressing his hips deeper into mine as one of his hands drove into my hair and the other settled on my hip, Knox’s tongue came out and touched my lips. I opened my mouth and let him taste me. The moment his tongue touched mine, a moaned crawled up the back of my throat.

  He kissed me a long time, and I held on with everything I had.

  Eventually, though, he tore his mouth from mine and the two of us stayed there staring at each other and breathing heavily.

  “Knox,” I whispered.

  “Avery,” he returned.

  “What was that?”

  “I want to take you out,” he said. “Tomorrow night. A proper date.”

  My lips parted. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  I dipped my chin. “Yeah. Okay. A proper date tomorrow.”

  Knox grinned. Then he touched his lips to mine once more. “We should get back to work now,” he suggested.

  “Yeah, we should,” I agreed.

  With that, Knox pulled his large, solid body away from mine before he led me out of the break room and back into the shop.

  And for the rest of the night, I was silently freaking out.

  “Is everything okay? I’ve been so worried since I got your text last night.”

  Standing in the open door to my house, I stared into the eyes of a woman who was quickly becoming a trusted friend and let out a sigh of relief.

  Last night, in the first few moments following the kiss I had with Knox and his subsequent request to take me on a date tonight, I hadn’t really given the whole thing much thought. But roughly thirty minutes after we got back to work on tearing down the car, I started to freak-out. Luckily, I managed to hide it, so Knox never knew.

  But I knew that what I was dealing with was far too much to try and handle on my own. So, I quickly excused myself to the bathroom. While the guys did their best to keep the bathroom in the shop tidy, I preferred to use the one in the office. So, I took off and made my way through the office door and into the bathroom.

  Then I hurried to tap out a text to Kendall.

  Me: Hey, Kendall. If I’m not mistaken, you’re off tomorrow, right? If so, I could really use your help.

  While I waited for her to respond, which I hoped would happen before I walked back out to the shop, I used the facilities. I didn’t think it would be wise to put that off only to have to tell Knox that I needed to go again so soon.

  Fortunately, after I finished and washed my hands, Kendall had replied.

  Kendall: Yes, I’m off! Is everyt
hing alright?

  Me: I can’t really explain it right now. I’m at the shop with Knox, and it’s about him.

  Kendall: Okay. I’m free all day tomorrow. When do you want to meet?

  Me: Earlier in the day is better. You tell me the time.

  Kendall: Eleven?

  Me: That works.

  Kendall: Send me your address. I’ll come to you.

  At her request, I sent Kendall my address, thanked her, and told her I’d see her tomorrow. Then I took a deep breath to calm myself and returned to the shop.

  Knox and I spent a few more hours together working hard on the car before we called it quits. And after we shut everything down and locked up the shop, Knox walked me to my truck. I wasn’t parked far from his, but I still appreciated the sweet gesture. Once we were standing beside the truck, he asked, “Are you going to be coming in tomorrow to work on the car again?”

  “Um…” I trailed off. I didn’t want to tell him that I’d started to freak-out over the prospect of a date with him so I enlisted the help of a friend to talk me through it and would be doing that tomorrow morning instead of working on my car.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “What?”

  “For our date,” he clarified. “Is that why you aren’t sure about coming in?”

  Shooting him a sheepish look, I admitted, “I might need some time to prepare for it, that’s all.”

  Knox grinned and pulled out his phone. “Give me your number,” he urged.

  I rattled off my number. He tapped on the screen a few more times, and suddenly my phone was ringing. It rang only once before it stopped. Knox slid his phone back in his pocket and said, “Now you have my number. I’ll assume you’re going to be busy all day getting yourself ready, which if you ask me is just plain ridiculous. But if you should change your mind about the car, let me know. I don’t need to come in for anything else tomorrow since I’m all caught up until Monday, but I’ll come in to help you.”

  “Why is it ridiculous?” I asked.

  “Because I can’t imagine what you’d need to do all day to get ready,” he said.

  Not wanting to admit the full truth about Kendall coming over in the morning, I did offer him a different truth. “I think I should at least try to make myself look decent, don’t you?” I asked.

  Shaking his head, he replied, “Waste of time.”

  That was harsh. “What?” I gasped.

  “Babe, you’d be polishing a gem,” he started. “I’m not sure how much better you could get.”

  If it were possible for humans, I would have melted into a puddle right there in front of him. That had to be one of the sweetest things anyone had ever said to me, and it sent chills all over my body.

  “Knox,” I whispered.

  He hit me with a dazzling smile just a moment before he leaned down to touch his mouth to mine. After making me dizzy with another one of his fantastic kisses, he pulled back just a touch and said, “I don’t think it’s possible for you to get any better, but I’m excited to see you try.”

  “Challenge accepted,” I breathed.

  Knox let out a chuckle, kissed my forehead, and opened the door to my truck. Once I was inside, he shared, “Unless I hear from you otherwise, I’ll pick you up at your place at six o’clock. Does that work?”

  “That should give me enough time to ensure I’ll win,” I told him.

  There was a brief hesitation before Knox insisted, “You’re already winning, Avery.”

  A tingle ran through my body.

  Then he gave me a wink and closed my door. That wink gave me another tingle.

  I watched Knox as he walked to his vehicle, and the moment he was inside, I started my truck, waved, and drove away.

  Ever since, I’d been in total freak-out mode. It was a wonder that I hadn’t yet had a full-blown meltdown yet. I was attributing this to the fact that I knew Kendall was coming over this morning.

  And now that she was here, I was only slightly relieved.

  Ushering her inside, I answered her question. “Physically, I’m fine,” I assured her. “But I think I’m about to lose my mind.”

  “What happened?” she wondered.

  “We should go sit down,” I suggested. “Can I get you anything? Something to drink?”

  Kendall shook her head. “No, I’m good.”

  Nodding my acknowledgment, I led her into the family room. Once we were both seated, she demanded, “Okay, tell me what’s going on.”

  I swallowed hard. I’d never really done this before, so it was new territory. But after my encounter with Knox last night in the break room, I knew I needed help. Just thinking about the way he kissed me, remembering how it felt when he pressed his erection into me, and the overwhelming desire I had to be with him, I knew I was in way over my head.

  “Oh boy,” Kendall murmured, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I think I know where this is heading,” she started. “Either something really big happened with you and Knox last night or you have a feeling something really big is going to be happening between you and Knox very soon.”

  Relief swept through me. Knowing she knew, at least in part, what this was about made me feel better.

  “It’s a bit of both,” I confessed.

  “Both?” she returned, a look of surprise and giddiness washing over her.

  “I bought us pizza last night while we stayed late at the shop working on my car,” I began. “And not long after we finished eating, Knox had me pinned against the wall while he kissed me, told me we weren’t going to be just friends, and asked me to go out on a proper date with him tonight.”

  I hadn’t planned on blurting everything out like that, but once I started, I figured it was best to go at it like a bandage. Just rip it off.

  When I didn’t get a response from her, I asked, “Was that too much?”

  Shaking her head, Kendall denied, “No, not at all. It’s just… well, hearing you say Knox pinned you against the wall reminded me of the first night I met Logan. Knowing Knox gave you that and said all he did, well, that just makes this so much better.”

  “Better?”

  She grinned. “You had your rocky start, Avery,” she reminded me. “Now, I get the feeling everything is going to start falling into place for the both of you.”

  “Or not,” I mumbled.

  “What? Why would you say that?” she questioned me.

  “That’s the reason I called you,” I admitted. “Knox and I have a date tonight. And I think things between us could lead to somewhere I’ve only ventured once before.”

  Kendall’s eyes widened. “Once?”

  I nodded. “This is humiliating, but I figure it’s best to be humiliated talking to you about it instead of him.”

  “Okay, first, there’s nothing to feel embarrassed about, Avery. I’m your friend, and I’m not going to judge you,” she assured me. “Second, why do you think this is a problem to begin with?”

  I took in a deep breath and let it out. “My one experience happened when I was fifteen,” I told her. “There was this boy I liked, and we were at a party for a mutual friend. He noticed me watching him, took advantage of my interest, and I was stupid. It lasted all of two minutes. It was awful.”

  A frustrated look washed over her, and for a moment, I thought she was going to agree that I’d been stupid, but instead, she scoffed, “Let me guess, those two minutes were all about him.”

  I nodded because I was too embarrassed by what happened.

  “Well he was a jerk and very clearly not a man, Avery,” Kendall insisted.

  “I know. Trust me, I know that. It’s just… well, with the way Knox kisses me, I’m not sure I’m equipped to do this with him.”

  Her shoulders fell. “Before we get to that, let me ask you this,” she began. “Are you ready for this?”

  I wasn’t sure I could answer her truthfully considering I really didn’t know
what I was in for. Even still, I shared, “He makes me feel like no other man ever has. And I like it a lot. No, that’s a lie. I love the way he makes me feel. When he kisses me, I have this overwhelming desire to have him kiss me everywhere.”

  Perking up a bit and smiling at me, Kendall promised, “That’s a really good thing. I love that he’s making you feel that way. So, this mostly all boils down to the fact that you feel inexperienced?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell him.”

  Blinking my eyes in surprise, I jerked backward. “Tell him?” I repeated.

  Nodding, she confirmed, “Yes, Avery. Tell him.”

  This was not the advice I was hoping for. I thought Kendall would be able to tell me, woman to woman, what I could expect and how I could make sure it wouldn’t be a total disaster if Knox and I took that step tonight.

  “Oh God,” I muttered. “This is going to be embarrassing.”

  Kendall moved closer to me and put her arm around me. After giving me a squeeze and shifting back slightly, she said, “I promise you it’s not going to be embarrassing. There’s nothing about what you just shared with me that Knox will find repulsive… well, other than the fact that the other guy didn’t exactly make it good for you.”

  I knew she was trying to lighten the air in the room, but it was doing little to help me feel better. I swallowed hard, trying to figure out how I’d even bring it up to him.

  “He’s a good guy, Avery,” Kendall said, breaking into my dismal thoughts. “I’ve always thought that from the moment I met him. I know how he was with you in the beginning, but the two of you have obviously worked that out. And I’ll be totally honest with you, even Logan has talked about you and Knox.”

  “What?”

  “That day at the track, following the incident with Ricky when Knox ended up taking you to the hospital, Logan and the rest of the guys were all talking about it,” she revealed. “They really wanted to see the two of you work it out not only because tensions were high at the shop but also because they could see how much he really liked you.”