Carter's Treasure (13 page)

It warmed his heart the way her face lit up; he could see the relief in her eyes, as if she really had anything to worry about. As far as he was concerned, she was his.

“So if I want us to continue on the way we are, then we just meet up again next Thursday in Houston?”

“It’ll be a long three days, but that’s my thought, yeah.”

He cupped her face and started to kiss her, forgetting, or maybe just not caring that they were out on a dance floor surrounded by people, with their friends close and watching. He just needed her. He finally broke the kiss to look at her. “So?”

“Yeah?”

“You want to get out of here a little early? I can walk you back and we can talk for awhile, just the two of us.”

She looked at him nervously. “All right.”

“You can trust me, I’ll behave.”

She stared up at him. “I trust you completely.”

“Hey cutie, want to dance?” Jesse asked as he ambled up to them.

“Just one, Frost, we’re cutting out early.” He reluctantly let go of her, allowing Jesse to take her in his arms. He walked back to the table, alone.

Carter blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his mind. There was something eating at him he just couldn’t shake. He had a deep-seated need to watch over his heart, the one still laughing out on the dance floor with Jesse. He glanced back, watching for a minute as Jesse twirled her in a circle, her long, blonde hair flying as she laughed in Jesse’s embrace.

He thought back to previous comments she, Brody, and the others in her group had made about James and his over-protectiveness. He couldn’t fault the man. She had grabbed his heart in a vise barely over a day ago. He couldn’t imagine how her father felt after twenty-six years.

Wait.

Brody said she moved in with them when she was fourteen. They referred to each other as brother and sister, but they weren’t related. Not by blood anyway. She said there was history.

Eli pulled Carter out of his own thoughts as he slid back in the booth. “Looks like you lost your girl.”

“What? Oh, she’s on loan.” He grinned then took a drink of her almost full beer. “Oh, that’s nasty.”

“You’ve been out there over twenty minutes. What do you expect? They got hot,” Brody sneered. “Hey,” he nudged Erin, who had her head on his shoulder. “You ready? I know you’re tired.” He glanced up at Carter. “I know it’s still early, but Erin isn’t feeling well. I need to get her back. Would you please see to it my sister makes it back to
my
motorhome, and sooner, rather than later?”

Carter understood the “you may be older, but I’m the big brother” look he received from Brody. It was loud and clear. He was also smart enough to know he’d better not screw this up. Brody had extended an olive branch, granted it was a forced hand due to Erin, but it was there. He also knew Molly well enough to know there was no way Brody was going to force her to leave before she was ready. Brody was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Carter wanted to laugh so badly he could hardly stand it. But he’d be the bigger person, if for no other reason than he got to spend more time with Molly
and
without her overbearing brother watching his every move.

“Yeah…we’re actually going to leave pretty quick, too.”

Carter held in the snort as he watched Brody silently signal for Joey to watch Carter and Molly. He held out a hand and waited patiently as Brody reluctantly shook it, then he waved goodnight to Erin before they turned to leave.

Carter stood back up when Jesse came walking back, chatting with Molly. “Thanks for dancing with me, D.”

“Anytime, cowboy.”

Carter watched the realization come across her face as she scrunched her eyebrows and pert, little nose up. He couldn’t help but smile down at her.

“D?”

Jesse chuckled. “I’m not the only one with a new nickname around here. Hunter gave you one too.”

“Oh yeah?” Molly raised an eyebrow at Eli. “You nicknamed me? Is it bad?”

Eli just smiled proudly as he stood to hug her goodnight. “Nope. You’re our own little SuperCross Darling,
D
for short.” Eli leaned to kiss her cheek and then squeezed her tight.

“Cute,” Joey replied sarcastically. “Well, at least you’re somebody’s darling. You’re just my big pain in the ass.”

Molly stuck her tongue out at Joey playfully.

~

Once again, Carter deliberately walked slowly, this time toward the stadium. He wanted to be alone with her and wasn’t ready for her to call it a night. He was afraid that once they got close to the pits, her nerves would kick in and she would make a beeline for her motorhome.

“Did you have a good time tonight?”

She squeezed his hand. “Yeah, but I have to admit, I just like being with you. It doesn’t really matter what we’re doing.”

Carter put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I know what you mean.” Arriving at their entrance, security let them in. “I know it’s late by your standards, but it’s only about eight-thirty. Can we still go sit somewhere and talk?”

She snickered up at him. “Is that what you’re going to call it?”

He tickled her waist. “Ha ha ha. You think you’re cute huh?”

“Pretty much.”

“Well, I have to agree with you.” He winked down at her. “Come on, I know you want to get up early to run, but don’t go yet. Please?”

“You’ve been a bad influence on me, keeping me up all hours of the night, drinking...”

He cut her off, “Wow, what was it, eleven last night and one beer tonight? Yep, that’s me, a real bad boy.”

“Yep.” She swung around to face him and put her arms around his neck to stop him from walking. “You’re the kind they try to protect me from, huh? Yes I’d like to ‘talk’ with you too,” she said, using air quotes to be funny.

“You’re a real comedian.”

“Yeah, but you picked me, remember?”

“Yes, I did, didn’t I, Gorgeous?” he said proudly and she just laughed. They continued to walk through the pits toward where the motorhomes were parked. There were a few chairs and tables set up in a corner that wasn’t well lit, and he motioned that direction. He pulled in a subtle breath and mentally crossed his fingers. “We could sit there. Or…if you trust me…we could go to my motorhome.” He could hear the hesitation in his own voice, but he didn’t care.

He waited a second before asking again. He knew she was more than a little apprehensive, and by all rights. He expected that. He also found it very endearing. “So, what do you say? Do you trust me?” He could see the gears turning in her head. Holding her in his arms, he could feel the battle between her heart and her mind.

She glanced up at him, then quickly back down at the ground. “Yeah,” she said softly as she looked back up, lingering on his mouth before her eyes reached his.

They continued walking to his motorhome. Once he opened the door for her, he could feel the stress radiating off of her. She had gotten very quiet, a complete one-eighty from her confidence in the bar. Carter half expected her to bolt before she actually stepped inside his motorhome. He had to silently tell himself to slow down. It was just so hard when all he really wanted to do was walk her on back to the bedroom and rip off those tight ass jeans and taunting little tank top. Instead, he held his breath and waited for her next move.

She hated that at twenty-six she was freaked out by being alone with a guy. Maybe because it was this guy,
the
guy. The one she had been waiting for her whole adult life. She was trying really hard to act like it was no big deal, but this whole situation was new territory for her. She knew she had to be the oldest virgin ever.

Maybe if she would have just gotten it over with when she was younger, there wouldn’t be this pressure now.
That one guy, oh hell, out by the back creek. What was his name? He wanted me.
Humph.
Shit. No. That guy was a jackass.
No, Carter was the reason she had waited. Nerves and all, she wanted to find someone special. Through all the years of hanging out with other racers and meeting hundreds of fan, not one earned a second glance.

Then there was him.

One look in his ice blue eyes and she was mesmerized. One touch of his hand, she tingled on contact. The smell of his cologne, masculine and completely him, made her head swim. The way his voice melted over her, warm and relaxing, soothing her when she needed to be calmed. All of it. With a force stronger than Mother Nature, she was drawn to him. She knew, waiting all those years,
he
was out there somewhere.

He turned a couple of lights on. “You want something to drink? I know you’re not a big pop drinker, but I have juice and water.”

“Um, a water would be great, thanks,” she answered barely louder than a whisper. She was still looking around nervously. “This is really nice inside.”

Like James’s, it was more of a house on wheels. It was beautiful inside with a full kitchen, a nice little living room, and a separate bedroom with a door and tons of amenities, even a washer and dryer unit. She understood why he didn’t fly back and forth all over the country, this was way easier. That’s how James had done things when she’d raced, too.

Carter came out from the kitchen area with two bottles of water. “Yeah, I figure I want to be comfortable when I’m living it in most of the year. When we have long breaks, I just drive back to my folks and stay there.” He motioned to the couch. “Here, have a seat.”

He opened her water and handed it to her as she slowly sat down on the couch. He sat next to her, but crooked so they could see each other. She took a sip of the cold water, and then bit her bottom lip. Carter sucked in a deep breath. It was audible and she looked at him questioningly.

“You’re going to have to quit doing that,” he teased.

“What?”

“The lip thing, it is an absolute turn on.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh…um.”

“It’s okay, Gorgeous, I’m teasing you. But it gets me every time I see you do it.”

She offered him a tiny smile.

“Maybe next weekend I can take you out for dinner, just the two of us?”

“I’d like that.” He reached for her hand, pulling it toward his mouth to brush his lips across her knuckles. He took her water and placed them both on the coffee table to free their hands. He held one arm open and used the other to gently pull her close. “Here, can I just hold you?”

Her heart skipped at least three beats and then threatened to quit beating altogether. She knew she could trust this man. Molly didn’t know how she knew, but she could feel it. Deep in her soul, she knew she was safe in his arms, without a question.

A wave of tingles washed over her from head to toe as she scooted next to him. She slid as close as she could before he moved to adjust them, sliding one leg down the couch and pulling her in between his legs. Molly tried to take a couple of faint, calming breaths and hoped he wouldn’t pick up on her nerves. She rested her back up against his chest and could feel his heart beating through her thin tank top. More like pounding, hard and fast. Molly grinned to herself. At least she wasn’t the only one affected. He rubbed his fingers up and down her bare arms, sitting in silence for awhile. She snuggled back into his arms, wishing the moment could last forever. A sense of peace settled over her and she let her eyes slowly close.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice lower.

She smiled to herself again and nodded.

“I have to tell you this is the most relaxed I’ve ever gone into a race,” he said.

“Really, how come?” She scooted into the crook of his arm so she could look up at him and see his face.

“Because of you, Gorgeous.”

“Me?”

“Yes…” he drew out, “You.”

He bent down to kiss her softly on the lips then lifted his head up to look in her eyes. His free hand moved to her face, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. Gently, Carter eased her head back to kiss her again. She parted her lips for him and he slipped his tongue in her mouth to deepen the kiss. He started lightly rubbing her shoulder, and then down her arm and back up. Molly moved that same arm up, wanting to touch his face, unintentionally exposing her side.

The peace and tranquility she felt only a moment ago gave way to need. Her mind was spinning as she tried to assess what she was doing, but all level-headed thinking had vanished. In its place was a feeling she had never known.

Carter slid his hand down from her shoulder and eased it down her side. When he did, his thumb brushed the side of her breast. She sucked in a sharp breath at the touch.
Oh God
. She wasn’t sure where the line needed to be drawn, she didn’t know how far he’d try to push, but it just felt so right. He continued to lightly stroke that spot, just on the side. His kiss slowed, and then he lifted his lips completely from hers.

She slowly opened her eyes, even though they were so heavy, and a nervous little smile breezed over her face.

He took a finger and traced her jaw line. Molly focused on his eyes. Seeing the need and power in the pale blue, but also an understanding, kept her calm. Even though her senses were on overload, he had a quietness about him that relieved her fears, leaving only trust for the man who was holding her. His finger slowly started down her neck then softly he traced the neckline of her tank top. Her breath caught and she bit her lip, but she kept her focus on the eyes watching hers. She knew he was looking for signs. Cautiously testing her, but watching for the exact moment when it was too much, too soon. The trust she felt for him propelled her to want more.