Carter's Treasure (14 page)

Her breathing became choppier as Carter eased his hand down the middle of her body until he reached her waist. Her tank had conveniently crept up, exposing her flat stomach; his fingers started gently rubbing her soft skin. Then slowly, his hand started making its way back up, but this time, under her tank.

She knew there was a point in which she was going to have to tell him that it was enough. To not go any further—yet. She just wished she knew what that point was. As nervous and scared as she should be, as she normally would’ve been, she wasn’t. She was anxious, but not nervous.

Instead, she adjusted to turn toward him and pulled his mouth to hers. Her breathing was louder and much faster now. He caressed her over the black lace until he found the front clasp. It popped open easily.

She didn’t know she’d been holding her breath until it came out with a
whoosh
.
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.
She grasped for a deeper breath and kissed him almost desperately. She had been teetering on the line, and she was pretty sure she needed to stop this. But,
oh God
, she had never felt like this before. Her heart was racing and she felt like she was on fire, inside and out. She had been on the pill forever, but did that really work? Did she really want to be one of those girls that went to bed with a guy she’d just met? She had a million questions and only one answer. She didn’t want him to stop.

Her hand slid down from his neck to his heart as his lips moved to her jaw line The next thing she knew, he was laying stretched out beside her with a leg draped between hers. Feeling for the hem of his t-shirt, she quickly pulled it up, needing to feel the warmth of his skin. Carter quickly helped pull it off, and immediately she tangled the fingers of one hand in his hair. The other she ran down his chest over each rippled muscle. Molly felt his pulse beat under her hand as she grazed his heart, making her way down his chest, heard him suck in a breath as her hand moved lower.

He must have pulled on a will power she wasn’t sure she possessed, because Carter slowed the kiss. He propped himself up on one elbow, his breaths just as loud and out of control as hers.

“God, you are beautiful.” He placed a soft little kiss on the bare skin just above her tank line.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and tried to take a deep breath, but it caught again. That simple noise kept giving her away. She gazed in his eyes and let her hand wander over his chest.

He bent down to kiss her lips again. “I’m sorry, I got carried away. I didn’t mean to. I really did just want to spend more time with you,” he said, but at the same time, his hand was still under her top, caressing her breast, running his thumb gently over the tip. She pulled his face to hers to kiss him softly. He broke again. “Are you upset? I promised you. I told you I’d control myself, I’m so sorry, Molly.”

Again she tried to kiss his apology away. “I could have stopped you at any point. I know, without a doubt, that at any moment I said no, you would have stopped. And without making me feel bad.” She looked in his eyes. “I didn’t stop you.” Molly said slowly and intently.

He bent down to kiss her sweetly again, and smiled.

“Don’t feel guilty, Carter. I have to admit to you, only to make you feel better…” She smiled. “I don’t know if I—”

“I know,” he interrupted, “But I also know you don’t want to get carried away on a couch the first weekend we’re together. I want your first time to be special. I want to take you somewhere nice, somewhere not surrounded by bike trailers.” He grinned down at her. “I’ll admit to you, I don’t have anything here, anyway.”

“Anything, what?”

“Anything, like…
condoms
.”

She could tell he was trying to be funny with the way he drew out the answer, and she couldn’t help the fit of giggles that was about to burst out.

“And I don’t want to just assume you’re on the pill.”

Between nerves, excitement, and the sudden attack of embarrassment, she lost control, the laughter unstoppable.

“What’s so funny?”

“I thought guys kept boxes and boxes of those things around at all times.”

He squeezed her breast that was still in his hand. “Ow,” she laughed.

“You’re in an awkward spot here to be making jokes, good looking. No. Not all of us keep them on hand. Just so you know, I’ve only been with a few women and only in long term relationships. I want to have this conversation, because, well, I think it’s important to know sexual history, but…ah…not right this minute.”

“Thank you,” she replied grinning. “It definitely ruins the mood.”

“But you appreciate my honesty, right?” He tickled her. Laughing, she tried to tickle him back, but he easily rolled on top of her and pinned her arms down above her head. Still laughing, she wiggled, but couldn’t move.

Kissing her, Carter slid one palm down her back and they shifted to their sides, facing each other again with their legs tangled. His palm on the small of her back pressed her into him. Her stomach did another little flip-flop when she felt
…him
. She wrapped herself around him to answer. His kiss moved to her neck and jaw and she could feel his tongue on her skin, the bite of his late day whiskers brushing against her.

Out of breath, she whispered, “I think we’re in dangerous territory.”

“I know,” he whimpered. He responded by kissing her more urgently than he ever had before. “I just can’t help myself, I can’t get,” he said as he gasped for a breath, “enough of you.”

Carter sucked in air, and Molly could tell he was doing everything in his power to keep himself reined in, something she greatly appreciated. She could tell he was being sensitive to her needs over his. He moved to kiss her lips, but more gently. “Will you just lie here with me for awhile? Please?”

She could feel his heart beat as she continued to rub his arm and back. “There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be.”

And there wasn’t. In his arms, she felt everything she’d been missing. He was powerful and strong enough to keep her safe, but gentle with her feelings. He was funny and loved to laugh but was fiercely protective of her already. And hot, the man was made for the cover of
GQ Magazine
.

She let out a sigh, content to stay in his arms.

Then her cell rang.

“Three guesses.”

“I have a feeling I know who it is, Gorgeous.” Carter sat up quickly so she could get up. “Could be worse, he could have just come knocking on the door.”

Molly was laughing at Carter’s reply as she answered. Without looking at caller ID, she knew who it was. “Yes?”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh good Lord, Brody. It’s not like Carter, Jesse, and Eli are all in here having an orgy with me. It’s just Carter and I and we’re just…oh wait…hey, Carter, you forgot to zip your pants back up. Sorry about that, Brody…we’re just talking.”

Molly looked down at the phone that was silent. “Oops. Probably shouldn’t have said that. I guess that was kinda like poking an angry bear with a stick, huh?”

Carter smirked at her as he quickly threw his t-shirt back on.

“I’d bet good money he’ll be here any sec—”

The pounding on the door startled her, even though she knew it was coming. “Second. Told ya.” Molly couldn’t help it as another fit of nervous giggles escaped.

“It’s a good thing you’re cute, little girl.” Carter tried to look stern, but Molly only laughed harder at the good looking man watching her with his wicked little grin and an ornery glimmer in his eyes.

Carter opened the door to reveal a fuming Brody who was leaning with one hand on each side of the door frame.

“Brody, we were just talking.”

“And now…you’re done.”

Chapter Eight

It was almost seven a.m. and she was just about finished running. Molly had started with running up and down the staircases of the lower level and then moved to running laps on the track. She had been going for over two hours and was horribly hot and sweaty, even in just spandex running shorts and a sports bra. Her hair was pulled up in a pony tail, but around her face and neck was soaking wet. She had her iPod up especially loud because of the dozers and bobcat working on the track.

All of the sudden, she felt a tingle, a whisper across her shoulder blades. A few other workers had come in to help with the touch ups on the track since she had been there, but she stopped and looked around anyway. Seeing nothing out of the normal at first, she continued to scan the mostly empty stadium. Standing at the railing of the lower level seating, she saw the sexy as sin man smiling down at her. Relief and excitement both washed over her, and she jogged Carter’s direction.

“Wow, you’re up early,” Molly teased him.

“Look who’s talking.”

“I really didn’t want you to see me looking like this for at least a few weeks. You know, keep up the pretty all the time front”.

She wiped her brow with her bare arm. Laughing, he grabbed her to hug her to him, running his palm down her back that she could feel was slick with sweat. Ugh, so much for showering before she saw him this morning.

“Good morning.” He leaned in, placing a soft kiss against her forehead.

“Good morning.”

“You look amazing, by the way.”

“Oh, please…” Molly rolled her eyes. She knew exactly how she looked after she’d been running. Amazing wasn’t anywhere close to an adjective she’d use. Red-faced, sweaty, her hair wet and stuck to her skin. She felt a shiver as a drop of sweat ran down the side of her neck and down her chest, disappearing into her sports bra. Oh yeah, she was a real beauty right now.

“You don’t see it, do you? You don’t even try and you’re beautiful. I love that about you.”

“Okay, you must still be drunk from last night.”

“You’ll hug me if I’m on the podium, right?”

“Well of course.” She lit up. The thought of him on the podium made her heart soar. She would be proud of him no matter what, but they were both racers at heart. Winning was everything.

“There you go. I’m sweaty, dirty, and gross after racing.”

“You like to be right, huh?”

“I always am.” He winked.

“Okay, Hollywood, I’ll let you keep thinking that a little bit longer.” She giggled as his hands slid down to grab her ass.

Her pulse quickened at the shock of the public display of affection. She wasn’t used to it at all, but the girly part of her liked that he was proud enough of their relationship not to hide it. She should be appalled, or in the very least surprised, but instead, she was completely giddy.

“I came to see if you wanted to eat breakfast with me.”

“I’d love to. Let me grab a shirt first?”

“Ah man, and ruin my view?”

Her cheeks flushed instantly. “Not your view so much as everyone else’s.”

“Oh, good point. I don’t want other guys checking out my woman.” He laughed as he picked her up and swung her around.

“I love the sound of that.”

“What?”

“Yours.”

With his arm around her shoulders, they started walking. “You are mine, Gorgeous. You’re mine for as long as you’ll have me.”

~

Wanting a quick minute alone with Molly before the evening got too busy, Carter hurried through a quick bite to eat for dinner. After they’d had breakfast together this morning, the day turned into a whirlwind. Something he was used to, but it frustrated him to no end this time. He wanted desperately to have more time with her, to get to know her even better. He needed to get his head in the game and his focus on the race tonight, but all he could think about was leaving tomorrow and not being able to see her again until next weekend. That thought was making him crazy.

He knew it was insane to be so attached to a woman he’d just known a few days, but he couldn’t help it. He also knew if he said anything to anyone, they’d think he was a love-sick fool. At the moment, he didn’t really care. That’s what he was.

“Hey, man. Are you going to head over to see our girl soon?” Jesse asked as he pulled up a chair at Carter’s table outside his factory rig.

“Yeah, I’m getting ready to head that way now.”

“Well, wait just a second, if you don’t mind. Hunter and I wanted to wish her good luck too. He’ll be here in a sec.”

“That’s fine, as long as he hurries.”

“So, what’s the deal with her anyway?” Jesse’s eyebrow went up.

“I like her, Jess. A lot.”

“Yeah, we can all see that. How serious is it?”

Carter popped the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth on purpose. It gave him time to choose his words. He couldn’t really remember a time when Jesse, Eli, and he hadn’t been friends. As kids they only met up on the tracks, and as teenagers with promising careers, their time on the same tracks became more and more frequent. A friendship born of a mutual passion, then a mutual respect that followed. As they grew up, they each realized their world was relatively small when it came to people who understood them—understood that passion for racing and respected it.

As pros, their friendship was a necessity. It kept everything in prospective. They shared everything, the ups and downs of racing. Periods of time off due to injury and the frustrations that went with it, the trials of wanting to ride with the coveted red number one plate on their bikes and the stresses of keeping sponsors happy.