#Swag (GearShark #3) (26 page)

“Did I hurt you?” I asked. She always told me harder, faster, more. And I always obliged.

Maybe I shouldn’t have.

She laughed. “No.”

“Josie…” I threw my arm over her waist and pulled her into my body. “If I hurt you, you have to tell me.”

She turned her face into mine, stroking my cheek with her palm. “You’re sweet to me.”

I scoffed. “I was just hammering into you like a machine.”

“You’re sweet to me, Jace,” she said again.

“Maybe sometimes,” I muttered, looking away. But my concern for her safety, for not hurting her wasn’t sweet. It was common decency. It bothered me she didn’t seem to make that distinction.

She pulled my face back. “No one’s ever been sweet to me before.”

Yeah, see? Just what I thought.

“Do you like it?” I whispered, rubbing my fingers against her side.

She nodded. I thought I saw the sheen of tears deep in her gaze.

“I want to see you again.” I confided.

“I want to see you, too.”

“I don’t want you to see anyone but me.” Possessiveness rose up within me. Fierce and strong like a gust of wind on the back end of a tornado.

“You say that like I have a ton of offers,” she said, sarcastic.

“Do you?” I demanded. I’d beat all their asses. “I already told you I’m not above violence.”

She rolled her eyes like I was joking.

I wasn’t joking.

“Josie,” I warned.

She sighed. “No one’s interested in me, Jace. Not like that. I haven’t dated anyone in a long time.” Her eyes flew to mine, red tinging her cheeks. “Not that I’m saying you want to date me.”

“I do.”

Her eyes widened like big saucers.

“When the next reporter asks about us, I want to tell them what a lucky asshole I am. I want to stand at your side and be proud to have you there. I want you to be proud to have me there.”

“Jace,” Josie murmured.

“I don’t have a good reputation. I’m not a nice guy. I’ve already told you I should be in jail. And if someone comes at my brother again… I might end up there.”

“Shh,” she hushed and laid her hand on my face. “I know who you are,
Jace
.”

I couldn’t help but feel I was more when she looked at me the way she was right then.

“I come with a lot of baggage.” She cautioned.

“No more than the rest of us.”

“It will be hard on you being with me. Your career is taking off. I—”

“Are you saying no to me?” I intoned. I wasn’t taking no for an answer, especially not when I saw the yes right there in her eyes.

“I—” And there it was, that little bit of hesitation I saw last night. That little bit of whatever she wasn’t saying. She sighed. “No. I’m not saying no.”

“You want to be with me?” I asked, laying it all out.

“More than anything,” she whispered.

I kissed her deeply, then pulled her into my chest, wrapping her up in my arms. Today was a good fucking day.

“Jace?” Her voice was barely audible against my chest. Still, I’d know my name on her lips anywhere.

“Yeah?”

“Just know… whenever you want out, I’ll understand. I won’t make it hard on you.”

Did she think I was some kind of little bitch who ran at the first sign of struggle? “I’m not gonna want out, Josie.”

She said something. Even though it wasn’t clear, it sure sounded a lot like, “I hope not.”

Her face stayed pressed into my chest for long moments as I lay there with her in my arms and wondered.

Suddenly, she lifted her head. “So does this mean I won’t pull up to any of your street races and find a rat with her hands all over you?”

My lips twitched. “Why would I want a rat when I have you?”

Her voice turned rueful. “I seriously thought about running her over with my car.”

I threw my head back and laughed.

“I’m gonna get ready. You have to feed me and give me caffeine before you take me to the plane.”

“Food
and
coffee?” I teased. “You’re a lot of work.”

She smiled, but it didn’t quite meet her eyes. I knew she was thinking about the out she put on the table. The one she promised to make easy when I decided to run.

I wasn’t running anywhere.

Again, I wondered why she thought I’d be so eager to get away.

Joey

Three days. That’s how long it’d been seen I’d seen him last. It wasn’t like the last time, though. We talked now. Every day.

I never pegged Jace for a guy who called. But he did.

And he texted.

We didn’t sit on the phone for hours; our calls were usually only a few minutes. But they were meaningful and all I needed.

Even so, after three days, I started to think about when I would see him again. When Drew called and told me he was coming to Charlotte for my race, I knew that meant Jace’s schedule was clear, too.

So I texted him.

He texted back.

It gave me butterflies in my stomach.

I was going to see him again. This time, I’d see even more of him than last weekend, because this time he was coming just for me.

My race was Sunday, but we decided to fly out Friday morning. My car would get there Saturday and would need to be inspected, etc., and I was always there for that. A racer’s car was their most valuable and important asset. Making sure mine was in top shape was crucial.

Plus, it would give me the day to get in the frame of mind to race.

Trent and Drew got into town Thursday afternoon. They’d been here so much the last few weeks I was beginning to think it was odd when they weren’t. The room they stayed in was now Drew and Trent’s room, and even the housekeeper asked when they would be here next.

I loved Drew; he was quite possibly my best friend. But Trent was a close second. He’d become the one I always wanted advice from. The one I thought of first when I needed to talk. He was simple to talk to. He didn’t make things convoluted or even analyze them like women tended to do. Trent was straightforward, he was honest, and he had a capacity for understanding that in a lot of ways took me by surprise.

I was standing in my walk-in closet with a suitcase open before me when he barged right in.

“Hope you aren’t naked,” he said as he stepped in.

He wasn’t even covering his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. “What do you want?” I asked fondly.

He dropped onto the rug beside my suitcase. “Drew’s in the shower.”

“And you aren’t with him?” I arched an eyebrow.

His smile was slow. “You have a dirty mind.”

“Please,” I muttered and turned back to my clothes.

I don’t know why it suddenly seemed so hard to pack. I’d traveled to races a thousand times, and it was always the same, jeans and T-shirts. Now I stood here and debated which jeans with which shirt and what color.

I was kinda annoyed with myself.

“I wanted to check in. See how it’s going.”

“With Jace?” I asked knowingly.

“Pretty much.”

I gave up on my perusal of the clothes hanging around and sat on the floor near him.

“He’s a lot more than people think,” I confided.

Trent tilted his head. “Good or bad?”

“Good.”

“You seen him since the race?”

I shook my head. “He’ll be in Charlotte this weekend.”

“You want him to be?” Trent pressed.

He was totally giving off the overprotective big brother vibe. I kinda liked it.

“Yeah. I do.”

“All I needed to hear.” He grunted and stood.

I felt my forehead wrinkle. “What?”

“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, turning to go.

“Where are you going?” I called after him.

“To take a shower,” he answered.

The sound of him leaving my bedroom was distinct. I laughed and got to my feet. “What a weirdo,” I told no one.

I sighed. Trying to pick clothes was a pain in the ass. I decided to go back to my usual style of packing and just throw some stuff in there. My hand closed over a dark pair of skinny jeans and sleeveless loose white top. I tossed it in, turned back, and reached for a sundress.

What? It’s super-hot in the South during summer. A sundress would be comfortable.

It was made of lightweight cotton in a simple A-line shape that would show off my hourglass shape. It was white with a pattern of tiny flowers all over it. The size and pale coloring of pink and green kept it from looking like grandma’s curtains.

Okay, fine. It was girly. The girliest thing I owned.

Nothing wrong with wanting to look nice.

After I added that, I went for a pair of army-green cotton shorts and a fitted black T-shirt with cap sleeves. Putting something that was more my usual style in there after the dress made me feel a little more like myself.

Now all that was needed was the stuff I would wear to race in and my shower shoes. I spun around to get them and noticed a large figure hovering in the door of my closet.

I shrieked and pressed a hand to my chest.

“Jace!”

“You look pretty cute standing there scowling over your clothes,” he mused.

“I do not!” I argued. Suddenly, I felt out of breath and excited. “What are you doing here?”

He pushed out of the doorway and prowled toward me. “I didn’t feel like waiting ‘til tomorrow night to see you.”

He was close enough I had to tilt my head slightly to stare into his rich, dark eyes. “You drove all the way down here to see me a day early?”

A playful smirk tugged his lips. “I could tell you missed me.”

“I missed you?” I scoffed.

I felt his hand tug on the knot tied in my shirt, and reality came crashing into the moment of seeing him here, in my room.

Oh my God. I looked like crap!

There I go again with the girl drama…

But seriously! I was dressed in a pair of crop sweatpants and a white T-shirt that was too big, so I’d tied it in a knot on the side of my waist. My hair was wild with curls. I barely even tried to tame it today.

I looked like I was from the eighties.

“How’d you get in here!” I demanded.
And why wasn’t I given a warning?

“I’m assuming it was the housekeeper who let us in. Drew and Trent were in the kitchen eating everything in sight.”

“Arrow came, too? Trent and Drew know you’re here?” Trent hadn’t said a word to me!

He nodded once but scowled; a dark look stole over his features. “Trent wouldn’t let me come in here until he was sure you wanted to see me.”

I fought a smile and lost. That’s why he’d really come in here. “He’s sweet.”

Jace’s eyes narrowed. “He tried to keep me from you.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re in here, aren’t you?”

“Speaking of…” he growled, grabbing me by the waist and lifting me off my feet. My legs wound around his waist naturally. “Aren’t you gonna show me how happy you are I’m here?”

I kissed him—went right in and locked my lips on his. Our tongues stroked together as I wiggled a little closer against him.

“You look fucking hot in sweatpants,” he said when I lifted my mouth.

“I look even better without them.”

His quick grin was thrilling and rather wolfish. Carrying me, he stepped out of the closet and strode into my bedroom toward my pillow-filled bed and literally tossed me right in the center. I giggled as I sank into the down-filled comforter like I’d fallen into a cloud.

Jace ripped the T-shirt he was wearing off his body and tossed it over his shoulder. The jeans he wore were like always, a little loose and not to committed to hiding his hips. My hands slid through his hair, ruffling the strands as he crawled over me and claimed my mouth.

“Where’s Arrow?” I gasped, ripping my mouth free even as my hands explored his bare back.

“With Drew and Trent. They’re watching a movie or some shit,” he said, nuzzling against the side of my neck.

“The door,” I groaned, thinking of the guys’ habit of barging in.

“I locked it on my way in,” he informed me, even as the knot in my shirt came untied and he went up beneath it to kiss my breast over the cotton bralette I was wearing.

“Oh God, Jace. I missed you.” I groaned.

Over my breast, his mouth stilled. I became self-conscious of my words. It was the first time I’d told him that. It was the closest I’d come to really admitting how much he’d come to mean to me.

Slowly, he pulled back from beneath my shirt. His hair was totally mussed when he glanced up.

“Say it again, Josie,” he demanded, a deep rasp in his words.

The hungry glint in his eyes made me want to give him more. It made me feel like I’d been withholding things he needed to hear and feel.

I surged up and grabbed his face. The roughness of his jaw was a contrast to the smoothness of his cheeks. I made sure to look directly in his eyes and nowhere else when I spoke.

“I missed you, Jace,” I whispered. “So much.” His lips pulled up, and I ran my thumb along his lower lip. Even quieter, I said, “No one’s ever made me feel like you do.”

This time when he kissed me, it was different. Less fierce but more consuming. Less desperate but more secure.

I gave in to him, to the feelings consuming the air around us. I felt more aware of him moving inside me tonight than I ever had before. Everything was amplified, and the slowness with which he made love to me caused a drunk feeling to settle over my limbs and mind.

He was a blanket, heavy and warm; offering shelter and comfort. His body muffled everything else.

I succumbed to it all. To him.