Drive Me Crazy (18 page)

“
Nah, he only hates not being first. Racing cars is an outlet for him. It’s all about the thrill, the sport…not the glory or the money. All that is icing on the cake.”

“
So he’s really okay with giving all this up?” Jake fiddled with the brim of his baseball cap. “Not everything. He can still be involved without being out there, and he’s got the business sense to do it.”

A sense of foreboding washed over her, but she shook it off as Carter came roaring into the Pit. He climbed out of the car, pulling off his helmet and tossing it at Jake. His hair was plastered to his forehead. He unzipped his suit, exposing the form-fitting t-shirt underneath that defined his muscular chest.

“
What did you think?”

“
I think it’s a damn good thing you’ve retired.” Jake bumped Carter’s fist with his own. “Else I’d be eating your exhaust.”

“
Admit it: You love the taste of my exhaust,” Carter said and Jake punched him in the shoulder.

“
On that note, I’m getting the heck out of dodge. Going to see a woman about a woman.”

“
Later, bro.”

Melanie smiled over their exchanged. Carter crooked a finger at her. “Get over here and stroke my ego.”

Oh, she’d like to stroke more than his ego, she thought as she ran to him. “That was amazing! You were amazing and I couldn’t stop cheering for you, once I picked my heart off the asphalt.”

Trying to hold her at arm’s length, he said, “I’m all dirty and sweaty.”

“
Don’t care.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hugged him tight. “You looked good out there.”

“
Not as good as you did running to me.” He let her go slowly, his eyes dropping to her breasts. “Everyone else enjoyed the show, too.” Fingering her necklace, he smiled. “This looks good on you, too.”

Stepping back, she tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans and toed a boot on the asphalt. “I slept in it last night.”

He raised his brows, his fingers dipping lower and making her shiver. “That so? Well, how about you wear that necklace to my house and I’ll cook you dinner?”

“
You cook?”

“
You can’t live with Leah and Lawton Ambrose for eighteen years and not learn how. It’s a requirement for the boys and the girls. Chaps my ass that Heath’s better than me. Boy can make some mean strawberry and cream crepes.”

Laughing she laced her fingers with his, walking off the Speedway with him. “What about the rest? Wait, I already know. Luke lectures on safety while Logan is the bottomless pit. Evangeline sits back and takes notes and Zoe bosses everyone around.”

“
I’d be impressed with that, except for the fact that you practically lived at my house since you were eight.”

“
Please, you can know a person for years and not really know about them or their family.”

He got a faraway look in his eyes. “Ain’t that the damn truth.”

Chapter
Fourteen

Carter’s house was nothing like she imagined, mostly because she’d only seen homes like it on MTV Cribs and Southern Living magazine. The foyer had a ceiling that had to be as tall as the house. Her stilettos clicked with every step she took on the white marble floor.

“
Nice shoes.”

“
Thanks. I wore the necklace, too.” And her shortest skirt. The pushup bra seemed to be doing its job as well. Pinning her shoulders, she smiled.

Carter ran his eyes over her, green turning dark with desire. He cleared his throat and motioned for her to follow him. “Dinner’s ready.”

“
Sure it’s big enough for the two of us?” The dining room was bigger than her entire house and could seat at least fifty people. Okay, so maybe she was exaggerating but the room was ginormous.

“
We can eat in the kitchen, if you want.”

Letting out a thick sigh, she pretended to consider his offer. “Nah, I’ll suck it up and eat in here.”

“
I appreciate your sacrifice,” he said with a wry smile. He held out her seat, waiting for her to sit before he wiggled the chair up to the table.

Her plate was already fixed, with a juicy steak, steaming baked potato and a fresh salad. “Dessert’s in the kitchen, so eat all your veggies, Miss Smith.”

Rolling her eyes, she picked up her glass of red wine and took a small sip. “Yes, sir, Mr. Ambrose.”

Waving a fork at her, he made a sound of mock disapproval. “Don’t make me punish you for having a sassy mouth.”

“
How would you go about that?” She put on her best angel face to hide how wicked she wanted to be with him.

“
I’d put it to work singing my praises.”

“
Boring,” she said with a pout. “I bet you could think of something else for my mouth to do.”

His eyes dropped to her lips and she could practically see the lust written in them. “How’s the steak?”

She almost dropped her fork. The steak?! “Fine.” She stabbed a piece and chomped down on it. Chewing the delicious meat, she stared at everything in the room, but him.

Trying to make small talk was too much to ask of her, mostly because she was too ticked off and—once again—too embarrassed by her shameless mouth.

Eating the last bite of salad, she pushed back her chair and stood. “Thanks for dinner. I’ll help clear the table.”

“
Wait.” Carter’s arm shot out, grabbing her by the wrist. “I have something that needs saying.”

Yeah, well she didn’t want to hear some speech, re-emphasizing how they needed to take things slow. Or at all. “My steak was great, the meal was great. Everything was so great that I’m too full to eat dessert,” she said, smoothing her skirt down. “You don’t have to drive me back to the hotel. I’ll text the driver I used last night. He was great.” If she said great one more time, she would stab herself in the hand with her own fork as punishment.

“
I thought it best if we were to go back to being friends.”

Of course he did. She closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. “Yeah, I guess that’s—”

“
But I can’t do it, sweetheart.” His chair scraped back and she felt the heat of him as he came to stand behind her.

“
You can’t?”

“
Hell, no. I can’t stand idly by, watching other men talk to you. I know what they’re thinking, what they’re seeing and what they want, because I’m feeling the exact same way.” One of his hands slid around and up, cupping her breast. His free hand joined in, going to the small buttons of her shirt and slowly freeing each one. “I want you in my bed. I want to hear those breathy sighs while my cock is in you.”

Her breath hitched and her eyes opened. “Carter…”

“
Tell me you want that, too.”

“
I want you in me,” she said, arching against him and rubbing her bottom against his erection.

“
Jesus, you say the sexiest things.”

She shoved the plates away from her. “Right here is good.”

“
Right here is
great
.” He pushed her down on the table and flipped up her skirt. She heard his zipper being pulled down, then the sound of foil ripping. “Fuck me. Who bought you these?”

Guess he liked the lace thong. “I did while I was out shopping yesterday. Someone who shall remain nameless, so as to not gross you out, recommended the store.”

“
My dick thanks you for that.” Carter slipped his hand beneath the edge of them, finding her wet. “Always like this for me… so wet and hot.” He thrust two fingers inside of her and curled them, making her hips jerk back. For long minutes, he tortured her like that, keeping her on the edge of release as she begged for him to make her come.

“
Why don’t you put your cock where your hand is?”

“
That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day, baby.”

“
Hope you’re the one that punishes me.”

In one smooth motion, he shoved her panties to one side and thrust deep. “Hell, yes.” Her tight heat sucked him in, muscles clamping down on him so hard that he groaned at the pleasure. Pleasure built as he rocked into her. “Damn, I love fucking you.”

“
Carter,” she said on a moan, her hips pushing back.

Relentless, he sought to drive himself deep. So deep that she’d forever be marked by him, that no other man would ever come close to touching what they had. Only that was the problem. He didn’t want her with another man. Some faceless, nameless man who would feel and see her like this, so vulnerable and at his mercy, because she’d allowed it.

Pulling out, he turned her around and lifted her, driving into her once more. He walked forward, until her back hit the door to the kitchen. “Look at me.” Chocolate eyes glazed with desire and passion gazed into his. “Never gonna be this good with anyone else.”

She tightened her thighs around him. “Only you…I only want you inside of me. Forever.”

He wanted that to and it should have scared him shitless. Her words stripped him bare, until only a fierce desire to possess her remained.

“
Only me,” he growled.

He took her mouth then, tongue tangling as he sank inside of her. Deeper than he ever thought possible, until she twisted her hips and he slid the smallest of distances. But it was enough to send him into a frenzy.

Caught up in a fever, he fucked her like his life depended on how good she came. Slipping a hand between them, he pinched her clit and she cried out. Her body seized up and her inner walls began to milk him.

Tearing his mouth away, he watched as she went over the edge, calling out his name. “Beautiful,” he murmured, but his enthrallment didn’t last long, because in his next heartbeat he poured himself inside of her.

“
Melanie…fuck,” he panted, holding himself completely still inside of her while she throbbed and pulsated around him. She kissed his throat and jaw, her sweet breath fanning over his sensitive skin. He let her legs slide to the floor, then claimed her mouth in a long kiss. Something hot and sweet washed over him as the tips of her fingers touched his face.

He leaned back to get a good look at her. At her flushed face and tousled curls. At the emotion shining clearly in her dark eyes.

And he was done. Forget done. He was worthless. No good for anyone but her.

“
Don’t go back to the hotel. Spend the night with me,” he whispered. “I want you with me.” Who was he kidding? He needed her with him.
Always.

He loved this woman.

“
I want to be with you, too.”

For a moment he considered telling her, but he wasn’t completely confident that she felt the same. Coward that he was, he kept it to himself.

Then again, he could
show
her how much he loved her.

Sweeping her up in his arms, he carried her to his bedroom, laid her on the bed and stripped off her clothes. “I’m a lucky man, you know that?”

Smiling, she caressed the side of his face and he leaned into her hand. “You sure are.”

Damn, but he loved it when she was confident and sassy, saying whatever she thought. “Where should I start first? So many, many options” He pressed a kiss on her neck, then nibbled a path up to her jaw, his hand memorizing the contours of her body. Where she dipped and curved in hot degrees that he wanted block off for every man that wasn’t him.

She trembled beneath his touch, her sexy body and beautiful face filling with color. Dark pink lips parted, her tongue slipping out to lick at her bottom lip. The hummingbird pendant gleamed against her skin, right where her pulse fluttered out of control.

“
Kiss me,” she breathed.

And like every good southern boy should, he followed her orders with a polite “Yes, ma’am.”. However, what he felt like doing to her was beyond polite.