Chapter Eighteen
Kace pulled up in front of Tara’s cottage. He could have walked, probably would have done him some good, but if he had to get out of dinner in a hurry, he wanted wheels.
He wanted to be anywhere but at his family’s dinner. His fight with Jett and Lock earlier still burned deep in his veins. He wouldn’t be able to sit at that table and not bring it up. They wanted to fight the sale, and having controlling shares would allow them to do that. Jett had gone and consulted with the lawyer, that prick. Now that he had an offer that he was seriously considering, his brothers were getting in the way.
He shoved out of his Mustang and let the early evening air brush against his heated skin. The only good thing about tonight was having Tara with him. Selling to her ex-husband might not be a great thing for her. It would mean Paxton wouldn’t leave town.
But he would take care of her and keep her safe. Paxton was just a lot of hot wind. If Drew had been abusive, that would be a different story. He wouldn’t even consider selling, but Tara never said things had gone that far.
He limped up to the front door. His head hurt, and the vertigo was back. He should have had that massage and then declared his feelings. But he was certain he would have had a hard-on the whole time instead of relaxing. If she took their relationship to the next level—and she’d sure as hell seemed like she wanted to before Calista showed up at the spa—and made love with him, then he could think about massage for therapy’s sake. Until then he’d find a dude masseuse.
The door opened before he could knock. “Hey,” he said. Real smooth.
She was beautiful in a black sweater and jeans with high black boots. Her curls bounced in perfect spirals around her face, making him want to wrap his fingers around each one. Glossy lip stuff painted the smile that lit up her face. She eased the pain in his head better than any therapy session.
“I saw you pull up. I can grab my stuff, and we can head out. Come in a second.”
He followed her in and closed the door.
She grabbed a bouquet of fall flowers and a bottle of wine. “I didn’t want to show up empty-handed. I hope the wine is okay.”
“It’s great. Where’s Royce?” He had expected to see him sitting on the couch, unhappy about having to stay neat.
“He’s with Drew. They won’t be back until nine. Are you ready to go?”
“We have a few minutes. There’s no rush.” They were alone here. He could postpone the inevitable argument waiting to happen.
“Is everything all right?” She put the wine and flowers on the counter.
“Sure.” He didn’t want to talk about it now. Once they went up to the main building, his family would be gathered around the big kitchen table, and he would have to discuss his plans to sell and try to convince Jett to change his mind.
“Kace, I know you don’t like to talk about your health, but if you aren’t feeling up to bringing me to dinner, I can skip it. It might be better if you had dinner with your family alone, then afterward have someone do therapy with you. You need to be working on that more than anything.”
“I feel fine.” Because he was with her, and the only thing he wanted to work on was the two of them tangled up together.
“I can see the pain in your eyes and in the hunch of your shoulders and the pitch of your neck. Let me help. Sit down.”
He grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers. “Don’t pity me, damn it.”
She snatched her hand away as if his touch burned. “You will not speak to me that way.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s been a bad day. I need your smile and your laugh but not your hands on my neck. It’s not the concussion causing me problems. It’s the sale of my portion of the land.” He pulled her close and almost sighed as her soft curves fit against him like supple leather on front seats.
“That’s what you were fighting about with your brothers this morning.”
“You know about that?”
“Calista and I were walking up when you four came out of the main building. I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but it looked heated. You walked away before you saw me.” She ran her fingers under his hair and along his neck. Her soft touch upshifted the hunger in his belly. They wouldn’t make the dinner at all if she continued to touch him like that.
“Jett and Lock plan on blocking the sale.” He didn’t want to think about that while her hands were on his skin. He wanted to memorize every part of her instead.
“What are you going to do?”
“I have to race.”
“At the expense of your family?” She eased out of his embrace.
“You don’t understand.” He missed her warmth and wanted her back in his arms. That was the only thing that felt right except for when he was on the track.
“No, I don’t. Can you explain it?”
He cleared the space between them and brushed her hair away from her face. “Could we talk about it later? Nothing’s going to change tonight.”
“If you’re willing to put a wedge between you and your brothers for your career, does that mean you’ll do that to us too?”
“Where would you get an idea like that? Look”—he threw his hands in the air—“I don’t want to fight with you. I just want to hold you until the room stops spinning.” The stress made the symptoms worse, and he struggled to divert the things that bothered him. Talking about the sale and his brothers would not ease the strain. He reached for her, but she stepped away.
“I’m not fighting. I need to know where I’ll stand with you if it comes down to the racetrack or me.”
“I thought you wanted to take things slow. We’re talking about a lifetime, and we haven’t even been on an official date. Right now, my career is important to me, just like yours is to you. I’ve respected every decision you’ve made about work over me. All I’m asking for now is you to trust me.”
She turned away from him and fingered the plastic wrap around the flowers. Her shoulders shook. He ran a hand through his hair, unsure of how to handle the situation. His role models for serious relationships had been his brothers. He was too young to remember his parents together, and his mother rarely went out with a man. Until recently, none of his brothers was even in a relationship. It was just Gage who seemed to finally figure it out, but that took some work. He and Calista almost didn’t make it again.
He eased behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tara?” He didn’t know what to say or how to make her feel better. He would never hurt her, but he would never give up racing. Plenty of professional racers had wives and families. Racing was a family sport.
She turned to him. Tears filled her eyes.
“I can juggle my career and us.” That’s what she wanted to hear, wasn’t it? He would have to figure out the details as he went along, but when she saw him on the track, she would understand. Racing was in his blood. He could no more give it up than cut open an artery.
“I was married to a man who allowed his career to turn him into a monster. I can’t repeat that mistake.”
“Monster? What do you mean? Did he do something terrible, or did he just spend too much time playing football?”
She wiped her eyes with her hands and stepped away from him. “I didn’t mean my words to sound so harsh. I’m just upset. Drew is a big fat jerk, that’s all. His first and only love is football.”
He studied her for a second. He couldn’t decide if she was telling him the complete truth. “Give me a chance to prove to you I’m not him.” He wrapped her in his arms and held her close, kissing the crease in her brow to make it go away. He didn’t know how to convince her with words, but he could show her. He could be there. He could love her.
She tangled her fingers in his hair. He might never cut it again if he could have her wrap her hands in it every day.
“I already know you’re not him. I’ve never felt for him or any other man the way I feel when I’m with you.”
He would take that statement as his green flag. He pressed his lips to hers and sighed when she opened her mouth to him. He swept his tongue over hers. The room spun for a different reason this time, and he wanted to fall into the abyss of it. He hoped she wouldn’t put the brakes on, because stopping would be the hardest thing he would have to do.
Instead, she tugged at his shirt. He broke the kiss long enough to yank it over his head. She stared up at him with wide, worried eyes.
“Second thoughts?” His heart raced in his chest, demanding to go faster.
“Not with you standing there half-dressed, but what about dinner? Your family is waiting for us.”
“Let’s skip dinner.” He’d text Gage and tell him to cover for them.
“How would that look? I want your family to like me.”
“The dinner is important to you.” He didn’t have to ask. She had talked about his family with a longing he didn’t quite understand. His brothers had just always been there. He had no memory of life before Lock or Ajay, much like Gage and Jett had no memory of a life before he showed up. She wanted a big family, and lately, he wished he were an only child.
“Of course, it’s important. Your mom is going to be there. If I blow her off, it will confirm in her head I’m not good enough for her son.”
“She doesn’t think that.”
“Kace, I’m a mother of a son. Trust me—no woman is good enough. Ever.”
Laughter tumbled over his lips. “How about if we go for dessert?”
“Are you sure?”
“Babe, I’ve never been surer that I want to make love to you right now. I know it’s not romantic for our first time with soft music and flowers. I should probably buy you dinner beforehand. If you want all of that, then we’ll wait, but all I care about is us.”
“How much time do we have before dessert?”
“Plenty.”
****
Tara couldn’t breathe. She had never been nervous with a man. The first time she had had sex was at eighteen with her high school boyfriend. He had known as little as she had. After that, sex had always been just okay, not the way she heard other women giggling about. She had read about mind-blowing orgasms, racing hearts, and bone-crushing rapture, but she had never experienced any of that. She had thought maybe those women were making it up.
Until now.
She had expected Kace to hurry through the motions simply because he made a living going faster than most. He took his time, as if they drove through the country, wanting to study the scenery.
“Tell me if you don’t like something.” He placed soft kisses under her ear, leaving a heated tingle that ran over her entire body and hypnotized her. He pushed the collar of her sweater to the side and nipped at her shoulder.
His hands ran down her arms, then moved to her back where he savored each vertebra with his fingers. Her skin itched from the cumbersome fabric of her sweater. She wanted it off and his hands on her skin. The way his touch was meant to be.
“I’m going to like it all.” She stepped back and pulled her sweater over her head to give him more access. The human body was amazing with the way every part worked in sync. Just by pressing on the right spot, she could heal a muscle or even an organ. She wasn’t shy about hers the way she thought she might be after Drew. He had never made her feel loved or appreciated, but she knew—if nothing else—her body was a wonder like all others. And she wanted to see more of Kace’s.
“I hope so.” He kissed her again but tilted her head back to take the kiss deeper.
The muscles in her most sensitive spot tightened as his hands ran over her back and cupped her bottom. His erection pressed into her belly, which only made that tightness coil more. She had so many questions about his life, like how many women had he been with? How did she have the power to turn him on? Who had made him fall in love?
Instead, she explored the hard lines of his sternum and abdomen. His soft chest hair narrowed to a thin line that ran into the top of his jeans. He was all male with broad shoulders, defined pecs, and a narrow waist. Her hands could stay here all day, exploring each muscle group and relishing how he flexed under her touch.
He caressed her breast through the fabric of her bra. A moan settled low in her throat. She unhooked the closure and let it fall to the floor.
“Beautiful.” His hand returned to her breast and rolled her nipple between his fingers until it was a hard knot. The tiniest prick of pain brought waves of pleasure. Every sensation was amplified, and she didn’t want any of it to end.
He possessed her mouth with his hot and demanding tongue. Both of his calloused hands found her breasts, and her legs quivered under the weight of needing to feel more of his hands on her body. She wanted him to touch her everywhere too.
She grappled with his belt before sliding it free. The leather was well worn and lived in, and for a second she wondered what it would be like to wrap it around his wrists and have him lying under her so she could run her hands over every hill and valley of his body.
His mouth left hers and found her neck, her shoulders, her breast. She pressed into him, holding his head there. The tightness between her legs became an ache needing to be stroked. A cool sweat broke out over her body. This was what other women had talked about during dinners plastered with wine. She might explode with one more of his caresses or die if he stopped touching her. She had felt left out of those conversations with women. The few she had had. She’d had nothing to contribute, no secrets to share with a friend she trusted. But even if she had, she wanted to keep this feeling with Kace all to herself. This was their moment to share, their memory to make, and no one else’s.
Her breath came in short spurts as if she’d been running, and she had. She had been running her whole life to this moment. To this man who could unleash something inside her she didn’t even know was there. She had been hiding under her defenses for so long she had no idea what she had been missing.
“We’re still in the kitchen.” Some sense of reason poked through and reminded her of where they were. Maybe he wasn’t comfortable. Maybe his concussion symptoms were bothering him.
He gave her a wide, cocky smile and rested his hands on her lower back, holding her close and secure. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”
“Do you?”
“Babe, I will make love to you anywhere you want. The kitchen table, the bed, the shower, the car. All of the above.”
“How are you feeling?”
He took her hand and placed it over his erection. “Does that answer your question?”
All that arousal was because of her. Delight filled her chest.
“But your headaches and dizziness.” She couldn’t move her hand away even though she was worried he might not feel well.
“When I’m focused, I’m fine.” He scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing and carried her down the short hall to her bedroom. He placed her gently on the bed and climbed beside her. “Is this better? I want you to be comfortable.”
She ran her fingers through his silky hair. “I’m happy wherever you are, but the bed is nice.”
“Say no more.” He eased away and removed the rest of his clothes.
Her breath caught at the sight of him. “You are beautiful too.” She held her arms out to him, but he waited.
“You next.” He wagged a finger.
She took her time unzipping each boot. She had decided to wear them tonight because they made her feel sexy. She was glad she had. Her gaze never left his as she peeled the leather away from her shin. His abdomen pulsed in and out as he watched. She suspected he liked what he saw, and that gave her the courage to shimmy her jeans over her hips. He helped her the rest of the way before tossing her clothes on the floor. His tongue ran a line up her inner thigh that had her gripping his shoulders.
“Kace?”
“Mmm?” His mouth sucked the place his tongue just was.
The oxygen left her brain. “I…um…I like that a lot, but all this foreplay is kind of driving me crazy.” Her longing made her sound desperate, and maybe she was. She needed to feel him inside her and end the expectant want.
“I’m just getting out of second gear.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “I want to hurry and go slow at the same time. Does that make sense?”
He slid on top of her. Their bodies pressed together. She opened her legs to make more room for him, but he did not move other than to link their hands. “It makes perfect sense because I feel the same way. I can’t wait to have you wrapped around me, and I want to slow down enough to make sure you enjoy it.”
“Oh, I’m enjoying it.”
“How about if I do this?” He released her hand and drew a line with his fingers over the flesh of her breast, down her belly, and to her hip.
“That’s nice.”
“And this?” His hands explored her hip and then dipped lower. His finger touched the spot that had been desperate for him, and tremors ran over her body.
She pulled him closer and kissed him, long and deep. His hand began to move, and her hips followed the pace. His touch was slow and deliberate, making her cry out each time he stroked her until he picked up speed and the coiled knot of desire inside her vibrated with the need to unwind.
She gripped him and ran her hand over the full length of him. Every part of this man was solid and strong. She had been running her hands over bodies for years, but his body was special. He was like no one else. She could not take another second without all of him inside her.
“Kace, please. All this touching is too much.”
“Do you want me to stop?” His hands ceased. Confusion crossed his face.
“God, no.” She had never said anything like this out loud before. She had never been brave enough to trust any man with her deepest feelings. She closed her eyes and took a leap. “I want you inside me.”
“Tara, look at me, babe.” His words were a whisper, and he ran a soft finger over her jaw.
She opened one eye.
He laughed. “Both eyes.”
She obliged. “Better?”
“Much. Don’t close your eyes when you tell me what you want, especially when we’re making love. You don’t have to be afraid with me.”
She needed to be careful, or she could fall head over heels for this man. He knew what she needed without being told. He was gentle and fierce, a protector and a teddy bear. “I’m not good at sex talk.”
“I don’t think you know how good you actually are.” He gripped her thigh and wrapped her leg around his waist. “Is this what you want?”
“Yes.” Even though she wanted to close her eyes, she held his gaze.
The tip of him rested at her entry, but he didn’t move. He waited for her to tell him what she wanted next. She took a deep breath. “I want more of that. More of you. Inside me.”
He kissed her again, then pushed up on his elbows. “I want you to know I’m clean and safe, but I have protection.”
“I am too. I had myself tested after Drew left three years ago, and I’m embarrassed to say I’ve only been with one guy since then.” Heat filled her face.
His top lip curled in a smile. “Not going to lie, I love that.” He kissed her and grabbed the condom.
When he was ready, he positioned himself between her legs again and thrust inside her, filling her up. She sighed with pleasure and lifted her hips to meet his, taking in more of him. Like before, he started slow, then built to a pace they both wanted until she couldn’t wait any longer. The impatient mania inside her spiraled higher and higher. He gripped her bottom and pulled her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist to give him more space to fill her.
She arched up to him, and he kissed her hard, biting her lip. She gripped his back as he continued to thrust. The coil inside her broke, and her body rocked with waves of release. He called out her name as his surrender overtook him. His chest heaved, and he rested his forehead on hers.
“I’d call that a win,” he said.
That she would.