She moaned, “Finn.”
She’d never experienced anything like this—like him. She felt like she was out of control. Everything was speeding by her as she tried to find something to hold on to.
“Lift your hips,” he said.
Their eyes met and she found what she’d needed. Finn would keep her grounded. She planted her feet on the floor and lifted them up, feeling him draw her khaki chinos over her hips and down her thighs. She was left wearing the tiny black thong she’d put on this morning.
He palmed her through the panties, and she squirmed underneath him. She wanted more.
And he gave it to her. He moved his hand to her most intimate flesh, and then, with his mouth, he drew her underwear down only using his teeth. His hands kept moving over her stomach and thighs until she was completely naked and bare underneath him. Then he shifted back on his knees, moving his foot in the compression boot to the side as he knelt and stared down at her naked body.
“You are better than taking the checkered flag,” he said.
His voice was low and husky and made her blood flow heavier in her veins. Everything about this man seemed to make her hotter than she’d ever been before.
“It’s you, not me,” she said in a raspy voice. “You are the one who is making me…”
“I am going to make you climax harder than you ever have before,” he said.
She quivered at his words. His lips were against her skin, and she felt them all the way through her body. He lowered his head again and rubbed his chin over her mound. Just a back and forth motion that made her clit swell.
He parted her with his thumb and forefinger, and she felt the air against her most intimate flesh and then the brush of his tongue. It was so soft and wet, and she squirmed wanting—no needing—more from him.
He scraped his teeth over her, and she almost came right then. But he lifted his head and smiled up at her and she realized that Finn was determined to draw out the experience.
She gripped his shoulders as he teased her with his mouth and then tunneled her fingers through his hair, holding him closer to her as she lifted her hips. He moaned against her and the sound tickled her clit and sent chills racing through her body.
With his other hand, he traced the opening of her body, those large deft fingers making her squirm against him. Her breasts felt full and her nipples were tight as he pushed just the tip of his finger inside of her.
The first ripples of an orgasm started to pulse through her, but he pulled back, lifting his head and moving down her body, nibbling at the flesh of her legs. She was aching for him, needing more.
“Finn…”
“Yes?” he asked, lightly stroking her lower belly and then moving both hands to her breasts where he cupped the full globes.
“Please, Finn…”
“I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry,” he said.
“Now.”
She was actually shaking with need. She had played these kinds of games before, but tonight, her head wasn’t in it. She just wanted his big body moving over hers. She wanted his cock inside of her. She reached between their bodies and stroked him through his pants, then slowly lowered the tab of the zipper. But he caught her wrist and drew her hand up above her head.
He lowered his body over hers, so the soft fabric of his shirt brushed her breasts and stomach before she felt the hard muscles underneath. Then his thigh was between her legs, moving slowly against her engorged flesh and she wanted to scream as everything in her tightened just a little bit more.
But it still wasn’t enough. She writhed against him, but he just slowed his touch so that the sensations became even more intense. He shifted again and she felt the warmth of his breath against her mound. She opened her eyes to look down at him and knew this time was different. But she couldn’t think about what it was, because his mouth was on her again.
Each sweep of his tongue against her clit drove her higher and higher. Everything in her body tightened, waiting for the touch that would push her over the edge. She shifted her legs around his head, feeling the brush of his silky-smooth hair against her inner thighs.
Moments later, his finger was at the opening of her body once again and then she was overwhelmed by the delicate biting of his teeth against her pleasure bud as he plunged that finger deep inside her. She screamed his name as his mouth moved over her, and the first wave of an orgasm rolled through her body.
Her hips jerked forward, and her nipples tightened. She felt the moisture between her legs and his finger pushing hard against her G-spot inside her body. She was shivering and her entire body was convulsing, but he didn’t lift his head. He kept suckling on her and driving her harder, until she came again, screaming with her climax as stars danced behind her eyelids.
She reached down to claw at his shoulders as pleasure rolled over her. It was more than she could endure, and she had to close her eyes. She reached for Finn, stroking his cock and drawing him into her body. He entered her with one long deep thrust and then he drove her back toward yet another climax as he thrust into her again and again. Their eyes met as he plunged deep into her and he called her name as he came. She held him afterward, sweat drying on their bodies.
“Finn…”
“Unca? Auntie?” Lane called from the other room.
“I got this,” Finn said, pushing himself off of her and then straightening his clothes as he walked to go and take care of Lane. She watched him go, feeling her heart beating too fast. She was starting to get used to having him by her side. She had worked so hard not to fall into that trap, not to rely on anyone but herself. Yet here she was, needing him.
She’d felt so sure of herself a minute ago but that confidence was gone now as she gathered her clothing and went into the bathroom to get dressed. When she came back out, Lane was back in his crib, sleeping, and Finn was in the second bedroom, with the door shut.
Tonight had changed her. What she and Finn had just shared hadn’t been only about sex. It had been something else, something more.
Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing if it had been the same for him.
Chapter Ten
Leaving Laguna Seca and Monterey behind was exactly what Finn had wanted from the moment he’d been told he couldn’t race. He wasn’t a man who handled being told ‘no’ well, and he realized as Lancey drove them through the misty, early morning, avoiding the race and the fans, that he didn’t handle being in the passenger seat well, either.
More than once he’d been about to open his mouth and make a suggestion, but she’d stopped him with one well-aimed glare. He was aware that things weren’t starting out great on their road trip. He’d overslept, hadn’t helped with Lane and then only when she’d threatened to leave without him, did he get out of bed and get ready.
He would have liked to say it was due to the late night or his new medication, but he’d woken up in one hell of a mood. Last night, when he’d held her in his arms, nothing had seemed that bad. But in the harsh light of the morning, when he’d heard Lancey and Lane moving around and getting ready, he’d realized that this was his new reality.
And as he always did, he’d sort of panicked. What if he couldn’t be the guy she needed him to be? What if she left him? He wasn’t ready to be on his own and he certainly didn’t want the first relationship he’d ever had to fail. He was a hot mess and he knew it. He wasn’t used to having someone depend on him. And instead of manning up, he’d defaulted to his normal behavior. They were on the 5, heading south, and he realized that the next few days on the road were going to be horrible unless he did something.
“Hey, sorry about this morning. I just knew we’d be passing all the fans heading toward the motorway and I couldn’t get my head right,” he admitted. “That wasn’t fair to you. But I’ll try to do better.”
She slowed down and signaled to move the vehicle into the slow lane before turning and looking at him. “It’s okay. I know this is going to be a struggle for you. I just can’t be riding herd
on a three-year-old and a grown-ass man, you know? I don’t mind doing everything with Lane, but you have to get yourself ready.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. Lancey came across as very Marine PFC—private first class—when she spoke to him that way. She was definitely a take-charge kind of woman and he liked that.
“Good. You missed breakfast but if you are hungry, there are some snacks in Lane’s bag.”
“I’m good,” he said. Lane had drifted back to sleep once they’d left Laguna Seca in the dust. The scenery wasn’t the greatest on this stretch of highway—just dirt fields on either side of the road where crops would be growing when they weren’t in a drought.
“This is my first time in California,” she said. “I had hoped to get stationed in San Diego, but that never happened.”
“Really? I’ve been here a lot over the years. But mostly I stay at the raceway.”
“I would have gone to the beach,” she admitted. “I’ve always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean.”
“Why don’t we make a detour, then? We’re not in a hurry to get back, are we?”
She chewed her lower lip. “I am waiting to hear back from Shane Highwater about a job, but he hasn’t called, so I guess we’re not in a hurry. Would you mind if we stopped at the beach? Can you even walk on the shoreline with that thing on your foot?”
“Yeah, it’s okay. And I’ll use a plastic bag when we get out,” he said. “Want me to find a beach on my phone?”
“Sure,” she said.
He had never been one to waste time but something about the wistful way that she’d mentioned seeing the Pacific had gotten to him. Besides, he wasn’t in any rush to get back to Last Stand. He still didn’t have a plan and he suspected it was going to take longer than a few days of driving across the country to come up with one.
Maybe he could open a garage, he thought, but quickly shoved that idea aside. He wasn’t interested in that. He unlocked his phone and typed in ‘best beach near me,’ then waited for the results to come in.
They were just nearing the exit for San Jose, so Santa Cruz popped up on his phone. He remembered that had been the setting for The Lost Boys. “We need to get on CA-17 and then turn on to CA-1. We’re heading to Santa Cruz. Did you ever see the movie The Lost Boys?”
She followed his directions getting into the right lane for their new route. He programmed it into the satellite navigation system on the dash.
“No. Isn’t that an old movie?”
“Not that old. My mom used to love it. She had a huge thing for Kiefer Sutherland, and she’d play the video of it when we were kids. I don’t know why I never thought to go to the beach when I was out here before,” he said.
“What’s The Lost Boys about?” she asked.
“Vampires. You like vampires, right? Probably the Twilight kind, I bet. But these were scary bloodsucking vampires, not the sparkly romantic kind,” Finn said, getting excited about this side trip. He was the first to admit, he’d suggested the diversion for her but now…well, he wouldn’t mind taking a break and doing something completely different, something that had nothing to do with racing or Last Stand.
“Vampires are okay, I guess,” she said. “But I much prefer a good action movie.”
“Isn’t that a bit like a busman’s holiday for you?” he asked. “Or do you watch nonmilitary action?”
“Sometimes. But I mean that I like stuff that’s over-the-top, like Mission Impossible.”
“I like that, too,” he said.
They spent the next hour talking about movies until they reached the beach.
They went to the Natural Arches park and though the sun shone, it was a cold breezy day. Finn wrapped his boot in a plastic bag and they swung Lane between them as they walked to look at the natural arch nestled on the shoreline, left by time and the elements. The waves crashed on the beach and Lane wanted them to bury him in the sand.
Working side by side with Lancey to dig a hole and bury his nephew’s legs in the sand was more fun than he would have thought. He forgot for a while that he had never known who he was off the track. Somehow, here with the two of them, he had found a part of himself he hadn’t realized he was missing.
*
Lane loved the beach. It was hard for Lancey to stay mad at Finn when he was actually being really decent. The day hadn’t started at all as she’d expected. She’d woken up early and gone to the bed in Lane’s room with the intention of being there when he woke up. But the little tyke was already awake when she came into the room they’d been meant to share. Lane cuddled his stuffed horse but smiled when he saw her.
It was only after she had taken care of her nephew that she’d realized Finn was sleeping and not getting up to help. She didn’t mind being a single parent to Lane. That was, after all, what she’d signed up for when she’d left the military. But she did mind having to nudge and cajole another adult into getting up. She’d been tempted to just leave him, but he hadn’t wanted to take the private jet back to Texas and he couldn’t drive himself. Besides, she’d given her word.
She wasn’t one to break promises, which was why she’d been giving him the silent treatment. But the beach…it wasn’t a suggestion she’d thought he would make. And it was something she’d been longing to do for…well, it felt like forever. She was practical by nature so a trip like this… It made no sense until he’d suggested it.
The breeze was cool even though it was June, and the sand was hot under her bare feet, yet cool when she burrowed her toes down into it. Finn had wrapped his injured foot in plastic to keep any sand and water out, and he’d bought a pail, shovel and a ball at the gas station they’d stopped at on their way to the beach.
Lane wanted to run toward the water, but they held him back. “You have a seat on the blanket, and I’ll take him to the water,” Lancey said. “I’m not sure that bag will protect your boot if a wave hits it.”
“Let’s do it together. I’m not a ‘sit on the sidelines’ kind of guy,” he said. “But I guess you figured that out when I was sulking this morning.”
“Yeah, I picked that up. It must be hard to be surrounded by people involved in your sport and not be able to play,” she said. “I didn’t have it so bad. Once I got out, I was totally out.”
“That’s true,” he said. “Cal had mentioned that he’d had a similar problem. For almost a year after he came home for good, he had to do something other than watch football on Sundays. I didn’t really understand it before. But today, when I woke up and realized I wasn’t driving…it was harder than I expected.”
“I get that. I’m here if you need to vent.”
Though talking about his feelings wasn’t something she expected Finn Delaney to do. He just wasn’t that kind of guy.
“Nah, I’m good,” he said. “Come on, Lane, let’s get our toes wet.”
“Yay!” Lane said, taking Finn’s hand and hers and galloping toward the water.
The sound of the waves on the shore was soothing and Lancey let go of Lane’s hand, knowing he was safe with his uncle, and stood on the sand. She tipped her head back to look at the sun, feeling the breeze on her face. And then she took that final step toward the edge of the water, catching her breath as a cool wave swept over her feet. She’d been to the Gulf before, but it was green and not as vibrant as the Pacific was here.
She heard the sound of Lane’s laughter and Finn’s deeper chuckle as they ran away from the incoming waves. Finn’s face was more relaxed than she’d ever seen it…and sexier. He was truly enjoying himself with Lane and any doubts she’d had about his attitude during the road trip disappeared.
She joined them and they played in the surf for a good thirty minutes before Lane was tired out and ready to dig in the sand. They sat down next to him on a blanket that had been in the truck and watched him play.
“Did you ever think a kid would be this much fun?” Lancey asked him.
“Nope. Family…this kind of family, has never been in my plans,” Finn said. “I’
ve always been focused on driving and getting better. And you can’t do that when you’re distracted. At least I can’t.”
“It wasn’t for me, either. Mom and Gran raised me and TJ and it wasn’t bad at all, but I just didn’t see the point of having a kid. Mom had Gran to help but I wouldn’t have anyone…”
“What about the dad?” Finn asked. “Wouldn’t you have him?”
Lancey didn’t answer right away. Instead, she dug in her bag for her sunglasses to give herself some extra time to think. Honestly, she’d never pictured herself with a partner. She’d always managed on her own, making her own decisions, living her own life. And she’d never met a man she thought she could put up with for forever. Most of the guys she’d dated were nice enough to hang out with, but she’d never wanted to stay with them for longer than a few months.
“I don’t know. I guess it would depend on the man,” she said.
Finn tipped his head to the side as he studied her. “I guess it would. I’m not sorry you haven’t found someone. You should be too—you would have missed out on me.”
She threw her head back and laughed. He was right. And no matter how long they had together, she knew that he was something she’d never regret.
*
They found a restaurant on the beach and they stopped for lunch. Finn was feeling very chill. Even Lancey seemed incredibly relaxed and at ease, which he liked. Seeing her here, he realized how tense she had been in Last Stand.
“How’s the job hunt going?” he asked as they were finishing up their meal.
“Still waiting to hear from Highwater, but that’s to be expected. He didn’t have an opening and he’s looking for something that will be good for both of us. With Lane, I had to be selective in what I asked for. I don’t know. I’m just so used to very exact job specs that I think I wanted to write out the role and have him make one up.”
He could see that. Lancey had been very specific when she’d ordered both her food and Lane’s, but in such a polite way, the waiter hadn’t been bothered by her requests. Then she’d sectioned Lane’s food into groups and only put portions on his plate as he finished everything—the fish, then the veggies and only at the end, the tortilla chips. He could see she was very compartmentalized.
Full Texas Throttle Page 9
