Shifting Gears

by Audra North

  Oh.

  It was the greatest thing anyone could have ever said to her.

  Annabelle blazes her own path.

  Annabelle, fearless. In charge of her own life. Making her own choices.

  Did Grady see how important it was to her to feel like she owned something? It felt like he did. Maybe he was just being polite and flattering her, but she didn’t think so. He meant what he said, and she couldn’t deal with how much happiness it gave her to hear someone say such things.

  Goodness, she wanted him. So badly. The past few days of being so close and yet so far apart had been torture.

  Ty laughed. “Sounds like you fit in well with the rest of the Harts, then. And Ranger, too. I guess he’s an honorary Hart.” He looked over at Kerri. “Speaking of, I should go give Kerri some shit so this win doesn’t go to her head. Good to meet you, Annabelle. Grady.”

  Annabelle managed a wave and Ty walked off.

  Grady looked at her. “He and Kerri have been friends for years. They like to tease each other, but they’re the most cooperative rivals in racing.”

  Annabelle nodded, but she didn’t really want to talk about Ty and Kerri right now.

  She wanted to talk about her and Grady.

  She met his eyes and held them, trying to convey her thoughts through her gaze. “So. What happens next?” she asked, and he seemed to understand that she wasn’t talking about the race, because he leaned in close and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to her neck.

  She didn’t care if everyone saw it.

  “Next, Kerri does a victory lap, then Ranger takes her off to talk to the press while I take you back to the hotel.”

  “And then?”

  “Then we repeat what we did on Thursday, but this time on a bed.”

  Yes.

  She laughed. Then nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Chapter 10

  They’d driven to the track together this morning, but the mood had been very different.

  This morning, Grady had been focused on the upcoming race.

  Now, he was having a hard time keeping his eyes on the road.

  He screeched into a parking spot at the hotel and the two of them raced inside, holding hands, pausing only to tumble into the elevator like overexcited, horny teenagers.

  Hell, she made him feel good. So good that it was almost a small miracle that they made it to his room with all their clothes on. As soon as the door shut behind them, her hands came up around his neck and her body connected with his, her sweet, soft breasts pushing into his chest and making him exhale with satisfaction. He explored her mouth with his tongue, reveling in the sounds she made as he deepened the kiss, slowly moving his hand downward to cup her ass, pressing her against his erection.

  Oh, damn, that was amazing. He was so hard already, and the way he fit into her body felt good even through the layers of thick fabric between them.

  Speaking of …

  He pulled away slowly and grinned at her. “Hart Racing looks good on you, but what are you wearing under this?” He brought his hand up to toy with the buttons at the top of her shirt.

  And God help him, she stepped back, just enough to put an arm between them, and put her hands to the hem of the shirt …

  Then started to lift it.

  For a second, his brain went into hyperdrive.

  I should move to the bed and sit down so I can really see what she’s doing. Would that be too much like a strip club? She’s hotter than any stripper I’ve ever seen. But she’s Annabelle so that’s not right. Should I even be doing this again with Annabelle holy shit that’s her bra—

  She’d brought the shirt up to reveal the bottom edge of a lacy white bra, and the contrast between the dark blue shirt and such frilly femininity made his arousal almost painful. He couldn’t tear his eyes away.

  She pulled the shirt all the way off and dropped it on the floor. Then she pulled the elastic from her hair and shook it out.

  That beautiful red hair, cascading down her bare back …

  She put her hands to the waistband of her pants and looked up at him through her lashes, smiling. “Should I keep going?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  Her face fell. “No?”

  Oh, damn. She thought he was rejecting her. He hastened to clarify. “Because you’re so goddamn sexy that I might come in my pants if you keep going. I just—”

  His sentence was cut off by the feel of her fingers against the zipper of his jeans. She worked it open and pushed his jeans and boxers down so fast that he groaned, loud and long, when his cock sprang free.

  Annabelle halted, staring at his hard, aching dick with her mouth open in a perfect O.

  He had to close his eyes so he wouldn’t think of how perfectly her lips were poised to wrap around his shaft and suck him deep.

  That’s when he felt it. Something wet and warm against the tip of his cock, and his eyes snapped open again on a groan. He looked down to see that she was on her knees, her soft pink tongue licking over his tight, hot flesh so tenderly and tentatively that it was almost as though—

  “Have you ever done this before?” He had to slide a hand down, wrap it around the base of his shaft and hold tight to keep from coming as she continued to lick, almost like she was enjoying a particularly slow-melting ice cream cone.

  Her eyes met his and he nearly pushed his hips forward, just a little, to try to get inside that sweet mouth, but he held back and watched in half-arousal, half-self-torture, as she shook her head back and forth, that tongue swiping over the slit in his cock and making him want to lose it right then and there.

  But no. He wanted to be inside her when he came with her.

  And she’d just told him that this was her first time doing this … he wasn’t about to come all in her mouth like some brute. Not after their first time together had been on a workbench, for fuck’s sake. He had to make up for that first.

  He backed up, pulling her upright and pressing a fast, closed-mouthed kiss to her lips before kneeling and unzipping her boots, pulling them off and chucking them toward the door, where they thudded against the carpet.

  “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her toward the bed, backing her up against it before kissing her again.

  God, she tasted good. She smelled good, too, beneath the scents of the track. Damn. Even the oil and dust smell was turning him on, so ingrained in his senses that it comforted him and excited him at the same time.

  He kissed her until she was leaning into him so much that he was practically supporting her, and then he eased her back, laying her on top of the king-sized bed.

  For a moment, he simply stared down at her, savoring the way she looked with her deep red hair spread out on the pillow, that intoxicating white lace of her bra hiding her incredible breasts.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered.

  She ran a foot up his leg, a reminder not to dawdle, and he toed off his sneakers, not taking his eyes off of her the entire time.

  “Grady,” she whispered, holding her arms out to him, and he covered her, bracketing her face with his arms and kissing her until he couldn’t help but push his exposed shaft against the fabric of her pants, hissing when it chafed.

  He pulled away and unbuttoned and unzipped as fast as he could before sliding her pants down.

  Goddamn.

  Matching white lace panties.

  He groaned and finished peeling off her pants, each inch of firm skin that was revealed making him ever harder. He hadn’t thought it was possible, but there it was. Hard and throbbing, and already slick at the tip with moisture from his body.

  He jumped away and pushed his jeans and underwear off completely, then practically ripped off his socks and shirt. When he finally stood there naked, looking down at her, she smiled and purred in approval.

  Then reached for his cock.

  But he evaded her grasp. Too close. He was too goddamn close. And they didn’t have enough time for him to make it up to her if he came too fas
t. But he was going to do his best to satisfy her before he gave himself up to the oblivion of release.

  He crawled over her again and the head of his erection slipped over her thigh, the contact making him nearly whimper with need, but he kissed her instead, then started to trail his mouth and tongue over her body, down her neck, her breasts … he reached behind her and unclasped the bra, pulling it off and tossing it somewhere over his shoulder.

  The most beautiful breasts he’d ever seen. Pale and pink-tipped, they were so perfectly round and soft and she smelled so fucking good—he gently scraped his teeth over them, wanting to eat every bite of her, then nipped at the underside of her right breast, making her jump, giggle, and moan at the same time.

  Yes.

  I will make you happy. I will take care of you. I will protect you.

  He licked upward and took her nipple in his mouth, gently sucking. Her legs widened with each pull, almost as though there was an invisible string that connected her breasts and her sex. He skimmed a hand over the other nipple, lightly rubbing over the hard point, then ran his palm down her side, her waist, her hip, and circled her upper thigh toward that red-curl-covered mound.

  He spread his fingers and rubbed down between her thighs, on each side of her opening, and the wet slickness he found there nearly killed him.

  She was more than ready.

  And he wanted to be inside of her.

  But first—

  He moved again, this time shifting down the bed and bringing his mouth to where his fingers were already playing. At the first touch of his tongue between her legs, Annabelle gasped.

  “Grady, no, you—I’ve never—”

  She reached a hand down to stop him, but he grabbed it with his free hand, intertwining their fingers, and didn’t stop.

  She’d never done this before, either.

  The thought only spurred him on to make sure that he made it great for her.

  He circled his tongue around her opening, teasing her until she was practically crying, making incoherent, high-pitched sounds of need. All the while, his fingers played with her body, two of them sliding just inside her entrance, getting her used to the feel of him inside her. When she let out a sound almost like a sob, he moved his mouth upward to press his tongue against her clit, pulsing it with just enough pressure to—

  “Oh God Grady ohgodohgod!” She shouted it as he felt her inner muscles start to squeeze around his fingers, so he pushed them deeper, all the way in, making her scream and buck and convulse so hard that the bed bounced him along with her.

  Hot damn.

  That was the most beautiful, glorious thing he’d ever seen. And he’d made it happen.

  He waited until she came down from her climax, rubbing her body the whole time, watching her expression change from wild-eyed to blissful relaxation.

  When her breathing finally calmed, she once again held her arms out to him and smiled. He came up to her again and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth, then left her for just a moment, racing into the bathroom for a condom, then coming back to roll it on in record time.

  She watched him all the while, staring wide-eyed at his cock, and he paused just after he finished putting on the condom. “It this okay? Do you still want to do this?”

  She swallowed and nodded, reaching out a hand to touch his thigh. “I just … go slow, okay? I know it’s been a couple of days, but it—” she blushed so deeply that her cheeks matched her hair—“you were a lot for me to take after so long.”

  He nodded back. I will take care of you.

  And then he was on her again, lying between her spread legs, nudging the head of his cock against her entrance.

  “It already feels good,” she murmured, her voice deep and soft, and the words made him pump his hips so that he pushed inside of her, just an inch, making her groan. “You’re so big, Grady.”

  Now it was his turn to groan. Women had said that to him before, but he’d never thought of it as anything particularly sexy. It was a fact, that was all.

  But when Annabelle said it like that …

  He thrust a little deeper.

  Her legs spread out even wider and she arched, her breasts pushing into his chest.

  “Fuck. Annabelle. I gotta—” He thrust again, seating himself halfway, and she flinched, but then moaned with pleasure, lifting her hips so that he slid in even more, and then he was finally, completely lost. He surged in all the way, eyes rolling back in his head as the base of his shaft met her entrance.

  And then there was nothing but sighs between them as he pulled out nearly all the way before sliding back in, fitting himself inside her slick heat with ease. Her tight walls squeezed every inch of his length, and within a few thrusts he could feel himself starting to unravel. It took every last ounce of his coherent thought to remember to reach a hand down between them and thread his fingers through her curls before putting pressure right on her clit as he stroked in and out of her body.

  “Oh, yes. Oh, Grady, I’m gonna come again,” she panted, and just when he felt the rush of his orgasm start to rip through him, she gave a cry of pleasure, her passage squeezing around him so hard that he had to hold himself still to prevent getting pushed out of her body.

  He grunted in reply, falling forward onto her as his cock jerked with climax, pulsing inside of her body as he drew ragged breaths, trying hard to press his hips in just the right way to prolong her pleasure.

  It was over too soon.

  He felt her go limp beneath him, her eyes closing and her body sinking into the sheets on a sigh. Her arms came up to drape around his back, and her kisses were soft and barely there.

  Totally sated.

  That had been incredible. He couldn’t wait to do it again.

  And again and again …

  Into forever.

  Well. Shit.

  * * *

  Annabelle felt Grady tense all of a sudden, but he kissed her a second later, then grabbed the condom and slid out as gently as he could. He pulled the condom off and tied it, putting it somewhere on the floor in typical bachelor fashion.

  Not that she knew what a typical bachelor was like. Some things she just enjoyed assuming because it made her feel a little more worldly than her real self was. And she wanted to feel more worldly right now, especially after what they’d just done.

  She lay still for a moment longer, reveling in the blissful bonelessness. Tomorrow she’d have to go home and face the reality of her debt and dependence on her mother, but for now … she was going to enjoy what she had and not think about her troubles.

  No. That wasn’t true. She wanted to think about it. She wanted to talk about it with someone who would understand and not judge her or try to protect her, but who would just listen. She wished she could talk to Grady about it. Heck. She wished they had that kind of relationship where she could talk to him about it at all, naked or clothed, in his bed or in his office.

  She wanted so much more from him than just sex.

  The thought brought back the fear in her, though. More than sex meant some version of dependence, didn’t it? And from what she already knew of Grady, he would insist on protecting her, she was sure of it, and then what would she be?

  Dependent, whether she wanted to be or not.

  But she’d resolved to fix that, and she was going to … on her own. She wasn’t going to talk about her problems with Grady. She’d bear the weight of her problems on her own.

  She could stand up for herself.

  Although right now … damn. She had to go to the bathroom and she didn’t want to, er, stand up. She was suddenly very aware of her nakedness and feeling a bit embarrassed about it. She never paraded around without clothes on, not even in front of Donnie. Not even in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

  Yet here she was, completely nude, and the bathroom was too far away for her to simply roll there.

  Besides, Grady was looking right at her.

  The fact that the heat in his eyes was unmistakable helped shore
up her confidence a bit. That, and the fact that his erection was already coming back, impressively starting to lift up off his thigh.

  Wow. That seemed to be the only word she could think of when she was naked with Grady.

  He made a sound, and she brought her eyes to his face and found him laughing. He’d caught her checking him out, obviously.

  “You need something?” He propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at her, clearly completely comfortable with his nakedness.

  She crossed her arms over her breasts and nodded, feeling a blush rising in her cheeks, and thankfully he dipped his head to kiss her before she could die of embarrassment. She could feel his nearly-completely hard length against her belly as he explored her mouth, and she made a sound of approval in response.

  “I have to, um, go to the bathroom,” she whispered.

  He smiled against her lips. “And you want me to close my eyes?”

  He knew. She nodded, and he shut them before rolling away.

  “Your wish is my command,” he said, teasingly, but she felt the truth behind that statement. He would try to deliver whatever she asked, she was sure of it. He was fiercely loyal and protective, even when it cost him his sanity.

  But she didn’t want to go down that road. She didn’t want to ask anything of him. As much as she liked Grady Hart, any kind of dependence on him was dangerous.

  She got up and walked away without letting him see just how bare she was.

  Chapter 11

  Grady drove home from the airport on Sunday after flying back to Charlotte from Dover. He’d tried to get Annabelle to let him drive her home, but she’d insisted on going by herself, the stubborn woman.

  He liked her so much. Any reservations he’d had about getting involved with her had fallen away after last night. And as far as work went, this weekend couldn’t have been any better. Another couple of races and he was confident that Annabelle would be able to take on the role of crew chief on her own. They’d have to find another team manager, but he could even fill in on that role and still have more time for Carbon Works.

  Things were finally coming together.

  Grady knew that he owed at least some of that success to Annabelle. If she hadn’t stepped up and offered to fill in for the crew chief role, he’d still have all the car work on his plate and probably wouldn’t have gotten the testing done for the muffler. Her help had gotten him that much closer to his goal.