Hit & Miss Groom Read online

  “Let…me…move,” she panted, squeezing her eyes shut as she tossed her head back.

  If he let her move, he would lose it. He would come before she did, and that was unacceptable.

  “Van, look at me,” he ground out.

  She didn’t comply, instead stubbornly tried to move her hips.

  With his teeth, he grazed her pert nipple with his teeth and repeated himself. “Look. At. Me. Vanessa.” His blood boiled and the tether on his control slipped. He wanted to come. Had to come. But even more, he needed to feel their connection. Needed to feel that she was all here. With him. He wasn’t going to let her run.

  Her head snapped up and her dark gaze met his.

  Releasing her, he slid one of his hands between their bodies and thumbed her through her wet folds. She cried out his name as her slick walls pulsed around his erection, and sure enough, one more strong thrust of her hips and she took them both over the edge.

  Chapter Twelve

  Two weeks later

  Holy cow, she was really doing this. A relationship. She slid a glance at Alex as he drove through the desert. The top on the convertible was down and the weather was cooperating. It wasn’t so hot that they were baking under the sun but it was warm enough she didn’t need a sweater.

  The two of them made a perfect postcard right about now. A giddy feeling bubbled up inside her chest and wouldn’t go away. She tucked her head and hid a smile.

  “I see that Cheshire grin over there.” Alex reached for her hand. “What are you thinking about? Does it involve handcuffs, because I could be down for that?” He winked at her, his eyes dancing.

  Van looked heavenward and threw up her hands. “Of course you’d be into handcuffs.”

  His grin flashed and the giddy feeling flooded her chest once again. “However you want to have me, I’m yours. I’m really not going to complain as long as it’s often. Matter of fact, I could pull over right now…”

  He let his voice trail off and Van laughed. “Eyes on the road, Casanova. You’d think you’d be too tired to walk after the last two weeks we’ve had.”

  After their date, they pretty much hadn’t left her bed for two days except to use the bathroom and get food. But then, they’d only changed venues for some shower sex, then kitchen sex, and well, they’d christened her coffee table and the floor and a couple of walls… Basically, they’d made up for some lost time. Hell, all it took was a look from either of them and it was on.

  “When are you gonna learn, it doesn’t take much with you? You don’t even have to do anything and I’m thinking about how soft you are.”

  She was inclined to believe him, given the way he was looking at her right now.

  Monday had been the hardest day when they’d had to leave their cocoon for work. Normally she bounded out of bed

  All day she’d been distracted and unfocused. He’d shown up to have lunch with her, which had promptly turned into him having her for lunch. Thank God, her office door locked. The rest of the week had gone much like that. He was attentive and tried to take care of her. If he got home first, he’d either order dinner or cook while he waited for her to get home.

  He was a good cook on top of everything else. Said he’d perfected Italian from his second step-mom. Van would go over to his place and they’d talk about their days. Which would blend into touching, which quickly turned into kissing, then making love wherever they happened to be. His floor saw a lot of action.

  If she came home early, she’d usually put more thought into it and have ordered something before she left work to pick up on her way home. First thing she did was shed her clothes and try and find cute underwear if she wasn’t already wearing some. On those nights, they usually ate cold food because Alex couldn’t be bothered to wait before making love.

  The couple thing was new to her. They met Becca and Liam for double dates and even had brunch. She liked being a couple. It terrified her, but it was better than being alone all the time.

  Alex had even taken her shopping, playing out a Pretty Woman fantasy. After they’d been very naughty in the dressing room, he’d bought her a sinfully tight, red leather skirt that looked poured on. She’d worn it out of the store and had barely made it inside the house before he had it back off of her again.

  The only time they’d been together and not actively making love had been when she’d taken the afternoon to visit him at 3 Wishes. His parents hadn’t been there, but Jen had. His sister hadn’t bothered to hide her obvious glee at seeing the two of them together.

  Apparently, Alex never brought women “home” as Jen referred to 3 Wishes. She told Van that Alex practically lived there most of the time, and for good reason. Everyone depended on him. Van had made a mental note to change that situation. And she already had. No more living at work for Alex McIntyre.

  The female employees that worked at 3 Wishes, however, were not as friendly as Jenna. Van couldn’t really blame them. If she was jealous of the women in his life, then they must really hate her. Something had been bugging her about the visit though. Something she couldn’t really put her finger on. It’s not that he hadn’t been happy to see her. Just maybe a little distracted. He said it was work stress. But She’d never seen him like that over work. He was usually so easy going.

  The whole thing had upset her enough to worry that she’d already started the girl in new relationship death spiral. Of course Becca told her not to knock it off. That it wasn’t Alex losing interest, but Van’s own insecurities raising their fickle head.

  For the most part, Becca had been right. Van was too closed off. She needed to trust Alex wouldn’t hurt her. Easy to say, hard to do.

  She’d put it out of her head, but it still pricked at her, like a stray hair tickling her face that she couldn’t find.

  Alex slid his hand to her knee. “You know the one place we haven’t christened yet?”

  He waggled his eyebrows and cocked his head toward the back seat.

  “Alex McIntyre!”

  “What?” He shrugged. “It’s been a herculean effort not to touch you all this time. And you’ve been torturing me since I met you with your hot little skirts and all that leather. Torture.”

  “I suppose that is my fault, keeping you at a distance while I made sure you could look but not touch.”

  “Hey, you said it. I didn’t.”

  Van smacked him on the arm. “I’m cautious, okay? It’s hard agreeing to date a Boy Scout who’s also a sex god.” Date. She was dating Alex. Her nemesis.

  Except he wasn’t her nemesis any more.

  And she cared about him. Somewhere in the back of her head she could hear her father shouting about lost focus, but she ignored him. She was going to enjoy this for as long as it lasted. “Are you nervous?” she asked.

  He grinned and squeezed her knee. “About christening the car? Not really. I mean I had it restored so the leather is a little tricky, but honestly, the back seats in these things were made for—”

  “Alex.” She snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Focus.”

  He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I’m just having some fun with you. As for the race? I need to be completely loose. Helps to keep me from being nervous. What’s that you’re always saying? If I’m prepared and rehearsed, there’s no need to be nervous.”

  Van laughed. “I wish I could take credit. That was actually Michael Jackson.”

  “Well, he knew what he was talking about. I’ve been driving since I was seven. I can handle this.”

  “Seven?”

  “Yeah, if you want to be a race car driver, you got to start young. My friend Danny’s dad was a mechanic for a local race car driver. I hung out with Danny a lot and his dad, Westin, put us in old karts at a track in the desert. After a couple of years, we graduated to dirt racing. By ninth grade, Danny decided he liked working on motors more than driving, but racing was in my blood. I teamed up with Westin and entered an enduro race—100 laps—and never dreamed I’d come close
to winning. We were late and I started the race twenty-two out of twenty-three drivers, but I came in third. Even got a ribbon.” He smiled into the wind. “One of the best days of my life.”

  “What about your parents? I thought you kept your racing a secret.”

  “This was before my sister’s accident. After she was injured, my parents forbid me to race, but they were so caught up in Jen’s recovery, they left me on my own a lot. I’d spend the weekend with Danny and his dad and we’d go to races. I graduated to racing stock cars, sprint cars, you name it. In college, I had more time and freedom, so I raced every weekend and honed my love of racing to the supermodifieds. My dream would be Formula 1, but that would require I head to Europe and go through Formula 2 fist. I’d have to race full time.” He shook his head. “Not going to happen, but that’s okay. I’ve had track time in San Diego. I’m in the second wing of this national in Vegas, and the final for this season is in Los Angeles. Then whatever happens, happens. I’m not going to worry about it. For now, I’m going to have fun with my girlfriend.”

  Van couldn’t hide the smile that broke free. “I like the way you say that.”

  “Yeah, well, I like how it sounds.”

  “It’s been a while since anyone called me their girlfriend. I’ll need to make sure I remember all the jobs it encompasses.”

  “I am happy to help with that.”

  She giggled. “I’ll bet you are. I gather cheering your man on when he races is part of the duties.”

  “Yes, it is.” He laughed. “It’s even better if his grid girl makes him a sign with glitter.”

  Little did he know what she had hiding in her suitcase. “Glitter, check. Should I ask you to sign my boobs after you win? Is that a thing?”

  “It certainly is. Maybe we should pull over so I can practice.”

  She laughed. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “You keep saying that. See earlier comments about you being so damn sexy.”

  Seriously though, he seemed way too relaxed. If it were her, she’d be freaking out. She would have arrived yesterday by plane to see if she could have gotten extra track time. He was just so loose about things.

  Well, everything except her. “You just want to christen the car.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing. It might bring me luck. Are you going to deny me luck?”

  “I’m trying to figure about the girlfriend job and you’re picturing me naked.”

  He schooled his expression and tried to look serious. “You’re right. This is serious. I should be instructing you on how I like my sandwiches.”

  She smiled at him sweetly. “Only if you enjoy the taste of strychnine.”

  “Ouch.” Laughing, he asked, “Why do I get the impression you haven’t been in a relationship in a while?”

  Oh boy. This would be the point when he looked at her all crazy. “That’s because I haven’t.”

  “When was the last time?”

  “Uh…a while.”

  Alex turned to study her. “Seriously. When?”

  She sighed. “College, my junior year. He was a senior.”

  His brows snapped down, “Not since college? Are you kidding me? You’re clearly beautiful and smart. And when you smile, you pretty much render a man speechless.”

  She shrugged. “For starters, I’m prickly. I don’t really like people.”

  He grinned. “Did you break his heart or did he break yours?” He raised a brow. “Or was it a she? It was college after all.”

  Van rolled her eyes. “A guy. And it didn’t end well. The Major ran him off.”

  Alex shook his head. “There is nothing that could make me stop seeing you.”

  “Yeah well, you haven’t met my father. He has this way of making people comply. He still treats me like a child.”

  “I know the feeling. My parents do the same. You’re a grown woman. He can’t really control you.”

  “For the most part, he doesn’t. But I’ve learned to pick my battles with him. Every time I talk to him he tries to convince me to move home to L.A. He thinks I should live close to them so he can control every aspect of my life. Who I date, my job, my decisions. And when I don’t do what he wants, he uses every tool in his arsenal. From cajoling, to bribing, to guilt tripping. His favorite one is to remind me how he ‘saved’ me from David. How David was going to ruin my future.”

  Alex’s voice was quiet with just a hint of bite as he asked, “Was he right about David?”

  Van shrugged. “Not really. He was a good guy. He just seemed to think I was going to give up my dreams to follow him around. My father wouldn’t have it. I never got the chance to figure it our for myself.” She shrugged. “Let’s just say I don’t talk to my father often.” Even though she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer she asked, “What about you?”

  Alex shifted in his seat. “I’ve never had a relationship over six months.” He slid his gaze to her. “You running for the hills?”

  Part of her wanted to. But that had nothing to do with him. “Why are such a playboy? You’re clearly a good caretaker and you seem to like it.”

  He shrugged and seemed to choose his words carefully. “I saw my parents tear each other apart and never find anyone else they’re happy with. I don’t want that. It’s like I said before. Everyone has this idea of who I should be, and honestly, it’s my fault. I play into that and try to give everyone the version they want. Never works out.” He hesitated. “You’re different.”

  She flushed, his words warming her. She wanted it to be true. Because if she got too close and he hurt her, she might not recover. But she wasn’t going to think about that right now. Right now, she was going to enjoy him. Right now she could be free.

  “You know, Mr. McIntyre, there’s something I’ve always wanted to try.”

  He took her hand and kissed it. “Yeah, what’s that?”

  “Oh, you just keep your eyes on the road and let me take care of the rest.”

  His brows rose. “Uh, Van?”

  “Shut up, Alex. I have a hummer to administer.” Van eased him out of his jeans and wrapped her hands around his already engorged cock. She smoothly stroked him from root to tip.

  “Oh fuck, Van.” His hips rose.

  “You talk too much.”

  Under her hands, his body went rigid and he sucked in shallow breaths of air. She leaned over and wrapped lips around the length of him. Van took him deep until his cock hit the back of her throat and she deliberately relaxed her muscles.

  His hands entwined in her hair. “Fuck. Oh, Fuck.” His hips canted upward and she took even more of him. “Van, I—”

  Inch by inch, she slowly released him, a light scrape of her teeth chasing her tongue over his cock. With one hand, he guided her over him. She knew how he liked his pressure. Knew that he especially liked it when she added two hands.

  With her hands and her mouth, she worked him, his taste filling her mouth, her name on his lips. She loved how she could make him feel. How she could make him want her.

  “Baby, I’m gonna come.”

  She smiled inwardly before tracing her tongue over the tip of his cock, then slid her mouth back down the length of him, stroking him, pulling his release from him.

  His body tensed and a stream of creative curses flew out of his mouth. He was close, so close. Gently, Van cupped his balls before hollowing out her cheeks.

  “Oh, fuuuuck!” He came hard, his cock twitching in her mouth.

  Afterward, as he pulled to the shoulder, Van sat back with a grin. “You should be nice and relaxed now.”

  Alex laughed. “Relaxed.” His strong hands gripped the wheel. “That’s one way of putting it. You are seriously going to kill me.”

  “I try.”

  Alex pulled her close and kissed her. “I’m crazy about you.”

  “I’m crazy about you too. What to do you say we head to Vegas now?”

  He groaned and leaned back against his seat. “I think I’m gonna need a minute.”

/>   “Yeah,” she said with a grin. “You go on and take that minute.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  It’s only a race. Alex adjusted his seat a centimeter and gripped the wheel. He wasn’t used to night races. The lights brightened the track effectively, but they played havoc with his peripheral vision as he stayed inside the high curve of the second warm up lap.

  The race car sat low to the ground, and in Alex’s opinion, there was no short track car equal to it. The lightweight fiberglass body, combined with a methanol fuel-injected short block engine, produced up to 800 horsepower and tremendous amounts of torque.

  With no battery, the pure power of the engine went directly to the rear tires, making the car blindingly fast. Along with that, his baby had a beautiful aluminum wing that produced several thousand pounds of downforce, allowing him better grip and handling at extreme speeds.

  He wasn’t only racing the other drivers. He was racing the clock. The five members of his crew, all in their red suits, watched as he went by them. Westin, the crew chief, spoke in his headphones. “Twelve seconds.”

  Alex’s grip on the wheel increased. He was already making the quarter oval in twelve seconds just warming up. Could he beat his own record today? Could he beat the track record?

  Did it matter?

  Whoa. Where did that come from?

  Time always mattered, and that meant full concentration. Normally at this moment, it was only him, the car, the track, and the adrenaline in his veins. He loved the challenge, had to keep beating his own times as well as his competitors’.

  It wasn’t for any reason other than personal, since he couldn’t take his racing to the next level anyway. Until now, he’d begrudged that. Today, however, he kept glancing into the stands.

  There she was. B2, right center. Her eyes were bright with excitement, her body bouncing up and down. In her hands was a sign.

  The words blurred as he went by. He couldn’t tell what they said.