Pedal to the Metal: Love's Drivin' but Fate's Got the Pole (The 'Cuda Confessions Book 3) (23 page)

S
omeone cleared their throat. “If I don’t leave now, I’ll miss my return flight.” Jonny got to his feet. He opened his wallet, tossing a twenty on the table. Rather than turn toward the door, he stepped close to Robert’s side. Tipping his head, he eyeballed my cheeks—cheeks as hot as a tail pipe after a hard run.

“I hate to tell you this, dude, but until you can push in a clutch to just the right spot while you slide into first, then know when the time’s right to move up to second, then sense it’s the moment to shove it into third, what makes you think you can handle something as complicated as a woman? And this woman? She’s pure adrenaline. Pedal to the metal. Sure you can keep up?”

Robert turned, fists clenched. The ring box hit the bricks and tumbled underneath a table and out of sight. Jonny met Robert’s baleful glare with a smirk.

“In case you’re wondering? Yes, I know what I’m talking about.” Robert opened his mouth, but Jonny cut him off. “I happen to have six sisters. FYI, you need timing to drive a stick, and yours sucks. Why not at least wait till the dirt settles over Ernie’s grave?”

“Who the hell is Ernie?” Robert demanded.

“Oh, you don’t know? I rest my case.”

That’s not arrogance. It’s... pity.

“Who the hell are you?”

Jonny actually stuck out his hand. “Jonny Jet. Car number six, built by Dale and Caine Hannah, owned by Ridenhour Racing. Her father’s my crew chief. Her brother Caine’s my car chief. Her other brother, Colt, is my teammate. I put my life in the hands of all three on the daily.”

“Oh.” Robert’s expression brightened. He pumped the hand Jonny held out. “Nice to meet you. I’m—”

“Mr. Automatic. I know. Hey, listen.” Jonny slapped Robert so hard between the shoulder blades, he staggered forward. “Stick to the slow lane. I’d hate to see you get run over. A woman like Shelby will be the death of a man like you, but hell, I guess people die of boredom every day, too.” He drilled his gaze into me and smirked.

Oh, you arrogant prick. Why would you do this to me?

Spinning, Jonny shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. The motherfucker whistled the stupid Bruno Mars tune as he shouldered his way through all Robert’s frat buddies. His shrill, mocking notes hung over the patio until he disappeared through the door.

Not a single voice broke the silence. No ice tinkled in a glass. Even the rattle and bang behind the bar ceased. I didn’t have to glance around to know every eye in the place turned from Jonny to me. Or that Harry stuck his head through the service window to gape.

Robert’s eyes flashed with anger. I swallowed the knot in my throat. “Robert, I have fifty customers. Jonny has a point about your timing.”

I stepped around him to blindly approach the closest table. “Did you decide on an appetizer, sir?”

The stranger grinned, like the side show came with the meal. “How about the braised artichoke and tenderloin skewers?”

“Excellent choice. Medium rare?” At his nod, I squeaked, “I’ll just go place your order.”

I spun, dashing inside to the bar. Shoving my tray into Harry’s hands, I pointed in the direction of the service entrance. “I’m on break. Don’t even waste your breath saying I can’t go right now. Twenty-three wants an order of ‘chokes and loin, medium rare. Deal with it.”

Picking my way through puddles of dishwater and spilled cooking oil, I knocked aside anyone who didn’t move. Slamming the service door open, I sucked down big gulps of cold night air.

The small stoop in the delivery bay left little room for pacing, but I marched the three steps to one railing, spun, and marched the other way.

The most promising job opportunity I’d found was an assistant manager at The Gap, for fuck’s sake, but it was a thirty-minute drive to Greenville. I’d make more money right here at the bar, but not enough to let me rent an apartment, have Wi-Fi, and still eat.

“Oh, I know. I can sleep in the Audi.”

Or stay with Francine.

But everyone else was pulling out of here in May.

Meanwhile, two hours up the interstate, the perfect job waited, and I couldn’t take it. People were whispering that Dale had cheated to beat Kolby Barnes, and just to make everything perfect, I’d fucked up Jonny’s brilliant plan to stop Dale from partnering with Jesse Hancock.

Leather soles scuffed the steps. I dropped my hands from my cheeks, meeting Jonny’s dark eyes. He still had his hands buried in his front pants pockets. Climbing the short flight of stairs, he held my gaze.

“Hands on the fucking rail.”

I blinked.

“Now.” Jerking his hands free of his pockets, he dropped his zipper. “Do it, Shelby.”

The command hit me like a punch, low in my belly
. Where the fuck were you an hour ago?
My feet obeyed without a conscious command from my brain.

He jerked up the hem of my dress, then raked my underwear down. After delivering a sharp slap to my hip, he gripped the stinging spot, moving closer. Out on the street, not forty feet away, cars glided along the northeast side of the big hotel. Guests could turn up anywhere. Anyone could come out of the kitchen door at any time.

The risk drove me higher.

Jonny didn’t waste time with foreplay. He lined up his cock with my entrance. Wrapping my ponytail around his fist, he jerked my head back. His voice was a growl in my ear.

“Does he bend you over and let his friends watch him fuck you?” His fingers dug into my hips, yanking me onto his cock. Want surged in my nipples. I cried out at the forceful entry, even as I grew wet.

“No,” I gasped. “Of course not.”

“Does he let his frat buddies fuck you while he watches?”

I had to wait through the flurry of hard thrusts to answer. “No.”

“Then what the fuck are you doing with him?” He drove his cock deep.

“Trying to forget about my goddamn brothers!”

“Oh, girl, that’s wasted time. Up on your toes.”

I lifted. The move allowed him to seat deeper inside me.

“Good girl.” His driving pace pinned me to the rail. The head of his cock battered the spot where my belly met the metal, striking hot sparks inside me. “So damn good. You like it rough and dirty. He’ll never give you this.”

I rocked back, meeting every thrust. He let go of one breast to rake my dress up in front. Shoving his hand between my legs, he found my clit, using nearly as much pressure as—

“Oh, yeah, Caine told me how you like it, remember? That day out on the country road? When you couldn’t figure out how to heat up Colt’s goddamn tires? That’s when the man you need to be with told me how to get you hot. It was a beautiful thing, that freedom, that connection you don’t fucking have with Robert.”

“Yes,” I cried. “I remember. I wish I could fucking forget.”

“You’ll never forget all those hot summer nights, racing and fucking.” He somehow jerked my ponytail again. His teeth? My knees went weak. “Will you?”

“N-no.” He let go of my hair. His cock sank deep.

“So, this is for Colt.” He stopped talking, putting all his energy into fucking me as hard as I’d ever been fucked. Sweat trickled down my sides. My thighs trembled, from the fear of discovery, as much as arousal. His thighs slapped my ass. No one within earshot could possibly mistake the sound.

The thought made me wetter.

Stopping without warning, he nipped my earlobe. “And this is for Caine.”

He settled into a gentler pace, giving me every inch, yet drawing out the sweet pleasure. All the slow torture did was jack up my sense of urgency. Need drove me so high, my head spun. He found my beaded nipple, stroking the point while he rocked into me.

“Jonny.”

“What, baby?”

“I need to come. And go back to work.”

“He’s not a damn man. He sure as hell can’t be
your
man. What the fuck are you thinking?” His touch on my clit changed to a milking motion, squeezing the flesh around my clit with unforgiving fingers.

I knew instantly, one of my brothers had told Jonny how much I liked that touch, because Caine sure as hell hadn’t mentioned it that morning out on Old Cottonmouth Road. I pictured Jonny and Colt, curled together on some narrow bed in a motor home, fucking while they talked about me. The thought nearly sent me over.

“I can’t let you make this mistake.” He picked up the pace, spearing me with cock and word simultaneously. “There. Will. Be. A. Way. You. Hear. Me?” A car horn sounded, but I didn’t give a damn. Hot breath filled my ear. The scent of starched shirt and sex blended with the stench of burnt motor oil from the cement floor below.

“Y-yes.” So close now. I let my eyes drift closed, uncaring who saw us. If we spent the night in jail, I didn’t give a damn. Not now.

“Believe it.” He added a hard twist on my nipple. I cried out, feeling a rush of moisture. Pleasure wound inside my channel, tighter and tighter. Jonny’s harsh breaths in my ear and the rushing beats of my heart sent chills down my spine.

He pinched my clit so hard, sparks flew across the inside of my eyelids. The wicked, delicious abuse, paired with a long series of hard thrusts, sent me reeling.

“Yes,” I hissed.

“Coming, dirty girl?” He dropped his hand from my breast and slapped my ass so hard, if not for the railing, I’d have fallen. Heat streaked to my core, but in my head, the unforgiving hand belonged to Caine, and so did the cock, because Jonny had never said this was for him.

“Yes!”

He jerked inside me, sending hot jets deep inside my clenching pussy. I lowered my heels to the concrete. Jonny slipped free. A moment later, I heard his zipper go up.

“Hand me those panties.”

“Wh-what?” I turned to stare over my shoulder.

“I’m taking them as a trophy. Putting the goddamn things in my car next Sunday, for luck. And, because I like knowing you’ll go back to work with my cum running down the insides of your thighs.”

I almost climaxed a second time, just bending to do as he demanded.

“Give the fucking ring back. Keep the faith.” Jonny snagged the bikini underwear from my hand. “I know you’re upset about Ernie. I know you were upset the last time I saw you, when you finally came clean about the problem with your mom. But don’t even think about a drastic solution to a temporary problem. There will be a way. Macy never goes to the races. You can fly back and forth, work from the garage. Live at Colt and Caine’s place. Hang with Caroline. It’ll work out.”

And it might, if NASCAR wasn’t the biggest gossip factory this side of Hollywood.

I knew, to the roots of my soul, he wanted this for Caroline. Her biggest wish was for all of us to have the freedom to love each other.

God, what a man. They’re perfect for each other.

Before I could think of a response, he continued. “As soon as you and Dale step before that judge, you’ll become Colt and Caine’s sister. You can’t legally marry either of your brothers once that happens. That’ll make her relax. Tell her she can have her way on the relationship, but not the job with Hannah-Built.” He tucked the scrap of black lace in his pocket, hooked a finger underneath my chin, and kissed me on the lips.

He didn’t stop at my lips. He forced his way into my mouth, as if to prove Robert meant nothing. I should slap him, but my brain reverted to its weird, post-wreck ways, so it seized on something else.

Juicy Fruit. He spit the beer back into the bottle. He hasn’t given up on the season.

“Then, just go right back to doing what y’all did when you were in high school. Until she finds something she wants more than respectability.”

Spinning, he jogged down the service stairs.

I backed against the wall, staring at the oil-stained loading dock. If there was something Mom wanted worse than respectability, I couldn’t think what it might be.

By the time my shift ended, every bone in my body ached
.

Becca sat cross-legged on her bed when I eased into the room at nearly midnight. “Cable bill’s due. You added those two new sports packages, so that’s ninety-five bucks.”

Peering at her stormy expression, I reached into my back pocket. Withdrawing the folded money, I peeled off several twenties. “Okay.”

I moved toward my room.

“And I need my lipstick back.”

I pulled up short, gripping the knob. “I, uh, used it all.”

Her brows went up. “Then I need you to pay me for it. Twenty-two bucks.”

“Becca, what’s the real problem?” She never gave a damn about money, until she was pissed about something else. Then, she swung the difference between my scraping for pennies and her trust fund status like a baseball bat.

“I saw you! Out on the loading dock. I was parked across the street. How could you? He loves you, Shelby. Robert loves you. How could you take his ring and five—not even five—minutes later, you’re fucking someone else?” Her voice climbed high enough that the girl in the room next door surely heard. “You act like he’s a city bus. Another man who loves you will be along in an hour if you miss this one.”

“It’s complicated. And none of your business.” I took the last twenty-five dollars from tonight’s tips and crumpled them in my hand. Hurling the money into her lap, I rushed into my room and slammed the door. Leaning against the panel, I tried to slow my breathing, counting to ten so I didn’t yank the damn door open and slap her condescending ass.