Page 81 of Wicked Heat

He nods. “As fucked up as it can be here on this earth, some things are wonderful. And definitely worth celebrating.” My hair is twined around his fingers, and now he spreads them, letting the strands fall free.

I think about what I’d just watched—him going around and around the track so fast I was certain he’d spin into a wall. One wrong move in that car, and death would have grabbed him whether he’d invited her in or not.

“Find another way,” I say, but before the words are out of my mouth, he’s kissing me. It’s warm and almost gentle, but that’s not what I want. I want hard. I want deep. I want this man to claim me. I want him to make me feel. I want all the things that scare me—the things I’ve been trying to outrun just like he’s been trying to out-drive.

“Bree. Bree, oh, god, Bree.” His lips are roaming over my cheeks, my chin, my neck, but not my lips, and I hear myself begging for him to please, please kiss me.

I thrust my fingers into his hair, tugging his face down to me as I look up to him. My eyes flicker open, and our gazes lock. My heart skips a beat as I see what’s hiding behind his eyes. It’s everything I’ve wanted. It’s desire and life and hunger. It’s beauty and pleasure, sunshine and tenderness.

It’s love. Or, at least, I want it to be. Maybe it’s too soon. I don’t know. All I know is that the things that scare me—the demons that haunt me—fade away when I’m with Ash. I don’t know if I’m ready, but I do know that I want him.

“Ash.” I shift my hips so that I’m grinding against his cock, the pressure at the juncture of my thighs sending pleasure racing through me like electricity.

“Beg,” he says. “You know the deal. Beg for it.”

My chest tightens. I want this. And as soon as I beg, I’m free.

I don’t want to be free.

But maybe I want to be close.

“I don’t beg,” I say. “I just take what I want.”

I see both humor and heat flash in his eyes as I peel off that damn dress. Soon, I’m naked before him, wearing only my sandals with their two-inch heels.

“You’re beautiful.” His voice is heavy with lust and awe, and I feel it between my legs as surely as if he’d cupped his hand there. “Are you begging me?”

I lift my chin. “Hell no. I haven’t—” I begin. “Not since Rory took—Well, not since....” I finish, feeling more fragile now. After all, I’d wanted Rory, too. I’d trusted Rory. Maybe I’d even loved him.

At the very least, I’d believed he was a good man. How can I ever know?

You can’t.

The words ping inside my head, but I’m not sure if they are a reason or a warning. All I know for certain is that I trust Ash, and that there is no fear nipping at my heels.

I want to succumb to this man. I want to see how far we can go before the nightmares push in, as they inevitably will.

But maybe—just maybe—Ash is the man who can keep the nightmares at bay.

Except I can’t. We have a deal. And I need that money one hell of a lot more than I need Ash inside me. Even if right now, it really doesn’t feel like that.

He cups my cheek as he pulls me close, and all thought flits from my head as he moves both hands to my bare ass. “If you’re begging, we should go back. A room. A bed. Creature comforts.”

“No,” I insist. “Here.” I turn my back to him, refusing all arguments. At the same time, I take one of his hands, then slide it between my legs. I look back over my shoulder, then grin with victory as his fingers start to tease me. “The Ash I saw on that track,” I begin. “Power and control. I want that.”

His fingers stroke me, and I moan. I’m so wet. So needy.

“Are you begging me? Are you desperate for me to fuck you?”

“Yes,” I murmur as his fingers thrust inside. “I’m desperate. But I’m not begging.”

He uses his other hand to swipe my hair off my neck, sending it tumbling over my shoulder where the soft strands tease my breast.

Then his mouth is on my neck, his kisses driving me as wild as the fingers I’m grinding against. His free hand cups my breast, and I arch back, wanting to lose myself in passion. In him.

“Tell me to stop, and I will in a heartbeat. You understand?”

“Yes.” I barely recognize that passion-strangled voice as mine. “But I won’t ask. I want everything, Ash. Everything except what I have to beg for.”