Page 28

TWENTY-EIGHT

KIT

Trent’s fingertips slipped under the hem of my shirt, his knuckles slipping down my spine.

I hadn’t come into this room planning to sleep with Trent, but that seemed like exactly what I was about to do. And I wasn’t even mad about it. Regret would no doubt rear its ugly head in the morning, but for now, I could pretend under the covers in a pitch-black hotel room I wasn’t about to make a giant mistake.

Even though I still wouldn’t admit it aloud, Trent was a good kisser. Hell, a great kisser. And I’d been replaying the kiss to myself for the past two days, so when he dipped his head down, the tip of his nose skating down mine, my stomach knotted, and I tipped my head up expectantly. His lips brushed over mine with a featherlight touch. A teasing touch that I had zero interest in returning.

Instead, I slipped my hand over his shoulder and pulled him closer, crushing his lips against mine. His grip on my back tightened, body molding to mine under the hotel sheets. His dick dug into my inner thighs, and I wrapped a leg over his hips to relieve the pressure. The surge of lust that followed surprised me. I didn’t know how badly I wanted this.

Under the sheets, I could admit to myself that I wanted him. Not just anyone, but Trent. But even sure as I was, I also knew we’d never work.

“Tell me you have protection.” My voice sounded high and breathy, escaping in short bursts that would have made me self-conscious if I wasn’t so turned on.

His mouth traced the curve of my jaw, breaking only to nod. “Condoms. In my bag. And you?”

“IUD. You’re like tested, right? At least regularly?” His lips skated down my neck, and I tipped my head back. “If you give me something, I’m going to be fucking furious.”

He snorted a laugh into my clavicle. “I’m not a complete shit show, Kitten.”

“Don’t call me that,” I moaned. “Not now.”

I’d come around to the nickname over the course of the race, but only in the daylight. A sudden worry that if he called me Kitten during sex, it’d be harder to separate tonight from the cool friendship we’d go back to in the morning.

“I got tested at the end of the season. I’m good.” His hand wandered down to my breast, his rough fingertips rubbing circles over my hardened nipples. “Are you still trying to talk yourself out of this?”

“It’s such a bad idea,” I groaned, my defenses crumbling.

“At least you won’t fall in love with me,” he rasped, hot breath on my neck.

“Love has nothing to do with this. It’s barely even like.” I arched into him, hooking my leg against his hips and dragging his hard dick against me.

He released my body long enough to retrieve the condoms from his bag. Rather than put one on, he set them on the bedside table, kicking off the last of his clothes before sliding back into bed. Not nearly enough time to gape at his naked body, which I hated to admit was even better than the quick peeks I’d gotten earlier. The hardened muscle of his arms continued onto his chest, his abs tight with coils of muscle with that oddly hot hip dip that was impossible to mold on anyone who didn’t use their body for a living.

His hands skirted up my shirt, pushing it over my head, and I shut out the nagging voice at the back of my head reminding me that this was by far the hottest person I’d ever slept with by reminding myself it was Trent.

Trent.

Not some mysterious hottie who flagged me down in a bar, as if such things happened. But Trent, the guy I’d been forced together with. A horny guy, at that. Who, much like me, hadn’t been laid in far too long. Although Trent’s idea of “too long” probably meant days to my months.

The power dynamic gave me a rush of excitement. I didn’t need to impress Trent. I didn’t need to pretend to orgasm or put up with awkward pawing or agree to a position I didn’t like. If I wasn’t getting off, there was no point sleeping with this man, and I planned to act accordingly.

His lips skated down my neck, tongue flicking over my nipples. I arched my back, pressing my palm to the top of his head, which elicited a laugh.

“Don’t worry, I’m getting there,” he mumbled into my skin, the warmth of his breath heating my stomach.

I moaned as his thumb brushed my slit, his lips following afterward. Trent’s hands skimmed down my thighs. His thumb dug into the back of my knee, spreading my legs before his tongue delved inside me.

And fuck if Trent wasn’t good at that, too.

He lifted my leg, wrapping it over his back and pulling my body up as he slipped a finger inside, and then a second. The combination pulled a soft moan out of my lips as my body hummed with pleasure.

My hips rocked against his face, my fingertips grasping for purchase. The sheets, his body. Anything to ground me to the room that seemed to melt away as my body teetered closer to orgasm.

Just before I fell, he pulled away, a cocky grin on his lips.

“Don’t look at me like that.” I pulled my leg off his shoulder and twisted away, embarrassment shading my face.

“I’m pretty good at that, right?” He wrapped his muscled arm around my waist, pulling me back toward the middle of the bed, pinning me on my back.

I covered my face with my arm. “It’s been a while. My bar is very low.”

He peeled my arm off of my face. “But still good.”

His look was boyish, expectant, and a tug of affection completely at odds with the fuck-buddy situation we’d just created rushed through me. “Yeah, you’re good.”

Riding that swell of affection, I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him toward me. I kissed him, a sweet mingle of heat and comfort as my fingers explored his body, skimming over taut muscle.

He grazed his thumb down my cheek, breaking the kiss. His green eyes went soft as he studied my face. The way his eyes lingered on my lips felt intimate. Not a one-night stand or a one-off mistake, but like sleeping me with meant something.

The thought made my stomach flip, and my confidence that sleeping with Trent was a good idea faltered.

“Are we doing this or what?” I asked, feigning callousness. Sleeping with Trent was supposed to be a diversion. A temporary bout of insanity. A one-time run at a guy way too hot and cocky and rich for me. I could walk away from a one-night stand, but not if feelings were involved.

His lips pulled up as a flicker passed over his eyes. “Whatever you want, Kitten.”

I broke eye contact, reaching across the bed for a condom and handing it to him. I averted my eyes as he ripped the package open and rolled the condom on.

My heart raced as he shifted his weight over me, dipping his head down to run a line of kisses up my shoulder and neck. I moaned, closing my eyes and luxuriating in the way my body thrummed with anticipation.

His calloused fingers dug into my outer thigh, pulling his body flush with mine, his cock sliding in as if meant to be there. I tensed my leg, holding him there, in me, with me. My body burned. The orgasm he’d nearly teased out of me with his mouth returned, urgent now.

I slipped my hand between us, rubbing myself as he thrust inside of me. Being with Trent always felt like too much, and sex didn’t feel any different. Achingly annoying, everything too fast and too slow and too different to make sense of.

He dropped his forehead to mine, his breath escaping in devastatingly hot pants of effort. Palming my knee, he pushed my leg toward my stomach, changing the angle of his thrusts and somehow getting deeper, harder, more intense.

The combination of his eyes on mine and his cock in me and my hand rubbing my clit sent me over the edge of orgasm. My body clenched, fingernails biting into Trent’s back as pleasure exploded through my body. Each thrust reignited my body, muscles contracting before going lax. Trent drove into me a final time, his body rigid, and then rolled over onto the bed beside me.

Trent pulled me back into his arms. His arms curled around my body, one hand at the base of my neck and rubbing tiny circles into my hair. I closed my eyes with a contented sigh. If only he had been someone else.

“That was pretty great.” His voice was throaty and low, the room icy cold, and the covers so warm. My attention slipped away, body drifting toward sleep.

I woke up cocooned in Trent’s arms. We’d shifted during the night, me off his chest and him wrapping around me. I ran my thumb over his forearm, testing whether he was awake and whether I could slip out. He answered the unspoken question by kissing my shoulder, his stubble tingling my skin. “You woke up.”

“That’s good news, right?” I asked, extraditing myself from his arms and turning to face him.

Oh yeah, sleeping with Trent was a disaster. No one had any business looking as handsome as he did first thing in the morning: heavy lidded, cheeks pink from sleep, and eyes a dreamy emerald green color. I squeezed my thighs together at the quick hit of lust that only got worse when he reached across the chasm I’d created, his thumb rubbing my waist.

I refused to develop feelings for Trent. I stuffed down any softness that had boiled to the surface over errant touches and soft kisses. We’d spent four days together in close quarters. Neither of us had been with anyone lately. And, truth be told, the sex was good. Too good.

“I can’t even blame last night on alcohol,” I said, keeping my tone even.

“Really ruins the ‘we shouldn’t have done that’ vibe, doesn’t it?” Trent pitched onto his elbow, resting his head against his fist.

“We shouldn’t have done that,” I agreed, my stomach sinking. “We shouldn’t do that again.”

Trent shrugged, his eyes dipping down as his fingers skittering across my stomach. “How about one more time? Then, never again.”

I groaned, collecting a sheet under my arms before I flailed away, tumbling off the bed. “It’s nearly six. We’ve got to get back on the road.”

“Last day.” His voice held a hint of sadness. A sadness that settled in my chest.

Pushing that feeling away, I wrapped the sheet around me, taking it with me as I shuffled toward the bathroom. I had no reason to be embarrassed, but I couldn’t help a flush of self-consciousness with Trent lying in bed in all his muscled glory. He pushed himself up and the top sheet pooled around his hips slipped down. I resisted the urge to pull it back up. “I’m going to shower.”

“Want me to join you?” The question stilled me on my escape to the bathroom. I turned back in time to catch Trent’s grin. “It’ll save time.”

I shook my head. “One night mistake, Texas. Never again.”