Sweet Carolina (21 page)

“You taste good,” she licked her lips
again.

“Good God, woman.” He lifted her by her
armpits and dragged her body against his. He crushed his mouth
against hers, tasted himself on her lips and groaned. “I've never
wanted anything or anyone as much as I want you, Carolina
Hawkins.”

She reached between them and clamped her hand
around his aching dick. “I want you too, Dell.” She tugged once,
twice and he closed his eyes to concentrate on breathing. “Make
love to me.”

He sucked in a ragged breath as she released
him and stepped back. Piece by piece, her clothes dropped to the
floor at his feet until she stood naked before him – a masterpiece
of soft female perfection. He reached a hand out to touch her and
she took a step back. He tried to follow and nearly face-planted on
the carpet as the jeans around his knees brought him up short.

She laughed – a wicked, seductive laugh.
“You're wearing too many clothes, Dell.”

* * * *

He growled like a wild animal trapped and
taunted. He grabbed a condom from his pocket and clamped the packet
in his teeth as he fought his way out of his clothes. He'd never
undressed so fast in his life. He ripped the packet open and
sheathed himself, then he stalked her to the bed. It didn't matter
his prey made no attempt to escape. She'd ignited something
uncivilized inside him, something that clawed to get out.

Her legs bumped against the mattress and he
closed the distance between them. He stood over her, drinking in
her scent and the heat radiating off her body. She tilted her face
up. Her gaze locked with his and there was no mistaking the look in
her eyes. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

He lifted a hand to the back of her head and
grabbed a fistful of her hair in a hard grip. She gasped, but made
no attempt to stop him when he jerked her forward. Her hard nipples
speared his chest.

His other hand came up to cradle her jaw. He
stroked his thumb over the corner of her lips. He tugged her mouth
open and slipped his thumb inside, dragging her mouth roughly to
the side. She swirled her tongue around the digit and he groaned at
the erotic enticement. “I don't want to be gentle, Caro. I need you
too much.” She nodded her understanding. His hand moved to her ass,
squeezing and kneading. “I won't hurt you.”

“I know, Dell. I know.”

He searched her eyes for any trace of fear
and saw only a hunger and desperation equal to his own.

“Mine,” he said. Then his lips were on hers.
A moment later, she was under him, opening for him. He took her,
fast and hard. She wrapped her legs around his hips and matched him
thrust for thrust. His lips and hands explored, as did hers.

There was nothing gentle about the way they
took from each other, but they gave in equal measure, and when Caro
came, she took Dell with her into a world where there was no wrong,
no censorship, no condemnation, only right. She led him through the
darkness and showed him the light. He looked in her eyes and saw
the thing he feared most in life, her love. He'd never be worthy of
it, but buried inside her, his cock bathed in it, he was certain it
was the only thing he'd ever need. He'd spent too many years trying
to earn the love of a man who could never give it when he was
alive, and sure wasn't going to give it from the grave.

None of it mattered now. Only Carolina
mattered, and he'd do anything to earn the love he saw in her
eyes.

“Carolina. My sweet, Carolina,” he whispered
into the crook of her neck. Her arms encircled his shoulders as he
poured himself inside her one wretched spasm at a time.

Caro held Dell in her arms as his cock jerked
inside her. His hips pumped, grinding against her in the same jerky
rhythm. She should be shocked at the way they'd come together, like
two animals in heat. The only thing missing were the teeth and
claws, and she couldn't be too sure about those.

Spent, Dell collapsed on top of her,
instantly rolling to the side and dragging her with him.

“Jesus, Caro. I'm sorry.”

Beneath her palm, Dell's heart thumped a wild
beat. “Don't be. I'm not.”

One roughened hand stroked the small of her
back. “I should have taken more care. I wasn't thinking of your
pleasure, only mine. I'm sorry.”

“Stop it, Dell,” she said. “I'm fine. Well,
mostly fine.” She inched her hand across his chest to trace the
flat disk around his nipple. He hissed and tightened his hold on
her. “Not that it wasn't satisfying, it was. But it was
awfully…quick.”

“Are you saying I crossed the finish line too
fast?”

She continued to tease his nipple as she
spoke. “No, what I'm saying is it was a short race. Maybe next
time, instead of a drag race, we could try a Le Mans.”

“Some of those races go on for twenty-four
hours,” Dell pointed out.

Caro raised up on an elbow and smiled. “I
know.”

* * * *

He couldn't exactly call it a habit, but he
and Warner spent their last few days off together, mostly drinking
beer and watching old movies at Dell's house. Warner said his
apartment was too small for two people, though why he hadn’t bought
himself a house was beyond Dell's comprehension. As long as he kept
showing up with cold beer, Dell didn't care.

“I hope you didn't bring the same shit you
did last week,” Dell said as Warner headed to the kitchen with the
requisite brown bag.

“You didn't have to drink it.”

Dell held out his hand. “Just give me one,
and shut up.”

Warner handed Dell a bottle and took one for
himself before they headed to the recliners in the living room.
“Talladega's coming up,” he said.

“So it is,” Dell said, popping the top on his
brew and taking a long pull. “What about it?”

“If you need a drafting partner, I might be
interested.”

Dell studied his half-brother. “What would
Renfro think?”

“I don't give a shit what he thinks. He's
been talking a lot of trash around the shop the last few weeks, and
I don't like it.”

“What kind of trash?”

“Stuff. He's coming down real hard on Caro
Hawkins and you, too. You'd think he'd be mindful of who he's
talking about, since he knows about our relationship, but he
doesn't know we talk, so I guess he thinks it's all right to talk
shit about you in front of me.”

“So, you want to get back at him by drafting
with me?”

“Maybe. It would serve him right if I pushed
you across the finish line in first place.”

Dell grinned. “Yeah, that would be poetic,
but what makes you think it wouldn't be you crossing first with me
biting your ass?”

“Because I don't want to win? Renfro is being
a real asshole. If I win, so does Renfro Racing, and right now, I'm
not in a frame of mind where that seems right. I'd much rather see
Hawkins Racing get the trophy.”

“No offense, but I would too. Okay. But I
have to tell Caro before the race. I don't want her blowing a
gasket if you suddenly start kissing my ass around the track.”

“Drafting, Dell. Don't flatter yourself. I
won't be kissing your ass, on the track or off. I'll leave that for
the pretty lady you're seeing.”

Chapter Sixteen

Caro couldn't remember a time in her life
when she'd felt this good. For the last three weeks, she and Dell
had stolen as many minutes to be together as possible without
drawing attention to their intimate relationship. They had yet to
work in a Le Mans, but every encounter wasn't a drag race either.
Her body hummed with satisfaction, and love for Dell.

So far, he'd lived up to the promise he made
when they struck their financial agreement. He no longer drove
every race as if he had a death wish. The brilliant race strategist
was back, but he'd yet to win a race.

Caro was beginning to think Hawkins Racing
was jinxed. There'd been the issue with the loose lug nut that cost
Dell a win, and might have resulted in a serious wreck. Thankfully,
no one was injured in the spinout. Even the car survived. She still
cringed when she thought about the findings from the post-race
inspection. The offending lug nut looked as if someone had filed
down the threads on the inside. It was unclear if the damage
occurred on the track or if the lug was damaged when it was put on
during Dell's final pit stop. Caro questioned the tire carrier –
the guy who glued the lugs to the wheels before each race, and he
swore he checked each lug before it went on the wheel.

She kept the lug in her desk drawer as a
reminder something as small as a lug could end a successful
run.

But the lug episode was only the first of a
series of bizarre incidents that occurred over the last three
races. None of them were serious, but every one of them cost Dell
valuable track position. Caro gave credit where it was due. Dell
kept a calm head through it all. She wished she could say the same
for herself. Frustration gnawed at her. The car was running like
nothing else on the track. Dell was out-driving every other driver
on the track, but they still hadn't brought home a single
trophy.

Caro left the garage at Talladega, heading to
her motor coach for a much-needed nap before qualifying. She
wouldn't trade her stolen nights with Dell for anything, but she
found, on occasion, she needed to make up for the lost sleep. This
was one of those times. Between spending time with Dell and making
adjustments on the car for the longer Superspeedway at Talladega,
she'd had little time to herself.

She wound her way through the maze of giant
motor homes, her attention focused on the changes they'd made this
morning. Not only did they have to adjust for the longer track, but
the Alabama weather wasn't helping either. The track temperature
during practice runs earlier in the week were below normal, but for
qualifying, the weatherman predicted record high temperatures.
Everything they'd done needed to be rethought and recalculated, the
adjustments made. And, to top it off, it was possible the weather
would change yet again before the race began tomorrow.

Caro was lost in her thoughts so she didn't
notice the man leaning against the motor coach parked next to hers
until it was too late. She jumped when he spoke.

“Hello, Carolina.”

“Oh, Butch! You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He pushed away from the coach and
joined Caro at the door to her motor home. “I wanted to have a word
with you.”

She couldn't think of a single person she
wanted to talk to less than she did Butch Renfro. Opening the door,
she stepped inside and Butch followed, closing the door behind him.
Fatigue weighed on her shoulders and her patience. She crossed her
arms over her chest and leaned against the small kitchen counter.
“What do you want?” she asked.

“How much longer are you going to keep this
up, Carolina? You're dragging this out longer than is necessary,
and your stubbornness is only going to make it harder on your
employees when you finally do go under. No one else is going to
take them on this late in the season.”

“I don't need you to tell me that, Butch.
Things are turning around for Hawkins Racing. My employees aren't
going to be looking for new jobs in the middle of the season, or
when the season is over.” At least she prayed it was true. If
Hawkins Racing went under, she'd be looking for a job with another
team herself, and paying Dell's investment back for the rest of her
life.

“You're stubborn and delusional. It seems
your screw-up of a driver finally got his shit together, but he
still hasn't won a race. Your team is incompetent, from the
engineers all the way down to the lowliest member of the pit
crew.”

Caro bristled at the blatant insult to her
team. “You don't know anything about my team, and they aren't
responsible for the things that happened. Lug nuts fail. The split
O-ring on the hydraulic jack was a fluke, and it's certainly not
their fault the supplier screwed up and didn't deliver fresh gas
cans to our pit on time. Shit happens, Butch. We've just
experienced more than our share lately.”

“Yeah, and from what I hear, you're having
more than your share of that shit driver of yours too.” Caro froze.
She watched in mute horror as Butch closed the distance between
them. Her skin crawled at the way he looked at her, as if he… no,
it was too disgusting to think. Before she could dodge him, he
pressed himself up against her. The fingers of one hand dug into
her hip, the other clasped the back of her head, anchoring her
against him. His erection pressed into her stomach. She opened her
mouth to scream, but he silenced her with a kiss that made her
stomach lurch. Bile rose in her throat and she fought back with
everything she had. She pushed, she kicked, she tried to bite him.
He fisted his hand in her hair and held her tighter.

When he finally came up for air, Caro turned
and vomited in the sink. Behind her, Butch Renfro laughed. “My
money is as good as Dell Wayne's, little girl. When he gets tired
of paying to get inside your fire suit, come see me. I might take
his place, but you'll have to offer me more than he's getting. I
want it all, Caro, and if I have to fuck you to get it, I will.” He
moved to the door, stopping before he opened it and threw his
parting words at her with a leering smile. “I still know how to
show a woman a good time, especially one with such low
standards.”

Caro made it to the door, threw the lock, and
wobbled back to the sofa. She curled up in a ball, wrapping her
arms around her knees to stop the shaking. She'd never been so
disgusted in her life. Butch Renfro was old enough to be her
father! And he knew about her and Dell. It was impossible for him,
or anyone else to know. She and Dell never said more than was
necessary to each other around the garage, or at the track. As far
as the racing world was concerned, their relationship was a
professional one. Renfro couldn't know. He had to be guessing, but
that didn't make what he'd done any less sickening.