In the Fast Lane (Fast Series Book 1) (15 page)

“I know, Jess. I know exactly how it is.” Now he was the one who was talking about more than one thing. “The media and image shit is one thing. But
this
thing—this thing between us? Don’t think that I don’t want it. I do. But I let you down before, and Jessi, it sucked. Trust me. I never forgave myself for Brazil. Coaching you is making things better. I finally feel like I’m doing something right by you, and I don’t want to fu—”

He didn’t get to finish. Jessi lurched her upper body over the bench seat and grabbed his face. “Screw the past, Dalton. I’m a big girl now, and I know what I’m doing. I’ll tell you when you’ve fucked up.”

She kissed him. Hard. When the shock of what was happening started to wear off, Dalton took control of the situation. She might be a spitfire, but there were things that needed to be said. Terms that had to be set. “Jess.” He tried talking through the kiss. It didn’t work. “Jessi!” he said, more forcefully. “Hold up. Hold up.”

She looked down at him with doubt in her eyes.
Shit.

“I didn’t say
stop.
Just...wait a sec. I think we need to talk about some things. I really,
really
want to continue with this. But we’ve got to decide where this is going. What we both want. Things like that.”

Her eyes went from doubtful to devious in a split second. It was like he’d given her a green light or something. She giggled.

That was not the effect he was going for, but her next move made his dick jump. She batted her eyelashes and gave him a demure look. “Yes, Coach,” she said in a flirty little voice.

Holy fuck. That was hot. He was breathing hard and it took everything he had to separate himself from her. He
had
to separate himself from her. They were in a parking lot, for God’s sake, and they had just spent some serious energy trying to keep her image clean. They couldn’t be caught out here going at it.

Besides, he wasn’t kidding. They seriously needed to talk. Like everything in their relationship, things went from cold to hot fast enough to give him whiplash. He wanted to do this right—talk it out, make sure they both understood what the other wanted. Grownup shit like that.

Dalton took a deep breath and straightened himself up in his seat. “Good.” He nodded and started the car. “As long as we understand each other.”

Yeah, Jessi apparently didn’t understand a damn thing because she was fumbling with his pants before they got out of the parking lot.

“What in the hell has gotten into you?” He gasped as she shoved her hand down his pants and freed his straining cock from the confines of his jeans. He was no prude, but he had to admit to being shocked, because as far as he knew, Jessi w
as
.

She gave him a wicked smile. “I’m absolving you from any guilt you might have about taking advantage of one of your swimmers.” She went down on him. Shit. Jessi Pruitt was giving him road head. He was so screwed.

“Jess, baby. You gotta stop. Someone’s gonna see us.”

“Nu uh,” she mumbled with a full mouth. She released him with a pop and looked up at him. The sight of her guileless blue eyes looking up at him, her wet, pink mouth an inch away from his glistening, straining cock, nearly had him blowing his load right there.

With her mouth not otherwise engaged, she spoke with a little more clarity. “They won’t see
us
. They’re gonna see
you
.” She giggled and went back to her sucking.

Oh fuck, that felt good. He knew this was just about the worst thing that he could be doing right now. The only thing that could possibly be worse than this was what he was about to do when he got her alone. And he was getting her alone, damn it.

He took—very slowly—one of the less traveled roads back to the complex as Jessi altered between using her mouth and hand on him. She was in the process of doing the former, his hand resting on her head, when he pulled on her hair a little.

“Jess, you need to stop. If anyone is watching, they need to see two of us pull up. Give me a second to get under control, and I’ll meet you in your room.”

She came up gasping and settled into her own seat. She wiped a hand across her mouth. Christ, that was hot. He righted himself and zipped up, which was a difficult feat in his present condition. She didn’t talk as they pulled into the swimming facility. He was starting to get worried that she’d come to her senses when she looked over at him and whispered, “Don’t take too long, Coach.”

Then she opened the door and ran out into the rain.

Jessi hurried to her room and closed the door behind her. She was breathing hard and berating herself. She could not believe she’d just done that! This was nuts! It didn’t matter though. She grinned and gave a low chuckle. No amount of self-remonstrating could save her tonight. She was a woman on the prowl. Then she looked in the mirror.

Yikes! She had hoped she looked sexy, mysterious, and naughtily disheveled. Instead, she looked like she’d been dunked in water. She huffed, then shrugged. Since Dalton saw her wet more often than he saw her dry, she figured it was a lost cause to try and fix herself up. By the look and feel of things in the car, he liked her looking wet just fine. So instead of trying to look like something she wasn’t, Jessi busied herself by lighting all the candles she’d saved for personal time.

Just as she was finishing, a knock came at the door. Despite the fact that she had been waiting desperately for that knock, she jumped. She was so nervous and so freakin’ needy. Her body throbbed for Dalton. Even so, she’d gone back and forth in the last few minutes she’d spent alone in her room over whether or not she wanted him to change his mind.

There was no doubt that it would be better in the long run if he did. But Jessi was tired of planning and following the rules. The long term was lonely. Tonight she wanted some company.

She opened the door. “What took you so long?”

“Hey, Jessi, can I go over some tape with you? We’ve got an issue.”

What the hell? Her face must have shown her confusion, because Dalton gave her a withering look.
Oh
, he was putting on a show in case anyone was listening. Sneaky. She liked it.

“Of course, Coach! I was just talking to my mom. Let me say goodbye, and I’ll sit down with you.” She started to close the door.

Dalton put out a hand and pushed past her, murmuring, “Don’t overdo it.”

“I have no idea what you’re referring to,” she giggled, and closed the door, only to find herself spun around and pushed up against it.

“Did you take the long way around the commons?” Dalton breathed into her mouth before shoving his tongue into it.

Jessi pulled away, gasping. “Yes,” she said as she started working his shirt up. She was rewarded with smooth, tanned skin and twelve pack abs. Thank God for men who swam. “What took you so long?”

“Stopped in the commons to make an appearance and talk with some of the coaches,” he said breathlessly. “Damn near killed me.”

Jessi laughed but the sound changed into a moan as Dalton worked his way down her neck.

“Baby, you are going to have to be quiet, and I’m sorry for that because I’m going to do the 400 IM on your ass, but we can’t let anyone hear us.”

“Uh huh,” was all she could manage.

She struggled with his shirt. Dalton tore it over his head, providing her with a delicious view of his pecs before he crushed his mouth onto hers in a brutal kiss. He started to walk backward, making his way to the bed. His legs hit the edge, and he fell to a sitting position. Jessi managed to stay standing, his knees on either side of her.

Dalton looked up into her eyes. He was a beautiful, tussled, fallen angel with mayhem on his mind. Lord, he was perfect for her.

Dalton grabbed her thighs, just under her butt, and pulled her closer to him. Looking her straight in the eyes, he said, “God, baby, you are so beautiful.”

Jessi’s heart started to break right then and there. She knew this would hurt later, but right now she didn’t care. “So are you,” she whispered.

“FYI, your tank top doesn’t do anything to hide your nipples.”

She looked down. Well, hell. There they were, telling on her. The two tiny dark buds were pushing hard against the white fabric. They were also shamelessly pointing straight toward Dalton. He, in turn, was staring straight at them. Jessi laughed. God, he always knew how to ease the tension.

“Are you ever serious?” she asked him, a little crossly. “Outside of coaching, I mean.”

“Nope. Not usually.”

“Well, the shirt is white and it’s wet. Not much I can do about it,” she huffed in an effort to assume some self-dignity.

“Baby, I’ve been staring at your nipples since you came out of the locker room. You really need to wear a bra with that thing.”

He laughed as she tried to smack him, grabbing her wrist and bringing her down to him.

“You’re sure?” he asked her as he rolled her over.

He was clearly no longer talking about her tank top. The question was tender. It might have brought tears to her eyes if she had been that kind of girl. Instead, she gave him a quiet “Yes,” and lifted her head to kiss him.

Jessi was sure. She wanted this with almost the same passion that she’d felt for him when she was a teenager, but now with a tamer—and safer—matured longing. Unlike the last time she found herself in a compromising position with this man, she had some control over the situation.

Dalton reached into his pocket and drew out his wallet. He looked down at her sheepishly. “Just so you know. There are two condoms in there. I always carry one, so don’t give me shit. I also happened to have one in the glove compartment, so I grabbed that too.” He shrugged. “Call me optimistic.”

Jessi laughed. “I think I’ll forgive you for being promiscuous, just this once.”

Dalton put the condoms on the side table and bent his head back to meet her lips. It appeared that her needs were going to be considered as part of the evening’s festivities. That added a significant amount of justification to her decision to sleep with him. She hadn’t had the string of lovers that Dalton had, but she’d been with enough men to know the difference between men who
gave
and received and those who didn’t. There was also something forbidden about having sex with Dalton that added to the temptation. She was his swimmer and he could very well be fired for sleeping with her.

Jessi’s apprehension over the possibility of Dalton being fired was quickly snuffed out as he lifted his hand up to cup her cheek, because really, how sweet was that? He brought his thumb down to capture her jaw, opening her mouth wider to accommodate his tongue. As he took control of the kiss, it quickly turned from one that served the purpose of acquainting them to each other’s bodies, to a kiss that was rough, demanding, and so, so exciting. Jessi felt butterflies in her stomach as Dalton’s other hand slowly skimmed down her side. He grabbed her butt and pulled her hips closer to him, hitching her up to fit nicely against his cock. She gasped.

“Are you aware that you’re, um, rather large?” Jessi asked dubiously. Dalton was wearing jeans, but they didn’t provide much constraint for what she already knew to be an impressive package.

Dalton chuckled low in his throat, as he started kissing the side of her neck. “Nah,” he said, lifting his lips just a little so that she could feel his breath tickle her neck. “You’re just used to that little French asshole’s tiny prick.”

Jessi gave him a playful punch on the arm. He grabbed her hand and slowly lifted it above her head, leaving her in a very vulnerable position. Dalton looked down at her.

“God, I wish you were naked. You look very beautiful like this,” he whispered.

“Well, let’s take care of that then,” Jessi replied.

“Yes, ma’am.” He let go of her hand and proceeded to lift her tank top up over her head, trying to avoid pulling her hair. At some point in their urgency to undress each other, her bun had fallen out. Her hair had begun to dry, and her curls were making their presence known in a rather bold and unruly fashion.

As the shirt cleared the frizzy mess, Dalton’s lips immediately came down to grab her nipple, swirling over it with his tongue. He took little nips here and there that hurt just right. Jessi moaned in pleasure, and he found her other hand, once again lifting it over her head to make her more available to his attentions. At the same time, he rocked his hips into the V of her legs, hitting her clit with pleasurable friction.