Clutched (Wild Riders) by Elizabeth Lee Page A

to her face and I used the pad of my thumb to wipe away the tear that had fallen. My body was humming in such close proximity to her. My pulse raced. My hands twitched to explore her curves. The blood rushed to my cock. She was standing there finally willing to let me do whatever I needed to do. It was exhilarating, and erotic, and terrifying all at the same time. Just as I was about to find out exactly how soft her plump, red lips were, the walk-in door of the shed opened interrupting us.
    “Hoyt?” A voice called out. “Chayse? You two planning on hitting the track today or what?” It was Nick. Chayse's eyes opened and the moment was ruined. She quickly wiped her eyes and I pretended that I was tightening the straps on her chest protector. Nick rounded the equipment in the shed and made his way toward us.
    “There,” I said, walking away from her. Her eyes were on me and I could tell that she was just as confused by what had just happened as I was. “All ready to go.”
    “Thanks, coach,” she said, pulling on her helmet to stop Nick from seeing her face. I wouldn't have minded having a helmet myself. I did my best to keep cool. “I'll meet you on the track.” She nodded at Nick who was oblivious to what he'd walked in on and took off toward the track.
    “How are things going?” Nick asked, when the sound of Chayse's bike headed out the door.
    “Good,” I lied. “Everything is good.”
    “Exactly what I want to hear,” he said, giving me a hard pat on the back. “I'm setting up an event in next week. Your brother is coming back for it. I want him and Chayse to schmooze some of our investors. Let them see that Throttled has the best team on the track.”
    “Sounds good,” I said with nod. “I'll let her know.”
    “Perfect,” he said, clapping his hands together in front of him. “Now, I want to see her ride. I want to see if you're earning that paycheck and actually making a difference.” He laughed.
    I faked a laugh as I followed him toward the track. I was making a difference all right. I just hoped it was on the track as well as off of it.

Chapter 8 – Chayse
    W hat in the great wide hell had just happened?
    I couldn't even pretend to think straight as rounded the curves of the track. We'd almost kissed. Well, he'd almost kissed me. I'd almost let him kiss me.
    Worse, I’d wanted it. Badly.
    What was wrong with me? I didn't even fucking like him. But, I sure did like the jealousy I saw written all over face as he asked me about Link. So much that I almost lied and told him that Link and I had been hooking up when the sun went down each and every night. It would have been lie, I think I would have enjoyed getting a rise out of him. The farthest I'd gone with Link was letting him put his hand on my back when I walked into his trailer. We'd shared a drink and good conversation every now and then, but that was as far as it went. Link was just a friend, and I think he was okay with it.
    The steadiness in Hoyt's eyes and the feel of his hands on me had taken every ounce of willpower I had. I couldn't do anything but stand there. As much as I wanted to make him mad and jealous, a bigger part of me wanted to please him. It was infuriating. I'd told myself that I didn't care what he thought, but clearly I did. I cared so much that I was willing to let him have his way with me in that empty shed...until it wasn't empty anymore. Hearing Nick's voice and seeing him walk toward us had put the kibosh on whatever was happening between me and Hoyt.
    I centered my weight on my bike as I hit the straightaway.
    Lean forward . Hoyt's words were as embedded in my head as the almost kiss. He'd literally taken over every thought in my head. The tension that had been building between us should not result in kiss. A knock-down, drag-out fight maybe, but definitely not a kiss. My body was humming from the soft, smooth way his hands moved along my hips and up to my waist as he pulled me close to him. Even through layers