22. Carson

"Holy fucking shit, rookie! Second place!" I'm greeted with a side hug from Axel Lennon, the Bad Boy himself, who looks pretty damn happy for me, even considering I kicked his ass on the track today.

It's the last race of the season, and I got second place. I got so damn close to beating my boyfriend, but not quite.

Brayden saunters over to me, with that cocky walk he's perfected over the years and likes to pretend he doesn't do. "So close, rookie."

"I'll get you next season, old man," I say with just as much arrogance. I was close. That's for damn sure. It came down to the last second. But I don't even mind. He looks so damn happy, and I've realized over the past few months there's more to life than just racing.

Gasp.

I know. I was surprised too.

But I'm stupidly happy with Brayden. Nothing has changed since we finally realized we were a couple. We still spend pretty much every night together. Go to events together. He tries like hell to teach me while I push back. To the world, we're best friends, and he's the Ace mentoring the Rookie.

I don't love hiding our true relationship, but part of me was really damn grateful he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed hellbent on keeping us a secret. I know, without a doubt, it's his protective side kicking in.

I wish I was stronger and was able to tell him I didn't want to hide, but I'm not, and I was afraid to come out. My career just started, and I'm not sure it would go well for me this early in the game.

It's a shitty reality, but it is reality.

But as we stand there, giving interviews to the press for the last race of the season and answering all the questions, all I want is to kiss him. I want to pull him to me, lay a big kiss right on his lips and claim him as mine.

The overwhelming urge surges through me to do just that, but I can't seem to make myself do it. And not only because I'm a chickenshit but also because I'm not sure that's really Brayden's style.

That's more Axel's thing.

Brayden would probably be more comfortable with a simple press statement and then for us just to live our lives together.

A goofy smile forms on my lips, thinking about that. We're an us.

After the interviews end, getting an approving report from Miles and Jenny, we're back at the hotel. Our rooms are on the same floor, but I haven't even looked at my room. If anyone were paying really close attention, it would probably be obvious that we're more than friends.

But I can't be bothered by that. Yeah, I may not be ready to officially come out and deal with what that means for my career, but I also refuse to be paranoid about it. I'm in my boyfriend's strong arms as soon as the door clicks shut behind us.

"You did damn good today, rookie," he growls near my ear, setting my body on fire with that low timbre.

"Yeah? You proud?" I tease, lifting his shirt up and off him like the fabric offends me. I think it kind of does. This body should never be covered. I drag my hands over his muscled chest appreciatively.

Goddamn, I can't believe he's mine. And he is mine. I'm his too.

It doesn't matter if we work together. If we have to be careful because of our very public personas. It doesn't matter that I'm only twenty-one. This is it for me.

"Damn proud." He nuzzles into my neck, and I lean my head back, letting him kiss and suck my sensitive skin. "Couldn't have been any prouder even if you managed to get first."

I grip his hair and pull him up to look at me. "Hey now. I was close."

He laughs, not pulling out of my hold, his lips skimming over mine. "You were. You were damn close." He's smiling, and I see the pride in his eyes. Pride I feel as I beam back at him. Good lord, I am so far gone for this man. "You were patient though. You listened to me," he observes.

My cheeks heat a little with a blush. I wanted to get up to that first spot, but there was no way through, and if I'd have nudged him or anyone around us, it could have easily taken all of us out of the race. No way I was going to do that. "It wasn't easy."

He grins, and I loosen the hold on his hair a little. "You did good."

The praise should annoy me, but I only preen proudly, my chest puffing up. "Why aren't we naked?"

He chuckles but pulls out of my hold as we quickly work on remedying the situation, both of us removing every scrap of clothing until we're naked, kissing, and making our way toward the bed.

"So what should your prize be for getting second place?" he asks, his body slowly covering me and his lips skimming over mine, but he doesn't deepen the kiss. His strong arms are holding his weight as he looks down at me questioningly.

I snort, my hands running up and down his strong arms, feeling the tightly pulled muscles. "Do you have to say second place?"

He grins and leans down, kissing the corner of my mouth on one side and then doing the same thing to the other. "Second is damn good for your first year. You know that." He moves his strong, full lips to my jaw, kissing softly. "You definitely deserve a special prize."

I cock my head to the side, letting him have better access to my neck. Thankfully, he takes the hint and starts to lick and suck on my neck and down over my collarbone, his words almost totally forgotten. This is my prize. Whatever the hell he wants to give me, I'm more than happy to take.

"Carson..." His voice is deep, husky, and sexy as hell as he settles between my thighs, his hands dragging down over my chest and stomach, eyeing me like a starved man. "What do you want?"

"Everything. Anything," I answer honestly. I don't even have the energy to be embarrassed about how desperate I sound because holy shit, how did I get so lucky?

"What about my ass?"

I sit up so fast, he has to lean down so I don't knock him out with my excitement. I don't care. I'm too excited. Not that it really matters all that much. If he doesn't want to bottom, I'm more than happy doing that for the rest of my life. But now that he's put it out there, I want it.

I fucking crave it.

"You want that?" I grasp his face in my hands, and he smiles.

"It's been a long time since I've done it." He sounds nervous, his eyes on mine as he swallows tightly. "I didn't exactly love it the few times I did." He is nervous.

I nod and kiss his lips softly. "It's okay if you don't want to. I'm more than happy to offer up my ass." I kiss him hard, my cock twitching and my hole clenching, more than okay with being filled. "I love when you're inside me. Can't get enough."

He chuckles and wraps his arms around me. "So damn greedy." He laughs. "I want this with you though. I want everything with you. I'm just... I'm not sure..."

I kiss his lips with a smile. "If you don't like it, we'll switch." I waggle my eyebrows at him excessively. "I'm more than happy to have this big cock..."—I grip said cock in my hand, relishing in the weight and girth, the warmth of the silky flesh—"inside my tight hole. I love when you stretch me out." I stroke him slowly. "When you wreck me."

"Fuck." His cock jerks in my hand, and I grin. "You're something else," he says fondly as he shakes his head.

"Okay, let's do this. I want it." He kisses me hard, but I feel the tremble of his body. I'm not sure I've ever seen him so vulnerable. So nervous.

"If you don't like it, tell me to stop. I mean it. It doesn't matter to me. I'll take anything you can give me." I should cringe at my own desperation, but when I see the admiration in his eyes, the pure awe there, I don't. Because I know he feels the same, even if my big tough guy doesn't say it out loud.

"Okay," he says softly, and I kiss him hard.

"Roll over," I instruct, and he eyes me warily. "Trust me," I say firmly, and he does. He releases me and rolls to his stomach, his whole body pretty tense. Yeah, that just won't do.

I smack his ass playfully, and he grunts, looking back at me over his shoulder.

"On all fours. Let me see that pretty hole."

I swear a blush forms on his cheeks, and it's so goddamn endearing. He looks almost bashful, but he does what I say, climbing up on all fours and presenting that beautiful round ass to me.

"Holy shit. You're too hot for words."

"Can you get to it now?" He's trying to sound bossy, but I hear the shake in his voice. I see the tremor in his muscles, and I know he's nervous. I don't want him to be nervous. I want to blow his fucking mind.

It's a little intimidating, I'll admit. He's older and more experienced, but I want to make this good for him. I use my hands to spread his cheeks, nearly coming when I see his pretty pink hole. "So perfect."

He starts to wiggle in my grip. "Carson."

I grin. "Patience, remember?" I have to tease him. He says I'm the impatient one, but look at him.

He grumbles something I'm glad I can't hear, and then I lean forward, giving him a long swipe of my tongue from his balls to just over his hole. He grunts slightly, but I can't tell if it's in annoyance or pleasure, so I do it again. This time paying a little more attention to his hole.

Definitely pleasure. He moans softly, "Yes."

I can't help grinning, swirling my tongue around his tight pucker, licking and sucking and doing everything I love, everything that drives me insane and turns me into a writhing, moaning mess.

"Fuck. So good," he pants, and I grin against his ass, still spreading him wide with my hands, eating him out like my life depends on it. I can't help myself from grinding against the soft bedding, my cock hard and leaking. Desperate to be inside him.

His hole softens for me, letting my tongue in as I lick his insides and hold onto the tight globes of his ass.

"Fuck me. I'm ready," he complains, but I don't agree. He's not desperate enough. I want him pleading. I want him to be so desperate for it he can barely think straight. Until he can't even form words.

I release one of his cheeks and use one finger along with my tongue, pushing the finger deeper into him and feeling him clench around me. He pants, his hips thrusting back, trying to get more.

"Fuck. Me."

I grin and add another finger, licking down over his full, tight balls. "Patience."

"I swear to Go—" he gasps when my fingers stroke over his prostate. "Oh, holy fuck. Ngh..."

There we go. I remove my mouth from his balls and sit up, grabbing the lube. "You want this?" I ask, knowing the answer.

He glares at me over his shoulder, he's flushed red and sweating, fairing no better than I am. "You know I do."

I remove my fingers from him, and he groans, looking away from me and lowering his head to the bedding. I don't tease him long, adding lube to my fingers and moving them back to his hole, filling him and stretching him more. Getting him nice and wet, ready for my aching cock.

I slick myself, slathering lube all over my dick, careful not to linger too long because holy shit, it feels so damn good. I remove my fingers and line my cock up at his hole. "You ready?"

"Yes. Jesus. Just fuck me already, damn it."

"So impatient," I tease, leaning forward and sinking into him slowly. He's tight as hell, and it takes everything inside me not to come. I try to think about anything else, but it's impossible as I'm sheathed in his warm, tight heat. "Holy shit, you feel good."

He's gone still, but when I bottom out, I do too, not moving until he starts to squirm. "Are you going to fuck me or not? So far, this is a little disappointing, rookie."

I roll my eyes at him and lean forward a little more, pushing even deeper inside him as I nip at his shoulder. "Your body says otherwise. I bet that fat cock of yours is ready to explode."

"Yes," he says, not denying it, his hips moving a little, and I realize he's humping the bed, trying to get some friction. "Please. Just move. I need to come."

I pull back a little and snap my hips forward, knowing I nailed his prostate by the whimper he makes before he thrusts backward, trying to fuck himself on my cock. It's so damn good.

My vision nearly whites out as I stroke in and out of him, quickly losing my control. Wanting to race to the end but not wanting it to be over. "You know, if you hold off on coming..."—I bite at his earlobe—"you can have my ass."

"Oh, holy fuck." He shudders, and I feel it everywhere. His hole clenches tight around my dick and nearly ends it all right there. "Yes. That." He pushes himself up more now, no longer grinding against the bed. Then he starts to fuck himself against me even more, moving fast, knowing the pace will make me blow.

I grip his hips tightly, getting lost in his tight heat. I come with a guttural cry, filling him up, my cock jerking inside him over and over before it softens slowly. I watch in awe as it slips from him, my cum running out of his hole. "Holy fuck, that was good."

Before I even know what's happening, I'm lying flat on my back, and his hard body is covering mine, his wet cock dragging against my thigh. He's still hard as hell, leaking precum and soaking my thigh. "It's not over yet."

"Hell no, it's not," I agree, grabbing the lube and quickly preparing myself, not wanting a lot of prep. I slather it all over his dick and place him at my ready hole. "Fuck me."

He grins slowly, but no matter how horny he has to be, he doesn't rush. He moves slowly, pushing inside me and making us both feel it. Every single inch. Every second of him being inside me.

My own cock is already starting to grow hard. I can't get enough of him. And by the time he comes inside me, I'm coming again. When we catch our breaths, he rolls off me but doesn't go too far.

He hugs me to his side as we lie on the bed, both on our backs. "We should go on a vacation," I blurt out. Maybe it's the high from two orgasms, but I mean it.

"A trip?" He sounds amused but not opposed. "Where?"

I shrug. "Somewhere warm. It's almost winter. I always hated the winters. Too fucking cold. I want to go somewhere where they've never seen snow."

He seems to be thinking it over, but then shrugs. "Okay. Let's go on a trip. Somewhere warm."

"Yeah?" I roll to my side and look at him in awe. "You really want to?"

He rolls to his side too, both of us ignoring the sticky mess between us. "Yeah. I do. It's been a long time since I've taken a trip for leisure, and we have time before the next race."

"All winter," I say waggling my eyebrows.

"I'll have to talk Coop into watching the dog." He grins. "But I doubt that will be too difficult."

"I'm ready."

He frowns slowly though, and I'm worried he's rethinking it. "We'll have to sell it as a bromance vacation."

I grin at that. "Sure. Mahomes and Kelce do that all the time."

He grins and kisses my nose. "We'll go. Soon, yeah?"

"How about tomorrow?" I ask all too seriously. I am fucking ready.

He grins and hugs me to him. "Maybe give us a few days to plan, at least."

I huff, but I'm not actually upset.

"Fine."

He kisses me softly. "So impatient."

When it comes to him and me, though, I'm pretty sure I'm the most patient man in the world. I want to claim him every chance I get, but I've been pretty careful. I know it's because I get these moments with him, and now we're going to be traveling together.

As long as he's mine, I can be patient.