Full Throttle Read Online Free PDF Page A

Or was it possible his jealousy wasn’t so one-sided?
    Still not sure of her mood, he kept his tone casual. “After all this time?”
    â€œYeah. Though I’ll be damned if I know why.”
    â€œSimple. You still want me.”
    She shook her head. “I can’t.”
    So much for mutual jealousy. “Why not?”
    â€œWe work together, and the team needs us to be professional. You need to focus on driving. I have to keep everybody mindful of our goals. We have too many important races in front of us. We have a championship to win. We—”
    He held up his hand to stop her. “I know.”
    There was so much at stake—millions of dollars, the respect of the team, not to mention their careers. If they got involved again, and it ended badly, they could jeopardize so many people’s lives.
    Her gaze connected with his, her green eyes shadowed. “So why does none of that matter?” she asked, her voice smoky and low. “Why, after Sunday, can’t I stop thinking about you?”

CHAPTER THREE
    H ER CONFESSION still hanging in the air, Lexie watched Kane’s eyes widen. He reached for her, then drew back, dropping his hand to his thigh. “I can’t stop thinking about you, either.”
    More than anything, she wanted to lay her head against his shoulder, for him to stroke her hair and gather her close. She actually felt tears stinging her eyes for all the regrets she had when it came to Kane Jackson. “We can’t do this. Not now.”
    â€œNo, we can’t.” For a second, longing lit his eyes, then he looked down. “And I’m sorry about yesterday. When we…”
    â€œKissed.”
    â€œRight. That. I shouldn’t have grabbed you.”
    â€œThat’s the most hot-blooded I’ve seen you in months.” His gaze flew back to hers, and she smiled. “It was welcome in the professional sense.”
    â€œBut not personally.”
    â€œWe can’t.”
    â€œYou said that already.”
    She sighed. So much of her past was tied up in Kane. Those memories—of herself and Kane at seventeen, the realization that twelve years had passed, and she hadn’t had a serious relationship since—made her much more emotional than normal.
    After her mother’s death when she was twelve, she and her father had moved to Mooresville from California. They’d clung to each other, learned from each other and become friends far earlier than most young women did with their fathers.
    Through grief, loneliness and adolescent confusion, they’d used racing to connect and fill the void in their lives.
    She’d been comforted and exhilarated by the competition, by the sheer power and speed of those 700-plus horsepower engines, by the sounds of the screaming fans, by the new family she’d built.
    But by the time she was a senior in high school, as she came to better understand her parents’ great love for each other, and her relationship with Kane deepened, she realized she’d always be second in his life.
    She’d dreamed of dating someone who didn’t care about racing, or at least wasn’t intimately involved with the sport. She wanted to talk about movies and music. She wanted to leave racing stats and strategy at the shop.
    And that just wasn’t possible with Kane.
    He was a rising star. He came to life behind the wheel. In racing, he’d finally found a passion where he couldn’t be compared to his father. And no one, not even her, could compete with that.
    She covered Kane’s hand with hers. He clutched her fingers. Her stomach tightened.
    Longing, sharp and sweet, spread through her veins. So much time had passed since she’d felt such a sensation, she might not have recognized it with another man. But with Kane, the feeling was familiar, even if it had been years since they’d shared it.
    â€œSo much of what we want is hovering just beyond us,” she said