Control the Burn (Hearts & Horsepower Book 1) Read online

  Control the Burn

  Hearts & Horsepower: Book One

  Copyright © 2020 by A.K. Evans

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, distributer, or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Cover Artist

  cover artwork © Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations

  www.okaycreations.com

  Editing & Proofreading

  Ellie McLove, My Brother’s Editor

  www.mybrotherseditor.net

  Formatting

  Stacey Blake at Champagne Book Design

  www.champagnebookdesign.com

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek of Behind the Wheel

  Acknowledgments

  Connect with A.K. Evans

  Other Books by A.K. Evans

  About A.K. Evans

  The start of a new series always goes to the three loves of my life: my husband and my two boys. I love you.

  Animal magnetism.

  That was my best guess as to how I’d suddenly ended up here.

  Something I couldn’t explain had come over me.

  Because my body was pinned between two solid surfaces. But somehow, I never felt better, more alive, than I did right now.

  Only thirty minutes ago, I’d been in a similar spot. I had been in a dark corner of the crowded saloon, my back against the wall, and I wanted nothing more than everything the man who was kissing me had to give.

  One of his hands slid up my side while the other was curled around the side of my neck, his thumb stroking over the skin at the front of my throat.

  His lips were pressed against mine; his tongue was in my mouth. His incredible body was running the length of mine, cocooning me and protecting me from any onlookers.

  Despite how discreet we might have been, this was still completely out of character for me. Only a few hours ago, I was feeling frustrated about my prospects and the next thing I knew, I ended up here. I couldn’t understand how my frustration and impatience over the fact that I’d been trying for so long to find my guy had suddenly turned to this.

  This was pure, unadulterated lust and desire and want.

  So much need was coursing through my body.

  I was in the middle of a battle.

  My mind and my body both wanted different things.

  And right now, my body was winning.

  “Logan,” I breathed when he moved his mouth from mine and kissed me along my jaw.

  His body pressed in deeper against me as his hand that had been drifting up my side settled just below the bottom curve of my breast.

  I wanted him to touch me. I wanted that thumb to stroke up and over my breast. That’s what my body was craving.

  But my mind stopped me from begging because that wasn’t me. That wasn’t who I was.

  Earlier in the evening, before I’d even met Logan, I was talking with my sister and our mutual friend, Ava. While my sister, Jolie, encouraged me to be positive about a future relationship, Ava urged me to do whatever I needed to do to satisfy my needs. With a clear head, I could easily explain that there was no way I could do that. I’d always been the kind of woman who needed to be in a relationship with a guy before I’d be able to give that part of myself to him.

  Of course, I’d made that statement mere minutes before I met Logan Townsend.

  Today was his birthday.

  And I felt all sorts of things that made me want to make sure he had the best birthday of his life. I couldn’t explain it. Something about him was undoing me.

  From the moment I’d been introduced to him by his brother and sister-in-law, he hadn’t taken his attention off me. There was a large group of his friends and family here celebrating with him, but he didn’t seem to let that steer his focus away from me. I didn’t necessarily mind because I was finding that I liked being the center of his attention. Plus, it meant that I could keep feasting my eyes upon him.

  And that was no chore.

  Logan was incredibly handsome. The first thing that I noticed was his height. Even sitting down, I could tell he was tall. Considering I was five feet nine inches tall, I’d always been attracted to men who could tower over me. There was also his build. Logan was well-built. I was instantly drawn to his broad chest and shoulders. The way his shirt outlined his muscled arms had me yearning to be wrapped up in them. Light brown hair clipped tight to his head, a pair of walnut-colored eyes with cinnamon-colored flecks spattered throughout, and a dazzling smile all added to the allure of him.

  Initially, we’d just been sitting around at a table, hanging out, and talking while enjoying the live music from our local musician and hometown star, Elle. She was married to Levi Cunningham, owner of the local private investigation and security company.

  My conversation with Logan had been very comfortable.

  “So, your brother said you were here celebrating your birthday with a bunch of guys from the shop. What shop is he talking about?”

  “LT Motorsports,” he replied.

  I cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t know what that is,” I admitted.

  Laughing, he explained, “It’s my performance automotive shop. The easiest explanation I can give you if you’re not into cars or the industry is to say that we build race cars.”

  “Oh, okay,” I responded with a nod of understanding.

  “What about you?” he asked. “What do you do?”

  “I’m a nurse.”

  A devious grin spread across his face. I had a feeling he had an image of a naughty nurse costume in his mind. Rolling my eyes at him, I added, “A labor and delivery nurse, to be specific.”

  He immediately frowned. “There goes that fantasy,” he muttered.

  “Typical,” I shot back, shaking my head in mock disbelief.

  Logan chuckled, and I couldn’t stop myself from doing the same.

  Following Elle’s set, I ended up out on the dance floor for a bit with Jolie, Ava, Logan’s sister-in-law, Nikki, and a few other women that I hadn’t been formally introduced to. The entire time I was dancing, I could feel Logan’s gaze on me. To say that I hadn’t danced a little more seductively just to entice him would have been a lie.

  I was a determined woman, and I wasn’t against pulling out all the stops to get what I wanted.

  When the girls and I had taken a break from dancing and gone back to where Logan and his buddies were seated, my sister took off to head home to her man. Ava and the rest of the girls had cozied
up with the other guys that were there celebrating with the man who’d caught my eye. Logan stood, took me by the hand, and led us to the dark corner in the back of the saloon.

  And it was clear my determination to get Logan to really notice me had paid off. I was caught up in his kisses and the feel of his hands on my body. I wanted more. So much more.

  Which is precisely the reason why I couldn’t turn him down when he finally stroked his thumb up over my breast and pleaded, “Come home with me.”

  For a fraction of a second, I had considered declining. But I couldn’t. Even though I’d just met him, I knew what I felt. And I wasn’t willing to risk not acting on it.

  So, now I was here.

  Pinned between Logan’s solid body and the wall just inside his front door.

  Feeling everything I did, it was a wonder I managed to drive us back to his place. I hadn’t been drinking, so I offered to drive when he pulled out his phone to call for a ride. And though the drive had been mostly silent other than Logan giving me directions, the birthday boy made sure my mind and my body stayed focused on what we’d been doing at the saloon and what he planned to do back at his place.

  His hand had been reaching across the center console to rest on my thigh. But it didn’t just stay planted right above my knee.

  No.

  It had started there, and slowly, it began creeping up until it was firmly gripping my upper inner thigh. All Logan would need to do is stretch one finger out to the side and he’d touch me at the most intimate part of my body.

  But that wasn’t all.

  When we were stopped at a traffic light, Logan leaned across the console and kissed me. He didn’t just stop with a simple peck on the cheek.

  No.

  I didn’t know how it was possible, but his lips managed to gently caress my cheek before his free hand reached over and cupped the opposite side of my face. Urging me to look in his direction, Logan made it clear he was not interested in wasting an ounce of time. While we waited at the red light, he kissed me like I’d never been kissed before. He kissed me as though it was crucial to his survival.

  All of the attention he’d given me in the car had only served to build me up. By the time we stepped through the front door of his place, I was silently hoping he wouldn’t delay in taking us where we both wanted to go.

  Evidently, he had been feeling much of the same because I was here now. Only a few steps inside the front door, his chest pressed against mine, his hands roaming over my body, and his tongue exploring my mouth.

  I couldn’t remember ever feeling so turned on. And I knew it was because he was different. Something about him was completely unlike any other man I’d ever met.

  He was confident without being cocky.

  He spoke to me without allowing his eyes to drift elsewhere.

  His voice was deep and sexy while his body was warm and solid.

  But of all the things I liked about him, it was the spark that did me in. It was something much deeper than an instant surface attraction to someone. It was a magnetic pull to him that started somewhere deep inside my body. It wasn’t just butterflies in my belly. It was that mixed with an unexplainable need in my chest to have him, to make sure I didn’t let him get away. It was something telling me that if I didn’t act on my instincts, I’d suffocate without him.

  I couldn’t figure it out, and surprisingly, that didn’t bother me. All I knew was that I wanted Logan like I’d never wanted anyone.

  It happened so fast. Need, desperation, and desire fueled the blaze as we raced to tear each other’s clothes off. And before I knew it, Logan had rolled on a condom, lifted me in his arms, and pinned me against the wall. My legs immediately wrapped around his waist at the same time he slid inside me.

  He growled.

  Hell, I growled.

  From there, I was lost. I couldn’t speak for Logan, but I knew where I was. And that was about it. All the concerns I’d had about stepping outside the norm and doing something that just felt instinctually right for me were gone.

  Because there was no way to concentrate on any of that while Logan was moving inside me.

  “Logan,” I breathed as he relentlessly powered his hips forward.

  It was so good, so good I didn’t know what to do with myself. My hands were everywhere, our bodies moving together covered in a sheen of sweat, and Logan’s mouth alternating between kissing along my jaw and down the side of my neck.

  I loved it.

  Loved it.

  But I wanted more.

  My hands found their way into his hair, and I urged his lips toward mine. Logan gave me exactly what I wanted.

  His mouth captured mine, and a moment later, I parted my lips to allow him to explore. As much as Logan gave, he also took. And I wanted nothing more than to give him all I had to give.

  He had completely consumed every part of me, body, mind, and soul. There was nothing left for me to do but give and take with him.

  And it was glorious.

  My body rocking against his, my back still supported by the wall behind me, and his fingers pressing into my thighs. It was hot.

  One of Logan’s hands left my bare thigh and slid up over my hip, past my ribs, right to my breast. Continuing to thrust into me with such power, his thumb and forefinger tweaked my nipple hard.

  I moaned as I felt it building fast, deep in my belly.

  “Logan,” I breathed again, this time sounding more like I was pleading with him.

  Thankfully, in that one word, Logan knew what I was asking for. And just liked he’d done all the way to that point, he gave it to me.

  Harder.

  Faster.

  Deeper.

  My breathing became ragged and shallow. I felt like I was coming out of my skin with need and desire.

  It built faster.

  And as it did I knew I was heading for something big. Something incredible. No amount of thought or planning would prepare me for it. Of that, I was certain.

  My moans became whimpers. My shallow breathing turned to panting.

  “You going to come for me, kitten?”

  “Yes,” I rasped. “Yes, baby.”

  The next thing I knew, it hit. Just as I suspected, it hit hard. Wave after wave of my orgasm tore through me, and it was everything I could do to hold on to Logan—his body hard with muscle and slick with sweat—as it took over. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t control the burn.

  That’s precisely what was happening to me.

  I was burning up from the inside out with him, and it was the best thing I’d ever felt in my life.

  “Shit,” he hissed in a way that told me he was awestruck over something. I couldn’t pay attention to what it was, though, because I was still struggling to cope with what was happening to my body.

  Only when I reached the tail end of my orgasm did I realize Logan was still powering into me. I gave him a lazy, heated look. One look at it, Logan’s eyes darkened and he jerked his hips forward three more times until he finally, on the fourth thrust, planted himself there and let out a deep groan before capturing my mouth once again.

  We stayed like that a long time, neither of us moving. Or, at least, not moving anything but our mouths against one another.

  After we finished and had regained some control of our breathing, Logan pulled his mouth from mine and kissed along my jaw toward my ear. My head had dropped back as his hips somehow pressed deeper into mine. I moaned. Once Logan’s mouth had made it to my ear, he pulled the lobe between his teeth and sent a shiver down my spine before he whispered, “You’re incredibly sexy, Kendall.”

  “Mmm.”

  That was my response.

  I was so far gone, utterly spent, that I couldn’t properly speak.

  Luckily, Logan could.

  “Best birthday ever,” he shared quietly.

  A lazy but victorious smile spread across my face.

  Logan’s body vibrated with laughter. Through it, he asked, “Is this how you always ar
e?”

  At those words, it was as though he’d tossed me into an ice bath. My body tensed and my head snapped forward to make eye contact with him.

  “What?” I rasped.

  “Dead weight after sex,” he clarified. “I can see the triumph in your face, but it seems as though you’ve been rendered unable to move or speak.”

  Relief swept through me. The thought that he’d been referring to something else—that he believed I always went home with a guy I picked up—had me panicking for a few brief moments.

  “Sorry,” I murmured in response to his statement. “You’re just… it was… you’re really good, Logan.”

  That was truth. That, and the fact that it had been a really long time since I’d had the pleasure of being with a man like this.

  But I wasn’t going to tell him that.

  Another chuckle escaped from Logan. “I’ll take you to my bed and let you recuperate for a bit,” he started. “Then we’ll see if we can work on your stamina.”

  “I’ve got stamina,” I argued.

  The corners of Logan’s mouth twitched. His voice dipped low and he assured me, “You’ve got the stamina when it counts.”

  “Isn’t that all that matters?” I wondered.

  Somehow, his voice had dropped another octave when he replied, “Yeah, kitten, it is.”

  A small smile played at my mouth. I didn’t think I’d ever like hearing a man call me kitten, but when Logan did it with a voice like that, I had absolutely zero complaints.

  A few minutes later, I was curled up beside Logan in his bed. Initially, I’d been on my back, but once he disposed of the condom and joined me, he held out his arm and urged me to roll my body toward his.

  And now we were, as he had put it, recuperating. I had recovered about five minutes ago, but I didn’t want to tell him that. The truth was, as hot as what we had was, I liked this just as much.

  This felt normal to me, and I wanted to cling to that a bit. Given how out of character the last few hours had been for me, I needed something normal. Because if I was being completely honest with myself, a small part of me was feeling immense relief.

  As though he sensed something going on with me, he stated, “It’s like I can hear your thoughts.”