Seduced by Sin: Sean (Rugged Riders #3) Read online

  He handed me a half dozen white roses from behind his back.

  I stepped back a bit and looked up at him. “What are these for?”

  “For you. Can’t I do nice things for you and bring you roses without you being suspicious?”

  I smiled and took the roses. “Thank you, you look handsome yourself. Let me put my flowers in some water and get my purse. Would you like to come in?”

  “Sure.” He came in and closed the door behind him. “You have a nice place. Smells like you and your perfume. Nice and sweet,” he exclaimed, looking around my living room.

  I blushed. “Thanks. I just showered.”

  “Too bad I missed that part.”

  I gave him a warning look, but by now, I expected comments like that from him.

  I walked over to my kitchen area, grabbed a tall vase, and filled it with water. I put the roses into the glass. “There.” I set the vase on my coffee table among some magazines. “I’ll be right back. You can take a seat while I go grab my purse.”

  I turned around to go and get my bag from my bedroom. I could feel his eyes on my backside as I walked out of the room. While there, I went back to my vanity to touch up my makeup and do one last check in the mirror.

  God…Sean had me running around like a brainless idiot. Why did my appearance suddenly matter so much? Was it because he was the Sean Brooks—high-profile, famous racecar driver? Or was it because I was actually attracted to him?

  I took a deep breath and hurried back into the living room. “Ready to go?”

  He had made himself comfortable on my loveseat.

  “I am. But first, we need to decide where to go.”

  He had both arms rested on the back of my sofa, and his shirt was pulled taut across his chest. I had the urge to join him and trace every curve and ridge on his body. The front of his slacks bulged where his dick was securely tucked away. I recalled the day he’d slid off his motorcycle and walked right toward me with swagger that commanded attention. All the attention. When I looked up again, he had a wide Cheshire grin on his face as if he knew that I’d been checking out his sizable package.

  “There’s a lounge nearby that’s hosting a comedy hour during dinner. They also have a full bar in the lobby,” he said.

  I shrugged. “If that’s where you want to go, I’m game.”

  I locked up my condo and we headed towards the elevator and down to the parking lot. We walked across the street to where he had parked in the visitor parking area. He placed his hand at the small of my back and led me toward his Range Rover.

  “What do you race now?” I asked as we made our way across the lot.

  “Cars and bikes. I’ll show you one day…if you want to take a ride with me.”

  “Sounds good.” My heart fluttered in my chest. The thought of jumping on a motorcycle with him while he drove at speeds faster than I’d ever gone excited me.

  “As for me driving this big truck, I need more space to carry my junk around. I look at a lot of real estate throughout the day. My nighttime hobbies, my street racing, call for something smaller, of course.” He opened the door for me and helped me up into the SUV.

  As we drove to the lounge, we talked about our workweeks. He mentioned nothing about NASCAR or underground racing, just his legitimate business. But I wouldn’t let him off the hook completely tonight. He’d told me I could ask anything. Before the end of our date, I wanted to delve deeper into what Sean was really all about.

  When we arrived at the lounge, he asked for valet parking before assisting me out of his Range Rover and handing the keys to the guard. When we were in the restaurant, we took booth seats near the back of the lounge. After sharing an appetizer, we enjoyed our main entrees paired with a bottle of wine. It took us about an hour to get through our meals. The whole time, his focus was on me. I almost wondered if his primary goal in taking me out was to just see me.

  I wasn’t interested in dessert, so we spent the rest of our time out on the restaurant’s deck, overlooking a large lake.

  “It’s so pretty out here,” I said, glancing up at the stars. I leaned on the railing and looked down at the moon’s reflection on the water.

  Heat enveloped me from behind, and then firm muscles were pressed against my back.

  “Not as pretty as you,” Sean said.

  I didn’t turn around or move away. He snaked his arms around my waist, and I let him. My eyes fluttered closed and I breathed in the fresh night air mixed with his cologne.

  “I guess I should say thanks,” I said. “I don’t get out very much.”

  “Why not? Don’t tell me it’s because of money. Because enjoying yourself has always been free.”

  “I’ve only been here a few months, so the city is still new to me. I’m not very trusting of anyone either,” I said.

  “I grew up in Virginia. I just made Atlanta my permanent home, as well. Most of my brothers are here. I like it.”

  “How many brothers?”

  “I have two blood brothers and the rest are my bonded brothers,” he said.

  “Bonded brothers? That sounds interesting.”

  “I’m pledged to Rugged, a motorcycle club. We’re a very close-knit group of men. We call each other brothers. We’re just as tight and loyal.”

  “Rugged?” I turned in his arms. “Is that what one of the R’s stands for on the shirt you were wearing at the coffee shop when we first saw each other?”

  He smiled. “You remembered what shirt I was wearing?”

  I blushed. “I remember a lot from that day. Thanks for the coffee, by the way.”

  His face was really close to mine, but he felt so good in my arms.

  “You’re welcome.” He reached up and slid his palm over my hair. “I’d very much like to explore more of the city with you, if you agree to stick with me.”

  “Okay.”

  His hand moved to the small of my back, and then his fingers traveled upward along my spine.

  He moved in closer and pressed his mouth to mine. His lips were incredibly soft—so perfect, so smooth against mine. His tongue found its way between my lips. We shared an intense kissing session under the moonlight, oblivious to any and everything around us.

  When he finally pulled away from me, his hand was on my ass. I tugged on the front of his shirt and pulled him back down for another kiss. I took control, threading my fingers at the back of his neck and deepening the kiss.

  He pulled away briefly and moved his lips down to my neck. When I felt his soft, warm breath against my skin, I whispered his name. I lifted my chin and closed my eyes as he nibbled and sucked gently on my neck. I moved my hands to his chest and kneaded the muscles there before moving down to the ripples of his abs. I wanted more of him. I wanted him in my bed.

  Suddenly, I realized where we were. And his hands had delved up under my dress. I pulled away. “We’re…we’re in public.”

  I was still panting lightly. I looked around at the few people nearby on the opposite end of the patio, but it didn’t appear that anyone had seen our intimate moment.

  “Yes, I know. I don’t think anyone else is concerned besides you, but I understand.”

  “I know. I got a little carried away. We shouldn’t have…I shouldn’t have…” my words trailed off.

  “You know, I’m sorry if I moved too fast,” Sean started to apologize. “I’m telling you the honest to God truth when I say that I really couldn’t stop myself. This attraction between us is something I can’t just ignore.”

  “Then we’ll work on it,” I said. “I appreciate that you understand.”

  “Have you been hurt before, Karlina?” he asked.

  I looked up at him. “Can you tell?”

  He sighed. “Let’s just say, it takes one to know one.”

  I pressed my hand to his chest. “Want to divulge a little more about that?”

  His throat seemed to tighten as he swallowed visibly. “No. Not that.”

  “Then we’ll leave it behind us and move f
orward.”

  The smile that followed was the highlight of my night.

  After another half hour of cuddling on the patio, he drove me home and took me back up to my condo.

  “I wish this night would never end,” he said, standing next to my door.

  “I had a great night, Sean. I hope we can do this again sometime.”

  “Well, why don’t we? My weeks are really busy with my flights in and out of the state, but I promise it won’t be for long.”

  I stroked his chin. “I understand.”

  “I’ll take you for a ride. What about next Saturday?”

  “Sure.”

  He took both of my hands in his.

  I leaned in to him to initiate the kiss. It was soft and sweet.

  “Goodnight,” I whispered, stepping into my condo.

  “Goodnight, beautiful.”

  He pulled the door closed.

  I locked the door and listened until his footsteps subsided. I couldn’t help but realize that I had never felt so anxious about getting to know any man as I felt right now.

  6

  The next week, Sean and I called each other several times at different times throughout the afternoon and night. I spoke with him at least once right after I got home from work, and once again before bed. As he had said last Saturday night, he had been out of town on business, so unfortunately, I hadn’t seen him at all. He’d missed his flight on Saturday after a business meeting went sour, so we had to call off our date. Today, Sunday, was the only time we had to spend one full day together before he had to do it all over again. He claimed he had some more personal business to conduct at a motorcycle shop here in the city, but we still wanted to see each other. I couldn’t wait to see him again.

  I got dressed in the sexiest casual outfit I could find, input the address he’d given me into my GPS unit, and drove over to the motorcycle shop to meet him.

  * * *

  When I arrived on the scene, I spotted Sean right away, standing in front of a huge garage with one other guy. The lot where the motorcycle shop was located had been recently filled in with asphalt. The parking lot lines I pulled my car between were also recently drawn. The garage that the men stood in front of was attached to the shop.

  I got out of the car, and Sean stopped everything he was doing and came to greet me.

  Before I could even utter a word, he kissed me with such urgency I felt like I was being swept off my feet. Actually, I was. He cupped my ass with both of his palms and pulled me against his body to kiss me deeper. He smelled of aftershave, cologne, engine oil, and man—all rolled into one. I loved it. I gripped his shirt in my palm and pulled him solidly against me.

  “I’m glad to see you,” he said when we broke away from the kiss. He took a small step back and looked me up and down.

  My top and jeans were a little tight, but I’d purposely worn the outfit for him.

  “The feeling’s mutual.” I smiled, equally admiring his sexiness. Even in a plain white t-shirt and worn blue jeans, he was ridiculously handsome.

  The other guy behind us cleared his throat, so I reluctantly lifted my attention away from Sean. The resemblance between the two men was striking.

  “Are you two…?”

  “Meet my brother, Marcus,” Sean said.

  Marcus approached me and we shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Karlina.”

  “Hi. You two have to be blood brothers. You look almost exactly alike,” I said.

  “We are,” Marcus said. “Except I look way better.”

  The brothers shared a laugh and a few jabs at each other.

  “Marcus is the middle sibling, and I’m the youngest. Besides brothers, we’re both part of the Rugged crew.”

  “Now I see why I’m being shoved aside today, bro,” Marcus exclaimed. “I won’t even try to convince you anymore.”

  “I tried to tell you. Don’t even try.” Sean pulled me against his side and kissed the top of my head.

  Marcus jangled his keys in his palm. “Well, I’m going to head out before it gets too late. Tanya’s cooking my favorite dinner tonight and then we’re watching some old comedies. You two are welcome to stop by anytime if you aren’t doing anything.”

  “Thanks, bro.”

  I lifted my chin and kissed Sean after his brother had left. “You’ve been working.”

  “Not really. The shop’s closed today, but Marcus and I are revamping an old racecar I bought. A Mitsu Evo.” He walked us into the garage area. “This used to be a chop shop until we bought it from the owners to launch the motorcycle shop. The guys will repair just about anything, but this place is mostly for motorcycle lovers.”

  “Do you plan on using this in a race?” I asked, walking into the garage and checking out the car.

  “Yeah. As soon as she’s ready,” he said.

  “When was the last time you raced?” I asked, turning around and meeting him by the workbench.

  “Just this past Wednesday, down in Florida,” he answered.

  “It’s dangerous, no?”

  “It is, but I’ve been racing since high school.”

  I traced the tats on his arms. “Why continue to do it?”

  “I’m addicted. It’s in my blood. Once a racecar driver, always a racecar driver.”

  “What does your family say about it?”

  He chuckled. “They want me to stop, of course.”

  “Will you?”

  “One day…most of the time one addiction replaces another,” he said, pushing his hand up the base of my neck and then pulling me to his lips. “You know what else I’m addicted to?”

  “What?”

  He pressed his lips into mine. Once. Twice.

  “You, and kissing you.”

  “That sounds promising.”

  After a few minutes of fooling around in the garage and asking about his races, we agreed it was time to venture out and find something to eat.

  “I’ll drive.” He held up a helmet. “If you’re up to it today.”

  I bit my lip.

  “Nothing too fast today,” he said. “I promise. You can leave your car locked in the garage and I’ll drive you back out to come get it.”

  I took the helmet. “Hmmm. I can’t believe I’m trusting you with my life so soon.”

  He threw his head back, picked up his own helmet, and laughed. “I’m a pro, baby. You have nothing to worry about.”

  * * *

  I lived through the motorcycle ride, but of course, that wasn’t really a surprise. I had come to trust Sean more than I thought.

  Once he brought the motorcycle to a complete stop in the parking lot, he tore off his helmet and then helped me out of mine. To the right of the parking lot was a huge warehouse and garage and the racing tracks were situated to the left of us. There were a few cars on the circuit driving their laps and about a dozen others were seated on the bleachers looking on and socializing.

  “Is this where you race?” I asked him as we headed toward the tracks.

  “It’s where I used to come to practice before an official race,” he said. “Now that I’m retired from NASCAR, I come out every once in a while to hang out with my old crew.”

  “And what about your other side gig?” I asked.

  “Street racing?” he asked. “That happens spontaneously at odd hours and it’s usually just for fun, to satisfy my need for speed, or for money. I used to earn more on racing bets in a week than I do with flipping houses, but the risk is not ideal…obviously.”

  “Yes…obviously.” I grabbed his hand and linked my fingers with him. “But you’re a pro, right?”

  He grinned and leaned down to kiss me just before he opened the gate for me.

  As soon as we were spotted, a handful of people immediately flocked to Sean. After several handshakes and bear hugs, the attention shifted to me.

  “I don’t believe we’ve met your new lady,” a guy named James said.

  “This is Karlina, my girlfriend. I brought her out to check out the
scenery.”

  “Ah, nice to meet you. You race?” James asked.

  “Of course not,” I half laughed. “I barely held myself together on the motorcycle on the way here.”

  “Oh, you’ll be fine, sweetness,” James reassured me, tugging on a pair of leather gloves. “You racing today, Sean?”

  “Maybe just one lap after these guys finish up. I’m here to show Karlina the ropes.”

  James clapped Sean on the back. “We’re testing out that high-octane Aston Martin I told you about. Wanna give it a try?”

  Sean’s excitement grew and I witnessed the spark in his gaze go from fifty to one hundred. Even though I was new to the sport and very well aware of the dangers involved, I could tell he was passionate about this and I didn’t want to take that away from him.

  I looked out onto the track and my breath hitched when a car whizzed by on the track at an insane speed.

  Sean turned to look at me. “Will you be okay?”

  I smiled. “I came to watch you do what you do.”

  He led me over to the bleachers and made sure I was comfortable. Then he gave me another kiss and joined his racing friends.

  He quickly suited up in a racing jumpsuit, and I caught the spectacular shape of his ass just before he folded into the Aston Martin. The same butterflies that had awakened in my stomach when I’d first seen him in the parking lot at the coffee shop excited me today.

  When he revved the engine, my heart took a double dip. I wrung my hands together and bit my bottom lip nervously. I knew this wasn’t the real thing, not a real race with all of the dangers involved, but this would be the first time I had ever seen a man that had truly grown on me do something like this. Risk his life this way.

  When he pulled off, I braced myself. One minute into the lap, my nerves started to calm down and the tension folded away. For the next ten minutes or so, I enjoyed the show. Sean was in control and there was nothing to worry about. I loved when a man had everything going for himself and never took on more than he could handle. I saw all of those qualities in Sean.

  7

  “Make yourself at home. Drinks and wine coolers are in the fridge,” Sean said.