Read Online Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy - Free Book Online Page A

you.”
    “True.”
    “But as for a more rigid set of rules, I don’t know. I’m going to have to read this book—which needs a nickname, by the way. I can’t keep calling it How to Marry a Race Car Driver in Six Easy Steps . I think we should just call it the Man Manual . Or Six Steps .” Suzanne wiped her dewy forehead. “Let me borrow it so I can help you with your thesis. I know a ton of drivers. I can introduce you.”
    Imogen sighed. “I can’t let you borrow it. Ty borrowed it from me last night.”
    “What?” Suzanne squawked. “Why the hell would he borrow a manual on snagging a man?”
    “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I think he was doing it to be funny, but I’m not really sure. This was after, uh, he decided we shouldn’t have sex, and I think he was trying to lighten the mood.”
    Imogen had lain in bed for two hours staring at her ceiling trying to figure out exactly why Ty had come on so strong, then changed his mind. Had he really been telling the truth that he didn’t want her to feel awkward, or had he lost interest in the face of her prying questions and blanket statements about sex? Either way, it was just mortifying, and despite her best efforts to feel otherwise, she felt rejected. Intellectually, she knew it didn’t matter, that it had been for the best, frankly, because she had been something of a wreck just anticipating how she might disappoint him. She could only imagine how disastrous it would have been if they had actually gotten to the point of removing clothing, but she still couldn’t help but feel, well, rejected.
    “Come again?” Suzanne asked, gripping the sides of her treadmill as she stared at Imogen. “What do you mean Ty decided you shouldn’t have sex? What the hell happened? I didn’t even know you were with him last night.”
    “Well, he needed a ride after he and Nikki broke up. We were talking and he kissed me and we decided to have sex.” When she said it out loud, it all sounded rather dubious. “Then he drove my car to his place and said we shouldn’t have sex. Then he borrowed the book and I left.” Imogen looked around the gym to make sure no one had heard what she had just said. The gym they were at was a haven for race car drivers, and one of them could be wandering by at any given moment. It was originally why she had chosen it, at Suzanne’s recommendation, but now she was thinking it wasn’t all that wise.
    “Wow. That’s weird. Just weird. How was the kiss? Did he suck or something? Maybe he was embarrassed.”
    “He didn’t suck.” Not in the slightest. She had been completely prepared to have her mind blown in bed, given what a sampling of his kisses had done to her. “And I don’t really think that he has confidence issues. I just think he realized that I’m not his usual type and that he’s not really attracted to me.”
    Which she found more than mildly distressing.
    “Oh, that’s horse pucky,” Suzanne said. “If the man wasn’t attracted to you, he wouldn’t have been cramming his tongue down your throat in the first place.”
    “I believe it’s universally accepted that men frequently engage in sexual acts with women they do not find attractive. Hence the origin of the alcohol-related one-night stand and the term beer goggles .”
    “Well, he wasn’t drunk and he’s not a teenager. Not to mention he may have a thing for young and dumb, but Ty is a good man. He would only have sex with a woman if he was attracted to her. I’m sure of it. And if he was certain she was attracted to him.”
    Suzanne’s hand shot out and grabbed Imogen’s wrist. “Oh, my Lawd, what if he thought you weren’t attracted to him ? That would explain why he pulled the plug.”
    Imogen was struggling on her machine to find a rhythm, so Suzanne’s unexpected contact caused her to lose her balance. Grabbing the handles of her treadmill, Imogen slowed down her pace and tried to recover. “I don’t know. I suppose it’s possible,