Racing Hard (Dirt Track Dogs Book 4) Read online

  Surge, the wildest of all the Dirt Track Dogs, is finally ready to settle down. His work hard, play hard, live loud mentality has never failed to make life interesting for him. And that’s why he’s got his eye on an interesting woman. A hot as hell werecat construction worker who melts his heart as much as she revs his engine. Now if he could only tame his wild wolf and the demons from his past before she becomes just another sad love song.

  Tana isn’t looking for a mate. She’s already been there, done that, and has the scars to prove it. The job she took building a house for the wolf pack wasn’t supposed to make her question that decision, but watching the way they love and respect their mates has her wondering if she could ever have that kind of connection with someone else. A smirky, sexy, obnoxious someone with a penchant for dirty things perhaps?

  When a tragic accident leaves Tana with unexpected responsibilities, she’s forced to confront the beasts from her past. Lucky for her, Surge knows a thing or two about past mistakes, and he’s not about to let her face them alone.

  Racing Home

  By P. Jameson

  Racing Hard

  Copyright © 2015 by P. Jameson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database, without prior written permission from the author, with the exception of brief quotations contained in critical reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this work may be scanned, uploaded, or otherwise distributed via the internet or any other means, including electronic or print without the author’s written permission.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Other books by P. Jameson

  Dirt Track Dogs

  Racing the Alpha (Book 1)

  Racing the Beast (Book 2)

  Racing Home (Book 3)

  Racing Hard (Book 4)

  Ozark Mountain Shifters

  A Mate’s Denial (Book 1)

  A Mate’s Sacrifice (Book 2)

  A Mate’s Revenge (Book 3)

  A Mate’s Submission (Book 4)

  Holiday Novella

  A Mate’s Wish (Amazon)

  Chapter One

  He was going to have her, and not a soul on earth would stop him. She was the one. The one that would finally satisfy his wolf after years of searching. And then years of not. And then months of living in ConfusedWackyMixedSignal-landia while watching his boys find happiness.

  Surge leaned back against the side of the truck, jammed his hands in his pockets, and stared through the sultry heat that felt solid instead of permeable. He watched Tana as she argued with Owyn, flailing her arms at the foundation for Punk and Beast’s new house. They were the last of the crew of panthers who’d helped rebuild after the tornado, and to Surge’s delight, the two got along as well as a snake and a mongoose.

  Planting her hands on her hips, she swiveled her head and Owyn turned to stalk away.

  Fucking beautiful. Especially when she was angry. Her fiery little attitude got him going like nothing else.

  He looked down at his bastard cock. “Don’t you fucking start, you traitorous asshole.”

  The thing had been unpredictable ever since their alpha found his mate and the club began its sexual awakening. Or reawakening, in Surge’s case.

  He’d had plenty of women in his lifetime. Both before the fire and after. He was admittedly a manwhore until Drake put a stop to it with his pact to eliminate every possible vice within their pack.

  It was the best fucking thing to ever happen to Surge. To all of them really. His soul had been dying a slow death, giving away so many pieces of himself to strangers, while he laughed it all away.

  These days they were stronger. Especially the mated ones.

  He strolled over to Tana, who stood scowling at the foundation like it had done something disgusting.

  “What is it, baby girl? What’s the problem? Maybe I can help fix it.” He was decent with a hammer and nails. Though Diz was the one to call if there was a structural problem.

  But Tana turned her brown-eyed scowl directly on him, and his cock went from semi-hard to rock solid.

  “I’m going to assume you don’t know how hard it is for a woman builder to gain respect in a group of large cats who think having a vagina means you need to be set on a shelf for safe keeping.”

  Surge blinked, trying to see her point.

  “Let me simplify it. I’m going to assume you don’t know how degrading it is to be called baby girl.”

  Surge laughed even though it wasn’t funny. Because that’s what he did. It was annoying as hell, but he couldn’t help it. There was probably a clinical definition for his fits of random laughter but he didn’t need to know what it was called. He knew what had caused it and that was enough.

  Luckily, the sound cut off when Tana’s scowl deepened.

  Surge frowned in response.

  “What do you mean degrading?” he asked. “How can it be degrading if I meant it as an endearment? Doesn’t intention matter at all?”

  Her brows arched upward, disappearing behind the short curls that hung across the front of her face. “Intention?”

  “Yeah.”

  She turned to face him full on, her dirt streaked tank top sliding down one shoulder as she regarded him. “Your laughter pretty much tells me your intention, doesn’t it? You think it’s funny to call me something I find degrading.”

  No. He didn’t think it was funny. But that didn’t keep him from laughing again anyway.

  Damn wolf was getting a kick out of this. Meanwhile his kitty cat was not.

  “Trust me,” he said, “My laughing tells you fucking nothing about me.”

  Tana arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. “Really.”

  “I can’t help it. It comes without trying. Most of the time anyway. It’s mighty inconvenient in times like this actually.”

  She tipped her head to one side and his eyes fell to her wild hair as it teased that bared shoulder.

  “It’s unwilling? Like Tourette’s or something?”

  Surge shrugged. “Or something.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Are you shitting me right now?”

  For once, his wolf responded as it should and resisted laughing. “In fact, I’m not.”

  “You’re not, are you?”

  Surge shook his head, wanting to move the subject away from his fucked-upness. “You gonna tell me what has you all spittin’ and stompin’ over here?”

  “I didn’t spit.”

  Surge laughed, and she narrowed her eyes. “Real or not real?”

  “Real, that time.”

  Tana threw her hands up. “Whatever.” She turned back to the foundation. “Owyn was in charge of digging and pouring the foundation, and he measured wrong. Two feet short on this fucking wall. They poured the cement this morning and now Beast’s house is smaller than it should be. Not to mention the plans will have to be rewritten. Everything will have to be adjusted. This means more time. More money. More everything.”

  More time was fine by him. Anything that gave him more time with her, he couldn’t call a bad thing, but clearly this was bothering her.

  “I’m sure Beast won’t eat you for it.”

  She let out a sharp, high pitched laugh. “Can you say the same about Punk? This was supposed to be her reading room or something like that. It sounded pretty important.”

  Surge let out a low whistle. “My experience with Punk is that you should never chance it. Girl took me down the first time we
met, never mind that she’s human.”

  “Yeah. That’s what I figured.”

  “But you’re in luck.” He pulled out his phone, scrolling through the contacts. “I think I know someone who can help.”

  Within minutes he’d spoken to Diz and the wolf was on his way to the build site, which was only a short drive across the property from DTD’s shop.

  Diz parked his truck next to Surge’s and strolled across the torn up ground until he stood before them. “How can I be of service?” The bastard grinned, winking suggestively at Tana. And for him, she had a smile. Not a sarcastic one either. A normal ol’ everyday smile.

  Surge’s crazy animal raised his hackles, and he looked at his packmate a little differently.

  Threat.

  “Let me see the plans,” Diz said, holding his hand out. Apparently Surge had missed the entire part of the conversation where Tana explained the problem.

  She pulled a folded piece of paper from her back pocket and handed it to Diz, who took it between his thumb and forefinger.

  “Damn, woman. What have you done to this thing? Did you use it to shovel dirt or something?”

  Tana frowned as he dusted off the paper, opening it to read.

  They waited as Diz turned it from side to side, squinting and mumbling to himself.

  “You got a pencil?” he asked, holding his palm out like a doctor awaiting a scalpel.

  Tana retrieved one from her tool belt, which drew Surge’s gaze to her waist. Good damn, her hips were perfectly flared, making the tool belt her sexiest accessory.

  “Turn around.” Diz motioned to Surge.

  “Huh?”

  “Turn around. I need to use your back.”

  Surge frowned, but went along with his strange request. Diz spread the plans on his back, using him for a table while he scribbled adjustments.

  Surge found Tana’s gaze and she smirked.

  Oh, she thought this was funny did she? He narrowed his eyes. Just wait, baby girl. Wait until I get you beneath me. She wouldn’t be smirking then.

  “Okay, I think I’ve got it. Come look, Tana.”

  Surge rolled his eyes as the two of them bent over his back, discussing the plans.

  “If you give a foot here, in this entryway, and another on the bedroom at the opposite side of the house, it’ll make up the difference. And I’ll bet Punk won’t even notice.”

  “Hmm,” she murmured. “I think you’re right. Yeah… we can just move those walls.”

  “Right. And that’s just an extra bedroom, right?”

  “As far as I know. Or… maybe it would be for a young, but either way one foot smaller won’t hurt I don’t think.”

  Diz was quiet. Very quiet.

  Surge turned his head to look at him and found a goofy ass grin on his face.

  “Young,” Diz whispered. “Wow. I never thought of it, but one of them could have young soon. Did you, Surge?” He didn’t wait for him to answer. “I mean, wouldn’t that be a fucking blast, having a little nephew around to drag to the tracks? Or a little she-wolf? We could get her one of those pink checkered racing jackets.”

  “Sure,” Surge agreed. “You done using me as a table?”

  “Oh. Yeah.”

  Diz folded the plans and handed them back to Tana, who said nothing. She shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable.

  “Young, man…” Diz murmured. “Who knew my wolf would dig that idea so much.”

  Surge hadn’t thought of having young for years. Decades even. The idea still felt like a raw hole in his heart. He didn’t know if he’d ever have that. For now, he’d just back up his brothers if they decided to have wolflings.

  “Yeah, so… thanks,” Tana said, looking everywhere but at him and Diz. “You came to my rescue, so that should get your dogs macho-howling for a day or two.” Her tone was sarcastic. “Until the next time I’m a damsel in distress.” She gave an awkward salute and turned to stalk away.

  Laughter bubbled from Surge’s throat, but the middle finger she flashed behind her back made him wish he was a little less crazy. Because he didn’t find her strange reaction funny. In fact, it made his wolf edgy.

  Edgier.

  His kitty cat had secrets. And he’d have to unveil every one of them before he could ever make her his.

  His laughter turned to cackling.

  A little mystery, a little chase, was exactly what his animal needed.

  Here, kitty kitty.

  Chapter Two

  The sound of screaming engines blistered Tana’s ears as she watched the race, keeping her focus on two cars specifically. Two Dirt Track Dogs were neck and neck on the oval, leaving the other cars in the dust, and she wasn’t rooting for either of them to win.

  They pissed her off. Though she couldn’t really say why. They only had to breathe it seemed, and her cat got all hissy, claws coming out to scratch.

  She clenched and unclenched her fists, shaking her head. It wasn’t Surge and Diz’s fault she was cranky. She needed to release some of this pent up tension. She needed a stress reliever. Building used to do the trick, but these days it wasn’t working. Her animal had become increasingly frustrated.

  Surge drifted around the curve in the track and Diz caught a miniscule lead, gassing it.

  Tana’s heart pounded at how close this one was, and the crowd cheered like a crazed mob at a rock concert. Had she ever felt anything as invigorating as a few hours at the track? So much adrenaline. Almost too much. Her panther licked it up like cream.

  She glanced at Punk. On her feet, screaming at the cars like she wanted to bitch-slap them, she was a scary human. But she’d been the one to convince Tana to come to the races weeks ago when they’d finished cleaning up the storm damage. Tana didn’t know if she should thank her or eat her alive.

  This shit was addicting.

  A crash down the lane pulled her attention away from Surge and Diz. It was a small wreck, but the collective OHHH from the crowd made it seem worse, and the caution flag went up while they cleared the track.

  A glance around left her feeling out of place. She was used to getting dirty working in construction, but this rowdy, raunchy life wasn’t her everyday norm. Spitting insults while getting dirt and mud-sprayed, was a far cry from her life on the peaceful lodge deep in the Ouachita Mountains.

  Lake Haven Lodge was a retreat. People went there to unwind. For peace and quiet. Rest and relaxation. High excitement wasn’t their thing. And although some of the cats quarreled, their leader, Magic, kept a pretty tight rein on things. The business of the lodge took precedence over whatever spat they might have. As a general rule, personal relationships always took a back seat to anything else.

  The only exception was Renner. He and his mate left the entire clan confused.

  But the dogs lived in a whole different world. No matter that it was the same state.

  Maybe that’s why Tana wanted to stay when her crew had finished repairing Annie’s house. She’d needed a change, or a distraction, or who the hell knows what. Something. But naming that thing was impossible. And so far, she hadn’t found what she was looking for.

  The green flag went up and the race was back on, with Surge pulling ahead again.

  He was a odd one, that guy. The wolf living inside was the least strangest part about him, she was pretty sure. What troubled her wasn’t his sudden outbursts necessarily—she could hang with the freaky ones all day—but the way she found herself wanting to get naked with him. He was downright sexy, even with the hyena qualities. His hair was buzzed short so there was nothing to hang down and hide the dimples at the sides of his mouth. And every single time those suckers came out to play, her ovaries went into overdrive.

  Like, where did that come from? She hadn’t wanted anything sexual from a man in years. Not since her intended mate attempted to claim her. Brutally.

  Her hand went to the scars she hid behind her thin cotton shirt. Claw marks that stretched from her ribs to her crotch. The bastard had slashed
her deep when she refused to be his baby factory.

  Now she’d never have a young of her own.

  If she’d known denying him would end her chances at ever holding a baby in her arms, she might’ve thought twice.

  Maybe.

  Who knows.

  At the time, mothering a kitten didn’t sound like anything she was interested in. Especially in the way of the cats, where the male had no regard for the mother’s wishes. But the older she got, the more her empty, ravaged womb saddened her.

  A hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to jump. “You okay?” Punk yelled, but Tana had to read her lips to understand her over the roar of engines.

  Tana nodded, turning her attention back to the track. Diz sped ahead of Surge, picking up speed on the straight.

  And then there was Diz. The only other unmated shifter in the bunch. He was attractive, no doubt. But no matter how many times he sniffed her, she wasn’t his intended mate. And that’s what he really wanted. She could tell. He desired a family of his own so bad he wore it like a neon sign on his forehead. And since a person can’t see their own forehead, he probably didn’t even know how bad he wanted it. He’d have to take a good look in the mirror to fix that shit.

  They were on the last stretch. Diz was going to win this one. He was a half a car length leading.

  The crowd went wild as he finished with Surge tight on his wheels.

  Punk pulled Tana from her seat and dragged her down the bleachers to celebrate with the rest of the dogs. There was so much back slapping she wondered how the wolves didn’t break into a fight. But it was all in good fun, and once again, she was reminded how different they were from her clan of big cats.

  A loud whoop, had her head jerking around to find the sound coming from Surge. No surprise there.

  He jerked the helmet from his head, mud caking his suit and face. She had to smile at his expression. He was lit up with excitement, his pale eyes practically glowing as he hooked an arm around Diz’s neck and let out a round of laughter.

  “What a fucking rush, amiright? It’s like I can’t even race without winning. It’s sad really. For you guys. Not me.”