Page 29 of Overdrive (Speed Demons #1)

The heat ofJeddahwas fucking brutal, even as the sun began to dip below the horizon.

I'd never liked desert races. The heat was brutal—on the body, on the mind. It made everything worse.

Tires degraded faster. Focus slipped.

AndAurélie. She was everywhere.

Her car darted through the tight corners of theJeddahcircuit with newfound aggression, every adjustment her team had made clearly fucking paying off. She was faster, and she was coming for me.

The paddock buzzed with activity.FP2had wrapped minutes ago, and I should've been in my garage, debriefing with my team.

Instead, I was standing in the pit lane near theLuminisgarage. And I couldn't stop watching her.

She was perched on a stool, still in her race suit, though she'd peeled it halfway down to her waist, leaving just theLuminisfire suit hugging her frame.

And fuck me, that fire suit was tight. The fabric clung to her, damp in places from the heat, outlining every lean muscle and every curve.

Her blonde hair was damp as well, strands sticking to her temples.

Her flushed skin glowed under the dim lights.

She was hunched over a tablet, completely engrossed in data, fingers tapping against the screen, lips parting slightly when she frowned at something.

She nodded at whatever her engineer said, mouth moving in quiet conversation. She was focused. Completely locked in.

My gloves creaked in my grip, fingers aching with restraint. I dragged a hand down my face. No use. She was still under my skin.

Then she laughed. It was quiet. A small chuckle at something her engineer had said, her lips twitching at the corners. But it fucking wrecked me. That was my laugh. She laughed like that at me . Not at some random fucking engineer who didn't even know how to takeEauRouge flat-out.

Something ugly twisted in my stomach and made my insides boil. I fucking hated how much I wanted her eyes on me. Wanted to rip her attention away. Just once. Just now.

She wasn't even acknowledging me.

Aurélieshifted. Not much. Just a subtle tilt of her head—but her gaze flicked up. For a fraction of a second. A glance. A single, fleeting fucking acknowledgment.

She didn't react. Didn't give me a single goddamn thing. Just looked away dismissively, like I wasn't even standing here. Like I was nothing. Like I hadn’t ground my cock against her with her legs wrapped around me. Like she hadn't begged for it with her mouth on mine.

My fingers curled tighter, my breathing heavier now.

Jesus.

I rolled my shoulders, forcing myself to move, forcing the heat under my skin to stay buried. I turned away when I remembered I was needed in the media pen, and the world came crashing back in.

Bright lights. Gentle breeze. Power tools and loud hum of chatter. I exhaled hard. Right. This wasn't a fantasy.

One last glance. Just enough to further ruin me. Flushed skin. Parted lips. She was burned into me. And I walked away anyway.