Page 64 of Overdrive (Speed Demons #1)

I locked the bathroom door and leaned back against it, a shaky exhale slipping past my lips.

My heart thundered loud and relentless like I’d just crossed the finish line first.

The tile under my feet was freezing, jarring against the heat she’d left on my skin. A heat born from her touch, her kiss, her breath.

I pulled on my boxers and turned to the sink to splash cold water onto my face, the droplets stinging like sweat hitting hot asphalt on a summer track.

I gripped the edges of the porcelain basin, knuckles whitening, as I fought to steady myself.

But the memories flooded in with relentless clarity: her body arching beneath mine, the way her nails raked fire across my back and left red marks behind, the taste of her skin, her breathy gasps mingling with my name like a victory chant, how her body had responded to every touch.

This wasn’t supposed to happen—not like this.

She was supposed to be just another thrill. A spark to quench the tension that had been building between us for months. Hell, since we first spoke in Bahrain.

But she wasn’t just a spark.AurélieDuboishad struck a goddamned match and burned through every ounce of control I thought I had. That control that had finally snapped and I couldn’t help but fall headlong into the chaos she created in her wake.

Years.

The word echoed in my head like an engine at full throttle, drowning out every other thought. She had been watching me, wanting me, for years.

Before Bahrain. Before we ever spoke. Before I even knew her name.

Fuck.

My grip tightened on the sink. Water dripped from my jaw, but my brain was already hurtling backward—rewinding like a high-speed relay… searching for something I hadn’t known to look for.

And then a flicker. A half-buried, half-forgotten moment.

A girl.

Golden strands twisted into braids, a pair of hazel eyes peeking from beneath the brim of a team cap, standing in front of the monitors. She was way too young to be press, too quiet to be a fan, and too calculated to be anything but a driver.

She hadn’t spoken, hadn’t drawn attention to herself. But I’d noticed her. Just for a few seconds. Long enough for something to register in the back of my mind, a nagging sense ofdéjàvuI never bothered to chase down.

I never even knew her fucking name.

But I'd always felt drawn to her. Had felt my fucking heart stop when she stepped out of theLuminisgarage in Bahrain. She’d always fucking been there, orbiting this world on her own timeline.

And now? She was standing in my hotel room with my fingerprints all over her skin.

Christ.

My stomach flipped, like cresting the top ofEauRouge at full throttle, a feat that required an immense amount of precision and bravery.

The idea ofAurélieDubois—thisAurélie, the one who just came apart in my hands, the one who drives like she’s got something to prove—looking at me the way I’ve been looking at her? It knocked the air right out of my lungs.

I needed to know everything .

How long had she been watching me? What videos had she saved? She said she’d touched herself to them, but had she imagined me the way I’d imagined her?

My grip on the sink tightened until my knuckles popped.

Not yet, Fraser.

There were things she wasn’t ready to hear.

So I buried it. Shoved it down deep, where the truth wouldn’t slip through my goddamn fingers.

I was disheveled and undone—a far cry from the composed, untouchableCallumFraser I’d built my reputation on. My lips twisted into something between a smirk and a grimace. Control? That word didn’t mean shit anymore. Not where she was concerned.

This wasn’t just about the physical connection, though every nerve in my body still hummed with the memory of her, craved her despite just having her. It was the way she met me, match for match until there was nothing left but the raw, undeniable truth of what we’d done.

I needed space to breathe. To stop the emotions clawing up my throat like wildfire. Vulnerability I wasn’t ready for her to see when I didn’t yet understand it myself.

And yet, even as the satisfaction coursed through me, another feeling crept in—something sharper, more insistent. A craving. Because one night? One moment? It would never be enough.

If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t care if they walked away. That was the point. Keep them distant. Keep it clean. ButAurélie? If she walked away, I’d chase her.

And that scared the absolute shit out of me.

She wasn’t supposed to be different. I wasn’t supposed to want more.

But I did. I wanted so much fucking more.

I grabbed a towel, pressing it to my face, trying to steady the whirlwind inside me. A low, humorless laugh slipped out. Jesus fucking Christ, Fraser. You’re already gone.

The foil packet and used condom crinkled in the bin as I tossed them away, its purpose fulfilled, though it hadn’t done a damn thing to sate the hunger coiling tighter in my chest. She wasn’t just another conquest. That much was obvious .

I straightened, resolve hardening like steel. This would not be the end.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, the cool draft of the room greeted me, replacing the warmth we’d shared.

My eyes darted to the desk where we’d—God, the image of her there would haunt me in every hotel I stayed in from here on out—but it was empty now.

Instead, I found her near the doorway, her fingers skimming her clothes as though trying to compose herself.

She looked soft. Unraveled. Nothing likeAurélieDuboisthe world thought they knew.

I let the silence stretch, watching her. Letting the weight of it settle between us.

Finally, I took a slow, deliberate step toward her, my footsteps swallowed by the carpet, watching the way her spine straightened, like she was bracing for something.

“Where do you think you’re going?” My voice came out rougher than I intended. The idea of her leaving, walking out of this room, felt… wrong.

“I didn’t want to overstay my welcome,” she murmured, her gaze flickering to the door, though she made no move toward it.

I snorted, stepping closer. “Overstay? That’s ridiculous.” My tone dropped lower, an edge of possession bleeding into the words. “You’re not leaving here thinking this is a one-and-done,Dubois. I’m not finished with you.”

She didn’t speak, and I didn’t push. Instead, I crossed the space between us in two strides, my fingers brushing her arm, her body stiffening under the touch. “Stay,” I murmured, the word more a command than a request. “You don’t run from this—not from me.”

She looked tentative, maybe a little afraid.

Of what, I wasn’t sure, but I intended to find out.

Acting out of instinct, in a desperate attempt to keep her here—I grabbed the neckline of her tank top and yanked—because if her clothes were ruined, maybe she wouldn't leave.

The fabric tore with a satisfying sound. She gasped, swatting my hands away.

“Callum! What the fuck? ”

“You’re overthinking again. You agreed you wouldn’t do that tonight.”

Aurélielaughed bitterly, glancing down at her tattered shirt that was now backfiring on me as it exposed her tan, toned stomach and soft pink bra cupping breasts that had visible bite marks from our moment of reckless abandon.

As if she didn’t already have her name tattooed on my fucking soul.

Her hair was wild. I’d never seen it like that. Loose and tangled, the ends curling slightly from where my fingers had been in it.

Her lipstick had long since worn off, but her mouth was still pink, still swollen from me.

And her body?

Fucking hell.

The bite marks I’d left on her skin, the faint red streaks my nails had raked down her hips—I wanted to memorize them. I wanted to sink my teeth into her all over again just to watch them bloom darker.

That’s fucked up, Fraser.

Yeah, I knew it was, but I didn’t fucking care. She liked it as much as I did, and the thought made me feral. If I touched her again, she wouldn’t be leaving this room tonight. And that wasn’t part of the plan.

Except—when had there ever been a fucking plan?

Which was exactly my dilemma. She had completely fucked my life up in the best way.

“Right. Well, everyone knowsCallumFraser doesn’t hook up more than once. The fact I made it to two is probably a miracle, so I’d rather exit gracefully than be rejected.”

My eyebrows rose, and a slow grin spread across my face. “Really? Who said that?”

She grimaced. “The pit chasers. The entire fucking paddock.”

“And what makes you think you’re anything like them?”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “Because it’s true, isn’t it? That’s the reputation you’ve built,Callum. You’re the notorious ladies’ man, the one who leaves a trail of broken hearts behind him. The unattainable prize, the conquest no one can hold on to. ”

God, I could listen to her talk all day. Even if harsh truth struck a nerve.

She was right, of course. It was easier to live up to the reputation than to let anyone get too close. It protected me—kept the past tucked away where it belonged. ButAuréliehad slipped past my defenses, and I was too far gone to stop her. All of it left me reeling.

She thought I was just another playboy.

That was the version of me the world knew. The version I let them believe because it was easier. But if she knew the truth? If she knew that she’d been on my radar long before she should’ve been…

No. That was too much. That was something I wasn’t ready to give her. Not yet.

Instead, I did what I always did. I doubled down, and because I couldn’t tell her the real truth, I gave her a different one.

“You are everything I have ever wanted,” I murmured. Leaning closer, I caught a whiff of her intoxicating scent.

But the thing that really got me? Her perfume. It was lavender .

Soft, clean, barely there. But it had always been there.

It was those soft undertones that I hadn’t even realized drove me mad all along.

And now that I knew, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed before. Couldn’t believe that every time she walked past me in the paddock, I wasn’t already losing my fucking mind over it. I wanted to bury my face in her neck just to breathe it in.

“You think this is anything like that?” I gestured between us, the air charged. “You think this is just some casual fuck to me?”

Aurélieturned her head away, but I saw the look of uncertainty on her face that she was clearly trying to hide.

“This,” I said softly, “isn’t a game, love.”

Her hesitation lingered for only a second longer before she exhaled, her body softening, and I knew I had her.

That reluctance in her cracked something open in me, something I couldn’t ignore, no matter how much I wanted to keep this simple.

It just… wasn’t. There was something more here, and we both knew it.

“Besides,” I continued, straightening, “I haven’t tasted you yet, not really, let alone seen you completely naked.

” I realized what I was about to say, and as much as the thought of it scared me, she deserved the truth.

“So if you think you’re leaving right now, you’re out of your goddamn mind.

This isn’t over. I already told you, I’m not finished with you yet. ”

Even though I should let her go. I should let this be enough. But I wouldn’t. I fucking wouldn’t.

There was conflict on her face, but beneath it all, the undeniable glint of anticipation, of wanting. I put my hands on her shoulders and turned her around.

“Go take your minute,” I told her, my body thrumming with rekindled arousal, with a bone-deep need to claim her again. “And come back out when you’re ready.”

Her feet carried her into the bathroom, and then she shut the door behind her, and I knew she was here to stay. Mine, at least for the night.

I breathed a sigh of relief, dragging my hands down my face. No,Auréliewasn’t just another woman. She wasn’t just another race.

She was the fucking finish line.

And I’d be damned if I ever let her slip past me again.