Page 6 of Fast & Reckless
“I didn’t realize we needed to get to know each other,” she said slowly, feeling her way through his conversation. She thought she was getting a vibe from him, but it might just be in her imagination. He was probably like this with everyone. Guys like him usually were.
He took a step closer to her and her whole body went on alert. Well, she was human. There were very few people who would not respond to the looming presence of someone like Will Hawley. There was just somuchof him, and it was all so hot and so close, and he smelled really, really good.
“Listen,” he said lowly. His posh English accent slid slowly over her like melted chocolate over ice cream. “These sorts of dinners tend to be a little dull, but they never go very late. Why don’t we grab a drink afterward? Let me welcome you to the team properly.”
And there it was. Her instincts weren’t wrong. There was no question in her mind that welcoming herproperlywould involve a lot more than drinks. Her nerves fired. Part of her wanted to know what would happen if she said yes, and for one split second, she found herself leaning in to him, closer to that gorgeous face, that smooth-as-silk accent, that delicious scent …
No.
Not this time. Mira pulled back and managed to mumble, “I have a lot of work to do.”
His voice dropped into a timbre that had her hands curling into fists. “Tonight? Really?”
She didn’t mean to look at his mouth, but somehow her eyes snagged on those lips as they curled into a smile, and she imagined what it would feel like to—
She took a hasty step back. “We’d better—um … they’re waiting for us.”
She turned, intending to head into the restaurant and far away from him, but then she felt it … his hand closing gently around her wrist.
“Hey, don’t run off yet,” he murmured.
She felt electrified from head to toe, excruciatingly aware of every beautiful inch of him right behind her. She could almostfeelthe heat of his body. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and then the sensation flowed downward, along her spine and out through her limbs, like molten gold.
He was barely touching her, a loose grip she could have broken out of in an instant. But the heat of his palm, the electric brush of his fingertips against the sensitive skin of her inner wrist, froze her in place.
Like one of those dumb rabbits who freeze in front of a snake. Except she was no dumb bunny, not anymore, and no snake was going to hold her in his thrall.
She shook her arm free with far more force than needed and it threw her off-balance. She stumbled. Will jerked backward too, both hands raised, either to reach for her or fend her off, she wasn’t sure which. Didn’t matter.
“Look, Mr. Hawley,” she snapped, her voice nowhere near as strong as she would have liked. She pressed her palm to her chest to steady herself. “I’m sure you’re used to every woman you meet melting into a puddle at your feet, but that’s not going to happen with me. No drinks or anything else you might be offering.”
His expression sobered and he opened his mouth to say something but she didn’t want to hear what it was. Every second she spent alone with him was one more second than she should. “They’re waiting for you. You’d better get in there before you’re late.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and strode into the restaurant. This time he made no move to stop her. She never did that, confront someone. Her nerves felt jangly and raw. But now it was done. She’d made herself clear and Will Hawley would surely stay a mile away from her from now on. Which was good. For the rest of the night, she’d be reminding herself that that was a good thing.
“Everything all right?” Violet asked as Mira slid into the seat she’d saved for her.
“Fine!” she said brightly. The last thing anyone needed to know was that the new driver was hitting on her. She’d be out on her ass and back in LA before morning.
She blew out a trembling breath, refusing to look toward the doorway, even when she heard Will entering the room and greeting others. When Violet set a glass of red wine in front of her, she gratefully took a sip. Okay, she was off to a bit of a rocky start, but she’d handled it. She would continue to handle it. There was no way she’d let Will Hawley get under her skin and distract her from the job she’d come here to do.
4
Will absently responded to the friendly hellos and gentle teasing of the Lennox team as he made his way to his seat in the private dining room—the last one to arrive. His eyes were fixed on Mira, all the way at the other end of the table, between Violet and Natalia, the team principal’s girlfriend. Natalia was leaning in, telling Mira something. How did the new girl know everybody already? Hugging Harry, sharing chats with Natalia? Didn’t she start today?
And more importantly, what had happened back there? He hadn’t been the least bit subtle in asking her out, but the anger in her pushback had surprised him. Had he done something wrong? Offended her or scared her in some way? The longer he thought about it, the worse he felt. Stupid dick moves like that were supposed to be in his past. Well, fine. Pen’s replacement might be the best-looking thing he’d laid eyes on in months, but she’d clearly declared herself off-limits. Understood.
He’d reached for his wineglass before he remembered that he’d be back in the simulator tomorrow to work through today’s data. It was a critical part of his job, helping the engineers figure out what they needed to adjust before Bahrain.He couldn’t afford for his reflexes to be any less than a hundred percent, and these days, he had strict rules about alcohol consumption before racing, even if the car was virtual. He slid the glass away and switched to water.
At the head of the table, Paul, the team principal, stood to make his informal greeting, so he pulled his attention away from Mira and put it where it belonged, on his new boss.
“I won’t go on too long, I just wanted to thank you all for your hard work in previous seasons to bring us to this moment, and to thank you in advance for the work you’ll put in as this season progresses. Even under FIA restrictions, today was very informative, and we’re very optimistic about this year’s car. I hope at the end we have won another constructor’s championship or maybe even a world driver’s championship. Before I let you get on to dinner, I wanted to welcome our newcomers.”
Paul looked down the table and met Will’s gaze. “As you all know, we’re fortunate to have William Hawley on board to drive alongside Matteo. I’m sure he’ll do great things for us this season.” That last bit was half reassuring, half threatening, just like Paul himself. He could be your best mate, easy, personable, friendly. But when Lennox Motorsport was on the line, he was a dragon. A dragon youdid notwant to cross.
His introduction was met with an enthusiastic round of applause from the table, one he hoped he could earn. Across the table, Matteo raised a glass to him. “In bocca al lupo,” Matteo said. Will didn’t speak Italian, but he recognized the phrase.Into the wolf’s mouth, the Italian version ofbreak a leg, meant to convey the opposite. But the spark in Matteo’s eyes made him think maybe he was literally wishing him into the wolf.
Matteo was his teammate and partner, but also his rival, and they both knew it. Although he’d never won a worldchampionship, Matteo had a generous handful of podium finishes to show for his nearly ten years at the top of the sport, and he’d spent most of those years driving for Lennox. He was their guy. They were always going to put Matteo’s needs first. Unless Will proved thathedeserved the team’s resources and support.
