Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
?? MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
“ R owan,” Jamie said. “You are one point three seconds behind Thiago. Huxley is catching up and seeking slipstream.”
“Hell no,” Rowan muttered as he checked his rear-view mirror. The black car sporting the big number “1” was getting closer and closer. Because Miles was the World Champion, he had the opportunity to wear the number one as his own, and had grasped that opportunity with a broad grin. Fucking bastard . “I love having Huxley chase after me. He can keep kissing my bum.”
“Okay,” Jamie chuckled. “Nine laps to go.”
Leading in front of an Imperium felt like a fever dream. A victory. A trophy Primavera Racing still had yet to claim.
“What’s wrong with Huxley?”
“He doesn’t have speed,” Jamie explained. “His front end isn’t as reactive, especially in corners.”
“Understood.”
Rowan’s body vibrated in harmony with his car’s energy as he raced through every corner, and turn, and chicane, finding the perfect trajectory to hit the apex at full throttle.
This was his home race. He couldn’t mess it up. He couldn’t win—courtesy of Primavera Racing’s strategists who had decided that Rowan couldn’t overtake Thiago—so he would stand on the podium right next to his teammate.
“Tito’s slowing down,” Rowan pointed out, frowning.
“He told his engineer it’s on purpose.”
Rowan narrowed his gaze and pushed on the throttle, a smirk slowly spreading across his lips at the realisation.
“He’s trying to give me DRS,” he announced delightfully. “That motherfucker. I knew he had some brains.”
“Get him. And lose Huxley.”
Rowan accelerated as they passed a slippery corner. When he was less than a second away from his teammate, DRS was available. The upper part of his rear wing opened, allowing him to gain more speed and causing the dragging of the car to be reduced.
He chased Thiago, a beam growing beneath his balaclava, just as the distance between him and Huxley grew bigger.
“In your face, Hux, baby.”
“Get us that 1-2, Emerson.”
His fingers hit the clutch. “I will.”
“Red flag in sector two,” Jamie announced right as Rowan crossed the line to start the last lap of the Grand Prix.
“Shit.” That meant the race wouldn’t resume. Following Thiago to enter the pit lane, he asked, “Is everyone okay?”
“Just a McMillan losing fuel,” Jamie said casually as if he wasn’t surprised McMillan Motorsports was having trouble during a race, either.
“Ah.”
Rowan was thoroughly disappointed; he wanted to have fun on the last lap to battle his teammate.
“Hang on.” He drove slowly through the pit lane towards parc fermé. “Did we just make a Primavera 1-2?”
“Yes, you did!”
Rowan howled loudly, cheers and joyful screams heard on the other side of the radio. He waved his hand in the air as he passed in front of his garage, chuckling when he saw his pit crew jump up and down.
As he parked the car where the podium lay overhead, he killed the engine with so much enthusiasm that he could feel fireworks burst inside his chest. Rapidly, he unplugged the steering wheel and pulled himself out of the car.
He jumped down, fist pumped in the air, grinning like a devil when roars of excitement elicited from the crowd of mechanics lining up behind barriers.
Rowan engulfed Thiago in a hug, patting his teammate’s helmet as he congratulated him on the win. Seeing stars shimmering in Thiago’s eyes made warmth flood inside his chest. He knew Thiago was doing everything for his late father.
When Rowan approached his team, he was pulled into tight embraces, receiving encouraging pats on the back, the helmet, and his bum.
He moved towards Tate, exchanging their iconic handshake.
He fist-bumped his team principal who smiled proudly back at him.
He slipped towards his mother and Riley, pulling them both into his sweat-clad chest, smiling broadly when his mum said, “I’m so proud of you, honey.”
His father was nowhere in sight, and Rowan felt like a douchebag for not caring.
Then, he saw Avery standing right next to his sister, a soft smile on her lips. Without thinking of the consequences of his actions, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in. Her small hand came to rest on his back, and he swore he felt a delicate caress touch his ribs when they pulled away.
She refused to meet his eyes, and Rowan refused to let this situation slip away.
“Damn, you’re set on getting smashed tonight,” Tate remarked, though amusement edged his tone as he watched Rowan chug down another shot.
Rowan grimaced as he slammed the empty glass on the table. “Feels good, baby. That 1-2 deserves the best celebration.”
Cal, who was sitting next to Tate, lifted his bottle of beer. “Cheers to that.”
Rowan couldn’t pass on the opportunity of celebrating this weekend’s results at the most famous club downtown. With all twenty drivers, members of all teams and guests, plus other people, Havana’s was cramped, packed, and loud.
Rowan didn’t want to get drunk until he would blackout, per se, but he did want to feel happy. But he also wanted to forget.
Wanted to forget his father’s cruel words; the ones he’d received earlier after the race and the ones after yesterday’s qualifying.
Wanted to forget about Avery—her lips, her body pressed against his. Because he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since yesterday.
Avery and her tender caress on his back before he mounted the podium. The swirl of pride around her pupils. The devastating smile that shouldn’t have affected his heartbeat’s function.
Naturally, if his thoughts would derail to the bane of his existence, his eyes would search for her in a crowded place, too.
The light was so dim that it was impossible to make out a single face in this room. In addition to this, his vision was getting hazy and wasn’t helping his spiralling thoughts.
“You looking for someone?” Tate asked as he came to sit on the stool next to him.
“Nah,” Rowan replied absently.
The loud bass of the music vibrated throughout his body, causing him to bop his head to the rhythm of the song. He could feel other women’s eyes on him, and as much as it was tempting to flirt with someone, he was intent on finding one particular woman who tended to run away from him.
And he found her.
Standing by a booth, a radiant smile on her lips. Maybe it was the alcohol playing tricks on him, maybe it was the dim light casting shadows on one side of her face, but Avery looked ethereal and heavenly. Gathering her hair over a shoulder, she laughed at something one of her colleagues said before leaning forward to reply into her ear.
Rowan’s throat tightened when Eliott Dalton slipped behind her to head towards the bar, placing his hand against the small of her back to push her gently.
Avery didn’t react though, too caught up in her conversation with Emily—or Emma, or Elise, whatever her name was. But Rowan swore he saw a flash of green blind his vision for a fragment of a second.
“Ritchie,” Rowan started without so much as detaching his gaze from Avery. “I need you to do something for me.”
“What?” Tate asked, sounding bored.
When Rowan looked at his best friend, the latter shrugged and brought the rim of his glass to his lips.
He motioned to the back of the room with a nudge of his head. “I need you to bring Avery to me.”
“Emily?” Tate shouted through the loud music.
“Avery!”
“Emery?”
Rowan fisted his friend’s shirt to pull him closer. “Avery Sharma-Maddox.”
“Avery?” Tate echoed, slowly letting disbelief and curiosity etch upon his face.
“Yes.”
“Your press officer?”
“Do you know any other Avery?”
Tate seemed to think for a second. “No.” He narrowed his gaze. “Why don’t you go to her like a big boy? You have no trouble running after her like the annoying bloke you are.”
Rowan huffed and rubbed his jaw. “Because she can’t be within a ten-metre radius of me outside of work.”
Tate blinked and inched closer. “I’m sorry, what?”
Rowan shrugged. “Rules.”
“For whom?”
“All the marketing team.”
Tate took a sip of his beverage, face solemn. “Since when?”
“I don’t know. Look, Nikki set that weird rule, and Avery can’t be near me outside of the paddock or Headquarters, or else she’ll get fired.”
“That’s stupid.” Tate snickered, pointing a finger into the athlete’s face. “Wait, is it because of that photo of you pouring alcohol into her mouth?”
Rowan scratched the back of his head, guilt pooling inside his stomach. “I think so…”
“You little troublemaker,” Tate muttered with a shake of his head. “What is it that you need to say to her now, anyway?”
Rowan’s jaw tightened. “I can’t tell you.”
Tate only nodded, unfazed by Rowan’s secrets. “Whatever. Here, deal with the devil whilst I go fetch the other devil.”
Just as Tate disappeared through the sea of dancing bodies, Nikki walked past Rowan’s table, aiming for the bar.
“Nikki,” he called as he stood up. “Hey.”
“Rowan.” Her gaze roamed over his chest before finding his gaze as a seductive smile spread across her lips. “Having fun?”
He grinned. “Having a blast. Listen, about my photoshoot with GQ Australia on Tuesday, I was thinking of having Avery accompany me there instead of you.”
Blatant offence appeared on her expression as she stared back at him. “Why is that?”
Rowan lifted his shoulders in a sheepish shrug. “She’s my PR officer. She needs to attend the interview with me.”
Nikki folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t think her presence is necessary.”
“It is to me. Besides, I tend to get a little nervy in front of cameras, and Avery is the best at soothing my nerves.”
Nikki threw her head back and laughed. “You’re Rowan Emerson. You live for the cameras; you aren’t scared of them. And Ava? Quiet Ava knows how to calm your nerves?”
Quite the contrary. She was the reason his temper would spike. The cause of his skin prickling with irritation. But it appeared that, recently, her euphonious voice and doe eyes managed to make the tension rattling his body disappear.
A true mystery, all of it.
“You’d be surprised,” Rowan said through gritted teeth. “She’s not that quiet. You should get to know her before talking about her with so much open disdain.”
Why the hell was he defending her?
Nikki’s brows rose in both bewilderment and outrage. “Whatever. She can replace me just this once.”
“Sweet.” He winked and turned on his heel to sit back down. “Thanks. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
He stilled when she came to whisper in his ear, “You can meet me at the backdoor in a few.”
He tried not to purse his lips in distaste, backing away. “No, thank you. I’m not interested in you, and even less in hypocrites.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you can try to seduce me or Tito, but the girls working in the PR team can’t approach me? Your work ethic doesn’t resonate well with me. See where the problem is? Oh, right, it’s you.”
“You can be such a dick.”
He offered a faux smile to the blonde. “So I’ve been told.”
“Just so you know, Ava has two choices: her job or you. Obviously, she’s made her choice.”
Rowan hummed. Still, despite his cool attitude, annoyance was thrumming through his veins. “Good for her. Still not attracted to you, Nicole.”
Nikki left without a complaint, and Rowan exhaled loudly.
When he turned on his stool, Avery was walking towards the bar, ignoring her entourage.
Had Rowan always been attracted to her or was it because she had been bold enough to make the first move? Silly question. He’d always found her to be one of the most gorgeous women he’d ever seen, but there was something so enticing about her courage and boldness.
Rowan looked to where she had been standing and met Tate’s wicked stare. His friend winked before sitting in the booth with Avery’s coworkers.
She came to stand next to Rowan, elbows braced on the counter as she pushed herself on her tiptoes.
“Avery,” he purred loud enough for her to hear. The people around them were too busy getting drunk, dancing, or chatting to even pay attention to them.
He had made sure Nikki was nowhere in sight before going to talk to Avery. As much as he was annoyed with Nikki, he wouldn’t risk Avery’s career for his own pleasure.
Avery glanced at him before turning back to the bartender. She kept her chin high, blatantly ignoring him.
“Seriously?” he scoffed.
He studied the way she nibbled on her lower lip whilst trying to get the bartender’s attention. Well, she had it, because the man was busy ogling her chest whilst trying to make a cocktail.
Dickhead .
“Hi, Rowan.”
“I just want to talk to you.” Did he sound desperate?
She peered at him again, a rapid flicker of her eyes over his body perceptible. “Why?”
“Come here,” he said gruffly, catching her elbow to pull her towards him.
Electricity rippled through his veins at the contact of their skin, and he couldn’t fathom the reaction of his body. Couldn’t understand what she was doing to him.
If it weren’t for the loud music, Rowan would have been able to hear the gasp flying past her lips when she nearly stumbled in his lap.
He steadied her, a hand on her hip as he guided her to face him. She stood between his parted legs, eyes searching her surroundings.
Her skin was burning beneath his callouses, and he wondered if his body was reciprocating the same reaction.
“Relax,” he told her. “She went out back.”
Wide, brown eyes found his, and he instantly smiled. Keeping a hand on her hip and the other holding her elbow, he maintained her fiery gaze. “You’re avoiding me.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“What makes you think that?”
“You can barely look me in the eyes.” His fingers skimmed the soft skin above her elbow.
“Am I bruising your ego?”
“Deeply.”
“Poor you,” she deadpanned. “You must be devastated.”
He smirked at her sardonic tone. “You have no idea.”
Trailing his regard down her physique, he felt his breath catch and disappear. A black top hugged her torso, its neckline so low that he could see how her breasts were pushed together, whilst matching trousers hugged her waist and put her perky bottom in evidence.
He’d rarely seen her without her uniform on—or rather had never paid attention to her choice of attire before—but she was a real sight for sore eyes.
Black tendrils framed her face. It took everything in his willpower not to touch them and tuck those rebellious strands behind an ear.
“You look beautiful,” he confessed softly, sincerely.
What the fuck was wrong with him?It was official; he was an idiot. A complete fool.
She scowled. “You’re just trying to get into my pants.”
“Maybe,” he admitted coyly. “But you’re still beautiful.”
She tucked a strand of hair behind an ear, dipping her gaze to the floor. He wondered if she was blushing because he certainly could feel heat creeping upwards at the back of his neck. When a timid smile graced her lips, his chest tightened.
He couldn’t stand not having her eyes on him, so he cupped her chin to let their gazes collide again. “Did you hear me?”
“Do you mean it?”
Rowan’s brows pinched together. “Of course. I promise, you’re drop-dead gorgeous.”
Avery nodded slowly, as if trying to believe his sincerity. “Thank you. But I need to go. I can’t get in trouble.”
Her breath hitched when his fingers slipped beneath the hem of her top. “We have unfinished business, sunflower.”
Her chest rose and fell as she held his stare. Her lips had parted, a small line of confusion appearing between her brows. “It was a mistake.”
“A mistake? Really?”
She nodded as she took a step back. “It can’t happen again. There’s too much at stake.”
Rowan tightened his grip around her hip—just enough to keep her close, just enough to make her understand he wasn’t taking this as a joke, or a mistake, or a game. “See, I don’t give a shit about many people in my life, but I pay attention to you. And I know you’re lying right now.”
“Rowan,” she insisted. The music was so loud but, somehow, this rejection was louder and overpowering all his senses. “You were vulnerable, and I took advantage of you. I’m sorry for that. And I feel like you were entitled to kiss me back because you felt bad for me. Or because you’re just used to making out with random people.”
Was she being serious? Was this truly the way she saw him? As a playboy? Perhaps she’d been used to seeing the old Rowan—the one who would never leave a party alone. But all he needed, all he wanted, was for her to see who he was today. The man who only cared for her attention.
He let a frown touch his eyebrows, a spark of anger slowly making its way through his bones. “You don’t know me, Avery. You have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Just let it go. Have fun. Celebrate your podium. Forget about me.”
He scoffed and swallowed as she pried his hands off her body, albeit with a delicacy he didn’t deserve. She walked away without sparing another glance his way.
Rowan was utterly frustrated, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off her when she ordered drinks for her table before leaving. Multiple heads turned her way, but she didn’t pay attention to anyone else. She sat down next to Tate and nodded in response when he asked her something.
His view was blocked when a woman came to stand in front of him.“Hi,” she said. “I’m Jennie.”
“Hi,” he mumbled back.
He barely glanced at her before looking back to Avery.
He’d barely gotten his hands on her, and she was already slipping through his fingers.
He knew she didn’t regret it—she couldn’t.
Rowan couldn’t stop thinking about the enchanting kiss.
Her words. Her touch.
It was as though his entire perspective about her had changed in the blink of an eye—or rather with the magic of a powerful kiss. One minute he was completely irritated by her presence and the next one he was desperate for her.
What was happening to him?
“My apartment is right down the street if you want,” Jennie suggested sweetly, bringing his attention to reality.
It was now that Rowan noticed the other woman was pretty. Tall, but not as tall as Avery, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
A shadow of a smirk ghosted his lips. He wasn’t interested, but perhaps he was allowed to have fun. “What’s over at your place that the club doesn’t have?”
She ran a finger over his chest. He couldn’t help but compare her touch to Avery’s. It was nowhere near as corrupting or enchanting. “Privacy. Me. Naked.”
Rowan liked a woman with confidence.
His gaze clashed with chocolate eyes from across the room; Avery was fuming as she cradled her glass a little too tightly. But when her attention slipped to Eliott who came to sit beside her, an arm around her shoulders, she didn’t move and smiled up at him.
Rowan clenched his jaw. His fingers tensed.
She found his gaze once more, and Rowan said to Jennie, “Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”
But before he managed to walk out of the club, he grabbed his phone and texted Tate.
Rowan
Get Avery safely back to the hotel.