17. Harmony
Harmony
“You want to take this baby for a ride?” Jaxx waggles his eyebrows as he leans over the cockpit of my brand new car.
I’m still trying to get used to sitting back in a racer. Jaxx and Maddock have spent the past hour going through the new designs and safety features of the car with the cast and stunt team while the pit crew got it started up out on the grid of the Texas circuit.
The worst thing about the car is the color. I’ve been so excited since Everest told me they'd made me one. Until they gathered us all around, got the camera rolling, and pulled back the sheet to reveal the hottest, pinkest car I'd ever seen.
Barbie girls have nothing on this car. It’s so pink some people can't even look at it.
Slipstream Seduction is printed in massive bold lettering along both sides, the nose, tail, and rear wings. But if they expect my character to drive a car like that in the movie, the director and I will be having words.
I can’t frown because there are two photographers circling the group and a reporter waiting to jump in and ask questions as soon as there’s a lull.
I don’t tell them that Everest has been teaching me the technical side of things in the mornings, especially because Maddock still looks pissed off, and Jaxx won’t stop smirking at me.
It has become our new routine. I go out for a jog, now flanked by my bodyguards, and then I stay with Everest for a few hours while they get their rest.
Everest hovers nearby while other Grace team members flutter around us. Some of them stop and stare and join the crowd, and it actually makes me feel more comfortable. I hope it means we aren’t just an obnoxious movie crew invading their workspace.
The designers have done me a favor by keeping the pink to a minimum on my suit and helmet. But I’m still going to be the girl in pink and not a woman racing a Formula 1 car.
Even Maddock is grimacing at it because he knows what it’s like in this world, and everything I had to go through in the past. It isn’t just the gender stereotypes; it’s my designation as well.
He glances at me, arching a brow, but I shrug. They still built me my own F1 car—it isn’t like I’m going to say ‘no thanks’ because it’s painfully pink.
The photographers close in to take shots of us on the grid. It’s another half an hour of posing with different actors in different shots, and now I’m finally able to sit in the car.
Jaxx keeps finding more excuses to lean closer; pointing out the steering wheel, the gear switches, even reaching down to show me where the pedals are so he could unsubtly push his arm between my legs.
His pheromones have been oozing out of him since I first entered the hangar, and he’s already been told off for it by other omegas and Maddock.
Just one scent of him gets me going, and having all three alphas so close to me makes my body sing.
And trapping me in a small space and layering me with honey and cedar really doesn’t help.
But it’s the first time we’ve talked alone since we shared a kiss I can’t forget. Even just meeting his eyes winds me up, and his pheromones make it ten times worse. I need to get away from him before I start slicking in front of everyone.
“Hey,” I say, my voice low as his hand rummages between my calves. “If you care so much about health and safety, maybe cool it off with the big alpha stuff. No one here cares about your scent.”
I’m so glad my helmet is on so I have a defense against his sparkling smile.
“Shall we see about that?” he purrs. “I’m just trying to calm you down, but maybe I’ve wound you up in other places, hm?” He suddenly grips my calf, squeezing enough to make me shudder. “My offer from before is still on the table, sweetheart. You just need to tell me how far to go.”
“Jaxx!” Jacob's voice rips across the track. “Harmony's on comms. We can all hear you!”
My gaze shoots up to meet my brother's scowl as he waves his headset at us from the tent on the other side of the barrier.
I instantly groan, rolling my eyes. He’s going to chew me out for that later, even though Jaxx is the one flirting.
He hums happily as I glare at him, and he swaps from copping a feel to strapping me in. He needs to lean even closer to get the padded seat belts over my shoulder and waist and clip them all together.
I should push him away and tell him I can do it myself. But he’s making my head spin, and my mouth is soaked with sweet honey.
The helmet keeps me safe so I don’t do anything stupid, like kiss Jaxx in front of everyone.
I almost make the mistake of purring as his hands glide over my chest and down to my stomach.
“You'll regret that,” I say as his wrist nudges my breast hidden beneath layers of fireproof fabric.
“How will you make me pay?” he asks.
If I really wanted him to stop, I would have happily shoved him. But my omega senses burn through me at having an alpha so close to me.
Who am I kidding? Having my alpha so close. Because there are only two other people I'd reacted so strongly to, and both of them are standing at the mouth of the garage, their arms folded, watching us with hard expressions.
“Why don’t we make a little bet?” I say. “If I can do a lap in 1.45, you owe me one.”
“It looks like you already know what I’ll owe you,” he purrs.
“Are you scared?”
“More like excited. What could the beautiful Harmony Grace possibly want from little ol’ me?” He tugs at the belt around my stomach to make sure it stays in place. “But I’m wondering if you’re prepared to risk it if you don’t make it.”
His voice is just too delicious, but I can’t stop myself.
“Don’t worry, I think we both have the same idea,” I say as I snap my visor down, stopping him from seeing how hungry I look.
The way his eyes widen, how he sucks in a breath, and how even more pheromones wrap around me tells me maybe we aren’t quite on the same wavelength.
All I want is to see Jaxx Sands on his knees telling me he’s sorry for being such a cocky asshole. But he smells way too horny for just that.
As quickly as his sexy smile appears, it vanishes as he leans back, suddenly serious.
“Don’t forget your switches. Make sure you’ve got your gears set, remember the route and the turns you need.”
“I got it, Jaxx. Don’t worry about it.”
“I mean it,” he says, his hand curling around the cockpit, his glove creaking as it tightens. “Don't be afraid to ask for help.”
His brow stays furrowed as I kick the engine into gear and almost moan as the familiar sound shakes through my whole body.
Thank God he stepped back because I’m already close to perfuming as a rumble of power fires through me from the car.
I sit there as Jaxx gets himself geared up and hops into his own car. I’m meant to follow him for the first lap. I have to remind myself not to get overconfident. I keep telling myself I'm a good driver, but not in an F1 car.
Just because I’d raced the Texas track back when I was in F2 doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing. Especially if I’m planning to hit 200kmph in a car I’ve never driven before.