18. Harmony
Harmony
I groan again as I rev the engine.
It isn’t just because Jaxx, Maddock, and Everest’s scents have me more fired up than the car. It’s the feeling of sheer power as I put my foot down and feel her roar around me.
Jaxx parks in first position, and I line myself up in second.
“Comms check. All okay?” Jaxx asks, his voice now directly in my ears.
Normally they wouldn’t let drivers talk between them, but as my teacher, Jaxx gets a special exception.
“All clear. I’m ready when you are,” I shoot back.
“Jacob, hit the lights,” Jaxx says.
“Roger. Just take it easy on this one, Harmony. No need for any theatrics,” Jacob says.
I can’t believe he’s nagging me in public. Cast members and other film crew are watching the screen in the comms tent. There's also photographers set at different points around the track to take shots of me for promotion.
But getting annoyed at Jacob helps distract me from the nerves that burst inside me as I look up at the five traffic lights above us.
I never thought I'd sit on a professional track again.
As each one shines red, my heart pounds, thumping so loud inside my head that I almost whimper.
I’m not scared of racing; that has never been it. That isn’t why I quit. But the memories of what used to come before and after a race are hitting me hard. I need to get my feet ready to go if I’m going to keep up with Jaxx.
I draw in a deep breath as the lights flick on one-by-one, and the revs of our engines boom around me.
The second those five lights vanish, my foot is off the brake and we shoot forward.
A thrill bursts inside me as Jaxx takes off, and I keep close on his tail as we pick up speed.
“First corner coming up, we’re turning hard left. Take it slow and wide,” he hums.
With Jaxx in front, I can’t push it like I had all those other times I’d been here.
Okay, so maybe I did want to show off, especially with Maddock watching, but it looks like Jaxx is going to keep our speed around the 170s.
But that doesn’t matter. What’s important is feeling the car come to life under my touch. Just the smallest steer left or right and she glides with me. A gentle tap of the brakes, a push on the accelerator, and we smoothly turn the first corner of the Austin track.
And my heart is soaring. There’s nothing like this. No matter how much I love acting and pouring my heart and soul into a character, it can’t compare to the way Jaxx and I speed toward the second corner.
“Stay with me, Harmony,” Jaxx says, coaxing me forward with revs of his engine.
Just hearing his voice in my ear is doing bad things to me, and I need to keep my focus if I’m going to make it through the lap.
I can see the first photographer already positioned behind the barrier.
“How many laps can we do before we have to give the track back?” I ask him.
“It depends on how fast you are,” Jaxx laughs. “But I think we’ve got time for twenty. That should be enough for you to hit 1.45, yeah?”
“Yeah, if you ever let me pass.”
“This is just your practice lap,” he laughs again. “God, you’re just as hot-headed as Maddock.”
“Let’s wait and see about that,” I say as I switch up a gear, keeping my engine fired and ready to go.
I sink into the feeling of the machine, and the sheer force of the wind screaming around me eases me like the waves rocking a ship as we sail right and into the next straight.
I’ve missed this. I miss it as much as I miss Maddock. But I can’t be around it after everything I went through, just like with him.
Even being back in a seat like this is sending tremors through me. If I didn’t have Jaxx’s pheromones, I might have freaked out a lot more. But they had snuck under my helmet before I snapped my visor down, and they keep me clear-headed and shaken at the same time.
“Alright, move up the gears here; we’re entering the bumps. Time to show you what I’ve got,” he purrs over the mic, sending shivers through me.
There’s just something about his Southern accent that sets me off, and I don’t flick through the gears fast enough.
I watch the rear wing of his car as he speeds off. I lose a second to react, and I can’t catch him as he swerves through the three corners, the ‘bumps’ at the end of Sector 1.
I need to stay focused on the lap and show them all that I still have it.
Biting my lip, I lean forward in my seat, gliding up through the lower gears. I moan again as the engine roars, firing through my body just like the heat I felt when Jaxx kissed me.
“Hurry up, sweetheart, I’m going to lose you on the straight if you don’t put that foot down.”
I nearly growl at him as he chuckles. I’m not putting up with that.
As soon as I get through the hump at the start of Sector 2, I go for it.
I chew through the gears, my entire body glued to the back of the seat at the pure speed of my terrible pink car.
In the past, after I presented, I compared the G-force to how Maddock would press down on me when we made love. They used to be my favorite things in the world.
Now I have a full stretch of track and a cocky alpha who’s already too far ahead of me.
I’ve done enough races to know I can’t catch him like this, but that isn’t the point.
It’s the freedom I feel while driving more than anything else. The sheer power that burns through me at having such an awesome machine under my fingers.
“How’s it going back there? You like the look of my ass?” he asks.
“It's more like your head’s so big I can see it sticking out of the car.”
He chuckles again. And I grin as I slam my foot down and speed us forward.
It’s the same as when we kissed. I don’t have to be anyone here. I’m not Harmony, or Reggie Grace's daughter, or even a female omega. I’m just a person listening to Jaxx talking nonsense over the mic to try to keep me relaxed as we speed off at nearly 200kmph.
I’m gaining on him, even if he’s slowing down just to humor me, I don’t care. It’s the thrill of the hunt, of getting to the top of the pack, even if it’s just one overtake.
We speed together, going through laps two and three, learning each other’s styles and rhythms to make it easier to drive together.
I’ve watched enough of his races to know that he loses his position easily on corners, but he always gains it back on the straights.
And that makes it easier to catch up to him and race with him on an even footing.
As we push into our third lap, it’s time for me to take control.
“I hope that ass is ready for me,” I growl at Jaxx.
“I’m still here, Harmony,” Jacob says dryly, but I just laugh.
It’s been so long since I’ve had this much fun. I won’t let my brother spoil it.
We fly down the first straight under the starting lights, and the moment we hit that sharp corner, I take my chance.
My tires screech as I brake late and hard, flying into the corner, taking it tight enough to overtake him, and speed off into the straight.
“Fuck, that was hot. You need to over-take more often. But it’s not going to work, sweetheart,” he purrs.
“Could you two stop flirting and just focus on the track?” Jacob asks. I can basically feel his glare through my earphones.
There’s silence from both of us, but I can tell Jaxx is grinning just as hard as I am.
I start playing with the steering wheel, weaving in wide left-to-right curves like we were stuck behind a safety car, just so Jaxx can’t get past me. I might like my speed, but I also like seeing him trying to get one up on me.
Now that I’m more used to the car, it’s time to play.
Jaxx and I race for four more laps, taking each other over, driving side-by-side, poking fun over the radio.
And the rest of the world disappears as I lose myself in the race.
My body is so lit up that perfume is streaming from me. I can’t stop it. The combination of the powerful engine and Jaxx’s voice in my ear is making me so hot that it's only the suit that stops my slick from spreading over the seat of my shiny new car.
But after everything that has happened since the Ross incident, it is amazing to have this kind of freedom.
“Okay, sweetheart, we’re going to box you. You still remember how to do a pit stop?”
“Unless there’s been any kind of change, I’m all good.”
“Don’t worry, Everest will take care of you.”
“I’m sure he will,” I murmur, remembering so vividly the way his huge hands covered my chest. If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have torn my bra off. And maybe I should have let him.
He probably only remembers me as the person who annoyed him in the mornings and spilled coffee over myself, but I am suddenly nervous again.
Because I am about to speed into the pits where my scent match waits for me, while covered in slick and perfume.