Prologue Collision Course #2
"Because guess what?" he continues, and there's a manic edge to his voice now, like he's been holding this in for too long and it's finally exploding out.
"Thanks to you, I was able to drive that freak accident of a car that almost got me killed the last two races.
Thanks to you, the suspension actually works.
Thanks to you, we have a shot at making this victory real and not just virtual wins and stupid medals shipped in the fucking mail. "
Each word hits like a stabbing sword cutting into flesh.
He knows.
Not just that I'm a woman—he knows it was me who fixed his car, me who's been adjusting his setup in secret through the ghost accounts I've been using to access the team's systems, me who's been the difference between disaster and dominance.
"My pack has dreamed of winning this championship," he says, and now his voice drops to something quieter, more raw. "And guess what? To win, to succeed, we need you."
He leans in, close enough that I can see gold flecks in those amber eyes, close enough that his breath ghosts across my lips.
"Not just because you're a fucking talented, bossy asshole who turns us on."
My breath catches.
"Not just because you smell like—" he inhales deeply, and I can see the moment my scent hits him fully, the way his eyes flutter closed and his expression morphs into something between pain and ecstasy, "—like fucking trouble. Like Cale says."
Cale.
My chest tightens at the mention of his name.
Does Luca's pack know about the complicated history between me and Cale Hart?
About the way we've been circling each other for years in a toxic dance of want and anger and unfinished business?
Are they okay with the fact that Cale and I have this hot-and-cold thing that neither of us can seem to kill or commit to?
"We need you, Aurora."
Hearing my real name—not the alias I've been hiding behind for years, not Rory Lane the pit tech—from his lips makes something in my chest crack wide open.
He knows everything…
"I fucking need you."
The admission hangs between us, raw and honest and terrifying.
"So you're going to gather your fucking balls," he continues, and there's a ghost of a smirk on his lips now despite the intensity in his eyes, "walk back in there, fix that shit, and we can fuck it out later."
The promise in that last word makes heat pool low in my belly, makes my suppressants work overtime to keep my scent from giving away just how much I want exactly that.
Fuck it out later…god…fucking Luca Thorne…
The words echoed through every cell in my body, rattling around inside my skull until I could taste the promise of them: fuck it out later.
My pulse thumped so hard in my throat I thought it might burst through my skin.
The idea of Luca, towering over me, those tattooed arms braced on either side of my head, all that hard, ruthless muscle pressing me into the nearest surface—it was enough to make me shudder, even as cold rain slithered down my spine.
He’d be the kind of lover who took what he wanted—ruthless, thorough, the opposite of gentle—but demanding my surrender, not just my body but whatever mindfuck was left of my soul.
The worst part was I didn’t even care about the consequences, not in that second.
The world could watch us through a thousand cameras, the whole damn pit crew could be standing three feet away, and I’d still want him to mark me, fuck me, claim me in some way I’d never let anyone else.
I wanted it so bad I could taste copper on my tongue and feel myself shaking with the need to make it real.
I wanted to give in, slide my hands under his soaked shirt, and find every inch of that lethal, beautiful body, map out the tattoos with my teeth, and see if he’d let me bite back.
My body wanted to kneel, to offer, to bend until I broke.
My mind wanted to fight him to the death.
My soul wanted both at the same time.
I glare at him, even though what I really want to do is kiss him again, climb him like a tree, let him pin me against this wall, and finish what we started.
Instead, I poke him hard in the chest, relishing the way his eyes widen slightly at my audacity.
"I don't take shit from anyone," I hiss, putting every ounce of venom I can muster into the words. "And I especially ain't taking your cock in my ass, fucker."
For a second, he just stares at me.
Then he throws his head back and laughs—a real, genuine laugh that transforms his face from intimidating Alpha to something dangerously appealing.
"Noted," he says, still grinning, and the look in his eyes is pure wicked promise. "Good thing you've got another hole that would milk me up real nice, though."
The absolute audacity—
Heat floods my face as I realize he absolutely knows. Not just that I'm female, but he's thinking about it, imagining it, probably has been imagining it since the moment he figured out my secret.
I turn on my heel and stomp back toward the paddock entrance, my boots splashing through puddles with more force than strictly necessary.
"Fuck you, Thorne!" I call back without turning around.
His laugh follows me through the rain, rich and warm and infuriatingly sexy.
"That's what I'm hoping for, Lane!"
And despite everything—despite the fear coiled tight in my chest, knowing this could end my career before it even begins, and the fact that I should be running in the opposite direction—I feel my lips curve into a smile I can't quite suppress.
Because the man who's been my competitor virtually, the one who's pushed me harder than anyone else ever has, the one whose scent makes my Omega sing in ways I've never experienced before...
He just clocked my secret.
And deep down, in a place I'm not ready to examine too closely, I realize something that should terrify me but instead feels like relief:
I actually might not give a damn.
The rain continues to pour as I make my way back to the garage, my heart pounding with something that might be fear but feels a hell of a lot like anticipation.
Behind me, I can still feel Luca's eyes on my back, watching, waiting, wanting.
And for the first time in my life, I'm not running from someone who sees me.
I'm walking straight toward the finish line of a race I never knew I was in.