Page 17 of Midnight Racers

“Why, do vampires not bruise?”

“No idea about that, but it’s daylight outside. I was beginning to wonder if you were a vampire since you worked at nights.”

My eyebrows shot up and I gave a toothy grin to show off my canine teeth. “No pointy teeth or fangs,” I said.

He nodded solemnly. “A vampire would say that. I’ve seen the films. Their fangs only come out when they’re going to bite someone.”

The smartass made me smile with his antics. “What are you doing here?”

“Same as you, apparently. I tend to come here and tinker when I have some spare time.” He was dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt, and his leather jacket was on the counter beside the door.

He hadn’t taken the jacket off the last time we met, and now I could see his biceps bulging and the strength of his arms. How was a woman supposed to resist all that expanse of muscular flesh?

I pursed my lips and returned to under the bonnet. His head appeared next to mine and his masculine, spicy scent washed over me and made my mouth water.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’ve placed an order for new parts, and the 3D printer is arriving in a few days to start to produce some of the new adaptations. At the moment, I’m just trying to become familiar with the car and optimise it.”

His body touched mine since he was watching me work, and I swear tingles rippled over my skin in awareness. I bit into my bottom lip to trap the moan that wanted to emerge.

“Want me to take it out?” I turned to face him and our noses almost touched. “Jay had some of the area around the warehouse cleared so we could test the cars. We can’t open them up the same way as we can on the test track, but it gives us an idea if something isn’t working.”

“That would be helpful,” I whispered, my senses reeling by how close he was.

I straightened and watched as he prepped the car, the massive shutters at one end of the room rolling up. He paced like a predator, sleek with fluid movements, his stride sure as he was king of this domain.

The car started and the hum echoed around the room. I took a step back as he drove out into the open. Flynn got out of the car and came to stand beside me as the engine idled in the background. I glanced up at him expectantly and found him staring down at me. My rebellious heart beat double time in my chest.

“Go easy on the gears,” he said. “I have them set up the way I like them.”

My eyes widened and I looked between him and the car. “You want me to drive it?” I queried.

Flynn grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “Tell Jay and I’ll deny it, but if you’re working on her, you need to get to know her.”

Dale rarely let me take his car out once it had been set up. I couldn’t believe that Flynn was letting me take her out, even if it was just around the track they had set up here. A slow smile curved my lips and I practically ran to the car with his chuckle following me.

Flynn stood with his strong arms crossed over his wide chest, his expression curious as he watched the car. My heart hammered in my chest and adrenalin spiked in my veins. I revved the engine, listening to her distinct rhythm before I put her in first and took off around the circuit they had created. Their warehouse was on a huge plot of land, a track created with turns and expanses on it for me to test the vehicle.

They didn’t have any big-name mechanics on their team, so what they had achieved was impressive. Her suspension held tight as I rounded a corner, my foot hitting the accelerator to let me speed out of it.

My dream growing up had been to race. I stood watching Dad and hoping that could be me one day until the cruel realisation hit that ovaries prevented you from competing. It’s not as if I would give birth in the backseat when no one was looking.

I finally came to a stop beside Flynn, the buzz still thrumming through me.

“She was looking good out there,” he said. “Mind if I take a ride?”

That phrase could mean several different things, but I refused to meet his eyes right now because that man was gasoline to a fire.

“Sure,” I handed him the keys and watched as he moved toward the car.

It was as if that car knew his touch. She purred to life and lurched forward in perfect harmony with her driver. Flynn didn’t show off the way some drivers I knew did. He moved around the track the same way he walked—with fluid precision. He took the corners as if that car was an extension of him. Driving had never been sexy before, but I swear that man made it look exactly like that.

He roared around the top of the track, and my pulse pounded in my ears. What the hell was happening to me? I was beginning to seriously think I should have my contract dissolved because this was a complication I hadn’t anticipated. Flynn had done nothing to make me think he was even interested in me in a non-professional way. Yet, he set all my senses aflame and I was acting like a hormonal teenager.

He stopped just in front of me, his grin infectious as he stepped out of the car. “You definitely aren’t a vampire then.” He pointed to the sun overhead.

“I believe there are sparkly ones that can walk in the sun.” I quirked an eyebrow at him and his laugh washed over me.

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