Page 21 of Nitro
Goose bumps followed in the wake of his touch, tempting me to press closer. But light was streaming through the curtains we hadn’t closed last night. “I think we slept in.”
His smile widened. “We needed the rest.”
“That’s for sure,” I conceded with an eye roll. “But we should probably get going since we’re already late.”
“Don’t worry. Nobody’s gonna give you shit.” He tugged me closer, lowering his head. “And I’m not leavin’ this bed without a kiss.”
His mouth pressed against mine, tongue sweeping inside when my lips parted. There was nothing tentative about his kiss. He devoured me, and I was breathless when he finally lifted his head.
“Better.” He gave my butt a not-so-gentle slap. “Now we can get going.”
When we rolled into The Pit an hour later, I still hadn’t recovered from his kiss. But with eyes on us, Torin got back to business—boots heavy on the concrete, barking at a prospect who wasn’t tightening a chain fast enough.
He stuck close as I headed to my bay, his gaze sharp on a guy who looked at me for an extra beat, sending him skittering back to work. When we reached my bay, Torin gave my hip a quick squeeze before he peeled off toward another prospect. His presence lingered even when he wasn’t near me, as though I could still feel the press of his hand at the small of my back.
I shoved the thought aside and reached for my helmet. It dangled from the hook where I’d left it yesterday, visor smudgedfrom dust. When I pulled it down, something thin and folded fluttered to the floor.
The paper landed face-up, words scrawled in heavy black ink, and I froze.
You don’t belong here, bitch.
My stomach dropped. The garage noise faded to a dull roar, engines and banter muffled by the pound of blood in my ears. I crouched, snatched it up, and scanned the words again, hoping I’d misread.
Nope. It was short and vicious. Exactly the kind of poison I’d hoped Kane’s circuit would spare me from, since he had a reputation for respecting women drivers and expecting that of his people as well.
I’d experienced this crap before. Men sneering that I should “stick to girl jobs” and doors slammed in my face even after I’d won a race fair and square. I’d fought tooth and nail for every inch of space behind a wheel, and still someone always wanted me gone.
But Kane already had some women on his teams. So I had to ask myself if they put up with this garbage in silence, or if it was simply that people just wanted me gone?
I crumpled the note in my fist before anyone could see, shoving it deep into my pocket. My throat tightened, fury and fear tangling in my chest.
This hit even harder after the high of spending last night with Torin.
The timing made it even harder to decide what to do. Even before I gave him my virginity, he would’ve wanted to know about the note. Now, he probably expected me to come to him with all of my problems.
I knew he wouldn’t stand for this. He’d rip through the garage until he found whoever left it, drag them out by the throat if he had to. He’d protect me.
But I didn’t want to be the girl who had to be saved. I wanted to prove I belonged. Not that I needed protecting.
If I showed him the note, he’d wrap me in that possessive shield of his until I couldn’t breathe. My chance to earn my spot would be gone. And I couldn’t have that.
So I smoothed my face into something neutral, like my insides weren’t knotted, and pulled my gloves out of the helmet. Sliding it back onto the hook, I forced my breathing steady. Whoever left the damn thing wanted me shaken. Wanted me gone.
But I wasn’t going to give them the reaction they were looking for.
I’d handle this. On my own. Even if the part of me that still remembered Torin’s arm tightening around me in his sleep whispered that maybe I didn’t have to face everything alone anymore.
The note echoed in my head over the next hour as I worked in my bay. My sleeves were rolled up, I had smudges of grease on my forearms, and the ZX purred after a round of fine-tuning.
The rhythm of tools, the hum of engines, the occasional bark of a prospect getting chewed out—it was the kind of background noise I could almost lose myself in. Almost.
Which was why I stiffened when I caught sight of Jax striding toward me, Torin a half step behind him.
Straightening, I wiped my hands on a rag and forced a wry smile to cover the sudden thud of my pulse. “I’m starting to think you’ve got something against me, Jax.”
His expression didn’t shift except for a flicker in his eyes that I couldn’t read. Something about it made my stomach knot.
I tried for humor anyway. “You showing up like this never goes well for me. First, the alias thing, and now what? You find out I returned a library book late when I was twelve?”
