And then a flicker. A half-buried, half-forgotten moment.
A girl.
Golden strands twisted into braids, a pair of hazel eyes peeking from beneath the brim of a team cap, standing in front of the monitors. She was way too young to be press, too quiet to be a fan, and too calculated to be anything but a driver.
She hadn’t spoken, hadn’t drawn attention to herself. But I’d noticed her. Just for a few seconds. Long enough for something to register in the back of my mind, a nagging sense ofdéjàvuI never bothered to chase down.
I never even knew her fucking name.
But I'd always felt drawn to her. Had felt my fucking heart stop when she stepped out of theLuminisgarage in Bahrain. She’d always fucking been there, orbiting this world on her own timeline.
And now? She was standing in my hotel room with my fingerprints all over her skin.
Christ.
My stomach flipped, like cresting the top ofEauRouge at full throttle, a feat that required an immense amount of precision and bravery.
The idea ofAurélieDubois—thisAurélie, the one who just came apart in my hands, the one who drives like she’s got something to prove—looking at me the way I’ve been looking at her? It knocked the air right out of my lungs.
I needed to know everything.
How long had she been watching me? What videos had she saved? She said she’d touched herself to them, but had she imagined me the way I’d imagined her?
My grip on the sink tightened until my knuckles popped.
Not yet, Fraser.
There were things she wasn’t ready to hear.
So I buried it. Shoved it down deep, where the truth wouldn’t slip through my goddamn fingers.
I was disheveled and undone—a far cry from the composed, untouchableCallumFraser I’d built my reputation on. My lips twisted into something between a smirk and a grimace. Control? That word didn’t mean shit anymore. Not where she was concerned.
This wasn’t just about the physical connection, though every nerve in my body still hummed with the memory of her, craved her despite just having her. It was the way she met me, match for match until there was nothing left but the raw, undeniable truth of what we’d done.
I needed space to breathe. To stop the emotions clawing up my throat like wildfire. Vulnerability I wasn’t ready for her to see when I didn’t yet understand it myself.
And yet, even as the satisfaction coursed through me, another feeling crept in—something sharper, more insistent. A craving. Because one night? One moment? It would never be enough.
If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t care if they walked away. That was the point. Keep them distant. Keep it clean. ButAurélie? If she walked away, I’d chase her.
And that scared the absolute shit out of me.
She wasn’t supposed to be different. I wasn’t supposed to want more.
But I did. I wantedso much fucking more.
I grabbed a towel, pressing it to my face, trying to steady the whirlwind inside me. A low, humorless laugh slipped out.Jesus fucking Christ, Fraser. You’re already gone.
The foil packet and used condom crinkled in the bin as I tossed them away, its purpose fulfilled, though it hadn’t done a damn thing to sate the hunger coiling tighter in my chest. She wasn’t just another conquest. That much was obvious.
I straightened, resolve hardening like steel. This would not be the end.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, the cool draft of the room greeted me, replacing the warmth we’d shared. My eyes darted to the desk where we’d—God, the image of her there would haunt me in every hotel I stayed in from here on out—but it was empty now. Instead, I found her near the doorway, her fingers skimming her clothes as though trying to compose herself.
She looked soft. Unraveled. Nothing likeAurélieDuboisthe world thought they knew.
I let the silence stretch, watching her. Letting the weight of it settle between us.
