Three things had happened since our night in Austria.

One: I'd become addicted to Florence, even more than I'd ever had before. It'd become impossible to stay away from her, to not watch her lips move when she spoke up in a meeting. I hadn't intended to, really, but it was unimaginable not to. The only reason I'd pull my gaze away from her was that she wanted to take things slow, and I respected that.

Two: Azure Racing had thrived with the work Florence and her team had done. Both Felipe's and my mechanics were up to speed now, and communication had never been better. It'd been a lot of fun working with them for the three races since I'd won in Spielberg.

Number three, and this one was as unexpected as it was thrilling: I couldn't stop winning.

Race after race, I'd either qualified for pole positions or got myself to the first place by fighting my way through the track. It'd been a blast, especially since Florence had waited for me after every damn win. She'd kept her distance in public, just shooting me her beautiful proud grins from far away, but the second I'd found her afterward...

Well, let's just say winning was a lot more rewarding when there was someone waiting for you.

This time, I'd spotted her in her office in the team's motor home, her eyes glued to the laptop screen she was furiously typing away on. Her Azure Racing overalls had been zipped open with the arms tied around her hips, leaving her upper body in a black tank top that revealed her beautiful and healthy curves. I couldn't help but watch as she bit her lip and furrowed her brows, tapping on the screen while she glanced at the papers scattered around the table.

Florence never stopped working. She never stopped trying to improve our performance, not even when we'd beat our competitors by five whole seconds at today's race in Portugal. I loved that about her; I loved that she was as passionate about this job as she claimed to be, and I definitely loved her uncompromising will to achieve greatness.

We'd always had that in common; The desire to win. She probably had it even more than me.

The sigh that left her throat made me redirect my focus on her, my shoulder pressed against the doorway as I watched her lean back. Her head rested in the hands she had crossed behind her neck, and when she closed her eyes, I took that as a sign to approach her.

I locked the door before I walked over, careful not to make a sound as my sneakers hit the ground. Her unclipped hair glided over her neck as she took a deep breath, and I used the opportunity to brush it aside, leaving a hand on each shoulder. She tensed for just a second, but when I leaned down and pressed a kiss on her cheek, I nearly died from the smile that crossed her face.

Florence was too fucking beautiful; even after a race day in the heat that left her hair sticking to her face and her skin glistening from sweat. Somehow, this rugged look made her even more alluring.

"Hi, rockstar," she whispered, eyes still closed as I started to massage the tension lingering in her shoulders. "Oh my god, that's good... Keep going." She sighed in content and dropped her arms to the side, probably not even knowing the effect her tone of voice had on me.

"I'm far from a rockstar." Was all I knew to say, my hands still working on her body.

"Hmh..." The whimpered moan from her lips practically shattered all my inhibitions. "You sure looked like one on that podi—oh, fuck. Right there. Shit." She chuckled and even blushed a little, almost as if she realized what she sounded like.

The mischievous smirk on her lips told me she didn't mind, though. And so I continued, even if it took all my willpower to not throw her over my shoulder and carry her into my room. I wanted to hear all the other noises she'd make when I used my hands for something much, much dirtier than this — but that had to wait.

"Where did you learn to do this?" she asked, relaxing visibly in the computer chair she was occupying.

"I didn't," I responded with a smirk before I leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss at the spot behind her ear as I added, "Seems like you just really like my hands."

Her laugh was breathless but laced with a kind of joy that made my heart soar. It was carefree and light, like a dandelion traveling with the wind.

"Seems like I do..." Her cheeks heated almost imperceptibly as she opened her eyes, straight up short-circuiting my brain from the sight of her blue-green irises. She spun around, head tilted up to me as my hands moved from her shoulders to the back of her chair.

Her gaze traveled over my body with a frown, studying the Azure Racing shirt and dark jeans I wore. I cocked my head to the side until she met my eyes again, questioning her glance. The way her teeth came down on her bottom lip made me want to pull it out from her grasp, but before I could do that, she spoke up.

"You showered."

That observation ripped me back to reality, and I let out a laugh before I ducked my head, meeting her at eye-level in her seating position. "I did. Couldn't find you anywhere."

"Hmh..." She nodded and wrapped her arms around my waist, using the leverage to pull herself closer to me. Cinnamon shampoo and the faint scent of gasoline lingered in the atmosphere when she ran a hand through my hair, tugging at it the way she did in a kiss. Florence didn't kiss me this time, though. She just stared at me, her eyes roaming over my face until she finally whispered, "That's a shame. I like the way you look after a win."

Her hands wrapped around my neck, playing with my hair as I just watched her with wide eyes. This woman would never cease to amaze me.

"You do?" I asked, unable to hide my grin. The pull I felt toward her blew my mind every single time I got close to her, but it was even worse when she said things like these, things that resonated with everything who I was.

"Yeah." She wrapped her legs around my own, somehow trying to close the distance between us with the awkward height difference we found ourselves in. "Clean Phoenix is nowhere near as hot as dirty, gasoline-and-rubber-smelling Phoenix who'd literally just won a race."

Well, fuck me.

Her eyes darkened in a way that I knew I had no chance. There was no way in hell I wouldn't give in to her temptation, to the fire that danced in her irises.

I didn't even try to stop myself from slamming my lips on her own, eliciting a quiet but very potent whimper from her throat. She tightened her grasp around my neck while deepening the kiss, and I instantly followed her lead. My mind spun from the sweet-but-burning taste of her, though I bathed in the emotion she triggered every time our lips met. There was nothing better than experiencing her like this. Passionate, sincere, and so damn wild that she turned my life upside-down.

Her body felt exceptional when it was pressed against mine, gaining all the control she needed when she tightened her legs around my waist. I didn't even consciously register what I was doing when I grabbed her thighs and hoisted her up, carrying her to the next wall.

I swallowed the gasp that fled her lips as we collided, and she shut me up just the same, her fingers now wandering down my body. She grabbed one of my hands that held her thighs and led it beneath her tank top, urging me to touch the bare skin on her back.

"Flo..." I groaned, propping my other arm underneath both her legs to keep her upright.

"Touch me," she said, the statement making me pull back. Her hair was all over the place, but it still somehow framed her breathless being as she gazed at me with dark eyes. The fire emanating off of her supported her statement, and I could practically feel how she burned down all the inhibitions and promises I'd made to myself. "I want you to touch me. Can I touch you?"

Her fingers wandered beneath my shirt, fingertips hesitantly brushing over my stomach.

"Of course you can touch me..." I shivered when her hands traced my muscles, causing me to dig my fingers into the soft skin on her back as well. She felt too good; somehow even better than I remembered. Her body held more curves — athletic ones that perfectly hugged her figure, but curves nonetheless. And my fingers couldn't wait to discover them all, to wrap around them and squeeze her tight, just to feel her react the way she did right this moment.

Her lips found my own again, inviting me in for a deep, sinful kiss that took my breath away. It was a challenge to keep up with the fire she ignited with every stroke of her tongue, with every inch her fingers discovered on my skin. And even though I was a strong man, a man with principles and rules that helped me stay as resilient as I was... Florence Nyx just knew how to get me to my knees.

Because when she brushed her fingers over my waist, hooking them into the belt to pull me even closer, I was as weak as they came.

"Flo... Stop," I whispered while breaking the kiss, and she instantly paused her movements.

Her brows furrowed when I took a deep breath, trying really damn hard to regain my composure with this woman in my arms. It was damn near impossible.

"Sorry." She cleared her throat, face flushed as she inhaled deeply. Her legs untangled from my waist and found the ground, causing me to frown as I moved my hands to rest next to her head against the wall.

"Guess I was wrong..." she whispered.

I raised a brow in question, internally glad about the moment she gave me to rearrange my thoughts.

Her lips twitched into a crooked smirk, one that almost, just almost, made me regret stopping her from doing what she wanted to do.

"Clean Phoenix is pretty hot, too..." She giggled — yes, giggled — before hiding her face in my neck, causing me to chuckle as well.

"Well, thanks, I guess." I exhaled, squeezing her tightly. "My problem is you're really fucking hot no matter what you do or what you wear, Florence." She looked up at me, straightening herself so she was at eye-level. I couldn't help but stare at her swollen lips as I captured her chin with my index and thumb, making sure she held my gaze as I continued my thoughts. "It's pretty damn hard not to rip your clothes off when you do these things."

She swallowed hard, gaze flicking to my lips and then back up to my eyes. "Ditto."

I smirked at her choice of words; words we'd used a lot more when we'd been teenagers, making stupid decisions.

That wasn't who I was anymore, though. She and I both knew that.

"Don't get me wrong..." I leaned back into her, my lips brushing over her collarbone. "One of these days, I will rip those clothes off, and I will do all the things you want me to do to you. Because fuck, Flo." Feathering kisses along her neck, I made my way back up to her, ending with a swift peck on her lips. "I've waited way too fucking long for this."

I smirked at the sigh she exhaled, even though I felt exactly the same. This was torture.

"But," I added, trying to find the way back to my point, "When I rip those clothes off of you... It won't be in this office. You deserve a lot more than that."

She nodded, but her eyes danced with an emotion that took my breath away. Sometimes, just sometimes, I saw a glimmer of that eighteen-year-old girl hiding deep inside the woman standing in front of me at this moment.

This version of her was a lot different from the Florence I'd known in the past. But in the end, she was still the girl I'd fallen so deeply in love with all those years ago.

And even after all this time, she still held my heart.

"Thank you," she whispered, her hushed voice pulling me out of my thoughts. I smiled at the kiss she pressed on my cheek before she wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me into a hug that was so unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

Because that was the thing about Florence. Even though I'd known her ages ago, even though we shared a past together, she opened me up to new experiences.

I couldn't wait to discover them all with her.

"So, what do you say..." Her breath traveled over my neck as she spoke, the heat of her being sending a shiver down my spine. I could feel the smirk on her lips as she whispered, "You up for dinner?"

***

No idea what I'd expected when Florence said she'd pick me up at six... but it surely wasn't this.

"You coming?" The woman in question raised a brow, not even regarding Rimmy, who currently dashed out the door and toward a tree in front of the hotel entrance.

Flo acted like she didn't know how good she looked tonight, dressed in a navy blue jumpsuit that barely reached her knees. The loose fabric fluttered in the light breeze outside, but she didn't seem fazed by it. She just stood there in white sneakers, one hand propped on her hip.

"Yeah." I shook my head with a chuckle and made my way outside, reaching out a hand to her. It was her decision to keep this quiet, so she'd have to take the lead on how open we were about things.

To my surprise, she grabbed my hand without a word, the other one now waving at Rimmy. "Come on, dude. We gotta get going."

"Woof!" He barked in response, and I was surprised yet again when he actually listened to her and appeared by our side a second later.

"Good boy," she whispered and ruffled his fur, attaching his leash before she reached into her jumpsuit pocket. I couldn't help but laugh when she pulled out a treat and threw it at Rimmy, who almost stumbled over his wheels to jump up and catch it, but somehow stayed on all fours. He devoured it within seconds and looked up at her with wide eyes, obviously expecting more.

Flo simply laughed, though. It was a quiet but melodic laugh that got stuck in my head like a song on repeat, and yet again I had to force my gaze away from her as she proceeded down the street.

Silence surrounded us as we walked down the sidewalk, Rimmy continuously staring up at either Flo or me for a while, always begging for more treats. At one point, he inserted himself between the two of us, causing both Flo and me to stumble every other step.

A chuckle fled my lips as I jumped above the dog in my way. "Maybe you should just give—"

"I'm not going to give him another treat." She glanced over at me, a smirk on her lips. "It's called positive reinforcement. He only gets the treat when he does something right. Shoving himself between the two of us isn't exactly right, right?"

"Right."

"Yeah, right." Her laughter vibrated into interlaced fingers, and right on time, Rimmy threw himself in Flo's way, causing her to trip over him. I pulled at her hand before she could fall, throwing her straight against my chest.

I could feel her heart hammer against my hand that pressed into her back, holding her tight. And fuck me... The way she reacted to me would forever blow my mind.

Being looked at like that, especially by someone as self-assured as Florence, gave me a shit ton of confidence. Confidence I didn't even know I had.

"Thought you weren't clumsy." I couldn't help but grin, but Flo responded by pushing herself away from me, eyes rolling.

"I'm not, but — oh my God, Rimmy!" Again, she almost stumbled over the dog, who positioned himself behind her left foot, not giving her a chance to avoid him. "When will you learn?!"

Rimmy frowned at the tone of her voice, his head bowed as he looked up at her with wide puppy eyes. The dog really knew what he was doing.

"Don't look at me like that! Your actions have consequences. Just because you're a dog doesn't mean that doesn't apply..."

She glanced down at her pup, who by now wasn't even looking at her anymore. He seemed so ashamed that even I felt bad for the damn dog.

"Don't even think about it." Her words made me glance over at her.

"What?"

Florence raised a finger, wiggling it left and right before she pointed it at the pup that now looked at us. "I know you feel bad for him, but don't even think about picking him up or anything like that."

I glanced down at Rimmy, who was now staring at me like I could help him out of this mess. Another glance at Florence made me sigh, and I simply shrugged at the poor dog. "Sorry, dude. I'm more scared of her than I am of you..."

"Oh my God!" Florence slapped my arm with a laugh, shaking her head as she started walking again. "Scared of me..." she muttered under her breath. "Unbelievable."

With a grin on my lips, I followed her down the streets. Rimmy stuck by my side for the rest of the walk, and while Flo did her best to act nonchalant, I could tell the dog's focus on me intrigued her.

Hell, I was fascinated, too.

"Okay, we're here." She stopped in front of a tiny house in the middle of a tight alleyway, a bright grin curling on her lips.

The entire scene looked like it jumped right out of a movie; A small sign reading restaurante stuck out from above the wooden door, the name pôr-do-sol written on it in cursive letters.

I definitely needed Portuguese lessons.

"Sunset." She answered my unspoken question with a smile and picked up a nervous Rimmy, who followed my glance into the restaurant. "It means sunset. It's Dad's favorite place in Portimão."

I nodded, my gaze still wandering around the inside of the restaurant. It was one of those places you wouldn't find in a travel guide, but only by talking to the locals.

"You speak Portuguese? I thought your mom was Spanish..." I couldn't help but comment, the dozens of questions in my head trying to escape without warning.

"I speak five languages." Florence shrugged, though the proud smile on her face didn't go by unnoticed.

Even more questions for me. Great.

"Damn," was all I said, though. "I speak... one and a half."

Florence's laugh echoed through the empty street, the sound once again etched into my mind. I wanted it to stay there forever.

"What's the other half?" she asked with a raised brow.

"You'll find out once you've told me about the rest of your talents."

Again, she shook her head with a chuckle, her shoulder bumping into mine. "Well, okay, mystery boy. Let's get inside and figure this out."

She opened the door and waved me inside, all while holding Rimmy with one arm. I did a small curtsy before I walked past her, eliciting a quiet giggle from her lips that made me turn around as I entered the room. It was hard to look at anything but her, but when she sounded so uncharacteristically girlish, I was astounded even more.

"Keep walking, creep." She patted my hip with a smile, gently pushing me forward.

I was just about to fire a response, when a tall lady with dark hair and an apron tied around her waist stepped into our sight, her eyes instantly setting on Flo.

"Florence Lucia!" Her Portuguese accent flowed effortlessly off her tongue as she wrapped Flo into a hug. The words following afterward were not only foreign to me, but they were spoken at such a rapid speed that I had no chance to decipher a syllable she'd said.

Florence responded in a similar fashion, babbling words at a speed that was unearthly to me. The only word standing out to me sounded like Alexandra, which I assumed was the woman's name.

I heard my own name in the course of their conversation, but every time Florence tried to turn around and talk to me, the woman got her attention again. The two shared a few words that sounded a little more hectic, but Alexandra kept waving Florence off, much like a mother who didn't want to listen to her child.

"Alexandra..." Florence groaned as the woman grabbed her hand, but didn't stop her from walking forward. I followed the women with a raised brow, proceeding down the empty restaurant until Alexandra opened a large wooden door at the other end of the room.

"I'm sorry!" was the only thing Flo said to me, her eyes as apologetic as her words when I got on my toes to peek into the room. It seemed like a normal room for private parties, but as I scanned the area filled with blue-and-red polo shirts... I suddenly knew what Florence was sorry for.

"Oh, the man of the day!" It was Michael who got my attention first. He got up from the large rectangular table where about a dozen Azure employees sat and stumbled over to me, the empty beer glass in his hand telling me he'd had a bit of fun tonight already. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, a move he never would've done if he wasn't as intoxicated as he was right at this moment. "Four wins in a row. What a champion!"

I cringed at both his words and the smell of alcohol on his breath, and slowly removed his arms from my shoulders, giving him a pat on the back as I lowered him on a chair to my right. "Yeah, not quite yet, Michael. Thanks, though."

"Ahh, nonsense!" His German accent somehow disappeared with his ability to speak, however that worked. "You're the champ!"

"Alexandra!" Jin called out above the noise, his hand raising from next to Michael, who almost fell into his lap as he tried to join Jin on the large bench. "How much longer until we can get some food into this man?"

Alexandra seemed embarrassed by the question, her hands waving around in a hectic manner. "Yes, yes. Sorry!" She disappeared from the room, leaving Florence and me in front of what must've been a couple dozen Azure Racing mechanics, engineers, team principals... and... wait, what?

My eyes narrowed as I studied the man with the ponytail who just clinked glasses with Liam Drexler. Michael's yelling, Jin's pleading, and even Chris's laughter drowned out in the noise of my curiosity as I stared at the two.

Why would Cem Alir, a private investigator, be at a private Azure Racing party? And more importantly, why would he talk to Liam fucking Drexler?

"I'm really sorry." Florence's whisper brought me out of my thoughts, her apologetic eyes meeting mine. "I didn't know they were here. I wouldn't have brought us here if I did."

I nodded, trying to find the right way to respond.

Truth was, I was annoyed. Not just that, but I was frustrated and had been looking forward to spending time alone with Florence, since we barely got to do that. It'd been a month since our first date, and the only times I saw her were for breakfast or dinner, during which we were mostly accompanied by Idir, her brother, or someone else who needed something from her.

She was valuable not just because of her name, but because of her job and because of how damn good she was at it.

And I didn't mind her getting the attention, much the opposite. She was born to get all of it, but fuck me. I just wanted to spend some time with her.

"It's okay," I said, figuring it's the only thing I could really say.

"You're lying." Her response made me raise a brow, but she stood her ground by crossing her arms in front of her chest, all while carrying Rimmy in the middle of them. He looked up at me as if he was trying to mimic her expression, furrowed brows staring up at me. "I told you not to lie to me."

All I could do was stare at her.

Yeah, I was annoyed. Yeah, I was fucking frustrated. And yeah, I really wasn't okay... But the way she stood up for the things she believed in, for the rules she'd set in place, just made me crave her so much more.

She didn't back down. She didn't stray from her path. And she surely didn't take any bullshit just because she'd made a mistake beforehand.

Florence told me about her rules, and they weren't that hard to understand.

"Sorry." Sighing, I glanced at the group of people. Luckily, Michael was entertaining them all enough for Flo and me to have a moment for ourselves. I nudged her into the corner of the room, far away so no one would see, but close enough for us to know if anyone approached us.

"I know this isn't what you want, but you can't—"

"Let me talk first, please." I interrupted her.

I know. Ballsy move.

Surprisingly, Florence listened and closed her mouth, wide eyes now staring at me.

That must've been my sign to continue. "No, this isn't what I want. It's not your fault they're here, though. I wasn't lying when I said it was okay. I may not be okay, but that's not what it's about."

She raised her brows in question, and she was just about to open her mouth when I preempted her. "It's about us, Flo. It's about me spending time with you. If that means I have to endure these idiots too, then so be it. It is okay, as long as you're there."

Florence blinked a few times, her wide blue-green eyes gaping at me like I'd told her a fairytale. "Why?" she asked.

I glanced back into the room, satisfied when the majority of people were busy with their food by now. Turning back to Flo, I couldn't help but reach for her cheek, securing my grasp on her. My thumb brushed over her skin as she moved with the motion, angling her head so she felt more of my palm.

"Because you recharge my social battery," I said.

Every damn time I looked at her, she took my breath away. But when she gazed at me the way she did now, with a vulnerability that even the moon envied, my entire world stood still.

Because there she was again: the eighteen-year-old girl who was as drawn to the night as I was to her.

"I really want to kiss you right now," she whispered.

"I'm not holding you back."

"Yeah. I know..." She sighed, her glance falling into the room behind me. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I'm patient."

Flo snorted, head shaking as she took a step back from me. "No, you're not."

"Nope, I'm not." I chuckled. "But I try to be."

The way she stared at me made my heart stop, and it became harder and harder to keep my distance from her. I could see it in her eyes. I could see just how much she wanted me.

"Thank you." Her words were barely audible, but I heard her loud and clear.

But, truth be told... There was nothing to be thankful for. I still regretted the way I'd handled things in the past, and nothing would stop me from fixing my mistakes.

She was the one, after all.

"Anything for you, Miss Nyx."

Author's Note

Happy New Year, folks!

I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and could use the time to get some rest and see your loved ones, whichever way that was. I know the pandemic is hard to a lot of us right now, but we should never lose hope.

We can all be super proud of the way we've handled things, so there's that!

Now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one is already on the roll, but I got uni stuff coming up, so no promises. You know how it is.

Lots of love to you all, and please stay safe.

xx Jane