“Two teams out for testing before ours!” one of the men in the pit box shouted as number 18 walked in from pit lane.
Nixon Armas.
Behind me,Alvaroleaned down to my ear as I watched the second team member approach. “He’s the one you need to watch out for.”
As if in slow motion, he lifted the helmet from his head.
I’d seen photos and interviews of him as I researched, but nothing compared to seeing him in the flesh. His strong, square jawline tensed as he swallowed, his blue eyes narrowed in anger as he looked around, hugging his helmet to his chest. The tawny skin of his face was covered in dots of perspiration that he wiped off with the sleeve of his leathers.
Once, when I watched the races with my dad on a Sunday afternoon, I’d commented about how attractive he was.
It was nothing in comparison to him face-to-face.
He carried the arrogance with him. Intimidating, masculine, bloody breathtaking.
But I did breathe. I nearly choked on my swallow, but I did breathe.
He was one of the most attractive, commanding men I’d ever laid eyes on. He knew it too. He used it to his advantagewhen it came to his fuck ups.
“Smooth ride?”Alvaroasked, still standing behind me.
Nixon didn’t look over, trying to find someone who wasn’t there. “Smooth as shit,” he said. “The handling is exactly what we need on ours. I need to tellCris—”
But as his search turned his gaze this way, it found me. His eyes narrowed further. “You are?”
“LivieQuinn,” I said, offering my hand out again. He stared down at it. “New publicist for the team. Media manager.”
He only looked me up and down. “You’re not in uniform.”
“She just got here, Nix,”Alvarosaid behind me.
“Should be in uniform,” he said, peeling off his leather gloves before going to one of the cases that lined the wall. He pulled out a top in their colours, ripping off the plastic covering and shoving it into my chest. “Change.”
“Change?”
“You’re being a dick,” Alvaro scolded.
Nixon glared at him. “Is she part of the team or not?”
“You can at least be nice, asshole.”
“I’ll change,” I offered, keen to not cause any dramas when I was meant to take them away. “But then we need to have a meeting, MrArmas.”
He breathed in deeply, turning to one of the lined-up bikes. “I don’t have time.”
“Bullshit,”Alvarosnapped, walking away. “Go and speak to her. Especially seeing as she’s here because of you.”
“It won’t take long,” I promised.
His shoulders raised and lowered in a deep sigh before he faced me again. Those eyes… the cheekbones. Damn it, I knew he was attractive from all of the articles, but…
He was so tall in comparison to the other riders.
In comparison to me.
He was hardening, staring down at me. “So, it’s confirmed, you’re here to keep me in line,” he snarled, but then a cruel smile warmed his face as if he realised he wasn’t at a complete loss. “Good luck.”
Chapter2
