“Of speed or of you?” I challenge him.
“Both,” he chuckles. “Did you know that ”—he bites his lower lip, his gaze holding mine—“a man drives like he fucks?”
On that sentence, he presses the accelerator and takes my breath away. I’m propelled into an adrenaline rush at a blistering speed.
His driving is… overpowering. Electrifying. Intoxicating.
Point taken.
The agreement
We arrive at the viewpoint of Monaco. I’m speechless by the breathtaking sight; the fancy buildings seem so tiny, they look like Lego bricks. It feels like we are on top of the world. A world where it’s only us. No one around. As I crawl closer to the edge of the cliff, I can feel my stomach turning into a knot. A few steps farther and I would step into the void. I look at the horizon to focus on the deep blue of the sea instead while positioning both of my hands on the stone to stabilize myself. Aaron is sitting on the edge of the rock, inviting me to take place next to him. It’s not until I settle down—not so close to the edge—that I realize how high we are. I’ve always been afraid of heights, but something in me wants to defy my fear. Probably Aaron.
“I come here when I need to think,” he says, lost in his thoughts. “Or when I need to yell. You can try, nobody will hear you.” He remains stoic.
“I’m more of an introvert.”
Aaron stands up on the edge of the rock. One more step and he would be falling into the void. He remains there, staring at the sea with sinister confidence. The confidence of a man who isn’t afraid of death. A daredevil provoking fate. A silent wolf without a pack. I can’t shake the idea that something is haunting him. He has this dark aura surrounding him that screams danger.
He turns to face me, offering me his hand to hold, his hair wild with the wind. I shake my head, grabbing harder at the rock behind me. I’m already paralyzed by sitting on the vertex of a cliff; I can’t possibly stand, not even being a few feet away from the edge.
He ambles toward me, leaving the verge, and squats facing me to offer his hand again. This man doesn’t understand the meaning of fear. I accept it in spite of myself, wanting to prove to him that I’m stronger than I appear. I stand on the rock at a safe distance, but my heart starts to bounce hard. I tighten my grip, probably hurting him, as he poses his other hand behind my lower back, his gaze scrutinizing me. I focus on the view. It looks so different when you’re standing; it’s empowering, powerful. I simper, feeling proud of myself for this accomplishment. I would have never imagined I could stand so high, even though a minute later I’m back on safe land. Maybe I’m stronger than I think.
We head back to the grass, the adrenaline still in my blood. For the first time in my life, I feel alive. I lean closer to the white myrtle tree as I notice Aaron lost in his thoughts. His eyebrows frown like he’s trying to make an important decision.
“Aaron, what happened with Longfoard—”
He overlaps my question with his. “Tell me something about you, Elle.”
I chuckle at the bluntness of his question. “What would you like to know?”
“Anything.”
“Fine. I’m twenty-three, and I don’t have any siblings. It has just been my mother and me.” My face closes at the thought of my mother. She and I have always had a complicated relationship and pleasing her came at a high price.
“What about you? Any siblings?” I change the subject, not letting my gloomy thoughts get to me. I already know Aaron’s father is André LeBeau, a multibillionaire and chairman of LeBeau’s luxury hotel chains.
“I have a brother.”
I open my mouth in surprise. But then again, I did my research on him two days before flying to Monaco. That’s the reminder, we only know what Wolf is showing willingly to the world. “How old is your brother? Are you close to each other?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to dig into my past.”
“Why?”
“Because Elle, I’m not a good man,” he replies in a rugged tone. And yet, his darkness is appealing to me. I feel the need to elucidate the Wolf enigma.
His penetrating stare hits me with the same intensity it did last night. He spreads the blossoming tree branches away from his face, our bodies almost pressing together. I grip the trunk of the tree behind me, ignoring the shimmering arousal by the sudden proximity. Wolf’s breath is soft but shuddering, like a predator savoring the conquest yet to come. He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. And this could feel like a movie scene—if we weren’t both emotionally unavailable.
“What kind of man do you like, Elle?” His tongue flicks out.
“I like a gentleman. I’m more the type of girl to go for the Prince Charming than the…” My voice is trembling like a whisper, my lips in a haze to taste sin one more time. I scan him from head to toe. “…than the hunter.”
He cracks a dazzling smile. “Fairy tales are nice, but… I don’t think you want a gentleman in bed.” He stares at my begging lips. “And you, you are not destined for boring.”
That’s when I understand what we have in common. We both hide our feelings, our demons, by using an escape. Him, he fights his demons by indulging his desires, the need for flesh, the need to be in control—of himself, and of someone else. Aaron LeBeau isn’t a womanizer, but a broken man trying to fulfill an empty void. And I am a distraction. His need to escape. The one he can’t have. Yesterday, he couldn’t claim the flag that was his to take, so he takes something else. Me.
I pull away from him, knowing where this discussion will go. He leans against the tree, clearly amused by my reaction. I walk around him, distracting his mind as well as I can. “How did you get into Formula 1?”
