Broken Hill Havoc (Broken Hill High Series 5)

Oh, hell. Everything below the waist clenches.

Nate’s lips linger on mine as his hold on my body softens. Our kisses turn from the excited, celebratory ones to more of a deep, ‘I’m so damn in love with you’ type of kiss and has me excited about spending the rest of my life with him.

“Any more secrets you feel like spilling tonight?”

My mind instantly takes me to Josh, but I can’t… not tonight. “No,” I smile up at him.

“Come on,” he tells me, pulling back slightly and rolling his eyes. “I’m racing next and I want you with me.”

“Nate,” I sigh. I mean, he knows how I feel about being in the car when he’s racing. It’s hot, but holy hell, it scares the shit out of me. I swear, my heart races faster than when we’re in bed together.

Nate’s fingers come up and run down the side of my face. “Please?” he murmurs. “This one’s important. It’s my last race here.”

My brows come down as I study his face. “What?” I question.

He ignores my question as he reaches around me and opens the door. “Come on,” he says again. “Get in.”

I let out a breath and search deep within me for the balls I know I’m hiding somewhere. “Fine,” I say. His face lightens up with excitement as he helps me in and closes the door behind me. I watch him hurry around the front of the car and the next thing I know, he’s starting it up and pushing his way through the crowd to get down to the track.

What the hell did he mean it was his last race here?

We get down to the track and when a black Charger with Elle in the passenger’s seat pulls up beside him, every thought wipes from my mind. “You’re racing Jackson?” I shriek.

“Yep,” Nate grins proudly. “Finally get to prove to the fucker who’s a better racer.”

“But-”

“Don’t stress,” he tells me. “I don’t know how or when it happened, but I think I trust the guy, and besides, he’s not going to pull any stupid shit with Elle in the car.”

I groan and skip straight past the whole ‘Nate possibly trusting Jackson’ thing as that’s too big of a conversation to be having right now and focus my attention on the girl walking up between the two cars. “Fine, but I swear, Nathaniel Ryder, if this douchebag tries to kill you with me in the car, I’m going to kill you myself.”

Nate barks out a sharp laugh. “Deal.”

I glance across at Jackson sitting behind the steering wheel and distantly notice that Elle looks like she’s about to hurl. I can’t help but smile. This whole racing thing scares me, but I don’t think I’ve ever looked that bad.

Jackson notices me watching and grins. He winks as though we have some sort of secret, and turns his attention back to the track, just in time for the skank wearing a black string bikini to drop her handkerchief.

Nate hits the gas and shoots forward with his big hand expertly working the stick and doing all sorts of things to me.

I look across to see Jackson right beside us, keeping up with Nate’s confidence and speed, challenging him like no one else before.

Nate pushes on as we approach the first corner.

I grip the handle on the door and clench my eyes closed as he speeds around the corner with such grace that I hardly even feel the dirt track beneath the tires. Hearing Nate’s chuckle and feeling the corner is done, I risk opening my eyes.

I look across at the smug asshole while I work on calming myself. I mean, we’re not dead yet and Jackson seems to be keeping to his own side of the track. “It’s not funny.”

“Believe me, babe. It is.”

With that, he drifts right around the next corner, not even giving me a second warning to grip the handlebar again. My body flies to the side with the momentum before the seatbelt catches me. “Hold on, Tora,” Nate says, all traces of humor gone from his voice.

I do as I’m told and instead of focusing on the blurry road before me, I turn and watch Nate. I watch how he shifts through the gears like a professional. I watch his cool, calm, and collected vibe as he attempts one of the most dangerous corners of the track and eases through it. I watch the corners of his lips lift as he loves my eyes on him. I watch the fire in his eyes, telling me how much he loves this.

Jackson pushes up beside us and I watch Nate back off just a bit when it occurs to me what the hell he’s doing. “You’re going to let him win.”

“No way in hell,” he says, hitting the next corner. “I’m going to let him think he has a chance before leaving him in a cloud of dust.”