FIVE
“Jo! Wait up!”
His voice hadn’t changed. Ten years and that voice was still just as smooth as top shelf whiskey. But though that hadn’t changed, a lot had. When they’d met, Nic had been young, still coming into his own. Now, he was a grown man and he looked it. With scruff on his jawline that she would have loved on any other man and hair just barely long enough to touch his jawline, Nicolas Olcan was as attractive as ever. Pity. She kind of hoped he’d gotten ugly.
“Hey! You can’t just pretend I don’t exist,” Nic continued from behind her. “We’re gonna have to be in a car together.”
She froze, anger filling her veins. After all of this time, he was attempting to boss her around? Whirling on him, he stumbled back a step at the look on her face.
“Don’t tell me what we’re doing, Nicolas Olcan! I know very well what we’re going to be doing.” She scowled. “But if I don’t get some space, I’m going to claw your fucking eyes out.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I understand why you’re angry—”
“Do you?” she snarled, her teeth bared. “Do you really understand why I’m imagining slicing your belly open and leaving you here to rot?”
Nic blinked. “I mean, I understand why you’d think about it. I wanted to apologize—”
“Save your breath,” she spat. “You’re ten years too late.” She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm down. At this moment, she was simply angry for Nic having the audacity to exist. If she wasn’t careful, she’d screw up her chance to enter the Race Games. “Look, Nic. This is important to me. I entered the Games for a reason, and I can’t have a teammate I’ll worry is going to disappear into a brothel when my back is turned.”
“Ouch,” he winced. “You went in for the kill, huh?”
Sniffing, she shifted on her feet, her body tense with anger. “Don’t fuck this up for me, Olcan. I’ve worked my ass off to get my business where I want it, and now, I have a real solution for growth despite the shitty economy. If you fuck this up for me. . .”
“Jo, I’m not here to fuck things up. I promise.”
“Your promises mean nothing,” she growled and shook her head. “This isn’t going to work.”
“Look, I understand your emotions. I fucked up ten years ago. I know I did. But now we have a chance—”
“There’s no chance,” Jo cut him off. “None. This is about the Race Games.”
He paused and seemed to weigh his next words before nodding his head. “I’m just the driver. Nothing more.”
But they’d have to spend time together, working on a car, practicing for the race itself. There would be no escaping Nicolas Olcan, the asshole from her past. She’s rejected him, but never formally. The bond between them was still strong, and it was making her emotions worse. She was angry, yes, but her body reacted to his scent in a way that made her want to tackle him to the ground and have her way with him. It was frustrating that she couldn’t turn it off, that her instincts wanted to trust him.
But he’d already hurt her, and he’d probably been off the last ten years fucking every wolf this side of the Mississippi.
She narrowed her eyes, realizing what this would mean. “I need the prize, certain parts of it.”
“You can have it all,” he answered. “I don’t want any of it.”
“Then why are you racing?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Fun?”
He opened his mouth, but no words came out, not at first. Then he seemed to shake himself. “The elders offered. I accepted.”
“Why?” she hissed, and then shook her head. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter anyway.” Anger coursing through her veins and a desperation to escape biting at her feet, she took a deep breath. “You have three days to get your affairs in order. Meet me at the old Flora Place in the Saddlewood Pack on Monday at nine a.m. Don’t be late.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Nic answered. “I’ll be there.”
Without another word, Jo turned away from him and walked away, but she felt his gaze on her back, felt him watch her go. Only once she was certain she was hidden by the trees did she shift and start to run.
The anger needed an outlet, and the soil digging into her paws helped. But no matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t outrun the emotions. Even ten years later, she was still hurt. Seeing his face had only reminded her of the pain.