Page 182 of Crucible
“Thorin, go faster!” Aurelia immediately demands.
“You sure you’re ready for that?” Instead of an answer, I hear her engine accelerate. Aurelia breaks formation and speeds past me with Khalil holding on for dear life and Seth cheering her on. “You don’t even know where you’re going!” I shout when I recover from my shock.
“Then you better keep up!”
I feel a grin split my face at the same time I hit the throttle. The four of us race across the frozen valley. Aurelia’s got all of that deadweight—aka Khalil—slowing her down, so I barely haveto max out my speed to catch up to her. Seth is not far behind, but I can tell he’s not really trying for some reason.
I don’t give it much thought as I continue to gain on Aurelia. I’m still inching closer when Khalil suddenly twists in the rear seat and throws something. Whatever it is, I barely have time to duck the missile before it can hit me between the eyes. Instead, the orange sails over my shoulder and bounces off my snowmobile’s reflector,cracks it, and then hits the ground.
“Why the fuck are you throwing shit at me?” I bark.
“Mario Kart, asshole!” Khalil throws another fucking orange.
It finds its mark this time, hitting my right shoulder so hard that I lose my grip on the accelerator and some of my speed. Growling, I press on the gas to catch up again, dodging all the over-ripened oranges that Khalil just happened to bring with him.
I’m starting to suspect this race was their plan all along—Aurelia’s, Khalil’s, and maybe Seth’s, too. They probably plotted to fuck with me, knowing I have a competitive nature.
Khalil finally runs out of oranges about five hundred feet away from the forest line that marks the end of the valley, so I decide to make my move, shifting to the left side of Aurelia’s Ski-Doo and increasing my speed. Despite Khalil’s frustrated encouragement, Aurelia is still too nervous to max out her speed, so I’m confident I have the easy win in the bag.
My front bumper is inching closer to Aurelia’s rear when something slams into me from the right side. I swear viciously, feeling like my brain is bouncing around in my skull as I veer off track and lose speed as quickly as I’d gained it. Aurelia bursts forward, but I’m too busy reaching for the gun on my hip to worry about the race. When I aim in the direction of the impact, I expect to find a hungry bear staring down my sights—nothing else could have hit me with that much force—but all I see is a maniac.
I can’t see his face, but I know he’s proud of himself.
“Seth, what the hell?” I bark.
“Team Sunshine, bitch!” To Aurelia, he shouts, “Go, baby, go!”
Fucking pussy-whipped purse-holding traitors.
Aurelia hits the throttle and soars across the finish line while Seth flips me off and follows her. Khalil is cheering the loudest as the three of them stop near the gap in the tree line to celebrate with their cheating asses. I hear Aurelia giggling through the Bluetooth as Khalil and Seth hi-five each other over their stolen win.
I’m purposely quiet as I take my time catching up.
They can’t see the grin I’m wearing or feel the way my heart is aching at the picture laid out before me. I can’t recall the last time I saw my brothers this carefree and alive. And Aurelia…she’s in rare form today too—open, unresistant, and laughing—and I wonder if we’re being gifted a glimpse of what could be or taunted with a fool’s dream.
One perfect girl for three very different men.
Aurelia, Seth, and Khalil don’t have a clue what I’m feeling, so the three of them are quiet and guarded by the time I cruise across the finish line to join them. And I don’t feel the least bit bad about it. Pretending to ruin the mood is my petty revenge for being teamed up on.
Cutting the engine, I school my expression before removing my helmet, and Aurelia does the same. She’s still beaming and beautifully flushed from the thrill of the race, but when she notices me watching, her smile dims a little, and she lifts her chin in a clear challenge. “Well?”
I just barely hold back my grin. “Well, what?”
“Are you going to be a sore loser, Thorin Thayer?”
Leaning forward to rest my forearms on the handlebars, I hear Khalil and Seth snickering and give them unimpressedlooks before meeting Aurelia’s gaze once more. “Of course not, my wolf. Congratulations on your victory.”
Aurelia looks gut punched before she looks away. We both know I’m not talking about the race.
Aurelia’s got us wrapped around her finger, and not one of us is interested in untangling ourselves. It’s only Aurelia who seems to shut down whenever we bring up the fact that she obviously feels something more than just reluctant lust for us.
She agreed to stay and give us everything, including her heart, yet…she’s not.
Not yet, at least.
I tell myself I can be patient. We haven’t had the best start after all. We haven’t earnedhertrust yet. But even after all my Marine training, patience has never been a virtue of mine. I want to possess every inch of this woman—her darkest desires, voluptuous body, rare smiles, teeth and wit, and soul…however it comes.
She stares toward the trail leading to Hearth when she asks, “So, are we hiking the rest of the way?”
