Drive me Wild, Rival(BL) Chapter 39: Until then, Princess

Nico

The Bahrain International Circuit was alive with noise and energy on Friday morning. The sun beat down rcilessly on the asphalt, turning the track into a shimring heat haze. Formula 1 Friday practice was in full swing. FP1 had just ended, and teams were already preparing for FP2.

chanics sward around cars in the pit lane, engineers stared at data screens with intense focus, and the unmistakable roar of high-powered hybrid engines echoed across the desert.

I stood at the edge of the Red Bull garage, my arms crossed over my chest, watching the track through my sunglasses. My eyes were locked on one car in particular — the sleek black Ferrari with the prancing horse logo and car number 16.

Alaric’s car.

He was out on a long run, pushing hard through the flowing corners. I could see the way he attacked Turn 1, braking late and trying to carry maximum speed into the apex.

The car looked sharp, but sothing was slightly off. He was a fraction late on the exit of Turn 4, losing a bit of ti on the long straight.

It was subtle, but I noticed it imdiately.

Beside , my teammate Ethan Ramsey leaned against the wall, tall and broad-shouldered at 6’2. His brunette hair was neatly styled, and his sharp blue eyes followed the cars with the sa intensity as mine. He was a solid driver, reliable, and we had been teammates since I joined Red Bull.

"It seems Alaric is having issues," Ethan comnted casually, wiping sweat from his brow. "Look at that exit on Turn 8. He’s sliding wide every lap. I have to admit that he has lost his touch after the hiatus, clearly."

I didn’t reply to him imdiately. He was right, but my jaw tightened as I continued watching Alaric’s Ferrari carve through the track. He was still fast, still dangerous, and the only driver who could push to my absolute limit, so I didn’t care about anyone’s opinion.

Ethan scoffed. "I an, what the hell was he expecting? Coming back after two years and thinking he could jump straight into winning again? So people get replaced, and you, my friend, have replaced him a long ti ago."

That made see red.

I cast a sharp glare in his direction.

"Uhm, what?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, surprised by my reaction. "Why are you getting mad?" he asked, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Didn’t you hate the guy? You’ve always wanted him off the grid, even made shady comnts about him. So why are you being defensive now? Make it make sense."

I kept my voice low and controlled. "He might have been away for too long, but he was a champion. People don’t just forget that kind of talent overnight."

Ethan laughed under his breath. "Talent doesn’t last forever. He should stop worrying about fighting for first place and focus on beating the rcedes guy, Kelvin. That’s the real threat to you this season. Red Bull isn’t winning anything if you keep getting distracted by so rusty coback story."

"Stop talking," I said sharply, the anger evident in my tone.

Ethan gave one long look and shrugged, looking unbothered. "Just my observation."

I didn’t respond.

My eyes stayed glued to the black Ferrari as it completed another lap. Alaric was improving with every run, finding his rhythm again. The fire was still there. It had always been there. I could see it in the way he attacked the corners, in the aggressive lines he took.

He might not be the sa driver who had left the grid two years ago, but he was dangerous. And that made sothing dark and possessive stir in my chest.

I wanted him to continue racing.

That wasn’t my intention from the onset, but now, seeing him from the crowd’s perspective again like I did all those years ago, he was doing great.

"Alaric is on a whole different level," I muttered under my breath as I continued watching him.

The session tir ran down after a mont, and the cars began to return to the pits. Practice was over for now, and dia interviews awaited us in the paddock.

I turned away from the track, my mind already drifting back to the ssage I had sent Alaric last night and the way he had blocked .

A slow smirk tugged at my lips, knowing that I must have pushed him to the limits.

"Co on, let’s head over to the dia pen," Ethan said to as he started walking off.

I nodded and turned back to the track one last ti to see Alaric and Dami communicating.

An idea popped into my head, and I smiled brightly as I made my way through the bustling paddock, weaving between hospitality units and cara crews until I spotted him.

Alaric was walking alone toward the Ferrari motorho, his shoulders tense and his hair still damp from the helt.

Perfect timing.

I quickened my pace and fell into step beside him before he could disappear inside.

"Hey, princess," I called out, and all heads turned as everyone walking past us wondered who I was calling.

Alaric stopped abruptly, turning to face with a glare that could cut through dinsions. He rushed toward , grabbed my arm, and pulled into a corner where no one would see us.

"What the hell do you want, Park? I told you it was never happening again, and yet you keep bothering . I blocked you because I wanted to!"

I stepped closer, crowding his space just enough to make him tense. "You picked up the video call. You watched . You could have ended it at any ti, but you didn’t. So tell , Alaric — why are you so scared of answering a simple ssage?"

He scoffed, but I saw the flush creeping up his neck. "I’m not scared. I don’t want any distractions, especially from you. I am done with your twisted gas, so stay the fuck away from . All I care about now is the race."

I smiled and placed a hand above his head on the wall. "You can say that, but I am sure that your body rembers how good it felt when I had you against the wall, when you were on your knees for , and when you ca apart with my cock down your throat. You can block , but you can’t block the mory, can you?"

Alaric clenched his hands by his sides and gritted his teeth as he spoke. "You are delusional. I already told you that was a mistake. It is one I won’t repeat ever, so now get out of my face before soone sees us."

I leaned in even closer until our chests touched, my voice dropping to a whisper. "You can keep telling yourself that, but we both know the truth. You want this as badly as I do. See you on track, princess, and try not to think about when you are sliding wide in Turn 4 again."

Before he could respond, I was already walking away. "I will et with you after the interview. You better change your mind, or I will scream for everyone to know what we have done."

"You wouldn’t dare," he challenged.

I stopped walking, raising my brows mischievously. "Oh, you think so?" I asked him and then grinned wickedly. "Don’t test , de Villier, because I can do that. I will make sure everyone finds out what we have done, and it will be explicitly well explained."

His face turned red almost imdiately. Seeing that I had affected him so visibly, I turned away with a satisfied smirk and waved over my shoulder. "Until then, princess."