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.‘Come,’ her mother said, ‘I have some money saved for you.’Her mother watched as Susanna dressed quietly, then packed her few clothes into a small suitcase.‘Don’t come back, Susanna.Don’t write.Just get away from here.’The rain was drumming hard against the windows of the car, a truck was coming straight for her.Suzie pulled the wheel over hard, breaking out into a cold sweat.How long had she been driving like that, thinking of the past?She composed herself.She wished she could wipe that time from her mind, but it would never go away.There had been men in her life but never love.Sex was merely a physical act, a momentary pleasure.She concentrated on the road ahead.She was going to make a success of the Calibre-Shensu sponsorship.She was determined to succeed at it, as she had at everything she had ever done - except at love.And she liked the idea of calling herself Suzie.It was one step further away from the past.Wyatt jogged slowly round the test circuit in the early morning light.Today he would drive the Shensu Shadow for the first time.He knew the circuit intimately - the exact nuance of every curve, and the straights where he could coax the car to go a little faster, a little more smoothly.It was vital for him to be fit.He needed to keep his weight as low as possible and his reaction times razor-sharp.He alternated between slow jogging and fast sprinting.He liked the silence of the track in the early morning, the dew on the grass, the freshness of the air.He sprinted down the straight and then relaxed into a jog as he approached the esses.In the distance he caught sight of someone in a black tracksuit and immediately upped his pace.Perhaps it was someone snooping around.Other teams were always anxious to catch up on the opposition’s secrets.The figure drew closer.Very athletic, the man was a natural runner.The proportions seemed almost feminine, though; perhaps the backside was a little too curved.It was only as he drew level with the runner that he realised it was a woman, a very attractive woman.He gestured for her to stop.Instead, she increased her pace.He knew he could outrun her, it was just a question of wearing her down, so he kept level with her until she finally stopped sprinting at the next curve.‘Leave me alone,’ she said in a German accent that seemed vaguely familiar.Her blue eyes flashed angrily, and her features were thrown into relief by her blonde hair swept back in a long pony-tail.‘This is private property,’ he said.‘I know.I like to run on my own.Privately.’‘Who are you?’The face was so perfect, he was almost driven to kiss it.She frowned, facing him squarely, and he admired the athletic stance of her body, the firm breasts pushing hard against the thin material of her tracksuit.‘My name is Susanna von Falkenhyn,’ she said.‘Haven’t we met somewhere before?’Her face coloured at the memory.She crossed her arms, holding her shoulders with her hands, but he took the hands and gently pulled her arms apart, drawing her close to him.‘You bastard,’ she murmured.He kissed her, and her body softened.Her arms wrapped round his back and he felt himself swimming in the warmth of her sensuality.‘Last time,’ she said, ‘I think I made it a little too easy for you.This time I want to get to know you better.’He relaxed his arms around her.She sighed, her breath turning to vapour.He felt scared.He never lost control like that.It went against all his training.‘I only started work today,’ she said.‘What do you do here?’She started to run again and he kept pace with her, still talking.‘I’m Wyatt Chase.’She stopped and stared at him.‘We’re going to be working together,’ she said.‘You own Zen?’ He felt his perspective changing.He had read about this woman, was fascinated by her interest in Eastern culture.‘You’ll be handling all our promotional work?’‘Everything will be a statement.Your clothes, the colours and logos on the Shensu Shadow, all the publicity material and the way we present ourselves to the public.’Wyatt’s eyes widened.‘Bruce agreed to this?’She nodded.‘But whose idea was it?’‘Mine and Jack Phelps’s.’At seven o’clock a big motorcycle roared up in front of the Calibre-Shensu headquarters.It was a unique machine, modified for higher performance and handling.Mickey Dunstal rode without a helmet, his long blond hair in a neatly plaited pony-tail.The infectious grin behind the curling beard indicated that he was as excited as the rest of the team.He spent a few minutes discussing some details with Bruce, then turned to Wyatt.‘Ready?’Wyatt nodded.The sun was up now, casting a pale, warm light across the vegetation around the track.There was a freshness in the air, and the horizon was bright blue, with a few distant clouds.Wyatt followed Bruce and Mickey into the workshop bay in the pits.The Shensu Shadow was hidden under a white dust-cloth, standing in the middle of the big room, the rays of early morning sunlight falling down on her.Even covered up, she had the air of a predator.She was his weapon for the year, Wyatt thought; with her he’d fight it out with the other drivers and machines in a dangerous war of attrition and nerves.Wyatt changed into his racing gear, pulling on the layer of Nomex fire-proof clothing and balaclava helmet that would protect him from the immediate effects of burning if the car crashed or blew up.With one energetic tug Mickey pulled off the dust-cloth.Wyatt stared at the Shensu Shadow in rapt surprise.Her body was an ominous black, and she was flatter and wider than the Formula One car he’d driven over the past year.He could tell he’d easily fit into the cockpit, instead of being cramped.Formula One cars were generally designed for much smaller men than him.He stared at the steering-wheel and the selector switch that actuated the gears on the electronically controlled gearbox.He walked around her, and had to admit he was taken aback.Somehow Dunstal had managed to overcome the FISA dictates of shape and produce a car that was truly and originally forbidding.The front - the wide shark-like nose - was the best part of all.The anhedral wings were neatly sculpted in beneath the nose, and at the back the pods that would add to the downforce looked like giant extraction-pipes.‘She’s beautiful - like a jaguar,’ Wyatt said quietly.Mickey was close to her now, examining the engine placement.‘I’m pleased with her line, but it’s her performance that’ll really knock yer down [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]