Midnight Racer's Kiss

Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter

The bass thumped through Emma's chest as she made her way through the crowded living room. Sweaty bodies pulsed to the music, drinking and laughing without a care. She wasn't normally one for parties, but her friend Jessica had insisted they needed a night out.

Emma clutched her plastic cup of lukewarm beer, scanning for a familiar face as strangers jostled past. Most were classmates from her high school, already well on their way to drunk. She spotted Jessica grinding on some guy across the room and pointedly looked elsewhere. Her friend would be preoccupied for the night, it seemed.

Just as doubts arose about making an early exit, a movement outside caught her eye through plate glass doors leading to the patio. A crowd had gathered, crouching to peer below the railing as shouts and revving engines rose over the music. Curiosity won out, and Emma edged her way outside for a better view.

Craning over the packed crowd, she found herself overlooking a large gravel lot where two muscle cars circled, tires peeling as angry boys postured from open win . Spotlights illuminated a makeshift ring below as money exchanged hands and verbal dares flew. It wasn't the first time she'd heard of illegal street races plaguing the city, usually on the fringes of town where cops turned a blind eye. But to find one happening right here, in broad sight, sent a thrill through her.

A splash of color drew her gaze further, and she spotted a bike leaned against the railing, flames trailing intricate patterns down the gas tank. Kneeling to inspect the paintwork was a broad-backed stranger, tattoo sleeves inked down powerful arms left bare despite the chill. Dark hair curled over his collar as he glanced up, catching her stare with eyes a piercing ice blue.

Emma's breath caught at the intensity of that gaze, something feral and untamed lingering beneath the surface. Gorgeous, but dangerous—she could sense it in the coiled strength of his form, the nonchalant ease with which he owned the space around him. Exactly the kind of thrilling renegade her parents had warned her about.

And then he smiled, a flash of white teeth that tugged irresistibly at the corners of her own lips. Heart thudding madly, she offered a shy smile in return before glancing away, fingers twisting the cup's rim as heat rose to her cheeks. Maybe this night held promise after all. The next moments would determine just how wild it might become