Hot off the Press | Charles Leclerc | F1

t w e n t y - e i g h t

Fia's body moved of its own accord. When her lips met Charles', the relief was so sweet she could have melted. She didn't know what she was doing and certainly didn't think it was a good idea, but it didn't matter.

He was head over heels for her.

His hands found her hips and fisted the fabric of her shirt. "Charles," she murmured, pressing her hands to his chest to steady herself. She kissed along his jaw, the roughness of his stubble stinging her lips as she breathed in the fresh smell of his cologne. She was dizzy with desire; it blurred all rational thoughts.

As she ran her hands through his hair, he groaned appreciatively, reaching up to tilt her head so that he could kiss her on the mouth. All the stress and anxiety she'd experienced over the past week melted like candle wax as her body yielded to his, softened by the flame of their lust. She felt every nerve, every muscle, coming alive under his touch.

There was nothing else in the world but him.

Without thinking, Fia guided Charles towards the desk, which she pushed herself onto, making sure not to break their kiss.

"Fia," he breathed, pulling away just enough to speak, "you can't do this to me." His eyes looked between hers, his voice strained. "Do you even...want me? Or is this all a game to you?"

"Of course it's not a game," she said quickly.

Charles took a single, lurching step back. "Sometimes, it feels like it is." He slumped onto the sofa. "One minute you want me, the next you run away. Then you kiss me."

"I always want you, Charles."

It seemed that they were both equally surprised by her words. He shook his head. "Then why does it have to be so difficult between us?"

"You know why. My job –"

"Nobody from Ferrari has to know."

"What if they found out?"

"And what if they didn't?"

Fia swallowed, thinking back to what Sadie had said in Japan about missed opportunities. She had spent so long worrying about things that might never happen – wouldn't it be freeing, just for once, to let them go?

"There are other reasons," she said.

Charles sat forward. "Such as?"

"Like I said, my life is complicated. There are things you don't know about me, and I don't know if I'm ready to tell you." Fia wrung her hands in her lap, too awkward to meet his gaze. She wasn't good at having conversations like this. How was she supposed to explain that she fled after Suzuka because she was scared of the past repeating itself? Far from being a game, whatever was between them felt too real – it had the ability to hurt her, and she didn't know if she had the strength to put herself back together a second time if she lost another person she cared about. Formula One was a high-risk sport, not just for the drivers but for everyone who loved and cared for them.

"There are many things that you don't know about me, either." Charles stood and walked towards her. "But you could get to know them if you would like."

Fia finally looked up and studied his handsome face. He possessed the kind of classic features that Michaelangelo would surely have immortalised in marble if he had been given the chance. She could have admired him all day, but his good looks weren't what interested Fia the most. She was drawn in by his quiet confidence, fascinated by the intelligence and empathy that guided his decisions on and off track. Now she understood the reasons behind his uneasy relationship with the press, she saw him in a different light. She had never met anyone quite like him before, who was so fiercely driven by the desire to win yet always fair and honest. He was a rarity.