Reflecting On Wishes (The Wishes Series) (8 page)

He could
n’t take his eyes off her. She was a caramel hued beauty that was nibbling along the muscles of his chest making him hum with desire. His fingers delved into the dark curtain of her hair that was tickling over his stomach. She moved her way down even further to run her tongue along the trail of hair beneath his belly button until she nuzzled her cheek against his manhood. A sharp intake of breath obviously delighted her because she giggled and kissed her way up his length, gripping the base and sliding her lips over the tip. His hips thrust, pushing the head of his cock deeper into the velvet warmth of her mouth.

“Angel…baby,” he murmured,
entwining his fingers tighter in her hair. The teasing, slow, sucking motion made him growl louder, slamming his eyes shut while his hands massaged through her hair. If she didn’t stop soon he was going to lose it. That’s not what he had planned. He had wanted to tease and please her, over and over until she was spent—and then make love to her. She was taking her time, trying to kill him with maddeningly slow licks. Her hand was following her mouth with each teasing stroke until he was shaking beneath her. It was nearly his undoing when she looked up at him with her sensual cat eyes and let loose a humming purr as she pulled her mouth from him.

He tried to be gentle. Really he did. But something inside of him snapped. Dakota reached for her, dragging her up his chest and tucking her legs on either side of his hips, pulling her down on his shaft until he was buried to the hilt inside of her. Angel whimpered his name and rolled her hips, taking the lead again. He matched her thrust for thrust, digging his fingers into the soft swell of her bottom to pull her down on him each time he thrust up. Every single time he did that she cried out and bucked against him. It was pleasure at
its most carnal moment. When two lovers are so focused and intent on each other and their own pleasure, words cease and it becomes purely animalistic. She braced her hands on his chest, scratching him, kissing him and biting down on his shoulder. When he wrapped his arms around her back and held her to his chest, she kissed his throat and fell over the edge with him in sweet surrender.

***

Sunlight was beaming in the bedroom when the alarm went off, waking them in the same position they had fallen asleep in. Angel was still draped over him, her legs entwined with his and he gave her a soft, sleepy kiss.

“This is exactly how I want to
wake up every single morning, with my Angel as my blanket.”

He was rewarded with a sleepy grin and another kiss.

“Mmm, good morning, big guy,” she grinned and nuzzled her face against his neck.

“Mornin’
, baby,” he whispered, brushing a soft kiss on her forehead.

“
It’s race day—
Southern Nationals
.”

“Y
ou got this, Angel. By the end of the day, everyone will be chanting your name.”

***

It was time for the last run of the elimination rounds. Angel was mounted on her sleek motorcycle leaning low against the gas tank. She was one with her machine. Revving the engine and burning out at the start of the track was done without thinking. She was past that. Her eyes were locked on the end of the track, darting back to the red light that would soon flash to green signaling the point that would make or break her race time today. Her reaction time off the green had to be as close zero as possible. It was down to her and last year’s champ and good friend, Pryor Littleton. The last round she’d advanced with a lead by only 0.026 of a second. Too close for comfort.

Over the loudspeaker the announcer introduced them. Angel took a deep breath and looked over to her opponent and tapped her helmet in salute to her friend, smiling when he repeated the gesture to her. Leaning back down in position s
he focused on the light.

Her p
apá patted her back, “Take what belongs to you. You deserve this, mija.” He backed away and stood next to her brother like he always did. Her family was everything to her. She wanted this win for them as much as she wanted it for herself. They had busted their asses for years to help her as she went for her dream.

Her body was tense. She didn’t even blink for fear of missing that tenth of a second off her reaction time. As soon as the green light flashed she was shooting down the track like a smooth streak of black lightening. Dakota was right. By the time she made it to the finish line, everyone was chanting her name. Never had a victory tasted so sweet.

Chapter 6

Angel

After winning
Southern Nationals
, they had a three week break before the next race. Everyone was living on the high of the win. The entire town of
Sugar Creek
was in full support of their hometown sweetheart posting signs about her win. The local restaurants even dedicated specials on their menus in honor of her.
Lola’s Diner
offered a sweet dessert called
Angel Berry Cake
that had a layer of soft angel-food cake topped with fresh blueberries, strawberries and raspberries garnished with fresh sweet cream and a sprig of mint. On the lunch and dinner menu you could order a
Vega Burger
if you wanted a vegan, black bean grilled burger with jalapenos and sliced avocado. The local bar
Petey’s
, had introduced a new drink called the
Speedy Latina
that consisted of tequila, lemon, orange juice, simple syrup and sour mix. Angel’s particular favorite was the tequila shot with hot sauce, now deemed
The Saucy Angel
. The local steakhouse,
Bibo’s Grill
, now offered a strip steak marinated in a blend of tequila, chopped jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, lime, olive oil and seasonings with a side of steamed veggies and Spanish rice. The flavor filled dish was branded
The Vega-s Strip Steak
dinner.

She loved being back to work in the shop with her family. Not that she got much actual work done. Most of her time was spent signing autographs, taking pictures and chatting with customers that came in to see if they could cross paths with the hometown girl that was taking the racing world by storm. Anything with her name or picture on it was selling off the shelves faster than they could keep it stocked. Finally, Angel was feeling that all her hard work over the years had paid off. Winning was good for the family business. Her dad had backed her all these years and now she was in a sense, paying him back with her success.

When it was time to close up shop, Rage came up front where Nahni and Angel were talking and cashing out the register for the day. “Hey, Angel, do you want to take a ride with me tonight since Nahni is going to go out to dinner with her mom and sister?”

Angel cocked her head to the side, thinking about it. “Tell ya what, buy me dinner and I will.” She chuckled as she zipped the bank bag and stuffed it in her back pack so she could put it in the night deposit at the bank on her way home.

“I can’t believe I still have to bribe you to get you to hang out with me, sis. So not cool,” he smirked and playfully tugged her ponytail.

“See, that’s why you have to bribe me, you’re annoying
, Rage.” It was her turn to be the annoying one then, thumping his nose and dashing over to her sister-in-law and giving her a hug.

“You two behave!” Nahni called out, laughing and shaking her head.

“Yes ma’am,” they said in unison, cracking up laughing together when Nahni gave up and shook her head, walking out the door to her car.

“I’ll meet you at your house after I run this to the bank. I’ll probably beat you there as slow as you drive.” Angel said in a teasing voice.

“Hey now, don’t make fun of me just because I don’t break all the speed laws and get away with it because I’m not famous like you.” He bumped her with his hip throwing her off balance, making her drop her bag. He chuckled as he gave it a kick across the showroom floor. The laughter echoed in the quiet store as did her cursing him for picking on her.

“God, Rage you are such a pain in my ass!” Bending to pick it up, she tossed it over her shoulders and hooked her arms in it, digging her keys out of her pocket as she followed him outside.

He rang out with, “But you love me anyways dontcha?”

“That’s questionable
, brother dear,” she giggled as she locked the door and climbed on her bike, fastening her helmet.

“Hey, meet me at
papá’s instead. I gotta take him this paperwork since I’m off tomorrow to go to Nahni’s check up with her.”

“Okay, be there in a bit.”

Angel started her midnight black, stealthy looking
2009 Yamaha VMAX
, grinning when it purred alive with the sweet hum of the V4 engine. It was her pride and joy, her first brand new motorcycle. All her life, she had always bought used and fixed them up. But when she won the
Spring Nationals
a few years back, she couldn’t resist spoiling herself with the bike she had been pining for. It was worth every penny.

Pushing down her visor, Angel lifted the kickstand and eased her way out into traffic. It only took about five minutes to travel
the few blocks to the bank and deposit the days till in the night deposit box. The sun was starting to lower on the horizon but it was still hot outside. As much as she wanted to strip off her protective riding gear to get a little cooler, she didn’t. It was only a fifteen minute drive to her dad’s house. On the ride there, her thoughts strayed to Dakota. Tomorrow they had a date scheduled. He’d invited her over for dinner and a movie at his place, but later suggested they make a whole day of it. The prospect of having alone time with him had her stomach fluttering with excitement. She had been in town for four days and had only gotten to see him twice, though they talked and texted several times a day.

He was working long hours at the rehab center as usual and her schedule was always busy with press, appearances and working at the shop. It was shocking to her how easily she had become attached to him. His endearing smile was emblazoned in her mind and his hard-working determination at
Reconstructing Warriors
was nothing less than admirable. When Angel told him she had already made arrangements to visit the
Sugar Creek Hospital
children's ward Saturday morning, he asked if he could go with her. She was a bit nervous to take him along but it warmed her heart that he wanted to spend time with her no matter where it was. If he wanted to go with her to hand out stuffed animals, while she autographed pictures that was fine with her.

She flipped her
turn signal on, looking over her left shoulder as she merged onto the highway and sped up, cruising down the road. She groaned when she got stuck behind a slow moving truck that seemed to be creeping at a snail’s pace. The highway was busy even though rush hour was over. Friday nights tended to be that way, especially in summer-time as people made their way out of town, traveling to local lakes to spend the weekend camping. In fact, there was a truck alongside of her hauling a pontoon boat that had coolers strapped to it. It made her smile, reminiscing of weekends at the lake with her dad and brother. She recalled going fishing and sun tanning with her lawn chair sitting in the shallow water. Maybe on Memorial Day weekend, Dakota would join them on their first weekend trip to the lake of the summer. Angel shifted gears, speeding up when the truck in front of her exited off the highway. Finally, she could open it up and fly down the road faster than a mere fifty-five miles per hour. But something was wrong. Horribly wrong. She suddenly found herself screeching to a halt, sliding sideways when her transmission locked up. A split second decision had to be made. One she knew would hurt no matter what. Hold on to the bike in hopes of regaining control, or bailing and taking the fall, hopefully rolling off the highway instead of being thrown in front of a vehicle.

She let go and pushed herself off the bike, doing her best to tuck and roll across the pavement
. The sound of tires screaming and metal crunching were ringing in her ears. She didn’t scream or cry out when she hit the unforgiving concrete barrier even though her bones were snapping. Her helmet had flown off and her head connected with the pavement, unconsciousness took her into oblivion. The last thing on her mind as she went under was the smell of lilacs and fresh cut grass mixed with gasoline and wondering if she would live to see her family or Dakota ever again.

***

The wail of sirens could be heard heading towards the west side of town. First responders, police and ambulances quickly took control of the scene. It was a miracle that no one else was injured other than the slender woman that lay with her legs bent at unnatural angles. Upon initial inspection of the scene, they found her helmet over two hundred yards away near the heap of the twisted metal of her motorcycle. She was breathing but unconscious. The left side of her face had a gash in it from the corner of her eye up her forehead, disappearing into her hairline. The paramedic covered the wound with a thick piece of gauze, pressing firmly to staunch the flow of blood. It was obvious her lower legs were broken when she slammed into the barrier and flipped over it, landing in the grass at the side of the highway. On-lookers had gotten out of their cars to catch a glimpse and were being held back by police, instructed to get back in their vehicles and move along. The two other people involved in the crash were shook up but okay, sitting on the side of the barrier as medics checked them over. The first officer on the scene shook his head and whispered to the paramedics that were trying to stabilize her on a stretcher and affix a neck brace on her.