Aching to Exhale (21 page)

Knowing she couldn't fight him or keep him off the motorcycle, she stood beside him after he set her on her feet and threw his leg over the bike. He tipped the motorcycle, and she climbed on behind him. Someone had to keep him from overdoing it and she had to admit, she was anxious to get back to riding too.

"Ready?" He gazed over his shoulder grinning.

The happiness in his smile and the excitement over riding had her returning the grin. "All right, baby. Let's roll."

The engine roared to life. The accustomed rumbles from the engine shook the frame, vibrating the seat. She warmed and wrapped her arms around Raul's back. He was right. There really wasn't a better place to be than facing the wind and no endpoint in sight.

He'd explained how the gypsy lifestyle always called him, even when he was a young boy. Rules and boundaries set before him that were too tempting not to break, and a motorcycle gave him the key to the world. How she had the same cravings for freedom, she'd never know.

Maybe the restrictions she faced in her childhood set her up for life in the MC or her desire to flip off society and be a free spirit was finally coming out.

It wasn't exactly easy being the perfect child. She'd failed in more than one way. She leaned into the corner as Raul rode out on the road and joined traffic. Her desire came in the form of escape. Out here, no one judged her. She only knew that she was exactly where she wanted to be.

Raul took his hand off the handlebar and pointed ahead. She patted his stomach twice in agreement. Out of town seemed like the perfect destination to get away for a little while.

The farther they traveled, the looser Raul's body became. She leaned against his back, putting her chin to his shoulder. Her mind blank, except with thought of the man in front of her.

At the edge of town, in front of the Roadside motel, she spotted Jones sitting on his bike with Layrd and Tango, standing around drinking beer. Raul put his arm down, opening his hand, in a show of solidarity. The three members lifted their chin in acknowledgement of their president. She smiled and squeezed Raul. These people were their family.

More than anything, after the takedown of Garcia, she'd allowed herself to think of them as the people she depended on and relied on their support. She accepted that they'd always be there for her, even if she always felt she was holding back on them by keeping her past to herself.

Twenty minutes later, Raul pulled off the main road and continued down a gravel strip beside the State Park. She laughed, letting the sound trickle away in the wind. It'd been a year since Raul brought her here, but making love on top of the world would remain in her mind for a long, long time.

He came to a stop and shut off the engine. She hopped off the motorcycle and hurried to the edge of the cliff. Dizzying at fifteen hundred feet above Black Stone Lake, she peered down at the vibrant colors below. One of the darkest lakes in the area, because of the alkaline sediments at the bottom, the water mirrored the green trees and vibrant brush at the water's edge making an exquisite picture she could stare at all day.

"God, it's beautiful," she said, sitting down on the ground.

She scooted to the edge of the cliff and dangled her feet over the side. Practically a straight drop down, she could see everything from her position.

"Dammit, woman," Raul said.

She looked behind her. Raul bent his knees, leaned over and inched his way to her. She held out her hand, and laughed softly when he grasped onto her and stepped the rest of the way to the edge.

He sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest and tucking her in front of him. "Not so close."

She laid her head back in the comfort of his embrace. "Big, bad biker afraid of heights," she said with a smile. "I think I like that about you the most."

He grunted. "Liar."

She turned her head and peered up at him. "It's true. You always seem so confident and capable of doing whatever you want. I admire that about you. I wish I were more confident and faced situations straight on. Maybe then I wouldn't second guess myself or get in trouble as much as I do."

He kissed her lips. "You're perfect the way you are."

"Ha. Far from it, but I love that you think that." She settled back in position and stared at the view.

Long minutes passed, and Raul broke the silence. "In a couple of days, we'll be riding out to Nevada."

She stiffened. "For…?"

He moved his hand and cupped her breast, holding her more securely. "It's time to let the world know that the woman I love is alive, and she's mine."

She shook her head. "No."

"Yeah."

She tugged his hand down and held it between hers. "There's no reason for me to make an announcement any longer. You were right. The Lagsturns haven't questioned what went down in Arizona. There's been no threat to the MC over what happened between you and Garcia. The less attention we put on us, the safer we'll stay. I'm happier than I've ever been since we got back. We're getting along, minding our own business, and the club is settled. There's no reason to beg for trouble, and letting everyone know I'm the long dead daughter of Pastor Donaldson will create a shitstorm in everyone's life, especially ours."

"
Mi vida
." He sighed. "Do it for me."

She winched. "You're not playing fair."

"I've ran for too long. First to hide my identity, then to keep myself alive. I'll keep us both ahead of what happens, but I won't have us held back by the fear that you'll destroy us if the truth comes out."

"It's not all that," she muttered. "I'll be destroying my parents' livelihood too. Despite everything, they are my parents. There's a…nevermind."

"What?"

"I don't know. I guess deep down I thought a perfect time or occasion would come and I'd be able to prove I was right." She let her head fall back on Raul. "Then there's part of me that wants to make them proud of me. I want to shove it in their face that I succeeded without any help from them, but I know that'll never happen. They were never the parents that gave me credit. If something special happened in my life like getting an award at school or being voted homecoming queen, they used the occasion to validate their parental skills at raising a good girl."

Raul scoffed. "The hell with them. You deserve everything you've got, Crystal Sanchez."

"What?" She frowned and gazed over her shoulder again. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He chuckled. "I'm telling you if you go back to Nevada, make it known who you are and allow yourself the right to live your life without hiding, I'm going to marry you."

"Tell me you're not trying to blackmail me to get me to agree to that stupid plan," she whispered, dead serious. "The answer is no. Absolutely freaking no."

He hooked her leg, rolled, and hovered on top of her before she could stop him. "You're my woman."

"You're my man." She held on to his shirt. "See? What we have is good. Nothing needs to change."

"I want it to change." He lowered himself onto her and kissed her neck.

She wrapped her legs around his hips and closed her eyes. Everything was perfect. She saw no reason to create more turmoil in their lives. Inviting her parents to invade their happiness with their spouts of living in sin, and claims of her cruising the road to hell, would ruin everything.

Raul had no idea what would come of going to Nevada.

Raul's fingers undid the snap on her shorts. She lifted her hips, and he dragged the material off her legs, taking her panties with him. He kneeled between her legs reached into his back pocket and tossed a packaged condom on her stomach. She ripped it open with her teeth, while he undid his belt, his zipper, and finally pushed his jeans down his hips. She handed him the protection, and then ran her hands up his chest, being careful of his shoulder.

"Are you hurting," she asked.

"Nah." He lifted her tank and growled.

He leaned down and kissed her bare stomach. She sucked in a breath, barking a laugh when he blew a raspberry against her skin. She loved the time they'd had together since he finished his job with Garcia. Life had slowed down, and gone from chaos to normal—at least normal at the MC, where everyone seemed to come and go around the clock. She'd found Raul had a playful side she never suspected before.

"Ticklish," he mumbled against her skin, working his way to her bra.

He bit the edge of the material and dragged it down with his teeth, only to have the cup of her bra pop back in place. Warmth filled her chest. She enjoyed his frustration, but she was impatient and liked what he was doing. She reached down and uncovered her upper body for him. She sighed as the weight of her breasts lay heavy and free. The breeze sweeping off the lake and rolling over the cliff cooled her off from the attention Raul gave her.

He took her nipple in his mouth. She shivered in delight. The suction and heat from his lips heightened her arousal. She threaded her fingers through his hair, holding him to her. The pressure from his cock against her wetness left her wanting more.

Her hips rose, seeking him. He nipped her nipple. She jolted and moaned in pleasure when he quickly stroked his tongue over the sensitive nub. Hot and cold. Good and bad. He gave her a little of everything to keep her excited.

He adjusted his position, putting his hardness at the entrance of her pussy and slowly thrust inside of her. She moaned. The sound foreign out in the open, on the cliff, she wasn't sure it was her making all that noise or the echoes coming back at her.

She opened her eyes, and all she could see was the dimming blue sky awash with a curtain of wispy clouds above her. With Raul deep inside of her, his strength surrounding her, lying close to the sky, the moment opened her soul. She had everything she wanted right here.

"Good." Raul raised his head and captured her mouth.

She kissed him back with the veracity of a woman afraid to lose the very thing that made life worth living. She ground her hips against him, pleasure whirling inside of her. Her pussy spasmed, squeezing him every time he thrust balls deep.

"Harder." She kissed his jaw law, until she reached his ear. "Fuck me."

He pushed off his elbows, and put his hands above her shoulders. She gazed into his eyes. Warm eyes that stared intently back at her, melting her into one big ball of pleasure.

She grabbed his ass, pulling herself onto him with each of his thrust. In. Out. In. Out.

Sweat beaded his forehead. She gasped, shocked when his cock stroked her deep inside and she felt everything and nothing all at the same time.

"Right—her eyelids fluttered—there."

The grass underneath her kept Raul from moving her across the earth with the power of his thrusts. She set the rhythm, matching Raul's strokes. Her core curled tighter and exploded in pleasure. Her upper body pitched itself off the grass with the power of her climax and she screamed her release.

Raul thrust once, twice, and plunged into her, holding still and groaning as he climaxed. His cock pulsed inside of her, and her body answered in reply. Gentle spasms rocked her body, squeezing every bit of pleasurable energy out to her limbs.

She sank back in the grass, inhaling a shuddering breath. Raul stayed inside of her, rolling her to her side and holding her against his chest. His heart raced against her cheek.

"Every single time." He kissed the top of her head. "Rocks my world."

She sighed happily. "You even forgot about how close we were to the ledge."

He jolted, pulling out of her in alarming speed and scrambled away from her on hands and knees. Then he blew out his breath before collapsing back on the ground. She flopped back down on the ground and laughed. There was no doubt about it. She'd rocked his world enough he forgot all about being fifteen hundred feet above Black Lake.

He removed the condom, and looked around searching for somewhere to throw it away. She sniffled her amusement, and pointed over by his motorcycle where there was a garbage can chained to a warning sign about No Trespassing past this point, which Raul always ignored. She dressed as he walked away.

She'd zipped up her shorts when she heard the low drone of motorcycles. Her gaze went to Raul. He stood stiff and at attention, gazing down the gravel road. She hurried over to his side.

"Lagsturns?" she asked.

"Yeah." He grabbed her hand. "I don't like this. They knew I was out with you, and to use one of the pre-pays if they needed me."

"Do you think something happened?"

His mouth tightened and he removed his pistol out of the saddlebag on his bike. "I don't know."

Big Joe and Duck led six other riders over the gravel road. Dust billowed out from behind them. Raul pulled Crystal behind him, and held his hand out to his side, fingers spread.

Duck sped ahead of the others, not returning his greeting. She clutched at the back of Raul's shirt. She'd never seen them ignore their president.

Raul removed his pistol from the back of his jeans, and waited until Duck came to a stop. "You better have a damn good reason for coming here."

Duck swept off his half helmet and waited until everyone cut the engines to their bikes. When it was silent, he said, "Received a message at the club."

"Good fucking reason to crash the party." Raul frowned and moved forward. "What'd it say?"

"Didn't say a fucking thing." Duck glanced at Crystal. "Maybe we can talk alone."

Raul glanced at Crystal. She pursed her lips and gave a short shake of her head. No way would she miss what went down if Raul was in danger.

"She stays. Talk," Raul said.

Duck reached inside his vest, removed a folded piece of paper, and handed it to Raul. She peered over Raul's shoulder and stared at the message, unable to process what she was seeing.

Someone had taken a picture of her at the garage where Garcia had shot Raul. A red dot—from a marker or paint, she couldn't tell—dotted the middle of her forehead. The word PAYMENT scribbled at the bottom.

"It's Los Li, they're retaliating for Garcia going to ground." Raul crumbled the picture in his fist and grabbed her around the waist, keeping her on her feet. "Everyone get back to the club. We're going in lockdown."