She stood to one side with Angel as the reporter asked Isaac about his race and his decision to stay out on slicks.
“It was just a fluke that I didn’t go down. I got lucky.” He turned to face her, and the intended double meaning in his words sunk in. Warmth filled her, and she couldn’t wait to be alone with him, though it could be hours before they left the team, and he completed his media duties. She would relish the slow burn of anticipation.
During the celebrations, she sipped champagne from the enormous bottle the team passed around, left over from the podium celebration. Her handling was a little awkward, and she dumped champagne on her shirt. Excusing herself to wash up, she slipped out the back and crashed into Austin Spencer, coming from a garage farther down the row.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, stepping back. “I didn’t see you.”
He swayed on his feet then grabbed her arm. Was he drunk? He held her in place when she would have continued to Isaac’s trailer. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Just to wash up.” She tugged her arm but couldn’t break loose. “You were having a great race. Too bad about the rain.”
He ignored her comment. “I notice you and little Vasquez have something going on.”
She froze. His normal smirk was gone and in its place was a sneer. His grip on her arm hurt. It became hard to think or breathe. “Let me go.”
“When you get tired of playing with Junior, give me a shout. I can offer more than a quick fuck in the trailer between sessions. I’ve had a lot of experience pleasing women.”
Had he listened to them yesterday? The creep.
His free hand slid under her skirt and cupped her ass and she pulled farther away. Her skin crawled.
Tugging her arm free at last, she fled up the stairs. Her cheeks flaming, she opened the trailer and stumbled inside, not looking back until the door was locked. She collapsed on the bench seat and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. When her stomach stopped churning, and Spencer was gone, she unlocked the door.
A few minutes later, Isaac joined her, his hair tousled and his grin wide. She didn’t want to ruin his celebration so remained quiet. She would forget what had happened with Spencer. He hadn’t hurt her, and she would stay away from him. He wouldn’t touch her again—he wouldn’t get another chance.
She smiled as Isaac came closer and pulled her against him. He bent down for a long, lingering kiss that chased everything else from her head. “I can’t wait to be back in the hotel,” he said. “I’m sorry if the celebration got too loud.” His eyes showed his concern, but she waved it off.
“It was okay. I just spilled champagne and didn’t want to be sticky.” She looked down at her damp shirt. It wasn’t quite a lie.
He laughed and tossed her one of his team t-shirts to change into. It was a little too big, but it smelled like him and was an improvement over her soaked one.
He changed into street clothes and hung up his riding leathers. One of his crew would pack and prepare everything for the next race. Coming out of the back room, he said, “Let’s gosay our goodbyes and organize a ride back to the hotel. Time for more private celebrations.” His voice became deeper, and his pupils dilated as he pulled her against him with a gentle tug. She couldn’t resist him, nor did she want to.
He kissed her slow and sweet, unfurling desire in her again as she shoved the remnants of unwelcome thoughts about Austin Spencer from her mind. He had nothing to do with tonight’s celebration.
CHAPTER 10
Isaac
Isaac had a spring in his step everywhere he went these days. Argentina and the lead-up to the race in Texas were much the same as the two previous rounds, with his happy life on and off the track. Isaac credited much of this to Anna, finding time in their schedules to be together. Angel’s people still booked a room for Anna at the hotels, but she stayed with him. He smiled, satisfied that she’d become an oasis of peace and contentment.
Anna and Catarina met up for most meals on the road, and Isaac joined them when he was free. He’d always had a brotherly relationship with Catarina and enjoyed her company too, but Anna made his skin tingle and his heart race. He also appreciated that it must be nice for Anna to have another friend. She’d seamlessly fit into his racing world and, by extension, his life. It seemed to work for her too—she was upbeat and pleasant to be around.
The only discomfort came from the idea that Vince may have continued concerns about their relationship. Isaac had caught his brother’s frown when he and Anna had shown up once at the house on a day off, and another time on their way to their hotel room. But nothing was said. Isaac let his performance on the track speak for him. If Anna was a distraction, it was the kind that worked.
He’d finished on the podium again in Argentina, behind Luka Catala and Vince, for third. Here at the Circuit of The Americas, or COTA, he’d qualified fourth. He couldn’t believe his string of luck. This was the best qualifying position of his career. He was used to starting mid-pack or, more often, toward the back. Thinking of qualifying brought Vince to mind again. His brother had turned away after a quick handshake following Q2. They’d always been best friends and celebrated each other’s successes, so Isaac had felt the snub.
Maybe for the first time, Vince felt threatened by Isaac’s racing consistency. After three races, he was second in the championship only to his brother, but he wouldn’t let it go to his head. With eighteen more races, it was too early to be thinking of the championship. Still, it was nice to be higher than usual in the standings, even if it meant additional press appearances and responsibilities. The tension between them was building with each race, and the networks didn’t help. They were billing it as Vasquez vs. Vasquez.
On race day in Texas, Anna surprised him. He assumed they would spend the morning together, but she looked nervous and claimed a mystery errand. She ordered a car and left, promising to be back before holding grid signs for the Moto2 race and her grid duties. Because she was excused from Moto3, Angel must have approved her errand. Isaac felt odd not knowing what was going on. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but why hadn’t she shared?
He’d been looking forward to surprising her with the fact that today was his birthday and that he’d made dinner reservations in downtown Austin. He hadn’t told her about any of it in order for it to be a surprise. In retrospect, he should have mentioned his birthday, and she probably would have made plans on a different day. It was his own fault he was on his own.
With unexpected time on his hands, he went looking for his brother and found him studying race footage from last year’s COTA race.
“You won by twelve seconds, and I was eighth.” Isaac peeked at the screen.
“Yep.” Vince didn’t look up.
