Page 38 of Slippery When Wet

And nothing ever would.

Abby

Cold wetness surrounded me, and I immediately knew it was a dream.

A bad one.

A good one.

A confusing one.

Rain poured on my windshield when I opened my eyes. I’d tried to open the door, but it was stuck against something. In a stupid moment, I rushed to open my windows without realizing I was stuck. No matter what I did, I couldn’t undo the seat belt. I couldn't get out of the car.

My head rested against the headrest of the driver’s seat as I looked out. I was in the ravine. I’d spun out and had landed in it. Stuck and trapped, I had a horrible feeling the unpredicted storm would only get worse. Water had started to fill my car because when I’d tried to open the door, I hadn’t shut it.

My head hurt like hell. I shut my eyes for a moment. Or at least I’d thought it was a moment; I wasn’t sure. My head felt woozy. Heavy. When I forced myself to open my eyes, I saw him.

Through the rearview mirror, there he was. The shape of him. Big and powerful and tall.

I should have been scared. A shadowed form rushed down the side of the ravine and straight toward me with so much grace, I wondered if I was imagining him. He moved through the darkness of the night while the storm pounded down on him, and he didn’t even slip. Not a little bit.

But I wasn’t scared. At all. If anything, a sense of calm washed through me as my eyes fluttered shut before my head leaned forward to rest on the steering wheel.

He was like an angel of mercy.

A real-life superhero.

Someone found me.

The relief I felt was real even as my head spun. I knew who it was before he touched my face. When I opened my eyes and looked into the bright blue eyes of Abel Peña, the man of my dreams, I knew he’d saved me.

Just like I had saved myself for him.

“I’m gonna get you out, princess, you hear me?” he said, and even though I believed him, hearing his voice, I felt slightly dramatic.

“I’m gonna be stuck here forever,” I mumbled. I felt like I was channeling my sister.

“You think I’d let that happen?” he asked, his voice deep and rich. My lips twitched and my eyes felt heavy. He wouldn’t. He’d keep me safe. A man like him? Who looked like he did and carried himself like he could take down the world with a Q-Tip and some duct tape was capable of anything.

“I don’t even know if you’re real,” I whispered. My hand rose, but I changed my mind. Not only did my entire body feel heavy and cold, I was afraid. If I reached to touch him and he wasn’t real, I knew my end was close. Suddenly, a rush of water rushed into the car and jolted it. “Oh god!” I gasped, shutting my eyes tight. I am going to die.

“Stay with me,” he urged. “I almost got it,” he said, but I had a feeling if I opened my eyes, I’d know he was lying.

“So safe. Always so good,” I slurred. My eyes fluttered. “For what? I’m gonna die here. A virgin.” I groaned. I was so lame. Pathetic. Always so scared of everything going wrong I never took a chance. Not any real ones. I shook my head and immediately regretted it. “I’m going to drown in my car talking to an imaginary hot guy,” I rambled.

“The hell you are,” my sexy hero growled. One of my eyes popped open. There he was. The man I’d been watching whenever I was in town and I was lucky enough to scope out. For some reason, he had always been around when I went to town on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sometimes even on Fridays and Wednesdays. He was the man I’d seen one time, and my poor delusional heart had said, That one. That’s the one.

“Are angels supposed to curse?” I asked.

“I’m no angel, princess.”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. “I think you look heavenly,” I whispered, and before he said something else, I woke up and winced.

Muscles I didn’t know I had ached, but in the best way possible. But then again, great sex did that to you. The warm band around my waist tightened. Lips brushed against my shoulder, and I stilled. The night of my accident was clearer than it’d ever been before.

Abel and I had been inseparable.

A little over two weeks had passed since we’d become an us. His girlfriend, his woman, his princess. His baby girl. I’d loved it. I loved him. Not that I had told him. I couldn't yet. It was too new. I might have been inexperienced and didn’t know all the rules when it came to dating, but I knew better than saying those three little words so quickly. Even when not saying them felt like I was somehow holding back and lying to my daddy.

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