by LETO, JULIE
“I bet he is,” she said, and hung up.
After Ruby left, Lucy went through her normal routine of checking the locks on all windows and doors. She engaged the security alarm, and despite all the beer, she wasn’t tired enough for sleep. Instead, she drew a bath. A long shower would have brought up memories she didn’t want to deal with—not when she was going to see Alex in the morning.
Once the water had started to fill with frothy suds, she scooped her shoulder-length auburn hair into a loose knot on top of her head and lowered herself into the bubbles while the tub continued to fill. The white noise of the rushing water, coupled with the hot temperature and the soothing lavender scent, blocked out all but her deepest thoughts. What was Alex doing right now? Only three days remained until the auction. Ruby had told her that Michael had been helping Alex put the auction house back together, and that as far as she knew, everything was on schedule. But Alex must be working long days. She supposed that was better than sitting around an empty penthouse suite thinking about how much he hated her.
Her attempt at relaxation effectively thwarted, she rinsed, dried off and put on a short nightie not unlike the little pink one she’d left behind at Lucienne’s apartment—the one that Alex had intimated he’d like to see her in before he’d nearly been shot. This one was a deep, dark purple. As she sat in front of her vanity mirror and brushed out her hair, she couldn’t help but fantasize about how Alex might have reacted to her if they’d met under different circumstances.
“Tu eres tan hermosa.”
Lucy leaped from her chair, her hairbrush thrust in front of her like a weapon—a weapon that tumbled out of her hand the moment her brain registered that it was Alex standing in her doorway.
16
IF NOTHING HAD CONVINCED Alex of the ring’s special powers before tonight, the fact that he’d effectively broken into Lucienne’s apartment without alerting her, her neighbors or the police sealed his belief that Joaquin Murrieta’s bandit blood ran strong and hot through his veins. Yes, he’d had some help from Michael with the alarm code and he’d learned about picking locks from the unlikeliest source of all—Daniel—but his need to toss aside all his hurt and anger in order to pursue the woman he loved came from a deep well of emotion he hadn’t realized existed until she came into his life.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “How’d you get inside?”
Fear and surprise stole her breath so that she panted, causing her breasts to rise and fall in ways that tightened his groin.
“A few tricks I learned from my brothers.”
“Brothers?” She straightened from her instinctive crouch. “Plural? You’ve spoken with Danny?”
“At length,” he replied.
“I thought his lawyer wouldn’t let us see him.”
“Yes, well, I can be rather convincing when I put my mind to it,” he assured her.
“What did you do, fire his lawyer?”
Alex grinned. “I merely offered him a much better one, one who arranged for private meetings. Michael helped. Apparently, having a federal agent in the family goes a long way in your judicial system.”
Her lips quivered, as if she wanted to smile, but couldn’t quite manage. Instead, she busied her hands with rearranging the lotions and perfumes on her vanity until she relaxed enough to exhale and then turn to face him.
She wore a torturously short confection of purple silk that swirled around her upper thighs, drawing his gaze to her smooth legs, then back up to her generous breasts and slim shoulders. His mouth watered with want, but he gulped down his desire with a dry, painful swallow. He hadn’t come here tonight for seduction.
Had he?
When she finally looked up at him, he was nearly tossed backwards by the keen purpose in her jade-green eyes.
“If you’re bankrolling his new mouthpiece, then why haven’t we been able to see Danny?”
“He and I had some things to work out first,” he told her.
She clenched her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s real nice for you, but what about those of us who have been his family for more than a couple of days? I’ve been worried sick about him.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “He knows you want to see him, but he’s afraid for you.”
“I can take care of myself. And he knows it.”
Alex nodded. “That’s not the issue. Danny appreciates all you’ve risked for him. He doesn’t want you involved anymore. He’s just trying to protect you. From what I gather, that’s his style when it comes to you.”
Sensing a break in the tension, he moved to step into the room. Instinctively, she retreated, rattling the knickknacks on the table behind her.
“Don’t be afraid of me.”
“I’m not,” she replied, but her voice trembled enough that she cleared her throat and repeated her claim, a little louder and with more conviction. “Maybe it’s just your outfit. Black pants. Black, open-collared shirt. If you added a cape and a mask, you’d look like your famous ancestor.”
“I confess, that was part of the appeal.”
A tiny smile edged her lips. “The last thing we need between us is masks and costumes.”
“Verdad,” he said, reaching up to unbutton his shirt.
Her eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
“Stripping away my costume. You’ve already removed yours.”
She did not move away as he approached, but she did reach behind to brace herself. By the time he was standing directly in front of her, his shirt hung loose and open. He wanted more than anything for her to reach up and stop his forward movement with her flat hand on his bare chest—if only to feel the warmth of her skin on his again.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Sí, completamente.”
He started to unbuckle his belt, but she stayed his hand. A spark of electricity flared from her flesh to his, causing her to instantly draw back.
“Don’t be afraid to touch me,” he said.
“I’m not,” she confessed, her gaze locked on his waist until she asked, “Why are you here?”
“Because I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
“You mean you couldn’t get Lucienne out of your mind. She doesn’t exist, Alex. She’s just a fake name I adopt whenever I’m in trouble.”
“But she’s a part of you. Are Lucienne Bonet and Lucy Burnett so different?”
She groaned and spun away. “My God! Two women couldn’t be more different! Lucienne would never steal from you! She’d never lie to you. She has morals and a conscience and fears the consequences of her actions. Lucy Burnett will do whatever it takes to keep her head above water.”
“And she’d put her life and liberty at risk for my brother.”
“He’s my brother,” she insisted, her arms flailing with indignation. “I grew up with him. He chased off the bullies and distracted me from the fact that my mother lost interest in me once I was no longer a cute little moppet who lived and breathed to please her. He was my lifeline, Alex. My best friend. In all his exploits and schemes, I never once feared for his life. He was invincible. Even when he did get picked up by the cops, he rarely spent more than a couple of months in jail. But he’s in deep trouble this time. I’m scared for him. And for me. If something happens to Danny, I’ll have no one.”
He wanted to tell her she would not be alone—that he would not allow such a tragedy, but he held back. He had a lot to apologize for, not the least of which was turning his back on her shortly after she’d told him the truth.
“I’m not heartless, querida. I was angry, I confess. I felt betrayed and fooled. But I realized that despite those difficult emotions, I still care for you. I still love you.”
“You can’t,” she insisted.
“And yet, I do. I love you, Lucienne.”
“My name isn’t Lucienne,” she argued, her voice cracking even as her eyes glossed with barely checked emotion.
“Your name is whatever you want it to be. If Lucy
Burnett is associated in your mind with a sad childhood and a life of crime, then toss the name aside. Be Lucienne. Be someone else. Be whoever you wish to be—but be her with me.”
As he’d hoped, as he’d prayed, as he’d gambled before he’d tossed away the last scrap of his pride in order to find Lucienne and win her back, she fell into his arms and wept. She told him things he already knew, thanks to Daniel. About her mother’s neglect, about how she revered her father, only to learn that he’d supplemented his income for years by illegally selling items from the museums where he was curator. But mostly, she told him about her love for his brother—an abandoned boy who’d never known love in any other form his entire life.
While she unburdened her soul, he smoothed his hand over her hair, loving the light, silky texture and the crimson color more than he had anticipated. He reveled in the fact that though the color and length had changed drastically, the scent and texture remained hauntingly familiar.
“I don’t understand how you can forgive me so easily,” she said in the end, her voice hitching.
“Easily? No, not easily. But inevitably. Before I learned the truth about why you came to El Dorado, I was already half in love with you. We spoke the same language, shared the same interests, saw the world through the same eyes. When I realized that you’d risked so much to help my brother, my fate was cast. I wish he’d listened to you when you asked him to tell me the truth. I wish that you would have trusted me enough to defy him—but I understand why you didn’t. So much was at stake. You didn’t want to take the chance.”
He caressed her cheek, and when she placed her palm over his fingers, she realized what was not there.
“The ring? Where is it?”
“With Michael,” he said. “The ring is safest with him, but in truth, I no longer need it. I’ve had my adventure, and it was finding you, whoever you are.”
He swallowed her laughter with his kiss, and her flavors sent his blood pressure soaring so that he could barely remain inside his skin. Luckily, she tore away his shirt and unzipped his pants while he backed them up against the vanity, buoying her glorious backside in his hands long enough to lift her onto the table. The clinking of toppling glass, followed by the sudden, powerful scent of perfume, alerted him that perhaps he’d been a bit more careless than necessary.
And yet, he didn’t care. He wanted this woman with a primal need that demanded satiation. She speared her hands into his hair, tugging at the longer strands at the back as if holding on for her life.
“Te amo, Alejandro,” she murmured as he bathed her neck in kisses. “I never thought I’d fall so hard for anyone. Never.”
He kissed her for what seemed like forever, and with a sense of renewed curiosity, she explored his body, running her hands over and across his shoulders, down his arms, then up his abs. She clutched at his chest hair and pulled, as if her desperation came straight from the depths of her soul.
Then she scooted off the table.
“I can’t do this.”
“Can’t…what?”
She grabbed him by the cheeks and planted a long, luxurious kiss on his lips. But the moment he slipped his hands beneath the short hem of her nightie, she pulled away again.
“I want you to call out my name when you come, Alex. I want you buried deep inside me, knowing who I am. I don’t want to be Lucy anymore, but she’s a part of me. I can’t be Lucienne anymore, but I can’t let her go. She’s the woman you fell in love with. She’s the woman you want.”
“I want you, querida.”
He lured her back to him with outstretched hands, which she took, then positioned her in front of the mirror of her vanity.
“Mira,” he said, drawing her gaze to his through the reflection. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled, then ran the strands through his fingers as if they were silk. “Who do you feel like at this moment?”
He kissed her shoulders, slowly drawing down the thin straps until the nightgown slipped, revealing the full curve of her breasts. He traced his fingers along the edges, causing her nipples to peak beneath the lacy edges.
She relaxed into his body, her backside cradling the hard ridge of his sex, her head resting just below his collarbone.
“Lucienne,” she replied. “She’s the woman who seduced you.”
“And was likewise seduced,” he said with a smile.
She matched his grin, and even when he tugged her lingerie to her hips and cupped her breasts with both hands, she did not break eye contact.
“And who do you want to be from this moment on?” he asked, his thumbs toying with her stiff nipples, causing her to coo with pleasure.
“The woman who loves you,” she said.
“What about the woman who loves herself? Is that Lucienne or Lucy?”
He turned her around and lifted her onto the vanity again. He could resist no longer and took one nipple into his mouth while pleasuring the other with his thumb.
“Lucienne,” she said, her voice hoarse with need.
“Sí,” he agreed, and then breathed into the hollow between her breasts. “Lucienne. My Lucienne. Always my Lucienne.”
When he’d come here tonight, he’d had no preference either way. She had to make her own choices. But if she’d opted to return to her life as Lucy Burnett, a thief’s accomplice, he knew this coupling would be their final goodbye. Alex knew his own conscience too well. If she chose to be Lucy, they could have no future together.
Did she know it? Was that why she’d made the choice to be Lucienne?
He broke away from her, grasped her cheeks on both sides and gazed deep into her green eyes, a color that had unexpectedly become his new favorite shade.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said. “She’s the woman I’ve always wanted to be, who I might have been if I hadn’t let my life derail me. You might not have meant to, and it may have happened for all the wrong reasons, but you showed me the woman I want to be—sophisticated and educated and resourceful. Not just for you, but for me, too. You showed me the life I could have if I just had the courage to take it. Now I want it. And I want you.”
“Then you shall have both.”
As much as he adored how the silk of her lingerie hugged her sweet curves, he needed to see her, all of her, from every angle. He tugged the material down the rest of the way, dragging her panties off with it, and then carried her to the bed and settled her among the cushions. He took his time adoring her mouth, neck, breasts and stomach. When he dipped his tongue into her sex, he knew he’d crave these flavors for the rest of his life.
She lifted her knees to give him fuller access. He splayed his hands beneath her backside and allowed the fullness of her fleshy bottom to fill his palms.
“I love your ass,” he confessed.
“I love that you love my ass,” she replied with a feminine giggle.
“Then let me truly love it,” he said, “and let me love you.”
He eased her onto her belly, grabbing pillows from the headboard to press underneath her so that her sweet bottom lifted in offering to a very appreciative man. He plied his mouth to every plump curve, growling out words of appreciation in Spanish and English that had her squirming in delight.
When she spread her legs as if in invitation, exposing the sweet, swollen flesh of her labia, he groaned with insatiable need.
“You’re torturing me,” he confessed, sitting back onto his knees.
She drew herself onto her elbows and cast a desperate glance over her shoulder. “God, Alex, if you don’t do me right now, I’ll never forgive you.”
He gave himself a moment to savor the moment and then shifted the pillows to pose her at the perfect angle. The penetration of his sex into hers while his hands splayed over her glorious backside led him into a state of pure bliss.
“Oh, Alex,” she cooed.
He drew back, then slowly slid into her again, this time a little deeper.
She cried out his name again, and like a red cape waved at
a raging bull, he answered the charge. She turned her head so he could see the ecstasy on her face—the rapture as she abandoned her body to his.
He took her, cherished her, aroused and impaled her until she panted with unbridled need.
“Please, ohmygod, please,” she begged, raising herself on her elbows and adjusting her position until they found the path to paradise.
When they climaxed, Alex curved his body completely over hers, his chest slick against her spine. He slipped his arms underneath her and just when she thought it was over, he slid his hand through her dark curls and found her clitoris.
“Alex, no, I can’t—”
“Sí, sí, querida. One more, Lucienne,” he begged. “One more, for luck.”
She squealed in needful pleasure, unable to form words as the orgasm overtook her body. In mere moments, with his cock still inside her, she came again.
By the time he finally found the strength to pull away from her, they could do no more than shift the pillows off the bed and collapse beneath the covers. He was vaguely aware of her leaving the bed, but she wasn’t gone long, and when she returned, the lights in the apartment were off, the alarm system reset and her body, cooled by her absence, sent shivers through his system.
“Don’t leave again,” he said.
“Not until morning.”
He pulled her closer. “Don’t leave in the morning.”
She laughed. “We have to. We have an appointment at the jail, remember?”
“Oh, right. My errant brother.”
“He’s a good man, Alejandro. He has a naughty streak, but obviously, that runs in the family.”
He tweaked her on the backside in punishment for comparing him to his brother.
“And you’re sure you were never in love with him?”
“Are you jealous?” she teased.
“Yes,” he answered.
She lifted his hands to her lips and trailed a string of kisses across his knuckles. “Don’t be. I’ve never loved Danny that way. But he has a good heart, even if he doesn’t forgive and forget easily.”
“I know,” he said, and meant it. When he’d shown up at the jail the day after Lucienne’s lies had come to light, Daniel had not welcomed him with open arms. But with persistence and the show of faith he’d made by calling in a powerful criminal attorney, he’d gained headway.