by MJ Summers
* * *
Late that evening, Trey sat on the balcony and used his laptop to call his parents. After a twenty-minute conversation, he bid them a good night and sat for a moment, reflecting on the call. He had filled them in on what he knew about the hoops he would have to jump through for the court case as well as the expected timeline. They had been just as upset as he thought they’d be and had offered to send money, which Trey declined. Getting up to go back inside, he looked at Alessandra, who was on the couch studying. Her hair was up in a messy bun again and she had a pencil tucked behind her ear. The word adorable popped into his head.
* * *
Alessandra heard the patio door slide open but forced herself to keep her eyes on the page she was reading. Her stomach fluttered, as it did every time Trey came near her. She sensed he was watching her, and her cheeks warmed suddenly. Finally letting herself glance up at him, she gave him a shy smile and quickly took off her glasses. “How did the call with your parents go?”
“They’re disappointed by how long it’ll be before we’re home.” He plunked himself onto the couch next to her.
“I’m sure it must be hard for them to be so far away.”
“Yeah, they hate the idea that I’ll be living off the Ferreiras for months, maybe even a year. To be honest, I do too. I can’t stand the thought of freeloading like this. It makes my skin crawl.”
“Well then, I have an idea that you might like. I’ve been thinking about how I’ll be leaving to go home when I finish school. My family has an orange farm and we need a lot of help. My grandfather has been sick and isn’t able to take care of things the way he used to. If you and Tomas came with me, you could work for him and I could have a few extra months with Tomas.”
“Really? Would he really let us come live there?”
“Yes, he would actually be very grateful for the help. I spoke with him and my mother yesterday. There is a tiny house on the farm you could live in.”
Trey’s eyes lit up. “That sounds perfect! That way, I don’t have to take Tomas away from you yet. I’ve been really worried about you leaving before he’s really comfortable with me.” His face fell a little. “But only if there’s enough work for me. I won’t go from freeloading off the Ferreiras to freeloading off your grandpa.”
“Oh, trust me. There is more than enough work!”
* * *
Trey heard the shower running as he walked down the hall. He stood outside the bathroom door for a moment, his hand poised over the knob. Something told him he could go in and that it would be okay. More than okay. She wanted him to. But he shouldn’t. Turning, he made his way to the kitchen and took a beer out of the fridge. He stood, back to the counter, sucking back the beer, trying to put out the fire. Why was he sweating? What had he been doing before this?
He listened as the shower was turned off, and almost instantly, she was standing in front of him in nothing but a towel. He stared as droplets of water trailed from her bare collarbone into the top of the towel. He was suddenly overcome by the urge to lick that water off. He had never been so thirsty, and he knew nothing was going to quench him like that would. Her eyes were silvery swirls of brilliance and lust as she stepped toward him.
“Yes, Trey.” Her voice had a breathy quality that resonated through his body in the most delicious way. “I want you. Now.” She ran a finger from his neck all the way down to his jeans with a naughty look. Alessandra lifted herself onto her tiptoes to bring her mouth to his. She was so close now, he could feel the heat off her body. She was perfectly feminine, from her curves to her thick mass of lashes to her full, pouty pink lips. She smelled of lightly scented flowers and shampoo. She was irresistible. But he needed to resist.
He watched in shock as she flicked open the button on his jeans, then tugged the zipper down. “Do you want me too?”
He nodded, unable to speak. He told his mouth to say something, to be smooth about it, but somehow his mouth refused to obey. He stood powerless, waiting, wanting. He could feel his cock straining against the fabric of his jeans and watched in awe as her delicate hand slid into his underwear. Oh God. That feels amazing. Her warm, soft hand against his skin. Kiss her, you idiot. She’s right here, naked under that towel. Just give it a little tug and it will come off.
What the hell? Why was his body refusing to do what he told it to? Why was he just standing there? Alessa was practically naked, giving him that look. Oh God, she just licked her lips. Fuck, that’s hot. Do something! She wants you to.
Trey woke with a start, sitting up. He was so hard it was almost painful. Grabbing his cell, he saw it was a little after 2 a.m. Jesus. What was that about?
He lay back, his mind and body gripped by his dream. Alessandra’s face, her words, her touch. He shouldn’t be thinking of her that way, but each day his desire for her grew more unyielding. He couldn’t help but peek when she bent over to help Tomas with something, giving Trey a view of her full breasts down the top of her shirt.
He had to kill these thoughts. She was his son’s nanny. She was his lawyer. He’d be leaving soon, so there was no way he could act on his longing for her. But he could think about it, couldn’t he? That was okay. And it would be okay to work out some of the sexual tension that buzzed through the air when he was near her. Yes, working out the tension might even prevent him from letting his feelings get in the way. If anything, this was the responsible thing to do.
Sliding his hand down his abs and into his boxer briefs, he allowed himself that moment of pleasure, of temporary relief he’d been needing. He instantly conjured up an image of tugging at that towel and letting it fall to the floor, leaving her honey-coloured curves exposed to him. Now his hands were running over her supple, naked skin. Those breasts were in his hands. Her mouth was on his. It was warm and delicious. Her smooth body was pressed against his as she glided her hand up and down his cock. Oh yes. He could hear her moaning in his mind and the sound made him throb with excitement. Visions of his hand making its way down between her thighs and feeling the heat of her wet skin against his fingers coaxed Trey along as he quietly let go.
Eleven
The next weeks found Alessandra studying most hours that she was awake. Trey took care of the cooking and laundry in addition to looking after Tomas. Alessandra showed him where the grocery store was, and Trey would walk down with Tomas to pick up what they needed. They would stop at a padaria to pick up sweet buns to bring home, sometimes sitting side by side at the counter to enjoy a treat right there in the bakery. As her final exams drew nearer, Alessandra had nothing to do but study.
One unexpected side effect of this luxury was that it allowed her to spend far too much time thinking about Trey. He surprised her every day with his kindness and good humour. He would bring lunch and supper to her room if she was too busy to stop working. Later, he would quietly clear her dishes. Several nights, Alessandra fell asleep on the couch studying, only to find herself covered up with a blanket when she awoke the next morning. He was good to her and to Tomas, leaving no doubt in her mind about his ability to be a good father.
She knew she was falling for him in spite of herself. Every kind act, every smile drew her to him. At night when she lay in bed, she willed him to come to her. She ached to feel his lips on her skin, his mouth on hers. She was desperate to feel the weight of his powerful body over hers. But these thoughts were perilous for her heart. It was never going to happen, no matter how hard she wished for it.
Late one evening, she had woken on the couch and stood to walk through the darkened apartment. She started down the hall, only to be surprised by the bathroom door swinging open. There he stood in nothing but a towel, so near she could touch him. The memory of it was burned into her brain. His sculpted body, those powerful arms flexing, the surprised and slightly embarrassed look on his face as he apologized. Why was that look so sexy? Because it was on his face.
Her mouth had dropped open and she had gasped a little, which caused his embarrassed expression to instantly s
hift to one of amusement. He stood his ground, grinning down at her, watching as she turned into a puddle in front of him before she put her head down and all but scurried to her room. He knew. He must know how badly she wanted him. How could he not?
Closing the door, she had leaned against it for support. Everything he did made him irresistible to her. Even watching him play with Tomas was somehow insanely hot to her. She had never felt this way about a man before. Not like this. But she had to stop herself before she did something stupid like throw herself at him. That would end badly and she knew it.
She was sure her lack of experience with men would prove humiliating for her. He must have been with lots of women. She’d only been with two men before; really they were more like boys. Her first, Dimas, was a boy she’d gone to school with. Her friends had thrown her a going-away party before she left for school in the United States. They had both had a lot to drink at the party, and she’d decided that he was a good candidate to prevent her from arriving at college a virgin. Their affair lasted all of ten minutes, ending in the most anticlimactic fashion possible, and left Alessandra wearing a that-was-it? expression on her face.
Her second was Kyle, a fellow first-year student who lived in her dorm building in Chicago. She’d been immediately attracted to him. He was on a football scholarship and, as luck would have it, he ended up in her statistics class. Her heart would pound wildly on the days he actually made it to class. Midway through the first semester, he needed help and Alessandra was all too happy to give it to him. They spent several sexually charged study sessions together, until one night he ended up in her bed. This went on until final exams were over and Alessandra found out he had tutors for most of his classes. All of them were girls, each believing she was the only one, each sleeping with him. His real girlfriend was back home in Idaho, pining away for him.
Alessandra spent the rest of the year avoiding him, as well as anyone who knew him, and feeling like a complete idiot. She’d been duped and used, and had not slept with anyone since, focusing instead on getting her degree and starting her career. Sex could wait. Men could wait. She had goals to achieve and wouldn’t be stopped by lust.
But now, with Trey living in the same apartment, knowing he was a mere room away all night was torture for her. And each day, her desire for him grew, becoming a little more unbearable than the day before, leaving her a hot mess by the time she dropped into bed.
She stared up at the ceiling, thinking of him at dinner that night. She had taken a break from studying to whip up a churrasqueira chicken and some rice.
Trey took a bite, an appreciative look crossing his gorgeous face. “Wow, you are some cook. A guy could put on a lot of weight living with you.”
Alessandra blushed a little at his compliment. “Well then, I would have to help him work it off.”
Trey’s eyes popped open. “Oh, in that case, he’ll be one very lucky man.”
Alessandra covered her mouth as she laughed, feeling shocked at herself for her bold joke. Now that she thought of it, she wished she’d been forward enough to tell him he could be that lucky man if he wanted. But she couldn’t. He was so good looking and confident that the contrast between them caused her own insecurities to bubble to her throat and made even swallowing her sip of juice difficult. He would never be interested in someone like her. Not when he could get a swimsuit model. Someone with angel-blond hair and legs that went on for miles. But even that sobering thought couldn’t stop her from wishing.
The day of her last exam finally arrived, and as she hurried across campus afterwards, it was not with thoughts of what she had just accomplished—it was with thoughts of going home to Trey. She couldn’t wait to get back to him and Tomas. Tonight, she would cook a special dinner, and maybe they could go for a walk and let Tomas play at the park. Then she would spend the next three days preparing for his court case, and the thought of that challenge excited her almost as much as going home to Trey. Smiling to herself, she secured her backpack over both shoulders and swung her leg over her bicycle for the sunny ride home to them.
Twelve
“We’ll be ready for tomorrow,” Alessa announced with a confident nod. She and Trey were seated on the couch together, going over all of his legal documents one last time. “At least, I’m pretty sure.”
Trey leaned back and ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah, it really seems like you’ve got all the bases covered. I just can’t thank you enough.”
“Like I’ve already told you several times, there is no need.” Alessandra put the papers into a folder and set it on the coffee table.
Trey watched her for a minute before speaking. “You know, it’s funny. This is not how I thought I would start a family—waiting for permission from the court to be a father to my own son.”
Alessandra gave him a speculative look. “Yes, it’s not exactly the usual path, is it?”
He shifted his body to face her, propping the side of his leg on the couch. “Not exactly. Not that I’ve really spent a lot of time thinking about it, but I guess I figured I’d meet a nice girl, fall in love, get married, then have kids when we were ready.”
Alessandra turned toward him. “I wonder how many people have that happen?”
“My parents.”
“Not mine. Well, sort of. My parents were teenagers, both when they fell in love and when it ended. They found out they were going to have me very early in their relationship, so they left Bebedouro, the town they were from. They came here to São Paulo because they knew their families would be very angry with them. Two years later, they had two little girls, and my father decided it wasn’t the life for him. I guess the fun wore off under all that responsibility. He told my mother he was going north to find work but he never came back.”
“That’s awful. I’m really sorry to hear that.” Trey’s voice was soft.
“Yes, my mother knew he wasn’t coming back for us. She took us straight home to her parents’ farm. He would have known where to find us if he’d ever wanted to, but he didn’t. We never heard from him again.”
“Wow, that must have been so hard for you all.” Trey shook his head.
Alessandra nodded, her eyes falling on Trey’s jaw. It was set tight, making it look even more chiselled than it normally did. As her gaze moved up, she could see he was visibly upset by her story, and it made her long to touch him. It was in this moment that she knew without a doubt that Tomas was lucky to have Trey as his father. He was a good man—young, yes, poor for now—but he was good to the core, and it made her want to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in for a long, slow kiss. Finding herself unable to look away from his intense gaze, she bit her lip as thoughts of his mouth hovering over hers filled her brain. Alessa could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she waited for him to make a move, but the moment was interrupted by the sound of Tomas whimpering. They both turned to see him standing at the entrance to the hall, holding his blanket.
Alessa tilted her head. “Rapinzho, what is it?”
“I had a bad dream.” His tear-stained face was pulled into a pout.
“Oh dear. Come on, let’s get you back to bed.” She stood and walked to him, holding out her hand.
“You stay with me?”
“Yes, sweetie, I’ll stay with you.” She scooped him up and carried him to his room, wondering what would have happened if Tomas hadn’t woken up just then.
She returned a few minutes later to find Trey in the kitchen scooping out two bowls of ice cream. “Did he go back to sleep?”
“Yes, he’ll be fine.” She peered around him. “What’s this?”
“I almost forgot, I picked up a little treat to thank you.” He handed her a bowl and they made their way to the kitchen table.
“Is this pistachio?”
“Yup. I remembered you saying it was your favourite.”
“It is. This is very thoughtful of you, Trey,” Alessandra said, grinning over at him.
He watched as she picked up her spoon, dip
ped it into the ice cream, and then took it out again, as though considering whether she should have some.
“I noticed you don’t treat yourself very often. Why is that?”
Alessandra blushed. “I’m not one of those girls who can eat whatever she wants without paying for it. I might as well just attach this ice cream to my hips, since that’s where it will go.”
Trey furrowed his brow at her joke. “You can’t be serious. You have a great body.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Trust me, you do. I’m a guy, we’re much better at assessing women’s bodies than women are.”
Lifting one eyebrow, Alessandra gave him a skeptical look.
“Eat the ice cream.”
She opened her mouth to say something, then stopped herself. Trey kept his eyes on her as she lifted a tiny bit of ice cream onto the end of her spoon. She closed her lips around it, then her eyelids lowered, accompanied by an appreciative little moan. It was a sound he wanted to hear again.
“See, that was worth it, wasn’t it?” he asked in a low tone.
“It is. You’ll have to turn away now while I inhale the rest in a most unladylike way.”
Her words caused him to burst out laughing. “That I’d like to see.”
They ate in blissful silence for a minute. Trey looked over at Alessandra and reached up to dab a bit of ice cream off her bottom lip. His eyes locked on her lips and he leaned in, coming dangerously close to kissing her. Stopping himself, he cleared his throat and straightened up. “Pistachio. I never would have guessed it was so delicious.”
“Yeah, glad you like it,” Alessandra replied in a slightly breathy voice. When Trey looked into her eyes, he was met with her desire.
Her lusty expression turned slightly suspicious. “You’re a little scary. The way you talked me into this so easily. I can see how Gabriela fell for you.”