Queen of His Heart III

by Lena Hart

“Would you please stop looking at me like that?”

  He grabbed her hand and drew it away from his midsection. When she tried to tug free, he held it firmly in his. “Like what?” he asked, his tone low and deep.

  Like you want to eat me. She glanced down at his chest, her face heating up at the thought. She didn’t dare say that.

  “Seriously, Mr. Moreno, we—”

  He groaned. “Don’t start with that, muñeca. You don’t have to be formal with me. It’s just us in here.” His eyes gleamed devilishly. “And I like how you say my name. Especially when you’re hot for me.”

  She wouldn’t have been surprised if her face had turned crimson through her brown skin in that moment. The memories that his words evoked were not something she wanted to have right now under the harsh fluorescent lighting of the small conference room. She would reserve them for when she was in the privacy of her bed and she could let the memory roam free.

  Carlos released her hand then reached out and brushed her hair back. She sucked in a sharp breath when his knuckles lightly grazed the skin that was exposed from her dark, high collared blouse.

  He tugged down the collar and frowned slightly, his gazed trained on her neck.

  The make-up must have worn off.

  “Did I do that?” he asked quietly. “Does it hurt?”

  She stiffly shook her head, her gaze never leaving his face.

  He dropped his hand. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

  She shook her head again. “What happened last night was not…professional,” she began. “It should have never happened.”

  “You’re right,” he said with a heavy sigh. “But can you blame me? You’re beautiful and sexy and I wanted you.”

  Her stomach fluttered at his words. He took her hand again and brought it up to his lips. He kissed her palm and her hand tingled from the warm touch.

  His dark eyes took on a glint and he gave her a crooked grin. “You know, if you were print on a page, I’d call you fine print.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise by the sudden change in topic. A small smile tugged at her lips and she shook her head in exasperation. “You’re so corny.”

  His eyes flashed brilliantly. “I’m corny for you, baby.”

  Laughter burst out of her and she clasped her hand over her mouth at the spontaneous action. His grin widened.

  “Speaking of fine, you must be a parking ticket because—”

  “Oh God, stop!” she interrupted, still laughing.

  “Heard that one already, huh?”

  She nodded.

  He brought his hand under her chin, rubbing his thumb slowly along her jawline. Though a teasing smile curved along his lips, there was a possessiveness in his gaze that he didn’t hide. “Well, if any other guy tries to drop you lines, tell them your man’s got you covered.”

  Goose bumps lightly crawled up her arm and she wasn’t sure if it was from fear or excitement—or both. However, she didn’t have time to dwell on it. His next question had her completely flustered.

  “What time do you want me to pick you up tonight?”

  For a brief second, she was confused, then the realization that she had agreed to have dinner with him tonight made her stomach knot in that familiar way when she was with him. With all the stress today, it had completely slipped her mind.

  “You forgot?”

  Her brows pulled together apologetically and he sighed.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Today has just been crazy and tonight just seems… How about tomorrow night?”

  He was shaking his head before she finished her sentence. “You promised me tonight, muñeca,” he said with finality. “Don’t go breaking my heart.”

  She scoffed. He was a great looking, self-assured guy who could have any woman he wanted. She doubted anyone could break his heart. Least of all her.

  “Well, I thought you would be busy tonight,” she began carefully. “I, uh, heard about last night and thought you would be stuck here again tonight.”

  He frowned and she held her breath, immediately regretting bringing it up.

  “We were trying to keep that quiet,” Carlos muttered. “What exactly did you hear?”

  Judith shrugged, forcing nonchalance into her voice.

  Pretend, remember…

  “Only that there was someone trying to hack into the company’s system,” she replied.

  He relaxed and his expression softened. “Well, it’s all being taken cared of,” he said. “So I just need to finish my last rounds here and then I’m all yours tonight, dollface.”

  She smiled softly at the expectant look in his dark eyes. A part of her was giddy at the prospect of going out with him, while another voice screamed for her to run the other way.

  She silenced that second voice.

  “Okay,” she said, hoping she wouldn’t regret this decision later. “What time?”

  ****

  Carlos was impatient to get his final rounds done.

  But after the break-in last night, he wouldn’t rush it. It was something he did, not because it was required, but because it gave him some piece of mind to check on things before he left for the night. For him, it was simply like checking all the lights and appliances were off before leaving the house.

  The sooner he was done with all that, the sooner he could head over to pick up Judith. He’d found it endearing when she’d written her phone number and address down for him before she had left. But then, she couldn’t know the ease in which he could have pulled that information, which he had. His obsession with her had led him to some digging on her, though he didn’t consider it stalking.

  He was just an impatient man trying to get more info about the quiet woman with the devastating smile that he couldn’t stop thinking about.

  He scoffed at himself. In other words, stalking.

  But besides the general stuff, he hadn’t been able to find anything that hadn’t already been on her job application. It wasn’t a big surprise that her records and background were clean, like someone who had spent most of their lives secluding themselves from the rest of the world. But he wouldn’t let her seclude herself from him.

  Carlos’ final stop was the private floor of the resort, where only notable guests were roomed. He stepped out of the elevators just as an attractive and scantily clad black woman barreled into him.

  He grabbed her arm, steadying her, and used his other arm to keep the elevator doors open.

  “Excuse me,” she muttered.

  “Can I help you, miss?” he asked, watching her closely. There was a vague familiarity about her that he couldn’t pinpoint.

  The woman studied him for a moment before pulling away from his grasp. “Uh, no, I’m just heading to my room.” she explained.

  “This is a private floor,” he said.

  Carlos didn’t understand how she’d wandered this far up to the resort’s VIP room on the thirty-fourth floor—unless she’d been entertainment for one of their guests. From the look of her short, tight black dress and thigh-high boots, it was a possibility. But, last he checked, there weren’t any other guests staying on this floor besides the executives. There was a possibility that someone could have recently checked in but he couldn’t take the chance of just dismissing the woman so easily.

  But she produced a keycard to her room on the fourteenth floor. After a quick reminder of what floor she needed to get off at, he let her go, not at all taken by the flirtatious smile she flashed him. The elevator doors slid shut and still the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave him.

  He finished his rounds, making a mental note to have the hotel manager take down the empty luggage cart parked at the end of the hall. As he made his way back to his office to lock up, the woman in the elevator and her striking features stayed with him. There was something about her…

  It wasn’t until his gaze landed on the dual monitors on his desk that it hit him.

  Son-of-a-bitch.

  It was her.

  She was the same wom
an from last night. The one on the video footage they’d managed to pull from the few working cameras. He’d studied those clips for hours, over and over again, until he almost had the faces and movements engraved in his mind.

  But before he would call it in, he needed to confirm it.

  Carlos headed to the special surveillance room and went directly to Samantha Hobbs, the Lab’s most reliable computer geek. She wasn’t the only computer tech working the night shift but she was the quickest.

  “Hey chief, what’s up?” she asked, peering at him through wide, dark-rimmed glasses.

  “I need you to run an image scan for me.”

  He had her pull the footage of the woman right before she entered the elevators. With a screen shot of her face, Sam ran a system scan to find if there was facial recognition anywhere else at the resort. It would have taken forever to run a full scan so he narrowed it down to cameras on the thirty-fourth floor and the executive floor.

  There was a match.

  To his surprise, there was also a clip of the same woman wearing a cleaners’ uniform, pushing a cleaning cart, then another clip with her dressed as a bellhop, pushing an empty luggage cart. It was only a probable match since the cart obstructed her face slightly, but Carlos had no doubt it was her.

  He bit back a curse. This whole time, he’d never guessed it was a woman he was searching for. Though they still didn’t have proof that she’d actually been the one that had left the flash drive behind, her obscure presence dressed as a cleaning attendant, then a bellhop was setting off his mental alarm bells.

  Clenching his jaw in frustration, Carlos pulled out his cell. He wouldn’t make a move without letting David know what he’d just discovered. But he couldn’t ignore the frustration that was rising in him. This woman had just ruined his night. There was no way he could make it out in time to take Judith to dinner.

  For a moment, he thought about calling her and explaining his lateness. But then, she would either tell him not to bother coming or just ignore his call. Or would she even care? He winced at that thought.

  He’d pushed for this date and now that he got his chance, he was already blowing it. Carlos, however, wasn’t one to give up easily. He would see her tonight.

  But first, he had an intruder to catch.

  For the second time this week, he dialed David’s cell.

  Chapter Five

  A hard knock on her door startled Judith from the puzzle she’d been blindly staring at. She’d thought the game would help her relax—or at least tire her enough to get some sleep. Unfortunately, it hadn’t.

  Years of experience had taught Judith how to quietly approach the door. She peered through the peephole and sucked in a sharp breath when she saw who it was.

  Carlos.

  She stood there frozen for a moment. He should have been here over an hour ago. When he hadn’t shown up or called, she had figured he had changed his mind. The overwhelming hurt and disappointment had surprised her, but then she only had herself to blame for getting her hopes up in the first place.

  He knocked again.

  Judith pushed away from the door and quickly surveyed her apartment. It was a mess. She rushed to the sofa and grabbed the empty chocolate foil wrappers from the table and floor and dumped them into the small wastebasket.

  Another knock.

  “Who is it?” She winced at her light, sing-song voice as she piled Prince’s toys in a corner. She knew exactly who it was but she needed more time.

  “It’s me, muñeca.”

  Judith grabbed a lint roller and quickly passed it across her loose shirt.

  “Coming!”

  She got up as much of the cat hair off her shirt as she could. The roll of the large tube made her painstakingly aware that she didn’t have on a bra. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to tell.

  Prince stood on the couch, fully alert, and released a loud meow.

  “Oh, hush you,” Judith muttered.

  He let out a low grumble of a sound then fell back onto his belly. She could have sworn he was frowning.

  “So you’re saying I shouldn’t answer?”

  He blinked but otherwise ignored her. She took that as “do what you want” and rushed to the door.

  Passing the hanging mirror, she came to a sharp stop. Yanking off the colorful hair scarf, she shook her head until her hair fell into place. She thought about removing the dark-rimmed eyeglasses, but straining to see him through her already tired right eye was where she had to draw the line.

  Schooling her expression into calm indifference, Judith slowly pulled open the door. But cool aloofness was hard to maintain. Standing at her door, he looked more imposing and irresistible than ever. Without her heels, he was taller than she realized. His black, lightweight jacket even made his shoulders appear broader.

  “Carlos, it’s late.” She tried to make her voice firm but instead, it came out low and breathy.

  “I know, baby. I’m sorry.” He began rubbing the back of his neck. “But I was hoping it wasn’t too late.”

  “For dinner?” she asked, incredulous. “Yeah, I think it is. I already ate.” Though the cold sandwich and chocolates hadn’t been all that filling.

  His lips tightened with regret. “I really wanted tonight to happen, but since I blew that, I was hoping it wasn’t too late to come see you.”

  Her hand tightened around the door knob, loving and hating the way his words made her feel. “Yeah, it’s too late for that too.”

  He grimaced. “Sorry if I disappointed you, muñeca. Something urgent came up at the job and I couldn’t leave. I promise I’ll make it up to you. How about Friday instead?”

  She wanted to say yes, but now that she had time to think and let reality settle in, it was best she stopped whatever this was between them before it got to a point of no return.

  You’re already at a point of no return, a small voice rebuked. Memories of last night in the supply room flooded her and her face warmed.

  “I’ll have to check my schedule,” she finally said.

  He sighed, looking genuinely contrite. She believed he hadn’t meant to be a jerk and blow her off, but still…

  “You should’ve called,” she blurted.

  He stared down at her, silent for a moment. “I know I should have. But I didn’t want you to tell me to go to hell over the phone.”

  She probably wouldn’t have said those exact words, but she’d certainly been hurt and disappointed by the lack of a simple phone call. His obvious tension and remorse, however, weakened her reserve.

  “Can I come in?” At her hesitation, he quickly added, “You don’t have to.” He glanced back into her apartment then returned his piercing gaze on her. “I know you already had dinner, but I was going to grab a quick bite and was hoping you’d keep me company.”

  Now would have been a good time to resist any more temptations from him and end whatever it was he was trying to start between them. Once she said no, maybe then he would understand how serious she was about not continuing anything further with him. It would be a clean and complete break to their whirlwind attraction.

  But she didn’t want that.

  “I’ll have to change.”

  He smiled. “I can wait.”

  She stepped back to let him into her small apartment. It suddenly appeared cramped with him inside and she realized that this was the first time she’d let a man into her apartment in years. The building super didn’t count. He was practically half of Carlos’ size and probably twice his age.

  It was all surreal to her, having her one, living, breathing temptation inside her private space. Thoughts of last night filled her mind and she was glaringly aware that her bedroom was not too far from where they stood. It would be so easy to just take his hand and…

  Prince pulled her out of her thoughts as he brushed against her leg and cautiously made his way towards Carlos. They both stared as her curious cat began sniffing around his boot.

  “I hope you’re not allergic,” she said to
him, though he didn’t look like the type to be allergic to anything.

  “Nah,” he said, getting down on his haunches and holding out his hand.

  She was surprised and impressed by that. Not many people knew that easy tip when it came to greeting cats. But Carlos waited for Prince to smell his outstretched hand and familiarize with his scent, before he scratched behind his ears. She was equally surprised to see how fast Prince accepted him. The first time her super had come to her apartment to repair a leaky faucet, Prince had cornered him and stood hissing at the poor old Asian man. Her small, two-story apartment building was family-owned and she was grateful her landlord, who happened to be the super’s brother, hadn’t demanded she get rid of her feisty cat.

  Prince purred loudly then butted his head against Carlos’ hand until he rubbed it over his furry head and down his back. She couldn’t help but smile as Carlos handled her normally skittish cat with care—just like he had done with her last night. She flushed at the memory.

  “What’s its name?”

  “Prince Charlie. Well, it’s actually Charlie. At least that’s the name on his adoption papers but I just call him Prince.”

  Why am I rambling?

  She watched as Prince continued to seek out Carlos’ touch, remembering how he had won her over with the same action. She hadn’t intended to keep him, not wanting to underscore her occasional bouts of loneliness by getting a cat, but when he’d turned those pale gold eyes on her and rubbed against her hand, she’d fallen.

  Carlos eventually stood to his full height and Prince strolled over to his favorite sleeping area on the couch and plopped down.

  “Cute cat,” Carlos said, turning his intense gaze on her.

  “Thanks.” She suddenly felt awkward and self-conscious in her old cotton shorts and faded t-shirt. “Um, let me go change,” she muttered before fleeing into her bedroom.

  ****

  “Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Carlos asked.

  Judith looked down at the laminated menu. She’d thought about declining, but the aroma in the small neighborhood restaurant called to her stomach. The only problem was that everything was in Spanish and the only words she knew were pollo, picante, and taco so she went by the pictures.