Heartbreakers and Heroes

by Box Set

  Maybe he would have made it if he hadn’t spent more time than intended at her place, interacting with her mom and Adam.

  It’d felt good, though. Spending time with the ones she loved the most somehow brought her closer to him. The intensity with which he craved closeness surprised him. Sure, he wanted to make love to Roxie until their bodies ached. But, he also caught himself fantasizing about spending a lazy Sunday in the park, or giving her a shoulder rub at the end of a long day.

  For the rest of the drive, he switched the radio on, and hoped the smooth hip-hop tunes would distract him from his own thoughts. Nope. No such luck. He gave her sideway glance, and found her looking at the wide spaces out the window.

  “It’s pretty,” she said, without tearing her face from the scenery. “Did you enjoy living here?”

  He scratched his chin, and those memories flashed through his mind. The many times he slaved over his laundry attendant duties. The swear jar John kept nearly filled with coins in the kitchen cabinet. And how he and his buddies Walker, Ryder and a few others got in trouble once for trying to cheat curfew. “Yes. I got a text from friends I haven’t seen in a long time. Ryder and Walker are both in town so we may meet at the diner. I haven’t seen them in a while. That okay with you?”

  “Oh. Yes. I mean… I don’t have to go. They’re your friends,” she said, fiddling with her necklace. This is a business trip was subtly implied in the uncomfortable silence.

  “You’re my friend too, Roxie,” he said, each word carrying the weight of the conflicting emotions stirring in his chest.

  She shifted in her seat, and peered up at him. Her eyes darkened to a grass green, and her mouth parted in a smile that could outshine any Florida summer day. His cock throbbed in response, and his gut twisted in knots. He longed to stop the car and kiss her senseless. Kiss her until this insane attraction disappeared. Kiss her until he was home again.

  “Are we here?” she pointed at the motel on the left side of the road.

  “Yes,” he said, and pulled the car into the parking lot of Saddle Creek Inn.

  ***

  A few hours later, they sat at the empty chairs of the Saddle Creek Inn restaurant. Well, more like a breakfast area, since that was the only meal they served. They had met his friends Ryder and Walker for dinner at Herb’s diner, and now went over the paperwork and reports he had brought to talk about his plans for the company.

  The chairs were stiff and not very well balanced, but when he’d offered for them to meet in his or her room—which were next door to one another—she had adamantly said no.

  She read him the notes she wrote on their test tour with the headset, and he scratched his head. She was smart. No, brilliant. Which was why she’d be such a great asset in a higher position.

  “I want you to control the operations. Today’s Florida. Tomorrow, who knows?”

  She drummed her fingers on the wooden table. “I want to be based in Florida.”

  He toyed with his pen. “Yes. But you agree with keeping the headsets? Maybe we can come to a middle ground.”

  “Such as?”

  “I agree to some degree we need tour guides. But there’s merit in the new technology. So maybe we can offer both. This way, more independent tourists can use the headset option; and the ones with specific needs, or the older ones, or the ones who like things done in the old fashioned way get a human tour guide,” he said. The idea occurred to him as they had driven back from Herbs, and it would merge the best of both worlds. She had taught him some groups needed the interaction she and the other tour guides were so good at providing. But, his idea also had merit—especially when it came to the financial part.

  She leaned back on her chair, seemingly more relaxed. “Seems reasonable. But how will you keep it profitable, if that was the problem to begin with?”

  “We will charge more for the tour guide. Like an upgrade. Airlines do that all the time. If you buy the tickets online, it’s cheaper than actually talking to the agent. So we will use that model.”

  “Then you won’t need as many agents. And some of them will be fired.”

  “Yes. I’m not running a charity, and this is my best offer so we can keep the best of both worlds. We’re getting rid of the ones that have been there for the shortest amount of time, and have the worst reviews.”

  She chewed on her lower lip and looked at the ceiling. “Hhhhmmm…”

  “Say yes, Roxie.” He winked at her. “You know you want to.”

  ***

  Say yes. What held her back? This came damn close to a perfect solution. “Yes,” she whispered. She straightened her shoulders and raised her voice. “Yes.”

  “Good. It’ll work out.”

  “After you implement these changes, will you stay in Miami, or are you traveling for business?”

  “Once I get this thing going and it works, I want to see where this new for me market leads. I have other ideas of taking over other tour companies in other states. In the future, my site and some major capitals will all be linked. It’s a great opportunity for cross promotion.”

  Great opportunity. So pretty much once he hit the nail in the head in Miami, he would be leaving. Leaving again. A pang of disappointment tugged at her heartstrings, but she forced it away. She had no right to be upset. No right whatsoever. He promised her no happy ending, and from the beginning, she’d been the one who really kept him away. Or tried to.

  “I guess we’re good then. Are we done for today?” She faked a yawn.

  He stood and pulled out her chair. “Sure. Let’s get some sleep.”

  She leaned to compile the sheets of paper on the table, and though she didn’t have eyes on the back of her head, she could swear he ogled her ass. A jolt of awareness zapped down her spine, and she wished for once she could magically materialize herself into her room without having to walk alongside him. Wouldn’t that be nice? She’d be locked in her room, and in the safety of her bed. Away from temptation.

  He opened the door leading outside, and then she reached for her room key. Damn it. He’d leave soon. Why couldn’t she enjoy the little bit of time they had together? No one would know.

  She played with the key, the sharp edges of the old fashioned key biting into the sweaty palm of her hand. “I bet this inn isn’t on your website, is it?”

  He shook his head. “Maybe not. We have all kinds of accommodations, but they have different stars.”

  She shuffled her weight from one foot to another. Shit. Did she still know how to flirt? She took a deep breath then released it slowly. “How many would this one have?”

  “Five.”

  She let out a nervous laugh. “C’mon. Maybe if you lived on a farm without electricity or running water.” Hell, she wasn’t living the high life but even she knew while the place had its charms, it certainly wouldn’t receive awesome ratings left and right.

  He shortened the distance between them, his eyes carrying a dirty promise she yearned to fulfill. “Yes. But the sexiest woman in the world has stayed here. And I think that gives it immediate marketing boost.”

  “You’re right. I forgot. Maybe the cute guy from the reception will ask me for a picture and an autograph.” She laughed inside. The guy who checked her in was in his twenties, and while not hard on the eyes he had nothing on Stefano.

  “He better not come within four feet of you.” His voice dropped an octave.

  “Why? What are you doing about it?”

  Stefano grabbed her from behind, and pulled her head so her neck was under his mouth. His cock poked between her buttocks, and adrenaline rushed through her.

  “Does this mean you aren’t afraid of a little competition?”

  “Never.” He nipped her ear. “I promise you I won’t disappoint.”

  She shivered, trembling fingers twisting the door handle and allowing entry. “Talk is cheap.”

  He grasped her breasts, and her nipples puckered in her bra. He nipped her ear again, and she let a loud, shameful moan. Mercy. That
man stripped her of any reservations. Pretty soon, her clothes would be gone too. What else could she ask for? To tumble on a bed, naked, with Stefano… the only man who could make her heart beat in staccato.

  “Don’t worry. Showing is my specialty.”

  He scooped her up and lifted her in his arms like some newly married couple. She gasped, surprised, but also aroused. He lowered his lips to hers, and their tongues entangled in a sensual dance. Leaning into him, she matched his urgency, and grazed his lips with her teeth, extracting a groan from him.

  When he lowered her to the mattress, their mouths continued melding to each other. She squirmed; even more excited than the last time they’d had sex.

  Back then, they were two drunk, horny teenagers.

  Tonight, they were two adults, drunk on each other. Still horny though. Could she deny it? Desire dampened her sex. He nudged her legs apart with his powerful knee, and she arched toward him, bucking her hips into his firm body.

  “Fuck yeah, Roxie. I can’t wait to be inside you.”

  “Me too.”

  Then what was he waiting for? He disengaged the kiss, and traced a path of kisses, sweet and luscious, big and small, from her neck down. He opened the buttons of her denim shirt, and his lips touched every inch of skin he exposed. When he reached for the hook of her bra and released her breasts, she brought her hands to his head and stroked the textured, silky brown hair.

  He groaned when he tugged at her nipple, and a sense of female empowerment swept through her. Yup. Stefano hopped on the boob train, and if the way he gazed at her, with arousal flickering in his eyes, was anything to go by, he hit the jackpot. Or the breastpot. Either way, he’d hit her sexpot soon and she couldn’t wait.

  “You’re gorgeous, mi sol.”

  She threw her head back into the pillow, drawing a breath while she arched toward him, wanting to give more of herself to him. Never had she experienced this sensation of total surrender to a man—sexually or otherwise.

  When he glided south of her belly button, she quivered in anticipation.

  He spread her legs apart a little more, and placed her legs behind his shoulders. She licked her bottom lip.

  He began to explore her sex, making movements on her flesh. “You’re soaked for me. And I’m about to taste you.”

  “Stefano…” she whispered, reaching for the bedspread and bunching some of the linens in her palm.

  The first lick at her clit shot up a sizzling current. Her pussy zapped raw, sensual sensations to the rest of her body. He deepened the suction, and her knees trembled against his shoulders.

  God, how she wanted him…

  “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

  She came apart in an orgasm that set little electric spams through her. When he raised his head form between her legs, her breath still heaved. She propped herself on her elbows and looked at him. “I’m impressed.”

  A rather shy, boyish smile formed on his lips—

  Much different than his cocky smug, or playful grins. “You know when we kissed in the garage? I went home and touched myself. Thinking of you.”

  She swallowed. Had he wanted her badly, from the beginning? As much as she did he? “Show me.”

  “What?”

  Cocking an eyebrow, she gestured with her finger. “Show me how you touch yourself… now I’m here it’s only fair.”

  “Tonight I’m not denying you anything.”

  He scooted away from her, slipped out of the bed, without taking his eyes off her for one single moment. She had to suppress a squeal. He dropped his jeans and boxers to the floor, then pushed them with his feet.

  No trace of amusement lingered on his face. Only intensity and focus. He took his large cock in his hand, and she could see the side vein already swollen gloriously throbbing against the velvety skin.

  Wow. Moisture evaporated from her throat, and she licked her lips. Oh, how she wanted him. All of him.

  Shaking her head, she cursed herself inwardly. This wasn’t meant to be like that—no time to think about the repercussions of their actions away from home. He stroked himself, his masculine hand sliding up and down his admirable length. She scooted on the bed, but with his hand, he gestured for her to stop.

  “I thought you wanted to watch?” he said, and gave her a full view of his cock, growing even bigger. Thicker. Mercy.

  “Enough watching. I just want to try to fit that bad boy in my mouth.” She erased the distance between them, and dipped her head to start sucking him, but he carefully pushed her away, and she lost balance, falling back on the mattress.

  “You are not respecting the rules, Roxie. You’re being very, very naughty.”

  “You ask me to do something and don’t see it through.”

  Time to bring out the big guns. “Well I’d love to see it through… just thought I could help you… finish. Anywhere you want,” she said in a soft voice, and the idea of being so submissive to a man was new and enticing.

  “Aren’t you a team player?” he said, stroking himself quicker.

  I am about to show you just how dirty I can play. She slid her hands to her breasts and cupped them together. Trying to pull off her sexiest move yet, she circled her nipples with the tip of her fingers. “Anywhere you want.” She repeated, her voice throaty.

  She saw the bob making its way on his Adam’s apple, and smiled to herself. A coat of pre-cum pearled on the tip of his cock. She massaged her breasts, offering them to him, her legs squirmy and restless under his stare.

  “Are you on birth control?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she answered, grateful more than ever for the IUD she had inserted after her pregnancy.

  He stopped touching himself and she lifted her hips to him, wanting nothing more than the sense of completion only he could give her. Grinning, he glanced down at her sex, and… smacked it with his palm.

  What the what? She gasped, and it pricked her for a millisecond, then after … maybe the surprise element hit her—no pun intended—,but red hot arousal flooded her. When she eyed him, he peered at her with amusement.

  He curled his sexy lips at the corner of his mouth. “This is what you get for teasing me.”

  “I might just have to do it again.”

  Another slap between her legs. He grinned. A luscious, winning smile that chirped away any doubts or mistrust.

  Reality struck her, much stronger than his hand. How could she have not seen it before? Stefano was the only one she loved, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  Chapter 9

  Stefano clung to his self-control like a man on the brink of a precipice would hang to a rope. The first time they’d had sex, he’d been an inexperienced teenager with a planet size crush for his cool friend. Now, he was an adult man who couldn’t get enough of the gorgeous, sexy woman gazing at him like she would orgasm again soon.

  Roxie was everything he could ask for and more… and she deserved to be satisfied. Never leave a woman unsatisfied. He’d correct that mistake.

  He lowered himself on her body, and the hair on his chest stood on end, charged with a desire that had been building up for too long. Make this about her, a voice inside of him shouted.

  “Stefano,” she called when he started to kiss her neck.

  He traveled down to her breasts—ignoring those two full gorgeous tits was a sin. He caught one in his mouth, his tongue lapping at the engorged bud while his hand palmed and played with the other one.

  She scratched his back, her nails biting into his flesh. Urging him to fuck her. “Please… come inside me.”

  How could he deny her what she wanted?

  Positioning himself and helping her nudge her legs apart, he inhaled. Another look at her and that was all he needed to keep going. Shit. “You are too sexy for your own good.”

  “As long as I’m too sexy for your good, I’m happy.”

  He flattened his hands on the mattress, and lowered his head to hers. A strange tenderness stirred in his chest, and he kissed her forehead. She
let out a sigh, and that’s when he knew she was ready—they were both ready.

  He drove himself inside her, and she stiffened for a moment. Should he stop?

  “You’re okay? I can stop—

  “No. I’m great. You’re wonderful,” she said, and she clenched her inner muscles around his length to prove a point. “Give me more.”

  He hooked one of her legs around his arm, and when he slipped his cock out and inside her again, the sensation so deep, so raw, a ripple of pleasure shook him to the core. He groaned.

  She bucked her hips, offering herself to him, her sex so freaking wet it was wonderful—also delicious, the taste of it lingering on his lips. He slipped out his tongue for a taste.

  Within the next moments, he continued the timeless dance, thrusting all the way to her hilt, then withdrawing just enough to make her moan in protest, then slamming into her deeper.

  “Yes, yes don’t stop.” She egged him on, and he could feel her climax neared. Her cheeks were flushed and sweat slicked her gorgeous curvy body. She kissed him, her tongue teasing his, her teeth grazing against his lips.

  He flicked her clit with his thumb, and that did it. She cried his name one more time, then unraveled under him, in rhythmic undulations, He gripped her shoulders, then slammed into her one, two more times. On the third time, he let himself go.

  Ripples of pleasure amounted to a whirlwind of rapture. A growl escaped his lips. The warm sensation of satisfaction overpowered him, as he poured himself into her. Something he hadn’t done in a long time. Something that somehow brought them even closer.

  A few minutes flew by until he regained his will to speak. He’d rolled off of her, and then brought her to him so her body was the only cover he needed.

  “Well, well Mr. Mercado… you’ve learned a thing or two since our last naked encounter,” she said.

  Even though he couldn’t see her, he could hear the smile in her voice, and feel her lips moving against his flesh. He thrust his fingers into the cascade of blonde curls. The texture of her hair was rich, sultry. She hummed in response, and he massaged her scalp. If he continued, they would make love again, and that wasn’t a bad option. But, something inside him tightened around his chest like an invisible rope. And he just knew, he had to tell her.