The weights clanged as he dropped the bar back onto the rack. Damn it. He’d never get her out of his system as long as she remained such a mystery. Whether he liked it or not, he wanted to know Mercedes Vega. He just needed to figure out how to convince her to let him in.
…
Eight hours. Mercedes hadn’t seen or heard from Lucas in over eight hours. She’d wanted time to think but hadn’t really expected him to pay attention to the note she’d slid under his door.
Lucas,
Have to book my Malfini excursion and then take care of some other stuff. I’ll meet you at your suite after dinner.
xoxo
Mercedes
She’d thought the hugs and kisses might have been overkill, but then…no Lucas when she hid out with the older people to play shuffleboard. No Lucas at dinner—at least not anywhere near the empty seat at her table. No Lucas at the Rising Tide Bar. Or when she sat down to watch Chicago in the ship’s theater. Though she did have fleeting thoughts of him during “Cell Block Tango.” And then she left with lingering guilt.
She got exactly what she wanted. No Lucas until long after dinner.
So why did she feel so damned empty? Like there was supposed to be someone in that seat next to her every time she sat down?
It was stupid. Beyond stupid.
Wasn’t playing hard to get supposed to work on men? After all, he’d practically stalked her earlier when she’d tried to put some space between them. Certainly an official “leave me alone” should have sent him over the edge.
Then again, Mercedes had always been too straightforward for games like this. And the way the day was unfolding made her feel like she was back in Junior High rather than a grown woman with an important goal. Time to remember who she was and get back on track.
Determined to move forward with her plan—but in a more direct way—she marched to his suite. She didn’t want to avoid him, and she sure as hell didn’t want to wait around for him to make the next move.
It’s for the sake of the kids and everything I promised them. It’s for my redemption.
But deep down she knew it was more than that. She wanted to spend every waking and sleeping moment with him. She wanted to exhaust herself in him. By the time she knocked on the door to his suite, every nerve ending tingled with need.
When he opened the door and immediately shoved her against the wall to capture her mouth, she instinctively wrapped a leg around him. Revenge. This was just revenge sex. Nothing more. According to Eva, she was even allowed to enjoy it. She just needed to remember her end game. Of course with the way he smelled and felt and tasted… Dios. She couldn’t quite remember the game at all for a minute.
“A note? I come back from the pool to find a note? And then you make me wait until almost midnight.” His lips blazed heat down her throat between words, and Mercedes’s eyes rolled back in her head. If he kept this up, there’d be no control left for her to cling to. “Midnight, Mercedes. Are you trying to drive me insane?”
“Only with want, amado.”
He growled against her skin and she almost came on the spot. “I’ve spent the entire day wanting you.”
That was enough. For the first day, it had to be. She couldn’t hold out for more. “Then take me so I won’t ever be able to forget you.”
…
She woke in the morning to a piece of paper on the pillow next to her.
My turn. Woke early and wanted to get in a run before excursions. See you tonight if not sooner. Malfini, you said? Why on earth would you want to go there?
Luc
No hugs or kisses from him. No sign he felt anything but lust. And lust definitely wasn’t love. Damn. Considering the way he’d rocked her world last night, Mercedes should’ve been relieved that she had time to pull herself together before they had to get back to work tonight.
Which was the reason she couldn’t figure out why her heart fluttered when he climbed on the little boat after the cruise ship landed in Haiti. What was he doing here? As he’d pointed out, there were other, more exclusive excursions at this port of call. More importantly, why was she reacting to him like a teenager with a crush? She needed to get her head on straight. He was supposed to fall for her, not the other way around. No matter what else, not that.
“Uh…sir?” She wasn’t sure if the guy piloting the boat was normally called captain or not, but sir felt safe. “This boat goes to a couple different excursions, right?” Please say yes.
The man grinned at her, his teeth startlingly bright against his dark skin. When he spoke, his English carried more than a hint of the native French accent. “No, ma’am. We’re all going to the beautiful beach of Malfini. I’ll maroon us there for two hours of the most amazing water and sand you’ve ever seen.”
Marooned. Stranded. On a secluded beach. Sure there were other people with them, but whenever she and Lucas were anywhere near each other, magnetic attraction increased until they were pulled together. Already, she couldn’t resist looking at him.
Lucas leaned against the edge of the boat, his feet kicked out, sunglasses hiding his eyes as he tipped his head back to soak in the sun. Like most of the men, he’d already taken off his shirt. Unlike most of them, he owned it. While they were either showing off, flexing muscles and trying to posture, or caving in on themselves like they wanted to hide, Lucas had a relaxed air none of them could match. Clearly he didn’t feel the need to prove how delicious he was, all muscles and tan and…
She tore her gaze away the instant she realized she wanted to lick him and see if he tasted as good as she remembered. Nothing good could come of that, only a whole lot of bad.
Stupid addict. She hadn’t touched drugs—or ridiculously wealthy men—in years, but a couple nights spent imbibing in Lucas Bellamy and she couldn’t stop jonesing for her next fix. And then he was next to her, invading her space as well as her thoughts.
“Fancy meeting you here.”
“Call me crazy, but shouldn’t you have one of those overpriced beach cabanas or something? After all, ‘why on earth would you want to go to Malfini?’” She adjusted her hat as the boat picked up speed and the wind threatened to tear it off.
“Because I wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to spend the day lying next to you? Yeah. That’s it. Never happen.”
Never. If she’d had a way to pummel her heart so it stayed grounded, she would have. “If I hadn’t told you my plans, what would you have done? Stalked me? Dug through my things to find my ticket?”
“It sounds so creepy when you say it like that.” Someone bumped him as they moved past, and Lucas braced his arms against the edge of the boat, pinning her in place. The way his gaze raked over her was predatory and hungry again. Either he couldn’t get enough of her or he was trying to make sure he had his fill by the time they disembarked at the end of the week. “Besides, I would never have to snoop, not with how much you talk in your sleep.”
She talked in her sleep? Since when? She tamped down her rising panic and tried to play off the revelation as unimportant. “Really? And what else did I have to say?”
His shrug drew her gaze to the muscles of his shoulders and the teeth marks she’d left there last night. “It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but I am really curious who Eva is and why you’d need a plan B. You were pretty insistent about it.”
Her heart leaped into her throat. Eva’s name wasn’t associated with Better Todays yet—at least not publicly. So he wasn’t lying. What the hell conversation had her subconscious been having? She could barely handle plan A; a second one might be her undoing.
“Hey.” Lucas tucked her hair behind her ear. “I swear you didn’t spill any company secrets or anything. I thought it was cute.”
Of course he did. He wasn’t the one trying to make her miserable—she hoped. “Sorry. I just didn’t realize I did that. It’s kind of uncomfortable to think about.”
“Ah. Then let’s hit the beach and I’ll ply you with alcohol until you tell me everything
voluntarily. It won’t matter what you mutter about in your sleep then.” He winked, but Mercedes had to force her smile.
Some secrets were only for those closest to her, and no amount of booze would pry them loose. But if she didn’t drink with him, it’d seem like she had something to hide.
Which she did.
Which only meant it was about to become a very, very long day at the beach.
…
Lucas gave Mercedes some space until their scheduled meeting to work on the fund-raiser after the ship set sail from Haiti. Their time at Malfini had been both strange and enlightening. He got her to open up about her friends and family. And she talked about Better Todays and her planned playground at length, pointedly avoiding any specific mention of the property. But the couple times he’d poked at her teenage years, she’d managed to change the subject so smoothly that he hadn’t noticed until later when he tried to take stock of what he’d learned.
With the way she’d half fallen asleep on his shoulder on their way back to the ship, he’d immediately dropped her at her room when she’d begged off due to exhaustion. It gave him time to think anyway, not that the opportunity had done much good. Even with everything he’d learned he felt more in the dark than ever.
On the way downstairs, his phone rang. Donovan. Again. “I’m on vacation. This better be important.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Bellamy, but Jerrod Sullivan just called. He got wind of another bidder coming in on the property. They are looking to actually use it for warehousing, but according to Sullivan trouble follows this company everywhere. We have some time, but not much, before the sellers cave.”
“Shit.” This was exactly what he’d been worried about. The land was too good of a deal for the location—the vultures had to start circling sooner or later. And knowing Jerrod, he wouldn’t have called unless he’d heard really awful things about the new buyers. The last thing Lucas wanted was a parasite moving in. “All right. Put a little pressure—discreetly—on the zoning board. They’re going to okay the land use; we know that. We just need to speed up the process a little.”
“Consider it done.”
Lucas hung up and rubbed at his temples. Mercedes wasn’t going to like this. Not one bit. He’d figured she didn’t have the money before. Now? Every passing day meant someone else was going to try to sink their claws into Queens. He blew out self-doubt with his next exhale. If Better Todays could have afforded the land, it would have been theirs already. Rosie’s school was a much better option than some dodgy warehouse going in—even Mercedes would understand that. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin her vacation though, especially since it sounded like she didn’t get many of them. He’d tell her after. Fly her back to New York on his jet and explain everything.
He should have been elated, but the entire ordeal left him exhausted, and he was sure it was visible as he stepped into the corridor.
Mercedes, on the other hand, looked completely cool as she leaned against the wall of the stairwell, waiting on him.
“Feeling better?”
“Much.” She rose on tiptoes to peck him on the lips.
As much as he would have loved to deepen the kiss, they had an appointment. He waved her down the corridor to where they were supposed to meet the cruise director. “You know if you’re trying to avoid me—”
Her shorts hugged her hips and thighs and he found it almost impossible to tear his gaze away as she walked. If he wasn’t careful, her curves would distract him from everything else. “Don’t be silly. I needed a nap. As I recall, I said I could snuggle with you for a couple hours.”
“And we both know that wouldn’t have ended with you sleeping.” As it was she still had dark circles under her eyes. What a pair they made.
“There are worse fates.”
“Yeah, but if you die from sex-induced exhaustion, who’s going to keep me honest and make me pay up on the money and time I owe you?”
“What happened to paying all your debts?” Something like challenge glittered in her eyes. “Or is charity only something you do when there are witnesses?”
“Charity, like many things, is often better done where no one else can see.” He was going to tell her about his work in Africa and India. About the hospital. About the damn school…but things felt like they were taking a serious turn he didn’t want. Playful and light was safer territory.
Playful and light kept the guarded look out of her eyes.
“Like the—”
“Suzette!” she exclaimed, cutting him off. “Thanks for helping us out.”
Lucas pushed away from the wall and nodded at the approaching cruise director. Once they were inside the storeroom, the women chatted for a few minutes, and he watched Mercedes.
She drove him insane with her snappy comebacks to everything he said. Rosie would have had a field day with this entire thing, and the thought made him smile. Even with her secrets, he couldn’t help wanting Mercedes, and not just for her body. The fire in her eyes when she talked about her work and changing the world…he wanted that to keep him warm.
Suzette turned back toward the door. “I’m sorry I can’t help you hunt through this stuff, but duty calls. I’ll be back in an hour. If you find something that will work for a theme, leave a list of what you want done. If not, I should be able to stick around for a little while then to dig through more boxes.”
“Perfect. Thank you.” Mercedes closed the door behind her, sealing them into the room, and turned to Lucas. “Ready to get your hands dirty?”
Yes, but not in the way she meant. He didn’t avoid manual labor, but with her dirty had so many more appealing meanings. For now, though, he needed to ease her into trusting him more.
Because whether he liked it or not, she was starting to earn his trust. The imbalance made for a precarious situation.
He just needed to get her into a position where she’d let her guard down long enough for him to sneak through her defenses. And that wouldn’t be here. “Sure thing. Let’s figure this out so we can get to dinner on time.”
For the next half hour, they proceeded to rummage through boxes and discard one decoration and fund-raiser theme idea after the other. Then they reached into a box together and drew out the strangest centerpiece he’d ever seen. A bent fork, a rusty mirror, and a broken hourglass spilling glued sand onto fake seaweed. Lucas frowned at it.
“Thingamabobs,” Mercedes said with a smile in her voice. “It’s perfect.” She passed the piece to him and proceeded to dig deeper into the box.
“Okay…”
She pulled out more centerpieces, each one different but equally ridiculous. “Someone probably used them for a wedding on board…” Glancing up, she must have caught his strange expression. “Let me guess, your exposure to fairy tales came at the ballet rather than the movies.”
“No. Mine mostly came from books…when I was four.”
With a smile that lit up the corner of the dark storage room, she proceeded to tell him all about The Little Mermaid and her collection of human things. “It’s a take we can spin for the charity, and I’m sure since it’s a sea-based story that there’s got to be more stuff in here somewhere that Suzette will be able to find long before we can.”
He would have likely chosen something a bit less whimsical, but the obvious joy on Mercedes’s face grabbed onto him. If she wanted mermaids and thingamabobs, who was he to argue? “It sounds perfect.”
She practically danced over to the notepad. While she scribbled, he repacked the box, looking for a way in with her now that the planning stages for the fund-raiser were reaching an end. He still hadn’t figured her out and it was driving him crazy. No matter how good the sex had been, what if she decided she was through with him now that he’d helped as promised? He’d be left with the mystery and no way to figure it out. Unacceptable.
When she finished, Mercedes placed her hands on her back and stretched. “I think I’m going to hit the spa and see if I can get a massage. I’ll let you know what S
uzette needs us to do next.” She yanked open the door, putting the note on top of the box he set next to it.
“Will I see you tonight?”
“Depends. Do you want to see me tonight?” She smirked at him, and he debated yanking her back in the storage room and taking her on the floor. “I kind of need to know so I don’t make other plans.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “If your social calendar’s that full, maybe we should play it by ear. But unless it involves a specific time and place, no more notes under the door.”
“Fair enough. I’m sure I can find you at dinner if nothing else.” Another chaste peck on the lips after she eased the supply room door closed.
What the hell had happened during her nap? “Perfect. Just in case, have fun in Jamaica tomorrow.”
“You too. Just in case.” She winked at him and sauntered down the corridor, her hips swaying to a rhythm he wanted to hear.
Damn it. He wasn’t this guy, waiting around for a woman to make up her mind. If he wanted something, he took it. It was high time he made sure Mercedes knew he wasn’t just an option.
Chapter Eight
Best. Decision. Ever.
After leaving Lucas, Mercedes had made a massage appointment for the next night, then rushed to the FlowRider, hoping like hell to distract herself with some last-minute lessons. Turned out her instructor, Enrique, came from the same town as her abuela and they bonded quickly enough that he squeezed in an extra slot just for her.
“If anyone asks, you were late. Okay? I don’t want to get fired.”
“Promise. Just give me something to do so I can forget the rest of my life.”
That got a raised eyebrow and some flirty conversation as he taught her how to balance on the boogie board and work the waves. “So when will you be visiting Mexico next?”
Seducing Her Rival Page 9