CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Miriam
“Juaquin.” I lifted my arms and twined them around his neck, my fingers sifting through the thick hair at his nape. “I…” what could I tell him? That he exceeded all my dreams and expectations? No. That would be giving too much away.
“Speechless, huh?” His lips curved. “I can work with that.” He skimmed his fingers along my jaw, tangled them in my hair and tugged, a firm but gentle persuasion for me to lift my head. He lowered his and like the first kiss he had given me, this one rocked me, making my body burn with desire at the same time that it made my heart break. Juaquin was everything I wanted. But this would be goodbye tonight. So I committed everything to memory. The texture of his mouth. The warmth of his breath. The thrust of his tongue. The seductive perfection of him.
I moaned.
He groaned. Lifted. Repositioned his angle. Deepened the devastation. Mouth unremitting. Hands sliding along the sides of my breasts on their way to the narrowing at my waist. Gripping me tight. Holding me. Making me pant. Making me so, so wet.
“Juaquin.” Trembling, I tore my mouth from his. “Enough. Please.”
“What’s wrong, Reina?” He released me, his fingers relinquishing their hold. I stepped back. He stretched his arms out, his palms flipped up and open. He had surrendered immediately to my plea.
“It’s just too much.” Him. Standing there. A body that seemed perfectly sculpted to give me the greatest pleasure. Hair shadowing eyes that glittered like gold. A treasure even more costly. “You’re too much.”
“Ah, for certain.” He grinned, a slow upward glide of the edges of his mouth that arrowed toward the darkness in his eyes. “And I can be much more.” He took a determined step toward me. “Let me be more.” He didn’t pause for my permission. He took what he wanted, plunging his hands into my hair. He kissed me. I didn’t refuse him. I couldn’t refuse him. He kissed me breathless. He kissed me dizzy. He kissed me until my legs turned to liquid and his hands at my waist became the only thing that kept me from melting into the carpet.
“Get in the bed, Reina. Clothes off. Now,” he demanded.
I nodded. Clumsy fingers tangled up in the lacework of my sweater for several frustratingly long moments. I had scratched both my arms with my fingernails by the time I finally managed to get it off. I quickly tugged my shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor.
“Too slow,” he said and came barreling toward me. He grabbed me by the upper arms and tossed me into the center of the bed. My back bounced on the mattress. My breasts jiggled.
“Juaquin,” I sat up sputtering his name, balanced on my elbows as he came down, his body overshadowing me. “Wait. I can’t catch my breath.”
“Then don’t.” He pressed his palms into my shoulders, pushing me backward. He yanked my legs apart. I gave up trying to slow down and grabbed him, my hands on the hard slab of muscles at his hips as he positioned himself between my spread legs. He speared me with his cock in one breath robbing stroke. Head to hilt, he filled me. Only his, completely and irrevocably though he could never know it.
He began to move, and I moved in tandem. He thrust in deep. I lifted to take him deeper. He groaned. The sound of his pleasure made me hot. Whatever he needed, I wanted to give him. He fucked me harder, faster. My pulse sped. My heart raced. My pussy throbbed. I ached. He built it so fast. The heat. The need for release. He lifted my ass, palming my flesh, his fingers digging into my skin hard enough to sting. And I loved it, loved his strength and the way it seemed as though I drove him so mad with lust.
“Juaquin,” I warned. He was so, so hot and his hard cock felt so, so good inside me. “I…”
“Wait,” he commanded, and I did. I was his to control. I crushed the comforter in my grip. He sank his delicious length in deep. He drug himself slowly back out, his eyes closing as he savored the feel of me squeezing him. I shuddered. His handsome face above me, he speared me to the marrow, to the very soul as he went in so deep our heartbeats became one.
“Miriam.” He groaned my name. He didn’t usually speak when he was so close. My eyes fluttered back open. I focused on him, his expression so raw, so compelling, so everything I needed.
“Yes. I know, Juaquin. I know.” If he was everything I needed, I saw that I was the same for him. I dug my fingers into his ass, the edge of my nails scoring, driving him to the brink with me.
“Miriam,” he groaned again. “Mi Reina. My queen.” He filled me. He took us where we both needed to go. Lifted high. Swept away. Together.
• • •
King
“Oh no, no, no.” Looking panicked, she scrambled backward. “We forgot to use protection.” The direction of her gaze moved to where my fluid and hers had dampened the sheets.
“It’s ok, Miriam. I’m clean. Totally. WMO wouldn’t let me anywhere near their star until they did a million tests and had me sign at least that many consents. And I’m never unsafe.”
Until now, I thought.
“I’m on the pill,” she admitted. “All my bloodwork’s negative, too. And I haven’t been with anyone but you since I left California.”
My brows rose. “But your boyfriend…”
“He always stopped things between us before they went that far. He told me he wanted to wait until we moved in together.” She shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but it so was.
“So it’s ok.” On my hands and knees I moved forward, grabbed her and flipped to my back, draping her over me and positioning so I could get her onto my lap. Her sexy legs shifted sideways over my own. “Shh,” I soothed, stroking her hair the way I knew she liked. “Settle. There’s no reason to panic.” But her expression remained troubled. It became more apparent than ever to me that I needed to declare myself to her. But I couldn’t concentrate with us both in this bed. Without releasing her, I scooted to the edge of it. I set her on the floor, spanked her perfect heart-shaped rear and shooed her toward the bathroom. “Go get cleaned up. We’re doing room service… before we do it again,” I explained noting the uncertainty in her expression.
“But I might need help reaching certain places.” She gave me that come-hither type of look over her shoulder. My cock stirred. “Just had you, mamasota. And I will have you again I promise you. But first fresh linens and food.”
After room service came and went, she emerged from the shower, a cloud of steam accompanying her. My gaze snagged on her, my steady heartbeats sputtering and nearly stalling completely. In just a white towel her dark hair falling down around her slim shoulders toward those phenomenal curves… well she looked more beautiful than any of those paintings mi hermano claimed were masterpieces. I moved toward her, my eyes blazing, her own sparkling with anticipation as she noted the heat in mine. Both of us knowing that all I had to do to unveil her was tug on that twist in her towel. Only…I stopped short and closed my hands, forcing myself to reach for her instead. I had bigger plans, long term ones I had to unveil first.
“You gonna eat wearing the towel?”
“No, but I thought that you would want…” She bit her lip. “I wanted…” I sensed her disappointment.
“I do, too, I assure you. But it’s been too long since lunch.” On the bench in front of the bed I saw two white hotel robes. Housekeeping must have laid them out. I snagged one and draped it around her. She shimmied expertly out of the towel underneath the robe. Mi mujer had talent taking her clothes off that I wasn’t going to let her use on anyone else anymore but me.
As she belted the robe she noticed the set up by the windows. The candles. The roses. The food. “Juaquin.” She licked her lips. “Wow. That’s so pretty. You went to so much trouble. But I’m really not all that hungry. Not for food.” She stepped closer, her movements as seductive as they were on stage. I caught a peek of her creamy upper thigh and a tantalizing glimpse of her tits as the front of her robe parted.
“You need to eat.” I wet my dry lips and backed away from the temptation feeling like an idiot even as I
reminded myself of the big picture. “I need to do this for you. Let me do this.” It seemed as though we were at odds in our purposes tonight. I kept trying to show her how deeply I felt. She seemed to be resisting. Shaking off the unsettling thought, I reached for the back of one of the chairs and pulled it out for her. “I want to take care of you.” I was determined.
“Alright,” she agreed, acquiescing, sweeping into the gap I left her and taking her seat. I removed the cover on her plate of food before moving to take my place across the small table from her.
“Margaritas and mole,” she exclaimed sitting forward in her chair and lifting her gaze. “This did not come from room service.”
“No, it didn’t,” I confirmed.
“Your mother?”
“The food, yes.” Mi madre boxed it up and I had a delivery service send it over. “The margaritas are from the bar. I gave them a recipe I like.”
“This is perfect.” She took my hand before I could reach for my drink and squeezed it. “Very thoughtful. Like so many things you have done for me. Thank you.”
“It’s hardly champagne and caviar,” I apologized.
“I’m not that kind of a girl, but I do love chocolate.”
I nodded. I knew. Hence the mole.
She cut her chicken, took a delicate bite, chewed and swallowed. “It’s so moist. Sweet and spicy. It’s delicious,” she decided, closing her eyes as if recalling the taste and moaning.
Transfixed by her, I stared. My cock did more than stir, it came to complete attention as she reopened her eyes and licked the remaining mole sauce from the tines of her fork.
I had plans for dessert. Big long term plans I wanted to share as I served her the flan. A couple of brochures with glossy pictures and a key. But they could wait. She wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t going anywhere. We had all night.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Noticing my sudden stillness, she studied me through her lashes.
“We’ll eat later,” I growled, threw back my chair and practically pounced. Grabbing her by the waist, I tossed her over my shoulder.
She squealed, more excited about being fucked by me than all the romantic trappings apparently. So be it. I would try to curb her insatiable need. Exhaust us both. Then I would reveal it all to her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Miriam
The sound of running water in the bathroom behind me, I trailed my fingers over the surface of the bed. Two times there. Once fast. Once slow. Both incredible. I stepped over the comforter. In the heat of the moment it had been swept to the floor and forgotten.
On my way to the east facing windows, I passed the seating area. My lips lifted into a ghost of a smile remembering the third time. So wild and rough we had broken the coffee table. The phone call and stern warning from security. Our amusement afterward. Feeling King’s laughter. He had been inside me at the time.
Unforgettable.
The fourth and final time in the shower only moments ago. Washing his hair. Soaping his body. Tracing the ink over his heart that spelled his brother’s name.
Worshipful.
I had tiptoed out when he started to shave. Just watching him perform the simple task of lathering and drawing the razor through his stubble brought tears to my eyes. Too intimate. At least when I had cried in the shower the spraying water had hidden my tears.
Did he know?
Did he sense my sadness?
My desperate desire to commit everything about him and this night to memory?
I choked back the emotion. I should go. Right now. Take advantage of the opportunity. Scribble a note and leave, but I couldn’t. That would be the coward’s way. He deserved better.
Plus, a note could be ambiguous. I couldn’t risk that. I had to make sure that he understood that this was the end. That he didn’t want to come near me again.
I hugged my arms around myself as I stood in front of the windows and gazed out at the city. Rays of bright light streamed between the buildings brimming with hope and possibilities as the sun heralded a new day. Hope and possibilities for other people. Today was a day absent those things for me. As would be the next and the one that followed. After this I knew I would never be able to look at a sunrise the same way again.
“Reina.” His arms, his strong arms, ones that could no longer comfort, slid around me from behind. He pressed his body to mine. It was still warm and damp from the hot shower. He seemed not to notice how stiffly I held myself as he gently brushed my hair to the front and pressed a soft kiss to the back of my neck. “Why are you already dressed? We’re staying in. It’s time to have the flan we skipped last night. And I want to talk with you about some things.”
“I can’t.” My throat closed. I wondered what he had planned. I wanted to know. His eyes sparkled meaningfully with promise as precious as the sunrise, but I couldn’t have that promise. I couldn’t have him. I cleared my throat. “I have to go.” Truth, play it as straight as I could. Make him believe it.
“I don’t understand.” He turned me around, his hands on my shoulders, his gaze searching, his expression confused.
“I’m leaving Seattle.” I braced, anticipating his withdrawal. “I have a return flight back to Vegas today.”
“What?” His grip tightened no longer gentle. “When did you decide this?”
“Yesterday.” The timer had been ticking all along, though I had ignored it. Stupidity on my part. Selfishness. The castle I had built in my mind set to crumble. My hopes for its king and queen soon to be nothing more than scattered rubble.
“Then what the hell have we been doing here all night? This morning?”
“Saying goodbye,” I whispered, and he released me. Abruptly. His expression chilled me. Suddenly alone, the remnants of the dream weren’t enough to warm me. “I should have told you that I planned to leave, but I didn’t want to make things awkward. No expectations. Nothing serious. Just having a good time. Right? That’s what we agreed.”
“That’s the way we started. But I don’t believe that’s where we are. You’re conveniently ignoring a lot of important conversations. A lot of times we connected on a much deeper level. Is your memory faulty? What about when we both agreed to try for something real?”
I couldn’t argue against his points. He was right. I found myself wishing I’d gone with a note. More than that I shouldn’t have gone along with last night. I should have left well enough alone and been grateful for the time with him that I’d already been given. I should have gone back to Vegas as soon as Campanella called. I knew Juaquin. How loyal he was. How protective. I would have to make him hate me to keep him away. That was what I feared the most. Losing my sister’s good opinion of me was one thing. Losing his was going to wreck me.
“You’re right. We did. But that was then, and this is now. I’ve changed my mind.” His expression went from frosty to frigid. I shivered suddenly feeling the chill that descended over us. The sun rising behind us lent me no warmth.
“I’m not saying it wasn’t good. Four times in one night, I think it goes without saying.” I swallowed though the regret stung my throat. “Your reputation is well deserved. But it’s time for me to get back to my life.”
“Back to a boyfriend who is such a cabrón that he hasn’t consummated your relationship? Back to stripping?”
“Back to stripping? Maybe. Back to Frank? Probably not. But being with you certainly has opened my eyes to new things. And opened new doors for me professionally. With all of the publicity surrounding me, my boss upped the offer regarding his new business endeavor.”
“What are you talking about Miriam?”
“I’m going to do pay per view porn. It’s acting of a sort. Really good money. I’m sure you can see why I can’t turn it down.”
• • •
King
Poised on a sword’s edge between anger and despair, I had watched her go. I stood, arms at my sides exhausted by the internal battle that had raged within me before the door had closed behind he
r. On one hand, I’d wanted to grab her, throw her against the wall, rip her clothes from her body and sink my cock in her. To hell with persuasion, I could force her to submit. Tear down the wall of bullshit she had retreated behind. Make her admit that she wanted me. But here I was with my feet glued to the floor. Knowing her the way I now did, if I had forced her I would have truly and irrevocably lost her. Not only that, I would have broken her.
I wanted her, but I wanted her spicy. Independent. Her own woman. I wanted her standing in front of me with her eyes flashing fire. I wanted my queen back. Not whoever or whatever the hell had just walked out of my life.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Miriam
I sank into the empty chair beside his hospital bed, relieved no one else from Juaquin’s family was around. I had already spoken heart rending farewells to the rest of them back at the house. Outside the propped open door, staff went about their duties. Inside the room the heart monitor beeped steadily. Not at all like the chaos in my own chest, the savage tearing and ripping apart of a vital organ that I wasn’t anticipating having much use for anymore. Not where I was going.
I flipped the healing medallion over and over between my nervous hands. Leaning forward, I reached out to wake Raúl, but he opened his eyes spontaneously. Those tawny eyes were so much like his son’s that my heart paused a long painful beat before resuming.
“Buenos días.” Good morning. He glanced out the window as if to gauge the accuracy of his greeting and scanned the room before his gaze returned to me. His expression was puzzled. “Where’s my son?”
A question I couldn’t answer. “I came here alone. I…” I trailed off and licked my dry lips. “I wanted to give you this.” I offered him the medallion. He took it, his fingers closing around the metal that surely retained the heat from my hand. “It’s for healing. I prayed for you many times. I’m not sure if my prayers are heard, but I wanted you to know that I spoke them on your behalf. I’m glad you’re doing better.” I glanced away struggling for a moment to press back the tears that I wouldn’t allow myself to shed. Not yet. Later. Plenty of time for that after I completed all of my tasks.
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