Violet regarded him levelly. “And here I bet you wouldn’t pass the Kissing Test.” Violet padded off the dance floor and headed toward the bar.
Kissing test?
“And now, the tango,” the female dance instructor announced.
The tango. The perfect dance to teach Aubrey. She would move slowly. He’d have an excuse to hold her close. And then there was the provocative dip, the passionate meeting of gazes, the chance for lips to meet. Here was a kissing test he’d willingly take.
“Oh, no. I’m fine on the sidelines,” Aubrey said when Nino pushed his way past her sisters to claim her.
“Are you afraid?” he asked.
“You should be afraid.” Her eyes flashed with challenge and humor. “I think I’m on record as telling you I have no rhythm or grace. I could take out the entire dance party. Do you want to be the reason Layla walks down the aisle on crutches?”
“I’ll take that risk.” And many others for the chance to hold her. Nino captured Aubrey’s hand and led her to the dance floor. “You just need to walk with me and turn. How easy is that?” It wasn’t until Nino had Aubrey in his embrace that the indecision and upset inside of him eased. “Your sisters are each talented in their own right, but only you feel right, mi cielo.”
Her hands trembled, and they hadn’t even begun to dance. “This is silly.” She tried to pull free.
“Mi cielo.” Nino smiled down at her. “No matter our differences, our souls call to each other. Perhaps we should no longer fight it. I have no desire to kiss any Summer sister but you.”
Aubrey gasped, staring into his eyes.
Nino drew her closer and stared into her milk chocolate eyes. She gazed at him with the same wondrous expression she’d had the night he’d first kissed her.
“Good.” The female instructor adjusted their position. “Let’s build that sexual tension with the dance. Your shoulders need to be closer and your cheeks need to touch.”
“What a wonderful idea,” Nino murmured, closing the gap between them.
Aubrey’s cheek was soft against his. He bet it was a bright pink.
“Our instructor deserves my never-ending gratitude.” Nino sighed. “This is exactly where I’ve wanted to be all day.” He’d never spoken truer words.
“Woo-wee!” Dotty squealed enthusiastically when the male dance teacher gave her a long-stemmed rose to hold in her teeth.
They practiced walking slowly four steps in one direction and then switching to walk the other way. The pace was slow enough that Aubrey didn’t falter.
“I should dance the tango all the time,” Aubrey murmured.
“Only if you tango with me.” As the song drew to a conclusion, Nino hauled Aubrey to her toes, bringing her closer until their bodies were flush against each other.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, Nino supported her lower back and dipped her, following her torso with his. “No tango would be complete without a kiss.” And then he kissed her the way he’d wanted to for days. Long and deep and slow, pulling her to him, letting her know what he wanted. More. Always more. Until she’d given herself to him completely.
“Wow,” she murmured when he broke off the kiss and brought her upright. Her eyes were dazed. “When you kiss me, I forget who you are.”
“I am Nino.” And that was all she needed to know. A part of him wished that’s all she’d ever know.
Chapter 10
Oh, no. I’m going to sleep with Marcos Alfaro.
Nino, a small voice whispered. You’re going to sleep with Nino.
“I had the time of my life.” Grandma Dotty threw her arms around Aubrey and squeezed her tight, bringing her out of her panic attack. “Step in time. Step in time.” She twirled in her sparkly dress, sending her blond locks flying in the air. “Let me tell you, I could have danced all night.”
Nino steadied Dotty when she came to a wobbly halt, all the while staring at Aubrey as if he wanted to dance with her in private. “Can I interest you ladies in dinner?”
“We’re having a family dinner again tonight and going to bed early.” And wasn’t that the perfect excuse not to see the view from Nino’s room? More excuses. That’s what Aubrey needed. “We’re traveling south to the family’s cocoa plantation first thing in the morning.”
“It’s a long drive,” Dotty said unenthusiastically. “I usually get at least one bug stuck in my teeth. And I’ll need a massage when we return. Darn those bumpy Ecuadorian roads.”
“You should take a car with air conditioning. I can arrange one for you.” Nino was doing his best to be charming. Why did Nino have to be Marcos Alfaro? He’d have been perfect if he’d just been Nino.
“We won’t be needing a car,” Aubrey assured him, feeling as if she stood at the top of a precipice with Nino standing at the bottom, promising to catch her when she fell.
Our souls call to each other.
“We’re traveling on motorcycle.” Grandma Dotty did a slow twirl. “It makes the trip much faster.”
Nino stared at the Summer women as if he’d just been told they’d be speed skating in the Olympics. “You’re taking your grandmother on a motorbike?”
“Yes. I’m a veteran biker.” Dotty twirled once more. “I’m not one of those country club mavens who never travels in anything but a Cadillac, although my family does have a string of Caddy dealerships.”
Nino let this last detail slide and directed his next question at Aubrey. “How far are you going?”
“About three hundred miles.” Aubrey was enjoying his shock and awe. She so rarely put him on his heels. “We’ll leave early, stay the night and return the next day. That leaves us two more days until the wedding.”
“But…” Nino brow was still clouded. “There is rain in the forecast.”
“It being March, it isn’t the kind of endless rain due in April,” Aubrey pointed out. “It’s Ecuador. There’s always rain in the forecast.”
“A little rain on helmet hair helps me look presentable.” Dotty touched her blond wig. Her hand felt around her head, and then she combed her fingers through her hair, almost as if surprised her “hair” was that long.
“It’s a wig,” Aubrey whispered.
“Of course, it is.” But Grandma Dotty’s eyes seemed a bit lost.
Aubrey tried to remember if she’d taken her medication on time.
“I haven’t been south in quite a while,” Nino said. “Would you mind the company?”
The music began playing again. Another tango. The dance of seduction. Aubrey was tempted to grab Nino’s hand and lead him to the dance floor. When had she developed this impulsive streak? She set her heels firmly on the floor.
“You can just take off work like that, Nino?” Grandma Dotty gave his chest a friendly poke. “What are you? A CEO?” She chuckled.
Aubrey didn’t know if her grandmother was clear-headed or not until Dotty turned to her and winked.
“Something like that,” Nino murmured. His smile beckoned, promised more excitement than a simple tango. “I’d be happy to serve as your escort.”
“Maybe you should take him with you.” Dotty stared at Elicio across the dance floor.
Layla’s grandfather was dancing the tango solo and waggling his brows suggestively at Dotty. Behind him, Layla and Diego swayed to the music, having forgotten about dance steps. Others were laughing as they attempted to tango.
And here was Aubrey on the outskirts of the action wanting more than anything to reach for a man she wanted, one who wanted her for all the wrong reasons. She was too old to succumb to desire. Thirty was staid. Thirty was respectable.
Thirty was over the hill.
And she’d never even scrambled out on a ledge.
Staring at Nino made her dizzy.
“I think we could both use time alone with our men.” Grandma Dotty shuffled off to Layla’s grandfather’s arms.
“They left me,” Aubrey murmured. Her entire family. She’d lived her life knowin
g they’d always have her back, and when she needed them most, they’d left her.
“Maybe they realized you knew what you were doing. Or maybe they didn’t like my dancing.” Nino chuckled, but when he met Aubrey’s gaze, he stopped and placed a hand over his heart. “I promise to be on my best behavior.”
That laugh. That intense gaze.
Aubrey swallowed thickly. “You don’t know the meaning of the term best behavior.”
“That is true,” he agreed good-naturedly. “But now that you’ve tangoed without catastrophe, I can let you lead.” His smile deepened, and he stared at the couples on the dance floor, but he wasn’t talking about dancing. He was talking about seduction and letting Aubrey dictate the pace.
Her smile started at her toes. She couldn’t help it. Nino was dangerous to her heart, but he thrilled her. She had to make sure she kept him on his toes. “You’ll need your own motorcycle.”
His smile was slow in growing, and triumphant. “Luckily…” His fingers locked with hers. “I have one.”
He bent to kiss her, touching only her lips and her hand. Kissing her tenderly, as if they had all the time in the world to hypothesize about body chemistry and physical attraction and the likelihood that the two of them would crash and burn.
He’d told her no lies about his intentions toward her body. He made no attempt to learn her curves in front of their friends. He didn’t whisper words meant to seduce. He seemed content in their kiss.
His restraint made Aubrey feel safe. His restraint made her ache for more. His restraint crumbled hers. Hadn’t Grandma Dotty wanted a little fling even if it meant a little heartache later?
As if sensing her acceptance, Nino broke off the kiss and whispered in her ear, “Come to my room. I have champagne chilling.” His cheek brushed across hers with the barest of stubble. “And I passed the Summer Kissing Test.”
Aubrey sighed. “I shouldn’t, but–”
“Stop right there.” Eugene stood in the ballroom doorway. “Unhand that woman.”
Everyone stopped dancing, even love-struck Layla and Diego.
Eugene marched over to Aubrey and Nino in his wrinkled black trousers and blue checked button-down. “I have to save you, Dr. Summer. Playing the spy game isn’t for the likes of you and me.”
On that, at least, Aubrey agreed with him. She couldn’t outwit Nino with subterfuge.
Nino’s eyebrows were raised, but he said nothing as Eugene bore down on them.
“Sir?” Eugene stopped directly in front of Nino and swallowed. It took a couple more swallows before he started again. “Sir…Dr. Summer knows you’re Marcos Alfaro. Neither she nor I will tell you Bon Bon Chocolate’s trade secrets. And the two of us are not working together to sabotage your company.” And then Eugene slumped, stumbling back a few steps, gasping. “Oh, it feels so good to get that off my chest.” He shook himself, straightened his glasses on his nose and looked Nino square in the eye. “I hope this doesn’t mean you’re going to fire me, sir.”
Nino stared down at Aubrey, hiding nothing in his gaze. “I am Marcos Alfaro.”
Aubrey returned his regard steadily, letting him see the truth in her eyes. She knew who he was and was willing to take the ride toward heartbreak. “Don’t fire him, Nino.”
Chapter 11
“Oh, my sweet, Bree.” Layla hugged Aubrey, frowning at Nino over her shoulder. “I thought you knew Nino was just his nickname. Do you hate me?”
Nino crossed his arms over his chest and prepared to weather the storm.
Most of the remaining wedding guests had surrounded Layla and Aubrey, pushing Eugene to the periphery of the crowd until he’d given up and left, apparently satisfied that he’d gotten a big secret off his scrawny chest. They’d also pushed Nino to the periphery. In all his years in business, his friends had never treated him like a trickster or a villain.
Aubrey wasn’t treating Nino as if he was a villain. She was acting altogether strange, almost as if she felt sorry for him.
“I don’t hate you,” Aubrey was saying to Layla. “I knew who he was when we talked the other morning at the spa.” Her calm gaze landed on Nino. “I knew the night Nino took me out to dinner.”
Nino, not Marcos.
Nino’s legs felt unsteady.
She’d known who Nino was for three days? If she’d known that long, why hadn’t she said something? More importantly, what had she been about to say when Eugene charged in the room?
I shouldn’t, but…
I shouldn’t, but what? I shouldn’t, but yes. I shouldn’t, but let’s have another dance anyway?
“I’m so relieved this is all out in the open.” Dotty was hanging onto Elicio’s arm, her long blond wig in place for once. “I’m free to hate Nino-Marcos now.”
“Nobody hates anybody,” Aubrey said firmly.
For the life of him, Nino had no idea why Aubrey was being so forgiving.
“Please,” she raised her voice. “Everyone, go back to your dancing lessons. I’m fine.” Her glance said she was more than fine. It was warm and loaded with determination, although not the hostile determination of the day they’d met. She made her way to Nino’s side.
Nino thought he knew a lot about women. But when he looked at Aubrey, he knew nothing.
The music began again, a waltz this time, but Nino’s brain was still stuck on pause.
Aubrey tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and led him toward the door. “We should talk.”
He nodded, speech still being out of the realm of reason.
“You’re trying to improve Caradoc Confections by stealing Bon Bon Chocolate secrets.” She guided him down the wide hall toward the lobby, speaking as calmly as if they were discussing the local movie schedule. “You’re trying to improve Caradoc by stealing my work.”
He nodded again, anticipating a slap.
One that never came.
Nino rubbed his cheek.
“You can’t have it.” Aubrey said the words without malice or spite. Without grit or despair.
They reached the lobby. She veered toward the elevator bank and pressed the up button.
“If you keep Eugene on, Caradoc’s chocolate will get better.” She didn’t look up at him.
He stared down at the part in her hair. It was straight. Not a hair out of place.
He felt out of place. He felt numb and adrift, as if someone had pushed him out of a spaceship’s airlock. He was moving, but not getting anywhere. There was a feeling in his chest, a feeling he couldn’t name. It crowded out normal breathing and steady heartbeats.
It felt like regret.
“Eugene knows how to improve cocoa beans before you bring them to your factory,” Aubrey said.
The elevator doors slid open. She lifted her foot as if intent upon stepping inside, but she hesitated. Not long enough to stumble, but long enough that Nino noticed.
And yet, she did move forward, bringing him along with her into the elevator. She pressed the button to the penthouse.
Nino’s mouth went dry.
“You can’t have my work.” Aubrey barely moved. She stared at their distorted reflection in the polished metal doors. “But you can have me.”
Nino’s heart soared. He’d spent days wanting to possess her, to take her to his bed, to win her. And now…His heart stopped flying and his knees felt weak. Aubrey wasn’t a company to be possessed. She was a woman he admired and respected. A woman who made him think and laugh and want. A woman he’d lied to, tried to manipulate, deceived.
This is wrong.
His head started shaking, back and forth. Aubrey should be angry with him. She should be bitter. She should be spitting fire.
At the very least, if she was propositioning him she should be throwing her arms around his neck, laughing, embracing, kissing. They should be unable to keep their hands off each other.
Nino’s lips felt cold. The only thing she was touching was his arm. And even that touch was tentative.
Her offer wasn’t about want
. It didn’t involve pure need. Which meant…
He didn’t know what it meant. He’d never felt anything like this before.
The elevator doors slid open at the penthouse floor only because Nino had an electronic key fob in his pocket that the control panel recognized. His key fob guaranteed an express elevator ride.
Aubrey stepped into the gray marble foyer, tugging Nino along, drawing up short in front of an impressionistic painting of a naked woman lying in the grass, reaching for her lover.
Nino had never felt so gauche.
Nobody wants a virgin anything. Least of all men like Marcos Alfaro.
That had been her grandmother talking. Dotty would have expected a painting like this.
She saves whales. She watches out for farmers.
Nino built up companies for profit.
She supports animal rescue. She’d told him not to fire Eugene.
He’d destroyed his father financially.
“I can’t do this.” Nino dug in his heels, covering Aubrey’s hand with his. He wasn’t even sure how he’d been able to fool himself into thinking he could romance her work from her.
They stood facing the gaudy picture, which might just as well have been dogs playing poker painted on black velvet. That’s how inappropriate and tacky he felt.
Dr. Aubrey Summer didn’t deserve a playboy or a one night stand. She deserved honor, honesty and love. She deserved love.
The elevator doors slid closed behind them.
It would be so easy to take her inside his suite, to pour them some wine, to stand at the window and enjoy the view. It was a clear afternoon. They’d be able to see the Andes.
He turned to face her, taking both of her hands in his. “I appreciate the offer–”
“But you won’t take me inside.” Her brown eyes weren’t slanted with hurt. She stared at him with understanding and–possibly–sadness. “Because I’m not that kind of girl.”
“Yes.” He’d never felt so relieved to not have sex, while simultaneously wanting with every fiber of his physical being to make love to her. “I need a drink.”
And Then He Kissed Me Page 10