by JC Harroway
“The drinking?”
Antonio chuckled. “You had one glass of rum. No, I’m talking about what happened in the bathroom.” She noticed that anytime he talked about something intimate, he lowered the timbre of his voice. It was so damn sensual, she felt herself getting wet all over again just hearing him speak to her like that.
“So, I wasn’t drunk?” Kenzie asked nervously.
“No, you were just...happy.”
Happy. Now that was a word no one had used to describe her state of being in quite some time.
“Should we go back over to Baracoa?” Kenzie asked hesitatingly. She knew they needed to, but part of her just wanted to deny reality and spend the day lounging in bed together.
“We should,” Antonio answered matter-of-factly. “But first—breakfast. There’s food waiting downstairs, I’ll give you a moment.” Antonio exited the room, closing the door behind him, but not before giving her a sexy stare that made her feel how naked she was between his sheets. Although she was starving, what she really wanted was Antonio back in the bed with her again. She wanted to know what it was like to wake up with his strong arms wrapped around her. How embarrassing that she was totally zonked. Who goes to a hot guy’s house, gets naked in bed with him and actually sleeps?
Willing her legs over the side of the bed, Kenzie’s feet hit the plush carpet and walking around the room as if she were on a lingerie scavenger hunt, she found her clothing from the day before. Just as she was about to dress, she noticed a plush, white robe laid out on the chair next to the bed. A guest robe! Now that was pure luxury. Slipping her arms into the lush sleeves, she cinched the belt around her tiny waist, twisted her curls up into a makeshift bun and headed downstairs for breakfast.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Antonio was at the helm of the chef’s stove. He was wearing an apron, which was rakishly sexy, and had something going on three of the burners. Kenzie took a seat at the place he’d set for her at the counter and wrapped her hands around the mug containing a café latte with a fancy leaf pattern in the foam.
“Wow, this is incredible,” she said.
Antonio slid an over-easy egg onto a piece of avocado toast and garnished it with fruit.
“It’s what I do,” he said, presenting the dish to her with an almost bashful look. “There’s nothing more sensual than cooking for someone you—” she could have been mistaken but she thought she heard his voice catch “—someone you care about,” he finished his sentence.
Kenzie was moved by the sentiment, but suddenly there was an awkward vibe in the air, so she opted to make a joke of it. “Well, if this is a hangover, I’m down with that,” Kenzie commented, smiling and digging into her breakfast.
“I don’t think you were drunk,” Antonio said, sitting down across from her with his own plate of food, “you barely finished one drink.”
“I’m probably just hyper about having had one,” Kenzie confessed. “It’s been a while.”
“You don’t have to tell me, but did something happen that made you want to stay sober?”
Sober. The word itself was so...sobering. So much the antithesis of how she behaved in all the other areas of her life—Kenzie fancied herself as an adventurer, a risk-taker.
“Someone that I cared very much about got into trouble with drinking,” she said, stirring swirls in her latte with a spoon. “He was an alcoholic.” She’d never used the word to describe Cole, not out loud, before this moment. But in her heart, she was sure of it.
“Your boyfriend,” Antonio concluded.
“Fiancé,” she corrected him. Ugh, she knew it was a downer to go down this path. But if she was going to get to know Antonio better, if they were going to work together, to be lovers...he had to know. It was too big a part of herself to try and hide.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered softly, coming around to the other side of the counter and holding her, his strong arms enveloping her small body.
Kenzie melted into his embrace. With her robe slightly open, she could feel his T-shirt on her chest, her nipples responding to the gentle friction.
“Hey, how come we didn’t do anything in your bed last night?” she asked.
“We did—we slept! You were pretty tired by the time we got back here. I must have kept you up past your bedtime.”
“I wasn’t tired!” she said, playfully punching him.
Antonio’s eyes lit up. “Lightweight,” he jabbed at her, lifting her up off the stool and throwing her over his shoulder like it was nothing.
Kenzie squealed in delight as he set her ass on the counter and tugged the robe off her shoulders, casting it to the floor. The change of mood was exactly what she wanted. The few times she had mentioned her situation to potential suitors, the mood had gone all gloomy, and most of those guys had left her to wallow. Antonio was different. He seemed to be guided by a desire to look for what was positive, to find the light.
“Mmm,” Kenzie moaned as Antonio’s mouth found its way to her nether region. “Your breakfast is getting cold.”
Antonio looked up at her with his penetrating stare. “This is much more filling.”
Kenzie’s fingers found their way through Antonio’s jet-black mane as he kissed the lips of her pussy, which was still sore from the most excellent banging he’d given it the night before. For a second, she thought she ought to be the one pleasuring him, but every time she tried to change positions, he steadied her in front of his face. Clearly, he was a man intent on doing his job.
And boy, did he know how to do it well. Kenzie had had her fair share of men, and most of them were a complete disaster when it came to going down on her—it was usually a slobbery, ill-conceived undertaking, with either too little or too much enthusiasm and zero precision.
Antonio wasn’t like that at all. His soft lips and scratchy beard were the perfect combination to provide pure pleasure. He knew how to read her body language, when something felt good, when he hit exactly the right spot with his finger or tongue, he kept going, and didn’t let up until she couldn’t see straight.
That was exactly what was happening at the moment—in fact, Kenzie was totally lost in the moment of pleasure, her head thrown back, her long curls unfurled, and her back arching so that her breasts were pushed out and on display.
Her orgasm hit her with such force, she was surprised by the sounds she was emitting. A moment later, she was catching her breath again.
“Okay, okay,” she said, gently pushing Antonio’s face out of the V between her legs, which was now slick with saliva and her own wetness.
Antonio ignored her directions and kept up the pressure he had been applying with his mouth, now bringing his skillful fingers into play, first plunging one, then two fingers inside her. This had never happened before, but Kenzie let go and came again, this time more violently, squeezing her pussy against his fingers, needing that target upon which to send all of her sexual energy.
“Good girl,” he encouraged as she moaned. Antonio looked up at her with hopeful eyes. “Can you come for me again?”
Kenzie met his gaze and nodded. Throwing her head back, she allowed him to stroke her, using just his fingers this time, once again into the throes of euphoria.
She was panting now, sweatier than she ever got after a hard morning run. “How did you do that?”
Antonio smiled, using his hand to wipe some of her juices off the side of his mouth but didn’t say anything.
“There must be something I can do to make you happy,” she said, hopping down from the counter and leaning her naked body into his chest. He was still fully dressed, though she could feel his hard-on pressing into her leg now.
“There is something, actually,” he said, pulling his cock out over the elastic waistband of his gray pants and beginning to stroke it.
Kenzie went to kneel down in front of him, but Antonio quickly stopped her.
“Not that,” he said quickly. She must have seemed taken aback, because he quickly explained himself. “Not that I don’t like that. I love that. But I had something else in mind.”
“Tell me,” she insisted, feeling disappointed that she couldn’t reciprocate the pleasure he had given her, that she wouldn’t get to feel the girth of his beautiful cock filling her mouth.
“Come for me. One more time.”
Kenzie looked at Antonio like he was crazy. She’d never had a multiple orgasm before this morning. She wasn’t even sure she could do it again.
“Really? That’s what you want?”
“I like watching you,” he said, moving closer to her and stroking his cock a little faster. “I really like seeing you come, too.”
Kenzie sat down on one of the stools, spread her legs open to Antonio’s gaze and, moving a finger down the length of her body and placing it directly over her clit just like she did when she was alone, she started the side-to-side motion over her button that always brought that shivering feeling to her whole body within seconds.
She was so spent, she didn’t know if it would work this time, but she knew she had to try.
“Is this what you do when you’re by yourself?” Antonio asked lustily, pumping his hand up and down his rod faster and faster.
“Mmm,” Kenzie replied. Even though her clit was swollen, just the thought of Antonio watching her was enough to bring on that spine-tingling feeling.
“Oh!” she cried out, showing Antonio what he wanted to see.
Fortunately, he was right there with her, and just as she peaked, he did too, grunting in unison with her cries of pleasure.
Kenzie watched as Antonio sighed deeply, recovering from his release. He looked so manly, and at the same time so vulnerable. He was sweating now, too, and still looking at her with that same lusty stare.
Who was this man and how did he know how to take her to these previously uncharted levels of ecstasy? It was almost like he knew even more than she did what she was capable of. It was a feeling that was appealing but also a little disconcerting. She was trying really hard not to question it too much, to let herself enjoy it. For too long she had overanalyzed everything—with Antonio, she wanted to let herself just be in the moment and feel whatever it was she was feeling.
“Was that good?” he asked, running a hand down the side of her cheek.
“Oh yeah,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. She didn’t want to leave any doubt in his mind that she found what they were doing together highly enjoyable.
* * *
After they showered and dressed, Antonio insisted they drive over to Baracoa to assess the damage. Kenzie wanted to make a quick stop at the Fontainebleau to change clothes, so Antonio waited in the car outside of the lobby. Bellmen were wheeling luggage carts around and a few guests sat on benches, waiting for valet service to bring their cars around. The top on the convertible was down, and it already felt overbearingly hot, even in the shade. Antonio decided he would make his offer to Kenzie one more time. He didn’t like the idea of her losing her inheritance because of this freak accident. Baracoa was small change to him, but he guessed that the money would have a real impact on Kenzie’s business at home in New York. Still, he had to tread carefully. Kenzie clearly wasn’t the type who would accept help. She’d see his generosity as charity unless he phrased it the right way.
Before he had any time to plan out what he was going to say, Kenzie emerged from the lobby, looking fresh and more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. She was wearing a long, flowing dress with a blue-and-white print, and her hair was down. Antonio’s eyes were immediately drawn to the gorgeous curves of her shoulders, which were exposed, and when she slid into the passenger seat he got a glimpse of her back, which was also visible in the halter dress.
“Can you put some of this on me?” she asked, handing him a tube of sunscreen and turning so that her back was facing him.
Antonio complied, squeezing a glob of sunscreen into his hand and slowly rubbing it from her shoulder blades all the way down to the small of her back. Even though they had just been together, he was already thinking about undressing her again. When it came to Kenzie’s perfect body, he just couldn’t get enough.
“Thanks,” Kenzie said, turning around and taking the lotion back from him. “Gotta have my SPF!”
“You have gotten a little color since I first met you,” he commented. It was true—her fair skin was now dotted with a few tiny freckles and her shoulders were a bit sun-kissed.
“My body isn’t used to sunlight,” she joked.
On the drive over to Baracoa they were mostly silent, but it was a good silence, a comfortable one, Antonio thought. Kenzie was just so easy to be around, he didn’t feel the need to initiate polite chit-chat. As he navigated the roads, he occasionally glanced over at her and smiled. The sight of her hair, blowing wild in the wind, was amazing. Then a thought occurred to him: If she accepted his offer of a buyout, today would probably be the last time they spent together. After all, what reason would she have for staying? She had a business to run in New York, which she was probably neglecting. He was surprised to find that he was experiencing that same sinking feeling he’d gotten when Clarissa first left. He’d only known Kenzie a few days. Was he really so attached, or was it the crazy sex blurring his judgement?
Just as he was starting to despair, Antonio felt the sudden touch of a hand on his thigh. Kenzie smiled at him and he revved the engine, taking the final turns toward the distillery with extra speed.
Parking the car right in front of the main building, he and Kenzie went inside to assess the damage. A cleanup crew was sweeping up the floor of the warehouse, trying to control the epic mess of rubble and liquor. Antonio shook his head in dismay at the disaster he was sure he could have somehow prevented.
“That’s Mateo, he’s a cousin,” Antonio said, pointing out a man in his early twenties talking on a cell phone. He looked like a younger version of himself, albeit with slicked-back hair and trendy clothes. Truth be told, Antonio had dressed that way when he was young, too. “We made him manager, but he’s rarely here,” he explained to Kenzie. “My aunt has been an integral part of the business forever and she’s tried to find him work but nothing sticks. I’d love to get rid of him, but I can’t.” Antonio turned away from Kenzie and raised his voice. “Mateo!” he shouted, trying to get the young guy’s attention.
Mateo looked up at Antonio and Antonio nodded, telegraphing to the kid that this was serious business. After a moment he hung up his call and approached Antonio and Kenzie.
“Cousin,” he said, opening his arms for an embrace. Antonio hesitantly hugged him, recoiling slightly from Mateo’s overuse of cologne.
“What’s the plan here?” Antonio asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“We’ve got cleanup guys working around the clock,” Mateo said, looking nervously from side to side.
“And what’s being done to make sure the barrels that are left are in stable condition? Have you checked the temperature control?”
Mateo just stood there, apparently dumbfounded. His inability to answer was enough reason for Antonio to dismiss him.
“I’ll do it,” Antonio said gruffly, walking away. Kenzie followed him outside.
“Not the answer you were hoping for?” she said, taking a hold of his arm.
“If he even took the slightest interest in our business, I’d go easier on him. He’s going to run this place into the ground. As if it isn’t there already.”
“It looks like the damage isn’t catastrophic,” Kenzie said, trying to push a glimmer of enthusiasm into her voice.
Antonio took her hands in his. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to take the money and get out of here. This place is nothing more than a money pit.” Okay, so maybe the soft approach was out the window, but Antonio was
never one for sugarcoating things anyway. “Please,” he implored her, almost begging. “I don’t want to see you lose your business over this.”
Kenzie’s face got tight and her eyebrows furrowed.
“Why are you always trying to rescue me, like I’m some damsel in distress?” she blurted.
“I’m not!” Antonio spat back, his temper getting the better of him. “I’m trying to stop you from doing something foolish.”
Kenzie turned on her heel and went out into the courtyard. Antonio took a deep breath and let out a long exhale before following behind her.
“I want to show you something,” he said, taking Kenzie by surprise by grabbing her hand and leading her out past the courtyard and into a field adjacent to the building. It was quiet, and still—the place he always returned to when he needed to think or make big decisions.
“Wow,” Kenzie said, looking around wide-eyed at the tall stalks that surrounded them. Antonio found that he was happily surprised by Kenzie’s awestruck reaction to his happy place.
“Is it sugar cane?” she asked.
“Exactly. This is the lifeblood of my family. We came here from Cuba and started small. This distillery, Baracoa, was how my great-grandfather got his start. That’s why it hurts for me to see it neglected like this.”
“I didn’t know it was so personal for you,” Kenzie said, reaching out to touch his arm. Her eyes were filled with compassion, which moved him, though instinct told him not to show it.
Antonio shrugged. “It’s just a business. It’s the people that matter. I just don’t like to see things wasted, or needlessly destroyed.” He thought about the liquid gold wasted on the floor and shook his head in dismay.
“Maybe that’s why I’m here,” said Kenzie, her voice taking on a brighter tone. “Maybe I can help get this place back up and running the way it should be.”
“Kenzie,” he said gently, in a way he hoped wasn’t condescending. “I appreciate that. I do. But you don’t know the first thing about rum production.”
“No, but I do.”