Fresh Temptation: Barboza Brothers, Book One (24 page)

“No, I can’t have that
many bedrooms in a nice neighborhood. That’s three or four times
what I was planning to pay—”

“Housing is a benefit of
your new consulting job,
querida
.” He flashed a wicked grin.
“You’ll be spending half of your time here, training a new employee
to do your old job, and the rest of the time you’ll be in New York,
with me.”

“What? No. My boss,
Justine, begged management to get me this job. I’m sure she won’t
go for that.”

“Oh, she will.” He nodded.
“She’ll have no choice, but it’ll be best for her and everyone else
involved.”

Cara raised herself up on
her elbows. “Excuse me? How in the world is that
possible?”

Chuckling, Victor sat up.
“The world’s a much smaller place than you think. Especially the
business world. I’ve already made some phone calls. I’ll have a
meeting or two next week. That’s all you need to know.”

Cara’s mouth gaped in
astonishment. “I don’t know what to say. Or what to
think.”

“Listen to me.” He cupped
her chin. “Now I understand why you’re so protective of yourself.
Maybe we moved a little too fast and that’s why you were so eager
to leave me today.”

She averted his gaze for a
moment, biting her lip.

“It’s okay. I’m not upset
about it now.” His fingers moved to her hair, combing through her
soft tendrils until her eyes met his again. “In fact, I think it
works out best for everyone. You won’t be my employee anymore,
technically. You’ll be paid by an outside agency. Hopefully you
won’t feel like you have to sleep with me to keep your job
anymore.”

Cara’s cheeks turned beet
red. She tried to suppress her smile, thinking about how exciting
it was to sneak around with her boss. Then she breathed deeply to
clear her thoughts. “So, you said it works out best for
everyone
this
way?”

He returned her smile and
gave her lips a quick peck. “Yes. It lets Patty split her time
between getting to know her new boyfriend and watching her
grandson.”

“Yeah. I hadn’t thought
about that.”

“Also, by the time Isaac’s
ready to start school, you’ll hopefully be finished with your
project here and you can move home permanently. I know some
excellent private schools.” Victor nodded. “And this will force us
to take our relationship a little slower. That should make you more
comfortable, I hope. But, let me warn you.” His eyes narrowed as
his voice took on a slightly sinister tone. “On those days when I
get you all to myself, I will be very greedy.”

Cara giggled into Victor’s
mouth as it descended on hers.

His warm hand cupped her
full breast as his lips moved to her chin, then her throat. His
hand was moving down her stomach to part her thighs when he heard
her groan. He stopped. “What’s wrong?”

She winced, painfully.
“I’m sorry. There’s this nagging thought running through my mind.
Alexis. Will she bother me here? What if—”

“Shh.” He pressed two
fingers against her lips. “I have something very special planned
for her. She’ll get what she deserves. Let’s not speak of her
again.” His lips went to her ear as his fingers trailed down her
neck, her chest, her stomach, stopping between her thighs. “I have
something
much
more special planned for you,
mi
amor
.”

Cara closed her eyes,
pleasure coursing through her body from his wet, warm lips nibbling
her ear, and the words he had just spoken. She knew
amor
meant love, and
that was a word they hadn’t yet used with each other.

As if he could read her
thoughts, he moaned in her ear as the tips of his fingers traced
circles around her tiny, swollen nub. “I’m falling in love with
you, Cara. Please don’t run from me again.”

Before she could say, “I
won’t,” his mouth possessed hers again with a fiery kiss that
resonated throughout every part of her body, increasing the
pleasure he was building in her pelvis. She bucked against his
hand, needing more.

He continued to kiss and
fondle her, enjoying her cries of joy that were quieted by his
mouth until they were so loud and frequent, he was forced to break
the kiss. He watched as her mouth fell open and her face made the
most gorgeous expressions of pleasure he had ever seen.
I hope to see this beautiful sight a million more
times…

A minute later, as Cara
lay there recovering, Victor yawned and let his head fall to the
same pillow where she rested. His arm went gently across her
stomach, holding her close.

She opened her eyes,
startled. “You’re going to sleep already?”

With a satisfied smile, he
whispered, “We need to rest. We have a long day ahead of us but I
plan to wake you
very
early. And very happily.”

“Okay.” Cara giggled
quietly as his lips gently touched her forehead.

Alexis clutched the note
in her hand, reading it for perhaps the hundredth time since it was
delivered to her house with a bouquet of roses the day
before.

I’ve missed you, mi amor. My body
endlessly longs for yours. Put me out of my misery. Pack your bags
and come with me to my secret island paradise. We will spend a week
alone and put the past far, far behind us.

Kisses,

Your Latin Lover

Also attached were
instructions to board the Monarch Enterprises private jet at
promptly six-thirty the next morning. And Alexis did so, without
question.

The three hour flight
passed quickly. Alexis was alone in the plane’s cabin with
champagne, magazines, and movies to keep her busy. Most of her time
was spent re-reading the note and fantasizing about Victor. She was
determined not to make him feel badly about the past few months. He
had finally come to his senses, just like she knew he would all
along. He had to find a lover to rebound after their break-up. But
Cara Green was now living in Chicago, and today’s trip was obvious
proof that the relationship was over.
All
it took was a little distance…
Alexis
smiled proudly at how well her hard work had paid off.

It must have been when I
jumped in his arms…he couldn’t stop thinking about me, holding me
and loving me again.
The thought made her
giddy.

But a chill of concern
crawled up her spine when the plane landed and she took notice of
the tiny airport. Something wasn’t right. The dusty old building
was small and unkempt, practically rural. It looked so desolate
beside the beautiful blue ocean.

The pilot smiled and
helped load her bags into the back of an old Jeep and said
something in Spanish to the driver before turning back to the
jet.

“Wait!” Alexis stood
outside the vehicle, afraid to get in.

“Yes?” The pilot turned
around.

“Is this safe?” With a
hand over her eyes to block out the sun, Alexis nodded toward the
long dirt road where the vehicle was set to drive. The road was
narrow and winding, running parallel to the ocean and disappearing
a short way off in the distance.

The pilot gave the area a
quick glance. “Yes, it’ll be fine. The driver’s taking you to a
villa a few miles away.”

“Oh.” Alexis smiled. “So,
this is Victor Barboza’s private island?”

“Something like that. I
don’t know the details. I
do
know we have a trip scheduled to pick you up in a
week unless otherwise notified. You can leave earlier if someone
radios the mainland.” He started toward his plane, and over his
shoulder nodded quickly at Alexis and said, “Good day,
ma’am.”

Someone has to radio the
mainland to get me out of here?
Startled
by this revelation, she hesitantly took a seat in the back of the
Jeep. The driver stepped on the gas, kicking up dirt and gravel
under their wheels just as she was pulling out her cell phone. No
signal. She continued to stare at it, waiting for those lines to
appear. Her eyes were often distracted by the beautiful deep blue
ocean to her right. To her left, the landscape was dotted with
rocks and sand and the occasional ramshackle hut.

Alexis tapped on the
driver’s shoulder. “Where are you taking me? How much
farther?”

The driver shook his head
and pointed up the road, uttering a word that sounded like,
“
Cuanto
.”

A few minutes later they
rounded a corner and there was a building—the first structure that
looked at least semi-habitable to Alexis. It resembled a giant
sandcastle, but there were tropical trees in front of it, and it
had walls that looked sturdy and well-built.

Alexis exhaled with great
relief. When the vehicle stopped, she jumped out, leaving the
driver to carry her bags to the door as she ran toward the
building, her heart pounding furiously as she anticipated the
opulence awaiting her with Victor inside.

As she reached the door,
she heard a familiar voice from the side of the
building.

“Alexis, mi
amor!
”

Oh no.
She turned to the bare-chested man she saw running toward her
out of the corner of her eye.

Esteban.

Her mind reeled as she
attempted to process the situation with a gleeful Esteban rambling
away in front of her. Their affair ended soon after Victor caught
them together. Alexis hadn’t seen Esteban in several
months.

“Mi princesa, mi amor. He
esperado mucho por ti. Vamos adentro. Quiero llenarte de besos
placenteros
…”

Alexis slowly began to cry
as she watched the driver silently carry her bags inside the
dwelling.

“What is wrong?” Esteban
put his hands on her shoulders, a sweet look of concern on his
tanned, chiseled face. “You don’t want to be here?”

“Um…I…um…”

“Oh,
mi amor
.” He took one of her hands
and placed it against his smooth, bare chest. His voice was soft.
“My heart wants you.
Perdona
…” He stopped and let out a
grunt of frustration. “My English suffers,
mi amor
. The locals, they speak
Spanish.”

“Locals?”

Alexis nodded along as
Esteban switched between the two languages, telling her the story
of this island. The best she could understand, there was a village
on another island nearby, but Esteban stayed here where he had
worked as Victor’s groundskeeper for the past two
months.

“So sorry,” Esteban said.
“You would not talk to me. I call you, you hang up. You change your
number. I visit your house, they say ‘she not here.’ And next time,
police take me away. I had to leave the city. So painful to me,
losing you. I was desperate. I meet with Victor. He forgive me for
my,” his eyes darted around as he searched for the correct word,
“
indiscretion
with you. He give me job far, far away from the city.” His
full lips formed a distinct frown; his hand went to her hair. “Away
from you, like you want.”

Alexis felt the warmth of
his fingers as they weaved into the tendrils around her ear. She
swallowed, hard. “I see.”

He gently shook his head.
“You want to go?” He glanced at the driver, who stood close by
waiting for a signal to stay or leave. “You may go somewhere. He
take you to boat. I know nice people on other island where you
stay. I arrange. You leave tomorrow.”

Alexis was slightly dizzy,
overwhelmed by the shock of the situation, and the decision before
her. She remembered how painful it was to ignore Esteban, but she
had convinced herself it would lead to a future with Victor. She
forced herself to forget Esteban, and it was easy once he stopped
pursuing her. But now, she knew why he stopped. She told herself at
the time that it didn’t matter, that Esteban was crazy for stalking
her for weeks after she told him it was over. After recent events,
she felt a twinge of sympathy.

His gorgeous face and rock
hard chest were framed by an endless blue sky. He was sexier than
ever, but he was so sad. His eyes dropped to the sandy ground below
them, only looking up when she finally spoke.

“Esteban.” Several large
tears ran down Alexis’s face. “I will stay here, with
you.”

His face lit up. “Yes?
With me?” He quickly signaled at the driver to leave, then took
both of her hands in his. “Oh,
mi
amor
. You make me so happy.” He chatted
on, extending his arm behind him, speaking in a frantic line of
broken English that Alexis could barely follow. After a little
while, he stopped and said, “
Perdona
. Too much talk. Few
visitors. Lonely sometimes. But now,” he brought her hand to his
mouth and kissed it, “you are here.”

Alexis wiped her tears
away as Esteban hooked his arm around hers, escorting her into the
house as he rambled on about the fish he caught this morning that
he would later cook for dinner.
If I can
handle these rustic surroundings, maybe I’ll stay longer than a
week.