Of Love and Deception (19 page)

15 - Flipping Out

Daniella could hardly contain her laughter as she drove along the winding road nearing the hotel.

“Where are we going?” Cruz asked for the billionth time.

“Tsk, tsk. Must you ask again? You know I’m not going to tell you!” She sniggered knowing he was going to kill her for this. But what fun would a first year anniversary be if they were to go to a fancy restaurant and gave gifts? Or stayed at a ritzy hotel? B.O.R.I.N.G.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she closed in on the hotel.

One brow raised and a crooked smile, he turned to her but she held her composure and calmly said, “Look! We’re here. Isn’t it lovely?”

A creepy black sign with red letters flashing DA-Oh greeted them.

“What the hell?” Cruz muttered as they gathered their overnight bags and headed toward the rickety porch leading to a crooked door marked ‘Entrance.’

“It’s just the shell, Cruz. Wait till you see the inside!”

“It looks like a haunted house or something. And why do I get the feeling you’ve got something up your sleeve?” He gave her the evil eye.

“My lips are sealed.” She pinched her thumb and forefinger and dragged them across her lips.

They stepped up to the admission counter. “Welcome!” Two men with shrunken heads, one an Indian while the other…

Cruz roared with laughter. “Is that… Beetle—”

“Ah! Ah! Ah! Nobody says—” He grabbed Cruz by the ear and whispered, “The ‘B’ word!”

Before either of them had a chance to react, their bags were snatched and plastic keycards on a chain were placed around their necks. Daniella was whisked in one direction while Cruz was whisked in the opposite direction. Daniella let out a burst of laughter at the way Cruz jacked his face up. She laughed harder knowing he wondered what the hell this was.

Twenty minutes later, harnesses under their wedding attire, they were hoisted into the air and joined together in a dark hallway with blue neon lighting. 

Daniella rolled, almost throwing up from laughing so hard at how ridiculous Cruz looked.

“I-I… you… you look so—”

“Fucking sexy as hell!” He lifted the spectacles and wiggled his eyebrows. “And loving that gown, babe.”

Okay, she hadn’t expected him to say that, but it tickled her pink. It meant he was good with her crazy idea. She felt brilliant for finding this place. The whole Beetlejuice theme, Barbara and Adam Maitland in their wedding attire, had sounded like a blast.

“Ha-hem. Disclaimer. No straying… yada, yada.” He, being Beetlejuice imposter, mumbled more lines of gibberish. “Ah. Ah. Ah. No saying the ‘B’ word… Beetle…” he grunted. “Whoever says the ‘B’ word, under their breath, under their tongue, anyhow, anyway, earns a card of deed.” He coughs. “Er… Um I mean a ticket.”

He reached into his pocket, brought his hand out in a fist, nodded at Cruz and after Cruz opened his hand, it was instantly filled with goo and worms, which he quickly dropped and rubbed his palm against his thigh.

“Oops. Wrong pocket.” He reached in the opposite pocket and pulled out a card, read it, reached in his pocket again and pulled out a can of whip cream.

“Yah get a card and yah gotta do what it says. Ooo. Whip cream on titties. Mmm. You get it?” He didn’t wait for them to answer. “Good!”

Before they knew it, their pockets were filled with wacky things, they were lifted in the air by their harnesses, and they played out the parts. Flying up flights of stairs, shooting out through a trap in the ceiling that opened before they hit it, and they were looking down at a makeshift graveyard where Beetlejuice lounged on a headstone. They glided down and stood before him.

“Till death do you part?” he asked.

“BEETLE—” The words came from somewhere other than her lips. Daniella felt the vibrating teeth in her pocket, grabbed them and squished them. She shoved them into Cruz’s tux pocket before the last half of the name was said.

Cruz laughed until…

“Beetlejuice!” He wasn’t quick enough.

“You little shit!” He grabbed Daniella, smacked her with a kiss, and shoved the teeth between her breasts, his body shielding her.

Before their tour finished, they’d flown to the top of the house, through a maze of rooms, howling at the sight of each other in the maze of mirrors distorting their bodies. They got a snapshot of them sitting on a couch in a busy basement, the top torso of a woman sitting on the far left while the bottom half sat in the far right, Cruz and Daniella in between, their heads shrunken and their bodies blown up.

By the time they finished, now back in their own clothes and in their suite, Cruz had earned six cards and Daniella four.

Daniella plopped on the large, round, cloud-like bed. “Did you have fun?”

“Well, it was the stupidest movie, but I’ve got to admit, this has been one of the craziest good times I’ve had since I was a kid.” He crooked a finger. “Come here.”

She obliged and he wrapped her in a hug. Grinning down at her, he said, “Let’s get naked and open our D & S cards?”

She licked her lips and gave him a wicked smile. “D & S… Dirty and Sexy.”

He leaned down and grazed her ear with his teeth. His voice was husky when he said, “I want dirty, sexy words spilling from those beautiful pouty lips. Got it?”

Turning and walking toward the bed, she glanced over her shoulder, lowering her eyes, and smiled seductively as she stripped out of her clothes and pulled the silky white comforter off the bed to reveal a plastic liner. A mini refrigerator hid within the nightstand and she slowly spread her legs as she squatted down, opened the refrigerator, and pulled out a can of ready whip. A five-gallon bucket of chocolate syrup sat off to the side of the nightstand.

Tapping a finger against her lip, she looked to the side to see Cruz pushing his boxer briefs down, the last of his clothing and said, “I’ve read my cards too, and there’s something about whip cream and chocolate syrup. And since I pretty much won the “B” word game, I say you should get that sexy butt and body of yours on that bed and lay on your back.”

“Oh, I like this already,” he said as he lay on the bed, stretched out, hands folded and tucked under his head.

“Okay, now close your eyes.” Inside, she was dying with laughter. If he only knew what she was going to do, then he wouldn’t have closed his eyes and smiled the way he was smiling all sexy right now.

Before she crawled on the bed, she lifted the bucket of chocolate syrup and set it next to the bed. She kneeled next to Cruz and whispered in his ear, “Baby, I’m going to flavor you up, so be patient and still. And don’t open your eyes!”

He nodded and did as instructed.

Lifting the can, she shook it and then made circles over his nipples… a trail down his belly… over his balls… and then along his impressive length as it twitched its approval. He groaned when she swirled her tongue over the tip of him and dragged it up and down. She did this for several minutes before she moved up to his lips, barely touching them, she said, “I’m not done with you. Now be good and don’t peek!”

He grinned and closed the single eye he’d peeked from.

It was difficult, but she managed to pry the lid from the five-gallon bucket, lift it onto the bed, and stood over him as she barely tipped the bucket, dribbling a small amount of it over his tummy. His muscled abs twitched in response but he didn’t open his eyes.

“Okay, baby, keep em closed. I’m gonna do a little more of that…” She heaved, shifted the bucket, and with all her strength, she quickly dumped the entire bucket of chocolate liquid over every inch of Cruz’s naked body. Then she jumped off the bed and laughed.

He shot upright with his jaw dropped. His white teeth, pink tongue and the whites of his eyes were all that stood out through the chocolate goo.

“You… y-you look—” She couldn’t finish, she was laughing so hard she was crying and holding her stomach.

She stopped laughing when he jumped off the bed and charged after her.

“That’s it! No more Mr. Nice Guy!” He caught her around the waist, dragged her back to the bed and lay on top of her. He was smiling down at her, the chocolate on his body now smeared all over hers and much of it dripping off his face onto hers. “You think this is funn—”

She grabbed his face and dragged his mouth to hers, not letting him finish his comment. She licked up the side of his cheek and when she got to his ear, she breathed, “I want you to suck these.”

Daniella pushed him up and cupped her breasts.

“And this.” She slid her hands down the length of her belly, over her hips and ended between her legs by dragging her fingers between her lips.

Without pause, Cruz was quick to separate her legs with his knee.

She couldn’t help but smile at him. “So serious, Mr. Canton.”

He ran his finger along her bottom lip and dove in with his tongue. His hands ran along her bare skin, caressing, gently squeezing and tasting everything he touched. Then he slipped in slowly. “Let’s—” He paused to hook his arms under her thighs. “So tight and so damn—” He grabbed her legs, drew them up against her abdomen, and then pressed the weight of his upper body against her knees.

In his eyes, she could see a deep desire burning fiercely. With bittersweet fervor, he captured her lips and the sweetness of his mouth drove a passionate urge deep within her. Not wanting the emotions to end, she ran her hands along the ripples of his abdomen, chest and up to his head, where she held tightly. The sensation was so good they couldn’t hold on any longer. He captured her cries, and she caught his moans as his lips sealed lightly over hers.

 Cruz’s breathing slowed. He lifted his head and planted little kisses along Daniella’s neck. “Mm. A year later and the sex is hotter than ever.” He nibbled her lower lip.

“No argument here.” She stroked his sides, loving every moment they shared together. “We gotta take a shower and get this sticky goo off.”

They climbed off the bed, made their way to the shower and after they were clean, Daniella attempted to exit, but Cruz grabbed her, flipped her around and wrapped his arms around her. She glanced up to catch him smirking. He pressed his cheek against hers, his lips formed a smile against her ear as he pressed her against the tiled wall.

Raising his hands, cupping her cheeks in his palms, he said, “Let’s have a baby… start a family.”

She blinked several times, gauging his expression; words failed her.

Whoa. He’s totally serious.

He circled his thumbs against the arches of her cheekbones. “You disagree?”

She shook her head. “I… I hadn’t considered children yet, but the idea of giving you a baby excites me.”

“And that, my dear wife, is why I’ve busted butt with business deals over the last year. I want to stay closer to home when you do get pregnant and hopefully for our baby’s first year.” He lifted his head and kissed the tip of her nose.

“And that, my dear husband, is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. I love you.”

Their first year together had been wonderful, even if Cruz had been swamped with work, and away on business much too often for Daniella’s liking. The steamy, passionate reunions always made up for time lost.

~~~

The thrill of having a baby and making love to Cruz slowly turned into an obsession. Daniella wanted desperately to tell him they were finally pregnant, but every time she thought maybe this was the month, her period never failed to show up. There were a few times she’d been certain she was pregnant. Tender breasts, nausea, fatigue—all symptoms of pregnancy. After several trips to her family physician, she’d been told she was not pregnant and that her symptoms were likely a side effect of her strong desire to be pregnant. In other words, it was psychological.

“You’re focusing too much on the idea of pregnancy. Relax and live a little, and then maybe it will happen when you least expect it,” Dr. Beaver stated.

Months had passed, and Daniella began to feel guilty. She often wondered if something was wrong with her… or maybe she couldn’t have children. She made another appointment with Dr. Beaver. They ran a battery of tests, including a Pap, hormone levels, and several other blood tests, which all came back normal.

“Well, Daniella, I think our next step is to send you to a fertility specialist. I can give you some recommendations if you’d like?” Dr. Beaver pulled out a prescription pad and jotted something down. “Here’s where I refer my patients. I’m confident they can help you and your husband. They have one of the highest success rates and one highly renowned fertility specialist.”

Daniella took the script Dr. Beaver gave her, slipped it into her purse, and headed back to work.

Eight months seemed like an eternity when living month by month, doing one pregnancy test after another. The biggest stress was the anticipation or hope of seeing a positive line form on the test, only to find negative results every time.

“Of course it’s negative! Why would I expect anything more.” Tears tumbled down her cheeks. She tossed the test into the wastebasket, vowing this would be the last one she’d do. She kept telling herself she’d have Cruz’s baby, eventually.

“Hey,” Cruz said as he stepped into their room. “You about ready to go?”

Stepping into the walk-in closet, she thumbed through her wardrobe attempting to hide the disappointment she knew he’d see in her eyes.

“I just need to get dressed. Give me a few minutes and I’ll meet you in the car.”

Big warm hands greeted her shoulders, his thumbs pressing and circling against her neck. “Mm. Need some help?” he whispered and slipped his fingers under her bathrobe and down along her arms causing the robe to pool at her feet.

“Meg won’t appreciate us strolling in late for dinner…” Her breath caught when his hands met and clutched between her thighs.

Biting her earlobe, he mumbled, “Damn, I love your body.”

“Cruz! We don’t have time. Now let me get dressed so we won’t be late.” She cupped her hands over his.

“This…” He dragged his finger up the center of her desire and she shivered with pleasure. “This is mine tonight.” His breath was heated and seductive.

Staying home sounded like a better plan, but Daniella decided they could also use a night out, even if it was only dinner with Meg and Falcon.