Say Yes (Something More) (8 page)

I rise on shaky legs and go to the bathroom. “What are you doing?”

“Running your bath,” he says, lighting a candle beside the tub. “I’ll make you a drink.” He stands up and begins unbuttoning my shirt. “You’ve had a long day.”

I grab hold of his hand as he’s about to push a sleeve off my shoulder. “But what about your uncle’s party?”

He quirks a brow and shrugs. “What about it?”

Andrés is pretending not to care about this party, but his Tia has been preparing for it for several months. Actually, we’ve all been preparing for Tio’s party. How can he act like it’s no big deal?

I begin buttoning up my shirt. “It’s his sixtieth birthday. We can’t miss that.”

“He knows about the funeral. He’ll understand.” But Andrés’s words lack conviction, and I know he wants go. He’s not fooling me. In fact, he’s only making me feel terrible about keeping him from his family. Relatives are driving up from Mexico to celebrate. 

“But this is huge,” I say.

Andrés grabs both my hands and pulls them to his lips. He presses a long, lingering kiss on the tips of my fingers, and my legs weaken. My gaze flicks to the bathtub, and I think how very much I’d like for him to take me in the tub and screw my brains out. We haven’t had sex since before I found Mrs. Peterson. I could sure use an orgasm to ease my tension.

He pulls away, and I silently berate myself for thinking about sex on the day of Mrs. Peterson’s funeral.

“I see them every weekend, mija.” Andrés flashes a weak smile, and I know it’s killing him to be away from his family today. “Don’t think you have to do this for me.”

Yes, yes I have to do this for him, especially after seeing mine and Karri’s family torn apart. Andrés has a loving and supportive family. I would give anything to have what he’s got, and because I love him, I won’t keep him from them.

“What else do I have to do but sit here and cry all day? Come on.” I lean into him and wrap my arms around his neck. “Feed me tamales and get me drunk.”

He smiles down at me. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” I lean up and brush my lips across his. “Besides, I want to be there when Tio sees the mural.”

For the past month, I’ve been working on a mural on the brick wall that runs alongside their indoor pool. Tia asked me to paint a seascape of Tio’s beloved home town of Guadalajara for his birthday. It’s one of my best murals to date, and I can’t wait until he sees it. We’ve had to keep the pool deck sectioned off, and Tia has had to threaten Tio on numerous occasions to stay away from the area.

“Okay, but if you need to leave, just tell me,” Andrés says as he smoothes his hands down my arms.

The feel of his skin rubbing against mine sends little currents of lust buzzing across my flesh, and I wonder if he’s as turned on as I feel. As I lean into him, the bulge pressing against me is confirmation enough. Damn us both for being horny on a day like today.

I heave a frustrated groan as I rest my head on his shoulder. There’s no way I could get into sex right now anyway, so I guess I will have to settle for tamales and beer.

 Although, as much as I love his Tia’s Mexican cooking, nothing can ever top the euphoria of making love to Andrés.

* * *

Andrés

“How you doing?” I squeeze Christina’s hand for at least the tenth time, my other hand on the steering wheel and both eyes on the road.

“Fine, Andrés. I’m still doing fine.”

She doesn’t sound annoyed, more amused, which is a good thing.

I wish I could feel amusement, but I’ve been nothing but a ball of nerves since we set out toward Tio’s ranch. My aunt and uncle live an hour from our Austin apartment, on several hundred acres in the Texas Hill Country. Normally, the drive doesn’t feel long, even with the heavy traffic along the 35, but I have a lot on my mind, starting with the growing pressure from my family to ask Christina to marry me.

I should be grateful Tia loves my girlfriend and Christina gets along so well with my family.  I shouldn’t be bothered how they’re always dropping matrimony and baby hints. But after Christina told me she doesn’t want to have kids, I need them to back off until we can have another talk.

I’ve been thinking about what she said, and I think I know where it’s coming from. She’s afraid she’ll turn out like her mom. That’s why she doesn’t want kids. There’s no way she could love Tyler so much and not want to have kids of her own. Now all I need to do is convince her she’s nothing like that old bitch.

But I’ve got this gnawing feeling in my gut that my family won’t back off with their marriage hints. When I think about everything Christina’s been through this week, I don’t want anyone adding to her stress. That’s one reason I didn’t want to go to the party tonight.

I love my family, but sometimes I wish they’d ease up and give Christina and me a little more space. I’ve seen them intrude on other family members’ relationships. My cousin, Cesar, swears Tia was the cause of his breakup. I lost my best friend to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, so I know the deep, dark grief of losing a loved one. After over a year of therapy, the pain of losing James is finally starting to become bearable. She’s thoughtful, artistic, and the most beautiful girl I’ve ever dated. I can’t imagine the heartbreak of losing Christina, too.

Chapter Eight

Christina

Good thing I went to the pool, or else the little girl would have drowned. I’d initially gone there to escape Andrés’s nosy aunts. No sooner had we showed up at the party than a few of them started in on us getting married. What’s wrong with them? We’ve only been together six months.

Anyway, Tia had barricaded the pool until the big reveal, so I knew it would make a good sanctuary. It’s huge, fully enclosed and heated; that way the family can use it all year round. Until recently, the brick walls framing the building were a dull grey, but Tia had commissioned me to create a mural stretching the length of the pool.    

Anyway, long story short, I thought I could get some alone time by sneaking past the yellow tape and lawn chairs serving as a makeshift obstruction. As soon as I walked down the tile steps, I heard splashing and saw the little one flailing in the water. I screamed for help before diving in. Andrés’s family members were rushing onto the deck as I pulled the child from the water.

One of Andrés’s cousins took her from me and performed CPR. After a few moments that seemed to stretch for an eternity, the girl coughed up a bunch of water and started to cry. I’m pretty sure every adult in the place was crying, too.

I remembered the little doe-eyed toddler named Amelia from a summer barbeque. She was barely out of diapers and always into trouble. Always. This time she’d found more trouble than she could handle. I’m so glad I escaped to the pool in time.

So now, here I am, sitting on the pool deck, soaked to the bone and still too stunned to move. Amelia’s mother is hyperventilating as she falls to her knees a few yards away, clutching her child to her. Most of Andrés’s family is swarming the pair like bees to a hive.

I’m not sure how long I sit there before I feel strong arms wrap a heavy towel around my shoulders. “Let’s get you dry, mija,” Andrés whispers in my ear.

I silently nod as I follow his lead. He takes me through the spacious kitchen, now abandoned with cups and plates strewn everywhere. A little brown dog is crawling across the top of the long mahogany dining table, licking one plate clean before going to the next. Andrés ducks his head beneath a massive chandelier, scoops the dog up and drops him on the floor.

“Bad, Chico!” Andrés scolds.

The dog runs away with his tail between its legs while licking crumbs off his lips. I get the feeling Chico isn’t too sorry.    

Andrés takes me up two flights of stairs to the third story loft, to what used to be his old bedroom. It’s a long room with a slanted ceiling on one side, and a bed in the far corner beside a tall transom window. Andrés once told me he’d picked this room years ago for its privacy.

It occurs to me I could have come here to escape his aunts. Why hadn’t I thought of it? Why had I choosen the pool instead? Even though I’m not a very religious person, I wonder if maybe a higher power had sent me to that pool. Maybe someone was looking out for that little girl. It’s kind of a comforting thought to know the child might have a guardian angel. But then I realize I’m just thinking crazy. I’m still in shock after watching a child nearly drown.

Andrés takes off my wet clothes, dries me off with the towel, and puts me in an oversized T-shirt and sweat pants several sizes too big. I laugh as Andrés pulls the drawstring on the pants and they still slide down one hip.

He kisses me on the forehead before murmuring against my cheek. “There’s room for me in there, too.”  

I look into Andrés’s smoky gaze and a shiver steals up my spine. He’s horny. Damn horny. And I know this is probably a crazy time to be thinking of sex, but after what I’ve been through this week, I would love to lose myself in Andrés right now.

I loosen the drawstring and let those oversized sweats fall to the floor. Then I grab Andrés by the hand and lead him toward the bed. I toss back the covers and look up at Andrés as I lift the sweatshirt over my head. Andrés’s gaze bores into my bare breasts, and he wastes no time in stripping out of his jeans and shirt.

I sigh against his chest when he climbs in beside me. His large frame practically fills the small bed, and he’s so very warm. I press into him, relishing the feel of his heated skin against mine.

He kisses my face and neck as his hands rove over me. “You’re cold, mija.”

I wince as he squeezes one breast and then the other. My hardened nipples burn beneath his touch, and I have to bite down to keep my teeth from rattling.

“Yeah.” I laugh. “I thought you said that pool was heated.”

He chuckles against my throat, kneading each breast, and they gradually soften beneath his touch. Then his hands wander toward my abdomen, caressing and massaging the muscles there and around my hips before his nimble fingers travel lower still.

He caresses the globes of my ass, rubbing chilled muscles before my legs fall open. He leans over me, trailing hot kisses across my chest, stopping to suckle each nipple. As he massages my inner thighs, I completely defrost, on the verge of melting into his soft bed.   

Andrés settles his powerful body between my legs and gently sinks against me. I sigh as I feel the head of his shaft pressing against my slick entrance. I want this. I know it’s the wrong time and the wrong place, but I really, really want this.

Andrés cups my face and kisses me so deeply, and so passionately, I moan into his mouth and instinctively wrap my legs around him, pushing my heels into his ass and trying to coax him inside me.

But, damn him, his hips don’t budge as he continues to press against my entrance. The sensation is torture, but before I can complain, his tongue delves into my mouth in long, languid strokes.

I am nearly out of breath when Andrés breaks the kiss. He smiles down at me and twirls a lock of my wet hair between his fingers. “I thought you were an angel the first time I met you. Now I know for sure.”

I shake my head and growl. “No talking. I need this.” I reach between us and stroke his erection.   

Andrés answers by sliding into me, hard and deep. He silences my gasp with another kiss, this one powerful and bruising. Our tongues spar in a frenzy, and I clutch the roots of his hair as he continues to pound into me. This is not sweet, gentle love making. This is lust. This is need, fueled by something more potent than words can define. This is passion, an all-consuming fuck. And, oh-my-God, I can’t get enough.

The orgasm that ripples through me comes without warning. It’s powerful and strong, squeezing his shaft all the way down to the root as he pushes deep inside me, groaning into my mouth. I feel his head throbbing against my center, his cum spilling into my already soaked channel. I grip his shoulders as he thrusts against my thrumming core again and again, causing another orgasm, more powerful than the first, to overpower me. I scream his name as spasms rock my body, sending waves of shock rippling through me. Then, I melt into his bed as I go limp.

 I vaguely remember Andrés kissing my brow before pulling away. My eyelids are heavy as he wipes between my legs with a towel. I’m relishing the tingling feeling that radiates from between my thighs all the way to the tips of my toes. The last thing I remember before I let my eyes fall shut is how very much I’ve missed sex.

* * *

I wake up to the most delicious smell of roasting meat. I open one eye, then the other, and slowly pull myself up and lean against the headboard. Andrés sits beside me, biting into what looks to be a steaming steak fajita. My stomach rumbles, and my mouth waters.

“Want one?” Andrés says with a smirk. “I’ve been trying to wake you up.” He scoots closer, waving the fajita below my nose. “I finally had to bring out the big guns.”

I lick my lips and enthusiastically nod. He hands me a red plastic cup, and I glimpse the fruit swimming in the swirling red liquid before taking a huge gulp.

I instantly regret it.

Andrés’s family makes much stronger sangria than he does. Whatever this is, it’s not just wine. There’s something in the drink that gives it quite a kick. The liquid burns a little going down, but it’s still refreshing, so I take a few much smaller sips before grabbing the fajita plate from him.

He’s built me a mouth-watering monster, a warm flour tortilla smothered in steak, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and loaded with cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. I practically devour it whole, and I’m ready for another. Luckily, Andrés has a second plate with more fajitas. I nearly bite off his finger as he hands one to me. I had no idea funerals, saving lives, and sex could work up such an appetite.

Wait a minute? Did I actually go to a funeral and then have totally hot sex on the same day? I swear I need to have my head examined. Normal people don’t do this. Do they? A wave of guilt washes over me as I slowly chew my food. I don’t savor the spicy flavors anymore. Here I am enjoying myself at a party when poor Mrs. Peterson was only just buried.