The Muse (Interracial Mystery Romance) (Dark Art Mystery Series) (26 page)

My father sleeping on the couch in urine-soaked clothes flashed in my mind. Life had battered him with hard moment after hard moment. Each time bad situations slammed and shoved him to the floor, he reached for a bottle. I didn’t want that to happen to Alvarez. “Come here.”

He scooted my way and sank into my open arms.

“Let’s not talk about any of this stuff anymore.” I rubbed his back. “I’m just so sorry you had to deal with all of that or even see what you saw tonight.”

“At least this is all over, finally.”

“Yes.”

The limo stopped. I peered out the window. A sign greeted my eyes with the words

Ocean Drive. A voice sounded over the intercom. “Mr. Castillo, we’re approaching a traffic jam and will be five minutes late for the reservations. I will call ahead to notify them.”

Letting go of me, Alvarez pressed a button next to him. “Go ahead and cancel the

reservations. I would like to take my lovely date for a walk around Ocean Drive. I’ll have security call you with our pick up location when we’re done.”

“Okay, sir.”

Alvarez hit his forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even ask you if strolling the drive was something you would like to do. I’m so used to being by myself and doing whatever I want.”

“No.” Anticipation surged through me. “Let’s go out there and have fun. No stress. No family problems. Only us and South Beach.”

“I love that.” He pressed his lips against mine and drew me into a long, succulent kiss that didn’t stop until the driver opened the door to let us out. It didn’t matter how many drinks Alvarez had devoured. He still possessed that one thing to trigger a scorching heat inside of my core. Everything warmed so badly that when I stepped out, my legs tingled and I swayed back.

“Are you okay?” Alvarez held me to him until I could get my balance.

“I’m fine.”

“Then welcome to Miami.”

Ocean Drive resembled a carnival of pleasure, one that propped up all desires and hung price tags on each need.

The canopies looked like tents and came in various shades. Crystal chandeliers hung from their centers in different shapes and sizes—teardrops, bulbs, cones, squares, and triangles. They glowed in bright tones from blushing pink to orange, ginger to violet, and draped the chatting patrons with light. The aroma of grilled fish and simmering sauces saturated the tents. And in the pathway of the carnival, people performed. Half-naked men and women strummed guitars, shook maracas, pounded on hourglass shaped drums, and sang out Spanish lyrics about love, revolution, and sex cloaked in metaphors of blossoming buds and erect sugarcane sticks.

The audience breathed it in. Men and women lounged at the tables in swimsuits or

evening wear. Some clanked their drinks together. Others stared at the people who walked by.

“We’ve extended happy hour until nine.” One hostess blocked our way with ample

cleavage. She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulders and winked at Alvarez. “You should really try us. I guarantee you’ll have an awesome time.”

“No thank you.” Alvarez guided me around her.

“Drinks are two for one and all entrees are half off tonight.” Another hostess from the restaurant farther down tapped my arm. I waved her away.

Chatter rose in the air and merged with piano music from high-end restaurants and salsa-infused techno songs from bars. And the sales pitches continued on and on, until we passed all of the main restaurants and entered the section with hotel lounges. Next came department stores full of mannequins that boasted double D wooden breasts and the tiniest shorts I’d ever seen. With every four or five blocks of business, a different faceless guy of any color loitered within the shadows and whispered, “Kush.”

“Mary Jane.”

“Sativa.”

“Cannabis.”

“No. Thank you.” Alvarez tightened his grip on my hand as we strolled on. “What do you feel like doing? We can go to a nice lounge and relax with wine and conversation or we could run off to dance at—”

“I’m a horrible dancer.”

“All you have to do is follow.”

“I would have to do more than that.”

“Never. You’re with a Cuban man.”

“Oh goodness. I know. You all have romance in your blood.”

“Well, yes, but I was going to say that we also come out of the womb dancing.”

“Impressive. Romance in the blood, an extra heart to give to a true love, and natural dancing ability. I wish I was born a Cuban man.”

“No,
Mami
. You don’t need to be born one because you’re with one of the best. Let me show you.” In that moment he got in front of me and seized my waist with his left hand and my hand with his right. He twirled me around on the busy sidewalk. People spread out to give us space, laughing and clapping the whole time. The sound of a trumpet rose around us.
What the
hell?
I looked around and saw a one-handed man blowing through his trumpet right next to us.

“We have an audience.” I tried to move my hand and cover my face.

Alvarez kept me moving and twisting to the trumpet’s rhythm. “Yes,
Mami
. Just like that.

Look at those hips. You’re a natural.”

“And you’re insane.” I laughed, but couldn’t help to add my own moves with his.

More people formed around us. Other couples jumped in with their own dancing. At one point the couple on our right bumped into us a few times until we were more in the crowd with clapping people than on our self-made dance floor on the sidewalk.

“I think this is our cue to leave.” Alvarez panted and dabbed at the sweat on his forehead.

“I agree.” I could barely catch my own breath.

“We need to cool off.” He lifted me up in his arms.

A shriek left my lips. “Alvarez?”

“Relax. We’re going to the beach.” He ran across the street with me in his arms, dashing through cars that still sat in a traffic jam.

Sidewalk shifted to chilly sand and beach grass that leaned to the side when the wind blew by. There were no lights there. Only the moon guided our path. A few couples strolled toward the darkened sands and waves of water reflecting the diamonds of the sky. A cool breeze skittered across my skin and combed through my hair.

“It’s beautiful out here.” I lay my head on his shoulder and relished in the thickness of his muscular arms around me. “If I lived here, I would come up to this beach every night and just stare at the dark sky and ocean.”

On the beach, the city’s booming beat and electric pounding dissipated into the breeze.

The ocean’s waves swallowed all of the noise, bright lights, and fast-paced partying. There was no competition. Peace settled down on us with each step. I glanced over Alvarez’s shoulders.

South Beach transformed into a silhouette of faraway shapes and tiny people. And within the shadows I spotted a few guards scattered around us. I couldn’t make out any of their faces, just that they stood at the beach entrances and rerouted the few strolling couples to another end.

Alvarez slipped my sandals off my feet and lowered me. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than I’ve ever felt before.”

A breeze swished by and lifted my sundress to my knees. Sand gathered between my

toes. My steps sank into the grainy soil. I left a trail of footprints behind. Salt thickened the air. I inhaled and tasted the bite of it on my tongue. “God. This is just amazing. Every beach is different. I’ve seen so many in California and all over the world, but one can never get tired of soft white sand and cool clear water glittering with diamonds.”

“Diamonds?”

“All of those beautiful stars reflecting in the water.” I continued to raise my dress and walked to the water.

Surprisingly, the water was warm. The liquid swarmed around my feet and taunted me to move further, and so I did. A thrill stirred my senses. How long had it been since I’d laughed or danced like that? How long had it been since I spent time with a man who didn’t play mental games, flirt with other women around me, or cause chaos within his path?

Never. I’d never been with any other man besides Michael.

Alvarez rolled the bottom of his pants up and stepped into the ocean with me. Moonlight gleamed in his eyes and bathed his tan complexion in a taunting glow. The breeze ruffled his shirt and formed the material around his muscular chest with each fast current.

“You look so beautiful out here. If I was an artist, this is what I would paint.” He touched my hair as it writhed and twisted in the wind. “How did I get so lucky to meet you?” He moved closer to me. “What god or goddess should I thank?”

“Maybe I should be the one thanking somebody.”

“No,
Mami
.” He captured my lips, right there as we stood in the ocean with diamonds sparkling around us.

Chapter 20

~Alvarez

Tonight she’ll be mine.

I promised myself that once those murders were solved I would go after her. Discovering Reece and Dayanara as the culprits shook me up and shoved me off the edge of normalcy.

Earlier, I’d sat in my office and drank, not desiring to pour my sadness all over Elle.

But I couldn’t stay away from her. I couldn’t not be next to her when she sat somewhere
in my castle.

When I arrived at her door with the weight of the entire world on my shoulders, she drew me into her arms and knocked all of my stress away. She comforted and spent time with me when she didn’t have to. She didn’t know me at all, had no idea who I was or what I intended for her, whether passion or pain. But her heart pushed her forward, that beautiful heart I wanted for myself. So when the moment came to kiss her as we stood in the water at the beach, I seized it like a desperate man. I was a mad one on the edge of insanity and she was the tonic I needed.

Moaning, she melted into my arms and molded her body against mine as if giving me

permission to take whatever I yearned for.

And I will. I can’t think of anything else.

The ocean waves crashed against us. That cool water rose up to our knees. All was

forgotten in those sweet kisses—lips gliding against lips, wet tongues twisting and exploring, hungry hands and taunting fingers. Fireworks of lust and need exploded inside of me. My jeans stuck to my legs, but I couldn’t care less. I moved us further into the ocean. Her dress painted her wet body, yet she followed me deeper into the waters as they reached well above both of our hips.

Greedy tremors of desire shook me. I had to be careful, and take my time, kiss by kiss, because what formed inside my chest and turned over and over until it was a huge hot orb expanding and building, would be too much for her to handle. It was too much for me to even contain, but I had to. Elle deserved patience and someone who could wait as long as she needed before trying to taste every part of her.

She giggled. “All the times I’ve lived near a beach. I’ve never just walked in like this and gotten all wet.”

“We can take your clothes off, if you would like.” I’d meant it as a joke right before diving in for another sample of that welcoming mouth, but she surprised me.

“I’ll take mine off if you take yours off.”

I stiffened against her. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

“Why? Are you telling me that as a Cuban man you have something else to offer when

your clothes are off? You already claim to have an extra heart, do you have something else that’s extra?” She signaled to my crotch.

“No. One is enough.” I nipped at her neck. Little drops of salt water met my tongue.

“Now back to our clothes. I must warn you. If I take off my clothes and yours are off too, I can’t guarantee I’ll behave myself.”

She didn’t shy away or avert her eyes. Instead, she met my gaze with a confident one that made me hard inside of my pants. “Alvarez, I’m hoping you won’t behave yourself.”

Shedding my clothes took no time. I swore I heard a few rips come from my shirt and jeans as I wrenched them off. She laughed when I fell back into the water with one leg entangled in some weird knot of fabric. My butt hit the sandy floor. Water soared over my head and swallowed me whole. Salt water rushed into my nostrils. I should’ve felt shame or

embarrassment. I didn’t. I was with my lady.

A comforting sensation washed over me as my head and body immersed in salty water.

Holding my breath, I opened my eyes in the ocean. Moonlight seeped through the water. A mermaid with lush black hair, pale skin, and a wondrous white tail of shimmering pearls swam to me. She lifted me up. “Are you okay?”

“I didn’t know mermaids were real.”

Elle hit my chest. “Oh stop it. Did you lose your clothes?”

“Yes. My shirt and jeans are probably floating their way to Cuba by now.”

She turned her head from side to side. “No. They’re probably around here somewhere.

Do you want me to help you find them?”

“No.” I pulled her to me. “I want you to lose your clothes, too.”

I slid her straps down over her shoulders and kissed the wet skin. Her hair slicked back and showed off that incredible face. I paused for a second to really take her all in. “You have an amazing face. I think all of that beautiful hair hid it from everyone. I feel lucky to see it.”

A red tint rushed over her cheeks. “Thank you.”

Inch by inch, I pulled her dress down. The soaked material dragged away from her skin.

The more the dress revealed, the more she backed up and moved deeper into the water. We were far away from the shoreline. Waves reached over her shoulders and the middle of my chest.

“You don’t want me to see your body?” I whispered. In the water, I continued to pull the dress down her hips and glide my fingertips along the edge of her panty line.

She gasped at the touch. “I don’t want anyone else to see me. I know it sounds so weird, since I’ve been on thousands of paintings in the nude, but when it is an intimate moment like this, I get nervous.”

Still gripping her dress, I tugged Elle forward. “No one’s around. Our guards cleared this part of the beach.”

“Can they do that?”