The Wrong Man (20 page)

Authors: Delaney Diamond

BOOK: The Wrong Man

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Dazed, Talia handed over the baby to her grandmother, who settled into a chair beside the bed. Maybeth stared at him for a long time before her taut features transformed into soft lines and her chin wobbled. “He has your mother’s nose,” she said, her voice vibrating with emotion.

“You think so?”

“Yes. Definitely. That’s Theresa’s nose.”

Talia’s tear-filled eyes met Tomas’s, and he saw the appreciation for what he’d done. “Thank you,” she mouthed.

He left them alone and went out to the lobby as Ryan and Shawna stepped out of the elevator with a bouquet of flowers and balloons in hand. “How is she?” Shawna asked.

“Great. Her grandmother is in there now.”

“Maybeth?” Shawna asked in a stricken voice.

Tomas chuckled. “Yes, but don’t worry. She had a change of heart.”

Thanks to a little prodding on his part. He’d gone to her office downtown wearing a tailored jacket and one of the shirts and silk ties Talia had bought him. He was shown into Maybeth’s office and they’d had a nice long talk, at the end of which he’d backed her into the chair behind her desk. Resting his hands on the seat arms, he’d leaned over her. Her nostrils had quivered as she fought to remain defiant.

“I don’t care what you think about me, that I’m Cuban, that I’m an average guy with an average job who’s not good enough for your granddaughter. None of that matters to me because I will take care of my wife and my son, even if I have to work five jobs. They will never need anything as long as I have the ability to work. But I do care about how your behavior affects my family, and there are two things I will not let you do. I won’t let you come between me and Talia, and I won’t let you hurt her or our son.” Then he’d straightened. “You have two choices. You can come with me and meet your great-grandson and help Talia, a new mother who could use the help. Or you can stay here and be miserable and miss out on getting to know our wonderful little boy. It’s your choice.”

Maybeth hadn’t moved or spoken. She had laced him with a cold, deadly stare, using a tactic he imagined had worked on others. “Young man, no one speaks to me that way.”

But she’d come with him.

“I’ll go check on Talia,” Shawna said now.

When she left, Tomas met Ryan’s gaze. “So this is what it feels like,” he said.

“Yeah.”

Tomas chuckled. “Why didn’t you tell me before,
amigo
?”

Epilogue

Tomas rolled over but didn’t feel Talia beside him. The night before, she had opened the windows to let in the natural sounds of the country. Chirping crickets, crying Katydids, and frogs that lived near the lake’s edge had created a chorus of sound that coaxed them to sleep like a lullaby. They couldn’t do this in the summer because of the humidity. Now fall had arrived, with the overhead fan on low, the room remained the perfect temperature.

With his eyes still closed, he reached across the bed and touched her warm body wrapped in the red satin nightie he hadn’t bothered to remove last night when he’d slipped inside of her.

“What are you doing all the way over there,
querida
?”

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

He slid his arm under and around her and dragged her across the mattress until he could bury his face in her thick hair. The scent of her never failed to arouse him. He pulled the laced edge of the teddy up to her waist and hardened as he exposed her pantiless bottom. He lifted her hips into his and let out a low groan when her fleshy bottom made contact with his erection.

“That’s why I was all the way over there,” she said, but he heard the smile in her voice.

“There is no escape.”

He cupped one breast and massaged the nipple with his thumb until she made the sexy little panting noises he liked to hear. Slipping his fingers between her legs, he found the wet heat that spurred him into action. Sliding his knee between her thighs, he slipped into her from behind. She gasped and reached back, curling her arm around his neck and arching her spine. He groaned as her internal muscles pulled him further into the warm, slick channel.

He took his time, letting his thick, hard flesh enjoy each sensuous stroke until she was begging him to hurry in a pained, breathless voice that threatened to sidetrack his self-control. He kissed her neck and ear, sucking on the tender lobe until her hand grabbed a handful of his hair. Close to coming, she tossed back her hips in a wild bucking motion.

Tomas held onto one breast and bound her to him with his arm. He watched as she parted her lips on a keening cry, eyes shut tight to manage the powerful orgasm that rolled through her. Only when he saw she’d been satisfied did he allow himself to let go. He gripped the mattress with his left hand in lieu of putting a strangle hold on her petite form as he endured a mighty climax of his own.

Afterward, she stretched, and he lay spent against her back, groaning into her hair.

“Mmm, good morning,” she said, reaching back to stroke his bristled jaw with the back of her fingers.

“Good morning,” he repeated with a low chuckle. As far as he was concerned, there was no better way to start the day.

****

Talia didn’t know how long she slept, but when she awoke, Tomas stood at the window with Manuel in his arms. He wore only a pair of dark blue boxer briefs and spoke quietly to their son in Spanish. He was so good with Manuel. So many women had to barter with their husbands to assist with the parenting, but it wasn’t an issue in their household.

She slipped from the bed and entered the adjoining bathroom, washed up and donned a robe before joining her two men at the window.

“How’s my big boy today?”

She trailed her fingertips through the fine blonde hairs on Manuel’s head. He observed her with his father’s light brown eyes. She kissed his nose and was rewarded with a toothless grin. He was always well-behaved and had been a good baby inside the womb, too. Except for a couple weeks of morning sickness, her pregnancy had been uneventful. Even after he was born, he hadn’t been too fussy. In fact, she’d worried about his placid demeanor and had taken him to the doctor. The pediatrician assured Talia that not all babies cried constantly, and so she accepted that he must have Tomas’s temperament.

Sometimes she would stand over the crib and stare in awe at this tiny person who depended on her and marvel at her blessings, that she had such a good husband and a healthy baby.

She walked away, bare feet moving quietly on the carpeted floor. “What do you want for breakfast?” she asked.

“What do you feel like fixing?”

She paused with her hand on the doorjamb and turned to him. Big and brawny, framed by the sunlight pouring in through the window. Her husband, her lover, her friend.

She smiled. “How about some pancakes?”

The End

Spanish Translations

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading my latest novel! I hope you enjoyed it.

Normally I let the foreign words speak for themselves within the context of the story, but I wanted to point out some words/phrases where the meaning may not have been clear.

Coño
– Damn. Typically said by Spanish-speaking people from the Caribbean.

Caperucita Roja
– Little Red Riding Hood.

Mierda
– Shit.

Me gusta como hueles
– I like how you smell.

¿Que bola?
– Cuban slang for How are you? The English equivalent might be How’s it going? or What’s up?

“
¡Cállate cabrón!
– Shut up jackass!

****

Like Latin heroes like Tomas Molina? Read my Hot Latin Men series.
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