Faithful in Pleasure (5 page)

She could feel another blush rising in her cheeks and wasn’t surprised when Cruz chuckled.

“You have a way of making a man’s heart smile,” he whispered, kissing her softly on the cheek before holding her panties out to her. “I guess you better put these back on for now.”

“I’ll just be a minute,” she said as she slipped away to clean up a bit in the bathroom and put them back on.

He was leaning against the wall by the front door when she walked back out, looking relaxed and comfortable despite the hard cock she could see rising along the zipper of his jeans.

“Ready?”

She nodded and took the hand he held out to her, stopping long enough to close and lock the door before following him to the sleek black Avenger parked at the curb.

“Yours?”

He nodded, clicking the fob to unlock it before reaching to open the door for her. The seats were leather, and she could smell the newness of it. He had great taste.

He slid behind the wheel, started the car, and they were off.

“So,” he began as soon as they were on the highway, “what part of the letters were from me?” He glanced her way. “I’m the one with the big family. My mother is from Argentina originally. She met my dad when she came to the States to visit her aunt and they fell in love. Whirlwind courtship, fairytale wedding, and they’ve lived happily ever after.” He looked over long enough to show her the twinkle of laughter in his eyes. “Or at least they’d have you think so. My dad assures me the happily ever after comes from knowing not to piss my mom off, to pick only battles you can win, and to always let her have the last word.”

“He loves her.” It made Melda smile.

“More than anything in the world,” Cruz agreed. “He thanks God every day he found her and somehow convinced a goddess to marry him.”

“He sounds extremely wise.” She laughed when he nodded in agreement.

“He’s taught my brothers and I well.”

“How many brothers do you have?”

“Four, and three sisters.”

“Wow. That is definitely a big family.”

“My mom has three sisters. Each of them is married with kids. We grew up in and out of each other’s houses, so they’re more like siblings sometimes than cousins.”

“Did you grow up in Argentina then?”

“No. My mom moved here, so did her sisters. They were all married within a few years of each other.”

“How many cousins all together?”

He thought for a minute, and she could just imagine him counting names in his head.

“Twenty-six kids between four couples. And that’s my mom’s side.”

“And on your dad’s side?”

“He had one brother, a twin, who happens to be married to my mom’s youngest sister.”

“Still twenty-six kids.” She couldn’t even imagine. She’d been in some homes when she was younger that had quite a few kids at any given time, but still never more than six at once.

“We didn’t all live in the same house,” he said. “But we’re all very close and make it a point to get together as often as possible. A few of them are married now with kids as well. So even with just us it’s a crowd.”

“I bet it was amazing growing up together.”

“It was. I had my brothers and cousins to watch my back if anyone ever picked on me, and to kick my ass if I ever did anything stupid.”

“Did you?”

He glanced at her and lifted his brow in question.

“Do anything stupid?” She clarified.

“I was a teenage boy once upon a time,” he replied. “I think stupidity is a rite of passage for us.”

Melda laughed, enjoying how easy he was to talk to.

“So, what about you?” he asked. “I know you have two sisters.”

“I grew up in foster care,” she reminded him. “I was found outside a church when I was just an infant with a note from my birth mother saying she couldn’t take care of me and hoped someone would take me in.”

His hand slid across the console to clasp hers.

“I bounced around from home to home a lot when I was younger.”

“I thought most people wanted to adopt infants.”

Most people did, just not any of the ones Melda had been placed with.

“I was sick a lot as a child. They think I must have been premature. My lungs weren’t quite developed, and I was prone to pneumonia and upper respiratory infections. I had an inhaler and took breathing treatments for a long time. I was always really small for my age, usually not even on the growth charts.”

“Must have been rough,” he said, squeezing her hand.

It had been. She’d come into the world unwanted and had once believed she’d always be that way.

“When I was eleven, I was sent to another new home. I remember driving up with the current social worker and seeing this big house with a fenced-in yard. The woman who answered was older and holding the smallest dog I’d ever seen.”

“She had a Chihuahua,” Cruz said with a grin.

Melda nodded. “I was shaking like a leaf when I stepped inside.”

His thumb rubbed over her knuckles, caressing her skin.

“Her name was Mrs. Potts. She was a retired schoolteacher. She showed me to a huge bedroom with three twin beds in it. She had two other girls living with her at the time. They’d both arrived recently as well. She was new to foster parenting and took in three of us.”

“Your sisters,” Cruz guessed and she nodded.

“Skye was bold and cocky. All long legs and attitude under a curtain of light brown hair. She’s only two years older than me, but you’d think she was even older than that to hear her talk. Deja was sweet and sassy, always trying to talk us into something we knew better than to do. She looked like a doll with all her dark brown curls and big eyes.”

“I hope she managed to talk you into some of those things.”

“We were always in trouble,” Melda admitted with a laugh. “Skye would take the responsibility on her shoulders and promise to keep us in line from then on. And she did, until the next time Deja convinced her otherwise. Deja would laugh and share the adventure with Mrs. Potts, until she brushed off our antics as girls having fun.”

“And what did you do?”

“I tended to be quiet and watch.”

“You drew into yourself?” he asked, hitting the nail on the head.

She nodded slowly. “I did. I think for the longest time I was afraid of her sending me away too.”

He pulled the car over, and she glanced up to see they were in a parking lot. He had the car in park and his seat belt off. Then he reached over to unclick hers before leaning in and pulling her close, so they met above the console for a hug.

“I can’t imagine worrying about my family sending me away, and I promise you my siblings and I did things you three probably never dreamed of.”

“Like what?” she whispered the question, suddenly feeling shy about admitting how she’d felt to him.

He leaned back into his seat and met her gaze. She loved the way his eyes always seemed to twinkle with laughter. “We stole a cow once.”

“You stole a cow?”

“We were going through the cowboy stage, where we all wanted to ride horses and go on cattle drives. My oldest brother convinced us to sneak out one night and ride over to the fence line that separated our land from the next ranch. We cut through the fence and stole a cow that was there.”

“Oh, my God! I can’t believe he convinced you.”

“I’d be lying if I said it took much to convince us. I was ten at the time.”

“What happened?”

“The sheriff showed up at our house with a couple of the guys from the other ranch to see if we knew anything about the missing cow and the cut fencing.”

“What did you guys do?”

“Caved like a cheap deck of cards when my mother called us in. She was livid, the maddest I’ve ever seen her in my life. I bawled like a baby and begged for mercy.”

Melda giggled at that image. He smiled and brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly before continuing.

“We spent the entire summer working as free labor for the ranch next door. We helped fix the fence, cleaned up around the barn, and had to help with anything and everything they wanted us to. We’re damn lucky they agreed to that instead of pressing charges for theft and vandalism.”

“Wow.”

“Needless to say, the cowboy fantasy died a quick death, and we moved on to something else as soon as we gained our freedom again.”

“So you grew up on a ranch?”

“My dad breeds horses. My mom’s family does as well. It’s how they initially met when she was visiting her aunt. My oldest brother, Marco, took over the business side of the ranch last year. Santana, my baby sister, is working on implementing a retreat of sorts for people to sign up and spend a week under the stars. They’re building cabins and coming up with activities to look into incorporating.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun.”

He smiled. “Ready to dance?” he asked, reaching for the door handle and pushing it open.

“Where are we?” She took his hand and let him help her from the car when he walked around to open her door. He was a gentleman, and she was discovering she loved it.

“Little place my cousin told me about when I told him I’d be this way. He’s a Latin dance instructor and demanded I stop by.”

“You have a cousin who lives here?”

“Twenty-six of us, remember? I have someone who lives almost everywhere.”

She laughed, so at ease with him. He just had a way of making her comfortable. She felt charmed. He was always touching her, brushing his fingers against her skin or holding her hand. He made her feel special, desired but not just sexually. He’d shown her how much he wanted her earlier, but since then his touch had been casual, almost as if he wasn’t even aware he was doing it. Like it was just natural for him to touch her.

They spent the next three hours with his hands all over her as she learned several dances, including the salsa. She had to admit Latin dancing was incredible foreplay. His cousin was funny and engaging, and she liked him immediately. The time passed far too quickly. She was on fire by the time Cruz said it was time for lunch and whisked her out the door before his cousin could offer to join them.

She’d been pressed against him for hours. She could feel the solid length of his erection against her lower stomach still, and she wanted it inside her. She was practically panting with desire, and she’d already come once today. He was still hard, and she really wanted to remedy that.

“Cruz,” she began, but he shook his head.

“Not yet, darling. But soon, very soon.”

She had no idea where he was driving them. His fingers had pushed her skirt up over the top of her thighs and were tracing patterns across her bare flesh. She closed her eyes and did her best to keep her breathing slow and even. She could feel how tight her nipples were; the scratch of her lacey bra cups against the rigid peaks tormented her. She wanted to feel his tongue there, his mouth, even the scrape of his teeth.

“Are you hungry, Melda?”

His voice was low and husky. She whispered “no” and kept her eyes closed. She felt the car stop and could sense him shifting it in to park before he turned off the engine. He leaned over to her, and she felt the loss of his hand when he moved it to release her seatbelt. Still, she kept her eyes closed.

His lips brushed her jaw then edged up toward her ear. “That’s too bad,” he whispered before catching the lobe in his teeth and giving it a nip and tug. His tongue flicked out to caress where he’d bit before he whispered again. “I wanted you very hungry, Melda. Starving.”

His knuckles brushed over one hard nipple, and she bit her lip to hold in the moan.

“Open your eyes,” he commanded, and she fluttered them open. He loomed over her, his eyes dark with need and lust. “We can leave if you prefer.”

She glanced around and knew immediately where they were, the brick house on the corner. The one he was renting with Darius and Houston.

“I thought this was our date?”

“It has been, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I just thought I might start our evening a little early if you’re okay with that.”

“Are Darius and Houston here?”

“Yes.”

She swallowed. She had been the one to make the suggestion for their evening activities. Now she was a little nervous, but so excited. She met his gaze and nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Remember, I’m calling the shots once we step through that door,” he reminded her. “You’ll do everything I tell you too. No questions. No refusal.”

Her eyes widened and she caught her breath.

“I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to,” he said, reading her anxiety. “But I might test your limits. Are you okay with that?”

His fingers brushed her cheek before sliding down her body to her nipple again. This time he took the peak between his thumb and pointer finger and gave it a pinch and tug she felt all the way to her pussy.

“Yesss,” she moaned in agreement. “You call the shots.”

“Good girl,” he crooned and kissed her softly on the lips. “Now, are you hungry?” he asked again.

“Starving,” she swore, licking her lips. “I’m starving.”

Chapter Four

Melda stopped at the door and took a deep breath. It felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Excitement and nerves mixed into a volatile cocktail that had her edgy and horny. Cruz said nothing, just stood holding the door open for her. She knew he would wait as long as it took her to take that final, important step. It would be her choice and hers alone. But this was what she wanted. She was the one who had suggested this.

Looking him in the eye, she stepped inside and stood still as he shut the door behind her and locked it. She felt him looming behind her, the heat of him surrounding her as he ran his fingers along the collar of her sweater and tugged it off and down her arms. He laid it gently on a chair beside the front door.

“We have a rule for the way each evening will start,” he whispered at her ear. His hands caressed down her sides until he grasped the edge of her short dress. “Once you step inside the door, here or your place, you’ll be stripped.” He lifted the dress and pulled it slowly up. She lifted her arms to make it easy for him to slide it off.