Forever Yours (32 page)

He stared at her for a moment before exhaling and hugging her tightly. “You scared the hell out of me,” he whispered, kissing the side of her face. “I don’t care if he is your brother,” he said, taking her face in his hands now. “I don’t want you alone with him ever. You understand me?” She nodded adamantly. “I trust you, but I don’t trust him.”

“I don’t trust him either, Angel.” This seemed to surprise him, and his brows came together. “I know there’s more to it than him just being different. I feel it too, okay? But it’s not fair to judge him because something tells us we shouldn’t trust him when he hasn’t actually done anything wrong. I didn’t tell you about the names he calls me because I know it’s more than just odd. Still it doesn’t prove anything.” She brought her finger to his lips before he could respond to that. “I promise you I’m not going about this the naïve way. I’m just as suspicious as you, and I’m questioning everything too, but until I have real reason not to, I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt. I won’t keep anything from you again. No matter how small. Okay?”

He stared at her for a moment with that same intensity she’d come to love despite how nervous it made her sometimes. Without saying a word, Angel pulled her to him and kissed her. She kissed him back deeply and much longer than she had the entire time they’d been sitting there. Angel pulled the blouse out of the back of her jeans as their breathing accelerated. She drew back for a moment, looking around at the deserted parking lot. The snow was coming down in chunkier flakes, and she knew they needed to get to their cabin before it got too dark and the plows were no longer running. They hadn’t done it in a car in a long time, but the moment Angel pulled her blouse up and took her breast in her mouth she decided this was going to be the best makeup car sex they’d ever had. “Forever and Always,” she whispered as he brought his lips back up to hers.

“You’re
mine
,” he said roughly as he bit down on her bottom lip.

That wasn’t how it went, but given the circumstances, she let it go and devoured his tongue with an unrestrained moan.

~*~

Angel

It was disappointing.

Funny but disappointing none the less to get to the cabin and find that Alex and Valerie had had the same thought to get up there a day before everyone else. After the intense drive up there, Angel had every intention of letting out some steam by having his way with Sarah every way imaginable and using every room in that cabin to do so. He should’ve known something was up when he heard Alex asking some of the guys if they wanted to work his shift today. For some reason, since Angel knew Alex was coming up to the cabin this week along with his other siblings, Valerie, and Romero, Angel thought maybe Alex was trying to sneak in some time with someone else before he was gone all those days.

So Angel’s plans of setting up camp in front of the fireplace first thing when they got there to start things off were a wash. But at least they’d have a room to themselves, and he’d make the most of it.

Their first night there they spent the evening playing cards with Alex and Valerie and listening to music then watching a movie. Although it took them forever to decide what movie they’d watch, they finally all agreed on
Castaway,
and by the time it was over, they were all ready to hit the hay. They had a long day of skiing ahead of them the following day, but more than anything, Angel was anxious to get Sarah in bed. That rushed little appetizer they’d had in the car was hardly enough to rid him of the tension still pent up from knowing just how close Leo was feeling to Sarah. No fucking way was Angel going to believe now that this guy was interested in getting close to her in just a brotherly way. Something was going to have to give because Sarah spending any time with the guy alone just wasn’t happening. Even though she agreed to that stipulation now, Angel had a feeling it might become an issue eventually. For now he’d let it go. But he sure as hell would be finding out more about the guy once this trip was over.

The following morning after a wonderful tension-relieving night with Sarah, Angel left her sleeping blissfully while he got up to get the coffee going and make her some French toast.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked, pulling Angel out of the annoying thoughts he was having again of Leo and Sarah.

He turned to look at Alex, who was walking into the kitchen in his pajama pants, a T-shirt, and no shoes.

“I’m making French toast for Sarah,” Angel said then glanced down at Alex’s feet. “Aren’t you cold, man?”

Alex’s face soured when he saw the tray Angel had next to the stove top. Sarah’s plate had four thick slices of French toast already on it, and two steaming cups of coffee sat on the tray. Angel smirked, knowing what his brother must be thinking. So just to annoy him even further, he pulled out the orange juice from the fridge, poured some into two small glasses, and placed them on the tray.

“You’re kidding me with all this shit, right?” Alex glanced up at the stairs. “You know how bad this is gonna make me look? I’m not even sure what Valerie would prefer for breakfast.”

Angel laughed. “Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about? This is Valerie we’re talking about. The girl eats anything. Just make sure you make enough with her appetite.”

Alex groaned, opening the refrigerator and leaning in.

“There’s chorizo in there too,” Angel offered. “Can’t go wrong with chorizo.”

Even that last statement made him think of Leo and his can’t-go-wrong-with-roses comment he’d made that first day they met him. Annoyed that his thoughts would once again go there, Angel flipped the last piece of French toast onto the plate he and Sarah would be sharing. He picked up the loaded tray and headed out of the kitchen.

“Good luck with that,” he said as Alex pulled out the chorizo from the fridge with a frown.

“Just get out of here with that perfect ass breakfast before Valerie sees it.”

Chuckling, Angel walked up the stairs to his and Sarah’s room. He heard that familiar content groan as he neared the bedroom door. If he had to guess Sarah had just woken and was stretching with a huge smile on her face. He walked in, pushing the door open with his back, and then brought the tray around for her to see. Her bright eyes opened even wider at the sight of the food-filled tray, and he’d been right about her already smiling, but his insides were instantly on fire when he saw she held the phone to her ear.

“Who are you talking to?” he asked immediately.

She held her hand up. “I know. I’m sorry.” She pouted, half smiling, then turned to fix the pillow behind her so she could sit back comfortably. “I swear I meant to call you last night, but it completely slipped my mind.”

Angel stared at her as she continued to make herself comfortable and lifted the blanket for him to slip in next to her, but he couldn’t even move. He stood there taking extra-long deep breaths that did nothing to calm him. He actually hoped it might be Sydney she was apologizing to for not calling last night—anyone but Leo. The second she hung up she looked up at him, and he must’ve looked as ready to explode as he felt because her smile fell.

“That was my mom,” she said quickly. “She’d asked me to call her once we got up here, but I forgot.”

She went on to explain the rest, but all Angel could think of, as he felt his body give way to the tension that had taken it hostage so instantly, was this was
bad
. Even as he placed the tray of breakfast on her lap and she kissed and thanked him gleefully, his eardrums were still ringing. How the fuck was he ever going to be able to hear Sarah even mention she’d chatted with Leo again without losing it? Yesterday when he’d told her he didn’t want her alone with the guy, he didn’t realize that each time Leo spoke with her he might be sweet-talking her ass like he’d apparently been doing for months. He didn’t want to be mad at her.
God,
he didn’t want that asshole to ruin this trip for him, but he felt ready to spit now that the reality was sinking in. She’d gone along with this guy calling her baby and beautiful all this time,
and
she’d had no intention of telling Angel about it.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

Angel lifted his glass of juice and downed the whole thing, needing something to cool his insides. He
was not
going to argue about this now. Maybe when they got back home he’d bring it up again. He’d ask for more details about exactly what she and Leo talked about late into the night—something he’d be putting an end to given the eye-opener he’d gotten on the drive up. But he wouldn’t sour this trip.

“Nothing,” he said, placing the empty glass down on the tray.

He leaned into her, deciding he wouldn’t even tell her that for a moment there he thought she was apologizing to Leo for not calling him last night. The very idea of her telling him she meant to call him last night even after the argument they’d had on their way up had him clenching his teeth so hard he’d given himself a headache.

“Nothing,” he whispered again against her lips then kissed them. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered back.

Chapter 21

Angel

The girls weren’t quite as daring as the guys. While all five guys decided to try the more challenging skiing trails, Sarah, Valerie, and Sofie opted for the easier, less treacherous ones.

Angel was glad that of the five guys he and Sal seemed to be at the closest level of skiing above the others. Eric was close behind, but Angel kept up closest to Sal. He was hoping to get a moment or two alone to talk to him while they waited for the other guys to catch up. Alex’s size and the fact that he went skiing least of all of them didn’t make him graceful on the slopes. Eric did the smart thing and took it slowly and easily down the trails. Romero was, as usual, a mess. The guy skied about as often as Alex, but he insisted on going twice as fast.

“Someone oughtta get a helmet on that guy,” Sal said as they watched Romero untangle his skis from the bush he’d just ended up in.

Eric made his way over to help Romero while Alex passed them slowly, wobbling a little. Angel laughed. “Those two should really be skiing with the girls.”

“No shit,” Sal said. “The last thing Alex needs is to mess with that ankle.”

Angel hadn’t even thought of that as he glanced back at Alex. At least he wasn’t like Romero, who already was headed off in another direction, arms flailing in the air and moving way too fast for his own good. Alex was taking his time being much more cautious, though his ankle probably
did
have a lot to do with it.

When they were far enough away and they stopped for a breather, Angel turned to Sal, pulling his goggles off then glancing away suddenly, not wanting to be looking at him when he asked what he wanted to ask him.

“So do you think a brother calling his sister
baby girl
,
beautiful
, or even
baby
is creepy?”

He glanced back at Sal, who was shaking the snow off his hair with his hand. He stopped for a moment to look at Angel and thought about it. “Hell yeah. Why?”

Angel shrugged. “It’s what Sarah’s brother calls her.”

Sal had started to put his own goggles back on then stopped to look at Angel. “Did you ever do your homework on this guy like I said you should?”

Frowning, Angel shook his head to make sure Alex and Romero weren’t nearby. He knew what those two would have to say about this, and he wasn’t in the mood to hear it. “Once her brother took off to Mexico,” he said, looking back at Sal, “I figured there was no rush.”

He explained how he knew Leo would be gone for months and even though Leo never did stop communicating with Sarah the whole time he was gone Angel had so much going on he put it on the back burner. Truth was Angel didn’t even know where to start. He did Google the guy’s name a few times, but it was overwhelming. Apparently, the name Leonardo Ortiz was a pretty common one. He’d gotten a ton of hits, but none of them had anything to do with Leo.

“I already told her I don’t want her alone with him,” he said emphatically.

“And how do you plan on keeping that from happening?”

Of course, Sal would bring up something he hadn’t even thought of. “She just won’t,” he said, feeling a little stupid. “He lives out of state. If he ever wants to get together with her, they’ll have to plan it. She’ll know not to plan anything unless I’m there.”

Sal’s puckered brow said it all. He wasn’t impressed with Angel’s half-baked plan. “Didn’t he already show up once unannounced? What’s to stop him from doing it again?”

Before Angel could respond to that, Sal went on and thankfully so because Angel had nothing. The idea that Leo might show up at her place one day and he wouldn’t be there hadn’t even occurred to him.

Look,” Sal said, shaking his head. “We’re not just talking about some dude who might be trying to move in on your chick. If that’s all this was—you know me—I’d tell you to get your head outta your ass and stop acting like Alex because you know you don’t have anything to worry about. You can trust Sarah. But it’s not. We’re talking about a guy who’s known to be violent. He has a brother in jail for
murder
and admits to having been in and out of jail himself. Think about it. Are you really just gonna buy that his brother was put away for fighting?”