Infiltrating Your Heart (36 page)

Oh, sweet torture. This man knows
what he’s doing.

Stephen’s hand descends further until
he reaches my thigh. He strokes it, and then moves to the pulsing area between
my legs.

“Stephen, Stephen,” I say, shaking my
head. “We're in a public place.”

“So what?”

“I told you. None of this. I mean it.”

Stephen
sighs. He fixes the front of my dress. I lean into his chest as we dance. That cuts
off his access to the part of me men love the most. I'm faithful to Gabriel. There's
no way I'm even making out with another man.

~*~
Gabriel

I haven’t seen Mercedes in two days.
The wait has been tearing me apart, but I want to respect her wishes. I’ve
given her time to sort out whatever she needs to. However, I’m worried.

It almost seems like Mercedes has
forgotten what we had. Her behavior is troubling. I had half expected her to
call me by now.

Standing up from my desk, I grab my
phone and call my brother. Maybe he’s seen Mercedes. After two rings, the other
line picks up.

“Hey, bro. What’s up?”

“Morning, Patrick. Did I wake you
up?”

“No. What’s the matter?”

“Have you seen Mercedes lately?”

There’s a short pause on the line.

“No. Is there something wrong?”

“I haven’t seen her in two days. See,
Blake—”

“What? You haven’t seen her in two
days?”

“Yes. Blake came over on Sunday and
threw all sorts of insults at her. He’s pissed that I dumped Evelyn.”

“Shit,”
Patrick replies.
“How did Mercedes
take it?”

“Bad. She asked me to give her some
time.”

“And she’s taken two days? Whatever
Blake threw at her, I doubt it’s that bad. Wasn’t she in love with you?”

“She
is
in love with me. Blake
just…hit low. Anyway, that’s not all.”

“What, there’s more?”

“Yes. Some unknown person delivered
photos to me. They’re of Mercedes, making out with some guy. I confronted her,
and she claimed that it was a one-night stand she had before we met. Since
then, Mercedes and I haven’t seen each other.”

I pause, waiting for Patrick to
reply.

“Patrick, are you still there?”

The line goes dead. I stare at the
phone in disbelief.

What on Earth? Patrick’s never hung
up on me.

I look at the clock, and sit back on
my desk. After I get out of work, I’m so going to see Mercedes. I’m going to talk
sense into her.

Mercedes

At around two in the afternoon, I
return to my apartment in my new, black Lexus SUV. I sold my Jetta yesterday.
It had been only four days since I wrote on the back window of my car that it
was for sale. So yesterday, I also visited various car lots. Also, I’m thinking
of selling my Infiniti. It’s part of my time as an escort, and I’m seriously
giving thought to leaving that in the past.

I think about Gabriel. He must be
fraying at the edges, eager to see me again. I feel bad for him right now, and
I’m sorry for being so weak. If I have no faith in our love, how do I expect
him to trust me?

Oh, so this is true love now,
Mercedes?  Patrick hired you to seduce Gabriel, not to fall in love.

I shake my head, trying to ignore
those thoughts. As much as I’d like to deny it, I’ve fallen in love with
Gabriel O’Hara. That, I didn’t count on. And as beautiful as it is, it’s only
meant trouble.

There has been no incident since the
anonymous photo delivery. No one’s tried to kidnap or kill me, and no one’s
messed with my car. I’m still on guard, though.

Moments later, loud knocks on the
door distract me. I stand up from the couch (where I was watching TV) and go see
who it is. When I open the door, Patrick stands in the hallway outside.

“What the hell have you been up to?”
Patrick says without preamble. He walks past me and stops in front of my couch.
I close the door as he faces me.

“You’re lucky I don’t live with Dad,
or he’d have blown you to bits with his shotgun by now.”

“Don’t evade my question. Gabriel
told me that you’ve pretty much abandoned him. Can you explain what the blazes
that is about?”

“If you calm down, I’ll explain. We
can talk this over in a civilized manner.”

Patrick takes a few breaths, and then
he sits on the couch. I sit on the opposite end.

“So, what did you want to know?”

“Have you given up on him?”

“No.”

“You’re aware that I hired you to
keep him apart from Evelyn, right? If he goes back to her, I swear I’ll turn
you in to the police.”

I smile.

“Good try, Patrick. We both know that
the guy I shot is not only alive. He’s after revenge.”

“I can still reveal your true
identity.”

Patrick keeps a poker face as I
narrow my eyes.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, yes. Isabel may like you, but
she wouldn’t think twice about turning you in if she knew what you are.”

I grit my teeth.

“So what if people knew? Being an
escort is totally legal, because sex is not required. My boss is my agent, not
my pimp. You can’t hold my job over me.”

Patrick still smiles.

“You think so? The cops don’t
distinguish between escorts, strippers, call girls, whatever. To them, they are
the same, and so they’re of dubious legality.”

Shit. Patrick still has me at his
mercy. Damn Angelica for not letting me go.

“I’m trying to protect your brother,”
I say. “I can’t let the guy who’s after me hurt him.”

“What a lame excuse. Gabriel is more
than capable of defending himself. He can hold his own with Shane, which
you
can’t claim yet.”

My worry is rising. Patrick has me
cornered.

“You need Gabriel, Mercedes. Don’t
you see? That’s what this bastard most likely tried to do with the photos. He’s
hoping to separate you from those who can protect you. Alone, you’re completely
vulnerable.”

Patrick is right. How didn’t I see
that before?

“I just don’t want to risk Gabriel’s
safety,” I tell Patrick, lowering my head. “This is a mess I walked into, and
I’m getting myself out of it.”

Patrick waits for a few seconds. He
then places his hand under my chin and pushes my head up to see him. He looks
into my eyes for a moment. Patrick’s expression first flashes with curiosity,
then worry, and dawning comprehension. He finally smiles. My eyebrows furrow.

“You’ve fallen in love, haven’t you?”
he asks. I turn my head away from him. “Wow. I didn’t see this coming. You fell
in love with my brother.”

I turn to look at Patrick’s smiling
face. A tear falls from my eye, but I make no effort to wipe it away.

“Yes. I’m in love.”

Patrick stares at me in awe.

“This worked out much better than I
expected.”

“You see?” I ask him. “That’s why I
don’t want to risk Gabriel. I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to
him because of me.”

I look away, fidgeting. Patrick takes
my hands and encloses them with his own. My gaze switches back to him, my
eyebrow arching.

“Gabriel can take care of himself.
Between us, he’s more dangerous than the man who’s after you.”

I want to believe Patrick’s words,
but I’m still wondering. Is Gabriel truly able to defend himself from people
like this? I’ve seen enough movies to know that you don’t trifle with heads of
organized crime.

“You must go back to Gabriel and tell
him you’re sorry. Right now.”

I gasp.

“What do I tell him about
the…situation?”

“You have to tell him the truth.
Omitting the fact that you’re an escort, and that it was I who saved you, of
course. You must tell Gabriel about that night when a sex trafficker almost
kidnapped you.”

I look away again. This is all so
overwhelming.

“You must be strong, Mercedes.
Without the help of Gabriel and the police, you’re defenseless.”

“What? You’re going to tell the
police? What if they start digging into my life and find out who I am?”

“You’ve done nothing wrong, so they
won’t dig into your life. The ones who have got to worry are these damn sex
traffickers.”

Patrick puts a hand on my shoulder. I
take a deep breath, reassuring myself.

“Things will be okay, Mercedes.
Nothing is going to stand in the way of your love for Gabriel.”

“I’m afraid,” I confess.

“Don’t
be. We’ll be there for you.”

~*~
Gabriel

Before going to see Mercedes, I make
a stop at my apartment. I want to freshen up before I see her. I also want to
get something for her.

Once I’m ready, I grab my keys and
step outside. I’m so full of anticipation that I unconsciously rush. When I get
to the bottom of the stairs, I almost run into someone. I stop just in time,
gasping when I see who it is.

“Mercedes,” I say. She looks just as
surprised as I think I do.

“Gabriel.”

The two of us stand there, not
knowing what to say. We haven’t seen each other for days. I look Mercedes up
and down. I haven’t forgotten what she feels like, what she tastes like. No
way.

“I—I was just on my way to see you,”
I stammer.

“I’m sorry,” Mercedes says. Before I
can reply, her lips crash onto mine. My eyes widen, but then I close them. I
put my arms around Mercedes, relishing in the kiss. I’ve missed these lips so
much.

Mercedes has clearly missed me, too.
She kisses me with such intensity you’d think they’re going to deploy me to war
or something. My hands move to grasp her arms, caressing her soft skin.

After what seems like ages, we
finally pull apart. When I look at Mercedes, I see that she’s crying.

“I’m so sorry, Gabriel. It was stupid
to shut you out.”

“Don’t worry, angel. We’re together
now.”

Mercedes smiles, giving me a short
kiss.

“And the incident with the photos?
It’s forgotten. Whoever we dated in the past should have no impact in our
relationship.

“I agree,” Mercedes says. “But now,
take me inside. My body misses you, too.”

I laugh, just then realizing that
I’ve got a hard-on. This woman’s like a spark to my dynamite.

“The feeling’s mutual, baby.”

I carry Mercedes in my arms and walk
with her all the way up to my apartment. She opens the door for me, and I let
us in.

Without wasting any time, I take
Mercedes to my bedroom. When I get there, I let her down on top of my bed. We
kiss each other again. Mercedes starts undoing the buttons of my shirt. When
they’re all loose, I pull it over my head. Then I tug at the hem of Mercedes’s
blouse and help her remove it.

I push on Mercedes’s shoulders. She
lies back on the bed. I proceed to kiss every part of her skin I can see.
There’s a lot of sexual tension that’s just being released right now. These
past days were like an eternity.

Damn. There’s no way I’m letting this
woman go. I crave her so much.

I grab Mercedes’s boobs, kneading
them gently. They’re just as soft as I remember. I pull down on one of the bra
cups, freeing her nipple. I play with it using my finger. Mercedes closes her
eyes, starting to moan. When my tongue licks her areola, she lets out a gasp.

“Oh, yes, yes!”

I undo the bra’s front clasp, and
both breasts spill out. I move to the other nipple, sucking on it. Mercedes
arches her back. My hand moves to the spot between her legs. I rub the area
through the fabric. She’s already wet.

It doesn’t take long before Mercedes
explodes into an orgasm. Her lips yell out my name as mine leave her nipple. I
kiss down the middle of her torso. Then I tug at the top of her pants and pull
down, exposing her panties. I touch the fabric.