Of Love and Deception (10 page)

“Crap,” Cruz groaned and rolled off Daniella.

There was a knock at her door. “Hello? Cruz? Daniella? It's me, Emma. Mom.”

“Come in, Mother,” Cruz said.

Emma gave a knowing glance and said, “I had better not catch you in the act.”

Cruz laughed. “Mother. We were just talking, so don’t worry your pretty little motherly head off.”

“Okay. I just wanted to say I love you and goodnight to both of you.”

“Love you, too, and goodnight,” Cruz said.

“Goodnight, Emma. Thank you for having me as a guest.” Daniella gave a heartfelt smile.

“Anytime, dear. You're a wonderful lady and I sure do hope everything works out with you and my son. Now I'll see you both in the morning at breakfast.” Emma stepped back and pulled the door until only a slight crack of light from the hall filtered in.

~~~

Daniella caught Cruz before he stepped out of her room.

“Hey?”

“What's up?” he asked.

“I'm just wondering why Meg thinks she can hang all over you, and why is it acceptable?”

“Don't be too hard on her. Between you and me, Meg had many psychological problems during our high school years. I'm not at liberty to share, but I can tell you I did my best to help her through all of it and she's become that pesky little sister I never had. She has a good heart, and even though she doesn't show it, she does. Just promise me you won't let her silly ways chase you off.”

Wow. He really is an awesome catch. If he cares that much about a female friend, then he must be one hell of a boyfriend. So much better than Blake!

“Well, that does explain a lot. Don't worry, you're not getting rid of me that easily.” Daniella pulled the sheet up to her chin and snuggled into the pillow.

“Damn if I don’t want to slide up next to you and hold you all night long.”

“You could sneak back in later?” Daniella gave a shy smile.

“Don’t  be surprised if I do. Till then…”

After Cruz stepped out of the room, Daniella whispered, “Until then.”

She was surprised to wake in the middle of the night to find Cruz snuggled up against her side, his arm draped across her belly. She turned slightly, kissed his forehead and fell back into a warm, fuzzy sleep.

8
-
Something Wicked Something Sweet

The weekend had been a blast, even though she failed at water sports. Once back at home, Daniella crashed. Monday morning came too soon. The alarm startled her.

“No. Not already!” She hit the snooze button. Twenty minutes later, she forced herself to get up.

The work day dragged and Daniella's only thoughts were of Cruz. They'd had so much fun together, and she'd even survived Meg's flirting. Before they headed home on Sunday, before breakfast, Meg had asked Daniella to take an early morning stroll with her. They talked about a lot, even past boyfriends. Apparently, Meg had a psycho boyfriend similar to Daniella's ex. They both shivered when Daniella mentioned the roses and how Blake Sheldon, her ex, had sent black roses, adding one more each time he sent them until all the roses he sent were black. He threatened many times to harm her if she refused to take him back. Setting fire to the interior of her car was Daniella's breaking point. She up and moved without giving a forwarding address. Her life turned for the better, and she was happy to be rid of him, never to be bothered again.

Meg told of her first love and how he broke her heart. She'd been suicidal over it, but apparently Cruz had helped her through it, and she eventually started dating again until she met Falcon. He treated her like a queen, and she couldn’t say no to him when he'd asked her to marry him. Daniella finally had a better understanding of Meg, and that made it easier to deal with her attention seeking behavior.

~~~

Monday came and went. Daniella was disappointed when Cruz hadn't bothered to call her. By the time Wednesday rolled around, and there were still no calls from Cruz, Daniella was furious. She broke down and called him. After several rings, the call went to a foreign voicemail. Literally. She tried his home number and got the same recording.

Clenching her hair, she did her best to not break down and cry. Obviously Cruz had done something to avoid her calls. Sending her calls to some crazy voicemail could only mean one thing. They were done, over with.

“Hellooo! Are you alive in here?” Lori asked as she stepped into Daniella's office. When Daniella didn't reply, Lori came over and patted her back. “What's wrong?”

“Just… it's just over. That's all. Cruz is avoiding me.” She sobbed.

“Why, that no good ass face. You want me to take care of him? You know I will!”

“No, I'm sorry. I really don't want to talk about it, okay? Maybe another time, but not now.” Daniella folded her arms and laid her head down.

“Alright, I understand. You know where I live… and where I work.” Lori wrapped her arms around Daniella's back and gave her a tight squeeze and then she left.

The rest of the week, Daniella was miserable. She didn't understand how Cruz could do this to her. Maybe he only wanted benefits. Maybe he decided she wasn't worth it since she wouldn't give in to lust and desire. She thought there had been more to their relationship, but now she felt foolish for believing they had a good thing going. 

Though it was hard to work, she managed to get some projects completed. It was Friday, and as she logged out of her computer, the secretary buzzed.

“You have a call on line two.” Before Daniella could ask who was calling, the secretary hung up.

“This is Dan—”

“What the hell is going on? You don't answer—”

“How dare you yell at me, asshole. You haven't called all week!” Daniella fumed. Her hands were shaking so badly, she could barely hold the phone to her ear.

Cruz gave a faint laugh, and then he shouted, “What the fu—”

Daniella slammed the phone into the receiver and rushed out of the office.

When she arrived home, she threw her keys on the table and flopped down on the couch. An uncontrollable sob escaped her, and she struggled to catch her breath. Then anger set in. She stared at her cell phone before chucking it against the wall. When she retrieved it, she noticed the newly fractured screen.

Bang, bang, bang
sounded from the door. Daniella stiffened and stopped crying. She took in several deep breaths to calm her nerves, and then marched toward the door. The pounding started again.

“Dammit, Daniella. Open the door!” Cruz's voice sounded strained.

“No. Just go away, you jerk!”

“Open the friggin door!” He started beating on it again.

“Why? So you can scream at me and blame me because you can't admit you didn't call me?”

Cruz sounded like a maniac… no, more like Blake Sheldon. She shivered at the thought.

“Daniella, this is ridiculous. Now open the door so we can talk about this.”

No. This can't be happening again. Not another Blake, psycho relationship.

“Go home, Cruz,” she said.

When he didn't respond, Daniella looked through the peep hole. She didn't see him standing in the hall. She put her ear against the door, but there were no sounds, not even a squeak. As softly as she could, she turned the lock, and then the handle. She cracked open the door, daring to peek, but didn't see him so she opened it stepped out.

Turning toward the steps, she ran smack into Cruz. He wrapped her in a tight hug and walked her backward into the apartment, and kicked the door closed.

Daniella attempted to push him away, but failed. “Why can't you leave me alone? I hate you!”

“No. No you don't. I'm sorry I blamed you, but I tried to call you. You can view my phone log if you don't believe me.” Cruz released his grip and stroked her back.

The thought of never seeing him again made her heart ache. She wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezed him tightly, and balled his t-shirt in her fists. She inhaled the scent of his fresh skin mixed with his cologne, loving and missing the smell of him.

How could I think he was psycho like Blake? I take it all back.

Cruz returned the affections. After several minutes of their tight embrace, he pulled back, cupped Daniella's cheeks and rubbed his thumbs below her eyes.

“You've been crying.”

She pulled away from him, walked to the couch and sat down. Cruz followed and sat next to her.

Reaching into the side pocket of his khaki cargo shorts, he pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through the phone log. He didn't hesitate to hold it in front of her face and point out her number.

“Look at the time, the minutes and the dates. You can clearly see I've tried to call you.”

Daniella shifted a few times before leaning down to retrieve her phone. She tapped the fractured screen and entered the call log. Without speaking, she handed it to Cruz.

“Don't get mad, but how do I know you didn't delete my calls?” The tone of his voice sounded snide.

Irritated by his suggestion, Daniella moved to push herself up. Cruz was just provoking her. She didn't get far. He pulled her back down to the couch.

“What? What do you want, Cruz?” Her lower lip trembled. “Are you going to badger me over and over again until I say that I deleted your calls—that it's all my fault? Because I won't! Okay? You got that… because I don't know what happened! If you want to break up with me, just say it. I know you don’t want to be with me.” Her voice cracked on the last words, and she turned away from him before he'd see the tears tumbling down her cheeks.

Fumbling with her phone and scrolling through the phone log, Cruz paused and stared at the screen before scrolling again.

A heavy sigh escaped him. “No, Daniella. That was never my intention.” He placed his palms against her cheeks and gently tilted her face in his direction. His lips almost touching hers, he spoke softly but sternly. “Don't ever think that way. If I didn't want to be with you, I'd tell you. I can promise you that I have no intentions of giving up on us that easily, okay?”

She nodded.

“I see you've tried to call me too. Let's see if we can figure this out. Can we do that without getting angry?” Cruz dropped his hand to her thigh and gave it a little squeeze.

“Fine,” Daniella said.

A short time later, Cruz called her phone, then used her phone to call his home and then his cell number. All calls between them were automatically forwarded to some strange voicemail. The outgoing message wasn't even in English. 

“How the hell did this happen?” Cruz asked.

“I don't have any idea. I've never used the call forward function. Weird.” Daniella relaxed. Her insides were warm and tingly. Cruz hadn't avoided her. Their relationship stood a chance.

The warmth of Cruz's body pressing against her took Daniella out of her thoughts. She turned to greet his lips. His breath, warm and fragrant, puffed seductively against her ear, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She craved his kisses and melted into him. His taste, as their tongues swirled long and deep, was nothing less than delicious. Daniella wanted to dig her claws into him and draw him back when he broke the kiss.

There was something in the way he lowered his eyes and gave a little smile that assured her he was genuine. He stood and pulled her up.

  “I've got to go before I get too carried away.” He grabbed her hand and walked toward the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Daniella asked. She wasn't certain if they still had plans.

“So, we’re still on for tomorrow?” Cruz sounded hopeful.

“Jammerz. You still want to go? Great place. I have to work a short shift... well, not really work, but I promised the owner I would help prep one of the shows.”

“Falcon and Meg?”

“Yes, we invited Falcon and Meg.”
Yay. Another outing with Meg. Just lovely
.

“We’re on. I’ll pick you up at seven.” Cruz blew her a kiss and stepped out the door.

~~~

Sleep did not come easily Friday night... not when thoughts of the upcoming date reeled in Daniella’s head. It was worth the hell she went through all week.

It took all day to get ready. She had her nails done—French manicure, her favorite—hands and feet, of course. She stopped at Jammerz to drop off a few items. Though she showered in the morning, she jumped back in to make sure her legs were smooth, no stubbles allowed. She wore her favorite black laced panties and matching bra. A black miniskirt, but not too mini, just enough to look classy, with a black and red top—dressed to impress. Everything she did today, she did with Cruz in mind.

Cruz would pick her up shortly. She was nervous and excited. The anticipation—torture. She grabbed her purse and turned the handle—her plan to greet Cruz outside failed. There he was, about to rap on the door when she opened it.

Without further thought, Daniella threw her arms around him—so unlike her, but she did. He embraced her in a tight hug.

He didn’t say anything, but the rise and fall of his chest told her he was happy to see her.

When he finally pulled back, he let out a huge breath, cupped his hands over her cheeks and their eyes locked. “Damn. You look sexy. I could eat you up right now.” He gave a devious grin.

Daniella’s cheeks heated as they headed out the door. 

~~~

*Jammerz!*
The silver glitz dazzled at the entrance. Daniella’s stomach twisted. She was nervous as hell, but she had to stay calm. She kept reminding herself that she’d done this a million times, and tonight would be no different.

“Daniella!” Franzé, co-owner of
*Jammerz!*
, grabbed her hand and kissed it lightly. “You will be per—”

“FRANZÉ,” Daniella said, quick to interrupt. “These are my friends, Meg and Falcon.” She nodded. “And this is my date, Cruz.”

“Meg. Falcon.” He acknowledged. “Cruz. So nice to meet you.” Franzé shook his hand.

“And you too, Franzé?” Cruz’s brows arched. Franzé nodded.

“This is the first time they've been here. Don’t be giving away the show, Franzé.” Daniella gave him a warning—lips tight, eyes wide.

“Do enjoy the show... do enjoy.” Franzé waved them in.

Daniella had a certain table held for their group. There were other tables connected to theirs, but she wanted to be sure they could see the stage and the dance floor head on.