Seducing Her Rival (9 page)

Which she did.

Which only meant it was about to become a very, very long day at the beach.

…

Lucas gave Mercedes some space until their scheduled meeting to work on the fund-raiser after the ship set sail from Haiti. Their time at Malfini had been both strange and enlightening. He got her to open up about her friends and family. And she talked about Better Todays and her planned playground at length, pointedly avoiding any specific menti
on of the property. But the couple times he’d poked at her teenage years, she’d managed to change the subject so smoothly that he hadn’t noticed until later when he tried to take stock of what he’d learned.

With the way she’d half fallen asleep on his shoulder on their way back to the ship, he’d immediately dropped her at her room when she’d begged off due to exhaustion. It gave him time to think anyway, not that the opportunity had done much good. Even with everything he’d learned he felt more in the dark than ever.

On the way downstairs, his phone rang. Donovan. Again. “I’m on vacation. This better be important.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Bellamy, but Jerrod Sullivan just called. He got wind of another bidder coming in on the property. They are looking to actually use it for warehousing, but according to Sullivan trouble follows this company everywhere. We have some time, but not much, before the sellers cave.”

“Shit.” This was exactly what he’d been worried about. The land was too good of a deal for the location—the vultures had to start circling sooner or later. And knowing Jerrod, he wouldn’t have called unless he’d heard really awful things about the new buyers. The last thing Lucas wanted was a parasite moving in. “All right. Put a little pressure—discreetly—on the zoning board. They’re going to okay the land use; we know that. We just need to speed up the process a little.”

“Consider it done.”

Lucas hung up and rubbed at his temples. Mercedes wasn’t going to like this. Not one bit. He’d figured she didn’t have the money before. Now? Every passing day meant someone else was going to try to sink their claws into Queens. He blew out self-doubt with his next exhale. If Better Todays could have afforded the land, it would have been theirs already. Rosie’s school was a much better option than some dodgy warehouse going in—even Mercedes would understand that. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin her vacation though, especially since it sounded like she didn’t get many of them. He’d tell her after. Fly her back to New York on his jet and explain everything.

He should have been elated, but the entire ordeal left him exhausted, and he was sure it was visible as he stepped into the corridor.

Mercedes, on the other hand, looked completely cool as she leaned against the wall of the stairwell, waiting on him.

“Feeling better?”

“Much.” She rose on tiptoes to peck him on the lips.

As much as he would have loved to deepen the kiss, they had an appointment. He waved her down the corridor to where they were supposed to meet the cruise director. “You know if you’re trying to avoid me—”

Her shorts hugged her hips and thighs and he found it almost impossible to tear his gaze away as she walked. If he wasn’t careful, her curves would distract him from everything else. “Don’t be silly. I needed a nap. As I recall, I said I could snuggle with you for a couple hours.”

“And we both know that wouldn’t have ended with you sleeping.” As it was she still had dark circles under her eyes. What a pair they made.

“There are worse fates.”

“Yeah, but if you die from sex-induced exhaustion, who’s going to keep me honest and make me pay up on the money and time I owe you?”

“What happened to paying all your debts?” Something like challenge glittered in her eyes. “Or is charity only something you do when there are witnesses?”

“Charity, like many things, is often better done where no one else can see.” He was going to tell her about his work in Africa and India. About the hospital. About the damn school…but things felt like they were taking a serious turn he didn’t want. Playful and light was safer territory.

Playful and light kept the guarded look out of her eyes.

“Like the—”

“Suzette!” she exclaimed, cutting him off. “Thanks for helping us out.”

Lucas pushed away from the wall and nodded at the approaching cruise director. Once they were inside the storeroom, the women chatted for a few minutes, and he watched Mercedes.

She drove him insane with her snappy comebacks to everything he said. Rosie would have had a field day with this entire thing, and the thought made him smile. Even with her secrets, he couldn’t help wanting Mercedes, and not just for her body. The fire in her eyes when she talked about her work and changing the world…he wanted
that
to keep him warm.

Suzette turned back toward the door. “I’m sorry I can’t help you hunt through this stuff, but duty calls. I’ll be back in an hour. If you find something that will work for a theme, leave a list of what you want done. If not, I should be able to stick around for a little while then to dig through more boxes.”

“Perfect. Thank you.” Mercedes closed the door behind her, sealing them into the room, and turned to Lucas. “Ready to get your hands dirty?”

Yes, but not in the way she meant. He didn’t avoid manual labor, but with her dirty had so many more appealing meanings. For now, though, he needed to ease her into trusting him more.

Because whether he liked it or not, she was starting to earn his trust. The imbalance made for a precarious situation.

He just needed to get her into a position where she’d let her guard down long enough for him to sneak through her defenses. And that wouldn’t be here. “Sure thing. Let’s figure this out so we can get to dinner on time.”

For the next half hour, they proceeded to rummage through boxes and discard one decoration and fund-raiser theme idea after the other. Then they reached into a box together and drew out the strangest centerpiece he’d ever seen. A bent fork, a rusty mirror, and a broken hourglass spilling glued sand onto fake seaweed. Lucas frowned at it.

“Thingamabobs,” Mercedes said with a smile in her voice. “It’s perfect.” She passed the piece to him and proceeded to dig deeper into the box.

“Okay…”

She pulled out more centerpieces, each one different but equally ridiculous. “Someone probably used them for a wedding on board…” Glancing up, she must have caught his strange expression. “Let me guess, your exposure to fairy tales came at the ballet rather than the movies.”

“No. Mine mostly came from books…when I was four.”

With a smile that lit up the corner of the dark storage room, she proceeded to tell him all about
The Little Mermaid
and her collection of human things. “It’s a take we can spin for the charity, and I’m sure since it’s a sea-based story that there’s got to be more stuff in here somewhere that Suzette will be able to find long before we can.”

He would have likely chosen something a bit less whimsical, but the obvious joy on Mercedes’s face grabbed onto him. If she wanted mermaids and thingamabobs, who was he to argue? “It sounds perfect.”

She practically danced over to the notepad. While she scribbled, he repacked the box, looking for a way in with her now that the planning stages for the fund-raiser were reaching an end. He still hadn’t figured her out and it was driving him crazy. No matter how good the sex had been, what if she decided she was through with him now that he’d helped as promised? He’d be left with the mystery and no way to figure it out. Unacceptable.

When she finished, Mercedes placed her hands on her back and stretched. “I think I’m going to hit the spa and see if I can get a massage. I’ll let you know what Suzette needs us to do next.” She yanked open the door, putting the note on top of the box he set next to it.

“Will I see you tonight?”

“Depends. Do you want to see me tonight?” She smirked at him, and he debated yanking her back in the storage room and taking her on the floor. “I kind of need to know so I don’t make other plans.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “If your social calendar’s that full, maybe we should play it by ear. But unless it involves a specific time and place, no more notes under the door.”

“Fair enough. I’m sure I can find you at dinner if nothing else.” Another chaste peck on the lips after she eased the supply room door closed.

What the hell had happened during her nap? “Perfect. Just in case, have fun in Jamaica tomorrow.”

“You too. Just in case.” She winked at him and sauntered down the corridor, her hips swaying to a rhythm he wanted to hear.

Damn it. He wasn’t this guy, waiting around for a woman to make up her mind. If he wanted something, he took it. It was high time he made sure Mercedes knew he wasn’t just an option.

Chapter Eight

Best. Decision. Ever.

After leaving Lucas, Mercedes had made a massage appointment for the next night, then rushed to the FlowRider, hoping like hell to distract herself with some last-minute lessons. Turned out her instructor, Enrique, came from the same town as her
abuela
and they bonded quickly enough that he squeezed in an extra slot just for her.

“If anyone asks, you were late. Oka
y? I don’t want
to get fired.”

“Promise. Just give me something to do so I can forget the rest of my life.”

That got a raised eyebrow and some flirty conversation as he taught her how to balance on the boogie board and work the waves. “So when will you be visiting Mexico next?”

“In two days.” She winked at him and climbed on the long board. Cheers erupted from the people waiting in line. She’d graduated from lessons to riding the FlowRider waves for real about fifteen minutes earlier, and this would be her last run before leaving to change for dinner. Enrique had convinced her to advance to the surfboard.

“Aren’t you a smart one?” He held her waist, his hands warm and slippery wet. “I meant when should I try for some vacation time so I can take you to dinner?”

Why did he have to be good-looking and nice? Normally she never had any problems letting guys down gently, but this time… Did she have to explain that his touch would have to burn her now in order for her to remember it? That cute and sweet weren’t enough, especially when it was his job to be nice? That as much as she hated to admit it, as soon as this became more than completely innocent flirtation, her first thought was of Lucas?

No. She didn’t have to explain any of that. As soon as she pulled her head out of her ass for a second, she remembered this was a game, too. Nothing more than some friendly flirtation between a crewman and a passenger. Unless she really wanted Enrique to stay in contact, he’d forget her as soon as she was off the boat, if not sooner. This didn’t require truth, just playing along.

“Leave me your e-mail and I’ll let you know.” She solidified the promise with a grin and Enrique let go of her.

Water sprayed in her face, building the illusion that she was surfing for real, that she was free on the actual ocean instead of a carefully controlled simulator. She leaned to the left, moving the board to stay on the wave like Enrique had taught her. Talking to him might have made her think about Lucas, but on the board she could almost forget her past, outrun her demons, and remember she was on a damned vacation.

As if on cue, her current personal demon stepped into the FlowRider line and her carefully balanced body shifted ever so slightly, tilting the board a smidge too far. She toppled into the water, bouncing on the surface.

Even though she wasn’t hurt, it was a hard wipeout. Pushing to her feet, she glared at Lucas as the people watching applauded and whistled. Lucas, on the other hand, just arched his brow and motioned toward his chest.

Like she was going to go to him now? Not while she was standing on her own two feet and proximity to him sent her over the edge of sanity. She’d deal with him soon enough. For the moment, all she’d wanted was a little distance to…

“Uh…Mercedes,” Enrique said, snagging her attention. His face was stained crimson when she turned to him. “Your suit.”

Mercedes glanced down to find her oh-so-perfect bikini top twisted to the side, one breast on full display. Heat rose in her cheeks as she jerked it back into position and strode out of the water with what little remained of her dignity.

She lost that last shred when Lucas stepped up next to her while she was tugging on her shorts and said, “So I guess I can’t use the tiny birthmark on your boob as proof that we had sex. Not when”— he glanced at the people in line— “twenty other people have just seen the same thing. Pity that.”

God, she wanted to crawl into a hole.

Did he have to make this moment worse with jokes?

At least playing that game might get her past her embarrassment.

“If my birthmark was the thing you noticed most while we were having sex, I’m not even sure what to say.” She shoved her feet in her sneakers and prayed for a quick escape route.

Instead Lucas spun her around

“Believe me, I have a very good memory of every inch of you. As for what to say, how about, ‘You owe a grand to some charity in Queens, so let me give you the correct contact info so you can transfer funds.’” He stood so close to her his words were more like breath blowing over her skin than sound, and she shivered from the contact.

“Now?” It seemed an odd time, especially if he wanted to see her later.

“Yeah. I’d prefer to do it before you decide to hang out with Mr. Washboard Abs back there instead of me tonight.”

Without thinking, Mercedes shot a glance over her shoulder. “Enrique?”

“Going to have to guess so since I’m not on a first-name basis with him.”

Mercedes blinked. Lucas was…jealous? This wasn’t fake jealousy either. The flicker of anger in his eyes as he looked past her and the tightness in his voice were impossible to mistake. Her heart started to race. It was working! The ridiculous plan was working! If only she knew how best to play it from here.

Straight. Definitely straight.

“Jealousy looks good on you.”

“I’m not jealous.”

She snorted a laugh. “
Amado
, if you were a chameleon, your skin would be bright green. I could stand here and tell you that even though he was a lovely instructor there is nothing going on, but I don’t think you’d believe me. So what can I do other than admire how the emotion hardens the lines on your face and makes fire light up your eyes?”

“You are such a sweet-talker sometimes.” He drew her in closer, pressing the length of her body against his. “You can do one other thing for me.”

“Other than give you another of Better Today’s business cards? Because that had all the information you need on it, including mine and Kelsey’s phone numbers.” As much as she shouldn’t, she sincerely hoped his request involved going back to his room and getting naked. “So, what else is there?”

“Really this would be for me and…what was the kid’s name you mentioned? Mario?” He jerked his head to the left.

She felt the blood drain from her face. “Marco.”

“That was it. So, Marco and I want you to take a ride on the zip-line. Same deal. You do it without chickening out, and I’ll double the donation to Better Todays. Do that and I’ll believe you about Enrique.”

She’d forgotten about the stupid zip-line in the whirlwind of her fund-raiser planning and Lucas seducing, but now that she was forced to see it, she had little choice. She’d promised. And better to get extra money out of it than do it for nothing. Still, her feet wouldn’t move. “Why? Why the rock wall? Why
this
of all things?”

“The rock wall because you were already there, and I just wanted to chase your ass up it. Well that and I wanted my kiss and answers. This…” His eye twitched when he glanced at the zip-line and he swallowed hard like it was
his
phobia in play. “This because you strike me as a person who faces her fears head-on. I need more of that in my life.”

“For today.”

“Definitely for today. Maybe tomorrow, too.” Lucas leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear. “I’ll also offer to buy drinks if you do it. We can dine in tonight and everything. Room service is optional considering what I want to eat isn’t on the menu.”

With thoughts of his tongue doing magical things again, Mercedes’s feet remembered how to move and she found herself at the gate for the zip-line. She was buckled in and strapped to the line with a little-bitty carabiner that she really didn’t trust to hold her weight when Lucas’s hands were on her, his voice whispering in her ear. “I’ll see you on the other side, and for God’s sake, keep your eyes open.”

They snapped wide at his words. Damn it, had he caught her losing herself to his voice? Promises of oral sex or not, she needed to keep her wits about her. With a mental “fuck you” to Lucas Bellamy and every other man who’d messed with her head, she pushed off from the edge.

Before her feet had cleared the deck, she wanted to go back. She couldn’t grip the overhead bar tight enough, and her hands were starting to get slippery with sweat. She’d always thought zip-lines were supposed to be fast, but this wasn’t. She could see
everything
. The boardwalk was seventy or eighty feet below, and if that little hook broke… Dear God, what was she doing up here? People weren’t meant to fly. They had feet not wings! This was unnatural and terrifying and…

And then it was over. She hit the platform, her legs trembling beneath her. Then the carabiner was off and she buckled. Thankfully, the crewman was ready for it and caught her before she hurt herself. He lowered her to the deck and gently removed her helmet before releasing the mechanism to be pulled back to the other end.

“Just breathe, miss. You made it.”

But she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Her heart still pounded so hard she could hear it in her head, feel the blood pulsing in her ears. But she
had
made it. With Lucas there urging her on, she’d done something absolutely terrifying—something she probably would have avoided all week and felt guilty about not doing for Marco later.

She was still shaking when strong arms wrapped around her. “You did it, Mercedes! I’m so proud of you.”

She sagged against his embrace, hating herself for how good it felt to be there. “Yay. Go me.”

He unbuckled her harness then helped her to her feet. “I don’t know if it’s the money for the charity or this Marco character, but you obviously care.”

“I care more than any sane person.” She glanced back at the zip-line and shuddered. Never again.

“I disagree.” He brushed her hair back and kissed her forehead, his lips lingering.

The move was so sweet yet possessive that she wished it was real. Wished it
could
be real. “About what? My sanity?”

“The attitude in your voice. Sane people only do so much for people they love. It’s the ones like you and me who change the world because we’re just crazy enough to do whatever it takes.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, his lips lingering as he murmured, “And you just proved to me, for a second time since I met you, that maybe facing your fears isn’t a fate worse than death. It might be enough to make me believe it someday.”

Impossible. The man made it impossible to hate him when he talked like that. She wanted to come clean about everything, lay it all on the table and see where things fell. It didn’t matter if she’d walk away with a broken heart.

When she opened her mouth though, she thought of the kids. Specifically, she thought of Marco and that night in the park that changed both their lives and that unshakable, overwhelming guilt washed over her as a fist closed on her heart.

How could she even be entertaining something with Lucas when he was still on the opposite side of the land deal—a deal that she knew Better Todays had no chance in hell of outbidding him for?

She’d hate herself no matter what. Either for not doing everything in her power to make something good come out of what she’d done to Marco. Or for using Lucas. The question was only which path would lead to the most self-loathing in the end.

It wasn’t a very hard question.

He was right. She would do whatever it took. So when she opened her mouth, the words that came out were, “So…about those drinks…”

…

Something had changed. Right after the zip-line, Lucas had been sure tonight was the time when he’d be able to get Mercedes to open up. When he’d finally get to piece together the damn puzzle she represented. Once he understood what made her tick, he’d be able to walk away. That was all it would take.

Then she froze up.

Actually frozen was the wrong description for what happened. She wasn’t cold, just…harder. On the way to his room, they still bantered and jok
ed, but the little peeks into her depths had disappeared. Then he shut the door to his suite behind them, and he didn’t have time to get a word out before she tore his shirt over his head.

“What happened to drinks?”

“I’m not thirsty, Lucas. I’m hungry. Aren’t you hungry?” She nipped at his collarbone.

Yes, damn it. He wanted her, and his dick was more than happy to make sure she knew just how much. But… “I wanted to talk to you.”

“You can talk to me after you make me scream your name so loudly that everyone on this side of the ship knows it.” Her nails raked down his back, sending shivers of longing in their wake and making conscious thoughts evaporate.

Talking would be better after he wasn’t distracted by thoughts of sex and her wet, naked body beneath his. He tore at the button on her shorts and yanked them down as soon as it came free.

“
Sí
. That’s more like it,
amado.
” She didn’t even wait for him, shoving her bikini bottoms down over her hips as he drew off her shoes.

His hands skated over her skin, reveling in its silkiness until he reached the folds between her legs. With every touch, he got harder and harder. Damn her for being this delectable. As soon as the thought entered his mind, the only thing he could think about was tasting her. He grazed his thumb over her clit and watched her tremble.

Like this, her hardness from earlier had practically disappeared and he caught a glimpse of the real Mercedes again.

A gift just for him.

In this moment, she revealed herself, hiding nothing. Soon, he’d convince her it was okay to do it all the time and not just with sex. For now though, he’d take this.

Lucas stood and wrapped his hands around her waist, lifting her onto the edge of the bar. Stepping forward, he spread her legs with his body and tugged her hips toward him until she was opened to him fully. He drank in every inch of her skin. Perfection. Right here in front of him.

The barstool clattered against the tile as he hooked an ankle around the rung and drew it over. Once he sat down, he reached over Mercedes’s thighs and pinned her wrists to the top of the bar. “Stay right there.”