More Than a Mistress (Latin Men Book 5) Page 8

  Sonia lifted her eyebrows in surprise. “How can one man drive ten cars?”

  “He can’t, but like I told you before, I like to collect beautiful things.” He spoke without regret or defensiveness.

  “How many do you have here?”

  “I limit myself in the States and only keep four vehicles.”

  “Only four?” Sonia asked with an arched brow.

  “Yes, only,” he said, amusement filling his eyes. “My limo, the Maybach, a Porsche, and I recently purchased a Maserati.” He sliced an asparagus in half. “Your turn to share.”

  “I don’t have enough cars to fill a dealership. I don’t want to bore you.”

  “You won’t.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Tell me something about your career.”

  Sonia took a deep breath. “Well, I want to earn my certification as a sommelier. I earned an introductory certificate over a year ago, which means I have less than a year to take and pass the next-level exam, or I have to start over. Azul cut my hours, so I certainly have more time on my hands to study.” She spent a lot of time poring over industry materials that included a wine bible, The World Atlas of Wine, and The Ultimate Guide to Spirits and Cocktails.

  “How much longer before you’re ready?”

  One of the few people who showed more than a cursory interest in her studies was Jackie, who also helped her with her study drills. But Esteban appeared genuinely interested.

  “Soon, I hope.” The cost of the materials and the exam were all mitigating factors.

  Maybe it was the wine or just the quiet comfort of the house, but Sonia relaxed into an enjoyable conversation with Esteban as they finished the meal. When her plate was clean, she patted her stomach.

  “Thank you, that was delicious.” She drained the last of the wine from her glass and stood, reluctant to leave but not wanting to overstay her welcome.

  The legs of Esteban’s stool scraped the floor when he pushed it back. “Thank you for joining me.” He went over to the desk, opened the top drawer, and withdrew an envelope, the same as he’d done the first time.

  Sonia quietly took it. “Thank you. Good night.” She turned to leave.

  “What do you do when you go home at night, alone?”

  Esteban’s voice stopped her departure. He settled his butt on the edge of the desk and folded his arms, waiting for an answer.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s a shame that you sleep alone. I sleep alone. Maybe we should sleep together.”

  She laughed, heart racing. “Are you drunk?”

  “I’m quite sober. All night with my guests you were charming, funny, sweet. They like you. I like you. So why do you go home alone?”

  She hadn’t told him about Pedro, that the man whose résumé she’d handed him at the first party was her boyfriend. At the very least, he ensured she didn’t spend every night alone, though that hadn’t been the case for a while. They’d been drifting apart.

  “Thank you for this.” She held up the envelope and folded it, tucking it into the pocket of her jumpsuit. “I appreciate your generosity more than you know, but the extent of our conversation should center around business.”

  “There’s more than business between us, querida. You know that as well as I do. You pretend with me, but I’m no fool. If I kissed you right now, you would kiss me back.”

  Her heart rate quadrupled. “If you kissed me right now, I’d slap you.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.”

  The arrogant, smug way he dismissed her comment inflamed her anger. “Why do you sleep alone, Esteban?” she asked, throwing caution to the wind. “Other than the woman I saw you with after Arturo’s party, is there anyone in your life? Do you have a girlfriend?”

  “I don’t have girlfriends. I don’t need girlfriends.”

  “Of course you don’t. You have your cars and your big house and your private plane, which makes women flock to you, I’m sure. It doesn’t matter if you have a heart, because all that matters is the money.”

  “Having a heart is for weak fools. When you have a heart, it gets trampled on by selfish people who don’t give a damn about you and your heart. You want to know what matters, Sonia?” He pushed off from the desk and came closer, his dark eyes glittering down at her. “Money, querida, is what matters. You don’t want to hear that, but it’s the truth. Money is more important than heart. More important than love.”

  “I feel sorry for you.”

  “Really? Is that what you feel, when you look at me with those big brown eyes, as if you want to tear my clothes off? When you look at me and lick your lips, as if you want to lick my skin?”

  “I-I don’t do that.”

  He let out a dark chuckle, one filled with the raw hunger of a man who’d reached the edge of restraint. “I’d have to be blind not to see how much you want me, and I’ve been very patient, giving you time to get used to me, but tonight, you’ve tested me in this outfit. You’re not wearing a bra, and I can see your nipples pressing against the fabric. But you know that, don’t you? That’s why you wore it.”

  “That’s not true!” Sonia’s voice shook with the need to make him believe the lie. That she hadn’t worn this one-shouldered jumpsuit with him in mind. That she hadn’t considered how the royal-blue color looked against her skin, or spent much too much time making sure her face, hair, and makeup were perfect.

  “Business?” Esteban continued with a scoff. “You weaken what’s between us to business—what’s been between us from the beginning.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing between us, and I’m leaving.”

  His hand snaked out and caught her wrist. “Admit you feel the way that I do.”

  She twisted her arm, but he refused to release her. “You said you were hiring me to be a wine consultant. Nothing more.”

  “I lied.”

  He gently pulled her into his body and her skin came alive. Looking down into her face, he gave her ample time to resist. When she didn’t, his nostrils flared and his mouth crashed down over hers.

  Chapter 12

  Sonia had suspected Esteban would be a good kisser, but this—this kiss was bone-melting and hot. He took control of her mouth, and inside her head explosions and fireworks went off.

  A hand at the middle of her spine crushed her breasts into his hard chest, and she melted against him, wanting to disappear inside him. His other hand roamed her body in an exploratory fashion that made her tremble at the heat of his touch. He squeezed her breast, and she gasped when his thumb circled her nipple, and then he squeezed her breast again. All she could do was arch her back to fill more of his hand.

  She felt him everywhere, even places where they didn’t touch. Her fingers crept up his torso, past the thundering of his heart until her arms folded over each other behind his strong neck. She couldn’t stop kissing him. She drowned in pleasure as he kept her pinned to him with strong arms and firm lips.

  One of his hands eased downward and smoothed over the fleshy contours of her bottom. The intimate contact was unexpected but not unwanted. Moaning in the back of her throat, she shivered as the same hand contracted around her right buttock and squeezed.

  In the next instance she was pushed against the edge of the desk, the hard steel of his erection wedged at her crotch as he hoisted her knee up to his hip and settled between her thighs. Slanting his head, he drove his tongue between the seam of her lips and took charge of her mouth, lapping at the sensitive interior.

  His hips began a slow grind that matched the sultry music softly playing in the background. Trembling, Sonia lost control of her senses and tunneled her fingers into his soft hair, to keep his head and keep him firmly in place. She sucked on his lower lip and panted into his mouth with unchecked passion. Thirsty, hungry for more as her insides coiled tight and she joined him in a slow grind, with her leg still hoisted up, like a woman in heat.

  Esteban slid a hand into her short hair a
nd dragged a line down her neck with his lips. “This thing between us won’t go away. Spend the night with me,” he demanded huskily.

  His teeth scraped her skin, and Sonia gasped at the heated exploration of her neck and collarbone. He was merciless. How did he instinctively know how to touch and kiss her?

  “Sonia,” he breathed in her ear. Goodness, the way he said her name. Every word from his lips sounded so sexy with that Spanish accent. She would gladly listen to him read the ingredients on a box of cereal. “Say yes. Spend the night with me.”

  Her hands dropped to his shoulders with every intention of pushing him away, but her fingers fastened around the strength they encountered.

  “I can’t,” she said in a weak voice.

  “Why not?” he asked, his voice gravelly and hungry. The arm banded around her waist held her secure as he gazed down into her face. “I’ll give you anything. Name it.”

  “I don’t want anything from you, Esteban.” Sonia twisted her face away from him. “I can’t stay because…because I have a boyfriend.”

  He stopped breathing, and the air around them stilled. “What did you say?”

  “I have a boyfriend,” she said, even softer than before.

  His hands fell away. “A boyfriend?” Esteban stepped back. “The pastry maker?”

  “Yes.” Sonia nodded.

  Esteban ran a hand down his face. “Why didn’t you say something before?” he asked. When she didn’t reply, he answered his own question. “Because then I might not have hired you.”

  Her head tilted up. “I’m not wrong, am I?”

  “No, you’re not,” he admitted. He muttered a stream of Spanish, but she didn’t need a translator to know he’d cursed. His angry eyes settled on her. “Did he see the flowers I sent you?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “And what did he say?”

  “He didn’t like it. He doesn’t care too much for you.”

  “Because I appreciate his woman more than he does?”

  “He appreciates me.”

  “No, he doesn’t, or you wouldn’t be here. He allowed you to come here even though he didn’t like me sending you flowers—”

  “He doesn’t allow me to do anything. I’m my own person—”

  “What kind of man is that, hmm? I’m a jealous man, and I would never allow my woman to get dressed up and go to the house of another man, especially a man I’m jealous of. Or perhaps he doesn’t care because he wants you to do something for him.”

  She tried to move past him, but he stepped in front of her and blocked the entrance. “Get out of my way.”

  “I’ve upset you, but surely you see the truth that this man is not worthy of you.”

  “And you are?”

  “More worthy than he is. If you were mine—”

  “Yours? You own things, inanimate objects, Esteban. Paintings, wine, cars. Not people.”

  A semblance of a smile lifted the corner of his mouth, but there was no humor in the depths of his eyes. “You’re so angry, but who are you angry at? Me, or the pastry maker? When was the last time he took you out? Does he treat you the way a man should treat his woman?”

  “What I do in my personal life is none of your business. You and I have a business arrangement.” After tonight, she was certain that was at an end, if for no other reason than she couldn’t come back here. Not after such an explosive kiss, not after he’d made his desire for her so clearly known, and laid bare her desire for him.

  “I want more than a business arrangement with you.”

  “You can’t have it. Please let me by.”

  “Your boyfriend treats you like an errand girl, asking you to deliver his résumé to me. You don’t deserve that. You should be draped in diamonds and the finest clothes, taken to concerts and dinners around the world. Shown a good time. Shown off. Not sent to run errands.” His eyes dragged down the length of her body, and her skin prickled under the heat of his gaze. “But you’re right; you should leave now. Or I’m afraid we’ll be responsible for breaking the pastry maker’s heart.” With a cruel twist of his mouth, he stepped aside.

  Sonia rushed toward the door on legs as sturdy as overcooked noodles.

  He didn’t follow her like he’d done before. She stood uncertainly in the middle of the courtyard with the moonlight shining down and the Maybach parked nearby. She walked to it and pulled on the back door handle.

  Locked.

  Surely he wouldn’t leave her stranded? Sonia glanced back at the house, but the windows at the front door were all dark, and she couldn’t see inside the house to tell if Esteban was nearby or not. She didn’t even have her phone to call a car service for a lift.

  “Are you ready, Miss Kennedy?” She whirled around and saw Abel’s kind eyes looking back at her.

  “Yes,” she said, relieved.

  He opened the door and let her slide into the back. Sonia slumped in the seat, jittery and with her head pounding from a stress headache.

  Guilt and disappointment pressed down on her shoulders. Guilt because she spent time with Esteban, knowing full well that she was attracted to him while she had a man in her life. Tempting danger. Teasing her senses with the irresistibleness of his presence. Disappointment because of her lack of control when he kissed her.

  It was only a kiss, but earth-altering—as if a monumental shift had taken place inside of her. Her belly trembled and her nipple ached from when he touched her breast. Biting the corner of her mouth, she recalled the sensual tug of his lips, the gentle pressure of his teeth, and how perfectly she fit in his strong arms.

  A soft moan escaped her throat, and her eyes flicked to the front. Abel didn’t seem to hear, and if he did, he ignored the sound.

  Sonia rested her temple against the cool glass and closed her eyes.

  She needed the money, but at least now the achy hunger she experienced with Esteban might finally be over. Because she’d never see him again.

  Esteban sat out on the dark patio, legs stretched out before him in the pool chair. Smoke from a cigar swirled up into the night.

  After his guests had left, dinner had been a ruse to keep Sonia around longer. All night he’d barely been able to keep his hands to himself, aching to undo the clasp on her shoulder and pull down the front of her jumpsuit to find out what color those perfect little nipples were. Brown? Dark brown? He was dying to know the answer.

  He shook his head on a humorless laugh. A boyfriend.

  She’d never said a word, so he assumed she didn’t have one.

  Damn.

  Chapter 13

  No. Way.

  Standing inside the gate of her apartment building, Sonia stared in disbelief at the approaching couple across the street. Moments before, she’d walked home from Azul, but the sound of a woman’s loud laughter caused her to turn around out of sheer curiosity. She wouldn’t have seen them otherwise, she was so deep in thought about Esteban and their kiss a few days ago.

  Pedro was outside his building, hugged up with a giggling redhead wearing a short, tight skirt and stilettos. Apparently, he’d found a way to occupy himself while unemployed.

  As Sonia watched, the woman flung her arms around his neck, and he dipped her over his arm, fitting his mouth over hers in an amorous kiss. When they finally came up for air, Pedro slipped his arm around the young woman’s waist, and they sauntered toward his building.

  What the hell?

  Three nights ago she’d left Esteban feeling guilty about her enthusiastic response to his advances, and here was Pedro about to go upstairs with another woman. Inflamed with anger, Sonia charged across the street. The couple moved slowly because they were so busy groping and kissing each other.

  They didn’t hear or see her coming until she was right up on them, steps from the door of Pedro’s building. His eyes widened, and the redhead twisted her head to see what had caused his change in expression. Whatever she saw in Sonia’s face made her scramble behind Pedro for safety.

  “You son of a
b—”

  “Hold up!” Pedro grabbed her wrists before her hands could connect, and shoved her away. Sonia stumbled backward, losing a shoe in the process.

  She yanked off the other one and tossed them both at him. He deftly sidestepped the weapons, his face darkening, fists clenched at his sides.

  “I suspected you were cheating, but…how could you do this to me!” Sonia screamed.

  The redhead cowered near a bush at the door.

  He stared at Sonia with an arrogant set to his jaw. “What the hell do you want from me, Sonia? Huh? I’m a man. I have needs. And let’s be real, you weren’t satisfying them.”

  “Are you kidding me? Are you saying I was bad in bed?”

  “I’m saying you checked out of this relationship a long time ago. I’ve been doing this by myself, while you act like you’re doing me a favor by being with me. You’re fine and everything, but ain’t a man alive who wants to be with a woman who acts like he should be grateful she’s having sex with him.”

  “That’s bullshit! I have never treated you that way. You’re making excuses for your own disgusting behavior. I’ve been your supporter and your champion from the beginning. You’re the one who checked out. I’ve given you all of me.”

  He pointed at her. “See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You act like you’re better at relationships than I am. And then you act like when you fuck me, you’re doing me a favor.”

  Sonia’s mouth fell open. How could they have such divergent opinions of the same relationship? “You acted like you weren’t even interested in sex anymore.”

  “Nah, don’t put that on me. I wanted you, but the only time you were interested in sex was probably when you got tired of your toys.”

  “We haven’t had sex in months, because of you!” She jabbed a finger at him.

  “Me? Because of you! My needs haven’t changed. Yours did. Guess you thought you were too good for me, that I somehow fell short. And don’t deny it, because I see it in your face every time I try to have a real conversation with you about my dreams. You think I’m impatient because I didn’t want to wait my turn like you, right? You’re complacent, Sonia.”