Infiltrating Your Heart (18 page)

“Okay. You got here first, so you get
to keep your clothes on.”

“What?” Gabriel asks. I take off my
life vest. After draping it across the front of my Jet Ski, I take off my
bikini top. Gabriel’s eyes drift to my chest. His mouth opens in awe. I feel
pride course through me.

As Gabriel watches, I get on the
water and swim toward him. Without warning, I grab his arm and yank. He crashes
into the water next to me.

“Feisty girl,” Gabriel says when he
comes up for air. I plant a kiss on his lips.

“Let’s have some fun,” I say. I
remove Gabriel’s life vest. I run my arms down the hard muscles of his torso.
He looks at me with desire.

“You’re smoldering,” Gabriel says,
grabbing me by the waist. He hoists me onto his Jet Ski. I watch as Gabriel
smiles up at me. Then his fingers play with the fabric of my bikini bottom. I
feel his index finger stroke the wet folds between my legs. I gasp. Before I
know what’s happening, Gabriel’s head lowers. I close my eyes.

“Ah!” I moan. Gabriel’s tongue
expertly flicks at my tender spot. The exquisite sensation starts to build. I
open my eyes wide.

It is dark. Confused, I lean upward.
I’m back in my own bed. Disappointed, I lie back down. God, the dream felt so
real. I wish it
had
been.

It could soon be.

My hand reaches down of its own
accord. I sleep nude (for the most part), so I just have to tug my panties
down. Then I am touching myself there. I’m so wet that the dream might as well
have been real. I remember Gabriel’s touch as if it had truly happened seconds
ago.

Within moments, I make myself shatter
into pieces. I close my eyes, resting for a bit. Even though I’m naked, I can
feel a faint sheen of sweat on my body. I turn my head to look at the wall
clock and see it’s a quarter past seven.

Deciding I might as well wake up, I
rise from bed. I don’t bother putting any clothes on before I walk to the
bathroom.

Once I’m ready to go, I grab my purse
and head out. I’ve got plenty of stuff to do today. Gabriel can’t find out I’m
an escort, so I’ll go look for a job after school. I’ll try to be a waitress,
or at least a bartender. I have to be what he thinks I am.

The hairs on the back of my neck
stand up as I open my car’s door. Wary, I look around. It’s still pretty early,
so there’s no one around. Plus, I’m in a garage. I get into my car, frowning.

As I have plenty of time before
classes, I head in a different direction than usual. The curiosity has just
gotten to me. After looking up the Carroll’s business on my phone, I follow the
directions there. If I’m competing against the princess of San Francisco, I’ve
got to know what I’m up against.

Carroll Cruises & Resort is in
Bayview, at the southeast of the city. It’s a large, white and azure blue
building. It’s got plenty of tall glass windows. The entrance is all glass and
metal, complete with revolving doors. A rush of cool air greets me as I enter.
I shiver involuntarily.

I look around once I’m inside. The
interior looks inviting. The walls are the same blue shade as outside, but
there are metal accents that lend a corporate look. The floor is white marble
tile with faint gray spots.

A receptionist behind an
aluminum-topped black counter greets me.

“May I help you, miss?”

I turn to the sound of the voice. A
black-haired woman who appears to be in her late twenties smiles at me. She’s
wearing a blazer in the company’s blue shade of choice.

“Yes,” I say, walking up to the
counter. “Are any cruises to the Bahamas available?”

The receptionist checks the computer
next to her. After a few seconds, she nods.

“There’s a cruise set to get there in
three weeks. Are you signing up?”

“Not now. Do you have any brochures?
I’d like to see your cruise ships.”

The woman reaches to a part of the
counter that customers can’t see. She then reaches up and hands me a few
brochures.

“Our fleet of cruise ships ranges
from medium in size to large. Prices vary depending on the ship and the
location where it’s headed.”

“What’s the starting point?”

The woman types on her computer
again.

“For seven days in a baseline cruise
to the Bahamas this season, the cost ranges from fifteen to eighteen hundred.
It depends on the luxury of the suite that you want to stay in.”

I try not to look shocked. If that
price is ‘baseline’, I can only imagine how much their most luxurious cruise
package costs. I could afford up to a middle-of-the-table cruise, but that’s
money better spent on other stuff.

“Are pets allowed?” I ask.

“We do have pet-friendly suites.”

I nod.

“All right. Thanks.”

“Have a great day, miss,” the
receptionist says. I turn and look around again. Just then, I spot a woman
walking quickly toward the reception counter. She’s carrying a manila folder.
The woman’s wearing the company’s turquoise blazer, but her clothes underneath
look more expensive. The crisp white blouse, sleek black skirt and short heels
don’t look like standard attire for low-tier employees here.

The lady hands my receptionist the
manila folder. She nods, and then walks in my direction.

“Has someone attended you, miss?”

“Yes,” I say, smiling. I then look
down at the lady’s ID badge. It says E. CARROLL. My eyes widen slightly. I hold
up the brochures, trying not to look awkward.

“If you need anything, just ask any
of us,” says Ms. Carroll, her smile bright. “Enjoy our cruises.”

With that, she walks back from where
she came. I turn to the entrance, letting out a breath I didn’t know I’ve been
holding.

I’ve
just met my adversary. Unless there’s another Carroll woman whose name begins
with ‘E’, that lady is Evelyn Carroll. And damn. She’s beautiful.

~*~
Gabriel

I head to lunch as soon as I’m
done at the gym. My first swimming class of the year started today. Also, it's
likely that I'll get promoted. Luke will hire someone to replace me. There’s quite a
lot of work now that the gym is to open new locations. Right now, there are
two: one at the north of the city and the other at the south. I work at the
first of those.

As I wait for my food at the table, I
switch my tablet computer on. Then I go over the photos of the three houses
that Evelyn and I liked best. They’re all wonderful, but we need to decide on
one. Whichever we choose, we can still make modifications to better suit our
tastes.

Looking at the houses, I remember two
things. One is Mercedes. The other is the ring for Evelyn that I haven’t yet
picked up. I know that I’m just prolonging the inevitable. I’ll collect the
ring eventually and propose to Evelyn. No matter how gorgeous Mercedes is, I
would never pick her over my girlfriend of three years.

I must admit I’m fucking torn over
those two. I never thought I’d be in such a situation. Mercedes is getting
under my skin, too quickly for my liking.

My food arrives, and I dive right in.
I hope eating will keep my thoughts from straying. Unfortunately, I can’t help
but keep thinking about Mercedes. I think she’s the kind of woman I would want
to keep for the long run, not just for brief trysts.

When I’ve eaten more than half my
food, I hear my smartphone’s ring. After cleaning my hands with a napkin, I
pull the phone from my pocket. Without looking at the caller ID, I answer.

“This is Gabriel O’Hara.”

There’s a couple seconds of pause.

“Gabriel. It’s me.”

It’s that voice. The one that I can’t
help but like too much. I wince.

“Mercedes? What’s up?”

“Are you busy right now?”

“Um, no. I’m on my break.”

“Good. I need your help.”

“What do you need?”

“Could you pick me up? I’m stuck at
school. My car’s got flat tires. I’ve called my friend, but she’s unable to
give me a ride.”

I purse my lips. That doesn’t sound
good. I wonder if some jerk from the school pulled a prank on Mercedes.

“Sure, just wait up. Where are you?”

“I’m at the Academy of Art
University. Do you know where it is?”

“Yeah.” Mercedes gives me her
specific location. I make note of it in my mind. “I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, Gabriel. I owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it. See you,” I say,
hanging up. I throw my disposable food plate in the trash and exit the
restaurant.

I’ve lived my entire life in San
Francisco, but I’ve never been to the Academy of Art. Mercedes said she would
be waiting for me at a place called Café Madeleine. I haven’t heard of it
either.

I find the café. Mercedes is sitting
on one of the outdoor tables. There are two coffee cups in front of her on the
table.

“Hi,” I say, lowering my window so
Mercedes can hear me. I park in front of the café and switch on the hazard
lights. Mercedes stands up. She walks around to the passenger side, being
mindful of the cars driving past us. I open the door for her, and she enters.

“Thank you,” Mercedes says, closing
the door. “I thought you’d like one of these. I didn’t know your tastes, so I
guessed as best as I could.”

“You didn’t have to,” I say, taking
the coffee from her. It’s still warm. I take a sip. It’s not far from how I
like my coffee. “Thanks. Where’s your car?”

“Not far from here. As you probably
saw, it’s hard to find parking around this area.”

I put my coffee on the cup holder in
front of the gear shift. Then I put the car into drive and wait for a chance to
get back into traffic.

“You told me you have flat tires?” I
ask.

“Not just flat. Someone slashed them.”

I look at Mercedes with concern. The
expression on her face mirrors mine.

“Which ones?”

“Both of the back tires.”

“That’s odd. Along the way, I was
wondering if some douche thought it’d be fun to play a prank on you. Two slashed
tires sound intentional.”

“If a person did it, I have no idea
who it could have been. I haven’t got a grudge with anyone.”

“Was something taken from your car?”

“No, it was just the tires. Although,
I did spot a mean-looking guy watching me. That was after I called my friend.
She was in class, taking a test.”

“Did you say someone was watching
you?”

“Yes. I walked around to see if he
would follow me. I evaded him, and then made my way to the café.”

“Are you sure he didn’t follow you?”

“I’m sure, Gabriel. I was outside for
around five minutes before you showed up.”

“Good. You didn’t recognize this man,
did you?”

“I’ve never seen him before.”

That was odd. Was the dude after
Mercedes, specifically, or was he just looking for someone to mug? An upset,
tired-looking young woman would certainly look like easy prey for such
bastards.

“I’ll have someone look at your car.”

“You don’t have to,” Mercedes says.

“Let me. I want to help you.”

Mercedes looks into my eyes, and then
at my lips. She looks beautiful, even when scared. Mercedes faces forward and
nods once.

“Where do you live?”

Mercedes

Soon enough, Gabriel and I reach my
father’s house. All the way, I’ve been going over the incident in my head. I wonder
if Gabriel’s right. Was the slashing of my tires intentional? If so, why? As far as
I know, I didn’t displease any of my clients enough for them to vandalize my car.
I’ve got an effing five-star rating! Maybe it was one of the escorts. I could have
made a girl jealous.

Only, it was a man who was watching
me back there, not a woman. This is so confusing.

After stopping outside my father’s
house, Gabriel walks around and opens my door. I step out.