Infiltrating Your Heart (37 page)

Once Mercedes recovers, she helps me
get her pants off the rest of the way. I move back up to her, kissing her mouth
again. She places her arms around me. I feel her hands start to play with my
hair.

“My turn, love,” Mercedes says. She
moves us so she is on top now. I look up at her. Naked, she just looks
smoldering.

Mercedes descends to lay kisses along
my torso. She nibbles on my chest, and then on my abs. The feeling’s a little
ticklish. I’m no coward, but I’d rather not let Mercedes discover my sensitive
spots so quickly.

After caressing the sides of my body,
Mercedes moves up again. Her lips kiss me along my chest. I close my eyes.
Having Mercedes’s mouth anywhere on me is like heaven.

Mercedes’s hands start to undo my
zipper. She then tugs down. I move to help her remove my trousers. When she
frees me completely, she smiles.

“I regret avoiding you,” Mercedes
tells me. She leans down to kiss me. After that, she moves on top of me. She
wastes no time before I’m inside her. As soon as I’m in all the way, Mercedes
starts to move up and down. I grab her hips, watching her from below. She
definitely looks like an angel. So lovely, so sexy.

Mercedes opens her eyes and looks
down at me. Her eyes are full of love, and lust. I reach up and caress the side
of her face. She leans down until her breasts hang above me. I lick one, and
she moves back up.

Mercedes ups the pace. She begins to
moan louder. I close my eyes, feeling myself build. I have to wait for her to
go over the edge before I follow.

In a minute, Mercedes shatters in
front of me. I love what I can do to her. Seconds later, I let myself go inside
her. I barely feel Mercedes lay down against my chest as she comes back from
her orgasm.

“I love you,” Mercedes tells me. I
caress her on the back, just between her shoulders.

“I love
you, too,” I say. Mercedes looks at me. I know then that we’re both certain of
what we feel. Mercedes beams at me. I pull her close for another kiss.

~*~
Mercedes

At night, I pull over near a
four-start restaurant half a block away. I get out of my car and start making
my way there. The night’s dark already, and there are hardly any people around.

I pull my smartphone from my purse
and check the time. It’s almost ten o’clock. My client said he was meeting me
somewhere outside the restaurant. I walk past the entrance, seeing that the
place is half full with people.

Even though it’s not cold, I find
myself shivering. I look down at my chest. Goose bumps appear over my skin. I
wonder why I’m chilly.

I turn around the corner and continue
walking. The entrance to an alley is about fifteen feet ahead.

Just after I walk past the alley, I
feel a hand closing against my mouth. My eyes widen in fear. A man has got hold
of me. His other hand comes around my waist.

“Easy, bitch. You gotta pay for what
you did to me the other night.”

Fear overcomes me, and I struggle. My
efforts are pointless. The guy is too strong.

The guy’s hand moves from my mouth. I
build air for a scream. Just before I can do that, I feel cold metal press
against my back.

“If you scream, I’ll make you suffer
worse.”

I freeze. The metal—a gun’s muzzle—is
pressed on my back, somewhere too close to my heart. I panic.

There’s a loud gunshot. Excruciating,
burning pain rips through my chest. I look down and see a large hole where my
heart should be. Then my vision turns dark, and I collapse to the ground.

I wake up with a start. Confused, I
touch my bare chest and see that the hole is not there. I’m disconcerted, until
I realize that I was dreaming.

Gosh. That felt so real.

A bead of sweat falls down the side
of my face, and I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand. Then strong arms
wrap around me. I flinch.

“Mercedes, it’s me. Are you okay?”
Gabriel’s soothing voice asks me. I look at him.

“Yeah, I—I’m fine,” I say. “I just
had a bad dream.”

“It’s okay, Mercedes. You’re here
with me now. No one’s going to hurt you.”

Gabriel kisses me on the cheek. I lie
back down.

“What time is it?”

Gabriel pauses for a moment.

“Four in the morning.”

“Oh.”

Gabriel lies back down with me,
spooning. His hand touches my arm.

“Will you be all right, angel?”

I take a moment to answer.

“Yeah. I just need a moment to calm
down.”

We don’t
say anything after that. Gabriel and I just lie there. I try not to think about
my nightmare. But when I close my eyes, I see the hole in my chest. It scares
me out of my wits, but I fight it. Eventually, I manage to fall back to sleep.

Days pass with undisturbed peace.
Gabriel and I continue our happy—and passionate—relationship. We love sex, so
we have it whenever we want. That’s saying something, because Gabriel is almost
always busy due to his new job.

As for me, I’m also busy. Apart from
attending my self-defense classes, I’m taking assignments sans sex. It’s just
to keep Angelica off my back. Also, I’ve been applying for marketing jobs. A
few of the places I applied to have called me back for a possible interview.

On Saturday afternoon, I drive my SUV
to a nice club near the beach. Nadine and Vanessa called me to meet them. I
pull up at the parking lot outside and step out of my car.

When I walk inside, I scan the tables
and see my friends on one that’s near the corner. I make my way to them. Nadine
waves when she sees me.

“Hi friends!” I greet when I reach them.
Both of them stand up. Nadine hugs me first after we kiss each other on the
cheeks. Then I turn to Vanessa and hug her, too.

“What have you two been up to
lately?” I ask when we sit down.

“Having fun,” Nadine replies. “I’m
spending most of my summer break at the beach. What do you think? After my new
workout regimen this year, I’m looking better than ever. Guys always give me a
second look now.”

“I’d sue them if they didn’t. You’re
beautiful, friend.”

“Yeah,” Vanessa agrees. “You both
have killer bodies. I think you might have been models in you past lives.”

Nadine and I laugh.

“You might have been one, too,” I say
to Vanessa. “You’re really beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“How have you been spending your
summer? Have you found a job yet?”

“No, but I’m still looking.”

Vanessa studies graphic design. She
would like to create stuff like movie posters.

Nadine turns to me.

“How are things between you and
Gabriel?”

I smile at the sound of his name. It
always happens when I think about him. I’ve never deliberately looked for love.
It just broke down my front door and took command of my life.

“They’re getting better every day. I
must say that I sidestepped a major minefield this week.”

Vanessa and Nadine raise their
eyebrows.

“What happened?” the latter asks.

“Gabriel nearly finds out that I’m an
escort.”

Nadine covers her mouth with her
hand.

“No. How did that happen?”

“Someone sent him photos of me and a
guy. I didn’t realize anyone was watching us.”

“Oh, shit. How did he take it?”

“He confronted me, and I had to tell
him that it was just a one-night stand I had before we met.”

“Did he swallow that?” Vanessa asks.

“Gabriel understood, eventually. He
told me that our dating history shouldn’t interfere with our relationship.”

“That’s nice,” Nadine says. “But it
was a close call. Who the heck sent those photos?”

“I have no idea,” I say. I haven’t
told my friends about the criminal who’s after me.

“Do you think it was Evelyn?”

“No. Gabriel said they broke up on
good terms. Evelyn seemed like a nice person when I met her. She wouldn’t spy
on me. Besides, whoever took the photos did it well before Evelyn even met me.”

There’s silence as the three of us
get lost in thought. I look down at the table, biting my lip.

“What’s wrong, Mercedes?” Vanessa
asks me. I look up to see her watching me with worry. I shrug.

“I’m just…distraught.”

“About what?” Nadine asks.

“I feel guilty.”

Nadine’s eyebrows furrow. She and
Vanessa look at each other, and then back at me.

“Guilty about what? Did you do
something?”

“I feel guilty about lying to
Gabriel. I never counted on falling in love with him. Now, the secrets I’m
keeping from him are nagging at me.”

“What exactly do you mean?” Nadine
asks. I take a deep breath, and look at her.

“I should tell Gabriel that I’m an
escort. Sooner or later, he’s going to find out. It won’t be as worse if the
truth comes from me.”

“Are you sure?” Vanessa asks me.

“Yes. I’ll have to do it eventually.
And while I’m at it, I might also tell him that my intention all along has been
to steal his heart.”

“You can’t do that!” Nadine says. “He
may get furious if he finds out. You’ll lose him forever.”

“It’s a risk I have to take. There
can be no secrets in a healthy relationship.”

Nadine looks at me with concern.
Vanessa speaks.

“Do you love him with all your
heart?”

I nod.

“More than I ever dreamed I could
love.”

Gabriel

Things with Mercedes are wonderful
over the next few days. I felt worried about our first fight, but then, it had
to happen sooner or later. All couples fight. I’m just glad we solved this one
quickly.

Today’s Wednesday, but not just any
Wednesday. It’s exactly one month to the day I first met Mercedes. As I sit in
my office, I marvel at how much has happened. One month doesn’t seem like such
a long time, but Mercedes and I have come a long way. If someone had told me
that in just a month, I’ll be dating the smoldering woman who bumped into me,
I’d have thought they were bonkers.

I’ll make sure to treat Mercedes like
a queen today. To that end, I gave her a special gift this morning. It is a
small box that I asked her not to open until after the end of her martial arts
class. She’s going to be thrilled when she finds out what I gave her.

I grab my smartphone and check the
time. My shift ends in a couple of hours. Mercedes must also be at the place I
sent her to. After a grueling workout, I couldn’t have given her a better gift.

The rest of my shift passes quickly.
As I walk into the workout area, I look at the customers working out on the
machines. As I look at those, I go through possible new color schemes in my
mind. Luke and I have been coming up with new ideas. The anniversary of the Silver
Crest gym will be this summer. We plan big (but not overwhelming) changes
to celebrate.

When my shift ends, I walk to my car.
It’s been a long day. I almost wish I’d gifted myself the same thing I gave to
Mercedes. Maybe another day, together.

I told Mercedes to come to my place
after I get out of work, so I’m not surprised to see her new black Lexus in the
parking lot.

I don’t have to knock on the door to
my apartment when I get there. I gave Mercedes a copy of my key this week. Who
knew? I’m so close to my girlfriend, so quickly, that I’ve already given her
access to my place.

Mercedes is on the couch when I
enter. She’s spent the time watching TV. I put my blazer on the hanger next to
the door and look at her. Mercedes has noticed me and she looks jubilant.
That’s the first thing I notice. The next second, I realize she’s wrapped in a
towel. She’s most likely naked underneath. I gape.

“You look sexy,” I tell Mercedes,
walking toward her. She stands up.