Lonely Heart (20 page)

What would happen once our desires were fulfilled?

It wasn’t just me anymore. There was Chloe to think about. Regardless of my happiness, she needed stability. Antonio cared for her, but she wasn’t his responsibility.

What if things ended between us? He wouldn’t just be walking away from me. God, now I was overthinking the matter. It wasn’t like Chloe would remember him if he did; she’s just a baby.

“What’s wrong?” Antonio’s brow creased as he held my shaky hands.

I realized I’d undone the buttons of his shirt, but it was still on his shoulders. “I’m just…oh God…” Was I about to screw things up?

“Talk to me, what’s wrong?” He cupped my face in his hands, lifting my eyes to his. A tear fell. He wiped it with his thumb.

“What if you don’t want me after this?” I closed my eyes, not wanting to see his irritation. I was naked in his foyer and he had a raging hard on. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, I questioned everything. What was wrong with me?

“Mi vida, look at me,” His voice was gentle. “Te amo, Kaity… I love you, I’m not going anywhere.”

I searched his face for the lie. His eyes held nothing but honesty.

“You love me?” I stammered while another unwanted tear fell.

“Sí, I fell in love a long time ago. You just weren’t ready to know it.” He kissed me. “Let me show you how I feel…” He kissed me, reached into his back pocket, and took a condom out of his wallet. “I came prepared this time. There’s a box in my bedroom. I plan on making the most of our time together. ”

A laughed escaped as I wiped my eyes.

He stuck it between his teeth, removed the rest of his clothing, then ripped the foil open.

My heavy lidded gaze followed his hands as he slipped it on. “Holy cow…” I’d never seen a more gorgeous specimen of the male anatomy. Was that even possible?

“Like what you see?”

I nodded, not wanting my original thought to slip out. “Never thought I’d see one again.” Mental head slap. As if that was any better.

Antonio stepped forward, pulled my hands around his neck. “You’re going to do more than see it…”

The next thing I knew, he palmed my ass and lifted me off the ground. Then he was inside. I think we both gasped, though mine was more of a long, loud moan of appreciation. Damn, he felt good.

“Hold on,” he grunted.

My back pressed against the wall, I wrapped my legs around his waist and tightened my grip on his neck. After a few slow slides, Antonio found his rhythm, raised me higher and slammed me down at the same time he thrust up.

“Oh shit!” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“You like that? Want more?” he panted.

Was he kidding? “For the love of God, don’t stop!”

Antonio aimed to please. My head hit the wall as I bucked; clenching every muscle, holding him tight inside of me. A hot trail of mouth and tongue grazed the skin of my neck and top of my breasts.

Sex standing up was new for me; trying to match his movements impossible. I gave up and hung on, enjoyed everything he gave, vowing to give it back to him the moment I could.

“Hold on…” His movements ceased as he adjusted his hold.

The wall no longer behind my back, I gasped at the sensation of him moving inside me as he carried me further into his apartment.

My butt hit a smooth surface in the dark. I let go of Antonio with one hand and felt a long, hard, flat surface beneath me. A table?

“Lay back, I’ve got you.”

The cool surface was ice against my heated skin, awakening every nerve in my body.

Antonio unlocked my legs from his hips and repositioned them, giving him full access to my body.

And that is when the private party really got started.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes! Antonio Rodriguez, don’t stop!”

I slowed for a moment and peered down at the sex starved woman beneath me. Stopping was not about to happen, but tease her? Oh yeah.

One of Kaitlyn’s slender legs rested on my shoulder, the other was wrapped around my waist. When massaging her feet, I realized she liked having her ankles touched. The way she sighed when I ran my hands up her calf muscles while in the foyer proved to be an aphrodisiac, too.

I forced myself to remain still.

“Antonio…”

“Yes, Corazon?”

“Don’t play with me…” The demand was more of a plea.

My attention went to the leg on my shoulder. “Who’s playing?” I kissed her calf while a slow slide of fingers explored the length. Kaitlyn was smooth and soft in all the right places.

“I can’t hold out anymore…now, please …” Kaitlyn gripped the table’s edge, rocking her hips.

I remained still, absorbing it all. Damn….I could do this forever.

“I’ve got you…” My fingers traveled down the inside of her thigh where our bodies joined. She jacked up from the table.

“Antonio…”

I lost all sense of control and gave into both our needs. Kaitlyn came and I followed.

We panted as if we’d run a marathon. My head fell between the juncture of her breasts. That was the first orgasm in months, well, a real one anyway. The morning after being in her bed, between her thighs, had me relieving myself at the memory. That was nothing like experiencing the real thing.

I kissed each of her breasts, then rested my hands on either side of her body. Her eyes were closed, mouth parted. “Was it good for you, too?” I wagged my eyebrows.

Kaitlyn burst out laughing and covered her eyes with both hands. “Good is an understatement. I think I saw the Milky Way.”

I laughed, leaned down for a kiss, then assisted her as she sat up. We looked at each other. Her goofy grin was a reflection of my own.

She bit her lower lip, then pulled me in for a kiss. “We’ll have to do that again,” she whispered against my mouth.

I smiled. “You don’t even have to ask.”

She pulled away, peered over my shoulder into the dark. “Where are we?”

“The dining room.” I pulled away, hating the physical separation, and reached for the light switch.

Kaitlyn blinked as the light over the table assaulted her eyes while looking around. “Not bad.”

“Hey, it’s a bachelor pad, don’t knock it.” I followed her line of sight as she took in the bare walls. “Decorating has never been on my to-do list.”

I held her hand as she slid off the table and walked around the space, taking in the living room, walking towards the balcony. The moonlight streamed in, illuminating her body. She was sexy, like an angel sent down just for me.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Nice view.”

I shook my head at her mocking joke. “The courtyard is where the action is.”

She walked towards me. “Where is the bathroom?”

“Past the kitchen, in my bedroom.”

Kaitlyn winked and headed in that direction. I watched as she disappeared behind the closed door.

I bought candles and condoms during my last trip to the store. I dug into my night stand and grabbed the lighter. The room illuminated, I pulled the covers back, lay down, and waited for her to come out of the bathroom.

Kaitlyn Rodgers was naked and about to be in my bed. Correction, I just made love to Kaitlyn Rodgers in my foyer and on my table. It was something we both wanted, what we needed.

The question was exactly where we would go from here.

My mind was made up. After coming to terms months ago with my feelings, I had no problem admitting it. Now that she knew, would she be ready to reciprocate? I closed my eyes, and put my hands behind my head.

Maybe, maybe not. I needed to be patient and wait for her to decide where things went from here.

The bathroom door opened and Kaitlyn emerged, her gaze checking out the candlelit room.

“Wow, I never would have thought of you as a candle man.”

I looked around my room. “This is for ambience. I prefer plug in’s.”

She laughed and climbed onto the bed, resting on her knees, surveying the landscape that was me. When our eyes met there was nothing else to say. She eased on top of me, leaned in, and we kissed. All conversation ceased.

After seven months of talking, it was time our bodies did a majority of the communicating.

****

We lay in bed, Kaitlyn’s back pressed to my front. The loose strands of her pinned up hair fell across her shoulders. I reached out, twisted it in my fingers. Keeping my hands out of it when we made love was easier said than done, especially when she was on top. She said her mission was to repay me for all the pleasure I gave her. She didn’t disappoint. But unfortunately her hair was a disaster.

She sat up to take the pins down, untwisting the long pinned strands.

“Let me help.” I sat up behind her, studied the complexity of the hairdo, then joined in pulling out the pins. She laughed. “Hey, there’s nothing gay about this.”

To that she really laughed. “Believe me, gay and Antonio Rodriguez don’t even go in the same sentence. I don’t understand why you didn’t stop talkin’ to me when I asked. That was so stupid.”

I chuckled. “Love will make us do strange things.”

She only smiled.

I pulled another pin and untangled the twisted length, letting my fingers run through it. “Your hair reminds me of my mother.”

She twisted around to face me. “Your mother didn’t have blond hair in the picture.”

“She didn’t. It reminds me of time spent with her in the kitchen. Every week she’d go to the market and buy fresh ears of yellow corn. It was my job to shuck it. Your hair just reminds me of it. It’s a good memory.”

Her smile went soft. “Wow, I never thought my hair would remind someone of corn.”

“You must think I’m crazy.” I untangled another lock.

Kaitlyn faced me. “Not at all. You are a man who loves his family and would do anythin’ for them.”

“I feel the same way about you… and Chloe.”

Kaitlyn’s eyes drifted down and settled on her hands.

I tilted her head up. “I’m sorry if the way I feel scares you.” Her eyes grew bigger. “You’ve been through a lot and you have Chloe to think about. I also know you care for me. I won’t say love because it’s a strong word with an equally powerful emotion. I want to hear you say it, but not until you’re ready.” I kissed her before she could reply. “By the way, I’ve got something for you.”

I moved from the bed and walked to my dresser to retrieve the box hidden in a drawer. The expression on Kaitlyn’s face made me pause. “It’s not a ring.” She seemed to settle a bit. I sat next to her, opened the box, and displayed a gold chain and cross. “I know it’s simple and doesn’t have diamonds or anything, but I wanted to give you something. This represents my desire to love and protect you and Chloe with all my heart and with everything I have. Please accept this and know there are no strings attached, no expectations.” I studied her face. Shock and something else I couldn’t exactly put my finger on, crossed her face. “Will you accept this?”

Kaitlyn examined my gift. “It’s beautiful, Antonio. Yes, I’ll accept it. Thank you.”

She turned so I could put it on, her hand going immediately to the cross as she held it in her hand.

I settled back on the bed. She joined me, her head resting on my chest, the top of her blond hair tickling my nose. My fingers lingered in her hair.

“You’re too good to me.”

I hated when she said things like that. “Why should you deserve less? God, Kaity, how could he leave you questioning your own value?”

“Luke wasn’t always like this…”

My chest tightened. Out of anger, jealousy, or just the fact she made an excuse for him, I wasn’t sure. I swallowed my reply and forced myself to remember no matter what happened Chloe’s father would always be in their lives, even if it were from a distance.

“When was the last time he came to see her?”

Kaitlyn remained silent.

“All I’m saying is what you already know. The biological father doesn’t want a part of her life. I do, Kaity. You know I’ll never do anything to hurt you.”

Kaitlyn looked me in the eye as if searching my soul for the truth.

“I know,” she said, resting a hand on my chest.

I pulled her over to my mouth and kissed her. She settled back into my embrace. We lay in silence. After a long day of family celebration and a few hours of personal recreation with the woman my heart belonged to, I drifted off as the early hours of the morning neared.

“Antonio?”

“Hmm?”

“When do you go to court?”

“Next month. Why?”

“I want to come, if that’s okay. I don’t know if you need a character reference or anythin’, but ...”

I smiled, pulled her closer. “Sure.”

Her grip around me tightened. “Antonio…”

“¿Sí, amor mío?”

“I love you, too.”

“How long is this going to take?” Fernando leaned behind me and whispered to our lawyer.

“It depends on the judge. All paperwork has been filed and debts satisfied. We provided a strong enough case to prove your uncle’s decision to amend his will was his decision and not a result of coercion. Now we wait.”

I glanced at the other side of the courtroom where Ramon, Javier, and their lawyer sat. All of them appeared smug, especially the lawyer.

I closed my eyes and prayed things worked in our favor. This was an opportunity I could not lose. I owed this to my uncle’s memory and to the community.

I owed this to myself.

Over the last few weeks, my relationship with Kaitlyn progressed into more, which meant I had to bring my game. She had a good job, but as a man, I wanted a solid source of income in order to do my part.

I glanced over my shoulder, hoping for a glimpse of her blond hair through the narrow glass frame of the courtroom window. Kaitlyn hadn’t been able to make it before we started because Chloe was fussy when she tried to drop her off with my grandmother. Nothing Kaitlyn did calmed her down. She promised to text me when she arrived. I hadn’t been able to check my phone since entering the courtroom. The number one rule when court was in session: all phones off.

I stole another glance at the opposing attorney. The nagging feeling I knew the guy made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. For the life of me I couldn’t place him.