Seducing Her Rival (5 page)

Lucas held her in place and his fingers dug into her thighs as she contracted around his length once more. Slowly, he drew out of her, but the need in her eyes called to him. She wanted an intensity he couldn’t give her, not if he wanted to go for hours.

A breath shuddered from between his lips. “I’m…”

“Do
not
say you’re sorry.”

His lips quirked to the side—he was starting to really love the fire residing inside Mercedes. “I wasn’t going to. I’m not sure what it is about you, but I’m not sure I’m going to last much longer than last time.”

Her nails dug into the bed again, and judging by the blazing red scratches on her chest, it was a good thing too. “I
loved
last time. But if you’re truly worried, please, fuck me hard until you can’t. Then we can do it again and again until you feel you’ve performed adequately, but you are
killing me
.”

Lucas hadn’t meant to make her beg again, but damn it sounded good coming from her lips. Too good. “As the lady wishes.”

Gripping her hips, he slammed into her over and over. She wrapped her free leg around him, pulling him closer. Her nails dragged along his chest, digging in as she came again. The pain kept him focused, watching as her face flushed with pleasure. More. He wanted more of that. He thrust into her again, savoring every inch of contact as her heat washed over him. Mercedes started gasping, her glorious breasts heaving beneath him. Lucas managed to hold on until the moment she screamed his name. That sound pushed him beyond the brink and he came so explosively he saw stars. Her muscles contracting as her own orgasm took hold, Mercedes milked his cock until there was nothing left.

He collapsed next to her on the bed, and she bent the leg he’d had extended the whole time, wincing slightly. “If you want me to pretend to be a gymnast,
amado
, let me know ahead of time so I can stretch.” Abandoning the leg, she rolled toward him, nuzzling his neck.

Sated, at least for the moment, Lucas ran his fingers through her hair, wondering how he’d been so lucky as to crash into her before she became lost in the throngs of passengers. She was exactly what he needed right now—all heat and passion and no promises of anything beyond the moment. Then he frowned slightly. “You’ve called me that word twice now. I don’t know what it means.”

“
Amado
?” she asked as she kissed his neck.

He nodded, trying to focus on her words instead of her magical lips. “Yeah. I learned Japanese and Mandarin for business and a smattering of German for financial things, but I know pretty much zero Spanish.”

She kept kissing him for a while before answering and he almost forgot what he’d asked. “It means crazy man with more money than sense, but I usually just say
amado
because it’s shorter.”

It sounded like a lie, but as her teeth nipped at his collarbone, he decided he didn’t care. She could lie as much as she wanted. It wasn’t exactly like he’d been completely forthcoming; she deserved her secrets, even if they were silly ones. After all, it wasn’t like this was anything more than a vacation fling. “From you, I’ll consider it a term of endearment.”

She laughed. “Take me again before dawn and I might end up giving you a pet name in English just to shake things up.”

Never one to ignore a challenge, he made sure they christened the Jacuzzi next. They wound up in the bubbles after, talking about everything and nothing—music, dreams, the sea, the charity she worked for—lingering until the first rays of sunlight kissed the horizon.

Considering their shared obsession with helping children—not to mention their love of classic rock, ethnic food, and animals—it seemed like she was his kindred spirit in more than just physical ways. It honestly surprised him that they hadn’t crossed paths before now, either at one of the smaller, family-run eateries he liked to frequent when he was alone or even more so through her work with the charity.

New York City was big, but it wasn’t always
that
big to someone who had spent his whole life there. And certainly he would have remembered if he’d seen someone as stunning as Mercedes.

As they’d drifted off later, the name Better Todays kept ringing through his mind. But with Mercedes nestled against his side, her head on his chest, he didn’t want to worry at it all night. There was plenty of time later to figure out why her little charity niggled at his brain.

Chapter Four

Mercedes stretched, every one of her deliciously aching muscles rubbing against the softness of his sheets. What were they? Like ten thousand thread count? A girl could get used to this—both the decadence and the heat of the body lying next to her. No. She shook herself. She would
not
get used to this. She’d sold her soul once. Never again. But Lucas… Damn, he was beautiful. Not pretty, but the kind of masculine beauty that came in tight muscles and hard lines.

Th
inking of the
myriad ways he’d used that body against her the night before sent her shivering with want, and his eyes drifted open. “Funny. I thought I only test-drove that fine piece of German engineering last night. Did I buy it?”

In a single motion, she raised her arms overhead and tugged the sheet down with a stretch of her legs. The way his eyes widened told her the move had exactly the effect she wanted—he wasn’t going to look away anytime soon. She rolled toward him, walking her fingers up his chest to flick at his chin. “There was never an option to buy, silly man. And after that comment, you’ll be lucky if you didn’t just blow your chance at signing a lease.”

“That would suck. I kind of liked the way she handled.” He trailed his fingers down her side, brushing over her ass for a second before coming to rest on her hip, the heel of his hand pressing against her tattoo. “Especially around the curves.”

She liked how he’d handled her too. Everything, from her little outburst outside the store to the way he’d made her come more times than she could count and the conversation last night…to this morning-after comfortable teasing. It was crazy how well they fit together.

This madness was the last thing she’d expected when she’d boarded the ship—
was it really just yesterday?
—but it felt so good. So right. Alarm bells started clanging in her head, screaming a warning that anything that felt this right
had
to be wrong, but she tuned them out, not wanting to hear any of it. Lucas wasn’t asking her to be anyone other than who she already was. For once, she was just going to accept something good at face value. It had been way too long since she’d bothered to try, but she could let this be wonderful for as long as it lasted.

“Oh,
amado
, the car talk will get me every time. Definitely the way to my heart.” Except maybe that word wasn’t so wonderful. Mercedes used pet names with everyone she knew, but “beloved”? She’d tried to stop after it slipped out the first time but sometime last night she’d stopped worrying about it.

“Your heart, huh? A worthwhile target, but I was actually aiming a little lower.”

His hand shifted, and Mercedes couldn’t help but smile, knowing without doubt they were going to miss what little time was left for breakfast. His fingers started to slowly circle her clit and she let out a contented sigh. Yes. This was so very, very good.

And then his phone rang.

Worse, his hand disappeared.

“Lucas…”

He leaned forward and kissed her softly. “Call room service on the stateroom phone and order us some breakfast. Then come back here. If this call takes more than a minute or two, you might just have to bite a pillow or something.”

She nodded, scrambling to the far side of the bed, her legs tangling in the sheets.

His voice changed when he was on the phone. Not more assertive so much as less…tolerant. As if the person on the other end better have a damn good reason for calling. Mercedes’s lips twitched, imagining what Kelsey’s sister Eva would have to say about it if she heard him.
Sounds like someone’s going to get a spanking!

With a barely contained giggle, she picked up the phone and punched the button for room service.

“Good morning. What can I do for you, Mr. Bellamy?”

Words faded on her lips, and Mercedes squeezed the phone. Bellamy? Why had the man…?

No. It couldn’t be. She twisted around to look at him. Lucas with the sinful smile and magic fingers could not be Luc-mother-fucking-Bellamy. The guy whose company was trying to buy the land at the docks out from under Better Todays. The one who couldn’t venture into the parts of Queens already being gentrified with his damn rich-people ballet school. Oh no. He had to make a grab for the edge of the warehouse district where Better Todays had a tiny chance to fund their playground.

No. Oh hell no. She had not spent the entire night sleeping with the damned enemy.

And there he was, still talking on his cell phone and winking at her like nothing had changed. Couldn’t he tell something was wrong? That the instant between his phone ringing and now had changed
everything
.

“Sorry,” she said into the phone, her voice little more than a whisper with how dry her mouth had gone. As she dropped the handset back into the cradle, her shock morphed into something less cold and far less numbing: anger.

He’d known who she was, who she worked for, and he hadn’t bothered to tell her the truth. Sure, she hadn’t forced a last name from him, but he
knew
she was with Better Todays. How could he not know his company was after the same property as them? And if he did know, how could he have slept with her?

God, she was so stupid. She should have known something was up when he hadn’t given his last name, but no, she’d been drawn in by a crooked smile and devilish charm and…

She needed to get out of here. She had
just
thought about how anything that felt this good had to end badly, but she’d ignored her instincts when she should have bolted. She made the rounds of the room, scooping up her clothes as she went. Where were her damn panties? With a fierce shake of her head, she decided it didn’t matter. He’d ruined them anyway. Just like his stupid company was trying to ruin everything else.

While he was still busy with his call, she yanked on her dress, picked up her purse and shoes, and snuck out the door. As soon as she was in the corridor, she raced back to her cabin. She collapsed against the door before his even opened, sucking in breath after ragged breath.

What the hell was she supposed to do now?

…

Lucas turned around, fully intending to give Mercedes that promised orgasm while he finished up this stupid call with the office, but she wasn’t on the bed. Or by the phone. He wandered into the living room. She wasn’t there either…and her purse and shoes were gone.

What the fuck? One minute she was here, waiting for round—he thought back to last night—four, and then she just up and left?

There hadn’t been time for her to leave a note or anything. The only evidence she’d even been here was her scent lingering on him and the scrap of black lace on the floor. He picked up the remains of her panties, rubbing the roughness of the lace between his fingers as if to prove she’d been real. Who the hell was she that she’d just up and leave?

“Donovan?” he said into the receiver.

“Yes, Mr. Bellamy?”

He picked up the card she’d given him before they’d gone to the Jacuzzi. “There’s a charity called Better Todays, based in Queens. What do you know about it?” If nothing else, maybe he could clear up that mystery before he went hunting for the lovely Latina.

“Children’s charity. They’re the other party interested in the school property. Planning a playground or something as I recall. Horrible neighborhood for it, really. We questioned the logic of putting the school there, but at least we could install first-class security. A playground…it’s just a horrendous fit.”

Shit. Lucas scrubbed at his face. Had he left his card or wallet next to the phone? If she saw his name… “Then why would they head that way? Did we ever look into it?”

“Likely some of the same reasons we did. The land has been on the market a while, so the sellers are motivated. It’s large. Not much of any work to do to it before we could break ground. It’s appealing in many ways, just not convenient for their needs with the distance from housing and the warehouses surrounding it.”

Donovan was right, of course, but convenience didn’t matter as much as the cost—not to an outfit like hers. Maybe he should back off the property. “Where do we stand on the land anyway?”

“Zoning board still hasn’t gotten back to us. Why?”

Because a certain crazy woman with fire in her eyes and a tongue sharp enough to cut flesh doesn’t want me to buy it.
“I was thinking about…”

No. Damn it. The school could do a lot of good. Memories floated in his mind that had nothing to do with Mercedes or sex, and everything to do with him abandoning the one person who’d ever cared about him. He needed to lay that particular ghost to rest and the school was the perfect way to do it. Besides, one of the reasons for putting the school in Queens was to make it more accessible for everyone rather than just the wealthy. Lucas wouldn’t turn vicious about the bidding but he wasn’t about to pull out of the deal either.

No. They either had the money or they didn’t. “Never mind. Just…put in the mid-range bid we discussed once the board comes through.”

The pause stretched so long Lucas thought the call might have disconnected. “Are you sure about that? It’d be one thing if we were the only interested party, but—”

“I appreciate the concern, but that’s the bid we’re going with unless someone else enters the fray.”

“Of course, Mr. Bellamy.”

“Have a wonderful week, Donovan.” He made sure the dismissal sounded final. Though the call was important, it hadn’t been anything that couldn’t have waited until he returned. And perhaps that would have kept Mercedes here this morning. His staff really needed to learn exactly what “Do not disturb” meant, or maybe he needed to make a point of being less available.

As for now, he needed to take a shower and find a shipboard distraction—or ten—while he decided whether or not he should pursue a woman who’d just walked out on him, possibly because of who he was. Damn it, he needed to stop thinking with his dick. This trip was supposed to be business, not pleasure, and if she wanted to walk off, wasn’t that better? He didn’t do relationships. If he really needed to get laid again, he could find someone who wouldn’t freak out over his name. Besides at the end of the week, he’d be back in Manhattan and there were plenty of other fish in that sea.

And none of them would be Mercedes Vega.

…

Mercedes wadded up the dress and debated throwing it away or burning it or…whatever was worse than burning it, but she liked the damn thing and wasn’t going to let Lucas take that from her along with her dignity and pride. Hanging the dress in the back of the closet, she tried to figure out how she was going to get through the day, much less the rest of the cruise.

She felt like the worst kind of fool. What sort of idiot didn’t find out someone’s last name before screwing them senseless?

The kind that had been swept up in too many other happy thoughts.

She leaned her forehead against the closet door and released a heavy sigh. Would she have let herself stay in the dark about his identity the whole time? Spent the week allowing herself to be ravished by the very person who was undermining the salvation she’d been working toward for the last six years?

Not having known his true identity didn’t make her feel any better.

God, she wanted to throw up.

No. She wanted a shower more. She could still feel him on her. In her.

Maybe throwing up would come first after all.

In the bathroom, she splashed icy water on her face and rinsed her mouth half-a-dozen times. While the last of the water swirled down the drain, she fought against the thoughts threatening to spiral out of control. She raised her head and glared at herself in the mirror. “Get a grip. You are Mercedes Vega, and you have been through far worse than anything Lucas Bellamy can dish out. This isn’t even the road to Hell, much less the exit for your fiery pit. You have a job to do, and now you have a time line—a short one. Focus on that.”

But she didn’t know how.

One step at a time, Mercedes
. She stepped into the shower and lathered up, letting the spray wash away all traces of Lucas.

Unfortunately, the reprimand she’d given herself brought back to mind the Hell she was trying to earn her exit pass from. The one she’d spent seven years trying to forget and, when that hadn’t worked, trying to forgive herself for.

She fought to blink back the tears, but the shower blurred around her and her mind refused to let go of the memory.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“The boy is crying. I mean, he’s bleeding…kind of a lot, and no one’s coming. Uh…should I do something?”

“Where are you, ma’am?”

Trees loomed and branches stretched toward where she lay huddled around the boy. This wasn’t fun anymore. “At the park…”

A stupid drug deal gone wrong had almost killed little Marco.
She’d
invaded a park and almost killed him.

Mercedes’s path in life had been decided that day. She needed this playground. Marco, who wasn’t so little anymore, and kids like him needed the playground. She and Kelsey had planned it so carefully. It was small enough they could have video surveillance over the most dodgy areas, and local parents had volunteered to help patrol it to keep it safe. It was out of the way, but they could make it work and they wouldn’t have to rely on the city to keep trouble out.

Small enough to protect and big enough to offer her redemption.

Kelsey had thought using a playground to absolve her guilt was ridiculous. Maybe it was. Even Mercedes recognized that building a place that would keep innocent kids safe—and fucked up troublemakers like herself out—wouldn’t change the past. But nothing else she’d done had helped her find any peace. She only prayed this could somehow atone a little for her sins and ease the shame she’d been carrying for too many years.

She swiped away tears with the backs of her hands and twisted off the shower, certain of one thing: she’d be damned if she was going to let Lucas Bellamy build anything else on that lot. Which meant she needed a plan. And she needed a partner in crime to figure things out.