Suspicious Minds (Fate #3) (13 page)

Olivia knew it was just a matter of time before Elton would stop
by again and insist on taking her to lunch—something she was certain Lorenzo
would deem questionable—and she certainly wouldn’t be keeping it from Lorenzo
and adding any unnecessary suspicion about Elton’s objectives. But she wouldn’t
mention it today. Olivia had no intention of ruining this night.

Lorenzo had proven to be one of the sweetest most up-front guys
she’d ever met, but she wouldn’t forget his other side: the hard ass with dark eyes
and the ominous tone she’d already been witness to more than once. She’d be
damned if she’d take things there tonight.

After their superb dinner, they made their way back to his car.
Olivia squeezed his hand. “Now are you gonna tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope,” he said, opening the door for her.

She pouted, but the excitement of knowing what they’d be doing
soon was overwhelming, and she had to smile. He leaned into the car and kissed
her softly, staring into her eyes for a moment. “I think you’re gonna love
this.”

Olivia smiled even bigger, and her belly did a little flip. He
closed the door just when she thought she might burst. Her head spun now. What
in the world could he have planned?

~~~

Did she love her surprise? Olivia was so blown away she
was speechless and a bit choked up. Her insides had been going wild the whole
way there, just imagining all the things he might have planned for tonight. Now
staring at where they’d be doing all of these things and the obvious thought he’d
put into all this had her bringing her hands over her mouth.

At first, when he pulled off the freeway where he did, she
thought maybe they’d take a romantic stroll on the beach, which was nearly
confirmed when they parked, got out of the car, and began strolling down the walkway
by all the beachfront homes. But then they climbed the stairs to one of these
beautiful homes and he pulled out a key.

“You rented this place?” she’d asked, taking it in, in all of its
splendor.

“No, Vince and I are actually part owners of this house.”

Her mouth had dropped open. “You’re kidding me.”

From what Olivia knew about Point Bliss, it was one of the most
affluent areas in all of San Diego. Just the fact that she’d thought he’d
rented a home here had made her wonder how much he’d spent. The rent alone on a
house like this in this neighborhood and right on the beach had to be at least a
thousand per night. She knew he’d mentioned that his and Vince’s business had
been expanding extensively in the last couple of years, but she still couldn’t
imagine them able to afford a home like this. It had to be worth several
million.

Lorenzo had explained how his cousins had rented the house a few
times in the past few years around the Fourth of July to have the entire family
all in one place for a few days, including Lorenzo, Vince, and their parents. Later
they began renting it on other holidays such as New Year’s Eve and Easter. So when
it was put on the market last year, they had a Moreno family meeting and
decided between all of them they could afford to buy the home and keep it in
the family. It would serve several purposes. One, they wouldn’t have the
expense of having to rent it anymore. Two, they wouldn’t have to plan their
gatherings more than a year ahead of time to ensure its availability. And third,
it would serve as a huge write-off for all of them.

As expected, the house was spectacular. It was wall-to-wall
elegance, and stepping into the kitchen, Olivia knew it had to have been one of
the biggest draws for this family that was known for its love of cooking. The
huge luxury kitchen was a chef’s dream.

They toured the whole thing with Olivia’s mouth falling open over
and over. Lorenzo stopped in front of her and kissed her, laughing a few of the
times. The wraparound balcony went around the entire house and had breathtaking
views from every angle.

Then they walked out into what he’d prepared: the breathtaking rooftop
courtyard. It had everything they’d need for their night: the romantic
fireplace right next to the bubbling hot tub and a full outdoor kitchen. As stuffed
as she still was from their dinner in Little Italy, she still imagined he’d
stacked the refrigerator with everything they’d need to munch on for the rest
of the evening. A pair of plush white robes hung on a rack just off to the side
of the hot tub.

The oversized L-shaped sofa bed was already opened up and was
perfectly made with sheets and blankets like the ones you’d see in an elegant
hotel room. Even the pillows appeared to have been fluffed up. While they were
on the rooftop with the special privacy walls, the neighbors couldn’t see them.

Olivia smiled, taking in a deep breath and remembering how he’d
asked her just this past week to confess one sexual fantasy she’d always had.
Not wanting to get too dirty nor share some of the things she’d already done
with Jay, she told him how she’d always secretly thought making love completely
naked under the stars would be such a turn on. But she also told him she never
had and knew she never would because the thought of getting arrested and having
to explain it to her brothers made her shudder. This was actually perfect, and
it made her heart swell because she was sure it was what he’d been thinking
about from the moment she told him. Plenty of beds were inside, yet this was
the one he clearly planned on them using.

Olivia hadn’t told him that he’d already fulfilled one of her
sexual fantasies—one she also thought she’d never actually go through with—and
that was having a passionate sexual encounter with a hot stranger. But she knew
he was still angry at himself for the way he’d treated her and ended that night,
so she refrained from ruining that moment when he’d been so intrigued by her
fantasy.

Lorenzo had clearly thought this out. But all that aside, the one
thing that had her completely choked up was the display of flowers. It was
reminiscent of that scene in the movie “The Great Gatsby” where Gatsby waits to
reunite with Daisy Fay in a room overflowing with flowers for her. While it
wasn’t nearly as over the top as it was in the movie, it was overwhelming. Now
she knew why he’d been so happy to hear that Lily of the Valley was her
favorite lily of all. Lilies of all colors were strewn all around the
courtyard—on the tables, hanging, baskets on the floor, even petals all over
the bed—but lily of the valley was the most prominent lily in the room, not
just white, but pink and blue. They were everywhere. They even hung from the
archways that adorned the privacy walls.

Olivia kissed him, touching his cheek as she felt the tears fill
her eyes. “It’s so beautiful,” she whispered. “If your intention was to make me
feel special, oh my God, Lorenzo, you nailed it.”

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her head. “You
have no idea what you’ve done to me in such a short amount of time.” He pulled
away to look her in the eyes in that way that only he could that made her melt.
“I’ll forever regret certain things about that first night with you, but there
are things about that night I
know
I’ll never forget and I don’t want
to. So while I want to make up for how it ended, I’ll never forget what your
sweet smile did to me.” He kissed her softly. “How your eyes captivated me
completely—spoke to me.” He kissed her again a little longer this time then
pulled away, his eyes immediately staring at her lips. “But mostly . . .”

He paused, still staring at her lips in what she could only
describe as a puzzled look, but she could see how quickly his breathing had
accelerated. He kissed her again so long and deep the strength in her legs
drained with every stroke of his tongue until he finally came up and they were
both breathless.

“Kissing you, Liv . . .” he said, even as his chest rose and
fell, his eyes going from her lips to her eyes and back down again. “For days
after that night, I felt stunned. It was why I left the way I did. I
had
to.
I had to regain some control because the more I kissed you the more I felt like
I was losing it—losing control over a girl I’d just met. It scared the hell out
of me.”

“I felt it too,” she said and then admitted, “and it scared me
too. Still does a little, but I think the excitement I’m feeling now is
beginning to outweigh the fear.”

She wouldn’t say it just yet because it felt excessively soon to
admit what she was feeling for this man. The tidal waves of adoration that were
flooding her heart now as she stared into his equally mesmerized eyes were just
too much. Mercifully, he squeezed her hand and began toward the hot tub as it
hit her. “I didn’t pack a bathing suit.”

He turned to her with a sinful smirk. “You won’t need one.”

Feeling her cheeks warm, she secretly thanked God she’d cancelled
half her clients yesterday without telling Lorenzo about it so she’d have time
to get all the
pertinent
parts of her body waxed and ready for today. Still
her insides roiled at the thought of being completely naked in the hot tub with
him. She’d already been treated to the sight of his magnificent upper body once,
though it was dark and over fairly quickly. But all this time leading up until
today she’d taken full advantage of their make-out sessions and let her hands roam
all over his hard arms, chest, and shoulders, over his clothes. Just the
thought of doing the same, only this time they’d be naked and wet, had her body
heating up fast.

As they got closer to the hot tub, she got a better chance to
examine the plush robes that hung on a coat hanger just next to the tub. Lorenzo
grabbed one and handed it to her.

“A bathroom is just there,” he said, pointing toward the closed
door. “You can get ready for the hot tub in there and wear this out.” Her heart
skipped a few beats as he smiled and kissed her softly. “I’ll get champagne
ready for us and then change after you do.”

Almost in a daze she set her purse down on the table next to all
the beautiful flowers but kept the other bag she carried with her and walked
away toward the bathroom, knowing she’d be coming back wearing absolutely
nothing under that robe.

Eight

Lorenzo

The buzzing sound coming from Liv’s purse didn’t go
unnoticed. Try as he may to just enjoy the night and ignore any apprehension,
he couldn’t help it. Sometime after he’d questioned Liv’s text at dinner she’d
set her phone on vibrate. But Lorenzo had heard the vibrating in her purse more
than once since then. Not only had he heard it; he’d caught himself listening
for it.

As angry and disgusted as he’d been with Linda at one point, he’d
never hated her. Now this was going to make him absolutely
hate
Linda.
It was one thing that she ruined what they had together. But because of what
she did to him, it now had the potential to ruin what he could have with anyone
else—with Liv. He’d
never
been insecure or overly suspicious, and he
knew what he was feeling now had everything to do with Linda’s fucking
betrayal.

He could only hope now that Liv hadn’t noticed his sudden unease
or in any way figured out that this early on in their relationship and for no
reason at all he was having issues with trusting her.

Liv eased out of the bathroom, looking adorable in her robe. The
timid way she held the bag with her clothes in one hand and the robe together at
her cleavage with the other, made him smile. He took her in from top to bottom and
discovered the only thing she was wearing aside from the robe.

Her Dallas Cowboys fuck-me shoes.

He held up the champagne glass but kissed her before handing it
to her as she reached him. “Even in a simple robe you’re beautiful,” he
whispered against her lips. “But I can hardly wait to see you in
just
the shoes.”

Pulling back just in time to see her eyes widen made him chuckle.
Lorenzo brought his hands around her face, cradling it, and then dove in. He’d
never get enough of consuming every inch of her mouth. His arousal had even drowned
out any thoughts of her buzzing phone until it buzzed again and he stopped.

The confusion in her eyes confirmed that she hadn’t picked up on
his earlier moments of unease. “Your phone,” he said, trying to sound as
impassive as possible. “It’s gone off a few times since you went in to change.
You wanna see if it’s anything important? Your brothers maybe?”

It was so subtle. The tiny flicker he saw in her eyes could mean
something or it could mean
nothing
. It could well be that, yes, maybe
the thought of her brothers trying to get a hold of her alarmed her. And that
would be perfectly valid. So why the hell was he having to talk himself down as
she walked to her purse to check her phone. Why was he staring at her in a way
he knew he’d be
searching
for insincerity when she explained who it was.

Clicking on her phone’s screen, Olivia smiled. She texted back whoever
had texted her then dropped the phone back in her purse. “A couple of those were
from my brother AJ.” She smiled, taking a sip of her champagne. “He asked if I
could bring him up a bottle of water if I was coming upstairs. Then he texted
again to say never mind when he remembered I wasn’t home.”

Lorenzo smiled in an attempt to hide any unreasonable suspicion
because it was completely unfair to her. Damn it. He slipped his hand in hers
the moment she was close enough.

“The other two,” she said, smiling even bigger, “were from Rose.
She was dying to know what I thought of my surprise but then promised I wouldn’t
hear from her again since Vince was threatening to hide her phone if she kept
bugging
me.”

This time Lorenzo smiled genuinely. Rosie had been instrumental
in helping him come up with his plans for today. He’d never mentioned Liv’s
sexual fantasies about making love under the stars, but she had been the one to
suggest bringing her here. She said there was no way Olivia wouldn’t find this
place romantic. That was when he’d remembered the sofa bed in the courtyard. It
was perfect. Though that bed wasn’t the only place he had in mind to make love
to her tonight. He had a few other things in mind.

“So what was your response to her?”

“That I love it,” she said, smiling big. “And that I already know
tonight’s going to be amazing.”

Unable to stand it anymore, he kissed her again deeply, bringing
his arms around her and picking her up. He felt her gasp as he picked her up
even higher carrying her toward the custom-made bar they’d had built when they
bought the house. The courtyard already had a bar before they’d bought it, but
the one complaint they’d all had when they used to rent it was the bar was too
low. They were all tall people and were in agreement that the bar should be
much higher than the standard ones. So when they bought the house, it was one
of the first things they had redone custom-made.

Ironically, it was Liv’s cousin Romero who’d made the crude
remark about the new height of the bar being for other reasons.

“Who are you dirty bastards trying to kid?” Romero had laughed
when he’d gotten his first glimpse of the new bar. “Look at this! It’s the
perfect height for doing things you’d normally have to bend over for.”

It was another thing that had come to mind when Lorenzo had
thought about making love to Liv out here. He’d start her off on the custom-made
bar and do to her what he’d been fantasizing about doing to her since that
first night.

Lifting her onto the end of bar so she’d have room to lie back,
Lorenzo couldn’t help but smile. Hell, he almost laughed that something like
that would be the first thing that had come to Romero’s mind when he’d first
seen the bar. The guy was spot on. While he could still kiss her if she brought
her face down to him, his hands were already under the robe and running up her inner
thighs.

Olivia straightened suddenly when she felt his hand between her
legs, but his sheepish smile seemed to relax her. She smiled back and appeared
to instantly calm. He spread her legs gently, still staring into her eyes, and
watched as her eyes widened slowly as if it just dawned on her what he had in
mind.

With his heart already racing in anticipation, he tugged on the
belt around her waist, and the robe opened slightly. One of his hands remained
on her inner thigh, caressing her soft warm flesh while the other opened the
robe until he had a complete visual of her glorious naked body. While he’d had
the pleasure of feeling her breasts under her blouse that first time, his need
to race out of there had robbed him of seeing them in all their glory. He’d
since fondled just about every part of her body over her clothes, but it was
sheer torture to not be able to do more. Her breasts weren’t huge, but they
were perfectly proportioned to her body. For a second, just looking at her actually
gave him chills.
Chills
.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, taking her in from top to
bottom, completely mesmerized.

He brought his hand out from between her thighs and walked his
fingers up her hips then torso until they reached her breast, and he caressed
it, leaning in as his lips grazed her nipple. There they were again. Chills. He
felt them literally creep up his arms, spine, and neck.

What the hell?

He licked her nipple, still feeling completely captivated—
stunned
.
Finally, he had to glance up at her eyes again. “What is it about you?” he
asked, genuinely confused about how he was feeling.

She shook her head wide-eyed but said nothing, and judging by the
look in her eyes and how rapidly her heart beat just under her breast where his
hand lay now, she was feeling the same thing.

As much as he was tempted to, he refrained from telling her that
touching her now and seeing her like this made his grown ass feel as if it were
his first time touching a woman. Like in middle school, he’d been forced these
past three weeks to go home and take a cold shower then take care of business
on his own. Of course he wouldn’t tell her this. She’d think he was as
ridiculous as he’d felt this whole time. He was only glad he’d finally be
releasing what he already knew would be huge.

Easing his hand up behind her neck while gazing deeply into her
eyes, he did what he wanted to do. What he
always
wanted to do now
whenever he was with her. And ever since she agreed to be officially his, he
vowed he’d never hold back.

He kissed her.

One thing he was certain of was that kissing anyone else would
never feel the same again, not after feeling what he did when he kissed Liv. He
could only pray now that things would work out for them and she’d be his for
good. Otherwise, he had no doubt she’d ruined kissing for him forever. What he
felt when he kissed her could never be duplicated.

After several long minutes of indulging in that heaven, Lorenzo
stopped and pulled away to regard her eyes for a moment. He then brought his mouth
down the side of her neck and slowly moved down, sprinkling kisses and sucking
her flesh as he felt their hearts accelerate with every kiss—every taste of her
delicious body.

Liv squirmed, gasping a bit as he stopped and tasted then took her
nipple in his mouth again, giving it a bit more attention than he had any other
part of her body. Well, except for her mouth. Lorenzo loved feeling her body’s
reaction to his touch. It was one of the most notable things about her even
that first time. He knew she hadn’t done the one-night thing often because he
could feel it in her trembling body, and he’d been right. She hadn’t done this
often, and now he had confirmation she hadn’t done it in
years
.

Kissing Liv always got a rise out of him, and he’d been rock hard
from the moment she walked out of the bathroom in her robe and Dallas Cowboys
heels. But every kiss, every lick, every taste he got of her now was driving
him into a complete frenzy. He was trying to take it slow—make up for their
first time where he’d hammered into her with a purpose—but just touching her warm
flesh now was driving him insane.

Bringing his hand down to her legs again, he spread them gently. “Lie
back,” he said in a hoarse whisper. Instantly, her body went taut, and he smiled
up at her. “Trust me.”

She lay back, and he spread her legs further, nearly losing the
strength in his own legs from the beautiful visual. Kissing the inside of her
thighs, he worked his way up to the heat between her legs. He leaned in,
kissing her warm wetness and making her back arch in reaction.

“Relax,” he whispered then licked her softly, holding back the
carnal groan that nearly escaped him.

She tasted better than he’d expected, and he squeezed his eyes
shut for a second, willing himself to take this slowly. He’d thought it even
that first night and each time he’d kissed her since. If her mouth tasted as
good as it did and did to him things he couldn’t understand, he could only
imagine what it would feel like to taste her
everywhere
. Once again he’d
been right.

He pulled away to regain a little control then closed his eyes. “You
like me licking your pussy, Livi?”

“Yes,” she said breathlessly, making him smile.

Never had hearing a girl’s reaction to his use of explicit terms
been such a turn on. Hearing and feeling sweet Livi’s reaction to him just like
that first night drove him beyond nuts. As feral as this made him feel, he made
a mental note to go as slowly as possible as he spread her with his fingers, licking
her good then letting his tongue go even deeper. Feeling her squirm a bit, he
lifted her sexy-as-shit, fuck-me shoes over his shoulders one at a time. Then
he went in for another longer, more profound savoring, running his tongue from
the bottom of her slick slit to the top. He smiled when he heard her gasp—felt
her entire body quiver in response.

“God
damn,
you taste good,” he said, barely able to keep
his tongue off her long enough to say it.

Hearing her moan and gasp as his tongue moved slowly around her
clit only made him crazier, but somehow he managed to stay composed and not
speed it up. He loved feeling her legs tremble against his shoulders as she
began to cry out softly. Her fingers ran frantically through his hair now as he
latched on and off her delicious little nub.

“You’re dripping wet,” he said just as he sucked her juices greedily
and swallowed, nearly losing control.

He lifted her legs up even higher because her moans and panting
getting louder were clear indicators that she’d be coming soon, and he wanted to
taste every last drop. He dove in again, circling, suckling, and flicking his
tongue against that engorged clit and then it happened. She cried out again and
again as she pulsated against his tongue. He continued to suck her even as she
came, and it took everything in him not to mess his pants. Hearing her cries
was such a fucking turn on it hurt, and he continued to swallow her juices
insatiably.

“Oh my God, Enzo!” her words pleaded as she lifted her behind a
bit. “I can’t take anymore!”

With one last lick and a final kiss, he pulled away, staring at
the still throbbing and beautiful sight. Just the thought that this was his now—
all
his—and he could do this as often as he knew he’d want to, made him want to
groan in delight again.

Finally able to pull his eyes away, he smiled when he saw her holding
her hand over her bare breasts, trying to catch her breath. The look of contentment
on her face said it all. She’d enjoyed that as much as he had.

He held his hand out to her and helped her sit up then lifted her,
bringing her down from the bar. Maybe if he hadn’t done this with Romero’s
cousin he might be able to tell him how right he’d been about the bar being the
perfect height for it.

Liv had wrapped her arms around his neck the moment he’d lifted
her from the bar, but even once she was down, she continued to hug him tightly.
With those high heels, she was nearly as tall as he was, and she leaned her
forehead against his. “I don’t think my body’s ever experienced such ruthless
pleasure.”