Tease Me (10 page)

“
Uh.” I was suddenly nervous
as I looked into his deep chocolate eyes. Very dirty thoughts
rushed through my mind, all involving him and no clothing. “Way
more snow. The winters start sooner and last longer. And it’s not
unusual to have days and days of temps in the
negatives.”

Alejandro chuckled as he pushed rice around
his plate. “Why would anyone want to live there?”

“
Trust me.” I leaned
forward. “I asked myself that many times. Indy’s nowhere near as
bad. I mean, it can get bitter cold, but the temperature averages
in the thirties and high twenties.”

Alejandro gave me a confused look. “Oh,” he
said, face softening. “You weird Americans use Fahrenheit.”

“
Weird?” I said, faking
offense. I leaned back and cocked an eyebrow, a smirk on my
face.

He mirrored my amusement. “Yes. Weird. The
rest of the world uses Celsius.”

“
True,” I
laughed.

“
I’ve never seen
snow.”

“
Really?”

“
Really. Never in person,
that is.” He shook his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes.
He looked so relaxed, innocent even, when we were just talking like
this. But Alejandro innocent? That couldn’t be farther from the
truth.

“
I like it. As much as I
complain about the cold and say I hate winter and just want it to
end, I’d miss it.”

“
You’d miss the cold?” he
asked incredulously.

“
Yes and no. I can handle a
month or two of the cold and snow before I want to beat it to death
with a shovel. It’s very festive for the holidays. But after New
Year’s, it should get back to seventy and sunny.”

He laughed again, his beautiful face lighting
up. “Seventy is…is twenty-one Celsius.”

“
Twenty-one sounds so
cold.”

“
And seventy sounds like
you’re going to spontaneously combust if you step
outside.”

I laughed. “I can see that.” I set my fork
down and looked at Alejandro. “Have you always lived here?”

He nodded. “Not this town, but Mexico,
yes.”

“
I assume you travel for,
uh, work?”

“
Sometimes.” His eyes
drilled into me, like he was trying to see inside me and figure
everything out. That wasn’t hard. What you see is what you get when
it comes to me. I didn’t have any secrets. My life wasn’t exciting
enough to have anything to hide. I made a mental note to do
something crazy and not tell anyone about it.

“
Where do you travel
to?”

Alejandro just shrugged. Right. Couldn’t talk
about it.

I twisted my hands in my lap. “Do you travel
for fun?”

“
I have before,” he said,
and a tenuous sadness pulled down his face. “I don’t have much time
for fun.”

“
I can relate to that,” I
muttered.

“
Why didn’t you have time
for fun?”

“
I worked a lot.” Plus I
didn’t have many friends. “I, uh, went through a breakup and moved
out. Paying rent on my own required a lot of extra
hours.”

His eyes settled on my chest. “Am I wrong to
assume you were the one to break it off? I can’t imagine anyone
leaving you.”

Again with the blushing. Dammit. I needed to
get that under control. “Uh, not exactly. I really don’t like
talking about it.” Because I was embarrassed. I didn’t owe
Alejandro a damn thing, and yet I didn’t want him to think less of
me.

“
Then it was the other way
around. Why did he leave you?”

I crossed my arms and sighed. “I couldn’t
give him want he wanted.”

He wasn’t expecting to hear that. “How
so?”

“
I don’t have a penis.” My
mouth set in a straight line, and I leaned back, enjoying the
stunned stare Alejandro was giving me. “Yeah. I was dating a gay
man.”

“
Oh, fuck. Uh, sorry?” He
frowned. “Sorry. I am sorry, Ellie. That’s very unfortunate.” Then
a smile cracked his handsome face, and he laughed. “How did you not
know?”

I didn’t mean for the hurt to flash across my
face. I crossed my arms and looked down.

“
Never mind,” Alejandro
rushed out. “So, snow. Is it like how it is in the
movies?”

Relieved he changed the subject, and a little
surprised, I looked back up. “It depends on the movie.”

He smiled at me, reassuring. There was
something in his eyes, something that promised he wouldn’t hurt me.
No. That was a stupid thing to think. “Snow is beautiful. Moonlight
reflecting off freshly fallen snow is breathtaking, really. And
sunlight reflecting off it is blinding, but still beautiful.”

“
I want to build a snowman,”
he confessed with a laugh. “Before I die.”

And there he went looking innocent again.
Fuck. “I make a snowman every year. Nothing huge, just a little guy
on my balcony. Oh, wait. I guess I won’t this year. I don’t have a
balcony anymore.” I frowned. “And I might not be home for
Christmas…”

“
About that,” Alejandro
started. Oh, how quick I could make things awkward. If there was an
award for that, I’d have a whole shelf full of them. “I’m sorry
you’re here, Ellie.”

He sounded sincere. “I almost believe you,” I
said quietly.

His hand settled on the table, fingers tips
brushing mine. The heat of his skin made me shiver. “I didn’t want
them to take you. You have to realize that this is more of a hassle
for me than anyone else.”

I chewed the inside of my lip. “Yeah. I can
see that. I cramp your style.”

He laughed again. “Just a bit. You’ve been
good company, and I know how fucked up that is to say.” He pulled
his hand back and sighed, a little line of stress forming between
his eyes. “I don’t know what else to do.”

I nodded. Alejandro was such a curious thing.
He was stoic, hardened, and totally alpha. And then the next
minute, he was honest and real and almost, dare I say, caring? He
could no doubt brood with the best of them, with those dark eyes
and pouty lips. But I liked this Alejandro, when he let his guard
down and was himself.

Fuck.

I really liked that Alejandro. I wanted more
of him, to talk with him, get to know him better. I was getting the
feeling there was more to him than meets the eye. And maybe, just
maybe, he wasn’t that bad after all.

That night, I got up from bed, unable to
sleep, and went into the bathroom. I turned on the tub, prepared to
get in for a long soak and maybe a little finger action while I
imaged Alejandro’s tattooed arms around my body.

I pulled the nightgown over my head,
carefully folding it on the counter. I stuck one foot in the tub.
The water was hot, almost too hot and painful—just the way I liked
it.

Then a shot rang out, echoing throughout the
large house. My heart hammered, and my stomach dropped to the
floor. I froze, naked with one foot in the tub. My breath left me
in a whoosh.

Another gun fired, startling me. I almost
fell. I pitched forward, sloshing water out of the tub and onto the
floor. I pushed myself up and scrambled back, grabbing a towel to
wrap around myself.

Holding the towel close to my chest, I
stumbled out of the bathroom. I ducked down, creeping to the
window. The smell of gunpowder hung in the air. Bright security
lights flooded the front lawn. Men ran around, waving weapons and
shouting in Spanish.

Then I saw him, wearing nothing but black
athletic pants and holding an AK47. He looked just like he did in
my dream. Alejandro shouted to someone then took off through the
yard. He moved with such precision and grace. Light reflected off
his eyes.

His jaw was set. He was determined and not at
all scared. If anything, he looked annoyed. I watched him sweep
through the lawn, holding up the machine gun. He stepped through a
line of trees and disappeared from sight.

I slowly inhaled and rose, clutching the
curtains with one hand and the towel in the other. What the hell
was going on? Someone trying to steal from Alejandro? Other drug
dealers? Cops?

I leaned forward, heart racing. Where was
Alejandro? I hadn’t heard any more shots. He had to be okay. I
blinked. Was I really worried about him? My eyes scanned the dark
yard. Fuck, I was.

My muscles tensed, and my mind raced. I made
my decision and jumped away from the window. I dropped the towel
and ran across the room, dodging into the bathroom to grab the
robe. I put it on as I flew across the room, stopping by the door,
hand hovering over the doorknob.

I closed my eyes, reached out, and twisted.
The door opened. I pulled it back and looked into the hall. There
was no one there. The house was a quiet sanctuary to the chaos
outside.

I looked up and down the dark hall, unsure of
which way to go. The house was huge, and I’d been out of the room
only once. I tied the robe around my waist and padded down the
hall. I made it a few yards before I realized I had gone the wrong
way. I whirled around, prepared to sprint away, when an open door
caught my eye.

I took a deep breath and peered into the
room. I knew right away it was Alejandro’s. The room was large, and
everything was extravagant. A large bed with dark, satin sheets was
against the opposite wall. The blankets were tossed back from his
haste, and a pair of pants was in a pile on the ground.

Did Alejandro sleep naked?

I stepped back from his room. It didn’t
matter. A war was raging outside the house. He may never get back
into that bed again. I rushed down the hall, flying down the
stairs. Men were shouting outside, their angry voices circling the
house.

They were in the front. I could see shadows
dance across the lawn, crossing by the windows every now and then.
I hurried through the foyer, trying to remember my way to the
kitchen. It was dark now, and I could barely see where I was
going.

I bumped into a table in a parlor, knocking a
vase to the ground. I caught it but not soon enough. Part of the
top chipped off. Grimacing, I set it back and rushed through the
room.

Finally, I stepped foot into the kitchen.
Moonlight filtered in through the large windows. I didn’t waste any
time. I ran through, stopping only to unlock the glass doors in the
breakfast nook. I threw the door open and stepped onto a patio.

My breath caught in my chest. My mouth fell
open as the scent of the ocean wafted around me. The patio jutted
off a hillside, overlooking the ocean. A salty breeze lifted the
bathrobe from my skin, and I shivered. Waves lapped at the shore,
crashing against the sand in a gentle roar, the sound drowning out
the shouts.

Everything was still around me, and I stood,
transfixed, watching the dark ocean.

“
Running away,
chica
?”

I startled, whirling around and taking a
defensive stance. Alejandro stood behind me in the threshold of the
doorway.

“
It’s a long way down,” he
said, moving forward, eyes trailing to the edge of the patio. “And
it’s not safe out there.”

I opened my mouth, my voice suddenly gone.
His arms and shoulders were covered in tattoos, like I had
imagined. I couldn’t help but run my eyes over him, taking in his
six-pack abs and muscular arms. The AK47 was slung casually over
his shoulder. Just like in my dream. Holy fuck, could my pussy lust
any harder?

“
I wasn’t running,” I
finally said. The wind picked up, blowing my hair into my eyes. I
blinked and pushed it back.

Alejandro licked his lips and took another
step toward me. I pressed my arms into my sides and held my
ground.

“
Really?” he asked, not
convinced. “Then tell me, my dear, what are you doing out
here?”

“
Looking for you,” I
blurted.

Alejandro’s eyebrows pushed together for a
split second. He tipped his head. “And why would you do that?”

The wind blew again, going up the robe and
reminding me that I wasn’t wearing panties. I blushed. “I don’t
really know,” I confessed. “I saw you go after whoever…whoever was
shooting at you then not come back.”

That surprised him. “You were worried about
me?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I just…” I
trailed off. “I wanted to see what was going on. I’m a cop,
remember? I can’t help but go toward the sound of danger when I
hear it.” I knew I was rambling, but I couldn’t help it. Hell, I
couldn’t explain to myself why I wanted to find Alejandro.

He moved closer. There were
only a few inches between us. I swallowed hard as a tingle of
desire went through me. I didn’t want to be so attracted to
Alejandro. I didn’t want to react to his presence in such a
physical way. I blinked. Why? Why was I so concerned with
not
being attracted to
Alejandro? I bit the inside of my cheek and looked at him. I
shouldn’t want someone like him, and I spent my life doing what I
should do, not what I wanted to do.

“
Did you get them?” I
whispered.

“
Who?”

“
The people shooting…or
whatever. What the hell is going on?” I asked, suddenly afraid
gunfire might rain down on us. I wanted to close the distance
between us, to have him wrap his arms around me and feel
safe.

I closed my eyes in a long blink.

“
I did,” he said. “And it’s
nothing of your concern.”

“
I beg to differ.” I shook
my head and took a step back. “I’m here. When people are trying to
kill you, I think it effects me.”

Alejandro smirked. “If that was an attempt to
kill me, I am most unimpressed.”