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His hands were skimming over her stomach again, cupping her breasts, and his erection was rock hard against her. Good God. Had that part of him gotten bigger, too?
He reached under her skirt, exploring her thighs, and she opened her legs, wanting more.
“You feel so good, so soft.” His voice was rough in her ear. “You want this nice and slow, or you want this hard?”
The question spread a wave of heat through her, and she swallowed a lump in her throat. “Hard.”
His fingers flexed as the word floated out of her mouth. He hissed out a breath, and his hand moved higher, finding the edges of her panties.
“Hard,” he rasped. “That’s exactly what I want right now with you.”
As he spoke those words, he slipped his hand under the lace of her panties and stroked her, dipped his fingers inside her. She moaned and rocked into his hand.
“Oh, fuck,” he muttered.
Damn, this would be good. Something about him made her light up. When they had their last fight, he had said something that stuck. A man like him could only have two purposes for a woman like her: to work for her or to fuck her. Not that she believed it, but if that was all he was offering...
“Let’s do this now, Simon,” she said, her voice tight in her throat. Before she looked too closely at what was happening.
His hands disappeared, and there was a rustling behind her. After a moment, he set the condom wrapper on the counter next to her. Then he pulled away.
Marianna gripped the edge of the counter, willing herself not to turn around. Not to watch the look on his face in the intimate, erotic moment when he pulled himself out. Were his fingers trembling as he rolled the condom down his long, hard erection? Did he want her as badly as she wanted him? But she couldn’t make this any more personal.
All thought disappeared the moment he touched her again, coaxing her to bend over farther. They didn’t bother with undressing. He just lifted her skirt up and moved her panties to the side. He slid his erection along her core, back and forth, before he pushed in hard.
She gasped and cried out, and he growled behind her, thrusting again.
“Did you miss my hard cock?”
She gulped in a breath as bolts of white-hot pleasure shot through her body.
“Is this what you missed most?” His voice was heavy in her ear.
She couldn’t answer, but he knew this about her. He could fuck her speechless. Words became impossible when so much want and need spread through her. He was filling her, over and over again, hard and fast, building her up way too soon. She should have known he couldn’t just put aside their past. And neither could she.
Now they were right back where they were eleven years ago, and she didn’t have it in her to stop it. Not right now, when his hot breaths drifted over her neck and his voice rang in her ears. Each thrust took them deeper, closer. He slid his hands down her back, caressing, exploring. His fingers dug into her hips, and she answered him, pushing back against him, meeting each movement, seeking her own pleasure.
Oh, God.
Her knees began to shake, threatening to give out. Her own moans of pleasure were coming louder and faster as she spiraled out of control.
“Yes, Simon.”
Her body exploded in flashes of white heat as those words echoed inside. Yes, Simon. It was too much. She shook and crumbled onto the cool countertop as the waves of ecstasy rushed through her. Simon gave two last hard thrusts and roared out his own pleasure, sending another ripple of bliss through her. His big body shuddered behind her, and he breathed out a string of curse words in Spanish.
She smiled to herself. When she was younger, she got off on making him finish that way. Back then, she didn’t understand much of what he was saying—Spanish was the language her father had refused to teach her in his struggle to distance them both from his Cuban roots. She had fought to learn the language as an adult.
Marianna laid her cheek against the granite, trying to catch her breath. Simon bent over her, his hands on the counter next to hers, his skin hot through his shirt. His breaths brushed over her in heavy pants, and his lips pressed against her shoulder.
All too soon, he pulled out, and the warmth of his body disappeared. She caught a glimpse of him over her shoulder, his face twisted with emotion.
She didn’t want to know what came next. Not yet.
Pulling together her strength, Marianna straightened up and headed for the bathroom. She locked the door, leaned her elbows on the sink and buried her face in her hands. Just breathe. This was about closing the door on a part of her life, not opening it.
Goddamn him. And she still hadn’t figured out why he’d come in the first place. It had to be something about the past. She had never learned exactly what her father had said to him eleven years ago, but whatever it was had made him leave her behind. Her father had simply told her that he had made Simon a financial offer, and he didn’t choose Marianna. No discussion, not then, not ever. She had only seen Simon once after that, and he didn’t deny her father’s version.
That’s one way of saying it was all he had replied, his scowl darkening.
Not an admission, not a denial. But his actions spoke louder: he’d gotten the hell out of Miami.
And now, eleven years later, he just shows up?
Marianna took a deep breath and splashed water over her eyes. Then, slowly, she walked back to the kitchen.
The empty kitchen.
“Simon?”
The words echoed off the floors and the shiny countertops, mocking her.
“Simon?”
Nothing. She crossed the kitchen to a notepad on the counter. On the top of the first page, a handwritten note was left in that scrawl she’d never forgotten.
Call your lawyer and make a new plan. I’m taking care of security.
That was all.
“Damn you, Simon Rodriguez,” Marianna yelled out to no one.
CHAPTER THREE (#ub6423e12-17f1-5f35-87b5-c123f537ae9e)
THE SUN SHONE through the windows of Simon’s top-floor office, reflecting off the marble floor. Nothing was out of place on the sleek, modern desk in front of him, aside from the coffee cup Stephanie, one of the admins, had dropped off when she arrived. Probably cold by now. Simon slowly rocked in his soft leather chair and frowned out at the Sydney Harbour. He had gotten back from Miami a week ago, and he had wasted too much of that time thinking about Marianna.
What the hell was wrong with him?
At night when he was alone, he let his guard down, and images of that scene in the kitchen came flooding back. He was going to spend the next twenty years getting himself off to the memory of her soft warmth around him as he came deep inside her. And while the teenage memories were more dreamlike, this one was real. Raw. Whatever else had happened between them, the explosive spark hadn’t dulled over the years.
What would have happened if he hadn’t walked away last week? Maybe it was a dick move, but he’d had to cut that encounter short. Otherwise... Would they have spent the night reliving the past, over and over? Before he could stop himself, the fantasy took life: he’d carry her up to her room and taste her and tease her with his mouth until she told him the truth.
Did you believe your father over me all this time? Have you thought of me like I’ve thought of you?
When William was fucking you, did you ever wish it was me?
Those were the questions he’d taunt her with. Once she’d told him the truth, he’d make her come.
Simon had already come to terms with the fact that he’d never fully get over her. Maybe it was always like that with first loves.
If he hadn’t left last week, if he had stayed and kissed her and laid her down on her bed one more time, he wouldn’t have been able to pull himself away. Not until things got ugly again. Here in Sydney, he was a self-made man, but with her, he wasn’t sure he’d ever shake the feeling that he was from the wrong side of the tracks. Her father had made sure of that.
None of that matters now.
He was living his dream, so far away from the struggles that had plagued his childhood. Far from debts. Far from the illness that had sapped his mother’s life away. And the sickening feeling of helplessness as his family suffered.
His parents had given up everything when they’d left Cuba, and they’d put all their hopes into the future of their kids. If they were alive now, they’d be more than proud of him. He now experienced luxuries his teenage self would never have believed. He was living the kind of life his father had hoped to give his sons, the kind that should give Simon peace of mind—
Fuck. He had a meeting in a few minutes. He wouldn’t keep his team waiting.
Forget the past. Forget Marianna. He belonged here in this corner office with floor-to-ceiling glass and clients lining up at the door. Where people saw what he had become, not where he’d started.
The ghosts of yesterday didn’t really bother him anymore, anyway. He’d found his place alongside Cameron Blackmore, his boss, and his partners, Derek Latu and Max Jensen. They’d been through a lot of intense shit together, and the trust built through working on a security team together mattered far more than his hang-ups from years ago.
Simon grabbed the files spread out across his desk and headed out the door to the conference room.
Derek and Max were already seated at the half-circle table that faced the video conference screen, and Stephanie was fiddling with the system.
“Need some help?” he asked her.
“Please.” She beamed up at him, and he immediately regretted his offer. Her shirt was unbuttoned enough to give him a peek at her generous tits, and her smile was just a little friendlier than business appropriate.
She always lingered longer in his office than necessary, and he had tried hard not to lead her on in response. Not that she wasn’t attractive. Just an unnecessary complication.
“I’ll take care of this,” he said, gesturing to the system. “You can get back to work.”
Her smile fell a little, but she nodded and walked out.
Simon adjusted the settings, and Cameron Blackmore’s picture appeared on the screen in a conference room that mirrored their own.
“This thing actually works,” said Derek. “Your girlfriend was right, Cam.”
The corners of Cameron’s mouth turned up. “She’s right about a lot of things.”
“First Derek, now you,” said Max shaking his head. “What’s this place coming to?”
Simon had to smile. Derek had been married to Laurie for a couple years, but Simon never would’ve guessed that Cameron could fall in love so quickly. He had—with Jackson McAllister, the PR expert who’d been sent there from New York a few weeks ago to give their team an image adjustment. The moment Cameron asked Simon to get on a plane with him to follow her back to the States, Simon knew his friend was long gone on the woman. Which was how Simon had ended up back in Miami, the city he swore he’d never return to. With the woman he’d sworn to never get caught up in again.
“Looks like you’ve set foot in the New York office,” said Simon to Cameron. “Does that mean you and your father kissed and made up?”
Cameron gave a humorless laugh. “He’s still a fucking asshole, but he’s leaving me alone now that I have the board behind me. It’s probably the best I could hope for.”
Simon nodded. He had met Harlan Blackmore in person a handful of times. The man was as bad as Cameron made him out to be. Sometimes worse. He was the CEO of Blackmore Inc., the company Cameron’s grandfather had started, but he’d had it in for his son ever since Cameron took over the Sydney branch—which Harlan used to be in charge of.
“And your father’s on board for moving the global business toward surveillance instead of just focusing on personal security?” asked Derek.
“I couldn’t give a shit what my father thinks. The board is interested. That’s what matters,” said Cameron with a shrug.
The move made sense, and Simon had already expanded the new surveillance team for the Sydney branch. He had spent a lot of time with the IT department, and it was coming along, though not fast enough. When Cameron got back to Australia, Simon would officially take on that division of the business. Not that he didn’t still get off on the intensity of high-pressure personal security jobs, but building the new surveillance arm of Blackmore Inc., Australia, would be a chance to use his education instead of just his physical skills. In time, he hoped to offer his expertise to the board if they voted to make it a global initiative.
“Sick of my job yet, Derek?” Cameron smirked.
“Glad Simon is back. Not sure it was wise leaving me alone with this clown,” said Derek, nodding toward Max. “The only jobs he wants are with women.”
While Derek was the team’s responsible father bear—and the hulking Pacific Islander knew how to get just about anyone in line—Max was the resident playboy and joker. Probably because he was used to getting away with a lot. He came from a wealthy ranching family, the closest thing Australia had to royalty.
“One day you’ll join the ranks and find a woman who’ll bring you to your knees, Max,” said Cameron.
For once, Max didn’t smile.
“The problem isn’t finding her,” he muttered.
Right. Natasha. Shy marine biologist who he was always obsessing over, the one with a famous model sister. Why the hell didn’t Max just make a move on her? He wasn’t known for holding back in any situation, especially not one that involved a woman. Didn’t make much sense.
But obsessing over a woman did strange things to a reasonably sane guy. He should know that better than anyone. Simon frowned.
“I hear you, Derek,” said Cameron. “Glad you made it back from Miami, Simon. How was the visit?”
Cameron knew exactly how that visit would be. He knew better than anyone in the world the way Marianna had torn his heart out.
“We don’t need to talk about this now,” he growled. “That has nothing to do with Blackmore Inc. business.”
“Actually, it is Blackmore Inc. business,” said Cameron.
Simon gritted his teeth. What the fuck? Derek and Max looked from Cameron to him.
“I got a call from Marianna Ruiz yesterday,” Cameron continued. “She’s coming to Sydney for a few days. And she wants to hire you as a personal bodyguard, Simon.”
“Hell, no,” he blurted out. A screech of feedback echoed from the video conferencing system. “Follow her around while she’s here? What the fuck is she thinking?”
Cameron put his hands up. “I know. And I said something like that, though not quite in those terms.”
Simon’s heart was pounding hard in his chest. Hell, no. Just thinking about her was making him crazy. Spending time in close quarters with her, keeping his hands off that sweet little body? Watching her smile at every guy who hit on her? Yeah, not going to happen.
“No way I’m doing that, Cameron,” he said.
Cameron raised his eyebrows. “She said you’d probably react that way. I don’t even want to know what went down in Miami.”
Did he have to use the words what went down? Because that was all it took for that scene he had just imagined back in his office to flash in front of him. Vividly.
Simon closed his eyes. “I walked out on her, and she’s trying to get her revenge, Cam. That’s what’s going on.”
Max gave a low whistle.
“Now we know why you’ve been in a shit mood since you got back,” said Derek.
Cameron shook his head. “At first I thought it might be something twisted like that, too. But not anymore. She’s serious.”
Simon scowled.
