by Elle James
Lily faced the fact she was in deep with this family. If things didn’t work out between her and Tony, she’d be in for a whole lot of heartache.
Tony caught up with Robbie in the hallway outside the restaurant. He took the boy’s hand and walked him down the grand staircase and out into the courtyard where the pool was lit up like a shining blue rectangle in the darkness
Though there were guests still swimming, Tony led Robbie to a deserted end of the pool and sat with him on one of the lounge chairs. For a few minutes they sat in the darkness, side by side on the same lounge, their hands locked behind their heads, staring up at the night sky.
Robbie had stopped crying and lay silent, a stray hiccup the only sound coming from him.
Tony searched for words that could help his son get past his fear. But he couldn’t get past his own. He tried several times to say something but couldn’t. Finally, he said, “Miss Grayson is a good teacher, isn’t she?”
Beside him, Robbie nodded.
“You know, she taught me something, too.”
Robbie turned his head and looked at him. “She did?”
“Not the usual things like math, reading or writing, but something even more important.”
Robbie turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow. “What was that?”
“To notice the things and people around me.” He slipped his arm around his son. “I was so sad about losing your mother, I didn’t pay attention to what I still had. And what was that?” He smiled at Robbie.
“Me and Mari,” Robbie said.
“That’s right. She reminded me that I still had you two, and that I should love each and every moment I have with you.”
“I miss mama,” Robbie said.
Tony’s heart pinched in his chest. “I miss her, too. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be happy and enjoy being with you and Mari. Your mama would have wanted us to fish, snorkel and spend time together. She would have loved seeing you catch your first fish. Just like Lily and I loved watching. It’s okay to be happy.”
“But those bad men…” Robbie’s eyes teared up again.
“They can’t take your happiness away without your permission. You get to keep your happiness. Just because they were bad doesn’t mean you can’t have good memories of your time with me, Mari and Lily. Those are your memories to keep forever.”
Robbie nodded then swallowed hard. “Will they come back?”
“I don’t know. But we will be brave no matter what.” Tony touched a finger to Robbie’s temple. “And we will have our memories tucked away in the backs of our minds, to bring out when we’re scared or lonely, to cheer us up.”
Robbie rolled to his back and tucked his hands behind his head again. For a long time, he lay there without saying a word.
Tony thought his son might have fallen asleep.
“Papi, I don’t hate fishing,” he said softly,
“I know you don’t.”
“And I don’t hate snorkeling,” he continued. “And I love you and Miss Grayson and will remember the good parts of today when I feel sad or lonely.”
“That’s my boy,” Tony smiled up at the sky. “Remember the good times.” He should have taken his own advice long ago, instead of wallowing in his grief and forgetting the goodness he’d had with Marisol and the good times yet to come with his children.
They lay in the lounge chair for a little longer without talking.
“Papi?”
“Yes, hijo?”
“Are you going to marry Miss Grayson?” Robbie asked.
The question caught Tony by surprise. “Why do you ask?”
“I saw you kissing her. Aren’t you supposed to be married to kiss someone?”
Tony laughed. “A lot of people kiss without being married.”
“Do you love Miss Grayson?” Robbie persisted.
Tony thought about it. He’d been absolutely certain of his love for Marisol from the moment he’d met her to the day she’d died.
Lily had been like a burr under his saddle from the moment he’d met her. She’d grown on him, slipping beneath his defenses until he couldn’t get her out of his mind. And the kiss they’d shared…
Now, he’d never get her out of his mind. And he wasn’t so sure he wanted to. He liked her drive, determination and spunkiness. And he loved how she was protective of the ones she loved, and how loyal she was to her family. If he was to fall in love, Lily would be a good choice. He wanted her. To kiss her, hold her and make love to her. But love her? Was it possible to fall in love a second time in one life?
“I don’t know, Robbie,” Tony said. “Maybe.”
Chapter 10
Exhausted from their day in the sun, Lily had changed into her flamingo pajamas and sat on the sofa waiting for Tony and Robbie to return to the room. After a while, she must have fallen asleep. The next thing she knew, she was being lifted in Tony’s arms and carried to her bed.
She blinked up at him and slid her arms around his neck. “Did you and Robbie work things out?”
“Uh-huh,” he said and brushed a kiss across her lips.
“I’m glad. He’s had it rough.”
“Yes, he has.”
“Do I need to get him into his PJs and tuck him in?” She laid her cheek against his chest, loving the reassuring beat of his heart thumping against her ear.
“No. He’s already in bed, sound asleep.”
She looked up into his dark eyes. “No book?”
He shook his head. “Too tired.” Then he placed her on her little bed in the living room.
Lily didn’t want to let go of him. “Are you too tired?”
He chuckled. “Why? Are you going to read to me?”
“If you want me to,” she said and leaned up and pressed her lips against his. “I’m all for reading, but I’d rather kiss.”
“Kissing can be dangerous,” he said touching his mouth to her forehead.
“Agreed. Apparently, we’re danger magnets, today.” Lily chuckled and pulled him down to her. “My bed’s small, but I’m willing to share.” She scooted to the side, making room for him.
He kissed a path down her neck to where her pulse beat fast at the base of her throat. “My bed’s bigger, and not out in the middle of the living room.”
“I was wondering if you’d figure that out.”
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her into his bedroom, closing the door mostly, but not all the way. “You’re still fired.”
“If you hadn’t fired me, I’d quit.” She nuzzled the side of his neck and sighed. “How long is it socially acceptable for a girl to wait to sleep with a man she’s just met?”
He laid her on the bed and raised a hand, counting off on his fingers. “How many days have we known each other?”
“Counting today?” Lily laughed. “A lifetime. When you were out there shooting at the attacking boat, time stood still for at least a century.”
“I’d say that’s long enough.” Tony pulled his shirt out of his waistband and started unbuttoning it.
Lily rose up on her knees, pushed his hands aside and finished. Then she shoved the shirt over his broad shoulders and down his arms, admiring the way his muscles flexed when he moved. The shirt fell to the floor, and Lily reached for the button on his trousers.
He laid his hand over hers. “Once we start, there’s no going back.”
“I don’t want to go back.” Lily sighed. “And if there is no ‘us’ tomorrow, I’ll be happy we had tonight.” She looked up. “Hell, what I’m trying to say is that I’m not expecting anything out of tomorrow. No obligation. I won’t cling and call you a hundred times to ask why you haven’t called me. So, you’re safe.”
“What if I want to call you?”
Lily shrugged with a wicked smile. “I might answer the phone.” She rested her hand on his chest, drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Are we doing this, or are we talking? You never know when one of the little people will wake with a nightmare.”
&n
bsp; He arched an eyebrow. “I’m game.”
“So am I.” She reached for the hem of her night shirt, and pulled it over her head, tossing it to the side, not too far out of reach. Having shed her bra earlier, she was naked from the waist up. “Your turn.”
He unbuttoned his trousers and stepped out of them and his boxers.
Her gaze snagged on his erection. Then she smiled and wrapped her hands around his shaft. “I was beginning to wonder if I was even remotely turning you on.”
“You have your answer.” He backed away and held up a finger. “Hold that thought.” Then he walked to the door and peeked out into the living room.
“Any sign of little people?” Lily asked as she slipped out of her flamingo pajama bottoms and panties.
Tony closed the door and turned to find her standing there in nothing but a smile.
His eyes flared as he crossed the room and took her into his arms. “I’ve wanted to do this all day.”
“What was stopping you, besides children, employees and drug cartels?” She cocked an eyebrow and cupped his cheek in her palm. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? No regrets. No guilt.”
He nodded. “I’m ready.”
“Good, because I can’t wait another minute.” Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.
Skin to skin felt even better than she’d dreamed. She slid her calf around the back of his leg and rubbed her center across the top of his thigh. The friction made her breath catch. Being naked wasn’t enough. She wanted so much more.
Tony ran his hands down her back and over the swells of her buttocks, catching her at the backs of her thighs and lifting her off the ground.
Lily wrapped her legs around his waist, her entrance poised over his hard shaft. “Before we go there…”
“Protection?” He laid her on the bed and reached into the nightstand, pulled out an accordion of condoms and tossed them on the pillow beside her. “Will that be enough?”
“Maybe for tonight.” She dragged her finger down her torso to the tuft of hair over her mons and slipped it in between her folds, touching herself where she wanted him to touch her. “I’m guessing it’s been a while. Do you remember how to do this?”
He climbed over her, nudged her knees apart and settled his body between them. “I think I can remember. Making love is like riding a bike. You never forget how.”
“Hmm. Not sure I like the analogy. Am I supposed to be the bike?”
“If the bike fits, ride it…?” He captured her lips in a deep, soul-defining kiss that stole any other words she might have said and left her breathless and eager for more. His cock pressed against her entrance but didn’t push inward.
Lily lifted her knees and dug her heels into the mattress, pushing up her hips, wanting him inside her.
Instead of pressing in, he touched her with his lips, tasting, nipping and traveling across every inch of her skin, working his way down to her breasts.
There, he took one crest in his mouth, then tongued, flicked and rolled the nipple until it tightened into a firm bead.
Lily moaned softly and writhed beneath him.
He shifted to the other breast and treated it to the same sweet torture. When he had her so wound up she thought she might explode, he moved down her torso with his tongue and mouth, blazing a path to the thatch of hair at the apex of her thighs. He parted her folds with his thumbs and dove in, taking the little strip of flesh into his mouth, flicking, sucking and laving it.
Lily hovered on the edge of orgasm, her body tense…waiting…waiting…
Then Tony flicked her clit one last time and sent her spiraling out of control. The electric shocks started at her core and rippled across her nerves to the very tips of her fingers and toes.
She rode the wave of sensations all the way to the end, collapsing against the mattress, breathing like a runner at the end of a marathon.
Lily paused for only a moment, her satisfaction nearly complete, but needing more to make it perfect. She dug her fingers into Tony’s thick black hair and dragged him up her body. “I want you. Inside. Now.” Reaching to the side, she grabbed the string of condoms, ripped one free and tore it open. Her hands shook with her need.
Tony took the condom from her and rolled it down over his shaft. He pressed the tip to her entrance and bent to take her mouth, thrusting his tongue past her teeth as he drove himself home inside her.
Her hands on his buttocks, Lily guided him in and out, setting a slow pace at first, increasing the speed with her level of need.
He took over, rocking in and out of her, hard and deep.
She dug her heels into the mattress and raised her hips, meeting him thrust for thrust.
Tony’s body grew rigid. He drove deep one last time and held himself there, his cock pulsing with the force of his release. Then he dropped down on her, rolling her to the side and into his embrace.
She lay there, her cheek resting against his naked chest. “Wow.”
“Agreed,” he murmured against her temple.
“I wish we could stay like this forever,” she said, snuggling closer.
“Me, too.”
Lily sighed. “Alas, we can’t.”
“No, we can’t.” Tony chuckled. “It was hard enough to explain to Robbie why we were kissing.”
“He saw that?” Lily shook her head. “Not much gets past that kid.” She leaned up and kissed him one last time, and then rolled out of the bed and onto her feet. It took her a few moments to locate her pajamas and her panties. Once she was wearing them, she turned back to Tony.
He’d risen and slipped into a pair of boxer shorts. He pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Can I call you?”
She laughed. “If you want. I might answer.” Then she quietly slipped out of his room, relieved to find the living room empty of children. She checked on Robbie and Mari, tucking their blankets under their chins and bending to kiss them, again.
When she looked up, she caught Tony watching from the doorframe.
“You really are good to them,” he whispered.
“It helps if you like them,” she said and moved to pass him.
He put out his arm and blocked her exit. “It does help if you like them. And I love them more than I ever imagined.”
Lily’s heart swelled. She loved them, too. And she was well on her way to falling in love with their father.
Chapter 11
Tony woke the next morning to the incessant ringing of the phone on his nightstand. He rolled over to look at the green glow of the digital clock. Five o’clock in the morning. Who in the hell would call him that early on the house phone?
He lifted the receiver. “Yeah.”
“Tony, it’s Hank. We’ve been monitoring the weather and flight status. There’s a break in the storms, and the airlines are flying out of San José to Texas. If you want to get your kids on one of those flights, now would be the time. I know it takes three hours to drive them to the airport. If they get on the road now, they can get to the airport in time to catch the noon flight out.”
“On it. Thanks for the heads-up.” Tony flung the covers aside and rolled out of bed and onto his feet.
“Everything all right?” Lily poked her head through the door, her hair mussed, and her face flushed from sleep. “I heard the phone ring.”
“The airlines are flying out of San José today. They’ve had a break in the weather. We need to gather the children and get on the road as soon as possible.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re sending them back to the States?”
“Yes. I’m sending you, Robbie and Mari back to Texas until we figure out what to do about El Patron.” He didn’t want to, not after what had happened between him and Lily the night before. Everything seemed so new and fragile.
Lily frowned. “You aren’t coming with us.”
“Just because I leave doesn’t mean El Patron will give up on his plot for revenge. He’ll go after my holdings,
my staff and my friends. I can’t leave them to deal with the backlash.”
Lily went to Tony and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I wish I could stay and help.”
He pressed a kiss against her temple. “You’ll be helping me more by making sure my children make it safely back to Texas and are well and happy there until I return.”
She nodded and looked up into his eyes. “Will you call me?”
He winked. “I might.”
She leaned up on her toes and kissed his lips. “I might answer.”
Tony pulled her into a tight hug, not wanting to let go but not wanting her to remain in the path of El Patron’s wrath. He sighed and set her at arm’s length. “Getting you and the kids back to the States is the right thing to do.”
“I agree. We can’t let that monster hurt Robbie and Mari. I’ll do my best to make sure they arrive safely, and I’ll stick around until you return.”
He kissed her forehead. “Thank you.”
She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “We’d better get moving if we want to get to the airport in time for the flight out.”
“I’d send you via private jet, but I’m not sure I can arrange one fast enough to take advantage of the break in the weather.”
“We’ll survive on a commercial flight.” She laughed. “I don’t want to get spoiled flying charter. Although, it was really nice.”
“I’ll see what I can arrange,” he promised.
“I’ll get the kids up, dressed and packed while you make the flight arrangements, whatever they are.” Lily hurried into the other bedroom and kissed Robbie and Mari awake.
The children weren’t too happy about getting up before the sun. Lily had to dress them while they sat up half-asleep. Then she packed a suitcase each containing a couple changes of clothing and their favorite toys. Their father could ship the rest of their things to them later.
“Why do we have to leave?” Robbie asked. “Is it because of the bad guys?”
