“What do you think this instructor will be expecting if basically it’s a date he’s paying for?” Nathan had asked with his ever illustrious lethal glare.
It was why, as soon as she was done with her training, they’d also insisted she cut all ties with the guy. She had for over a year until it came time to get her own van. When she explained to her brothers that, after doing much research, going through Elton was the best and cheapest way, they insisted she wasn’t signing anything with him as she did with her training. She’d pay him cash and be done with it. So she’d had no choice but to keep the loan from them.
Olivia knew Lorenzo’s reaction to the whole truth about Elton would be similar if not worse than her brothers given the explicit warnings about what he would not deal with. But she reasoned Elton was not someone Lorenzo would have to “deal” with. She didn’t even consider Elton a friend. It was strictly business. Just because Elton was hoping for more didn’t mean she was doing anything wrong continuing to do business with him. It was necessary until she was done paying him off, and as far as she was concerned, he was harmless. Given Lorenzo’s looks, she was certain plenty of girls he worked with were hoping for more as well. As long as he didn’t reciprocate, Olivia didn’t need to know about any of them.
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’l
l 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.
Suspicious Minds (Fate #3) Page 12
