“You’d be surprised. I had a pretty decent instructor. Two actually.”
She chuckled, but it quickly turned into a bark of laughter at his wink.
“Yes, you did.”
Dios, the dance lessons she and Tía Mili had given him in the condo living room over that first summer seemed like eons ago. He’d come over for dinner, and she and Tía Mili had music playing in the background as they danced around the kitchen together. Tía Mili reminisced about the parties she and Mami had attended as young girls, when they’d met Papi and Tío David.
Nate had surprised them by asking if they’d teach him how to dance. Sofía swore that was the night he won over Tía Mili. A gringo shimmying his hips, awkwardly at first, quick to laugh at his missteps. Eventually easing into the motions of the salsa and merengue.
The bachata, like the one playing now, had come later, when there hadn’t been a chaperone. When it’d just been the two of them, bodies pressed together, learning how to move as one. A promise of what would come. When they were both ready.
Nate led her across the bricked dancing area to the edge of the light shining from the patio bar, where they could dance in the half shadows. She moved into his open arms, awareness sizzling through her when he placed his right palm between the small of her back and her left hip, guiding her closer. Sliding one hand behind his right shoulder, she laid her other in his open palm in a dancer’s hold.
“You ready for this?” Nate whispered in her ear.
Her pulse sparked, excitement and desire flaring in secret parts of her body.
“Show me what you’ve got.”
Laughter rumbled in his chest, carrying into hers.
They waited a few beats, then his gentle pressure on her hip signaled for her to start along with him. With one thigh tucked snuggly between his, their hips and upper bodies pressed together, they followed the sensuous rhythm. Swaying, undulating, moving beautifully, like always, as one.
Sofía buried her face in his neck, breathed deeply of his musky cologne. His palm slid from her hip to the center of her back, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. Her breath hitched as he bent her backward in a deep, circular dip that had her hair skimming the brick at their feet. Her hold tightened on his shoulders, at the same time the rest of her body remained fluid, allowing the gentle pressure from his hands and hips to guide her. She was putty in his arms. Willingly.
Because she trusted him.
The song ended, but neither of them released their close hold on the other. Somehow, they had drifted further into the shadows and now stood sandwiched between the broad palm trees lining the walkway and the right side of the enclosed stage.
“God, I’ve missed this,” Nate said, his husky voice tickling her ear.
“Nate, I’m—”
“I know. I don’t have any right to say that,” he interrupted, mistaking her words as a cry for him to back off.
He stared down at her, the play of shadow and light accentuating his angular features. The pain clouding his eyes pierced her heart.
“I’m sorry, Sof. I messed up before; I know that now. I’m only hoping you can forgive me for—”
“Shhh,” she murmured, placing her fingertips over his lips.
Tucking his chin, Nate pressed his forehead to hers. Their warm breath mingled in the tiny space between them.
“I’m going to make things right for you,” he promised.
But she knew that wasn’t something he could guarantee. They did, however, have the next few days together. “How about if we only think about right now? Forget about everything else and give ourselves the rest of the week.”
Nate drew back, his hands falling to rest on her hips. A tiny V of confusion creased between his brows. “What do you mean?”
“Once you leave, who knows how everything is going to play out. But between now and Friday, maybe...”
Dios mío, could she do this and not get hurt again?
But she was already hurting. Why cheat herself out of something great when it was right in front of her? All she had to do was grab onto it.
“Maybe, we enjoy being with each other here. Knowing that come Monday, we can’t...it’ll be too...” She trailed off, overcome by the very real idea that they would be on opposite sides. Any chance of a relationship gone. For good this time.
“Don’t give up on us,” he demanded, his voice a desperate plea.
“It’s not that simple. If I lose, I’ll be devastated,” Sofía admitted.
She cupped his cheek, lovingly stroked his strong jaw. Nate leaned into her touch, turning his head to kiss her palm. Longing and regret clogged her throat and she swallowed hard, struggling to push it down, back into a dark corner of her soul.
“If you lose, who knows how your father will react. I don’t want to be a part of that negativity. Not aga—” She broke off, unwilling to hurt him by revealing the bribe his father had offered all those years ago. That secret would remain hers. She refused to be the one who created a wedge between him and his familia.
“Whatever happens with the resort shouldn’t define us,” he argued.
“That place. It’s not just business to me. You know that.” Elbows crooked, she flattened her palms on his chest and stared up at him, desperate for him to understand.
Nate’s eyes drifted closed. His soft sigh released a warm puff of whiskey-tinged air that caressed her face.
Heart pounding a fast bongo beat, she whispered, “Can we forget about what might happen on Monday and just be together for the next few days?”
“And then?”
Tears stung her eyes. She lifted her shoulders in a desolate shrug, trying to smile, but failing miserably. “I don’t want to think beyond right now. Can we not do that?”
Behind them, the band struck up the notes of another sexy bachata. A determined expression tightened Nate’s features as he stared off into the darkened area of Mallory Square and the open ocean behind them.
“Nate?” she whispered, anxious for him to answer. Praying he’d agree to her terms.
He looked down at her, his face difficult to read in the mottled shadows. His fingers flexed on her hips and desire sparked through her, shooting straight to her core. He dipped his head toward her. Paused. Sofía’s breath caught in her throat when his gaze drifted down to her mouth, then back up to meet hers again, as if waiting for her to give him some sign. Some reassurance.
She didn’t need to be asked twice.
Rising onto her toes, she slid her arms around his neck, drawing his head closer. She captured his mouth with hers, his muffled groan vibrating against her lips.
His hands slid down to cradle her butt, pressing her lower body intimately against his as he deepened their kiss. The tip of his tongue flicked against her lips, and she opened for him. He tasted like fine whiskey and sin. A heady combination that had her arching her body against his, wanting, needing more.
Her fingers splayed in the short hair at his nape. Teased the shell of his ear. Everything around them faded as she reveled in the feel, the taste, the scent of this man who was everything she’d always wanted. But whom fate wouldn’t allow.
A loud bark of laughter broke through Sofía’s desire-fogged brain, reminding her they weren’t alone. Though partially hidden by the vegetation and shadows, tourists and locals strolled nearby, with diners and waitstaff around the corner in front of the stage.
Reluctantly she broke their kiss, then leaned against Nate, pressing her face in the crook of his neck. He turned them so his back faced any onlookers, his hands tracing up her spine to cradle her shoulder blades, as if protecting her from those around them.
“You wanna get out of here?” he murmured in her ear before pressing a kiss on her temple.
She nodded. More than ready for them to have some privacy.
“Let’s go home,” he said, hooking an arm around her shoulders.
Sofía looped both her arms around his waist, nestling close to his side. Nate kissed the top of her head, and
a warm sensation of absolute rightness rushed through her.
Home. With Nate.
Dios, she liked the sound of that.
Chapter Ten
Sofía tiptoed from the bathroom, bending to snag one of Nate’s T-shirts from the top of his duffle bag. The scent of his cologne lingered on his shirt, enveloping her as she slipped it over her head.
At the foot of her bed, she stopped, watching Nate sleep as the soft glow of moonlight filtering through the window bathed him. Dios mío, she didn’t think she’d ever tire of this view. The measured rise and fall of his muscular chest, his handsome face relaxed, lips slightly open, their edges curved at whatever dream played in his mind.
Anxious to be near him, she crawled back in bed, tugged the covers up around them, then snuggled against his side. Nate shifted, turning to wrap an arm around her waist.
“Mm, you feel good,” he murmured.
He nuzzled her neck, sending pinpricks of awareness marching down her chest.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” she answered.
“And miss this?” His palm skimmed her hip, down her thigh, then back again in a sensual tease.
Desire flared at his touch, and she rocked her lower body closer instinctively seeking his.
Nate gently nipped her chin with his teeth, then dropped a feather-light kiss to the same spot. Trailing kisses along her jaw, he reached her ear where he blew a warm breath that raised goose bumps on her skin. She pressed closer, seeking more of him.
“Sleep is overrated anyway,” he whispered.
She chuckled. “That’s good since we haven’t had much the past two nights.”
“I’d take this.” He laved her earlobe with his warm tongue. “And this.” Teased her with a kiss above her beauty mark, near the corner of her mouth. “And this.”
Finally, his lips covered hers in a soul-stirring kiss. She moaned her approval, her tongue brushing against his. He caressed her hip, his hand slowly moving to cup her breast. She arched back, her nipples pebbling at his attention.
As if sensing her plea, he bent to suckle her through his shirt. A gasp escaped her throat as the heated moisture sent need arrowing down to her core.
“You’re so beautiful,” Nate murmured.
He pressed an open-mouthed kiss along her neck, then propped himself on his elbow to look at her.
Brushing her hair out of her face, Sofía stared up at him. Nate’s sleep and desire heavy eyes locked with hers. He mimicked her move, combing his fingers through her tresses. The gentle, almost loving gesture affected her as deeply as his strokes along the more intimate places of her body.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, his voice a gruff whisper. “More importantly, I owe you an apology, Sof.”
His words, though more than likely meant to soothe her, had Sofía drawing back to avoid them.
“We don’t have to do this.” Shaking her head, she pushed herself to sit up. Afraid to talk about the past. Scared to think about the future. “What’s done is done.”
Grabbing her pillow, she shoved it against the headboard to lean against it.
Nate sat up, too. The cream-colored sheet falling to his waist. The dips and planes of his bare torso begged her to run her hands over their expanse. Stubbornly, she fisted her hands in her lap.
“Don’t shut me out, Sofía. I’ve been stumbling over these words, the same painful thoughts scrambling my brain, since the last time we were together. Here, in Key West.”
Anger, fueled by hurt, flashed in her belly. “I don’t really want to talk about another woman while we’re in bed together.”
“Fair enough.” Tossing the sheet aside, Nate rose in all his naked glory. He stepped into a pair of boxers, but didn’t bother with a shirt. Instead, he strode to the loveseat where he plopped down, arms crossed, his firm biceps flexing with the motion.
“Well, are you going to join me?” he asked when she hadn’t moved.
“Nate—”
“You asked for us to give each other these days together. Those were your terms. Mine is that we not continue with this hanging over us. This unspoken elephant in the room.”
She eyed him warily, trying to decide if this was an argument she could win. Ultimately, the mix of determination and anxiety swimming in his green eyes had Sofía sliding out of bed. Rather than sit with him on the cozy loveseat, she chose a stool at the breakfast bar. Needing the distance as a buffer.
The pain she’d felt when Nate had opted to go along with his father’s request was still fresh. A wound that still felt raw and unhealed. Despite the two years that had passed.
Nate started to stand. Sofía held a hand up to stop him. He tensed, but ultimately sank back onto the loveseat.
“Okay, you need some space,” he acquiesced.
The fact he knew her well enough to understand that when she was upset, she either pulled back, draping a protective shield around herself so she could regroup, or she turned to loved ones for support, weakened her resolve to separate herself from him.
And yet...somehow, he hadn’t known how badly his decision to propose to another woman would hurt her?
That thought kept Sofía glued to her stool, no matter how badly she wanted to go to Nate. Have him wrap his strong arms around her and promise everything would work out.
“The last time I was here, when I came to tell you about my father’s ultimatum of propose to Melanie or risk being removed from the company, my head was a mess,” Nate admitted.
That made two of them.
He rubbed a hand through his hair, tousling it even more. The move gave him a rumpled look that seemed to mesh with the jumble of troubled emotions swarming around and through them both.
“If you want the God’s honest truth, with none of those lies of omission you’ve always warned me against...” he said. “I flew down here hoping you would tell me to say no.”
Sofía gasped, shocked by his admission. Shocked and angered at the same time.
“Nate, you can’t put that on me,” she cried. “It’s not fair.”
“I know. I realize that now. Back then, though? I was scared.” He shook his head. Even in the moonlit shadows, she noted his abject misery.
His easy acceptance of his failure sucked the wind out of her debate sail, deflating her ire.
“I should have stood up to my father. And Melanie’s. For you and me, and for her. She was miserable. I was miserable. Hell, misery, a sense of duty, and our long-standing friendship are pretty much all Melanie and I shared. Well...” He lifted an arm, then let it fall back onto his lap. “That and the secret about her reconnecting with an old boyfriend she couldn’t quite get over. Talk about two people stuck on a sinking ship. Ha!”
His bark of laughter was more disdain than mirth.
He rose to pace the short length of her living area, from the far wall near the bed’s headboard, back to the love seat, then spinning on his heel to make the loop again.
The other day, he’d pointed out what he called her tells. The signs that clued him in when she was frustrated, upset, or angry. His tell was pacing while his mind worked to sort out one problem or another. Like now.
“It was unconscionable. My father issuing his ultimatum. My mom backing him up on it. Her? Of all people?” He flung his arms out as if at a loss for words.
But his pacing continued, indicating he wasn’t done.
Sofía watched him battle with whatever demons ruled his thoughts right now. She wanted to go to him, stop the frantic pacing by taking him into her arms. Damn his father for causing this turmoil in the son who only wanted to make him proud.
And yet, Nate was also the man who’d broken her heart. Caused one of the biggest losses of her life. The loss of belief in herself. For a moment, until the girls had knocked some sense into her, Sofía had doubted her worth. Because she had put so much faith in Nate.
That couldn’t happen again.
So she stayed on her stool. Torn between comforting the only man she had lov
ed and protecting herself.
“How could my mom, who has lived in a loveless marriage most of her adult life, have urged me to do the same?” Elbows bent, fists balled in front of him, Nate swung away from the far wall, striding back toward the coffee table.
Suddenly, he veered left, toward Sofía.
“But the real mistake is on me.” He stopped a few feet away from her. Self-reproach stamped his features in a stark mask of pain.
Her breath trapped in her chest, Sofía felt tears prick her eyes.
“You were the best thing in my life, Sof. The one person I could always count on to be real. And I let you down.”
“You hurt me.”
He flinched at her quiet admission.
Inside, she did, too. Her words didn’t come easily. Admitting a weakness had never been her strong suit. But he needed to know how his decision had affected her. Because he was right; if she wanted to truly get the most out of these last few days together, she had to be honest with him, too.
“Part of me understands,” she continued. “I’d do anything for my familia. And I would never say or do anything that would pit you against yours.”
Her pulse hiccupped at the thought of the hateful secret she kept. The bribe money his father had offered her all those years ago. She refused to provide ammunition in the battle between Nate and his dad, not when she worried Nate would be the one to come out wounded.
“And the other part?” Nate asked.
“The other part is angry. At the situation. At you.”
Nate took a deep breath, quickly releasing it on a rush of air. “I deserve it. I know.” He stepped closer. “But I have one question for you.”
The intense gleam in his eyes had Sofía sitting up on the stool, wary about his intent.
“All these years, you’re the one who reminded us of that ‘no-strings-attached’ credo. If my ill-fated, idiotic decision hurt you, could that by any chance imply you didn’t like living by the rule? Could you consider giving it up?”
Ay, how she longed to believe a future with them was possible. But with Monday’s meeting looming, and his father’s influence a steady deterrent, anything more than what they had right now didn’t seem possible.
Resort to Love Page 11
