by Nan Ryan
A bowing Mexican boy was there to take their horses. Suzette clung to Kaytano’s hand as he led her across a wide stone gallery to a huge set of heavy carved double doors. Inside the cool entry, a red-tiled floor made their footsteps echo. Suzette was looking about at the gracious home, eager to explore its many rooms. Kaytano had other ideas.
“Suzette, you’ve plenty of time to see the house. Tonight we are going to have our meal and go to bed. You look tired.”
“Fine, but I can hardly wait till morning.”
They entered a huge, high-ceilinged dining room of such unique beauty that Suzette was awestruck. The walls were of tooled leather and burgundy marble. The three-part inlaid table could seat fifty. Heavy, carved high-backed chairs upholstered in burgundy velvet were pulled up to the long, imposing table. Place settings for two in gold-rimmed china and crystal were laid out at one end of the table. As soon as they were seated, a smiling man entered to pour cold water into heavy goblets. The pleasant man was soon joined by two other servants, as a meal fit for a king was served. Kaytano proudly introduced Suzette to his servants. When the quiet, respectful Mexicans had left them alone, Suzette grabbed Kaytano’s hand and whispered, “Kaytano, I’m so embarrassed. What must your servants think of me? Here I am wearing an old pair of pants and dirty shirt. And my hair! I’m so ashamed. I should have cleaned up before dinner.”
Lifting his wineglass, Kaytano took a drink. His lips twitched with amusement when he brought Suzette’s hand up to his mouth. He kissed it and said against her palm, “Suzette, they aren’t my servants, they’re our servants. As to what they will think of you, if they’ve eyes in their heads they’ll think you the most beautiful woman they’ve ever seen. This is your home, darling, and you may dress any way you choose.” He released her hand, adding, “Now enjoy your food and stop worrying about the staff.”
Suzette picked up a gold-plated fork. “Kaytano,” she mused thoughtfully, “You’re rich.”
“Very,” was his one-word reply.
“Maria and Pancho told me you give gold to the poor. They said you are a generous man, a kind one. A Robin Hood.”
“I’ve given money to poor people, but I like my comfort as well as the next man,” he said. “I don’t deny my selfishness; it seems I’m something different in everyone’s eyes. Pancho and Maria think me a kind man, but most people consider me a dangerous animal. Neither is true.” Kaytano smiled and put a hand to her face. “And you, darling, how do you see me?”
“I see you only as the man I love, Kaytano. I don’t care about your past. I pray you’ll not continue your dangerous profession because I cannot bear the thought of you being killed or imprisoned.”
“Rest easy, love. I’ve no intention of risking my life again. I’ve made investments, so we’ve enough money to live comfortably for the rest of our lives. I’ve spent the last twenty-eight years running; I’ll spend the next twenty-eight in one place: here, with you.”
In their bedroom after the meal, Suzette rushed about looking at the luxurious private suite. The windows at the front of the big room gave on to the barren desert. Suzette stood before them, her eyes sweeping the horizon. She could see mountaintops a hundred miles away.
The sheets on the oversized bed with its carved headboard were turned down, ready for the night. Suzette turned about in the room, her eyes touching and admiring the beautiful furnishings, the gorgeous woven rug. “Kaytano, you know we…Kaytano?”
She crossed the room looking for him. The doors at the back of the bedroom were wide open. Suzette smiled and hurried to them. She gasped when she looked out at the walled courtyard. Blooming cactus and yucca plants made a colorful border around a gigantic tiled pond. Statues spewing water high into the air filled the pool. Suzette edged closer to the steps leading into the water. Never had she seen such opulence in a private residence. At the far end of the marble pool, one of the statues moved.
“Kaytano!” she screamed with delight. Naked, Kaytano dove into the water and sliced gracefully across the long pond to meet her. She crouched down at the pool’s edge, shaking her head.
He neared her and stood, reaching for her. She didn’t bother to fight him. In the water he stripped off her clothes and threw them over the side. Together they played, shouting and laughing under the rising moon. “Is this where you bathe?” she sputtered, pushing wet hair back off her face.
“Darling, we’re civilized down here. There’s a marble tub indoors, and there’s another place I bathe. I’ll show it to you. You’ve never seen anything like it.”
“So, show me,” she challenged and threw her arms about his neck.
Kaytano carried her from the pond and into the bedroom. Dripping water on the rug, he crossed the room and went up three steps. He took her to the strangest-looking structure she’d ever seen. The tall, square enclosure was tiled from top to bottom. Kaytano stepped inside. Suzette slid down Kaytano’s body and he released her.
“Are you ready for your bath?”
“Kaytano, what is this…this room?”
“A shower, love.” He twirled gold faucets, and from over their heads needles of water sprayed them.
Suzette’s head tipped up to the water. It rained down on her and she began to laugh. She was still laughing when Kaytano began to soap her gleaming body. Suzette put her hands on his chest and slid them up around his neck. “This is indecent!” she exclaimed happily.
“But sanitary,” he countered and lowered his head for her kiss.
When morning came, Suzette, rested and happy, kissed Kaytano awake. “I would like to get into that contraption you call a shower again,” she whispered, pressing kisses into his throat.
“I’ll ring for breakfast and join you there,” he said.
After their shower Suzette remained in the dressing room, brushing her long, damp hair. She took a white silk robe of Kaytano’s and slipped it on. She rolled the sleeves up over her hands, tied the sash, and padded barefoot into the bedroom.
At a square table beneath the front windows, Kaytano, in a black silk robe, sat drinking coffee. He looked up when she entered and Suzette felt her stomach turn over. She walked directly to him, bent, and kissed his mouth. She started to straighten, but Kaytano pulled her down onto his lap. She put up no argument. She put an arm around his neck and looked at the tempting foods laid out on the table. A silver bowl filled with plump, red strawberries caught her eye. She reached for one, dipping it into thick, rich cream, then into a bowl of sugar. She popped it into her mouth, sighing and rolling her eyes.
Kaytano grinned and pressed his lips to her neck. Suzette giggled and reached for another fat berry. Hungrily she plopped it into her mouth, but not before some of the loose sugar dropped from the berry.
“Whoops,” she laughed after consuming the delicacy. “I’ve sugar on my chin.” Promptly sticking out her tongue, she began to lick. “That got it?” she asked of Kaytano.
Dark eyes lowering, he said, “Not quite.” Sprinkled down the swell of her breasts, the sugar dusted the lapel of her robe and the bare skin where the robe gaped open. When Suzette looked at herself and raised a hand to brush it away, Kaytano’s fingers encircled her wrist. “No, Suzette.” He placed her hand on his shoulder. “Allow me.”
“But, Kaytano,” she began as he shifted her weight a little, her head on his shoulder.
Brushing her lips lightly, he murmured, “I’ll kiss you clean.”
His lips left hers and moved to her throat. Suzette sighed. “Kaytano, what if someone should see us?” she wondered aloud, as his mouth, warm and moist, was pressing her throat, moving lower, making it impossible to think clearly.
Without lifting his dark head, Kaytano reached a long arm out and drew the drapes together. The curtains remained open at the back of the room; the big courtyard was walled to ensure privacy. Kaytano slowly licked the sugar from her clean, soft skin.
“Kaytano”—she sounded breathless—“I think it’s all gone.”
“Umm,” he murmured, co
ntinuing to press his lips to her flesh as his blood began to heat. With his face he pushed the white silk robe farther and farther apart, until finally a full, pale breast spilled out. Kaytano’s hungry mouth moved over the creamy flesh while Suzette’s hand nervously caught at his thick, dark hair, her heart beating wildly. When finally his hot lips closed over the pink crest and he slid his hand under her to lift her to him, she closed her eyes and let her head fall against his shoulder. Nipping gently with his teeth, he murmured, “You’re much sweeter than the sugar.” Deftly, his lips never leaving her breast, Kaytano untied her robe, sliding the soft material apart so that she was naked to him.
His mouth slid up over her body to claim her lips. His kiss was fiery, urgent, burning her mouth, igniting her passions. When, breathless, Suzette pulled back, she whispered, “Darling…the bed.”
His warm lips at her throat, he said thickly, “I want you here, now.” Smoothly, as he handled all things, Kaytano, his kisses continuing their fiery assaults on her parted lips, her sensitive neck, her trembling throat, her jutting breasts, pushed the high-backed chair away from the table. With his hands on Suzette’s waist, he lifted her astride him, her creamy thighs and legs draped over his, her white robe still on her arms.
“Kaytano,” she murmured breathlessly, clinging to his shoulders.
“Yes,” he whispered, claiming her mouth with his while he opened his black silk robe. Suzette lifted her head and in a frenzy of desire, she jerked at his robe, as anxious as he for fulfillment. Both moaned when she lowered herself onto him, taking him inside her. His hands clasped her firm bottom while she moved her hips in slow circles. In a mating as unorthodox as Suzette could have imagined, she sat atop her lover in the sunny bedroom at the breakfast table and sensuously ground her eager body on his, while, from the moment of penetration to glorious earth-shattering release, she looked directly into his hot, black eyes as their souls mated too.
Collapsing, she buried her face in his brown shoulder. She felt his lips sprinkling soft kisses on her neck. Smiling, she lifted her head and said shakily, “Guess that will teach me to drop the sugar.”
Kaytano laughed heartily and raised a hand to her face. He trailed his knuckles down her warm cheek and said, “I was thinking I should ask for sugar at every meal. I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed breakfast more.”
Suzette put her hands into his hair and pushed his head back. Kissing him soundly, she said into his mouth, “I love you madly. I’m foolishly, totally in love with you, my darling. Please forbid me ever to leave you.”
“My sweet Suzette, I knew from the first hour I had you that I’d forbid you ever to leave me.” He ran his hands down her sides, gently pushing her away from him. Bending, he lowered his head to her left breast. Pressing his lips to her rapidly beating heart, he whispered, “Promise me that this precious heart I kiss will always beat only for me.”
“Yes,” she sighed, “only for you.”
Kaytano lifted his head. She smiled and placed her hand over his chest. “Yes,” he assured her, “it beats only for you.”
Kaytano was certain Suzette would need clothes, so he’d sent for three tailors from Mexico City. They traveled by train, bringing with them fabrics and patterns.
When the rich satins, silks, taffetas, and laces were spread out in the big dining room, Suzette called to Kaytano. “Darling”—she took his hand—“which ones do you like?”
Puzzled, Kaytano looked at the array of colors and textures, then at Suzette. “I’m sure you’ll make the right decisions, Suzette. If you have difficulty deciding, take them all.”
“You are not going to tell me what colors to choose, which cuts to…”
Kaytano laughed and started from the room. “You’re a grown woman, Suzette. Pick what suits you.”
Suzette stood looking after him, chewing her lip. Then she smiled. Kaytano was treating her like an intelligent, capable woman. She squared her shoulders and walked to the big dining table. “I’ll take this, and this, the blue one over there, this, this…”
Kaytano told Suzette he threw a party each year to help his friends celebrate the sixteenth of September, the anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain. It would be the perfect occasion for all his Spanish friends to meet the beautiful mistress of Cielo Vista. The elite of Mexico were invited to his desert paradise. Those from far away were invited to be houseguests.
At dusk on September 16 in the ballroom at Cielo Vista, glittering chandeliers illuminated the brightly tiled floors. The mariachi band from Mexico City, their clothes a Mexican fruit basket of color, were in place on a raised dais. Champagne cooled in silver buckets on a long table covered in white linen. Mountains of exotic foods filled the dining room. Suzette put the finishing touches on her upswept hairdo while Kaytano waited in the ballroom.
He was elegantly handsome, his snowy-white shirt set off with a brilliant red scarf knotted at his throat. His black suit fit him perfectly, tapering to his slim waist, the trousers snug over his lean legs. Kaytano was every inch the successful, respected grandee.
He turned when Suzette softly spoke his name. Startlingly beautiful, she came to him in a gown of black lace. A mantilla adorned her golden hair. Diamonds sparkled at her ears. Her slender waist only served to accent her high, full bosom swelling gloriously above her daring, low bodice. The dainty rustle of her long sweeping skirts was music to Kaytano’s ears. Before she reached him, he turned to the orchestra leader and spoke. Soft strains of romantic music filled the room. Bowing grandly from the waist, Kaytano kissed Suzette’s lace-covered hand and asked if she would favor him with a dance.
Overwhelmed by his magnetic, dark beauty, she nodded her head and he took her into his arms. Alone they turned about the polished floor, lost in each other, unaware that their guests were watching. At song’s end, applause rewarded the embarrassed couple, so much in love they’d not noticed that they were no longer alone.
The dance was the only one Kaytano was to have. Carriages began arriving, and elegantly dressed couples swept into the ballroom. Kaytano, with Suzette at his side, shook hands, welcomed friends to his home, and proudly introduced his beautiful mistress. Politicians, generals, socialites, aristocrats, and friends both old and new filled the big ballroom and overflowed into the dining room, drawing room, and outside into the manicured courtyards.
A standout in any gathering, Suzette, with her pale blond beauty, was a visual delight for the appreciative males in attendance, and her sweet, friendly nature rapidly won over the ladies. No man there could wait for a dance with her, and she good-naturedly let them spin her about the floor. Wondering if Kaytano was jealous, she looked about for him; catching his eye, she smiled at him. Never had Suzette seen such a sense of authority and cool assurance in any man’s eyes. Such confidence was terribly appealing. Kaytano looked at her as though he was positive she belonged to him and that no other man was capable of taking her from him. Smiling to herself, she reasoned he had every reason to look that way; no other man existed for her but the cool arrogant Kaytano.
It was a wonderful party, lasting until the sun’s first pink haze spread like a rosy cover over the desert. All the visiting guests had gone to their rooms. All the others had departed, the last carriage leaving powdered dust rising in its wake. Kaytano and Suzette went down the long corridor to their suite, Kaytano unknotting his red scarf as Suzette pulled the mantilla from her blond curls.
“It was a lovely party.” She yawned.
“The best,” he assured her. “They all loved you and they’re envious of me.”
Pleased, she said sleepily, “I’m glad.”
At their bedroom door, Kaytano whispered, “Know what I want to do?”
“Sleep, I hope,” she replied. He swung the door open and followed her inside.
Taking her hand, Kaytano led her across the room and out the back doors. He dropped her hand, smiled, and started unbuttoning his white shirt. “Let’s play in the pond.”
Her hands on her hips, S
uzette said, “Kaytano, the sun is rising.”
“Let it,” he said and threw off his dark jacket and white shirt.
Weakening rapidly, Suzette stepped out of her shoes and began peeling off her silk stockings. “We have guests in all the bedrooms, Kaytano.”
Kaytano kicked off his black leather shoes. “They aren’t invited to this party.”
Suzette unhooked her black lace dress. “You won’t push me under, will you?”
Kaytano stepped out of his trousers. “I’m a gentleman, Suzette.”
She turned her back to him, indicating she needed his assistance. “A gentleman? Why, you’re the Prince of Darkness.” She held her arms up so he could lift her dress over her head.
Unlacing her tight corset, he said, “The devil was a gentleman.”
“Shakespeare?” She stepped out of her petticoats.
“Lear.” He pulled her satin underwear down and she stepped out of it.
Naked they stood by the pool. Kaytano lifted her in his arms and walked down the steps into the water. She clung to him and wondered if this might be the perfect time to tell Kaytano she was carrying his child.
He splashed into the water and sat down on the bottom, holding her on his lap. “You know, Suzette, you look very sophisticated.”
“I don’t understand.”
Laughing, he kissed her nose. “You’re wearing your diamond earrings.”
Her hands flew to her ears. “I forgot! What if I lost them?”
“I’d get you more.” He lifted his dark arm. On his wrist the gold chain with its tiny heart glittered in the rising sun. “This is the only piece of jewelry it would be a tragedy to lose.”
“Kaytano,” she breathed as his mouth closed over hers. He kissed her softly, teasingly, his warm, wet lips playing with hers. He meant it to go no further. He knew she was tired; it had been a long, arduous evening and she’d played the hostess with grace and charm. He meant only to relax with her in the water for a time, then carry her to their bed.
