“Lan.”
Alandra jerked around, one hand still on the tile and the other over her pounding heart. So caught up in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard Quinn come in. His height and broad shoulders dominated the small space, but it was the look of concern shadowing his features that immobilized her, keeping her glued to that spot. Despite her nakedness, all she could do was look at him through the warm water pounding down over her head.
He stood outside of the shower, a bath towel held open for her, and love glittering in his eyes. When she didn’t make a move to step out, he reached in and pulled her out. Securing the towel around her, he shut off the water and hugged her close to his body and she cried all over again.
“Shhh, it’s okay.” He kissed the top of her wet hair, then her cheek and then her lips. Pushing curls away from her face and out of her eyes he said, “Everything is going to be all right.”
They stood that way for several minutes, him whispering sweet sentiments and her unable to control her tears. Alandra eventually pulled back and looked at him, her vision blurred. She searched his eyes, then touched his face, and zoned in on his delicious mouth. Those tempting lips. Lips that had brought her more pleasure than she ever thought possible, and lips that had kissed plenty of bad days away. If he said everything would be all right, she believed him.
“Te extrañe mucho,” she sobbed. “These years have been the worse years of my life…because…I didn’t have you.”
His large hands cradled each side of her face. “I know, baby.” He wiped her tears and stared into her eyes. “I know.”
Though she tried, she still couldn’t stop crying. It was as if someone had turned on the faucet to her tear ducts and they were stuck in the on position.
“Lan, baby, you’re killing me here. I promise you we’ll get through this. No more tears all right?”
She nodded and then cried more. Without another word, he lowered his head and captured her lips. His arms coiled around her waist and he pulled her closer. The gentle, slow kiss was like no other between them. They had always had a powerful connection, but this, this was different. He tossed out a lifeline to her and she grabbed hold, allowing him to reel her in. He hadn’t spoken the words – I love you – but she felt it through every stroke, every probe of his tongue and through the warmth of his hands on her body.
She pressed against him when his kiss became harder, more demanding, his body melded to hers, and her heart thumping against her chest. Oh how she’d missed him. The way he held her, the taste of his sweet lips, and the power behind every thrust of his tongue made her forget everything else and savor the feel of his well-built body against hers.
“I want you.” He yanked the towel from around her without warning, and she gasped when his large hands palmed her butt and he lifted her off the floor. All she could think about was how much she needed him at that moment. He pressed her back against the wall and her breath caught when he kissed her with a raw, scorching need, sending electric jolts throughout her body. She swung her legs around his waist and clawed at his shirt, ripping it open, buttons flying across the room, all so that she could feel his muscular chest beneath her hands. She moaned when he ground his stiff erection against her, but this wasn’t enough, she wanted more. Her pulse accelerated and her body shivered from sheer ecstasy. She wanted him like a starving woman wanted food. Horny and wet, she needed him inside her.
His ravenous kiss moved across her jaw and along her neck, sending prickles of pleasure up and down her spine. All common sense escaped her when he captured a taut nipple between his expert lips and sucked, tugged, and teased. The cold wall against her back did nothing to cool the fire burning through her veins with the flaming hot touch of his finger caressing her feminine folds. She whimpered and braced her hands against his shoulders, lightheaded as heat spread throughout her body. Her legs trembled as he plunged deeper with two fingers, frantically exploring her inner walls.
“Ahh sí, Papi. Eso es,” she moaned and clenched her thighs when he found that spot that made her want to sing to the high heavens, squirming against his hand as the pleasure built within her.
His lips seized her other nipple, flicking it around with his tongue and she fought to hold on but quickly descended into an erotic cylinder, uncontrollably thrashing her body about as she clawed at his shoulders trying to maintain a grip.
“Quinn!” she screamed, pressure building as she teetered on the edge bucking and jerking, against him with an orgasm so intensely powerful she thought her heart would stop beating. Spasms gripped her body and it took several seconds for her to come down from the high of that explosive orgasm. Breathing hard, she slumped against his chest, the firm beat of his heart vibrating against her ear.
With one arm wrapped around her he placed a kiss on top of her head, and then against her temple. When she heard the rattle of his belt buckle, and the sound of him unzipping his pants, she lifted her gaze to his. The desire looming in his eyes touched her soul and her body pulsed with anticipation.
“I’m not done with you yet.”
****
Quinn entered her moist opening in one smooth motion and almost lost control when her tightness wrapped around him. He hadn’t been with his wife since their brief honeymoon in Vegas, and feeling her pulse around his shaft reminded him of what he’d been missing. Locking her gaze, he braced himself and plunged deeper into her womanly folds, loving the way she arched into him, moaning in that sexy way that always turned him on.
Alandra met him stroke for stroke driving him crazy with the way she squeezed and undulated violently against him. Her frantic hands gripped his locks, then his shoulders. Their next round he’d take it nice and slow, but right now he wanted her like an alcoholic wanted liquor. She screamed his name and he felt himself grow harder as she worked her hips up and down his length, their bodies drenched in perspiration. If she kept moving like this, he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. He slid out of her and thrust over and over and over again. In and out he plunged, the intensity almost unbearable, her muffled screams against his neck growing louder as he moved faster, harder, and deeper.
“God, I’ve missed you.” Roughly gripping her thighs, he plunged even deeper, and he knew he would never be able to live without her. As if reading his mind, she met his gaze and her moves became more violent, and her cries more piercing. Her unintelligible words sliced open the quietness of the room when she screamed, desire ripped through him with each thrust and the emotion he witnessed in her eyes was his undoing. Her thighs trembled within his hands and she shattered around him, screaming his name, her nails digging into his shoulder as her body bucked and jerked uncontrollably.
“Lan!” he shouted. A deep guttural growl started in his gut and charged to his throat as he fought to hang on when her interior muscles spasmed around him, sending an explosion of red-hot lava roaring through his body. He struggled to catch his breath and keep his balance when his body quaked uncontrollably and sweat slicked their bodies. Gasping for air, he pressed her to the wall and they held on tight.
For several minutes, neither said a word, their heavy breathing filling the tight space. When the tremors subsided, he gazed into her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Mejor que bien,” she purred and rested her head against his shoulder.
Holding her in his arms, he pushed away from the wall only to bump into the linen closet door. He swore under his breath.
“This bathroom is too damn small.” He hoisted her higher, adjusted his pants and headed for her bedroom.
Hours later, and after several more rounds of love-making, Quinn watched Alandra as she slept. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. No words could describe the intense emotions and the gravity of what he had experienced tonight.
He gently grazed her cheek with the back of his finger, her baby soft skin feeling silky against his touch. The love he felt practically strangled him and it took everything he had earlier not to scream those three words that he used sparingly. Yes, he still loved her,
but he wouldn’t admit it out loud. He pulled the sheet and comforter up over her legs and hips, but stopped. The jagged five-inch scar on the right side of her chest would haunt him until the day he died. Emotions he hadn’t felt since Harry told him she was dead surfaced with such force, his hand fisted, bunching the sheet up in his grasp.
He protected those he loved, but he had failed Alandra. She’d been through hell because he couldn’t shield her from an unknown enemy. Guilt wrapped around him like an itchy wool blanket when he looked at her scar once more. He might have failed her once, but never again.
I will find whoever did this and they will wish they were dead.
Chapter Seven
“What do you mean she’s not there?” Harry O’Brien yelled into the phone. “Where the hell is she?” He paced the length of his home office hoping his outburst hadn’t awaken his wife, but news of a possible sighting of Alandra had caught him off guard.
“So sorry. Ms. Velvet not here for months,” the caller said in broken English. “She no tell us where she goes. She say take care of place and she call soon.”
Running his hand over his balding head, Harry strode across the room to his desk, his shoes clicking against the hardwood floor. He should have known something wasn’t right. He hadn’t heard from Alandra in weeks, and it wasn’t like her to miss his birthday, which she had last month. He recalled their last conversation. She fired question after question at him, picking apart the Tzbekystan rescue and demanded the identity of the handler that got her to Germany. He hoped Alandra hadn’t gone and done something stupid, like dig into her past. He had risked his life and his career to help her establish a new identity. If certain people knew she was still alive, not only would he be ruined, but her life would be in extreme danger and maybe his too.
“Maria, when Velvet calls or shows up, I want you to have her call me immediately.”
“Si, Señor.”
Alandra, where are you? Harry wondered once he disconnected the call. Did she leave California without telling him? God I hope not. He had released the security detail he’d had on her for the past few years, thinking she would move forward with the new life he had created for her and not look back.
Rumors have surfaced that Alandra Pargas is alive. Is this true? The words of Congressman Ramos, who had contacted him earlier, invaded his mind. Thankfully, he was headed to a meeting, and used it as an excuse to cut the conversation short. But he wouldn’t be able to evade questions forever, especially if she had been spotted. Beads of perspiration laced Harry’s brow, and a wave of uncertainty gnawed at his confidence. Alandra would stay put and not seek out those who were responsible for trying to kill her. Wouldn’t she?
She will not ruin this for me.
He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the lateral file cabinet located behind his desk. Grabbing the small wooden box, hidden between files, he retrieved a cell phone, hoping it still held enough of a charge for him to make a quick phone call. With the phone in hand, he sat at his desk and pressed the number two to speed dial.
“Yeah,” his contact answered on the third ring.
“It’s me. I need you to find someone for me.”
“Who?”
“Velvet Aguilar, or as you might know her, Alandra Pargas.”
****
Without opening her eyes, Alandra ran her hand up and down the left side of the bed expecting to feel Quinn, but instead that side of the bed was empty. She opened her eyes and glanced over. Unlike her, Quinn had always been an early riser, doing more before eight o’clock in the morning than most people did all day. A slow, lazy smile spread across her face. Their night of love-making brought back memories of happier times, and hopes for a new beginning. It was more than just hot, sweaty sex. He had touched her body in a way that made her heart sing and her soul stir for more.
She threw the covers off and winced in pain when she sat up, feeling more proof between her thighs that what they did the night before had been amazingly intense.
She climbed out of bed, grabbed her robe from the hook behind the bedroom door, and went in search of Quinn. They still needed to talk. There wasn’t much more she could tell him, but she wanted him to know everything she knew. Quinn had always been slow to trust and to forgive, but she had to make him understand she hadn’t wanted to stay away. She had no choice.
Alandra walked outside her bedroom and knew immediately he wasn’t there. She could stand just beyond her bedroom door and see the entire apartment. She glanced around - no sign of him, or a note. The clock on the microwave read ten-fifteen and the incredible night they shared was overshadowed by the fact he had left without saying goodbye.
A suffocating numbness tightened her throat, and regret swept over her. How could he just leave? Hadn’t last night meant anything to him? How could she have been so stupid to fall into bed with him? But then again, what had she expected? One night of mind-blowing sex wouldn’t make everything right between them. Heck, things would probably never be the same between them. She had learned a long time ago, her life didn’t work that way. She and Quinn didn’t trust each other. Sure she trusted him with her body and her life, but she didn’t trust him with her heart.
An hour later, Alandra had showered and dressed. She made up her mind that she was on a mission to find her unknown enemies, not rekindle a lost love with Quinn Hamilton. With renewed energy, she wouldn’t stop until she accomplished what she’d set out to do.
In the meantime, she needed to pick up groceries, stop by the post office and run a few more errands. But it was Saturday afternoon and after several calls to mechanics, it looked like she wouldn’t be able to get her car checked out until Monday morning. So she called her sister.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Tasha, I’m glad I caught you. What are your plans for today?”
“Actually, I’m on my way to the hospital. There’s a staff problem I need to address.”
Alandra sighed. She didn’t know how her sister did it. She worked more than anyone she knew which meant Natasha’s social life was more pitiful than hers. They agreed to have a girl’s night at least one day every other week, and though they started out great, lately they each found excuses for why they couldn’t get together. Alandra knew she wouldn’t be in Chicago forever and wanted to spend more time with Natasha.
“So what’s up?” Her sister cut into her thoughts.
“I was hoping you could take me to run a few errands. My car is on the brink.”
“Sorry kido. I’m not sure how long I’ll be there today. I would offer to let you use my car, but each time I do, you always return it with something wrong with it.”
“That only happened twice. And once wasn’t my fault. How was I to know you only use premium gasoline? You should’ve said something or they should’ve made that sticker on the inside of the gas door a little bigger.”
Her sister snorted. “Whatever. There is something about you and cars that just don’t go together. But listen, I have to get going. After today, I’m off for the next few days, call me tomorrow so we can plan something. Anything you want, I’m game.”
“Aw, all right. I guess tomorrow it is.”
Alandra disconnected the call disappointed she had to come up with a plan B. She walked over to the picture window, her only source of natural light for the living room and the kitchen. Hopefully it hadn’t snowed last night like the weatherman predicted. Chicago was cold enough without adding cold wet snow to the mix.
She opened the rickety blinds, happy to see there was no snow. If nothing else on her list got done, she definitely needed to go to the post office. Days ago, she received a notice on her door that the mail carrier tried to deliver a package. Sure that it was the heavy winter coat she had ordered online, she needed to pick it up today to ensure it wasn’t returned to the sender.
She glanced at her watch. The post office closed in forty minutes. If she left now, she could make it. She grabbed her jacket, wallet and keys but stopped short at t
he door when her cell phone rang.
“Hello,” she answered in a rush.
“Hey, baby.” There was a hesitation before Quinn continued. “Are you okay?”
Slow to respond, she wondered how he had the nerve to call her and use the term of endearment that always made her insides turn to mush. She assumed last night had been it for them. He got what he wanted and moved on. Well, actually, if she were honest, he got what he wanted, but she got what she needed.
“Alandra?”
“Yes.”
“What’s going on? Why didn’t you call me?”
A surge of anger surfaced. “What do you mean why didn’t I call? Quinn, how could you just leave? I thought last night was…oh never mind. What do you want?”
“Wait a minute before you get all bent out of shape,” he raised his voice. “I knew you were tired and didn’t want to wake you. That’s why I left the note.”
“What note?”
“The one I left on the pillow right next to you. I can’t believe you didn’t see it.”
Alandra stomped into her bedroom. “I didn’t see anything. Are you sure you left one?”
“Of course I’m sure,” he snapped.
She had already made her bed. If he left a note, she should have seen it. She looked under the covers, the pillow, and then knelt to look under the bed. That’s when she saw the small slip of white paper between the bed and the bedside table.
Lan, last night was amazing. Had to leave – appointments this morning, but call me once you’re awake. Q
She held it to her chest. “I found it,” she announced in a small voice, feeling like a heel. “It must have fallen off the bed at some point. I thought—”
“You thought I left without saying goodbye.” Alandra heard him release a loud sigh. “Lan, I didn’t take last night lightly. I know it’s going to take some time before we trust each other again, but you should know me better than to think I’d just hit it and leave.”
She should’ve known, but she couldn’t help it. So much had happened during their time a part, she didn’t know what to think. Right now it didn’t matter. What happened last night could not happen again. She needed to stay focused.
Rendezvous with Danger (Reunited Series) Page 7
