Diane Taylor - [The Montegard Files]
Page 18
As I expressed my delight verbally, the chauffer smiled indulgently and said, “Wait until you see the ranch. It’s just up ahead.”
It took a little under ten minutes to reach the ranch, but it took us through some of the most stunning landscape I had ever seen. A good share of it had been in the Castaneda family for years, according to the chauffer, now it was owned by the man who’d hired me to photograph his horses. To have a place like this to come home to after events like the past few months would be heaven. I shied away from that and shoved the memories away as the limo pulled into a circular driveway. As the main house came into view, my jaw hit the seat in front of me. This was a horse ranch? Goddess, it looked more like a mansion than anything else. From what I could see through the tinted windows, the main two-story home had been built of natural stone. There are companies who could get the same appearance out of an injection molder and polymer. I’d bet my last hundred bucks that everything on the property had been created from local materials. The whole place had a very ancient and weathered feel to it.
The chauffer rolled to a gentle stop in front of the main doors where a reception committee of one waited for me. I stepped out and the man approached. “Miss Montegard?” At my nod, he smiled, “I am Louis, the butler and majordomo of the house. Mr. Castaneda apologizes for the inconvenience. He was called away on urgent business and has instructed me to get you safely installed in the houseboat. Mr. Castaneda also instructs that you are to use the rest of the day and night to settle in and enjoy the grounds. He will return in the morning from his affairs.”
I had to smile. The man looked like a smaller version of Ricardo Montalban. If it weren’t for the fact that this man looked to be in his eighties and about five foot tall. He’d be the actor’s twin. “Thank you, Louis. I’m going to need a bit of time to adjust here. I hope I won’t inconvenience you too much if I blunder a bit.”
He grinned. “Not a problem, Sinorita Montegard.” With that, he and the chauffer got my stuff down to the houseboat via a small trail down the cliff to the shoreline. The houseboat, securely tied to a sturdy dock in a secluded tropical cove, looked to be designed for the most intimate of encounters.
It didn’t take long and soon my body lounged in a room twice the size of my old houseboat. It felt like a luxury yacht instead of a houseboat. It even had it’s own wine cellar and wide screen home entertainment system. I was definitely going to be spoiled by the time I left here.
I lost myself in the luxury of the boat, not glancing at the time until the setting sun blinded me as I looked up. Sighing with pleasure I donned the silk robe that had the bats on it. My hands brushed the intricate embroidery with a twinge of sadness. Intent on shaking off the melancholy, my hand reached into the rack and pulled a bottle of wine, uncorked it, and poured myself a glass full before shutting down all the lights. As the sun sank below the horizon, I began to light candles, hoping to get rid of the depressing mood that seemed to have settled over my shoulders. Walking to the front door of the houseboat, I opened it to let in the breeze…then took a step back from the door.
To my shock and fury, Markus stepped in and reached for me, only to go flying back out the door as my fist connected with his chin. Shock and surprise flowed across his face as he hit the safety railing. I calmly followed that up with a sucker punch to his gut, and a haymaker that sent him soaring over the side and into the cooling waters of the Mediterranean. He surfaced some distance away, coughing and spluttering, cursing my existence. Grinning savagely, I dove in after him to continue my attack. The cool water served its purpose, to cool my anger and restore my mind to some semblance of sanity. When I surfaced, Louis stood on the shoreline looking rather worried. Markus came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my chest, holding me still while we both looked at the shore, the feel of his soaked clothes pressing in against my silk clad skin made me warmer than I had been in a while.
“Senior Castaneda? I will be retiring for the night. Will you be needing anything further?” There was a note of hesitation in his voice.
That stopped me completely. “What? Who?” I turned in Markus’s arms and looked him dead in the eye.
Markus nodded to shore. “Thank you, Louis. I think I can handle the situation from here.”
When Louis left I growled. “Markus, you had better start explaining and fast before I decide to castrate you for good measure.”
He sighed and took my hand, leading me to shore. “Mr. Castaneda is the name on the deed to this place. This is my private retreat from the world. I have many enemies, Terri. Some of which, if they knew the Shadow Demon lived in such a place, wouldn’t hesitate to bring it down and kill me in the process. This place provides me with the anonymity I need so that I don’t have to look over my shoulder every time I step out of my home.”
We finally made it to shore and back to the boat. “You left me, Markus.” I turned and put my hand on his chest, over his heart. “You left me without saying anything, then you brought me here for a job. Not that I’m complaining. But, you hurt me, big time. I don’t like that feeling. Now, seeing you here. I…”
He stopped my words by taking my face in both hands, drawing me close to his body, warming my soaked flesh with his own. His lips crashed down upon mine in a frenzied welcome of erotic lust. I was lost. Nothing else mattered but the feel of those lips as they caressed mine. My hands automatically went to his soaked shirt, ripping it from his muscular body in an attempt to get closer to his skin. No matter what else happened, I needed to touch him. To know it wasn’t a dream. The moment my hand met his flesh, Markus groaned and needed no further urging. Bending slightly, he lifted me in his arms and all but ran to the master bedroom. There, he placed me in the center of the huge bed. Backing off, he stared at me, his amber colored eyes shiny with a desire that had long been held in check. Slowly, he stood up and removed his pants. I lay there on the bed and watched each delicious inch of flesh appear. When he straightened back up, I let loose with a guttural groan of primal lust, just the sight of his hard cock and muscular body created an aching need that became exquisitely painful as my gaze wandered up and down his body. Something I had yearned for since leaving for Japan. Like a solar flare burning in my soul, it’s fire burned through my bloodstream, setting my brain on fire with the addicting sight of him. I held out my hand.
That was all he needed. He crawled onto the bed and slowly removed the wet kimono. The moonlight that shone through the skylight lit my skin with an ethereal glow. A glow that highlighted the beads of water on my body, creating tiny pools of moonlit diamonds. Laying me back onto the blankets, Markus moved his hips between my thighs and slowly filled me. His slowness caused the inferno in my body to reach critical mass. As my body screamed for more, he thrust harder. His kisses heated, more demanding as we expressed ourselves wordlessly, using our hands and bodies to show our love. I broke first, when he shifted his weight to one hand. Reaching down between the two of us, he found my oversensitive clit and began to caress it. The orgasm was so intense I screamed, loud. Loud enough I was sure they would have heard it in Barcelona.
Not that it mattered. I was lost in the waves of bliss that crashed over me. When I returned to earth, his lips met mine in a joyful welcome. I wrapped my arms around him, drawing him to me while I rolled over to let his hard cock slide further into me as I straddled him. He filled me further in this position. Some trick of the mind told me that his hard cock had grown two sizes larger. Two could play the game and so I did. Slowly, I rode him, licking his nipples and blowing softly to make them erect. I rubbed my own, aching nipples across his chest, creating a pleasurable friction that caused us both to groan in sweet torment. Finally, I could take no more and drew back to watch his eyes.
Becoming impatient, I sped up my tempo as I saw the muscles begin to clench in his jaw. His hands followed mine all over my body. He moaned as he thrust harder, faster, upwards, bucking his hips burying his cock as deep as possible. Our breathing became ragged as he rolled us back ov
er so that he was on top. Furiously he worked his hips, like a well-oiled machine. The sharp sound of flesh smacking against flesh echoed through the room as we rocketed towards that fine white light. Suddenly he framed my face with his hands and drank from my lips as the screams and groans of climax held us in it’s explosive grip. Heaven blazed bright as we climaxed together, like twin stars exploding into brightness of pure pleasure before the moment passed and we collapsed in exhaustion.
When he could move again, he raised up on his elbows to look at me. Smiling he wiped a bead of sweat from my face. “I love you, Terri Montegard. I won’t apologize for what I am or what I’ve done. But know this. I love you no matter what.”
I rose up to kiss him in his nose with a smile. “I love you too, Markus Castillo. I hope you’ll never tire of hearing it.”
I kissed his cheeks, his chin, the line of his jaw, and finally his lips. A slow, sensual kiss that ended in a smile. We curled up against each other and fell asleep. The last thought that crossed my mind as sleep overtook me was that Diego Castaneda, aka Markus Castillo, The Shadow Demon, had finally come to his senses and claimed me for his own.