by J. M. Madden
When she walked back into the bedroom her phone was buzzing on the nightstand. She picked it up, smiling. Kendall always seemed to know when she needed to talk.
“Hey, Lady. Looking for your car?”
Kendall laughed. “No, not really. Am I missing one?”
“Diego took one of your pool cars to Salt Lake.”
There was a pause. “Okay. And when will the car be returned?”
Lilly shifted and sank to the edge of the mattress. “Um, tonight, late or maybe even in the morning. Not sure. He just left.”
“No way,” Kendall breathed. “You and Diego?”
Lilly couldn’t help but giggle. “Yup. I rode home with Winnie so that she wouldn’t be bored. Then we spent the night and drove home today.”
“Wow. You shagged him at Winnie’s house? You naughty thing.”
Lilly laughed. “Winnie got a kick out of it, actually. I think she knew why I volunteered to go up with her. And she was okay with it.”
“Well, of course she was okay with it. You show her all your preliminary designs and she’s one of your staunchest supporters. She would love for you to be happy and if it comes back later that she took part in getting you hooked up she’ll love it. It will give her street cred.”
Snorting, Lilly rolled back onto the bed, dragging the comforter over her to stave off the chill of the room. “Whatever.”
“So, you loosened him up a bit, I guess. That’s awesome. Diego is really a great guy. Is this a quickie thing or do you actually see this going somewhere?”
Sighing, she reached up to twirl a hank of her hair. “I would love for it to go somewhere. Kendall, he’s amazing. And not just in bed. We have so much in common.”
Kendall was quiet for a few seconds. “But you also have a lot of differences. Have you talked to him about his injuries? He seems most prickly about that.”
“Not a great deal, no,” she admitted. “He kind of told me how it happened but we haven’t gone into it in depth.”
“Just be cautious. Grif says he can’t use Diego in crowd situations because he has flashbacks. I don’t want you reacting wrongly if something happens.”
“Okay,” she murmured. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Kendall.”
“You are very welcome. Love ya, Lilly.”
“Love you too, mom.”
Kendall laughed at the reminder and hung up.
Lilly knew she needed to ask him about his injuries. She’d seen him react oddly in certain situations, like the ball. Rather than circulating, he hung out away from all the people. Might be a bit difficult because she was such an extrovert.
But that was part of being in a relationship, right? Compromise?
That would mean she has to come clean about the assault too. Damn.
She was probably jumping to conclusions anyway. Diego hadn’t said anything about their liaison going any further than sex.
Chapter Six
As Diego rang the bell at the front gate of Rosella Markham’s estate, he wondered what the hell he was walking into.
The gate began to swing open immediately, as if somebody had been waiting for him. As soon as he stopped in the loop of the slate driveway, the massive door of the mighty cabin opened, revealing a short older woman. Diego tried not to scowl at the eagerness on her face. When he stopped in front of her on the steps, he couldn’t help but remember the old head principal of the junior high he’d gone to. The woman used to stand on the steps scowling at all the trash the school district had forced into her domain. More than once he’d drawn her ire and something about him in particular made her curl her nose in disgust.
Being thirteen he’d had a bit of a chip on his shoulder anyway. There may have been an incident or two where he’d purposely aggravated her.
For some reason he had the same kind of sick feeling in his stomach as he walked up to the woman at the top of the stairs. Recently he’d felt a bit like a gigolo. Well, without the sex of course. The women that hired him didn’t need him¸ they just wanted something exotic on the end of their leash.
It made him yearn for a meaty case he could sink his teeth into. Unfortunately, meaty cases usually meant dealing with people. Not something he wanted to contend with, either.
“Hello, Mr. Ortiz. You are punctual. I appreciate that. Please come in.”
Mrs. Markham treated him like a long-missed guest. He refused her offer of refreshment and tried to steer the conversation toward the purpose of his being there, but she danced around the subject like a true pro. Diego had to admire her caginess. Old lady my ass.
He eventually figured out she merely wanted a companion today. Driving her down the mountain in her big Range Rover he followed along as she went through several shops. Only grudgingly, when she almost tripped on what she was carrying, did he concede to carry a few of her bags. The woman wasn’t in any kind of trouble; she just wanted to be with someone.
More than once she told him how much he reminded her of her late husband. Diego thanked her every time but didn’t know how else to respond.
They shopped for several hours and if Diego wasn’t being paid a very healthy salary to do it he would have called a halt to the whole fiasco. When he got a spare minute he texted Grif.
I’m ready to explode. This woman is going to kill me.
Mrs. Markham?
Y. I’m her caddy.
Lol. Sorry, dude.
Diego wanted to text Lilly too but he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. Hey, great sex last night. Wanna do it again tonight? Yeah, she’d love that. Not…
Even as he made conversation with Mrs. Markham, he was thinking about Lilly—the feel of her satin soft skin, the clutch of her heat as she came around him. He’d never been with any other woman as responsive, as instinctive, as Lilly Carmichael. He glanced at his watch, wondering what time he could get free.
“Do you have something to do, dear?”
Focusing, Diego looked at the woman in the seat beside him. She hadn’t actually been bad company; she just wasn’t who he wanted to be with. “No, ma’am. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Diego. I remember what it was like to be your age. As handsome as you are I’m sure you have women waiting on you hand and foot.”
In spite of himself, he snorted. “No, ma’am. Quite the opposite actually.”
She lifted a manicured brow at him. “I have a feeling only because you don’t let them wait on you.”
Smiling a bit, he tilted his head in ascent. “Perhaps. I don’t think I’m pretty enough for the crowd around here.”
Mrs. Markham snorted and a sharp intelligence entered her pale green gaze. “Most of the women around here are oblivious twits. I saw you at the Gala. And I saw the women looking at you out of the corners of their eyes. Lilly was the only one who actually approached you though.”
His skin prickled at the mention of Lilly’s name. “Lilly is a different kind of woman.”
Mrs. Markham gave him a considering look. “Yes, she is.”
They left the conversation at that.
Diego pulled into her drive expecting to be given some other task but she surprised him. “I’m okay for the rest of the night. If you help me carry these bags in you can go see Lilly. Maybe take her some dinner.”
Giving her a look out of his good eye, Diego frowned. “We aren’t involved like that.”
Mrs. Markham snorted. “Are you sure?”
Diego laughed out loud. “Hell, I don’t know.”
Grinning, Mrs. Markham nodded her head. “Go see her.”
So, that’s what he did. After carrying the bags into the house and telling her goodnight, Diego left the luxury log home and climbed back into his Jeep. Lilly’s house was not very far away so rather than text her he just drove over.
Her car was in the drive so he parked beside it and went to the front door. Knocking, he stood to the side of the landing and listened for movement inside the carriage house, but he didn’t hear anything. He knocked again, louder, and waited, but th
ere was still no response. Curious, he tried the door handle but it was locked.
There was a paver path that led around the side of the house, so he followed it. Perhaps she was outside doing something.
When he rounded the corner of the house, he had to catch his breath. Lilly was just stepping out of the hot tub on the back patio, steam rising from her gleaming, naked skin in the chilly air. Leaning down she grabbed a fluffy tan towel on the bench around the tub and started for the patio door. So, maybe she had heard him, she just wasn’t able to get out quickly. Plus, she wasn’t dressed.
“Hey,” he called.
Lilly jerked her head in his direction. The smile that split her face made his heart ache.
“Diego! I didn’t expect to see you till later.”
She tiptoed across the patio to him, grinning. When she got to him, though, she hesitated, looking rumpled and cute. “I’m wet.”
Diego pulled her into his arms anyway, his mouth settling on hers in a quick, thorough kiss, then pulling away. “Do you think I care about a little water?”
She grinned up at him cheekily. “Why don’t you come in with me?”
Diego considered but it wasn’t a hard decision. There was no one here to see him except her. Stepping away he started shucking his clothes.
Lilly danced on the cold tile, giggling. “I’m going to get back in before I freeze my toes off. You have to move quick to avoid frostbite on your important parts.”
Laughing, he watched her dance to the hot tub and drop the towel, then step gracefully into the water. Diego shook his head. She had no idea how beautiful she was right then.
The late spring chill began to seep into his skin so he moved faster. As soon as he took off his socks he understood why she had been dancing. The tile was as cold as ice.
He got down to his skivvies and hesitated.
“Oh, come on!” Lilly complained. “You’re just getting to the good part.”
Diego felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment. For just the barest moment he had to stop and absorb the moment. It had been so long since he’d been teased like that. It was one thing coming from the guys he worked with, but completely different coming from the woman he was sleeping with.
Dropping his underwear he quick-stepped it to the tub. The water was stunningly hot after the cold of the evening, but it felt wonderful. As soon as he sank down to his shoulders, Lilly moved close. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she settled herself across his lap, facing him. Immediately, Diego’s body began to respond. Cupping her hips he pulled her in tight against him. “I’ve never been in a hot tub in the winter.”
She lifted a dark brow at him. “Technically, it’s spring, dear.”
She looked up as a snowflake fluttered down to the water in front of them. Then another. Within a few seconds there were several more. She grinned at him and wiggled her hips in his lap. “Ever make love in a hot tub in the middle of a snowstorm?”
Diego made a face at her. “Snowstorm, really?”
Lilly grinned and gave him a quick kiss. “C’mon, Diego, live on the wild side.”
He didn’t know about living on the wild side, but his body was happy enough to go along with her wishes. As she wiggled against him he hardened.
Lilly nodded at him knowingly and reached a hand down to position him against her. Her skin was a little tight because of the water, but she was determined enough that within just a few seconds he was balls deep in the hottest heat he’d ever felt. Hotter even than the surrounding water.
“Dios Mio…” he sighed, slipping into his mother’s language.
The hot water sloshed around them as she rode him, but he barely noticed. Lilly was glorious, her slick black hair falling around her face as she concentrated on the way she moved. Reaching forward, Diego pulled her mouth to his own, looking for a tighter, closer connection. Lilly wrapped her arms around his shoulders, swiveling her hips in a torturous circular rhythm.
“If you keep doing that I’ll be done before you’ve even started,” he growled.
Lilly grinned, eyes still closed, and made the movement again. “Okay,” she sighed.
Diego had a feeling she would keep doing exactly what she was doing if he didn’t deter her, so he lifted her in his arms and moved to lift her out of the water. Shifting to the corner of the tub, he set her on the edge, outside the warmth of the water. As soon as he went to his knees on the bench in front of her he began to surge into her. Lilly shuddered once from the cold, then seemed to lose herself in what he was doing. Diego knew this position would hit her G-spot better. Shifting, he angled himself to make sure she was feeling the rub.
Gasping, she arched against him and moistened even more than before. Grinning, knowing she was getting off, Diego surged into her harder and faster. Leaning down he drew one of her nipples into his mouth, suckling hard. Within just a couple minutes she was crying out her orgasm to the skies. Once he felt the heavy clutch of her body around his, he released the tight control he’d held himself under. He gave himself permission to bask in the heat they had created between them.
The orgasm that struck him absolutely annihilated him. For a moment his vision went dark and he felt himself sway before he braced himself against the edge of the tub. Snowflakes landing on his bare shoulders made him blink to awareness. Lilly’s arms were tight around his neck and her head rested in the crook of his shoulder. Resting on his knees he wrapped his arms around her and dragged her down into the steaming water of the hot tub. He hated to withdraw from her but he did.
“Thank you for playing along, Diego. I know you’re a bit of a rule man when it comes to this stuff.”
He frowned, not sure he appreciated her observation. He just didn’t want to be caught with his dick hanging in the wind. “There’s a time and a place for everything,”
Lilly laughed out loud. “Now you sound like you’re preaching.”
“I’m not,” he defended, “but I don’t want to be caught in a situation that’s bad for both of us. I’d have to do a lot of fast-talking if your parents walked around the corner of the house right now, you know?”
Lilly gave him a funny look. “They’re out of the country for the next month. They’ll be back when the weather warms up a bit.”
Tension eased in Diego’s gut. Here he was screwing their daughter in their guesthouse, bare ass nekkid, hoping they didn’t pull in the drive any minute. THAT would be awkward.
A muffled ringing came from his jeans down on the patio.
“They’ll call back.” Lilly told him before dunking her head beneath the churning water.
Diego knew she was right but his conscience pricked. He was accountable to only a few people. If they were calling he needed to answer. The phone rang again a couple minutes later and he girded himself to get out of the water. Fuck this was going to be cold!
Lilly hooted as he tip-toed across the tile just like she had a half hour ago. Glancing around, he looked for a towel.
“Cupboard right there,” Lilly waved.
Diego grabbed a towel from the hutch, then a thick terry-cloth robe before he turned for the ringing jeans. Just as he dug the phone from the pocket it quit ringing. Drying his hands he thumbed through the screens. Shit, Grif had called. He touched the green phone button to redial.
“Yeah, boss?”
“Hey, there you are. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
Diego glanced at Lilly and hoped he didn’t sound guilty. “No, sir.”
“I wanted to talk to you about the current contract.”
“Mrs. Markham?”
“Yeah. She’s already called gushing about how lovely you were to her today. Wanted to make sure I was paying you enough.” Grif laughed on the other end of the line. “Wondered if you were under contract. I have a feeling she wants to hire you to be her boy-Friday.”
Diego groaned, walking in place, trying to find a warm spot on the tile. “I hope you told her I’m under an iron-clad twenty year contract.”
Gri
f chuckled. “Nope. Sorry buddy. I told her you were a free agent. Don’t be surprised if you get propositioned soon.”
Diego groaned, already seeing the possibility. “Okay. I’ll deal with it if it comes up.”
“Also, Kendall wants you to come over to dinner some night this weekend. She’ll invite Lilly too.”
“I’ll ask her. She’s here with me now.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth Diego could have cursed. By the silence stretching on the other end of the line, Grif could have too.
“You’re with Lilly?”
There was no sense denying it now. “Yes.”
Diego glanced at the screen of his phone. Shit. It was after ten at night.
“Well,” Grif cleared his throat. “Sorry I interrupted you.”
He hung up without another word.
Damn it. As soon as he showed up for work at the Herrington building his ass was grass. No, they weren’t working for Lilly, but the personal connection was too close for Grif to let slide. Kendall and Lilly were best friends. There was no way Grif wouldn’t be looking out for Lilly’s best interests. Diego knew without being told that he was definitely not in her best interest. He knew that. Grif would know that. Lilly should but he had a feeling she was becoming invested in him emotionally.
The cold eventually seeped into his bones and he realized Lilly had called his name a couple of times. When he looked up, she was staring at him in concern. “Are you okay? Bad news?”
Diego moved to his clothes. “No, not exactly. I need to go, though.”
Lilly rose up out of the water, steam rolling from her luscious curves. Automatically he held a hand out to her to make sure she didn’t slip stepping from the tub. Bending so gracefully it made his heart ache, she leaned down and retrieved her towel, bundling herself up in it. Then she jogged to the patio doors a few feet away. “Come on.”
She held the door open for him expectantly. He had to go in. It wasn’t fair to use her then walk out. The honorable thing to do would be to talk to her and explain to her why he wasn’t a good bet for her.
