by Reeni Austin
Katie was still, her eyes locked on his. Her natural logic was no match for that speech.
As tears spilled down her face once again, Armando tightened his arms around her and pulled her into a passionate kiss.
Katie stopped crying immediately. It suddenly felt like she and Armando were the only people on Earth. The room stopped spinning. The chaos and fear in her mind quieted for now. She returned his kiss, desperate to show him how she felt.
After a few minutes, she felt his hand glide down her stomach, then lower. She instantly parted her thighs for him, and soon felt his fingers fondling her.
He kissed her for a bit longer then broke from her lips and kissed her chin, her neck. He spent a few minutes reacquainting himself with her breasts, his tongue moving in slow circles around her hard peak. She wove her fingers into his thick brown hair and let herself moan as loud as she wanted. Her appreciative sounds made him work even harder.
When he let go of her nipple, Armando kissed a fast trail down her stomach, then surprised her by changing course and flopping onto his back, his head falling just beneath the pillow. Before she could respond to his sudden action, he gave her a big smile and said, “Get up, baby. I want one knee here,” he patted the bed beside his left shoulder, “and one knee here.”
Katie let out a hungry moan and immediate got on her knees, crawling up a few paces until her knees were near his shoulders.
Armando looked up at her with a wink as he took one of her knees and guided it across him. Then he said, “Hold on to the headboard, okay?”
Before she could say, “Okay,” to him in agreement, she felt his mouth engulf her as her hands touched the headboard. She tossed her head back and hollered up at the ceiling.
Armando cupped her bottom, grabbing her and holding her hips as close to his mouth as possible. He continued on, unable to get enough. Hoping she wouldn’t get off too soon so he could enjoy this as long as possible.
Katie arched her back, screaming and writhing on top of him. She maintained her balance by keeping hold of the headboard, otherwise the sheer pleasure coursing through her may have caused her to fall. She didn’t remember his tongue being so agile, and she was unprepared for her body’s reaction.
Unconsciously, she wiggled her hips against him as her screams grew louder and louder. For a passing moment she considered her neighbors on the other side of the wall. But that thought escaped her head with the next stroke of his tongue.
And before she knew it, she had let go of the headboard as her orgasm rolled through her. Armando held her firmly to make sure she wouldn’t fall as her body lost control. She screamed, “Armando! Yes! I love you!” over and over until her body went limp.
Armando carefully helped her down and placed on her side. “You okay, baby?” he asked.
She gave him a dazed look as she panted for air, then she closed her eyes.
He smiled. “I’m gonna let you recover for a little while.” He left her for a few minutes to go to the bathroom then the kitchen.
When he returned, he brought with him a glass of water. “Thought you could use this.”
Katie sat up and took the glass. “You read my mind. Thank you.” She took a long gulp of water, then said, “Wow. I don’t think anyone’s ever gotten that reaction out of me before.”
His brow lifted in a show of mock arrogance and he said, “I’m sure you haven’t.” Then he thought for a moment. “Hey, wait a minute. What about me? In high school? I’m pretty sure my techniques improved a whole lot as time went on.”
Katie placed the glass on the night stand, then scooted along the sheet to sit beside him. “You were always good, to me. Even if we never had sex again I’d still love you. But I’m sure as hell not gonna complain about the perks of being your…” She paused. “Girlfriend? Is that what I am?”
“You’re much more than that to me. But yeah, I guess that’s the title.”
“Holy crap.” Her heart raced, and not in a good way. “I really gotta break up with Mitch. Soon.”
“Hmm.” Armando rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. “You sure about that?”
“Excuse me?” She lifted a brow. “You wanna share me or something?”
“No.” He took her chin and looked in her eyes. “No. Absolutely not.” He let go of her chin. “But I was just thinking. Maybe it’d be best, for you, if you gave it a little time before the official break up.”
“Huh? How’s that best for me?”
“Well, you were probably right earlier when you said it’s gonna change your life when everyone finds out we’re back together. Your parents like Mitch, right? Don’t rush yourself. It’ll only stress you out. We can be secretive for a while. And maybe you’ll feel better about us after we’ve spent more time together. I wanna prove to you you’re not a fling. I want you to have no doubt.”
She smirked. “Okay.”
Sensing her skepticism, he continued. “I plan on seeing you a lot. Hell, it’s been a long time. I wanna get to know you again. So, I’m gonna stay at the ranch for a while longer to be near you. But there’ll be times, like this Friday, when I have to fly to Los Angeles for the day.” He shrugged. “And, I was thinking maybe you could take Friday and Saturday off to come with me? If not, I can get back here that night. But I’d love to show you my house. Take you to some of my favorite restaurants. And we wouldn’t have to sneak around there.”
Katie smiled and rested her head on Armando’s shoulder. She was quickly reminded of the previous weekend when Mitch went to Dallas and refused to let her tag along. But Armando wanted her around. And she definitely wanted to be around him. “I’ll see what I can do on short notice. I haven’t taken a day off in a long time so it might be all right.”
Armando kissed the top of her head. “Good.”
She sighed. “Well, how long do we keep this up? It’s like high school all over again. Sneaking around. Hiding from my parents and everyone else. Do I just let Mitch think I’ve forgotten about him? He sent me flowers three times today. He’s not gonna give up until I tell him to give up. And if I don’t tell him, he’ll probably call my parents and have them talk to me.”
“Shit.” Armando groaned. “Well, here’s what you can do. Call him tomorrow. Tell him you need a while to sort out your feelings or whatever. Don’t let him think it’s over for good just yet. That should buy us a little bit of time.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Probably doesn’t even matter. I’ve barely seen him in weeks. He’s working all the time. Using any reason to be away from me, it seems.”
Armando shook his head. “What an idiot. He has no idea what he lost.”
Katie grinned. “Thank you.”
“Now, if he starts pressuring you to get back together, let me know and we’ll figure out our next move. Does that make sense?”
“I think so.”
“Good. And as far as your parents.” He sighed, shaking his head. “We’ll figure it out. In fact, Victor and I’ve been making a lot of phone calls. Calling in some favors. Trying to figure out what the hell happened to make your dad so violently angry about us getting married.”
She huffed. “Yeah, well, good luck with that. Daddy’s smart. Does his dirty work with a handshake. No paper trail. No proof.”
“Well, we’re gonna try. Maybe if we figure out what happened, we can then figure out how to keep your parents from freaking out.”
Katie’s eyes filled with tears, and Armando drew her close. In her heart, she knew she would choose him, even if it meant angering her parents for the rest of their lives.
But silently, she prayed it was a choice she would never have to make.
Chapter 14
The next day at work, Katie was tired after her steamy, late night with Armando. But from the way she smiled, it looked like she had all the energy in the world.
It was also the second day in a row that she left her engagement ring at home. But today, unlike yesterday, she was oblivious to the petty gossip at work. She simply bou
nced around the restaurant, happy and full of life. New memories of Armando raced repeatedly through her mind. She could barely contain her excitement, knowing she would see him again tonight.
To make her day even better, her manager immediately agreed to let her have Friday and Saturday off, since there were no events scheduled for those days, and Katie had put in so many extra hours lately. She sent Armando a text message that she was free to go away with him for the weekend.
But then, right after lunchtime, Jennifer approached her, smirking and handing her a box. “Here. The first gift of the day.”
Katie felt a twinge of disgust in the pit of her stomach. Mitch had barely been a thought to her today, until now. She took the box and opened it. “Okay. So today it’s chocolates instead of flowers, I guess.”
Jennifer pressed her lips together in anger for a second then said, “You should really learn to treat your man better or you just may lose him entirely.”
Katie put her hand on her hip. “Excuse me? You realize I’m your boss, right? I can let a lot of things go but I can’t tolerate you disrespecting me or anyone else. Especially in front of the customers.”
Jennifer glanced around at the almost-empty dining room. Her tone was sarcastic. “What customers?”
Katie headed to the bar, wondering when Jennifer would finally do something bad enough to get herself fired. She took the card from the box of chocolates as she opened it, displaying it at the corner of the bar. She flagged down Jonny the bartender and said, “These chocolates are for anyone who wants them.” He nodded, then she went to the door.
After her reunion with Armando, she had a feeling she needed to start reading Mitch’s cards and stop sweeping it all under the rug. If she was going to keep her new relationship a secret, she would have to be smart about it, and that meant no surprises. So, she walked outside the front of the restaurant for a little privacy and opened the card.
“These past few days have been torture without you. I can’t wait to see you at dinner tomorrow. Love, Mitch.”
Dinner? It took Katie a moment to remember their conversation on Monday night. It had only been a few days but it felt like it happened so long ago now. On his way out, Mitch said he wanted to pick her up after work on Thurday—tomorrow—and take her someplace nice for dinner where they could hopefully discuss setting a wedding date. She hadn’t agreed to dinner, but he had obviously assumed as much.
Katie tapped her toe against the pavement, knowing she couldn’t put it off any longer. Armando was right. She had to call him today. Now. She walked a little farther away from the front door to a bench, then took her phone out of her pocket and sat down to dial Mitch’s work number.
He answered on the second ring. “Finally! I’ve missed you so much.”
“Uh...okay. Look, I never agreed to have dinner with you tomorrow. And that’s the only reason I’m calling.”
“What? Don’t you miss me? At all? I’ve completely left you alone, aside from the gifts. I was hoping you’d eventually call and tell me you missed me, too.”
“No. I’m only calling to tell you we’re not on for dinner. That’s all.”
“I don’t understand. Are you breaking up with me?” His voice got weak.
She then realized it would be harder than she thought to keep Mitch in the dark for long. She suddenly felt badly, like she would be leading him on if she told him what Armando wanted her to say. But she quickly thought back to the argument she and Mitch had on Monday, and she summoned the strength to say it. “I need some time to think. To sort out my feelings. I’m not ready to see you right now.”
Mitch let out a sigh, then paused. Quietly, he said, “I was afraid you’d say something like that. Please don’t break up with me.”
Katie felt her facade crumbling. She hadn’t expected him to sound genuinely upset. “I don’t see the big deal, really. You’ve been working so much, I thought you’d probably be relieved that I wanted to take a break.”
“What? A break? No! Didn’t you hear anything I said the other night? I wanna marry you. Soon! I’m tired of waiting. For all I care we can go down to the court house. I don’t need a wedding.”
“No.” Katie looked around to make sure she was still alone outside before letting herself burst into tears. Then she tucked her head down and said, “I can’t marry you. It’s over. I’ll drop the ring off at your office.”
He gasped. “Holy shit, Katie. I can’t believe this! You’ll drop the ring off at my office? That’s cold. What the hell?” He was quiet for a moment. “Is this because you think I’m cheating? I’m not. I’d never do that to you. You can’t just break up with me over that. Please. Give me another chance. I’ll do anything.”
She sniffled. “I...can’t. I just can’t.”
“No. No! What happened? What’d I do? Let me make it right. I’ll spend more time with you. I’ll do anything you want. Please tell me what I need to do. You’re the only thing that matters to me, baby. The only thing. Come on. I’ll leave work right now and come over there. I—”
Katie panicked. “I’m not in love with you anymore!”
She couldn’t hear his response over her own hysterical sobbing. How was she to know he would beg her for another chance? His words made her heart ache. He obviously had a right to be confused. Angry, even. One week they were happily engaged. The next week, they were not.
After she calmed down a little she held the phone tightly to her ear and asked, “Are you there?”
He breathed into the phone for a few seconds before responding. “Yeah. I’m here. I don’t get it, Katie. What happened? Tell me the truth. Is there someone else? Or did I leave you alone for too long?”
“Mitch, I—”
“Look, whatever it is, we can fix it. If there’s someone else, at least give me a chance to compete. I wanna win you back.”
As she searched her thoughts for anything to say, he continued. “I neglected you, didn’t I? Fuck, I’m so stupid. I should’ve taken you to Dallas with me last weekend. Even if we only saw each other for an hour it would’ve been worth it.”
She took a few slow breaths, trying to stop her tears. “Listen Mitch, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t fair to you. But I’d rather break it off now than get a divorce later. I don’t think I’ve ever loved you.”
He suddenly let out a growl. “It’s that guy from high school, isn’t it? The one you kissed. Shit, of course that’s it. I can’t believe it took me this long to catch on. Damn it Katie! Give me a chance to win you back! Who is this guy, anyway? At least give me a name. I think I deserve that much.”
Oh my God! Katie thought. There was no way out of this situation but to stretch the truth, and she hated herself for doing it. “It doesn’t matter how it happened—I’ve realized lately that I’m not in love with you. And I can’t marry someone I’m not in love with. And you shouldn’t be engaged to someone who’s not in love with you. You deserve better than that.”
Mitch took an extremely long pause, then said, “Fine. But this isn’t over for me.” And then he hung up.
As soon as the phone went silent, Katie wiped her hand against each of her eyes, then called Armando.
Breathless, he answered on the fifth ring. “Hi baby.”
She sniffled, choking back her tears. “I’m sorry to bother you. I know you’re busy.”
“Oh no. What’s wrong?”
“I panicked.”
His voice was soft. “Shit. What happened?”
“Mitch.” She paused for an unsteady breath. “I called him. It didn’t go how I expected, at all. He wants me back. Doesn’t even care if I’m cheating. Wants to win me back.”
Armando paused and asked, flatly, “Is that what you want?”
“No! I want you.” Katie glanced around, quieting her voice as a few customers entered the restaurant. “I love you. I don’t want him back.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “Good. You had me scared for a second.”
“He figured out that it had somet
hing to do with the ex-boyfriend I kissed the other day.”
“What? You told him you kissed me?”
“He doesn’t know your name. Look, it’s a long story and you said you didn’t wanna know what happened with me and Mitch. I didn’t confirm his theory. I just told him I’m not in love with him and he needs to move on. The whole conversation really took me by surprise. I figured he’d just back off when I told him I wanted some time to think.”
“Yeah, me too. I guess he’s not as dumb as I thought. He knows a good thing when he has it. But he’s not taking you away from me. That won’t happen to me again.”
Katie produced a soft chuckle. “No. It won’t.”
“Well, what happened? Did you break up with him officially?”
“Yeah. But he begged me not to. Pleaded. It was horrible. I feel like such a heartless witch.”
Armando laughed a little. “Sweetie, the fact that you feel so bad about it kinda proves you’re not heartless.”
“I don’t know. That’s how I feel. You should’ve heard him go on. The last thing he said to me was, ‘this isn’t over.’ He’s not giving up. I don’t know what to do.” Her voice cracked.
“Shh,” he said in a soothing tone. “It’s okay. I wish I could be there to comfort you right now. It’s gonna be all right. I know it hurt to break up with him but you did the right thing.”
