Chapter Eleven
Angel stroked her shoulder as Teresa considered his words and nodded without hesitation. In the small span of time that this had become a possibility, he’d emotionally invested himself in the idea and was surprised to realize how disappointed he would’ve been if she’d said no.
“Yes, but make sure Joaquin understands I’ll need time to…catch up?” she asked as she stroked his hand. “I need to know him individually before I can consider the commitment you’re proposing. And also, he may discover I’m too timid and not want me after all.”
Angel laughed at her last comment and said, “I think there’s a side to Teresa Palacios that is anything but timid. Could you imagine having this conversation with me six months ago?” At her laugh and the fervent shake of her head, he continued. “I think the more pressing question is what happens when you discover you like Joaquin better and that I am a gigantic ass.”
She laughed with him. “No way. I already know I’m madly in love with you. So this puts off our wedding date for a while?”
He didn’t miss the disappointment in her tone. “I would prefer to be your husband today, but I would rather start out together than bring him into our relationship later. It would’ve been nice if he’d had the last six months with you also.”
“The Teresa you asked out on that first date would have run screaming at the first sign you were both interested in me and would have fainted dead away at the mere thought of sharing a bed with you. It’s interesting, the changes being with you’ve brought about in my life, Angel.”
“I could say the same about you, beautiful.”
Angel rose from the glider after helping her stand and folded her into his arms, relieved at the relaxed smile that had replaced the look of confused embarrassment she’d worn perpetually since meeting Joaquin. They went inside and found Michael and Joaquin at the dining room table, eating re-heated brisket.
“This is purty good, Daddy!” Michael chirped through a full mouth. They chuckled, and Joaquin looked up at them both with guarded hope in his eyes. Angel smiled as he watched the way Joaquin’s eyes drank in Teresa’s beauty while her attention was on her son. It was plain to see that his brother was enthralled by this woman who so easily held both their hearts in her delicate hands.
She smiled self-consciously at Joaquin and said, “I think we should open more presents. There are gifts under the tree for Angel and Joaquin that they haven’t opened yet, aren’t there, Michael?”
“Yep!” He hopped down with no hands from the thick phone book on the chair and ran into the living room to the Christmas tree while she went after his grubby little hands and face with a damp dish cloth.
Joaquin rose as Angel stopped beside him and said in a low voice, “She asked for time to get to know you, but she’s willing to consider you. She asked for you to be patient with her. She had quite a few questions, which I take as a good sign.” He clapped Joaquin on the back and chuckled at his relieved smile. “Let’s go see what Teresa and Michael brought us.”
Teresa handed a small package to Michael and whispered to him. He grinned and brought it to Joaquin and climbed up in his lap and watched him expectantly as he opened it. Teresa brought the large square box wrapped in red-striped paper to Angel.
“Hey! It’s a cell phone case, isn’t it? Look, bro, hand-tooled leather.” Joaquin proudly held it up.
“Yeah,” Michael chirped. “Now you got someplace to keep your phone, right?”
“That’s right, buddy. Thank you.”
Angel smiled when Michael turned in Joaquin’s lap and gave him a big hug. Joaquin looked over Michael’s head at Teresa, and his eyes were filled with affection as he whispered, “Thank you,” to her and kissed the top of Michael’s head before he jumped down to go watch Angel open his gift. Angel smiled at the exchange, knowing firsthand what it felt like when that little boy reached in your chest and stole your heart. He’d felt it, too.
Teresa nodded and smiled back at him then whispered, “You’re welcome, Joaquin. Merry Christmas.”
* * * *
As Joaquin sat in the living room opening gifts with Angel, Teresa, and Michael, he spared a thought for the young woman he’d been in bed with the morning before. Recalling the way they casually parted ways afterward, he hoped she’d made it home safely. He felt embarrassed he intentionally never asked her name but most certainly had known her intimately. He looked over at the beautiful woman sitting next to his brother. His brother had patiently wooed her for six months and barely done more than kiss her.
Teresa’s warm brown eyes and her blushing cheeks had changed his outlook on life. Her scent still lingered in his memory from when he’d kissed her cheek earlier. The memory of wild sex with that nameless girl hadn’t even stirred a tingle, but the look of hesitant attraction in Teresa’s eyes had his cock ready to shatter diamonds right then. He had a feeling that horndog was going to be howling for a while before it got any relief.
Joaquin looked on as Angel sighed in appreciation when he opened the hatbox. Inside was a pale-wheat-colored straw hat. Joaquin watched the way she leaned into Angel as he wrapped his arms around her lovingly and kissed her. Her dark lashes swept down across her cheeks as she tilted her full lips up to his. The kiss was brief because her son stood nearby, but Joaquin didn’t miss the love in her eyes as she looked into Angel’s eyes. She was too beautiful to be real. Joaquin was dragged back to reality when she spoke.
“You like it?”
Holding it up to admire it, he said, “I love it. That’s a very fine straw hat.”
“Put it on.” Michael said, leaning against Angel’s knee. When Angel complied, he said, “Nice, Daddy. Looking good! Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, buddy.” Angel wrapped an arm around him and kissed his forehead. “Thank you.”
Joaquin was finally able to rise from the couch without embarrassing himself and retrieved the gifts he’d brought with him from San Angelo. He handed Michael a gaily-wrapped package and chuckled as Michael shredded the paper and opened the box.
“Hey! I got a cowboy belt!” He pulled the small, tooled leather belt from the box and handed it to Joaquin to thread through the belt loops on his blue jeans. “Thanks, Wah-keen! I love it!” he exclaimed and hugged him again.
He caught her eye and said invitingly, “I have something for you too, Teresa.” He held the gift-wrapped velvet box in his hand and watched as Angel guided her around him on the couch to sit between Angel and Joaquin. He caught the reassuring smile Angel gave her. He appreciated the way Angel released her so easily to him, and he hoped Teresa would quickly become comfortable with him. She tucked her black hair behind her ears and settled onto the couch next to him, her bare feet folded underneath her. She radiated a combination of innocence and sensuality as she settled with her hands folded in her lap. Angel stroked her back.
Joaquin handed her the rectangular package wrapped in heavy silver paper. She smiled shyly up at him and turned back to look at Angel briefly as he watched her unwrap the package. She glanced up at Joaquin in surprise when the velvet box inside was revealed. She hesitated briefly and then opened the lid.
Her eyes popped open wide, and she gasped. “I-I don’t know what to say. This is beautiful, Joaquin, but so expensive.” Her lips trembled as her fingers lightly traced over the blue stones. He hoped he hadn’t just screwed up royally. She seemed embarrassed. That wasn’t what he’d been going for with this purchase.
When he’d seen the matched set in the jewelry counter at Harrelson’s in San Angelo, he’d thought he couldn’t go wrong.
Angel looked over his shoulder and gave an appreciative nod of approval. There was a chunky turquoise necklace, set in sterling silver, with a shorter silver chain set within it from which dangled smaller turquoise charms, a heavy bracelet made from the same color turquoise with silver beads and crystals mixed in, and matching turquoise dangle earrings. She looked up into Joaquin’s concerned eyes and whispered, “Thank you, Joaquin
. It’s lovely. I’m overwhelmed.” She quickly wiped away the tear that slid from her eye.
“Teresa, I didn’t mean to upset you with the gift. I wanted to bring you something nice. I wanted to make a good impression on you.” He slid his finger along her jawline until his fingertip rested under her delicate chin. Her skin felt like satin.
She looked into his eyes and smiled. “You accomplished that before I ever opened this gift, Joaquin. I love it.” She placed the opened box on the couch and hugged him. He took her in his arms and stifled a groan when he felt not a trace of stiffness or hesitation in her voluptuous body. Her delicate scent filled his nostrils. He unashamedly buried his nose in her fragrant hair and inhaled deeply. She bowed her head and leaned into him, resting against his chest.
He looked up at his brother, and Angel smiled at him then glanced down at the turquoise jewelry and raised an eyebrow. “I think someone stole my thunder,” he muttered good-naturedly.
She giggled. “Nobody is stealing anybody’s thunder. I have never been so spoiled with gifts and attention like this,” she said as Joaquin reluctantly released her. She lifted the box to her lap and turned to Angel and placed her hand on the black onyx necklace. “Would you mind if I tried it on?” Then she turned her back to him and lifted her hair from her shoulders. He removed the necklace and helped her put the turquoise on. “How does it look?”
“Beautiful,” both men said in unison then grinned at her and each other.
Joaquin and his brother watched as she gazed at herself in the mirror and stroked the turquoise stones. She seemed lost in thought for a few moments as she stood there. Sunlight shown in through the glass storm door and illuminated her hair, causing the strands to glisten in the light. The light reflected off the mirror onto her face, giving her an almost ethereal glow. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Joaquin glanced at his brother and noticed a sappy look on his face that probably matched the one on his own. Teresa looked over to them, and Joaquin saw the happiness that shown from her eyes.
She didn’t look away and didn’t cast her eyes down but held their gazes. Joaquin envisioned him and Angel introducing her to pleasure like she’d never known before. Given her history, the only reason she was so open to them both now was because of the groundwork Angel laid over the last several months. He’d shown her he was a man of integrity. Joaquin knew he needed to spend some time alone with her so she could see what he would bring to their relationship. It would give her a chance to develop trust in him, as well. With less than a day elapsed since they met, he was encouraged that she was open to him at all.
They opened the rest of the gifts under the tree and talked and laughed. Joaquin and Angel watched Michael’s antics in amusement, smiling as he wound down like a clockwork toy toward lunch time. Angel made him a grilled-cheese sandwich while Teresa reheated some of the leftover brisket Angel smoked earlier in the week and made sandwiches for the grownups. Michael yawned intermittently throughout the meal and agreed to take a nice, long nap on Angel’s bed when Angel promised him he could ride a horse that afternoon, but only if he got his rest.
* * * *
Teresa tried to keep from laughing out loud when Michael did the Jell-O-neck head bob in his seat and lifted him from his perch on the phone book and carried him back to the bedroom.
She lay down with him for a little while as he drifted off. She breathed in Angel’s scent from his pillow, desire flooding her senses at the recollection of being in his bed yesterday evening. She stretched languorously and fantasized about him lying beside her, kissing her lips as Joaquin lay closely behind her, his body pressed to hers as he nuzzled her throat.
Michael’s light, whistling snore roused her from her fantasy. She carefully rose from the bed and piled the pillows around him in case he rolled around in his sleep. When she came out of the bedroom, Angel met her in the hallway. She recognized longing and desire in his topaz-colored eyes but saw something else in his smile and wasn’t quite sure what it was. Pride, maybe? Was he proud of her?
He tilted her chin up and gently brushed his lips against hers, pressing her against the wall with his hard body. The desire she saw was confirmed when she felt the rock-hard shaft pressed against her abdomen. Her body responded as the muscles in her sheath clenched with need. His arms encircled her upper body, and he groaned as their kiss deepened and she opened for him. She tilted up to him, stroking his tongue with hers, giving him all she had and holding nothing in reserve. Her hands were clinging to his shoulders as she arched her back and pressed her belly against his erection.
Their breath came in quiet gasps as he finally released her lips with a growl. If they had been completely alone, that might have been the moment when they made love for the first time.
He rested his forehead lightly against hers. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she whispered, breathing in his spicy, masculine scent as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
“For being willing. For being so receptive to Joaquin. I’ve never seen that look in his eyes or the hope that’s there. Thank you for loving me and trusting me.”
His words filled her heart with pleasure. “No matter what, I’ll always love you, Angel. And I’m glad Joaquin feels that way.” She nuzzled his lips with her own. “That makes me hopeful it will work out.” She couldn’t process the desires she had and didn’t even try. She wanted to stay like this with Angel, but she wanted Joaquin, too.
“I told Joaquin I would be out of the house for a little while. I released him to touch you if you want him to. He’ll allow you to make the first move. He will not touch you or kiss you unless you reach out to him first. He’s concerned about scaring you.”
Knowing that only served to increase her tender feelings toward them both. “I’m not scared of him, or you. I’m a little scared of what I’m feeling.”
“I’m sure as time passes that feeling will ease. Kissing him will probably help. It won’t bother me if you want to kiss him,” he murmured, kissing her again.
He led her down the hall to the living room and turned to Joaquin. “I’ll check on Deseo while I’m in the second barn.”
“Thanks, Angel,” Joaquin said simply but also saying so much.
Teresa went to the stereo and tuned in a country and western station, turning it down so it played softly in the background. Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking” began to play as she filled the sink with soapy water. She washed the dishes by hand, even though Angel had a dishwasher. Joaquin came in the kitchen, picked up a clean dishcloth, and began drying them as she rinsed them and placed them on a towel. They worked in companionable silence for a minute or two before Joaquin finally spoke.
“Why don’t you tell me about your work? I think that would be a good place to start.” His face was an open book. He wanted her to become comfortable with him. Teresa told him about Stigall’s and how Juliana helped her when she moved to Divine. She also told him that Grace introduced her to Angel and even how she had reacted to him at first. She talked about visiting Angel in the hospital after the shooting and that Patricia was in state custody, in a mental facility being treated. She confessed to him that sometimes she worried that Patricia would be released and show up on Angel’s doorstep with the intent of taking revenge. He asked questions here and there but mostly just let her talk.
She was surprised that once the words started flowing, she told him much more than she would have normally shared with somebody she’d just met. She stopped short of telling him about Michael’s father but answered all Joaquin’s questions. He asked her about where she lived and how she managed on her own. She was honest with him and told him it was hard. It made her feel stronger for taking care of Michael on her own, but that it was lonely, too. Joaquin commiserated with her, and she asked him to tell her about his life, his family, their ranch, and his life on the circuit. Was he still happy living from town to town?
He showed her the scar on his hand, received when he was th
rown from a bull and trampled. “I love it, but it’s a hard life, and injuries can be real serious. I don’t want to be crippled before I’m fifty. The money can be good, but I’m not seriously pursuing a national standing, and living like a gypsy can get old. I may compete locally for the next few years, but that’s probably it. I’d like to settle down, start working with Angel again, and begin building a solid foundation.”
“I see. So you’ll be helping Angel with the horse-breeding operation?”
“Yes. Angel told me they’ve been busy lately.”
“Yes, he has. I know he’s been looking forward to having your help with it.”
After finishing, she dried her hands on his towel and hung it up. Joaquin looked down at the floor and stuck his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. She turned to him, and he looked up at her with encouragement in his green eyes and said, “I know you’re still nervous, but I promise to behave. Let’s just talk, okay?” He gestured to the living room with a tilt of his head.
She smiled hesitantly and followed him out of the kitchen. It had been easy to talk to him while washing the dishes because it occupied her hands, and she had to keep her eyes on what she was doing. Now they were face to face, and she felt a little breathless.
He sat on the leather couch, and she perched mutely next to him, her fingers twining in her lap. His body was intimidating, wrapped in lean muscle. He exuded a caged, masculine strength that made her long to reach out to him, but her mind told her to hold back from touching him. She knew once she made the first move, she would be lost to him, whether he wound up being good for her, or bad. He looked like more man than she could handle.
“You must love my brother an awful lot.” He watched her face carefully.
“Why do you say that?” She looked up at him from her hands.
“You must if you’re willing to consider for even a moment that there might be room in your heart for me, as well. It must seem foreign to you.”
The Divine Creek Ranch Collection, Volume 1 [Book 1 - Divine Grace, Book 2 - Her Gentle Giant, Book 3 - Heavenly Angel] (Siren Everlasting Collection) Page 128
