More than a Maid

by Reeni Austin

  Maybe he was. But she knew she was getting ahead of herself. Ahead of both of them. Besides, it was all too perfect. She needed to pace herself and let the newness of their relationship—if it could even be called a "relationship"—wear off before making a decision to live there permanently.

  But damn it. Wasn't it time something in her life was perfect?

  CHAPTER 15

  Ramon wasn't dumb enough to get his hopes up. As they walked hand-in-hand to the trailer, every part of him screamed, "get her to stay." Especially after seeing how humble and welcoming she was when he showed her around. She was accepting of his ranch, but more importantly, of his love for his ranch.

  Marcy was a hundred percent different from his first impression of her. She seemed to fit perfectly into his life. Hell, maybe she was destined to end up living there with him. If he'd made a wish list of all the things he wanted in a woman, including those things that seemed too perfect to wish for, Marcy had it all. Looks, brains, personality… a resume full of experience that would make his life easier…

  But he wasn't ready to jump in just yet. His logic wouldn't let him. Maybe in a little while. But not just yet.

  A minute later they were inside the trailer. Ramon prepared it earlier to make sure it was clean, smelled good, and the boys hadn't wrecked it.

  He closed the door and asked, "You in the mood for dessert?"

  "Sure."

  "You like cake?" He went to the sink.

  "Yeah."

  He quickly washed his hands and said, "Have a seat," gesturing at the dining table as he went to the refrigerator to retrieve one of his favorite desserts, which had been thawing for a few hours. "Now, don't tell Patty about this. I love her cookin' but I've been cravin' this for a while."

  Marcy took a seat, and soon he plopped a small, square-shaped cake down in front of her. "Chocolate?" she asked.

  "It's yellow with chocolate icing. From the freezer section." He smirked. "Now, if I were by myself, I'd just take a fork and have at it. But if you'd rather I get a plate and cut you a piece—"

  "No." She smiled up at him. "A fork's fine."

  He nodded and rushed to the utensil drawer. "My kinda woman. Besides, you said you wanted to get to know the real me, right?"

  "Uh-huh." She tucked her hair behind her ear, then reached for the fork as soon as he brought it to her. "You know, the real you's pretty cool."

  Ramon dragged a chair as close as possible to Marcy's, then sat. "I think you're pretty cool, too." He looked in her eyes, then leaned over and kissed her, but quickly pulled back. He wished now that he had taken her straight to the bedroom. Eyebrows raised, he said, "Well, dig in. Ladies first."

  Marcy hesitantly took a tiny portion from the corner of the cake.

  "Oh, come on," he said, stabbing the cake with his fork. "You can do better than that. Don't be one of those women who doesn't eat. I hate that."

  Rolling her eyes, Marcy said, "I've gotta cut down a little. Patty and those rich foods. I've only been here five days and my clothes are too tight."

  Ramon shook his head as he took a bite, then quickly chewed and swallowed. "So what? You look good to me." He smiled. "So, you get new clothes? You know where the mall is."

  She glared at him. "I'm trying to save money. That's why I hit up the clearance rack today. I don't wanna waste my salary on a whole new wardrobe because I can't wear the clothes I packed. Not to mention the dress I have to wear for the wedding. It's already ordered."

  "So? You order another one and let Victor pay for it." Ramon snickered. "Save your money. If you need to buy something, let me know."

  "I don't know…"

  In a forceful tone, he said, "I mean it." Then put his fork down and his hand under her chin, turning her to face him. "My house, my rules. And that's a new rule."

  A shy grin crept across her lips. "I'll think about it."

  He let go of her and picked up his fork, his head shaking. "You really hate being told what to do, don't you?"

  "Yes," she answered, plainly. "And I don't like taking handouts from people. I feel bad enough taking Victor's money."

  As Ramon chewed, he shook his head. Then he swallowed. "You need to stop feeling bad about that. We really did need you. And you're about to help me even more, with bookkeeping. We've already been over this." He smirked, then took another bite. He covered his full mouth with his hand, mumbling, "Now eat."

  She shot him a rebellious glare, then dug in with her fork.

  A few minutes later, Ramon had eaten nearly half the cake and Marcy had the equivalent of a small piece, then said she was full. Ramon rolled his eyes and put the forks in the sink and the remains of the cake in the fridge, making a mental note to dispose of it before Patty found it.

  Unable to wait any longer, Ramon was about to take Marcy's hand and lead her to the bedroom when she excused herself to use the restroom. So, he used the opportunity to unlock the bedroom and make a few preparations.

  He'd already changed the bed linens earlier that day. In the storage closet he found two candles, both of them vanilla. He lit them and placed one on the dresser and one on the nightstand. Then he turned off the light overhead and turned on a small lamp in the corner. Along with the light still streaming through the windows as the sun set, the room had enough light to let him see her luscious body. But hopefully she'd think it was dark enough to be romantic.

  Ramon pulled the covers down, thinking about taking off his clothes when Marcy walked into the room.

  "Hey," she said as she looked around. "This is nice. I love candles."

  "That's good." He walked up to her and took her hand, pulling her to the bed.

  Marcy giggled, and he stopped in his tracks. She said, "So, that's it? Dessert, then… bed?"

  He let go of her hand and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh… was there somethin' else you wanted to do? Like, talk or watch TV, or what not?"

  "No. I just wasn't expecting to go to the bedroom so soon. That's all."

  "Shit. I shoulda thought of that. I'm sorry."

  "No, no!" Marcy widened her eyes, her head shaking fast. "It's fine, really. It's great. You just surprised me."

  Ramon felt like an idiot. They'd had such a great day, he thought it was only natural to end their date here in the bedroom and stay there till morning. But he now realized she probably expected them to start out talking in the living room, proceed to kissing, then make their way back here. And with another woman, maybe that's what he would've done. But he'd gotten so much more attached to her today, all he could think about was getting her naked.

  He gave her a concerned stare. "Do you wanna go back to the living room? I'm really sorry. I just figured—"

  Marcy reached up and put her hands around his neck. "No. I promise, it's fine. I'm glad you didn't waste time. I mean, we would've ended up here anyway, right?"

  "I sure as hell hope so."

  She smiled and stood on her toes, her lips heading for his as he bent down to kiss her. Her lips were soft and she tasted like cake. It was a shame that he'd have to throw her down on the bed and stop kissing her, but he couldn't help it. As his feelings for Marcy increased, so did his desire for her body.

  He felt her hands unfasten his belt as they kissed, so he went under her shirt to unhook her bra.

  He was seconds away from tearing off the rest of her clothes when her hand slipped into his underwear, her fingers instantly curling around his erection.

  Marcy pulled away from him, whispering, "Sit down," as she shoved his pants and underwear down.

  Intrigued, Ramon kicked his clothes away and took a seat at the side of the bed.

  Marcy stood in front of him, lifting her shirt off, then tossing her bra to the floor. "I was thinking…"

  "Yeah?" Distracted by the lovely half-naked woman, he reached forward to fondle her breasts, hoping she'd be quick with whatever she wanted to say.

  She moaned when he squeezed her nipples. "Ooh… as I said… I was thinking. You've been so good to me
all week, I think maybe it's time I returned a certain… favor?" The side of her mouth quirked up in a playful half-smile, then she dropped to her knees.

  Ramon closed his eyes and whispered, "Yes," as he entered the warmth of her mouth.

  Her tongue danced around his shaft, her head bobbing up and down, taking as much of him as she could.

  Ramon opened his eyes, gazing down at her as she pleasured him. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was enjoying it as much as he was.

  Then she opened her pretty eyes, and Ramon smiled at her. After that, he was ready to explode. Looking in her eyes intensified his physical sensation.

  "No," Ramon said, abruptly. He knew it sounded rude, but his mind was too preoccupied to think of anything nicer to say to get her to stop.

  Marcy released him. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

  "No. Not at all." He panted, his voice weak. And he couldn't think clearly enough right then to explain he'd rather get off deep inside a different part of her.

  Ramon put his hands under her arms, lifting her, then spinning her to the bed.

  She landed softly on her side.

  He smiled, checking out her body as he helped her out of her shorts. For a second he thought about positioning her on her hands and knees… but no. Right now he needed to see her face as he made love to her. There was something special about looking in her eyes at such an intimate moment. Something he'd never experienced with any other woman.

  For the first time in his entire life, Ramon was on the verge of falling in love.

  Ramon plucked a condom from the nightstand, tore open the wrapper, and put it on as fast as possible.

  Marcy lay on the bed, peering up at him with a dreamy gaze.

  He hovered over her, positioned himself between her legs, and said, "We're alone out here, so remember," he pushed into her, "you can scream as loud as you want."

  With a silly smile, Marcy tossed her head back, her arms reaching around him. She let out the loudest sound he'd heard from her yet. "Ohhhh! Yesss!"

  Ramon paused, laughing. "Okay, you don't have to fake it. Just let it happen naturally."

  He started again, slowly. Determined to make her moan that way for real. He studied her face, listening to her smallest reactions. Taking his time to learn her body. Every thrust was deliberate, tailored just for her. He wanted to be unforgettable to her. If she was ever with another man, Ramon wanted Marcy to always think about him.

  But maybe… just maybe… she'd never be with anyone else again.

  That idea made him smile and quicken his pace.

  As he continued, Marcy got louder. Her body arched beneath him, legs wrapping around his waist. She held him between her thighs, matching each thrust with the tilt of her hips.

  His eyes locked on hers as she cried out his name with an orgasm that shook them both.

  * * *

  On Sunday afternoon, with Ramon holed up in his office, Marcy focused on cleaning. She hummed a happy tune to herself as she transferred towels from the washer to the dryer, thinking about Ramon.

  She closed the dryer and set the timer, then floated out to the hall where she saw Victor heading her way.

  "Hey Marcy," Victor said in a tone that carried a hint of anxiety. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

  "Yeah, sure. Is this about me going to work with Ramon on Monday? He said he'd talk to you about it."

  Victor arched a brow. "You don't really think of me as your boss, do you?"

  She shrugged. "You hired me and your name's on the paycheck."

  Chuckling, he said, "Don't be ridiculous." Then he waved, motioning for her to come with him.

  Marcy followed Victor to the front porch.

  "Please have a seat," he said as he closed the door.

  She sat in a chair.

  Victor cleared his throat, taking a seat beside her. His voice was quiet. "Sorry to be so secretive about this. I'm gonna trust you not to mention it to Ramon or anyone else. Okay?"

  Marcy gulped, scared. "All right. What is it?"

  Hunched forward in his seat, Victor laced his fingers together. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but Armando and I have been trying to locate Henry Platt, the man who used to live here and moved all of us to Texas."

  She nodded. "I've heard a little about it."

  "Good. I really didn't wanna bring you into this. I barely even mention it to Cara. There's some family history we've been trying to research and…" He let out a defeated sigh, staring off in the distance. "We had a feeling Ramon was lying to us but we found out for sure, today. You see, Henry hiding out, off the grid. Way off the grid. Ramon told us he called him a few weeks ago but today I learned differently."

  "What? How?"

  "There's a lady traveling with Henry. Elsa. She was the housekeeper until they took off together."

  Marcy nodded, not telling Victor that Ramon had already filled her in on that part.

  Victor continued. "Anyway, we tracked down her daughter. She told me Elsa mentioned to her that Henry calls Ramon at least once a week. She even had Henry's cell phone number but it's one of those prepaid, disposable phones, and no one's answering." He sighed, looking in her eyes. "Anyway, we need Ramon's cell phone records. They're not in his office here. We're pretty sure he runs 'em through the office in Kernersville. We think that's why he's been so weird about any of us going over there."

  Groaning, Marcy said, "So… you want me to do… what? Find his cell phone bill?"

  "Yes." Victor nodded. "Or anything else that might help us. And he'll never know you did it, I swear."

  "I don't know, Victor…"

  "I know you've gotten close to him and this puts you in a bad spot. I'm really sorry to involve you, but I don't know what else to do." He scooted forward in his chair, his eyes full of pain, boring into hers. "Ramon's hiding something. I have no idea what it is, but I know my brother. I have a feeling he's not being malicious. He's not that kind of guy. But he's hiding something about Henry. Maybe he's ashamed of something. Or maybe he's just proud. Whatever it is, I just wanna know what he's hiding so I can help him."

  "He asked me if I knew anything about you moving here." Her eyebrows went up. "Are you moving here to help him? Cara hasn't mentioned anything to me."

  Victor winced. "Uh…"

  "I won't say anything to Cara."

  "I don't wanna put you in that position. Asking you to spy on Ramon's bad enough."

  "He seemed excited that you might move here."

  Victor grinned. "Good." He gave the front door a quick glance over his shoulder, then turned back to her. "Cara and I've loosely talked about it. I'm hoping to get her completely on board with the idea. It's not like we'd have to give up home altogether. We can go back and forth as often as we want. I just wanna be here for him. Ramon's suffering. I think we all see that."

  Marcy said, "You'd have to be blind not to see that. He works way too much. Heck, he's working right now."

  Frowning, Victor stared at the floor. "I know. I hate that. I've been here for weeks now and I've barely seen him." He exhaled a labored breath, then said, "Anyway, I just wanna know what Ramon's hiding. If I know that, then maybe it'll unlock the answers to everything else."

  Marcy's stomach twisted. If Victor was right, and Ramon had gone to such lengths to hide something, then Ramon would certainly not approve of her supplying information to Victor. To make matters worse, she was torn between her loyalty to Victor, who paid her to be here, and Ramon, the man who had already left the most beautiful, indelible imprint on her life.

  Victor said, "Marcy, I just wanna help my brother. I swear. He's hiding something he probably shouldn't be hiding. I can feel it." His eyes narrowed. "You heard what happened to Armando, didn't you? How he got left for dead when he was eighteen after he tried to run off and get married?"

  "Yeah, I heard. It sounded terrible."

  "It was terrible. And it had something to do with Henry. That's why we're trying to find him." He put his hand on Marcy's sho
ulder. "Please help us."

  "Can't you find the bill yourself? You said you're going to Kernersville to help him later this week, right?"

  Victor withdrew his hand. "We've waited too long already. Besides, knowing Ramon, he'll hide the bill before I get there. Have it sent to another address. Hell, maybe the bill doesn't even go there now and I'm getting you all stressed out for nothing."

  A wave of relief passed through Marcy. All she'd have to do was lie to Victor and say she didn't find anything. But she instantly felt guilty about lying to him. "Please let me think about it."

  CHAPTER 16

  On Monday morning, Marcy watched the clock in Ramon's truck roll to four-fifteen, and she yawned.

  Ramon smirked at her. "Wanna drink of my coffee?"

  "Yes." She took the enormous metallic container from his hand, reveling in the feel of the warm liquid streaming down her throat. Then she took another sip and handed it back to him, asking, "How the hell do you do this?"

  He groaned. "Coffee. Lots of coffee." Yawning, he said, "You know, it used to not be so bad 'cause I'd go to bed early. But now I got this woman keepin' me up all hours of the night." Ramon glanced at her with a wink she could barely see in the dark.

  She giggled. "You're the one who can't seem to stop when it's bedtime." Then she yawned again.

  "Okay, seriously. Just close your eyes and go to sleep. Or climb over the seat. There's plenty of room back there." He thumbed over his shoulder at the truck's extended cab.

  "No, no." She straightened her posture and blinked her eyes in an effort to clear her blurry vision. "That's only gonna make it worse. I'll never wake up."

  Forty-five minutes later, long after the coffee mug was empty, Ramon pulled off at Mrs. Perry's house.

  He turned off the radio and said, "Here we are."

  Marcy gazed off at the house and its adjoining property when she felt his hands go around her back, then spin her around for a kiss.

  He was rough and passionate at first, then he withdrew his tongue and his lips gentled. He left Marcy breathless when he pulled away.