Forbidden Lust: 3 (Lust for Life)

by Jayne Kingston

  “All right,” he said. “But just remember you asked for it.”

  Then she was kissing him again. A chill of a different kind tickled its way up his back. When she released him he brushed his fingertips over her cheekbone, her jaw.

  “We’re going to have to tell your family about this.”

  She groaned and turned her face into his shoulder. “No.”

  “Eva, they’ve been my family since I was five. We have to tell them.”

  “No,” she repeated, then looked at him. “Our sex life isn’t any of their business.”

  His eyebrows went up. “We have a sex life?”

  She matched his expression. “Are you going to be able to go back to the way things were after last night?”

  No he wasn’t. “Which is exactly why we need to tell them.”

  “Damn it all to fucking hell.” She rolled out of his arms and sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

  He lay there watching her take in deep breaths for a minute before he got up and sat beside her.

  “I don’t want them to make a big deal out of this,” she said quietly.

  Her eyes were so big and so unsure when she sat up and looked at him.

  “I can’t keep this from Diego.” He smoothed his hand over her back. “He’s going to kill me as it is. If he finds out later I kept this from him he’s going to make my death slow and very painful.”

  She rolled her eyes and looked away. “Diego is all bluster.”

  Oscar’s mind instantly recalled fights he’d either witnessed or been part of in many a schoolyard, nightclub or corner bar parking lot throughout the years. Diego fought until there was only one man standing, and Oscar could count on one hand how many times his friend had not been that man.

  She got up and paced across the room.

  “They’re going to fuck it up when they find out.” She picked up the shorts she’d been wearing the night before and pulled them on. “Diego is going to make a huge deal out of this. Steve and Andre are going to get all testosterone-y because Diego will.” Her t-shirt went over her head and then those pretty tits of hers were out of sight. “Then my mother is going to start planning our fucking wedding.”

  Oscar picked up his jeans, pulled them on and zipped them. He caught her the next time she paced within arm’s length of him and pulled her close.

  “I won’t tell them right away,” he told her, his gut sinking and his head screaming it was the wrong thing to promise her.

  She reached around his neck and pulled his cross and St. Christopher medal to the front of the chains they hung from. “You and your talismans,” she said with a small smile as she untangled them for him.

  The silver cross had been his mother’s. The St. Christopher medal had been a gift from Eva’s mother before he’d set off for California a few years ago. At the time he’d still been stubbornly driving that rusty orange-and-white Bronco he’d loved so much, and she’d given it to him to keep him safe on the trip. The Bronco had indeed gotten him all the way to the West Coast, and then it had promptly died once and for all.

  “Why do you still wear the shell bracelet?” she asked as she looked up. “It’s silly.”

  And just like that he was transported back to that day. He’d been lying on a lounge chair, alone on the patio by the pool in her parents’ backyard, quietly enjoying the end of the buzz from a long day of beer, barbeque and family. Eva, still wearing nothing but the little black bikini she’d been in all afternoon, had sat on the side of the lounge by his hip and told him she had something for him.

  In the present she lifted his arm and straightened the bracelet so the small buckle that held it closed was on the inside of his wrist.

  “Do you remember what you said when you gave it to me?”

  She made a derisive sound and blushed. “What? You mean the virginity thing that you oh so thoughtfully threw back in my face the other night?”

  He smiled. “No, you told me you got it for me so my parents could always be close to the beach,” he reminded her, his throat getting tight with the memory.

  The leather lace he wore had once been tied around love letters his father had sent to his mother from France. Oscar kept the letters in a protective box in the safe in his house, but he wore the lace wrapped several times around his wrist, the ends fastened securely with a single rivet. It was loose enough he could wiggle it off before he showered, but it and the shell bracelet went right back on once he was dry.

  “I remember you talking about how they fell in love in the ocean.” Her fingertips brushed over the only tattoo he had on his chest, the one that said I love you, my little Oscar the Grouch in his mother’s handwriting, copied out of one of her journals. Words he’d made Eva tattoo over the left side of his chest as an exit exam of sorts before he’d released her from her apprenticeship and sent her off on her own.

  “They belong together, my parents and the ocean,” he told her, stopping just before he added, “and you.”

  Her arms wrapped around his neck and he wanted her again instantly.

  “Please don’t let my family fuck this up just yet,” she said quietly.

  Oscar drew in a deep breath, resigned to going along with her. It was a terrible idea, but she had a valid point. And since he had no idea what he was going to do with her now that he’d finally gotten his hands on her, did he really want her family meddling before he figured it out?

  “They’re going to notice something has changed.”

  She grinned and smoothed one hand over the back of his neck.

  “You just be your usual butthole self when we’re around them, I’ll stick with being the bitch they know and love and all will be right with the world.” She went up on her toes until their mouths were touching, her gaze locked on his. “And if you put on a good show I’ll make it up to you real nice. A lot.”

  He groaned deeply. “Oh honey, you are most definitely the devil.”

  Chapter Six

  “I heard you’re going to the Chicago shop,” Eva said as she draped her napkin over her empty dinner plate. She pushed her chair back from the table, brought one knee up and hooked her heel on the edge of her seat.

  Oscar had been musing about the beauty of cooking dinner for a woman he’d known her whole life. Eva didn’t pretend she wasn’t hungry the way too many women did. She’d filled her plate with grilled shrimp and vegetables and orzo, and then she’d eaten every bite with a lust he found highly arousing.

  But then everything she did was highly arousing.

  “Jamie and Leo and I have been talking about it,” Oscar answered, setting his own empty plate aside and wiping his mouth. “Nothing is set in stone yet.”

  “I guess it makes sense,” she told him with a shrug.

  In the light of the short candles that were burning on the center of his patio table, he could see something that looked like uncertainty in her expression.

  Eva didn’t do uncertain. None of the Rodriguez family did. They were blessed with an abundance of self-confidence that was both their charm and their downfall from time to time. And while that little glimpse of insecurity reminded him painfully of just how young and inexperienced she was when it came to love and relationships, it was pretty damn adorable on her.

  “Leni is close to her mom and sister and doesn’t want to leave, so Jamie won’t want to go,” she continued when he didn’t say anything. “You’re the wandering nomad.”

  “I have been known to pick up and move now and then.”

  She took a long drink from her beer and said nothing else.

  “What about your house?” she asked, picking at the label on the bottle with a short fingernail, painted black. After two days of wearing dresses she was back to the way she usually dressed in a retro t-shirt with a faded Donkey Kong iron-on decal and loose jeans with the cuffs rolled above her ankles. “I mean, will you sell it? Rent it out?”

  “I’ll keep it for when I’m in town the way Leo is keeping his hou
se.”

  Not only had Oscar purchased his house for a really good price, but he’d put down a better than sizeable down payment. The mortgage was low enough he could easily afford to keep it and buy a place in Chicago as well. Joy and Leo had offered him the use of their spare room for as long as he needed to stay, so there would be time to hunt for another good deal once the new shop was up and running.

  “My family is here,” he said, meaning her and the rest of her clan. Her eyes snapped up to meet his across the table. “And I still plan to work out of the shop here from time to time. I’ll be back a lot.”

  She pressed her lips together, stood so fast the wrought iron legs of the chair scraped noisily against the concrete and took her dish to the kitchen without a word.

  Getting an idea of what was upsetting her, an oddly pleasant change, he followed.

  “What just happened?” he asked, carefully taking the dish sponge out of her hand before she scrubbed the finish off the plate.

  She started to dump what was left of her beer down the drain. He rescued that as well and she braced her hands on the edge of the counter, her back still toward him.

  “It’s stupid,” she said quietly, looking out the window above the sink.

  He tucked a lock of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear and wondered, not for the first time, how a woman with such a prickly disposition was so soft to the touch. “I bet it’s not,” he prompted gently.

  If she was curious to know what happened to them when he moved, it was definitely not stupid. He’d already started to wonder the same thing. All he was sure of was that she wasn’t a temporary fling he was going to be able to walk away from, no matter who objected—if they ever went public with their relationship.

  She looked up and sighed, opened her mouth to say something, and didn’t get the chance. There was a hard knock on the front door, then they heard it open.

  “Oz?” Diego’s voice rang loud through the quiet house.

  Eva’s eyes went huge and she mouthed the words oh fuck.

  Oh fuck was right.

  She looked around desperately as if she was searching for a place to hide, her eyes landing on the dark formal dining room. It was on the opposite side of the kitchen from the hallway that led to the front door and would have been a perfect place to hide if her brother hadn’t already walked into the room.

  Diego’s gaze traveled from Oscar to Eva and back. He crossed his arms.

  “I thought that was your car in the driveway,” he said, clearly speaking to Eva even though his eyes were locked on Oscar’s.

  Oscar leaned against the counter, knowing the damage was done.

  “I offered to look at it for her tonight,” he said, trying in vain to cover anyway.

  The story wasn’t much of a stretch. He’d worked on Eva’s car in the past, but it was the first time he’d lied to Diego in the thirty-plus years they’d been friends, and it wasn’t sitting well in his gut at all.

  Still, Eva had asked him to keep their new relationship a secret. The least he could have done was thought to put her car in the garage and lock the front door. He lived in a quiet neighborhood where he felt safe enough to leave his door open until he went to bed, and his friends knew they were welcome to walk in if it was unlocked.

  Diego scoffed. “You’re telling me my sister, who lives on takeout, cooked you a nice dinner the two of you ate under the moonlight as a platonic thanks for fixing her car?” he asked as he gestured to the table he could clearly see through the open patio door.

  Oscar pulled himself up to his full height and braced for what was coming next. Whatever it was, no matter how ugly or painful, he knew he deserved it.

  “It’s about goddamn time you stopped fucking around and admitted you like her, jackass,” he said to Oscar, shaking his head. “The pigtail pulling was starting to get seriously annoying.”

  It took a moment for what he’d said to register, and then Oscar felt a rush of relief so overwhelming he would have been knocked on his ass if he hadn’t still been so close to the counter he could fall back against it.

  Eva laughed nervously. “That’s what Leo called it once, pigtail pulling.”

  Diego’s expression darkened slightly. “Leo knows, but not your family?”

  “No, no, no.” She pressed her hands to her flushed face, her eyes bright. “He was guessing, and that was months ago. No one knows but you.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “And we’d like to keep it that way. At least for a little while.”

  Diego’s eyebrows went up and he nodded. “Yeah, I don’t blame you. Mom is going to have a stroke when she finds out. She’ll have the two of you married by Labor Day.”

  “We thought you were going to hate this,” Oscar said, finally finding his voice.

  “What, are you kidding?” Diego grinned. “I think it’s great.” He looked at Eva and must have realized she seemed to be waiting for the hammer to fall because his expression softened. “Who else can I trust my sister’s sweet, tender little heart with more than you?” he asked Oscar as he pulled Eva into a hug, chuckling as he did.

  “Don’t be an ass, Junior,” she grumbled, the fight having returned to her eyes for a moment before she closed them and rested her forehead on his chest, clearly relieved. “You would have to go and fucking prove me wrong, wouldn’t you?”

  “That is always my number one priority in life, Evangeline.” He hugged her tight and rested his cheek on top of her head. “It goes without saying that if you break my friend’s heart I’ll make you very sorry, right?”

  “Haha, very funny,” she deadpanned, looking up when Diego loosened his hold on her. “Seriously. You’re not pissed?”

  He screwed up his face and hugged her again. “God no.” To Oscar he asked, “This started after you were slobbering over her at Jamie’s wedding?”

  Oscar stuck his hands in his pockets. “The day after.”

  “Then I’ll get out of here.” He planted a quick kiss on Eva’s cheek, then hugged Oscar. “We’ll grab a beer and catch up when I get back from California in a few weeks.”

  And then he was heading toward the front door.

  Oscar and Eva both stared at the empty hallway for a moment.

  “Did that really just happen?” Eva asked, looking as stunned as Oscar felt.

  Oscar blinked once, twice. “I think it did.”

  “Do you think he’ll really keep it a secret from the rest of my family?”

  Oscar bit back a smile. She had no idea how many secrets Diego had kept for him throughout the years. “I think he really will,” he told her confidently.

  She looked at him, eyes still wide. “That was too easy.”

  He reached out and took one of her hands in his. It was shaking.

  “You’re right.” He planted a kiss on her palm. “Stay here.”

  She turned. “No. I’m coming with you.”

  He stopped, gave her a look and she stilled. “Please.”

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. “This one time. I am not a dog you can command to sit and stay all the time, Oscar.”

  Heat crackled along his spine. The temptation to let Diego go in favor of talking her into a little commanding role-playing was a powerful one, but he and Eva had all night for that. Diego was about to drive away, and the conversation they needed to have couldn’t wait a few weeks.

  He gave her a quick kiss. “Hold that thought.”

  Diego was standing next to his car, thumbs moving quickly over his phone as he typed out what Oscar assumed was a text message. He half turned when he heard the front door open, but took a second to finish what he was doing before he pocketed his phone and faced Oscar.

  “Are you sure you’re all right with this?” Oscar asked as he made his way down the driveway. “Eva thought you were going to lose your mind when you found out about us, and honestly, I thought she was going to be right.”

  Diego looked down the street. “It’s a little weird to walk in on the two of you together, but I’
m not surprised.” He looked at Oscar again. “I figured it was just a matter of time before you got together.”

  Hearing him say that was unreal. “Why is that?”

  Diego smiled knowingly. “I was there that day.”

  Oscar shook his head. “What day?”

  “The day my little hussy of a baby sister told you she wanted you to take her virginity.” He leaned against his car, grinning openly now, his affection for Eva clear in his smile. “I was up on the deck. I must have fallen asleep or something, but when I woke up I could hear the two of you talking.”

  The Rodriguezes’ pool at the time had been a huge aboveground thing that had dominated a lot of their backyard. It had a large, raised deck that wrapped around one half of the pool, and a ground level patio on the other side. Oscar had been down on the patio that day, apparently not as alone as he’d thought.

  “I heard everything,” Diego added. “Including the way you turned her down.”

  Oscar crossed his arms and took his turn looking down the street.

  “She’s been making goo-goo eyes at you since she was twelve, Oz. I’ve been watching. I know you didn’t start looking back until she was more than old enough, but you didn’t touch. This,” he gestured to Oscar, then the house where Eva was still inside, “doesn’t surprise me. It doesn’t surprise me she talked you into keeping it a secret either. I’m not kidding when I say my mother is going to have the two of you married so fast you’ll be saying I do before you know what hit you.”

  “I really thought you were going to punch my lights out when you found out.”

  “Like I said inside, I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my baby sister more than I trust you, man.” He grimaced and added, “Her with you on the other hand, now that’s a different story.”

  Oscar’s mood dimmed. “What does that mean?”

  “What I mean is if this was going to happen, I’d hoped it would have happened a little further down the line when she was older. Right now she’s still young and a little wild. She likes to go out drinking on the weekends, sleep in late. From what she told me when we talked a few days ago she’s been dating around some, having a good time and keeping it casual. You’ve already gotten all of that out of your system.”