yourself love Kendra you would know that she was worth everything, too.” She released him and returned to the counter. “With your next one, I think it will be better. You and Lexi will have beautiful babies. A son to carry on the family name.”
He didn’t have to close his eyes to imagine Lexi pregnant. She would be radiant. But not with his child. Kendra had been a mistake and he wasn’t going to let that happen again.
Later, when he’d found the right wife-the one with the name and background he wanted-he would start a family. Have children.
And then what? Would he avoid them as he’d avoided Kendra? Would he be too afraid that his father lurked inside of him?
Questions to be answered another time, he told himself. Not for now.
“Tell me you’ll do better with Kendra,” his mother said. “Promise me.”
“Mom.”
“Cruz. I want you to say it.”
He looked into her determined eyes. “I promise,” he said, and knew that he was lying.
LEXI FELT AS LOST as C.C. looked as they wandered the empty rooms of the house together. The kitten snuggled close but didn’t purr, as if his kitty happiness depended on a presence that was no longer around.
Kendra was gone. She’d left that morning after breakfast, as she did on every school day, but this time she wasn’t coming back. Her mother was home and Cruz’s babysitting services were no longer required.
They hadn’t said goodbye. Kendra had insisted on that. The girl had eaten breakfast, then left without saying a word.
Lexi shouldn’t be surprised. Kendra had made it clear she didn’t think Lexi would be there the next time she came by and the teen wasn’t wrong.
Still, it hurt to have the house so empty.
She put down the kitten and went into the kitchen. While there was plenty of food in the house, nothing appealed. She heard the garage door open and knew Cruz was home. Was that going to make her feel better or worse?
They hadn’t spent much time together in the past few days. They hadn’t been intimate in nearly three weeks. She missed him in her bed, missed what he could do to her body. She also missed
“Kendra’s gone,” she said.
“I know. She went home after school.”
“I miss her. She’s a giant pain in the ass and I miss her.”
He shrugged out of his suit jacket and tossed it on the counter. “You going to yell at me now?”
“I still stand behind everything I said the first night she was here. She’s gone now, anyway. I just wish…”
He crossed to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “You wish what?”
“That you could let her in. You’re hurting her, Cruz. I know you don’t want to, but you are.” She swallowed against the tightness in her throat. “C.C. misses her, too. He’s really depressed.”
“C.C.’s a cat. He’s not self-aware enough to get depressed.”
“He’s sad and doesn’t want to play.”
“Is he eating?”
“Yes.”
“Then he’ll be fine.”
“I won’t be.”
He stared into her eyes. “Dammit, Lexi. What am I going to do with you?”
“I don’t know.”
“This is a business deal. This can’t be about my kid.”
“You should have told me about her.”
“You’re right. I should have.”
That surprised her. “Okay. Just so you know that.” And while they were on a roll…“What about your other engagements? You should have told me about them.” The other women he’d wanted to marry for real.
“I haven’t been engaged before.”
Unexpected relief made her thighs tremble. “Kendra said you had been.”
“There were women who wanted to be engaged, but I’ve never asked anyone to marry me. I swear.”
It didn’t matter, she told herself. The information was interesting, nothing more.
“Okay. That’s fine. I just thought I should know because you don’t want a reputation for being a guy who proposes and then dumps his fiancees. That won’t get you what you want.”
His eyes seemed darker than usual, she thought absently as the hands on her shoulders moved down her arms, then shifted to her waist. There was something predatory in his gaze. Something that made her shiver and yearn.
“Cruz?”
Instead of answering, he kissed her. His mouth was warm and firm and demanding, in the best way possible. He claimed her, as if defying her to resist. As if telling her he could make her want him. The thing was, he didn’t have to try that hard. She was spineless when it came to him.
He drew her against him and she went willingly, wanting to be closer. Skin against skin, she thought as she wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. She wanted to be naked, him inside of her, taking her until she got completely lost in him.
His hair was thick and cool and silky against her fingers. She tilted her head so she could deepen the kiss. Liquid longing swept through her, leaving her wet, swollen. Need exploded.
He moved his hands up and down her back before sliding them around her waist, then up her ribcage to her breasts. Her skin tingled at his touch and fire shot through her when he rubbed his thumbs against the tight flesh.
She kissed him back, then sucked on his tongue. He nipped at her lower lip before kissing his way along her jaw to her ear. He licked the sensitive spot just below her earlobe. She drew back and pulled off her T-shirt.
Seconds later her bra fluttered to the floor. Cruz bent over and took her nipple in his mouth. Warm, wet heat surrounded her. She arched her back, wanting him to take more, to take all of her. He shifted to her other nipple, sucking deeply, then teased her with his tongue. She dug her fingers into his back.
Desire raged like a hungry beast. She felt out of control and desperate. It had always been like that with him. The ice princess melted, and in her place was a woman who knew what she wanted and took it.
He straightened and kissed her again. This time he shifted so his thigh was between hers. He pushed up against her. She parted her legs then moved her hips back and forth so that she could ride him. The friction was delicious, but not enough to get her over the edge. She wanted more.
She pulled at his tie and threw it over her shoulder. The buttons of his dress shirt nearly defeated her until Cruz grabbed the fabric and pulled. Buttons went flying. He shrugged out of the shirt and she was able to touch his bare chest.
His skin was warm, the color of a strong latte. Muscles shifted under her fingers.
“Take off your clothes,” she told him.
Fire flickered in his eyes. A need that was only for her and made her feel sexually powerful. While he kicked off his shoes, she slipped out of her jeans and panties. Then they were both naked.
She studied the powerful male body, her gaze lingering on his erection. They reached for each other, touching, stroking, kissing. He nudged her backward. She shifted until she felt the kitchen table against the back of her legs. He lifted her and set her on the wood. She gasped at the cold wood against her bare butt.
Cruz laughed. “Let me get my shirt.”
He stretched out the cotton, still warm from his body, and urged her to lie down. He settled on a chair, shifted so that she straddled him, with a thigh on each shoulder, then bent forward to kiss her between her legs.
The combination of lips and breath and tongue was beyond exquisite. The first stroke made her stiffen. The second nearly made her scream.
He grabbed her hands and had her use her fingers to hold herself open for him. Then he reached up and cupped her breasts as he continued to pleasure her with his mouth.
She’d never felt so exposed and sexually connected at the same time. She was totally at his mercy, unable to
