Bare In Bermuda (33 page)

“But you said you cared for my father.”

“I do. Very much. What do you think he would do if your behavior pushed me away? So just stay away from me. There is no reason why we can't be polite at a distance.”

“I'm trying to apologize. I've offered to pay for the dress. What more do you want?”

“Try harder,” she said. “Win my favor.” She spotted Leo at the bar. Without another word, she walked away.

Leo put an arm around her waist. “I very nearly came over.”

“I think Gloria and I have come to an understanding.”

“That had to be interesting.”

“She's a bully. I just gave her a punch in the nose. Or, more truthfully, I implied that I could take her daddy away from her if she didn't play nice with me.”

“Could you?”

“Probably not,” she said. “Not that I would. Finding out that Eduardo wants kids was a game changer for Gloria.”

“He wants kids?”

“Yup.”

“Ouch,” Leo said. “That is a game changer.”

“Don't I know it.”

****

The evening was as close to perfection as Henna could imagine. The sunset streaked the sky with hues of salmon and saffron as the Bermudian breeze carried the mingled smells of lily and hibiscus through the warm air. Henna sat next to her father at the round table littered with used coffee cups, rumpled cloth napkins, and wilting floral centerpieces. She watched Eduardo dance with her mother and wondered what a future with him would be like.

“So you and Juan Valdez,” her father said in lieu of a conversation starter.

“Heard about that?” She lifted her champagne glass to her lips. Getting her family to stop calling Eduardo Juan Valdez was futile so she didn't bother trying.

“Eden and Leo would not be silenced,” her father said. “I don't think you could have given your sister a better wedding gift than being the one who gives me palpitations for a change.”

“Are you okay with this?” she asked. “Or are you still convinced he's a drug czar?”

“Nah,” her father said. “I had a friend at the DEA run him for me.”

“You did what?” Henna silently counted to ten then exhaled.

“I had Lon Vaughan run him. You know Lon. You went to your prom with his boy Ronnie.” Her father gave her a look that let her know he hadn't forgotten her senior prom and she had better not have either. At the time, he didn't say a word when he picked her up at two in the morning at a warehouse party in the Meat Packing District. Since then, he'd taken every opportunity he could to remind her she'd been duly warned and that he knew what he was talking about. “You remember Ronnie? I told you he was a bum. You should have listened to Daddy. Daddy knows a bum when he sees one.”

“What do you mean you had him run?” Silently, she reminded herself to remain calm. Growing up with a police officer father had always presented a unique set of challenges when dating.

“What do you think I mean peaches? Daddy takes care of his girls. I wanted to make sure Eden wasn't getting messed up in bad business.”

“And?” If the Salazars had been criminals or not met her father's standards for acceptable, they wouldn't have been in Bermuda for Eden's wedding. Eden would be locked in the rumpus room, and her father’s extensive law enforcement contacts would be rounding up Romeo's family.

“He's clean,” her father said. “But not too clean. Too clean equals dirty especially in Colombia. He's an honest businessman if there is such a thing. He's had a few run-ins with the cartel, but what Lon hears from his sources, he's respected in Colombia so he's left alone. What I hear is the cartel tried to go up against his father back in the 80's and regretted it. No wonder. That Enrique is a tough old bird. The Salazars have a lot of land and a lot of people living and working on that land who are very loyal to them.”

“So he's okay?” Her father's opinion mattered to her. If he had a genuine reason not to like Eduardo, even if it was just a gut feeling, she wouldn't dismiss it.

“He's okay. Enrique?” Her father tipped his head a little in the direction of Enrique and Inez. “Not sure about him. He's a lot more old school than Eduardo. That's for certain. That and he's giving your mother ideas. That's annoying.”

“Such as?”

“She was singing Vaya Con Dios in the shower.”

Henna tipped back her head and roared with laughter as her hands came together. “Dad, has it ever occurred to you that maybe you need to bring it a little more?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” her father asked.

“You know, tell her she's beautiful and that the sun rises in her eyes, and you know, maybe put on a suit and tie every once in a while to take her somewhere special.”

“I wear a suit and tie every day.”

“You're missing the point. It wouldn't kill you to make Mommy feel like a princess on occasion.” She looked at her mother being twirled around the dance floor by Eduardo. “Mom is a good-looking woman. She's in shape, takes care of herself...”

“I get the point. You're saying I need to turn on the charm.”

“It wouldn't kill you, Daddy,” she said.

The music ended, and her mother and Eduardo exited the dance floor.

Her father stood from the table. “Come on,” he said, offering Henna his hand. “Why don't you go and distract Eduardo, and I'll steal my wife back. I've seen the way the two of you make eyes at each other when you don't think anyone notices. Even if Eden and Leo hadn't told me, I'd already pretty well figured it out. Daddy is no dummy.”

“Daddy.” She stared at him with her eyebrow raised. She knew her father realized her relationship with Eduardo was physical. That he had avoided saying anything was typical of him. There were things she didn't discuss with her father and her relationships with men was one of them.

“Go distract him so I can dance with my lovely bride.”

Henna left her father, who went to her mother, and edged her way Eduardo who was talking with Fatima.

“Care to dance?” she asked Eduardo, studiously ignoring the daggers Fatima's eyes shot at her.

“It would be my pleasure,” he said, offering her his hand. He led her to the floor and moved her around slowly to the music.

“Do I need to watch you when that woman is around?” she asked, letting her hand slide from his shoulder down to his lapel. Her fingers fiddled with the lily pinned to the black wool of his suit. “Because I won't. I like that you're all man, but I'm woman enough to know I don't have to put up with a man who is easily distracted.”

“You don't have to worry,” he said. “I have just confirmed to Fatima that we are lovers and I would like to see what the future holds for us. I would like to spend this time with you. Do you want to be with me?”

“Very much.” She ran her hand from his neck to the lapel of his black wool crepe suit. “I'm going to go to my room.”

“I'll come with you,” he said. “Everyone is drunk and no one will care. Except maybe Fatima.”

“No,” she said.

“You don't want me?” He looked at her perplexed.

“I do,” she said. “I just need a few minutes.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I just need a few minutes,” she said, trying to smile coyly and succeeding based on his reaction.

“Of course.” He grinned and escorted her to the edge of the dance floor then walked her across the lawn to the terrace of the hotel. “Twenty minutes?”

“That sounds good.”

He ran a finger along her jaw before stepping away and letting her go.

Henna rushed to her room trying to figure out exactly how to seduce Eduardo. “Okay.” She sighed with her back to her room door as her hand flipped on the artificial light. “Too bright.” She ran around the room shutting off some lights and dimming others until she was satisfied. The television was tuned to what was referred to as
romantic mix
. The bed had already been turned down by the maid service.

She ran into the bathroom, unzipping her dress and flinging it off as quickly as she could, followed closely by her underwear. She moisturized, perfumed, fixed her lipstick and mussed her hair. If seduction were an Olympic sport, she was going for the gold. She slipped into the pale blue baby doll nightie and matching panties she'd bought just in case.

Her final question as she looked around the room was, what to be doing when he walked in. “He's not dumb so he knows I'm going to be waiting for him.”

She tried several poses and was left standing with her hand on her hip, studying the bed when he knocked on the door. She looked over her shoulder as the door opened, forgetting to pose.

Eduardo slipped in and shut the door behind him snapping the security lock into place. “How did you know this was exactly what I needed?”

“Sometimes I like to be in charge of the seduction,” she said. “You don't always have to be the boss.”

“No,” he said, placing his hands on her hips. “Sometimes it's nice to give up control. It is not something I often do.”

“Do it now.” Her hands slipped up his suit jacket and slid it off of his shoulders. Piece by piece, she undressed him until he stood before her naked. She ran her hands over his smooth skin, wrapping her fingers around his stiff cock.

“Tell me what you want,” he said. “Tell me what to do and I will do it.”

“Anything?” she asked.

“Anything,” he said. “You trust me and I will trust you.”

“Lick me.”

He drew her panties off of her and tossed them on the floor then lifted her and set her on the edge of the bed. His body nudged between her legs and opened her to his attention.

“Spread your legs,” he said as his palm traveled down her abdomen and over the mound of her pelvic bone. He leaned over and examined her like a painting.

Henna opened her legs as blood rushed to her cheeks. He knelt on the floor in front of her and grasped her by the thighs, tugging her to the edge of the bed and hooking one leg over each of his shoulders. Her pulse pounded harder as he dipped his head, burying his face between her legs.

He seized her by the hips and raised her to his mouth. She held her breath until he slipped his tongue between the quivering folds of her pussy and circled her sensitized clit. He lapped at her slit and honed in on her sensitive bud again, tickling it with his tongue. A sharp twinge of pleasure crackled through her, and she gasped, threading her fingers through his hair. He plunged two twined fingers inside her opening, twirling and swirling in sync with his tongue. The rising orgasm teased her, driving her into a frenzied need.

Rolling ripples of pleasure surged then faded, only to return stronger and hotter. His strokes grew faster. She arched her back, wanting to reach the summit of release yet savoring every flick of his tongue over her clit. A pulsating rhythm danced up her spine, and the sexual ecstasy thrummed in a cacophony of release.

“Eduardo,” she cried as delightful sensations pulsated through her and radiated in a rush of wet heat between her legs.

He pushed her back on the bed and fell on top of her. His hand cupped her aching breast and thumbed her puckered nipple. She spread her legs, and in seconds, he was on his knees between them. Her fingers reached for his cock. She guided him to her soaking wet center, and he plunged inside.

They moaned in unison, Henna feeling the rightness of being filled with him. He gave her exactly what she had asked for—a hard, vigorous, luscious pounding. She opened her eyes for a moment and caught him watching her with a hooded stare. His cock pulsed, filling her with hot cum as her muscles clenched around him, milking every last drop.

Eduardo rolled off Henna to his back, flinging his arms across the bed as he stared at the ceiling. He realized something at that moment. He still grieved, and he was certain he would always grieve for Pilar, but the pure raw pain of it didn't bite so deeply anymore. He felt hopeful and thought about the future. “You make me feel like a man.” He looked at Henna who lay with her arms overhead and wriggled slightly to stretch. Her head turned to him and she smiled. His little control freak had learned to let go with him.

“I love you,” he said from his heart. “I do. You make me feel hopeful and free. I want to be with you.”

Her eyebrows knit together slightly as she pursed her lips and studied him for a brief moment. “I love you, too.” The look of shock on her face was one he'd never forget. “How extraordinary. Honestly...” Her arms lowered from their stretch. “How extraordinary. I finally give up and let go, and what do I get in exchange? The very thing I've been so wound tight trying to find. Maybe there is something to all of your crazy destiny talk. Are you my destiny or is it just a series of coincidences that have brought us here?”

He smiled. Her need to overthink even his declaration of love was so very her. “Henna,” he said. “You make me smile. Please never stop.”

“I won't,” she said. “I'm going to miss you more than I think I even comprehend at this moment.”

He stared at her and saw that she wasn't entirely ready to just give up and run off with him. “I don't want us to separate. I want you to come to Colombia. You must come to Colombia. I can't lose you. Now that I've found you. You must understand.”

Henna's hand touched his face. “I do,” she whispered. She rolled over and faced him. “I love you. I don't want to be away from you.” She placed her hand on his cheek. “I have responsibilities. I can't just walk away from my life because I want to be with you.”

He rolled over and placed his hand over her heart. “Henna, don't you feel it? Are you not drawn to me as I am drawn to you? Why must you fight this? Why can't you accept that we have been given a gift? Love is a gift, Henna. Passion is a gift. It's not something you can create with careful planning and caution. Sometimes you must take a leap of faith.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.

“What is it you're doing to me?” she whispered as she ran her fingers through his hair. “Where did you come from that you can shake my world upside down in just a few days? I don't live my life spontaneously, but with you, I only want to jump in without testing the water. This isn't who I am.”

“Perhaps it is,” he said. “You just didn't realize it.”

Chapter Fourteen

Henna’s bedside phone rang, jarring her from sleep. Eduardo's arm reached over her and picked it up.