Beat of the Heart (41 page)

Amusement danced in his eyes. “No smartass, your pussy drives me crazy.”

I laughed. “Right back at ya,” I said, before working him harder over his boxers.

AJ’s mouth met mine in a frenzied kiss. Our tongues swirled against each other as our fingers

worked to free one another of each other’s underwear. After I tugged AJ’s boxers over his hips, he

pushed me up on my knees to pull my panties down my thighs. Easing me onto my back, he then slid

them down my legs and tossed them over his shoulder. He kicked out of his boxers before his body

hovered over mine.

Even though this was about making love, I’d already had enough foreplay. “I want you inside me,

AJ,” I pleaded.

Turning me onto my side, AJ spooned up beside me. Gripping under my knee, he lifted my leg up

and then guided himself inside me. With one thrust, he filled me, and I cried out. His warm lips

nuzzled my neck while his hand slid around my ribcage to cup my breast. “Oh baby, you and that

sound. Do it again.”

He pulled out of me all the way before easing slowly and deliciously back inside again. This time,

I whimpered. The next time he pulled out, he slammed back into me, and I did cry out. “Fuck,” AJ

murmured.

His movements inside me became almost like a piece of music he might play. They varied between

fast and hard and then soft and slow. I felt so in tune with him and so reconnected. He must have felt

the same way because we came together. Even though it was early in the evening, he snuggled closer

to me. His hand slipped around my waist to rub my belly. Even after he stopped, he kept his hand

pressed against my stomach. It wasn’t long before he was snoring softly against my neck. As I began

to drift off, I tried once and for all to put the ghosts of my past to rest, hoping, more than knowing, that

everything was finally right for me when it came to AJ.

Peering out the window of AJ’s uncle’s car, I took in the surroundings of Guadalajara. While AJ

sat up front rattling along in Spanish to his Tio Diego, Abby was smooshed between me and Jake in

the backseat. Rather than a hotel, we were staying with AJ’s abuela who had a house in the heart of

the city. From what I gathered, she had a soft spot for AJ like Mama Sofia had had for me. While I

was thrilled to be staying with her and meeting all of AJ’s family, I was a little intimidated by the fact

that Abuela didn’t speak English.

Turning to Abby, I asked, “So what do I do to not look like the out-of-place gringa?”

She giggled. “Just kiss both their cheeks and say ‘mucho gusto’.”

I nodded. “Okay, I think I can do that.”

“And I promise to let you know if anyone is talking smack about you. Okay?”

I laughed. “Yes. Please do.”

We turned onto a street with houses in rows pressed so tight together they even shared a retaining

wall, rather than the townhouse approach I was used to back in the states. Since the house was

practically on the street, we pulled into small garage. The moment I stepped out of the car, I was

ambushed by AJ’s relatives.

“This is my mom, Mari,” AJ introduced, patting a woman with a shoulder-length bob haircut. With

a curvy frame, she was a lot shorter than AJ, and I assumed he’d gotten his height from his father.

Mari’s arms were immediately around me, squeezing me tight. “Oh Mia, it’s such a pleasure to

meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure meeting you, too. AJ has told me so much about you.” With a smile, I added,

“Especially about how you like to spoil him.”

She laughed as she pulled away. “Yes, I’ve probably set him up to be utterly taken care of by you.”

She wagged a finger. “But don’t you dare let him get away with that,” she instructed.

AJ snorted. “Yeah, I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Mari and I laughed. “No, I don’t think so either.”

A tall man, who could have been an older version of AJ, stepped forward. He gave me a warm

smile as he offered me his hand. “I’m Joaquin.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Before I could say anything else, a handsome, muscular guy stepped in front of me. “Mucho gusto,”

I began. But when I leaned in to kiss his cheeks, he jerked me to him and then proceeded to lay one on

me. I squeaked against his lips before pushing my hands against his chest. When I stumbled back, the

guy grinned at me and winked.

AJ huffed a frustrated breath beside me. “And that would be my dickhead brother, Antonio.”

Relief momentarily flooded me that this was AJ’s gay brother and not some overly amorous

relative who had ideas of girlfriend swapping. “Uh, nice to meet you.”

“Admit it, Mia. I’m a better kisser than this douchebag.” When I widened my eyes, he laughed.

“Just teasing you.” He then leaned in to bestow a chaste kiss on my cheek. “It’s a pleasure meeting the

mother of my future niece.”

I gave him a sincere smile. “Thank you.”

He then grabbed AJ in a bear hug. “Glad to see you, big brother.”

AJ grunted. “I just saw you yesterday when I came by the house, twatcake,” he huffed. But I noticed

he did squeeze Antonio tight.

“Where’s Cris?” AJ asked.

With a roll of his eyes, Antonio replied, “Miss Cristina took the kids up the street to the market for

some sweets.”

AJ’s brows furrowed. “You mean Abuela didn’t make a cake?”

Antonio grinned. “Of course she did. It’s just Cris’s kids are too Americanized from having a

gringo for a father.” He jerked his chin up at me. “Just like your daughter will probably turn her nose

up at most of our food.”

I laughed. “Well, in her defense, she has been fed the majority of Italian food the last four and a

half months.”

“Is she going to be back for lunch? I really wanted Mia to meet everyone.”

“I think she and the gringo mentioned taking the monsters to the zoo.”

I grinned at Antonio’s summation of his nephews, Jase and Luke. AJ had told me the five and seven

year olds were a handful. I also knew from some comments AJ had made that Cris was the most

Americanized of her family. I could tell he didn’t like how she distanced herself from her roots.

“Alejandro!” a voice called, cutting through the noise of who I assumed to be AJ’s aunts, uncles,

and cousins behind us.

We whirled around to see a petite, elderly woman, with her flowing white hair tucked back in a

bun, coming toward us. She wore a multi-colored housedress. When she got to him, AJ bent down so

she could bestow two kisses on his cheeks. “Mijo,” she cried, before wrapping her arms around him.

He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her grey head. All the while he spoke softly to her in

Spanish. An aching burn rippled through my chest at the sweet sight before me as my mind went to

Mama Sofia. It was times like these when I saw true maternal love at its finest, I realized just how

much I dearly missed Mama Sofia. It was hard not becoming teary watching AJ with his abuela.

When Abuela pulled away, her gaze immediately honed in on me. I shifted nervously on my feet as

she stared at me, sizing me up. “Abuela, ella es mi novia, Mia.” He turned to me and smiled. “This is

my grandmother, Isabella.”

Trying to break the tension, I stepped forward. “Mucho gusto,” I said, before kissing both her

cheeks. I gave her a quick hug. After I pulled away, I said to AJ, “She knows she’s part of the reason

why we’re naming the baby, Isabella, right?”

He nodded and then translated to her. With a nod of her head, she then began rattling away in

Spanish to AJ. When she was finished, she moved on to speak to Abby, who began conversing

fluently with her in Spanish.

“What did she say?” I whispered.

“That you’re a gold-digger, and I should run away while I still can.” He shook his head. “She

wonders if Bella is even mine.”

My eyes widened in horror while my hand came over my mouth. “Oh my God!”

AJ busted out laughing. “Jesus, Mia, would you get a grip? I told you no one in my family would

ever think badly of you.”

“You stronzo!” I cried, smacking his arm.

“Easy killer,” he teased.

“So what did she really say?”

“That you were very beautiful, and that she could see you had a good soul and a loving heart.”

I gasped. “She really said that about my soul and heart—like my anema e core?”

AJ smiled. “Yes, she did.”

“I can’t believe it. It’s like fate.”

Leaning down, AJ bestowed a tender kiss on my lips. “I would say the same thing.”

The telephone rang, and Abuela went to answer it. “Come on guys, I’ll show you where we’re

sleeping.”

We followed AJ down the hallway to the bedrooms. He stopped at the first door on the right. “So

you and Abby will be in here,” AJ said to me, before pointing into the room with a queen sized bed.

As he sat down my suitcase, Jake, Abby, and I all exchanged an open-mouthed, wide-eyed look of

shock before turning to AJ. “Wait, what?” Jake demanded.

AJ grimaced. “My abuela, she’s hardcore, man. I mean, serious on the old-school catholic stuff.”

He jerked his thumb to the silver crucifix over the door and then motioned to the one over the bed.

“So needless to say there’s no sleeping together when you’re not married.”

“That’s understandable,” Abby replied, sitting down her bag.

Jake’s brows shot up so far they disappeared into his hairline. “Oh hell no, my dick doesn’t

understand that shit at all!”

AJ stood toe to toe with Jake. “You think I like it any better than you do? Mia and I just got back

together yesterday after my four months of fucking blue-balls celibacy. But when we’re in my

abuela’s house, we respect her and her rules. Got it, Ese?”

After staring him down for a moment, Jake finally nodded. “Yeah man, I hear ya. Sorry for being an

asshole.”

Abby threw her arm over my shoulder. “I look forward to snuggling with you, Mia.”

Knowing it would drive the guys wild to tease them, I nodded. “I really like to spoon. Hope you

don’t mind since it’s so hot down here, I have my really skimpy pajamas.”

Biting on her lip to keep from laughing, Abby nodded. “Oh totally. I’ll probably just go with a tank

top and panties, if that’s okay with you.”

“It’s fine. I’m not modest at all. You can go naked if you want.”

When we turned to look at the guys, drool practically oozed onto their chins. We couldn’t hold

back our laughter any longer. “Gotcha,” we said in unison.