Masters at Arms (12 page)

“What are you thinking,
querida
?” he
asked.

“I wish we could stay here forever.”

Ah, now that kind of regret he could live
with. He bent down and kissed her, gently this time. So sweet. Pure
torture. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to make love again and didn’t
care. He just wanted to feel her lips, her body, against his. As if
ruled by a mind of its own, his hand reached out to cup her firm
breast. He couldn’t keep his hands or lips off her.

But he knew they couldn’t stay here forever.
He wondered what she was going to do now. He hoped she wouldn’t
return to being a paid escort. She deserved a better life than
that.

Raising his head again to look at her, he
asked, “If you could have any job you wanted, what would it
be?”

He watched her teeth trap the corner of her
bottom lip between them and she puckered her brow as she thought
about the question. Then she smiled and shrugged, as if it were a
pipe dream. “A social worker. I’d like to work with abused
kids.”

Wow. What would someone like her know about
abused kids? Well, she certainly was an abused adult. Something
like that would require a lot of education. Not that she couldn’t
afford it.

“So, what’s keeping you from pursuing your
dream?”

She looked away. “It’s too late.”

How could it be too late? She wasn’t any
older than he was. She had to have the time. Look what she was
doing now. And money? Hell, she lived in Rancho, after all. Still,
if she was so wealthy, why was she selling her body? Maybe she was
one of the hired help, rather than an owner. Did she have a sugar
daddy keeping her? Was it Jerk-off from the hotel? But, if that
were the case, then why didn’t she have money?

She puzzled him.

If money was the issue, he wished he could
help her pay for college. But he could barely support himself. And
now that he’d been fired….

“Can’t your family help?”

“No.” She turned toward him and brushed a
lock of hair off his forehead. “Don’t ask. It’s complicated.”

But why wouldn’t her family help her make a
better life? Damián had come from a supportive, loving family. They
didn’t have two nickels to rub together, but Mama had made sure
they had food in their bellies, even if they had to eat tamales
twice a day. Mama and Papa had both worked themselves into early
graves, making money for the rich bastards in Rancho.

He decided to let it go.

Damián wondered if he’d ever see her again.
Doubtful. They were worlds apart. But their bodies sure spoke the
same language. Was there any chance they could date?

Yeah, right.

But he still had her with him now. Pulling
Savannah into the curve of his body, he held her. She molded
herself against him. Soon, he felt her breathing slow down and
become more steady. She’d been through a lot in the last
twenty-four hours. Her body needed sleep. He hadn’t gotten much
sleep either, but was too wired to give in.

He’d have to get her back home soon. But what
awaited her there? Did she even want to go back? She seemed in no
hurry, that’s for sure.

Then what? He lifted a lock of hair from her
bare shoulder, rubbing its silk between his thumb and forefinger.
He’d never dated a blonde before. And he wouldn’t be dating this
one either. Too different.

Just a few more hours and she’d be out of his
life. His head grew heavy and he laid it down on the towel,
pressing his forehead against the side of her head. So right. Would
he ever hold something so perfect again? He wished….

Fuck! Damián jerked up. He’d fallen asleep.
He looked outside the opening of the cave and saw the sun making
its descent to the horizon. It would be dark within an hour. He
needed to get her home.

Savannah stirred next to him, then looked up
with sleep-filled eyes and smiled. His dick hardened. Damn. He
couldn’t get enough of her. She reached up and placed her hand at
the back of his head and pulled him toward her.

His lips met hers and tenderness soon turned
to flames. She opened to him and he reached for her breast,
kneading her soft flesh. What he really wanted was to sink himself
inside her again.

Half an hour later, both of them breathing
hard and sated, Damián sighed. He stood and reached down to pull
her to her feet. She winced again and he remembered how bruised and
sore she was after the beating. He hated the thought of anyone
hurting her like that again. She reached out and brushed sand off
his side.

He turned his finger in a circular motion.
“Turn around.”

She did so and he brushed the sand off her,
as well. Luckily, there wasn’t much there. “I think the water might
be a little too cold for us to wash more of this off.”

“I’m fine.”

“The ride back might be a little
uncomfortable.” He worried about her legs, but at least the welts
were still covered with the bandages.

“I said I’m fine.” Her voice had taken on an
edge.

Damián shrugged. Fine then. He picked up her
underwear and dress, shook them out, and handed them to her. “Come
on. Get dressed. We have to go before the tide comes in.”

He couldn’t help but notice the
disappointment in her eyes. She didn’t seem any more anxious to end
their time together than he did. No sense prolonging the
inevitable, though. They dressed in silence, then he reached for
her hand and she tucked it inside his. As he led her toward the
entrance, he thought how right her hand felt in his.

Framed by the opening of the cave, the sun
touched the top of the ocean on the horizon.

“Wait,” she whispered. He looked down at her
and saw her skin softened to a pale pink by the glowing sun. Her
face was filled with wonder, as if she’d never seen a more
beautiful sunset. Well, neither had he. Watching it on her
face.

When the glowing globe was but a memory, he
turned her toward him. Tears again? Savannah broke his heart. He
brushed the tears away with his thumbs, then cupped her face and
lowered his mouth to meet hers. Feeling the quiver in her lips sent
his dick throbbing again.

He kissed her sweetly, knowing they couldn’t
stay. The tide would begin to roll in soon. When he pulled away,
she smiled up at him. “Thank you for showing me your special place
Damián.”

Uncomfortable, he grinned. “I have a new
special place now. Wherever you are.”

She smiled back, a bittersweet smile. Somehow
Damián knew this was goodbye. He lowered his lips to hers, needing
one more taste of her before he took her back to her safe gated
world.

Then he lifted her and carried her across the
rocks to the beach. When he got to the steps, she protested his
continuing to carry her, but she didn’t realize how often he had
used these steps as his own personal gym. He could have carried her
up and down them all day, especially the way he felt after their
lovemaking.

“We should stop and get something to eat.”
Some date he was! Hadn’t even thought about food all day.

“I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not.” She was way too thin
anyway.

Soon they sat over platters of enchiladas,
rice, and beans. Savannah remained silent and barely made a dent in
the food. She’d already begun to pull away from him. But he
couldn’t take her back to a life as an escort, especially one who
had so little regard for her own safety.

“You going to be okay at home?”

She looked up from her plate and smiled. The
smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

Why did he doubt that?

“That Jerk-off from the hotel doesn’t live
with you, does he?”

She glanced back down at her plate. “No. He’s
just a…business partner.”

“You need a new partner.”

A tear slid down her cheek and onto the
table.
Mierda
. He’d made her cry again. He reached out and
squeezed the hand holding her fork. “I’m sorry. Just tell me that
you’re going to be okay when I drop you off.”

She nodded, but didn’t make eye contact.

“Convince me or I won’t take you home.”

Her head came up again. A mixture of fear and
excitement flickered in her expressive eyes. “I have to go back.
But everything’s going to be fine. Things have…changed.”

Things sure had changed for him, but he
didn’t understand what she meant. Then she smiled, pulled her hand
out of his grasp, and took a forkful of her Spanish rice and ate
it.

They left the restaurant in Laguna nearly an
hour later, when he’d given up on her eating any more. He’d
prolonged their time together to its limit. Time to take her
home.

Darkness engulfed the 5 as they headed south.
He’d put his jacket on her again to keep her from getting cold.
When they passed the San Onofre power plant, with its pair of red
glowing nipples, he couldn’t help but thinking about her breasts
pressing against his back, or taking each of her nips in his mouth
once more. His still erect dick throbbed.

Not this time, chico.

Once in Rancho, she gave him directions to
her particular gate. Taking the remote from her purse, she opened
the wrought-iron entrance to her fortress. As the gates opened
slowly, he never felt more out of his element.. He half expected
St. Peter to be waiting on the other side telling him he needed to
park his ass right where it was or, better yet, turn around and
head back the other way where he belonged.

She started to take the helmet off. “I can
walk from here.”

“Like hell you will.” He rolled on the
throttle and enjoyed the feel of her hands grabbing him around his
waist again as he ascended the winding driveway.

He pulled up in front of the mansion,
illuminated by a series of spotlights showing off the monstrosity
at the top of the hill—although Damián had no idea who could see it
with all the trees.

Isolated. She must have incredible views of
the ocean on the back side of the house. He wondered why the sunset
at Laguna had captured her with such awe.

“Please, Damián! I don’t want you to…”

Damián felt her hands tighten around his
waist as they saw lights going on from room to room as someone made
his or her way to the front door. He had barely stopped the Harley
and put the stick down before she let go and scrambled off the
bike. She hurriedly unhooked the helmet and handed it to him.

“Thanks for everything, Damián. This will be
the best day of my whole life.” She pecked him on the cheek and
made a dash for the front door, as if she hoped to get inside
before anyone saw him. Did he embarrass her?

Mierda
, he wouldn’t have guessed that
she was like that.

What did she mean by “will be” the best day?
She had her whole life ahead of her. How could she know that?

Before she reached the door, it opened
inward. Rather than the man from the hotel, a tall, older man
stepped onto the fan-shaped flagstone entrance. She lowered her
head when he put his hand on her shoulder to halt her. Was this her
father?

The placement of the man’s hand seemed more
familiar than a father would touch his daughter. Her sugar daddy,
then? Man, won’t he be pissed to learn she’d let someone else dip
his wick in her. His crude thought soured his stomach, but if she
could just throw away what they’d experienced, then so could
he.

“Go in the house, Savannah. Wait in the
office.”

“Yes, sir.”

The man reminded him of the Doms in his
ex-girlfriend’s porn videos. Was he her Dom? Did she really get off
on that pain shit? Then why was he pimping her out to other men? To
Jerk-off? Those other men?

He saw her body tense as she cast a glance at
Damián. Tears shone in her eyes. Did he see a bit of fear, as well?
His gut clenched. Goddamn it, why did she put up with that crap?
Clearly, she’d found sexual satisfaction with him at the beach, and
he’d done nothing to hurt her. He wanted to take her in his arms
and hold her. Take her away from here. Cherish and protect her.

She turned her body toward Damián, lifting
her head just enough to make eye contact, and mouthed another
thank you
, then veered away to enter the house. Damián
watched until he could no longer see her, then turned his attention
back to the old man. If the asshole could breathe fire, he’d singe
the tires off the Harley. His face was splotchy red, hands clenched
at his sides.

“If I ever catch you near Savannah again,
Orlando, I’ll make you sorry you were ever born.”

How’d he know his name?

Well, fuck you, old man
. “If she wants
to see me, that’s her decision.”

“Savannah makes no decisions. And I’ve done
some investigating. If you don’t want to be charged with assault
and battery for that incident at my hotel yesterday, you’ll heed my
words.”

What the fuck?
He owned the hotel
where Damián had worked? Did Savannah work for him, too? He guessed
so. Why? Hell, he realized he didn’t understand anything about her.
She was the most screwed up
chica
he’d ever met. If she was
willing to sell her body so she could live like this, he’d never
have anything to offer her.

“Get that contraption off my drive before it
leaks any more oil.”

His Harley did not leak anything. Pissed, but
not wanting to risk an arrest and doing jail time, Damián revved
the motor, glanced at the open door Savannah had disappeared
through, then peeled away. He turned back to see the black streak
of rubber very visible in the overly lit tiled driveway. He gained
a sense of satisfaction knowing that, every time her sugar daddy
saw that patch of rubber, he’d remember Damián. His spirits lifted
a little.

But the haunted look in Savannah’s eyes as
she mouthed her thanks would be what burned in his memory forever.
Had he made the right decision to leave her here?
Mierda
. He
should have given her his phone number, in case she needed him. Not
that he would have expected her to use it.