Chapter Seven
“Trust me, princesa, you want it.” He pulled her into his arms, and the collision with his hard, manly chest stole her breath away. Taking advantage of her parted mouth, he dipped his head and captured her lips.
She wanted every bit of him. Who cared if they didn’t have a future together? All her life she had done things by the book and even invested in relationships that supposedly would offer her the happily ever after she saw in movies and read about in books. Why not let loose for a night? Having sex didn’t change how they perceived each other, nor their reality. But at least it’d remedy the arousal pumping in her veins.
She linked her arms around his head just in case he changed his mind and disengaged. His fingers dug into the sides of her waist, bringing her closer, making her feel the hardness of his cock, the quiet assurance he wasn’t going anywhere. She moaned into his mouth, her entire body sizzling with pent-up desire. Her clit swelled and throbbed harder than her own heartbeat. If they continued like this, she’d come right there and then in the middle of a walkway.
A couple pedestrians catcalled, which should really have been their cue to stop that hungry kiss. She didn’t know how—with every stroke of his tongue, graze of his teeth on hers, her longing for him grew tenfold.
“Come,” he whispered.
Before she could react, he hooked his hands under her knees and lifted her from the ground, carrying her in his arms.
She planted her hand between her legs to keep her dress decent and chuckled. “What on Earth are you doing?” she asked even though she knew the answer. They were playing newlyweds, and the result could be catastrophic if she didn’t stress the word play to herself.
His eyes gleamed. “I’m finding a quick way back to the suite.”
A thrill of excitement bolted through her, spilling heat into her belly. “I can run.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to let go of you.”
“Then don’t.” Happiness bubbled through her. When was the last time someone carried her like this? Never. He kissed her cheeks, reigniting those delightful sensations she didn’t want to part with.
I don’t want to let go of you. God. His words sounded more delicious than a fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie. Just like her favorite treat, she doubted one taste would be enough. She found solace in the curve of his neck and kissed his salty, warm skin. “Emanuel…”
“Almost there, baby,” he said, and she scanned the area around them as he kept walking.
They entered the hotel lobby, and a few guests watched them with amusement. There needed to be a reason for what happened. This kind of sexual connection wasn’t typical, right?
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his large body, shielding her from curious glances. When they made it to the room, she thought he’d let go of her to grab the keycard, but no, he swiftly switched her weight from one side to the other, reached into his pocket for the key and scanned it quickly.
“What if I had fallen from your arms?”
“No chance in hell,” he whispered into her ear, and his breath fanning her flesh prickled all the little hairs at the back of her neck. She sucked in a breath, afraid if she exhaled, her heart would leap from her mouth. “You’re mine tonight.”
A heady sensation hit her, and she held onto him tighter to make sure she wouldn’t melt away. He kicked the door open, and then slammed it behind him. The last steps between them and the poster bed took longer than she could handle.
When he kissed her again, her tongue welcomed, punished, encouraged his invasion. He put her on her feet, and maybe his own balance was off, too, for he leaned into her to intensify the kiss, and they both stumbled onto the large bed.
She chuckled.
“If we fall, we fall together,” he said, his words more powerful than a rocket.
He slid down her body and pulled down her panties. She shivered. Emanuel had sliding her underwear down to an art. Her flesh prickled, awakened at the hint of his touch. At last he tossed the fabric away and smiled.
She bit the inside of her cheek. Why did he have to be so irresistibly sexy? Handsome she could survive. Irresistibly sexy…not so much.
The moment his tongue traced over her thighs, she squirmed. The delightful sensation sensitized her skin as he nudged her legs apart for better access. She tried to plant her feet on the linens to gain some ground, but he placed them on his shoulders, and her toes curled.
His tongue worked its way into her pussy, shamelessly outlining her folds at first, teasing her. She couldn’t help but shake her head from side to side on the pillow, completely in awe of him, her wet center swelling, anxious for more.
He said something she couldn’t quite understand, abandoned in the world of pleasure he gave to her. Then the motion stopped, and her body quivered. She was about to spill out coherent words when he raised his voice. “What’s my name?”
Oh. She smiled to herself. “Emanuel. Emanuel,” she chanted with reverence, knowing at that point there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do to keep him devouring her with such abandonment.
She couldn’t see his handsome face but imagined he grinned when his lips kissed her sex again. Strands of pleasure formed inside her, like invisible arrows racing madly in all directions about to short circuit. She bucked into him, rocking her hips against his mouth, mimicking the movements she wanted him to do to her very soon.
Emanuel lapped at her folds with more intensity, flicking her clit with his thumb until the strands seared inside her, and she could no longer control her own body. Spasms of ecstasy rode through her relentlessly, her heart beating a tattoo against her ribcage.
She held his head, and even as the convulsions subsided, he continued to taste her like a thirsty man in the desert who had finally found a well. “You’re amazing,” she said, pretty sure she would later regret complimenting him and sounding so vulnerable. If that was the price to come undone in his arms, she would gladly pay it.
In response, he nipped at her thigh, and she bucked against him. “I want you inside me, Emanuel. I need you.”
“There are many ways to be inside you.”
God. His accent was so thick she could barely understand him. He had to be as turned on as she was—or more. Wait. Was that possible?
She quivered. “And I want to try all of them, but now I want your cock inside me.”
Pounding me. Hammering me. Fucking me. Dirty expressions she didn’t have in her everyday dictionary inundated her brain. Her cheeks flushed, but instead of shame, she reveled in her newfound naughtiness. If there was a guy to lose herself with, it had to be Emanuel. No matter the consequences. She needed this.
“Wish granted.” He withdrew from between her legs, leaving a cold draft behind. She wanted him to jump her and take her already, but he decided to pepper a few kisses on her stomach, working his way up while heat coiled low in her pelvis. Goose bumps rose on her skin, and when he traced the tip of his tongue over her puckered nipple, she whimpered.
He cupped her other breast, and she arched into his touch. Until then, sex had been a pleasurable way to show emotion in a relationship. But this…this was emotion. Exhilarating, liberating, crazy sensations teased her every sense. Tingles of excitement surged through her body, and sweat slicked her skin.
She scratched his shoulders in a clear demand for him to cover her with his body and take them both to the peak—the only one where they could coexist together without doubts or insecurities.
“You’re so fucking hot, Erika.” He left her breasts and nudged her legs with his knee. “I’ve wanted you ever since I first laid eyes on you.”
He raised his head, and his gaze collided with hers for a second. She parted her lips but hesitated. He’d been wanting her the entire time? The confession had her blood rushing through her veins. A flicker of recognition sparked in his big hazel eyes, like he realized what he’d said, and he blinked.
He broke the stare, like some inner force shook him from it, and licked the valley between her breasts all the way to her jaw. She opened her mouth, desperate, thirsty, achy for a kiss to answer the questions she didn’t know how to articulate.
Groaning, he positioned himself between her thighs, the tip of his length rubbing against her clit and causing little electric shocks to dart through her. “Yes, baby. Feel this.”
“I want more,” she said between her teeth, afraid if she gave in to the ardor she would scream so loudly they would hear her all the way down at the front desk.
Fascinated, she glanced down at where their bodies joined. Emanuel’s cock began to fill her, with his hand still easing it into her. Instinctively, she parted her thighs, without remembering he blanketed her with his large frame, his legs keeping her hostage. She could have laughed at the irony. The kind of blazing arousal certainly didn’t make her wish for a way out.
He pressed into her, and she moaned. Damn it. She’d asked for it, and now she bit her lower lip, confused by the achy sensation in her sex. “You’re tight,” he said, with a pang of approval.
No, you’re insanely well endowed. She bit her tongue before those words popped out. Kissing her forehead, he rubbed her clit, and she found herself relaxing, enjoying him inside her without moving, filling her and completing her, creating a need that until then she didn’t know she had.
She lifted her head, angling her mouth toward his so their lips would touch. Given their torrid make out session, she expected a fiery kiss. Emanuel brushed his lips on hers, with the tenderness of a chaste first kiss, and the reaction he evoked caused a tingle to bolt through her from her curling toes to her sensitized scalp. She opened her mouth, to grant him access, and at the same time worried if they full on kissed she wouldn’t experience the gentleness sizzling her nerve endings.
When their tongues meshed, he moved inside her, plunging all the way into her only to withdraw a second later right when she was getting used to his girth. She barely had time to gasp in protest, and he returned to her, thrusting even deeper. They continued the passionate delicious dance for as long as she could take it. Soon, her tunnel vision focused on him and the rest around her became blurry and foggy like a glass window on a rainy day.
Not him. Emanuel gazed at her with those eyes that welcomed and pushed her away at the same time. The intensity of his rugged face matched the intensity of his thrusts, and she closed her eyes. Tremors overpowered her, and she allowed the roaring in her core to spread through the rest of her. Later she would worry about the consequences of their sexual rendezvous, but now she would let go and enjoy the fascinating experience of rapture in his arms.
“You know this complicates things, right?” she said when she regained rationality.
He stroked her hair. “It doesn’t have to.”
She sighed into his warm chest. The cocoon of sheets around them, her limbs tangled, and her head resting on his pecs took away any problems she could think of. A sense of peace filled her—a tranquility she never knew she always missed. “True. It’s very noble of you to want to help that family so much. Not many others would, especially when they have money and a career.”
The bark of a laugh cut through the air. His body tensed under hers. “Oh trust me, Erika…I haven’t been noble for a long time.”
Intrigued, she raised her head to watch him. “Maybe kidnapping me wasn’t the most legal way to go about it, but your end goal is selfless.” Whether Raul had been kidnapped by her father, or intimidated like Emanuel had said, they still needed proof. Either way, the reason behind Emanuel’s actions were noble.
He looked away. “Some days I feel like a criminal of the worst kind.”
She nudged him. “C’mon. That’s not true.”
Emanuel’s eyes returned to her, and this time sadness darkened his irises. She drew back, and he sat against the frame of the bed. The expression on his face sobered. She pulled the sheets and sat up next to him. Had she said something wrong? “Why would you be the worst criminal?”
He sucked in a breath, shoulders stiffening. “When we were growing up, a lot happened. After Bruno left for the U.S., I had to help my sick mother, my father, not to mention my siblings. My older brother Leonardo did a great job taking care of my mother and our baby sister Camila, and he did what he could, but I wanted to help out. We weren’t homeless, but things got tight after my mother’s illness.”
She nodded. “And?”
He cleared his throat. “One day, I saw this rich lady fumbling for her keys when she approached her car. I thought to myself, ‘How easy would this be?’ My mom had severe lupus and no access to decent medical care. I watched as a young boy how that horrible disease spread across her face and neck. Her joints hurt all the time.”
Erika swallowed. By the way he curled and uncurled his fists, she could tell the rest of this story didn’t end well. She placed her hand on his leg, a non-sexual touch. She wanted him to know she listened and understood his pain even if she couldn’t relate to it. Or could she? She’d been the poor little rich girl, vying for her father’s attention, while he had seen the dark side of life at far too early an age. “Did you do it?”
“No. I walked back home and thought about the idea. The next day, I loitered at the parking lot of a street mall and waited for the right moment. I didn’t want to hurt anyone of course. Now I know I stole their sense of security, and that costs more than any expensive watch.”
She ran her fingers through her hair and tossed it to the side. He’d taken her sense of security, too, when they first met. How does it feel now? After sex? Should be the same. She shook her head. Dwelling wouldn’t help any. “Is that why you’ve helped people? Why you want to find Raul and give his family closure? You’re righting your wrongs?”
“I was young, impulsive, and needed cash. I did things I regret now, but I had to do it to survive,” he said unable to hide the edge in his voice despite the nonchalant wave of his hand. “Besides, I took from those who had money. Nowadays I won’t allow those in power to benefit illegally or unethically from oppressed people. I’m committed.”
“I understand. You know, if you weren’t such a prick sometimes, I’d say you have some redeeming qualities, Emanuel Duarte.” She slid her finger across his thigh, and his body responded. She smiled. “Some pretty amazing qualities, I must add.”
He shook his head and flashed her a smile. “You have no idea.”
Swiftly, he flipped her down on the mattress and pinned both hands over her head. She bucked toward him. A hot throb reenergized her clit. She lifted her head to kiss him, but he withdrew and tightened the grip on her wrists.
“Don’t be greedy,” he said.
“Aren’t I supposed to be? According to all your research, I’m merely living up to my reputation.”
He blew air over her neck and chest. She tried to keep still, but her legs moved restlessly… Everything inside her was restless for him. Her nipples puckered, the rose buds achingly tight.
“I’m greedy, too,” he said.
“I can help you with that.”
“Not now.” He loosened his hands, and before she could relax her wrists and flex her fingers, Emanuel turned her around so her ass was up in the air, and her face pressed into the pillow.
She felt the tip of his cock rubbing against her entrance. A delightful shiver worked its way down her spine, and her nerve endings scorched with want. He made a circular movement at her entrance. She inhaled. She expected his cock to enter her, but when he thrust two fingers into her slick pussy, she moaned loudly. God. What else did she need? Nothing. At that moment she didn’t need one more thing in the entire world.
He nudged her thighs apart, and she mellowed. The rhythm of his digits sliding in and out of her, each time deeper, quickened her pulse, but the torture didn’t end there. He flicked her poor clit with his thumb, sending thrills of excitement through her that resonated with every rub.
“God. Please. I need you,” she said between her teeth. That primeval urge to have him thrust into her scared the hell out of her. Coming so quickly with him—when orgasming in general was never an easy feat—should mean she’d lost control over herself. Yet it only empowered her to want and yearn for more.
“I can relate,” he said, and thrust deep inside her.
She arched back, her inner muscles clinging to him. She let out a gasp of air, willing herself to relax for a moment, buying time to enjoy his impressive manhood. A sense of completion washed over her, but as he started to move against her slick walls, she realized she was far from satisfied. She wanted more, as much as he could give her.
Heat coiled in the pit of her stomach. Without disconnecting his thumb from her clit, he played her like a Stravadarius. Emanuel plunged into her depths, withdrew, returned to her wetness, quickly disengaged again. The hard thrusts became more powerful, faster, almost unbearable. Pleasure built in her core, assailing her.
“This…is…madness,” she whispered when she managed to string words together again. But madness had never been more liberating.
…
“Wow. Is this really what’s left of the housing community?” Erika asked.
Emanuel glanced at the abandoned site. The combination of wood, debris, and rocks tossed on the ground shouldn’t still squeeze his lungs. The cement around houses split, bringing out the dirt from underneath. Rats scurried away as they walked farther into the mess.
He exhaled into stale air, then glanced at the overcast sky. After they’d woken up the next day, he’d been cordial, but he wanted to ensure she knew where they stood. And hell, this had to do with the job. Compromising his goal because of earth-shattering sex wasn’t cool. “Yes. We transferred the residents to a temporary site elsewhere, on my dime. We want to make sure they’re safe. See, your father wants to blame weather conditions for the state of the site, but it’s really because of his endless ambitions.”
She nodded more to herself than to him. “Why didn’t you consider a class action against him?”
“A class action was our first option, but without Raul, we lost a key witness,” he said without admitting his deeper concerns. Could Raul be an accomplice? Was that why he was hiding? Or was the engineer scared of the repercussions if he accused Silas publicly? “We need Raul. We won’t go far without his testimony that he knew those materials were faulty and bad quality.”
“Why would my dad willingly do this? I mean, wouldn’t he think about the consequences? Would he ruin his reputation because of a few million dollars saving?”
There was no easy way to tell her Silas had been a rich crook for decades. “This isn’t the first time your father has done this, Erika. If you add it all up, it’s much more than a few million dollars. He preys on vulnerable communities, and he didn’t count on someone picking a fight with him. He sure as hell didn’t count on me,” he said, his voice leaving no doubt he meant every word.
She rubbed her forehead, but reality seemed to sink in as she took in the surroundings. They didn’t lie. The site smelled of urine, dead animals, and despair. No one had tried to occupy the space since the floods, because even a homeless person would have deemed it inhabitable. Silas had preferred not to comment about the devastation besides a bullshit statement through his public relations team.
She bent down, picked up a piece of plastic from the ground, and studied it. It resembled the remains of a child’s toy. “What’s next?”
“We can’t keep on moving. I’m taking you to a safe location where I’ll contact your father again. Maybe when he realizes I mean business and his henchmen won’t find you, he’ll give in.” If she went missing for much longer, her coworkers and friends would eventually suspect something terrible had happened to her. Emanuel gathered Silas lied to them about her whereabouts, but such deceit couldn’t work for long. Besides, her good girl image represented the future of the company.
She let go of the plastic, surged up to her feet. “Then what?”
“I’ll make the exchange. Once I verify the information he gives me about Raul, I’ll send you to him,” he said, injecting some much needed energy in the last part. His heart skipped a beat or two. Until now, he never spent any time considering the prospect of saying good-bye to her. In one way, it was a no brainer, because he didn’t want a steady relationship. Then when she met her father and he showered her with lies, she might change sides and believe the worst about Emanuel. Or maybe she’d simply prefer to stay out of it.
Erika shot him a lingering glance. Her eyes darkened, and this time not because of sexual arousal. Repressed pain gleamed in them. He would have to be an idiot not to notice.
She cleared her throat and looked away. “And I go on my merry way, I guess.”
He scratched his chin. Was she upset because of what would happen to her father? Or because they had sex and she expected something more? No. He’d been honest about that at least from the get-go. “Do you see a different outcome? When I’ll be the one bringing your father down, and along with it, the charity you run?”
“There isn’t dirty money in the charity. I’m the chairperson. I would know.” Her answer cemented his doubt: she hadn’t yet voiced she believed him. That was a problem, and a threat. Could he ever trust her?
“Like you knew about all this?” he asked, twirling his fingers around. “Who’s your CFO?”
She rubbed her neck. “Stewart Moss. A friend of the family. We’ve known him for years.”
Stewart Moss didn’t fall much behind Silas on the embezzler douchebag line as Emanuel’s researched had shown. Slimy man with a lot of skeletons hidden inside the safe of a Swiss bank account. “Exactly.”
She cleared her throat. “I’ll look into it since my calendar will be free after you get rid of me and get what you want.”
Why couldn’t he shake the sensation she was mad at him? Maybe she hated him for imploding her perfect little life. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that he screwed her and never addressed the issue. Either way, he had to clear the air. “By the way, you’re not upset at me about what happened last night, right? Did you think—”
She shook her head and raised her hand in denial. “That it was the beginning of an unlikely love story, and I’m a special snowflake? No. I may be naive, but that’s a bit much, right?” She massaged her temples. “Sorry I snapped at you. I’m just tired. Are we good?” She stretched out her hand.
He gave her hand a glance before shaking it. His stomach clenched in response, and he wished their sexual awareness didn’t still punch him in the gut when he was with her. He’d wanted to kill the urge to take her, not keep wanting more. “Yes, we’re good,” he lied. Until he found out what happened to Raul, things were anything but good, because that meant spending more time alone with Erika, wanting her when he didn’t believe he could have her.
“Are we far?” Erika fanned herself with her hands even though the AC was on full blast.
“One more minute,” he answered, making the final left turn that would take them to their destination. The small community of Brazilian Indians he and his organization helped had agreed to foster Raul’s family in the Amazon jungle.
He could have transferred them somewhere in Manaus or another city, but he avoided such risk after considering the possibility of Silas hurting Raul’s family or trying to extract from them any information. So he’d asked them to hide in a remote area for their safety. The last place Silas would look for them would be in the jungle, especially when they had no links to the Indian tribe.
When he parked the car next to an overflowing dumpster, he wondered if Erika would be up to the challenge of hiking in the wild terrain. He grabbed the gear and slid on his backpack.
She frowned at the overgrown grass and bushes, then put her hair up in a ponytail. “Where are we going?”
“We’ll go to their camp on the other side of the river.” He pointed at the racing water less than a mile away from them. Unfortunately, it crossed the land the Itopis occupied so there was no other way to reach it. The Itopis liked it that way—another reason for him to ask them to hide Raul’s family.
She looked around. “There are no bridges. Are you saying—”
He leaned closer and offered her a close-lipped smile. “Yes. We’ll cross the river. Together,” he said, and for some odd reason, a shiver rolled down his spine at the last word.