Page 92 of Mutual Discord

The last week had been an experience unlike any I’d ever had. I’d met family members I had only ever known by name, visited places I had heard about in my parents’ memories, and felt connected to my roots, to my heritage, as I never had before. I’d also been given a glimpse of my parents that I’d never seen before. It was a peek of them as teenagers, lively and carefree, before an accidental pregnancy had yoked them together for life. For years, I had believed that my parents had stayed together because of some toxic, entrenched religious beliefs, but seeing my mother and father interact with each other here, the smiles and laughs they shared, the quiet looks, I realized I didn’t really know them at all. It took coming to Puerto Rico to see them as fully formed people, flaws, strengths, and all. The hand and arm squeezes from my mother and the shoulder claps from my father made me think that perhaps they thought the same of me.

But it was spending time with Sofia and her family that made my chest tight. I had been head over heels for her since the moment I saw her stunning face on my phone, but being with her in her homeland, surrounded by her people, had allowed me a view of everything that made Sofia who she was. Had made my love for this amazing woman more profound.

I turned to watch Sofia now. She had wandered away toward the water to sort through the shells that littered the sand, the sea breeze fluttering the ties of her white sarong and pulling curls from her messy bun and tossing them about her face. Christ, she was beautiful. Even now, after months of calling her my girlfriend, she made my heart ache under my ribs. I still could not believe she was mine…and, more importantly, that I was hers.

Sofia strolled to me now, her palms filled with shells. Without a word, I pulled a ziplock bag from my pocket and opened it, holding it out to her.

“Look at this one,” she said, pointing to an iridescent crescent-shaped shell in the center of her palm. “Its ridges are perfectly spaced, and isn’t the color pretty?”

“You have an eye for pretty things,” I murmured.

Her answering laugh was all sunny delight.

“God, I’ve missed this,” Sofia breathed, pivoting to the ocean to soak in the idyllic view, while I was content to soak in her. From her sparkling doe eyes, her long, sooty lashes that fanned out along the crests of her cheeks, to her pink lips tipped up in a dreamy smile. Her manicured nail continued to run over the shell, and I was reminded of how talented she was at using those elegant hands on me.

My teeth clamped together until the heat in my blood returned to a gentle simmer.

But Sofia seemed to sense my mood—as she usually did—because she smirked, reaching out to squeeze my forearm. “Are you getting tired of being in the sun?”

“I’m happy to walk along this beach for as long as you want,” I said, rubbing a bit of sand off her jaw with my knuckle.

Sofia lifted a sun-kissed shoulder, tucking her collection of shells into the plastic bag and slipping it back into my pocket. “We can go back to the room and take a nap before dinner.”

“I’m not tired.” I pressed my lips to her temple, inhaling the fruity scents of her shampoo, sunblock, and familiar floral essence.

She walked a few paces away, in the direction of the hotel, before she paused, peering at me over her shoulder with her brow arched. “Who said anything about being tired?”

Holy shit, this woman.

Without a word, I stalked toward her and grabbed her hand, hauling her toward the hotel. Sofia chuckled as our feet kicked up sand, but I kept walking.

“Alex,” she shrieked, her fingers squeezing mine, “slow down.”

I did not slow down.

Sofia’s laugh was tossed about by the wind. “You act as if we haven’t had any alone time.”

“We haven’t,” I bit out. “Your abuela didn’t want us to share a room at her house, and then she only relented because your parents were staying in the room next to ours. It’s a little hard to get in the mood knowing your dad might hear us.”

It had been torture to sleep next to Sofia every night and not be able to touch her, taste her, like I was used to. I had been primed for release since the moment we left Phoenix, and being near her every day without being able to indulge in the passion that crackled like electricity between us was slowly driving me insane.

“Good thing I booked this hotel for us to have a few days alone,” Sofia said, jogging forward until she could look back and flash me a smile.

“You’re a genius,” I said, directing her to the bay of elevators off the hotel lobby.

Thankfully, no one was inside the elevator when the doors slid open, and I crowded Sofia back against the mirrored wall after selecting our floor. I didn’t give her a chance to speak before I crashed my mouth down on hers. Fuck, she tasted good, and when her arms wove around my neck and she pressed her perfect body to my chest, my cock swelled painfully in my swim trunks. Dragging my hand from her jaw to tangle in her curls, I licked into her mouth, gently tugging her head back to take the kiss deeper. When a giggle bubbled up Sofia’s throat, I pulled back, panting against her lips.

“Alex, mi amor, I need you to keep all this”—she nuzzled her nose along my chin while her hand slipped between us to pat the bulge that tented my shorts—“in check until we reach the room. This is a family resort.”

Rolling my eyes, I pulled back, although I kept my arm wrapped around her shoulders. “Shouldn’t kids be in school?” I grumbled.

“It’s summertime,” she said on a laugh, although she nestled close to my side. “We’re lucky we were able to get a room at all.”

“No,” I growled, “you’re lucky I have so much self-control or else you’d have your back pressed against the wall again and your thighs wrapped around my head.”

Sofia gasped, her dark eyes wide as she jerked her gaze to mine. “Alex,” she whispered. “I didn’t realize you’d been so frustrated.”

I snorted. “Of course I’m frustrated. I’ve been sharing a bed with the smartest, sexiest woman I know and haven’t been able to touch her.” I buried my face in her sweet-smelling hair. “It’s been months since I’ve had to restrain myself around you.”