Page 24 of No Sweeter Poison

“Wasn’t my idea. Diego has a crush on you.”

Laughter escapes me quickly and I bring my napkin to my mouth to smother the sound. “That so?”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Yeah…go easy when you reject him? He’s my baby brother after all.”

“Who says I was going to reject him?” I whisper in reply. “I might have a thing for blue eyes.”

Alejandro considers what he’s going to say next.

He says, “Stay the night.”

And I reply, “Yes.”

“The morning too.”

“Will there be breakfast?”

“I’ll make your eggs however you like them.”

I blow air between my lips. “I’m turned on already.”

He looks at me, tentative smile dancing across his mouth, as if he’s trying to hide how pleased he is. I feel him everywhere; in my chest, between my legs, all the way to the tips of my toes. His eyes never leave me and it isn’t until someone hits their spoon against a wine glass a little too loudly do we finally snap out of our stupor.

“As I was saying,” declares one of Diego’s friends.

The others laugh.

“We want to thank Alejandro, our host, for always making our visits worthwhile.”

Diego throws his hands up. “And not your actual friend?”

More laughter follows but I’m distracted. Alejandro rests his hand on my knee, the touch a secret hidden beneath the table. Dessert goes on for another excruciatingly long hour and a half before the last friend finally leaves and Diego and Lettie make their way out.

“You’re not staying?” I ask.

Lettie gathers her shawl around her shoulders. “We figured you two might want your privacy.”

My entire body flushes with heat at the implication.

Diego ruffles her hair as he pushes her towards the exit. She grumbles something in Spanish and knocks his hand away. “Ignore her, she’s a prude.”

It’s Lettie’s turn to blush. “I am not!”

Alejandro ushers both his siblings out of the house. “Goodbye, goodnight, don’t call me for at least twenty-four hours.”

Diego and Lettie protest, Diego mostly amused, Lettie definitely offended, and a second later the door slams shut behind them. Alejandro turns to face me and I cover my mouth with both hands, torn between laughter and mortification.

“That wasn’t very nice,” I tell him.

He reaches into his pocket, shuts off his phone, and tosses it on a nearby table as the distance between us diminishes. He’s a lion in a den, his gaze focused on his prey.

“They’ll survive.”

I barely have time to speak before he’s on me, lips crashing against mine, his hands wandering to the back of my blouse where the invisible zipper is. With trembling fingers, I unbutton his shirt and push the fabric off his shoulders as he guides me towards the stairs.

Most of our clothes get discarded on the way up along with my heels, both of which fell off at some point. We stumble into the nearest room and he has his lips on my neck, biting and kissing, leaving marks I’m sure will last for days, and I manage to remove his belt. While he kisses his way across the tops of my breasts, I slid my hand down the front of his slacks, fingers gliding down the length of his erection.

He inhales sharply. I do it again, gripping the base, and running my palm up and down until his nails dig into the flesh of my arms.