That’s a word for carnival rides and animated movies and walking barefoot in the rain.”
Her earnest speech might have been good for his ego if she didn’t seemed so distressed.
He scooped her out of the chair and sat back down with her in his lap. “You’re overthinking this, Maria.” He nuzzled her ear. “Maybe we didn’t start with fun. I’ll give you that one. But we’ll get there. Eventually. Good sex, I think, hits all the positive adjectives eventually.”
She sighed, resting her cheek against his heart. “Have you had bad sex?”
“Enough to know the difference.” He stroked her hair. “Trust me, sweetheart. Trust us.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“And you’re making it far too complicated. We’re here in this room. A man and a woman. Attracted to each other. Unattached. With time on our hands. What makes you think something bad is going to happen?”
“Superstition?”
He laughed ruefully. It was hard to argue the point that the old ways in Alma were laden with superstition. Legends. Folk tales. Fables delineating the fates of those who tempted the gods. Alma’s was a culture steeped in centuries of oral tradition.
“You’re a thoroughly modern woman. We’re here representing the best and brightest of a country eager to make its mark on a new millennium. Relax. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“I think it’s all those years of my mother warning me that misbehavior on my part would have drastic consequences. It was a very effective deterrent.”
“I’ll protect you if the sky starts to fall.”
“Not funny.”
He tickled her rib. “A little bit funny. Admit it.”
Her body relaxed in his embrace. They had broken some awkward barrier and made it safely through to the other side.
She put her hand on his thigh. “Did you mention room service?”
* * *
Alex watched Maria eat a strawberry and was forced to lean forward to lick juice from the slope of her breast. “I’ll order more of those,” he promised.
They were both naked. It was three in the morning, and they had chosen to shore up their energy with a snack of fresh fruit and champagne.
Maria’s hair tumbled around her shoulders. Dark smudges beneath her eyes attested to the fact that so far he hadn’t managed to let her sleep for more than thirty minutes at a stretch.
How could he? When she nestled close to him, her bottom cradled against his groin, he wanted her again and again.
More juice dribbled onto her cleavage. “You’re doing that on purpose,” he accused.
She eyed him innocently, her lips closing on a bite of red berry. “Are you complaining?”
“Hell, no.” This time when he licked her velvety soft skin, he shuddered. “We need to sleep.” His hands were at her hips, tugging her down onto the mattress. He had no intention at all of closing his eyes.
“We can sleep when we’re dead,” she said, the words slurred with exhaustion. She was so beautiful in her sensual abandon that it hurt to look at her.
Those six words were all the invitation he needed. He eased her onto her side facing away from him. Lifting her leg over his thigh, he entered her from behind, joining their bodies with an ease that made his head swim. This was so perfect...so right.
Maria’s head rested on her arm.
“Are you asleep?” he asked, smiling though she couldn’t see him.
“Just catnapping. Keep up the good work.”
“I never knew you were such a smart-ass,” he teased. He withdrew and thrust firmly, burying himself all the way to the hilt and making each of them gasp in unison.
“I’ve been on my best behavior at work.”
“Will you be insulted if I say I like this version of you even more?”
He curled an arm around her hip and reached for the spot that controlled her pleasure. Toying gently with the small nub, he slowed his penetration to enjoy her restless arousal.
“Not insulted,” she moaned. “Don’t stop.”
He felt his climax bearing down on him and willed it back. “What will you do for me if I let you come?” he asked, the words ragged.
“Anything, everything. Damn you, Alex. Please...”
She tried to twist in his embrace so she could face him, but he held her firmly. Already he felt small contractions in her sex that told him she was close, so close. “I like it when you beg.” He bit the back of her neck. “Will you let me kiss you in public?”
He didn’t even know where the question came from...hadn’t realized he was about to ask it.
Maria stiffened, the small shake of her head unmistakable. “Not that. Nothing out in the open. I’m offering you this room, this weekend, these two nights. Anything and everything. No holds barred.”
Though her words promised a sexual carte blanche, he was pissed at her refusal to have a real relationship with him in the light of day. Really pissed...but not enough to let her go. “Fine.” He forced the word past clenched teeth. “But I’ll make you pay for that.”
He couldn’t wait any longer. Cursing softly, he released the tight control he’d maintained and plunged wildly, taking her again and again with a force and fury that rocked the bed and sent them both into a fiery crash with orgasmic pleasure so intense they collapsed instantly into a deep, sated sleep.
* * *
Maria awoke completely disoriented. For a split second she thought she was in her small apartment in Alma. Then gradually, everything came back to her, including the fact that a large, naked man held her tightly with both arms locked around her even as he slept.
For a moment, she remained still, struggling to assimilate everything that had happened. Fragments of memories...pieces of the night before, sent hot color to her face and made her wonder how much was dream and how much reality.
But when Alex murmured in his sleep, his face buried in her hair, she couldn’t pretend any longer. She and Alex had made love...repeatedly. And the experience had changed her forever. She had given him a part of her soul and it wasn’t something she could or would take back.
Panic rose in her chest. She had done the one thing she knew was dangerous. She had let Alex get too close. It wasn’t just the sex, though that was bad enough. But even worse, she had let down her guard with him...let him see who she really was.
Whatever professional distance had existed between them had been obliterated in one unprecedented night. Alex clearly wasn’t alarmed by that. He seemed to have some notion that it was no big deal.
But Maria knew the truth. Soon they would return to Alma, and there it would be impossible to continue whatever this was between them. Alma was struggling to assimilate the fast-moving future with their traditional past, but it was a struggle that would take more than a week or a month or even a year. In the meantime, the old lines of class and social standing would remain mostly intact.
Not only was Maria not a native of Alma, she was a woman with no past. No father, no relatives, no lineage. Only a hardworking mother who had done her best to keep food on the table.
Oh, what the hell. Just because heartbreak lurked around the corner, it didn’t negate the benefits of a weekend in bed with the man she lo—
She pulled herself up short. Love was an inappropriate word in this context. She wasn’t in love with Alex. In lust maybe. But who could blame her? He was smart and sexy, and underneath that oh-so-serious exterior, he was an