The Montoros Dynasty

“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 animal.

Even so, one of them had to show some sense. Carefully, over the space of at least a minute and a half, she stealthily eased out of his embrace and off the bed. Poor man never even moved. He had expended an impressive amount of energy in the past twelve hours.

Maria’s insides clenched in helpless longing as she remembered the crazed fervor of his lovemaking. He’d been like a man possessed, as if trying to make up for lost time. Or maybe, deep down, he knew as she did that their time together was limited.

In the bathroom with the door closed, she showered, dried her hair and secured it at the back of her neck. The comfy clothes she’d grabbed while in her room last night would be perfect for an informal workday.

She’d expected to find Alex awake by the time she finished. Opening the door to the bedroom stealthily, she saw that he still slept. Only now, he was facedown on his stomach. His broad, muscular shoulders and smoothly tanned back narrowed to a taut waist and buttocks that were...well...it was a good thing the sheet hadn’t slid any lower.

She jumped when low, amused words startled her. “Are you going to stand there staring or are you going to come back to bed?” He reared up on one elbow and turned to look at her. His voice sounded as if he had swallowed sand.

“It’s nine o’clock. We need to order breakfast and get to work on the proposal.”

He sat up and scrubbed his hands through his hair, yawning. “Are you always so perky at this hour?”

“If you’re trying to make me mad, it won’t work. Tell me what you want to eat and I’ll have it waiting when you get out of the shower.”

When he swung his legs over the side of the bed, she held up a hand. “Wrap the sheet around you, for heaven’s sake.”

He stretched, the muscles in his broad chest doing some kind of mesmerizing flex and ripple. “Are we shy this morning?”

“Not at all,” she said primly. “But we don’t need to get sidetracked. There’s work to do.”

He stood up, sans sheet, and crossed the room in three long strides. Putting a finger beneath her chin, he tilted her face up to his, searching her eyes. “You okay, sweet thing? We got a little crazy last night.”

She couldn’t do a thing about her blush, aggravating as it was. “I’m fine. Better than fine. But seriously, Alex. It’s late. One of us has to remember why we’re here.”

He kissed her long and slow, telling her in no uncertain terms what he thought of her work ethic. Her arms went around his neck and clung. Every inch of his big, honed body pressed against hers, stealing the oxygen from her lungs.

When he finally released her, she had to grab hold of him for a few seconds until her world settled back on its axis. “Stop that,” she whispered, going up on tiptoe to kiss him again.

His low, triumphant laugh was masculine arrogance personified, but she couldn’t fault his confidence since she was clearly besotted. Did anyone even use that word anymore? If not, they should. It was a perfect description of her current state. Intoxicated. Infatuated. As if all her good sense had flown out the window, and she didn’t even care.

But she could pretend. Releasing him reluctantly, she took a deep breath. “More kissing later. Go, Alex. Now.”

He bowed, managing despite his nudity to look perfectly relaxed. “Far be it from me to argue with a lady.”

When he disappeared into the bathroom, she exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath. Dealing with Alex in his current mood was like trying to tame a big, determined tiger.

While he was gone, she escaped to the living room. After a moment’s consideration, she moved the vase of fresh flowers from the cherry writing desk. Opening the drapes that framed a stunning view of the Atlantic, she dragged the ornate table in front of the window. Next, she located both laptops, plugged them in behind the new workspace, booted her computer and opened up the rough draft of the Alma proposal to the Montoros.

Once that was done, she called in two orders of scrambled eggs, bacon and black coffee. Room service at this hotel was extremely efficient. She didn’t want the food to get cold.

She would have liked to sit down and start working to show Alex that she was taking their new relationship in stride, but it was impossible. She paced the room. Today was a watershed moment for her and Alex. She recognized the importance of what would happen in the next few hours. So she felt a certain amount of pressure to guard her emotions.

Alex was a guy. He was going to have one thing on his mind. Despite his position as deputy prime minister of commerce, he would be able to compartmentalize. Sex wouldn’t interfere with his position or his responsibilities.

But for Maria, life wasn’t so clear-cut and simple. Could she have an intimate physical relationship with him and still be able to carry on with business as usual when they were with other members of the delegation?

She was so deep in thought that she never heard his footsteps on the plush carpet. When his hand landed on her shoulder, she spun around. “You scared me,” she said, not quite able to meet his gaze.

“Who were you expecting, Maria?”

A knock at the door saved her from answering. “I’m going in the bedroom,” she whispered. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m here.”

Alex shook his head with a wry smile but let her go.

When he gave her the all clear, she returned to a beautifully laid out breakfast. Linen napkins, real silver utensils, crystal stemware and delicate china. “That smells wonderful,” she said as her stomach growled audibly.

He held out her chair, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Looks pretty damn good, too.”

Fortunately for her peace of mind, Alex was content to eat in silence. They were both starving. He caught her eye at one point and grinned, as if to say he knew exactly what she was thinking. She hid behind a cup of hot tea and wondered how long it would be before they ended up back in bed. Bad Maria, her conscience chastised.

But apparently, she had convinced Alex of her dedication to the project at hand. Once they were done with their meal, he carried his coffee to the desk where she had placed two chairs side by side.

“How do you think we should approach this?” he asked, waking his own laptop and clicking on a file.

His matter-of-fact attitude took her aback. She’d been prepared to convince him, to deflect amorous advances. Was he genuinely so cavalier about working with her?

When he burst out laughing, she stiffened. “What’s so funny?” she demanded, finishing her tea and standing up. She couldn’t quite make her feet move in his direction.

“You,” he said, his smile gentle. “You told me we had to be all business this morning. But when I took you at your word, you were disappointed.”

“No, I wasn’t,” she said. The rebuttal wasn’t convincing, even to her.

“Well, I am,” he said firmly. “We’re going to get this done as quickly as possible so I can get you back in bed.”

Her spirits lightened. “You must think me awfully naive, Alex. I’m not accustomed to combining business with pleasure. This is new territory to me.”

He frowned, leaning a hip against the desk. “What do you think it is to me? I don’t make a habit of sleeping with coworkers. In fact, you’re the first.”

“Why me?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said, watching her with a hooded gaze. “If you want explanations, I’m fresh out.”

“So where and how do we go from here?”

“Does everything in life have to be explained? Let’s file this thing between us under the same category as raindrops trapped in cobwebs or the color of the sky at dawn.”

Her eyes widened. “Why, Alex, I never knew you were a poet.”

His expression was impassive, not a trace of humor in sight. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Maria. So how about giving both of us a chance to learn something and possibly to be surprised?”

There was an odd tone in his voice, some tiny indication that he was not as certain as she thought he was about what had happened between them last night.

It was then she realized she wasn’t being fair. Either she was in this, or she wasn’t.

It took courage, but she walked to where he stood and slid her arms around his waist. “I’ve been second-guessing myself, Alex. But that’s over. I’m content to take things one day at a time. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to work with you and not want to jump your bones, but I’ll try.”

He hugged her so tightly she thought her ribs would crack. “God, Maria.” He pulled back and rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone. “I thought I might have scared you off.”

Eleven

“I don’t scare that easily, Mr. Ramon.”

“Thank God.” Her cheeky grin was adorable. Alex felt as if he had dodged a bullet. There had been women in his life who had walked away. At least one or two. But none whose defection had given him heartburn.

This morning when he woke up alone, his heart had gone cold until he heard faint sounds from the bathroom. In those moments when he thought she had fled to her room, he’d felt a little sick. Not for anything in the world would he have her feel uneasy about what had happened between them. He decided then and there that if she wasn’t a hundred percent on board with this new slant to their relationship, he wasn’t going to chase after her. Not because of any pride on his part, but because Maria was too nice a woman to have to fend off unwanted advances from a coworker.

He wrapped a hand in her silky hair, wishing he could take her hard and fast, but they had reached a tentative accord. Maybe he should show some restraint. “I suppose we need to work,” he said, finding little enthusiasm for the prospect.

“Definitely,” she said. “And if we get a lot done, we might have time for some recreation later.”

Alex replayed that promise repeatedly over the next three hours. It wasn’t easy to stay focused, but he tried. Fortunately, once they delved into the draft of the proposal, he was able to keep his attention mostly on the words they were shaping rather than the scent of Maria’s hair.

It touched him that she was so sweetly intent on their task. Though not a native of Alma, she took her responsibilities very seriously. The powers that be had been right to include her in the delegation.

The opening language of the proposal was flowery and formal, based mostly on historic documents. From there, Alex and Maria struggled with the order of points relating to the royal family’s return. Should the legalities of power and function be first, or was it more politically correct to mention the palace and what was left of the Montoro fortune from before Tantaberra’s regime?

At least they had Jean Claude’s extensive notes when it came to lawyer-speak. Neither Alex nor Maria was trained in such areas. But they were both good editors, Alex catching the occasional typo and Maria smoothing out style and syntax.

At one in the afternoon, he called a halt. Standing behind her chair, he put his hand on her shoulders. “My eyes are crossing. We’ve done enough for now. I need food, woman.”

“But we only have—”

He put his hand over her mouth. “It’s for your own good, Miss Ferro. I’m seeing symptoms of workaholic-itis. It’s a terrible disease and one that has to be nipped in the bud.”

She stood up and stretched. “You’re so full of it. But yeah...I guess we should stop. What do you want for lunch?”

He took her hand and reeled her in, tucking her against his chest and resting his forehead against hers. “You,” he muttered. “Only you.”

* * *

They eventually got around to ordering pizza. Alex threw on some pants to answer the door and tip the delivery guy, but undressed again quickly so he could eat naked in bed with Maria.

“This is really a smart idea,” she said, rescuing a blob of tomato sauce from her bare arm. “I don’t have to worry about spilling anything on my clothes.”

Alex nodded solemnly. “All part of my plan to keep you here indefinitely as my sexual plaything.”

“Plaything?”

“What?” he asked. “You don’t like the word?”

She pursed her lips, curling her tongue to rescue a string of cheese. “I was thinking more along the lines of erotic goddess.”

He reclined on both elbows, suddenly uninterested in pizza. “I stand corrected,” he said huskily.

Maria dabbed her lips with a napkin and frowned at him. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Undressing me with your eyes.”

“Um...I’m pretty sure that’s not a fair rap. You’re buck naked, my sweet. Or hadn’t you noticed?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “A gentleman wouldn’t say things like that.”

He grabbed her ankle and pulled, laughing when she pretended to struggle. “Then I guess I’m no gentleman.”

* * *

Maria felt as if another woman had possessed her body. A female who was sexy and fun and carefree. Maybe she was channeling a 1940s film star. Glamorous. Mysterious. Living on the edge.

Alex’s head rested on her bare belly, his hair tickling her leg. She stroked the outside of his ear. “You amaze me,” she whispered. Her back rested against the headboard. As she cast her gaze over the bed, the view almost made her laugh. All the covers were on the floor. She and Alex lay sprawled on top of the fitted sheet.

She might have been cold if the man’s body hadn’t radiated heat like a furnace.

He yawned. “Amaze you how?”

“The whole Clark Kent/Superman thing. I’ve worked for you and with you for years and only this weekend have I discovered all your superpowers.”

“Maybe not all,” he said, his smug, masculine grin rekindling a slow burn in her secret feminine places. “I just might have a few more surprises up my sleeve.”

“Bragging isn’t attractive, Alex.” She squeezed his bicep. “And I might point out that you don’t have any sleeves.”

He pretended to frown as his hand roved her bare thigh, sending gooseflesh all over her body. “Details, woman. Details. You need to look at the big picture.”

She brushed his erection with a fingertip. “Oh, I’m looking,” she said.

When he laughed, she felt a jolt of pure happiness. Alone in this room, he had shown her a glimpse of the kind of relationship she had always wanted. But the Alex with her now didn’t often come out to play.

He was dedicated to his country and to his responsibilities and to his role as deputy prime minister of commerce. The livelihoods of common people rested in his hands. He wielded tremendous talent and carried a tremendous load.

Alex sat up and hooked a hand behind her neck to kiss her. “Pepperoni,” he muttered. “My favorite.”

Suddenly, she was painfully aware of the ticking of the clock...of the invisible hourglass whose sand was draining away at an alarming pace. “Make love to me, Alex. I need you.”

Neither of them noticed or cared when the pizza box fell to the floor. Alex’s warm hands on her body caressed and petted and stroked and generally drove her insane. He liked to torment them both, to reduce each of them to desperation before finally moving over and into her with a slow, firm thrust that forged a connection she’d never known or understood.

Her body seemed already to recognize his...

The weight of him pinned her down. Her fingers clenched on his back, searching for purchase in the gathering storm. With her legs wrapped around his waist, she canted her hips, trying to force him deeper.

Alex gasped, his skin damp, his gaze unfocused. “I can’t get enough. It’s never enough...”

She knew what he meant. In the breathless moments after climax, she was as eager for him as she had been before he first touched her. Clinging to him as if he might be wrenched from her arms, she relished his hard frame, his hair-roughened arms, his male scent.

Everything about him was so different from her body. She was tall and strong, but in his embrace she felt the sweet vulnerability of a woman whose man wants her beyond all reason.

When they both crested at almost the same moment, a rush of moisture in her eyes caught her by surprise. There was nothing to cry about...nothing at all. She would carry the memories of this weekend with her for the rest of her life.

They dozed again for maybe an hour and then rose to finish their work on the draft. Finally, when they were both satisfied, Alex emailed the document to Jean Claude for his perusal. If everything passed muster, Alex and Maria would meet with the delegation on Monday morning to go over the proposal step by step.

After that, it would be up to the Montoros...

Alex stretched, his face shadowed by a day’s growth of beard. “How about a walk on the beach? As much as I love hiding out in this room with you, I could use some fresh air.”

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