Page 59 of Her Reluctant Hero
“He doesn’t know where you’re staying.”
“Of course not.”
“But he knows who you are to Santiago?”
He couldn’t shake the feeling that the night had been a trap. For Jorge to part with the information, for him to let her go.
“No. I mean, he doesn’t know Santiago was holding me down in Honduras. He doesn’t know I’m the mother of his child. He just thinks Santiago is my sugar daddy.”
Alex frowned. “I don’t trust him.”
She saw him glance in the rearview mirror and twisted to look behind them. “Are they after us?”
“No. Not that I can tell.”
She turned back and leaned her head against the seat with a sigh. “Thanks. For being there.”
“What?”
“I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be. I knew you were there if I needed you. Thank you.”
“This isn’t the first time.”
“Well, it’s the first time I’m saying thank you. So take it.”
“All right, got it. Jesus.”
“Alex.”
He slid her a look and she reached across the cab to lay a light hand on his lap, determined he would understand her meaning.
He did, because he went all stiff, and not just in the good way. “Don’t,” he said through his teeth.
“I know you were aroused back there. You forget I know you. I can see in your eyes when you want me. I wanted you to want me.”
“So you can fuck with my head?”
“Not really what I want to fuck with.”
“Why? You need your release?”
“Maybe.”
She turned in her seat then, shifted her touch to cover his erection. He growled her name and swerved, just a little, when she squeezed. Then she released him long enough to unzip him.
“Not here,” Alex said, pushing her away, his resistance melting as he zipped himself up. He wasn’t made of steel. Steel-like at the moment, though.
He made the drive more quickly, tense, silent. He passed his keys to the valet and followed Isabella into the lobby. She didn’t look back, but he could tell by the swing of her hips, the tension in the cab of the truck, what was on her mind.
The elevator opened as they approached, like the answer to a prayer, and he swept her inside. The doors slid closed with no one else getting on. Winding her arms around his neck, she gave a soft purr against his mouth. Sliding his touch down to her bare thigh, he eased her weight back against the wall as he sought her taste with his tongue, her soft skin with his rough hands. She lifted one leg along his thigh, rubbing lightly. Needing to be closer, he pressed into her, angling his mouth for a deeper taste. He scooped her hair back from her face and rested his palm against her smooth cheek. Longing swamped him and he let her kiss carry him deeper.
The ringing of the elevator echoed in his head a moment before he realized what it was, and he moved back from Isabella. She opened her eyes slowly, lips parted as if she was savoring the last of the kiss.
He didn’t want to see realization snap back into her eyes, not yet. He took her hand and stepped into the hall. When the elevator doors thumped shut, he dragged her close to kiss her again.
And ignored the flash of hope he saw in her eyes.
“Alex,” she whispered.
