Page 79 of No Darker Temptation

“Yes you can. One more time baby, for me. Let me in.”

He slides in deeper, slower than the first time, and the walls of my sex expand and contract to make room for him. He lets out a shaky breath and I wrap my arms around him, careful not to add pressure to the places where he’s bruised.

“My beautiful girl.” He kisses my top and bottom lip. “A little wider for me. Yes, that’s it. Relax. You’re doing so good.”

I do my best to keep my breathing steady.

“Eyes on me. Focus, Dahlia.”

He touches me everywhere. Light, loving caresses in tandem with each stroke inside me, the careful rocking of his hips sending him deeper than before. Everything about it is gentle and tender, meant to convey the things language simply does not have the capacity for. I’m not giving him my body because we both get physical gratification out of it, even though most times, it’s okay for sex to be just that. I’m doing it because I love him and I forgive him and I want him to feel it as intensely as I do.

As my body quickly reaches climax, I tighten my arms around him, holding him close. “I love you. I…I⁠—”

Another orgasm rips through me and tears roll down my temples. Alejandro holds my head in his hand, whispering sweetly in my ear, as the pleasure fades to oblivion.

BUSINESS IS NEVER PERSONAL

Alejandro

Dahlia paces uncomfortably from one end of the hotel suite to the other. As soon as I get off the phone with the front desk, she rushes over to me and says, “Are you leaving now?”

“In a bit.” I take her face in my hands and kiss the top of her head. “Concierge says Diego and Lettie just got here. They’ll be up in a minute.”

She gnaws on the inside of her cheek and nods but her gaze is a million miles away. Dahlia rests her head on my chest and I hold her against me, ignoring the excruciating effort it to takes to draw in a single breath. As if just remembering, she jumps and pulls away.

“I’m sorry⁠—”

“Don’t be.” I study her a moment, keeping an arm wrapped securely around her waist. “I was surprised you had that in you.”

It takes her a minute to understand and when she does, the flush of heat to her face is almost instant. “Oh my God, shut up.”

“I got a slap across the face, bruises on my side, scratches on my back⁠—”

She smacks my bicep with her purse, neck and cheeks turning blotchy with color. “Alejandro!”

“If I knew you liked it a little rough I’d have offered to tie you up ages ago. Think we can try that next time?”

I can practically see the steam coming out of her ears. She opens her mouth to respond but the door opens, interrupting her. Dahlia scurries to the other end of the room as if standing too close to me makes her guilty of something.

Diego frowns. “Tie who up?”

Lettie narrows her eyes at me as she greets Dahlia with a kiss on both cheeks. “What’s with the shit eating grin on his face?”

“He loves to torture me,” Dahlia says then quickly amends her statement. “I mean annoy! Torture as in annoy.”

She just makes it so easy.

Dahlia can be brazen, sharp-tongued, and opinionated when she wants to be but shockingly enough, she’s more reserved in matters of intimacy. If I kiss her or touch her in public she’ll pull away, always maintaining a level of respectable distance I find both amusing and fascinating. Chipping away at her veneer of modesty is one of my favorite past-times. Like the time at the Mayor Saenz dinner. Watching her flee the room after I’d had my hand between her legs for the better part of a half hour trying to coax a reaction out of her had to have been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life.

Diego drops his room key on the demilune table in the doorway and gestures. “Ready to go?”

“I’ll get your phone,” Dahlia says.

She passes me on the way to the bedroom and I caress her cheek as she goes, earning a subdued smile hidden by the deep ruby red waves of her hair. Lettie snatches the hotel book from the side table and collapses on the plush sofa, sinking deep amongst the brown and gray throw pillows.

“We should’ve stayed at the Mandarin.”

“Don’t be a snob, Leticia,” Diego reprimands but there’s little force behind his voice. We’re both shit at disciplining our baby sister. “The Mandarin’s overpriced.”