A Slow-Burning Dance (11 page)

That
meant they needed another crew in place before they did anything, and you
didn’t keep a secret like that in this industry. Word would get out and Ernest
would discover what they had done before they had a chance to fire him. Damien
couldn’t take a risk like that because in this business, your reputation meant
everything. If he lost that, his entire company would be at risk.

He’d
struggled with the delicate balance of this all week, but tonight he needed to
push it aside. This evening was for Sela, and her alone. It was time to tell
this extraordinary woman he was in love with her, and whatever her reaction, he
would deal with it. Because losing her wasn’t an option.

Chapter
Twelve

Sela
ate less than usual because she was so nervous. She and Damien talked about
everything except work, which she had promised she would not bring up, and they
danced just like they had last time, but now they were sitting down to dessert
and coffee. It was time to say something, because once they got back to the
apartment, she knew they’d end up in bed again, and her thoughts would become
as muddled as they always did when they made love. She wanted a clear head for
this.

She
put down her coffee cup and took his hands. “I have something to tell you.”

“I
have something to tell you, too,
niña
.”

Uh-oh
. “You first.”
Coward
.

“I’m
in love with you, Sela.”

“What?”
Holy shit
. “What did you just say? Oh
my God.” She laughed nervously. “I’m in love with you, too. I’ve been so damn
afraid to tell you.”

Damien
gazed at her with disbelief at first, and then a wickedly sexy grin spread over
his face. “Well I’ll be damned. How long have we both held this in?”

“Three
weeks.” It came out automatically, but it didn’t matter. It was the truth.
She’d started falling in love with him the night of the concert. There was no
point in denying what was true, after all.

The
tenderness on his face sent her heart soaring. “Same here,
mi amor
.”

“Really?”

“Honest.
I was an idiot not to have seen who you were all those years ago.”

She
shook her head. “That’s in the past. All that matters is now, and what we do
from this point forward. So, what
do
we do now?”

He
pulled one of his hands from her grasp and brushed a finger along her face.
“Let’s go home.
Our
home. Tomorrow,
after you’re able to walk again, we’re going to your place and packing up your
things. You’re never there anyway.”

That
was true, too. Suddenly, the idea of keeping her apartment seemed as pointless
as if she’d just announced she wanted to give up dance and take up welding instead.
“All right.”

He
looked surprised, and this time her laugh was more genuine.

“That
was too easy. No arguments? No reasons why that’s a bad idea?”

“How
many women have lived there with you full time?”

“None.”

“That’s
why I trust it’s the right thing to do.”

Her
heart hammered in her ears as he leaned over the table to kiss her. That had
been a huge chance to take, but instinct told her he’d never gone this far into
a relationship before, and she’d been right.

She
couldn’t contain her joy. In the time it took to finish her coffee and dessert,
her desire to be skin to skin with him again, spiraled to unparalleled heights.
They held hands as they walked back to his place at a pace faster than their
usual, as if both had the same urgency to be in each other’s arms again.

They
didn’t even make it to the bedroom, which was normal for them now. Damien
kissed Sela on the stairs as they made their way up them, but they stopped
after trying to kiss and climb at the same time. They slid to the riser, and
Damien let go of her mouth to plant tiny kisses and nips on her neck.

“Is
your cleaning staff here?” she whispered.

“No
clue.” He pulled open her dress and took one nipple into his mouth, sucking it
gently while she moaned. “Don’t care if they are. I’m not stopping.”

She
gasped as he pushed the dress off both shoulders and freed her breasts. If his
cleaning staff were still in the apartment, it was too late now. She wasn’t
stopping either. Damien grasped her breasts and alternated sucking and licking
them, sending jolts of electricity straight to her throbbing clit.

He
slipped her dress off and took the panties with them. She’d been naked in his
apartment before, but never on the stairs. They weren’t carpeted, but the
hardwood didn’t bother her right now. Screw it. She wasn’t about to stop him
for the sake of a little discomfort.

“Scoot
up a couple of risers,
niña
.”

She
did so without asking why because the look he gave her nearly took away her
breath. The combination of love and lust was overwhelming, and now she realized
she’d seen that same expression in his dark eyes for weeks and hadn’t understood
the depths
of
 
what
it meant. He loved her! He wanted her here with him all the time. This was
real.

Damien
spread her legs, licking up and down them as he did, followed by tiny nips on
her skin. Sela moaned and buried her fingers in his hair, pushing his head
toward her pussy. “Patience,
mi amor
.
I love to watch you get hot and wet for me.”

“When
am I not hot and wet for you,
querido
?”

His
soft chuckle sent shivers down her spine. Finally, he turned his attentions to
her labia and clit. Sela held off the orgasm as long as possible while he used
his tongue and fingers to torture her with pleasure, but it was as inevitable
as the tides used to be above ground.

Before
the contractions ended, he unzipped his pants, pulled them down to his knees,
and sat next to her. “Climb on. Hurry. I’m going to explode.”

Sela
wasted no time straddling him on the riser, then sheathed his swollen dick with
her pussy. Damien cried out, grasping her hips and moving her up and down. All
she had to do was hang onto his shoulders. She came again the same time he did,
and their combined cries filled the space around them. If anyone was in the
apartment, there was no way they wouldn’t hear them, but Sela didn’t give a
shit.

She’d
never been this happy, and she loved Damien with her entire heart and soul.
She’d fuck him on the roof and shout her joy to the entire city if he asked her
to. He held her close when they finished, and she wished they didn’t have to
get up from the stairs, but this had to be damned uncomfortable on his bare
ass.

When
they finally did stand, their combined juices dripped onto the riser and
Sela
laughed. “Shit. You’ll need to explain that to your
housekeepers.”

He
shrugged, bent down to retrieve his underwear, and wiped up the spot with them.
“Problem solved.”

“Men
are so gross.”

Damien
grinned. “Is that so? You didn’t seem to think so when I had my head between
your legs.”

“That’s
different.”

“You
also don’t seem to mind swallowing my jizz.”

“All
right, smart ass. You’ve made your point.”

He
gave her a wicked smile, and Sela ran up the stairs, squealing as he chased
her. He caught her easily, well before she reached his bedroom, and scooped her
up in his arms. She squirmed against him but he was far too strong, and when he
finally placed her back down, it was with him seated on the edge of his bed,
and Sela draped over his knee.

She
gasped as he smacked her ass cheeks, alternating. His strikes weren’t painful,
but they sent her arousal to crazy heights. “Apologize or I’ll keep spanking
you.”

Sela
could hardly speak between wanting to giggle, and desire for this incredible
man, racing through her body like electricity. “Apologize for what?”

He
smacked her again, harder this time, but she adored it. “For calling me gross
and a smart-ass.”

She
really didn’t want him to stop, but she apologized just the same although she
knew he was only teasing. “I’m sorry I called you a gross smart-ass.”

Damien
gave her a couple of half-hearted smacks again. “That’s better.” When he helped
her sit, he pulled her onto his lap. “You’re the most beautiful, seductive
woman I’ve ever met.”

“When
you say things like that, I can hardly breathe.”

“
Niña
, I’m afraid to go to sleep most
nights because I’m convinced I will wake and find this has all been a dream.”

“I
have a confession to make.”

He
brushed a finger into the valley between her breasts. “What is it?”

“I
never thought you’d be like this. When I first met you, I thought you were so
damn arrogant and full of yourself. Everything Santino told me about you made
you sound focused on your business only, and on going through women like water.
I was so wrong.”

He
kissed her gently. “Like you said earlier, it’s in the past. Let’s both keep it
there, okay? Let’s go forward from here.”

How
could she help but be crazy in love with such a man?

****

Damien
was on the phone for three days, speaking with every trusted person he knew in
the industry. The rumors about this scheme had been circulating for years, but
never the same ones twice, and the names associated with them had been either
non-existent or changed each time someone heard more about it, so Tomás had
been right about that point. Nothing had ever been substantiated.

The
men behind this were very good at covering their tracks. Either that or they
were very good at threatening anyone who tried to expose them.

He
finally found one man in a city called Sonora, which was underneath the former
federal entity of Mexico by the same name, willing to talk about it in detail.
This man had been in business with three of the dummy companies, but had since
pulled out because the men behind this were, as he called them, hotheads who
would kill without a second thought.

Damien
was ready to travel to Sonora to meet with Jorge Diaz in person because Jorge
didn’t have the necessary papers to travel into a US city, but he ultimately
decided to arrange a time when he could video chat with Jorge undisturbed
instead. He wanted to see the man’s eyes and facial expressions as they talked.

Jorge
told him the men behind this were all loggers who worked in Mexico and Central
America. The cities underneath those countries weren’t yet as developed as the
US cities, and the government controlling all of them was crooked.

They
forced construction companies to bid for jobs, and they only gave permits
either to those who bribed them, or to the lowest bidders. Then they’d turn
around and tell those companies that they had to pay the officials a percentage
of their profits or they’d give the job to another company. As a consequence,
the companies were forced to charge their customers more money so they had made
a profit as well.

All
of this had driven up lumber prices, as well as prices for other materials.
Builders who wouldn’t or couldn’t pay the inflated prices waited a long time
for permits, and had to wade through red tape to get anything started.
Companies were formed but went out of business just as quickly because they ran
into brick walls when trying get materials or permits.

“Were
the men behind this scheme part of the crowd who couldn’t get permits or
materials?” asked Damien.

“No.
These were men who raised prices and then lined the pockets of key government
officials. They became powerful in their own right, and soon were doing
whatever they wanted. Because they continued to pay off the government, those
officials turned a blind eye. It’s like an organized crime scheme now. They
control the lumber industry, and they have several sets of books so if anyone
forces an audit, they won’t be caught.”

“How
did they end up selling lumber here?”

“The
demand for woods from this area is high, and your government allows trade
freely. Once these men realized that, they began looking for contacts this side
of the border.”

“How
did they find Ernest?”

“He
worked here shortly after moving underground.”

“Excuse
me?” How was that possible? Ernest and Tomás had known each other all their
lives, and Tomás never mentioned Ernest having worked in another country. Had
Tomás lied to him after all, or had Ernest fooled Tomás all this time?

“He
uses another name when he’s here. Rafael Torres. Look him up on the website of
a company called Hierra Construcción. It’s a fake. The entire thing. Rafael is
listed as one of the owners. He’s selling hard to find wood like canarywood,
bocote, and Indian Rosewood to companies like yours in cities here at four to
five times the cost of what he pays for it.”

Damien’s
palms began to sweat. “Why is Ernest here then, working as a foreman on this
mall remodel?”

“Easy.
They want to infiltrate your company, Damien. They’ve had their eye on it for
years, because you have most of the construction in such a large area sewn up.
So when Ernest had the chance to work on that project, he used his friendship
with Tomás as a way to get inside.”

Damien
searched Jorge’s face for any trace of bullshit, but he knew there was none.
The man was telling him the truth. Ernest would have to go at once. There was
no more time to waste. “You must be at risk knowing all this.”

“I
am. My family and I are trying to move, but it’s not so easy.”

“How
can I help?”

Jorge
gave him a look of sincere gratitude. “I’ll email you more details. If there’s
anything you can do, I’d be very grateful. I honestly fear for my life now that
I’ve walked away from them.”