Armando Returns (Barboza Brothers) (23 page)

Armando gave her a sympathetic look, his hand moving to her back. His voice was gentle.
“Why? A lot’s changed since then. I’m not trying to sound arrogant but I consider myself the one with the upper hand this time. I don’t care how many powerful friends your dad has all over Texas. There’s nothing he can do to me. To
us
.”

Katie shook her head as her eyes welled up with tears.
“He can freeze me out. Never talk to me again. I know my dad can be an asshole sometimes. And Mom’s not much better. But they’re the only parents I have. I wouldn’t mind moving away and only seeing them a few times a year but I don’t know if I could handle being cut out of their lives completely.”

Armando let out a defeated sigh.
“Yeah. I get it. But maybe it won’t come to that.”

She sniffled as a few tears fell down her face.
“I hope not but after the talk I had with Mom last week…” She paused to take a deep breath and wipe her cheeks with her fingers. “If you really want me, it has to be a sure thing. My entire life will change. I’m sure of it. I can’t give up my parents over an impetuous fling.”

Armando pulled her closer, looking deep in
to her eyes. “This isn’t a fling for me. This is me coming home to my best friend. To the love of my life who I’ve thought about every single day since that afternoon when we were torn apart. I regret like hell that I didn’t come back sooner but I fucking hate
regret
. I’m not gonna live my life that way. I just wanna be happy, and you make me happy, Katie.”

Overwhelmed, Katie laughed as thick tears
rolled down her cheeks.

He brought her close, letting her cry against the crook of his neck for several minutes until her tears lessened, and she pulled away enough to look in his eyes.

Katie inhaled very slowly, then said, “It’s happening so fast. A few weeks ago I was engaged to someone else and now I’m here in my bed, in
your
arms. It feels like I’m stuck with my back against the wall, watching the room spin around me. Wondering what’ll happen when it stops.”

Armando gently replied,
“You’re dizzy.”

Katie let out a soft chuckle.
“Yeah.”

He cradled her in his arms, one arm under her head, the other against her back, pulling her closer.
“My sweet Katie. I know there’s a whole lot that doesn’t make sense right now. Hell, what happened to us back then didn’t make any sense either. But I love you. And you said you loved me, too. Right?”

She nodded silently.

He continued. “Well, maybe love doesn’t have to make sense. For years I’ve wondered why I couldn’t fall in love with someone else. But now I know why.” He brushed his fingertips along her jaw. “It was you. It’s always been you. No other woman stands a chance.” He paused to kiss her forehead. “Have you considered that maybe we still have these feelings for a reason? Maybe it’s a gift. A second chance. Yeah, what happened back then was traumatic. Believe me, waking up on the side of that road and not knowing how I got there was probably the lowest moment of my life. But how much good would it do me to cry about it now? To live my life in fear or anger, pissed off at the world because someone hurt me? Why can’t I just be thankful that when I was young, I fell in love with the most amazing girl in the world? And ten years later, I found her again and knew for sure I was still in love with her. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, does it? We can just take it as a gift, because that’s what it is. To me.”

Katie was still, her eyes locked on his. Her natural logic was no match for that speech.

As tears spilled down her face once again, Armando tightened his arms around her and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Katie stopped crying immediately. It suddenly felt like she and Armando were the only people on Earth. The room stopped spinning. The chaos and fear in her mind quieted for now. She returned his kiss, desperate to show him how she felt.

After a few minutes, she felt his hand glide down her stomach, then lower. She instantly parted her thighs for him, and soon felt his fingers fondling her.

He kissed her for a bit longer then broke from her lips and kissed her chin, her neck. He spent a few minutes reacquainting himself with her breasts, his tongue moving in slow circles around her hard peak. She wove her fingers into his thick brown hair and let herse
lf moan as loud as she wanted. Her appreciative sounds made him work even harder.

When he let go of her nipple, Armando kissed a fast trail down her stomach, then surprised her by changing course and flopping onto his back, his head falling just beneath the pillow. Before she could respond to his sudden action, he gave her a big smile and said,
“Get up, baby. I want one knee
here
,” he patted the bed beside his left shoulder, “and one knee
here
.”

Katie let out a hungry moan and immediate got on her knees, crawling up a few paces until her knees were near his shoulders.

Armando looked up at her with a wink as he took one of her knees and guided it across him. Then he said, “Hold on to the headboard, okay?”

Before she could say,
“Okay,” to him in agreement, she felt his mouth engulf her as her hands touched the headboard. She tossed her head back and hollered up at the ceiling.

Armando cupped her bottom, grabbing her and holding her hips as close to his mouth as possible. He continued on, unable to get enough. Hoping she wouldn
’t get off too soon so he could enjoy this as long as possible.

Katie arched her back, screaming and writhing on top of him. She maintained her balance by keeping hold of th
e headboard, otherwise the sheer pleasure coursing through her may have caused her to fall. She didn’t remember his tongue being so agile, and she was unprepared for her body’s reaction.

Unconsciously, she wiggled her hips against him as her screams grew louder and louder. For a passing moment she considered her neighbors on the other side of the wall. But that thought escape
d her head with the next stroke of his tongue.

And before she knew it, she had let go of the headboard as her orgasm rolled through her. Armando held her firmly to make sure she wouldn
’t fall as her body lost control. She screamed, “Armando! Yes! I love you!” over and over until her body went limp.

Armando carefully helped her down and placed on her side.
“You okay, baby?” he asked.

She gave him a dazed look as she panted for air, then she closed her eyes.

He smiled. “I’m gonna let you recover for a little while.” He left her for a few minutes to go to the bathroom then the kitchen.

When he returned, he brought with him a glass of water.
“Thought you could use this.”

Katie sat up and took the glass.
“You read my mind. Thank you.” She took a long gulp of water, then said, “Wow. I don’t think anyone’s ever gotten that reaction out of me before.”

His brow lifted in a show of mock arrogance and he said,
“I’m sure you haven’t.” Then he thought for a moment. “Hey, wait a minute. What about me? In high school? I’m pretty sure my techniques improved a whole lot as time went on.”

Katie placed the glass on the night stand, then scooted along the sheet to sit beside him.
“You were always good, to me. Even if we never had sex again I’d still love you. But I’m sure as hell not gonna complain about the perks of being your…” She paused. “Girlfriend? Is that what I am?”

“
You’re much more than that to me. But yeah, I guess that’s the title.”

“
Holy crap.” Her heart raced, and not in a good way. “I really gotta break up with Mitch. Soon.”

“
Hmm.” Armando rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. “You sure about that?”

“
Excuse me?” She lifted a brow. “You wanna share me or something?”

“
No.” He took her chin and looked in her eyes. “No. Absolutely not.” He let go of her chin. “But I was just thinking. Maybe it’d be best, for
you
, if you gave it a little time before the official break up.”

“
Huh? How’s that best for me?”

“
Well, you were probably right earlier when you said it’s gonna change your life when everyone finds out we’re back together. Your parents like Mitch, right? Don’t rush yourself. It’ll only stress you out. We can be secretive for a while. And maybe you’ll feel better about
us
after we’ve spent more time together. I wanna prove to you you’re not a fling. I want you to have no doubt.”

She smirked.
“Okay.”

Sensing her skepticism, he continued.
“I plan on seeing you a lot. Hell, it’s been a long time. I wanna get to know you again. So, I’m gonna stay at the ranch for a while longer to be near you. But there’ll be times, like this Friday, when I have to fly to Los Angeles for the day.” He shrugged. “And, I was thinking maybe you could take Friday and Saturday off to come with me? If not, I can get back here that night. But I’d love to show you my house. Take you to some of my favorite restaurants. And we wouldn’t have to sneak around there.”

Katie smiled and rested her head on Armando
’s shoulder. She was quickly reminded of the previous weekend when Mitch went to Dallas and refused to let her tag along. But Armando wanted her around. And she definitely wanted to be around him. “I’ll see what I can do on short notice. I haven’t taken a day off in a long time so it might be all right.”

Armando kissed the top of her head.
“Good.”

She sighed.
“Well, how long do we keep this up? It’s like high school all over again. Sneaking around. Hiding from my parents and everyone else. Do I just let Mitch think I’ve forgotten about him? He sent me flowers three times today. He’s not gonna give up until I tell him to give up. And if I don’t tell him, he’ll probably call my parents and have them talk to me.”

“
Shit.” Armando groaned. “Well, here’s what you can do. Call him tomorrow. Tell him you need a while to sort out your feelings or whatever. Don’t let him think it’s over for good just yet. That should buy us a little bit of time.”

Katie rolled her eyes.
“Yeah. Probably doesn’t even matter. I’ve barely seen him in weeks. He’s working all the time. Using any reason to be away from me, it seems.”

Armando shook his head.
“What an idiot. He has no idea what he lost.”

Katie grinned.
“Thank you.”

“
Now, if he starts pressuring you to get back together, let me know and we’ll figure out our next move. Does that make sense?”

“
I think so.”

“
Good. And as far as your parents.” He sighed, shaking his head. “We’ll figure it out. In fact, Victor and I’ve been making a lot of phone calls. Calling in some favors. Trying to figure out what the hell happened to make your dad so violently angry about us getting married.”

She huffed.
“Yeah, well, good luck with that. Daddy’s smart. Does his dirty work with a handshake. No paper trail. No proof.”

“
Well, we’re gonna try. Maybe if we figure out what happened, we can then figure out how to keep your parents from freaking out.”

Katie
’s eyes filled with tears, and Armando drew her close. In her heart, she knew she would choose him, even if it meant angering her parents for the rest of their lives.

But silently, she prayed it was a choice she would never have to make.

The next day at work, Katie was tired after her steamy, late night with Armando. But from the way she smiled, it looked like she had all the energy in the world.

It was also the second day in a row that she left her engagement ring at home. But today, unlike yesterday, she was oblivious to the petty gossip at work. She simply bounced around the restaurant, happy and full of life. New memories of Armando raced repeatedly through her mind. She could barely contain her excitement, knowing she would see him again tonight.

To make her day even better, her manager immediately agreed to let her have Friday and Saturday off, since there were no events scheduled for those days, and Katie had put in so many extra hours lately. She sent Armando a text message that she was free to go away with him for the weekend.

But then, right after lunchtime, Jennifer approached her, smirking and handing her a box.
“Here. The first gift of the day.”

Katie felt a twinge of disgust in the pit of her stomach. Mitch had barely been a thought to her today, until now. She took the box and opened it.
“Okay. So today it’s chocolates instead of flowers, I guess.”

Jennifer pressed her lips together in anger for a second then said,
“You should really learn to treat your man better or you just may lose him entirely.”

Katie put her hand on her hip.
“Excuse me? You realize I’m
your
boss, right? I can let a lot of things go but I can’t tolerate you disrespecting me or anyone else. Especially in front of the customers.”