Lucky 7 Bad Boys Contemporary Romance Boxed Set (14 page)

Rey laughed, shook his head, and sat back as the waiter brought their drinks. He grabbed his and raised it in a toast. "To doing things the hard way."

Bianca clinked her glass against his and flashed him a grin before taking a sip of the cocktail. It was perfectly mixed, with just the right amount of lime, mint, rum and sugar. Kind of like a grown-up lemonade, which made them easy to go down and really dangerous considering the rum content.

"Delicious," she replied.

"For sure," he chimed in over the rim of his glass and shot her a look that made her take another sip of her drink in an effort to quench the sizzle of his gaze.

A moment later the waiter brought over their appetizer -- the 1492 Special, named after the year of Columbus's discovery of Cuba. It was a large platter with an assortment of appetizers. Ham croquettes,
tamales
,
empanaditas
, fried
yuca
and other little tasty bits.

Rey released her hand and motioned for her to help herself.

Bianca grabbed the spoon on the platter and a small plate. She served him one of each of the appetizers and handed the plate to Rey.

"Thank you, but I think I could have managed it myself. I wouldn't want you to get the idea I wasn't liberated and expected you to serve me," he teased as he accepted the plate and passed her his empty plate so she could dish out the remaining portions.

"Didn't your mom tell you it wasn't nice to tease?" she said as she loaded up the plate for herself.

He grinned. "My mom used to love it when my dad kidded her about something silly. I remember how she used to giggle like she was a young school girl again."

The tone of his voice was happy and yet laced with sorrow, intriguing her. "Your parents must love each other very much."

He looked away, lost in his thoughts for a moment, and then mumbled, "They did. My dad died about twelve years ago."

The stilted, almost rough movement of his hands as he grabbed his knife and fork told her that the pain was still as fresh for him as if twelve years hadn't happened. She laid her hand over his and squeezed gently.

"I'm sorry, Rey. I didn't mean to make you remember something so painful."

His head snapped up, hurt alive in his gaze, but tempered by happiness. "You couldn't have known and besides, it's good to remember them the way they used to be before. I always thought that someday I'd find someone. . ."

He stopped abruptly, clearly uncomfortable with just how much he was revealing.

She attempted to give him an out by changing the topic. "The croquettes here are great."

She leaned close to him, glanced around conspiratorially, and whispered, "Don't tell anyone, but maybe even better than mine."

He laughed as she had intended and surprised her by rushing forward to tenderly take her lips in a sweet thanks-filled kiss. When he pulled away, she regretted they were out in public, with the table creating distance between them.

"Maybe next time we should make it take out?" she said huskily and coughed to clear her throat.

He arched a brow. "You plan on eating out again so soon? Don't tell me you're one of those women who only knows how to make reservations?"

She chuckled and shook head. “I'll definitely cook for you. We had a deal, remember?”

“I definitely remember. I can't wait,” he said, heat in his gaze.

Warmth flared throughout her body. She looked away and ate her appetizer before it got cold and she got any hotter. Little by little, the mound of food on her plate disappeared, just in time for the waiter to bring their main meal.

Bianca had decided to get the
rabos encendidos
. The braised oxtails in a light, spicy tomato sauce were one of her favorite dishes.

Rey had been more traditional and ordered the roast suckling pig. Slices of the succulent meat were served with a piece of
chicharron,
the hard crunchy skin from the pig. Also on his plate were fried ripe plantains and
yuca
covered with a
mojo criollo
sauce of finely sliced onions, garlic, and olive oil blended with lemon and orange juices.

In the space on the table between them, the waiter placed large bowls of white rice and black beans for them to share.

Bianca was pretty full after eating the assorted appetizers, but with the enticing smells of the main courses, her appetite awakened. She dug into her meal with renewed excitement.

"This is really good," she said between mouthfuls.

"Tasty," Rey said and picked up the piece of
chicharron
. He held it out to her. "Want a bite?"

Bianca loved the crunchy and tasty pork skin. She nodded, leaned forward, and bit off a small morsel with her teeth.

"Mmm, very good." She glanced down at her plate, loaded up a forkful of the tender oxtail meat, and held it up for Rey, who leaned forward and ate it off her fork.

"Delicious," he said after he chewed and swallowed.

"But I can think of something even more delicious," he added and glanced at her.

Another rush of heat raced through her as his gaze settled on her lips. She remembered the sweetness of his mouth on hers. "Behave yourself. For now."

Rey settled back in his chair and appreciated the way Bianca's cheeks colored. Her hands fluttered before she grabbed her cutlery and resumed eating. He couldn't resist one last parting shot before he finished his meal. "Okay, Bianca. I'll keep all these sexy thoughts to myself. For now."

She choked a little on the mouthful she was eating. Recovering quickly, she took a sip of her
mojito
to wash down the tidbit of food. She said nothing else and Rey quickly polished off the last few mouthfuls of his dinner.

The waiter approached and cleared away their plates after both of them acknowledged that they were done.

"Dessert?" Rey asked, hating for the night to end.

"I'm about to bust, but I have this chocolate flan sitting in my fridge at home. A little test I did. Maybe we could take a break with a walk and then check out my flan. What do you think?"

He thought that anything that got him alone with her, especially him alone with her in her apartment, was decidedly a good idea.

"I'd like that a lot."

* * *

The cab dropped them off in front of Bianca's apartment, and as she had suggested earlier, they went for a leisurely walk to help clear some space for Bianca's experimental chocolate flan.

The temperature had dropped from the heat of midday and the late summer night was balmy and quite refreshing.

Bianca's tank top was little protection against a growing chill in the air and Rey offered the warmth of his embrace. She snuggled up against his side, his arm draped over her shoulder as they strolled around Union Square and a couple of the neighboring blocks before returning to Bianca's apartment.

As they entered her studio, Bianca motioned Rey in the direction of the sofa. "Make yourself at home," she said and walked to the kitchen area.

Rey watched as with an efficient economy of movement, she put up a pot of Cuban coffee, got out the plates and assorted cutlery, and the baking pan that he assumed held the chocolate flan. He rose, came up beside her as she ran a knife along the inside edge of the baking pan.

"Need some help?" he asked.

Bianca glanced over her shoulder at him. "Ever flip a flan?"

He chuckled. "Now that is a line I've never heard before. How does one do this infamous flan flipping?"

She handed him an angel food cake pan. He knew that much because his sister had gone through a phase while he was in jail when she always brought him an angel food cake when she was visiting. It was almost as if she thought the sweet cake might lessen the bitterness of their separation.

The pan he held was cold and filled with something chocolaty and wet. He had little time to consider anything else when Bianca placed a regular plate, one slightly larger than the size of the pan, face down on top of the baking pan.

"Now what?" he asked, meeting her amused gaze.

"Well, there are two ways -- "

"Only two? How boring," he said and waggled an eyebrow suggestively.

She nudged him playfully and resumed her explanation. "You can either hold the edges of both plates together, like this," she said and demonstrated. "Or, since you have such big hands -- "

"I'm glad you noticed," he teased and was rewarded with another playful jab from Bianca before she rearranged his hands on the plate and pan. She covered each of his hands with one of hers and met his gaze.

"The idea is to get the flan inside the pan on the plate. So we have to flip it fast. On three, okay?"

Not trusting his culinary skills, Rey had visions of wet chocolaty goo spewing all over the kitchen walls. But he humored Bianca and nodded. As they neared the count of three, she exerted gentle pressure on his hands. On three the two of them simultaneously inverted the position of the pan and plate.

"Hey," he shouted and grinned at the fact that they had managed it without any flying bits of stuff. "Now what?"

Bianca took the plate from his hands and the gurgling hissing sounds of the espresso pot warned that she had to deal with that as well.

"Now you go sit while I get dessert and coffee ready."

Rey plopped onto the sofa as Bianca prepared the coffees and plates with the flan, placed them on a serving tray, and walked over. She laid the tray on the low coffee table and sat down at the far end of the couch.

"Help yourself," she said.

Rey did, but not to the tempting dessert. Contrary to all his hesitation about starting a relationship with her, she was just too hard to resist.

He shifted on the couch until he was next to her and laid his hand on the gap between her neck and shoulder, tracing the edge of her collarbone with his finger. She glanced at him, her eyes wide and questioning.

"I was hoping for something really sweet." He bent his head, replacing his thumb on her collarbone with his lips. He opened his mouth and sampled the tender skin there.

"Something really tasty," he continued as he moved his mouth upward to her neck, shifted his hand to the small of her back, and urged her closer.

Bianca dropped her head to the side, giving him greater access to that very sensitive spot by the crook of her shoulder, loving the gentle, unhurried suckling of his mouth.

"I meant dessert," she half-protested, even as she cupped the nape of his neck and urged his mouth up, until he was nibbling at the edge of her jaw and working his way toward her lips.

"I know, but I'm on a diet," he teased as he finally relented and brought his lips to hers, biting and nipping at them in an invitation for more.

She opened her mouth and danced her tongue against his, savoring the flavor of him. The contrasting textures of his tongue and lips. When he finally pulled away for a breath, she was cupping his head in her hands as he rested his forehead against hers. She wasted not a moment to take a delicate bite of his lower lip and whispered, "You don't need a diet."

"Oh, but I do," he answered quickly and playfully returned her love bite. "I'm on a Bianca diet. It's all that I can think about, all day long. And if I don't get enough. . ."

He said nothing else as he took her mouth again, this time with no gentleness. He created a hunger in her that she had never experienced before. The only thing that would appease it was, as he had said, more of him.

As she kissed him, loving the feel of his mouth and lips, she turned and moved her hands to his shoulders. She shifted until she was sitting on his thighs, straddling his lap.

Rey groaned and bracketed her waist with his hands, struggling for some measure of sanity. But no matter how he tried to rein in the desire racing through his veins, making him hot and hard, it was a useless battle. From the day he had first seen her, he had known he would have no control around her.

He settled her more securely against him, her thighs cradling his. The center of her cupping him intimately as they continued kissing. His breathing was harsh as was hers, and when she moaned and arched her body against his, her breasts pressed against his chest.

A rough groan escaped his lips and he broke contact with her, but Bianca sensed they weren't finished yet. She ran her hands through his hair, kissed his forehead and tasted the slight damp there. Between her legs, Rey was hard and she wanted to feel more. She moved against him, wishing that there wasn't anything separating them.

"Bianca," he said softly, arousing her with the huskiness of his voice, and as he traced the gap of bare skin between her tank top and jeans with his hands. "I want to, believe me I do."

"I do, too, Rey. I want more," she replied shakily, afraid of both what she was feeling for him and of how soon it was, but wanting it like nothing else before.

He met her gaze and he understood her uncertainty. "Let's not rush things since it is our
first
date." He shot her a teasing grin.