Miami Spice (18 page)

“Oh, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah!”

“The song the mariachis sang for you that
night, I meant every word of it, Erica. I knew then and there I
loved you.”

She still didn’t feel totally satisfied.
“Sure, any guy can pay a couple of guitar-wielding singers to do
his dirty work.”

“But what if he took hours to search for just the
right song to express what’s in his heart?” He rose from his seat.
I want us to move forward and forget about the past. So, please
marry me!”

Erica felt momentarily stunned; and for a
split second, she took time-out to try and gauge his feelings. To
her amazement, she actually caught a glimpse of Gianni’s vulnerable
side, even a boyish, innocent quality about him. And, if she chose
to believe him, she could even spot sincere affection in his soft
gaze.

He took a few unguarded steps forward, but
Erica quickly turned, bolted up the steps and out the galley door.
She started for the aft deck until his voice from behind made her
stop short.

“Hold it!” Gianni shouted. “You’re crazy, you
know that! Completely
loca!
I told you I love you, dammit,
and I mean every word of it!”

Turning sharply, she placed her hands on her
hips. “Yeah, well, I believe that about as much as I believe you
used to be a saintly choir boy! You, Gianni Sloan, are nothing more
than an egomaniacal, arrogant, rude, self-serving, poor excuse of
even the most despicable of men!”

As Erica moved forward she caught a splinter
from the uneven floor boards in the pad of her bare foot. Taking up
her injury, she hopped on the other foot until she felt herself
careening backwards, right over the side of the slip and into the
water with a giant splash. When she surfaced, she shook out her
dripping hair and glanced up. Gianni gazed down at her with a mix
of amazement and humor.

“Hey, just don’t stand there!” she barked,
furious. “Help me out of here!”

“Well, let me think about it.” He planted a
sandaled foot on the low rail and an arm across his bent knee.
“Now, if certain parties would just ask nicely, and deign to
actually listen while the most despicable guy in the world wishes
to explain not only that he loves her but that he wants to spend
the rest of his life with her, then maybe, just maybe, said
despicable guy would be glad to fish you out of the drink.”

“Ooh!” Erica splashed the murky water. “All
right! I’ll give in just this once, but you better make your
groveling worth my while!”

“Oh, I plan to, my dear, I plan to.” With
that, Gianni went to fetch the life preserver.

* * *

Despite her humiliation and wet clothes,
Erica didn’t put up a protest as he carried her to the splashy red
bed and laid her across it. Quickly, he skimmed his hard body over
hers. Mouths covered lips with brutal intensity. As his kiss
continued to grow with his spiraling lust, Erica clamped her
fingers through his hair and pulled him closer, everything inside
her now hot and wild.

She reveled in the way his heart did a salsa
beat with her own, the way his blood rushed and pulsed above, and
the feverish pitch of tongues and lips as they both continued a
dance of take and give. Oh, it felt so good to touch him, to move
beneath his lean, hard body and savor the smell and flavor of his
skin. Lust and love became a glorious tumble in her system.

Erica soon nipped down his throat, never
quite sated when it came to quenching all of her senses with Gianni
as her feast of delights. All those days and nights without him had
made her completely crazy, and she took it out on him now like a
starving woman. As he cupped her breasts through the thin fabric of
her tank top, she watched his face as he lightly skimmed his palm
along each extended nipple. She loved to gaze into his eyes, to
drink in their rich brandy color, and watch the way love steeped
them to a glossy shine.

When she lifted her arms, he tugged off the
damp top, and then caressed the fleshy undertow of her breasts with
adept fingers. She arched her back to offer him more, and he took
his fill of soft skin until she stirred and tore at his shirt. They
quickly peeled and pulled away clothing so flesh could find flesh.
As Gianni skimmed fingers along the inside of her thighs, Erica
purred with delight and trembled beneath him. His name, and his
name only, became her personal mantra as she whispered it with
growing pleasure.

The man of her heart responded with his own
moan of happiness. After nestling between her legs, he parted her
folds and swept his tongue up and down her slit. Erica screamed and
writhed, and by the time Gianni kneaded her clit, she became a
quaking mass of raw emotions. As her need spiraled out of control,
she quickly urged him up and drew his stiff member inside. He
glided along her body, and her hips rose and fell with the heated
rhythm that bound them together. As she welcomed him, he drove her
deeper and deeper.

She attacked his throat and then took the
silver chain he wore between her teeth, nipping, tugging, pulling
and teasing. Every pore, every sense, became alive as she welded
her body to his and ran her hands along his tight back. Gianni
peppered her temple, her cheeks and her chin with hungry kisses.
Again, she cried out in response to his unbridled touch. And when
he stiffened to claim release, she arched into him so they could
climax together in a wonderful burst of white heat.

Now as he caught his breath, she gently
caressed his shoulders and kissed the top of his head, his hair and
flesh damp from their exertions. She would never, ever, cease the
need to stroke his firm, smooth planes, and taste and inhale his
total masculinity. Slowly, as he pulled aside, Erica gazed at the
string of cabin lights and listened to the sound of the boat
rocking gently in its slip. For a moment they drifted into this
wonderful contentment, this quiet aftermath. So much for curses,
magic spells and incantations! Erica never had a chance. Gianni
Sloan had finally won. And yet, it felt so good to finally give in
and bask in his glory,
their
glory.

After giving her a quick kiss, he rose on his
arm and looked in her eyes. He asked again, this time with a soft,
clear purpose in mind. “Will you marry me?”

Erica blinked. “If I don’t say yes, will you
make me walk the plank instead of falling off of it?” Amazingly,
the splinter in her foot had ceased to hurt.

“Sure, and you can take some of your sex toys
with you.” With a wave of a hand, Gianni indicated Sacha’s
masterpiece on the shelf overlooking the bed, his one and only,
truly original dildo sculpture, “Penis de Milo.”

Admitting that her decorating efforts had
been a total, hideous disaster, Erica giggled. “Okay, I’ll get rid
of all the sleaze.”

“Please, unless you want our apartment to
resemble a bordello from hell! Although, think of all the
interesting dinner parties we could throw!”

Her fingers traced the corded lines of his
neck and throat. “How come you’re so sure I’m going to say yes and
move right in with you? What about my place, my life?”

“Nothing major is going to change,” he
argued. “We can open up the floor and run a spiral staircase
between the two apartments. I’m sure you can work something out.
After all, you’re going to be my resident designer from now
on.”

She stroked the smooth plane of his cheek. “I
haven’t agreed to anything yet, Mr. Sloan.”

He grinned. “Had I known what a hard-ass you
are about every thing, I would have revised my efforts to soften
you up.”

“Oh, yeah?” Erica huffed. “I do have my
standards, and you threw me off kilter with your crazy antics. So,
how could I react any differently? But tell me something… If in our
wedded bliss, I do get mad at Gianni, will you bring out Nico to
appease me?”

He thought for a moment. “Hum, what a
concept. Two different men in one incredible body.”

“You do know that’s about every woman’s
fantasy. Although, who says you have an incredible body?”

“You do. If I recall, you screamed as much in
the throes of passion.” He took his voice up a notch. “‘Ooh, ooh
darling, you’re incredible!’“

“I wasn’t referring to your body as a
whole.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Oh yeah.” For emphasis, Erica reached down
and grasped the object in question. His incredible cock rose
instantly in her hand.

He bent to nuzzle her ear and murmur, “Are
you ready for another round?”

“Hmm,” she purred as she continued to stroke
him.

“Only if you give me your answer, a very
simple yes or no.”

Erica drew her cheek away from his lips.
“Hah, you’re still a pig!”

Looking up, he smiled. “And you’re still a
tease!”

“Well, you’re a liar and a deceitful
ass!”

“And you’re a gorgeous hussy!” He threw up
his hand. “But from now on, I promise to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth! May God strike me down if I lie to you one
more time!”

His sudden confession threw her off stride,
and now Erica could only submit when Gianni quickly covered her
lips. This time she dived rather than sank into his heat. Just the
feel of him—whether an urgent kiss or a slow caress—would not only
invoke such wonderful familiarity but dazzle her senses every time
they touched. At last, she could consider what they had as the real
deal, based on nothing but the marvelous, miraculous truth!

As his mouth seduced and caressed her flesh,
his hands possessed all of her. Quickly, her mouth took over to
give back what he gave her. His skin, salty and sweet, rippled with
each flick of her tongue. Her lips continued in a soft, gentle line
down his torso until her fingers and mouth took his cock with a
wild, stunning hunger. She continued on her feeding frenzy, and his
member grew even larger as she sucked and coddled. While her mouth
took him all, her tongue tickled his ridge, and her fingers worked
beneath to stroke his tight scrotum. Gianni’s sigh became a gasp
that segued into a great moan of both shock and pleasure. At first,
his fingers brushed the swell of her breasts and gently pinched her
nipples, but soon came to caress her hair and temples. Erica felt a
sudden surge of lusty desire as she reveled in his electric
touch.

When she let go and moved to impale herself
on his shaft, he lifted her and eagerly brought his cock tip to her
opening, and then allowed her to swallow him whole. Her craving
only grew more intense when she leaned over and crushed her mouth
on his. Then, gripping her hips, Gianni thrust as she rocked and
caught the friction of her clit against him. Soon, they worked
marvelously together, stroke after wild stroke.

Erica allowed the first orgasm to burst
through her, leaving her dizzy, drunk, and craving more. When her
need quickly built again, she felt him swell inside of her. She
knew he wanted her to wait for him this time, and she tightened her
hold until he tensed in readiness.

“
Ven con migo,”
she murmured in
delight, and he gladly obliged.

Come with me
.

They experienced the simultaneous swell of relief,
the bright sizzle and flash of climax, until they took the fall
together. A peaceful quiet followed. They slipped next to each
other, with hot, damp flesh against hot, damp flesh.

“Tell me something,” Erica murmured moments
later. “You mentioned once that ‘Nico’ wanted to go into the
priesthood. Was that a reflection of your own plans at one time or
just something you made up to impress me?”

“Sorry, darling.” With a sated smile, he
stretched beside her. “Neither Nico nor Gianni ever considered such
an exalted career. Of course, even if I was a committed celibate, I
would gladly give up my vows for a lifetime of loving you.”

Despite this new affirmation to tell the truth, Erica
still held one last niggling doubt as she leaned over and drank in
his handsome face. “If I do say yes, are you willing to forsake all
others?”

“What others?” Gianni took a moment to process her
words before he flashed a purely innocent smile. “What do you
think? That I’d screw around when I finally found the most
wonderful, beautiful, exciting, desirable woman on the face of the
planet? No, make that the entire universe!”

“I’m sorry, but I’m still reeling from your
other pursuits on my behalf. A lot of men say that until the next
tight ass and pair of big knockers comes around.”

“On my honor!” he vowed with hand to his
heart. “I’ve deleted every woman’s number from my cell phone, every
woman’s photo from my laptop, and every woman, period, from my
mind! I am blind, blind I tell you, to big
pecheras
and
tight asses, unless they happen to be yours.
Erica—
Eriqueta
—you are now the one and only beautiful word
in my repertoire.”

“So, what about your cell phone?” she queried
with a raised brow. “Have you changed your voice message since
turning over this new leaf?”

“Hear for yourself.” Reaching over for his
pants at the side of the bed, Gianni found his cell phone in a side
pocket and punched in the appropriate code. Next, he handed it to
Erica. As she listened, a smile of satisfaction began to form.
Instead of the thoroughly disgusting, “Hey baby, you’ve reached
lover boy,” his message now related the most benign of information.
“Hello, you’ve reached Gianni Sloan, investment broker. I’m not
able to take your call right now, so if you’ll leave your name and
number—”

“Well?” His eyes remained bright with
expectation.

She gave him an impish grin. “Do you like
cats?”

“Sure. I like cats, dogs, and animals in
general.”

“Good. You should like Tepeyol, because he
comes with me.”

“Tepe…who, what?”

“Tepeyol, or Tepe, as I call him. My big,
cuddly tomcat. He’s named after the Aztec god of jaguars.”

He emitted a low, throaty chuckle. “Barring
any claws and fangs, I have a feeling Tepe and I will get along
just fine, Aztec jaguar or not. He can be your big, cuddly tomcat
and I’ll be your big, cuddly
oso de juguete
.”