The muscles in her neck clenched as she swallowed. Andrés came to stand in front of her. He pushed a silky strand of hair over her shoulder and ran the back of his finger down her cheek.
“It is natural, Chloe. There is no shame in this.” He rubbed his thumb across her swollen mouth and said softly, “I promise I will not hurt you.”
Something flickered in her eyes, an image or a thought that was making her reconsider. And then her phone rang.
“I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t.” She jerked away, turned and then fled the cabana.
He sighed and closed the door behind him, walking slowly back to the resort. The sharp ache of arousal faded as he thought about all that had occurred in the last hour. His lips tightened into a grim line and he shook his head, dismayed at his behavior. He shouldn’t have touched her so soon, not after the attack on the beach. Perhaps she’d been eager to explore the passion between them, but he shouldn’t have let her. Not yet, anyway. Why hadn’t he taken into account the fact that she was still in shock? How had he not even shown the slightest bit of restraint?
What had come over him? Next time, and there would be a next time, he would maintain a bit more control. Because that was twice now she’d nearly made him lose it.
After arriving in the penthouse, he dialed security and put out an alert for Chloe’s assailant from earlier. Then he made a call to his assistant and instructed with quiet calm, “The woman on the beach this evening. Her name is Chloe. I want you to find her.”
Chloe arrived at work the next morning a few minutes late. Sleep had been elusive, and she’d stayed up late rereading the weathered pages of the diary she nearly knew by heart. Her favorite entry had been engrained in her mind from the first day she read it.
When he kisses me, I swear I forget to breathe. Can barely tell the moon from the stars. He makes me wonder about destiny.
The woman’s entries about falling in love in Spain had become magically serendipitous to what was happening in her own life.
When Chloe had finally fallen asleep, the diary tucked beneath her arm, she’d dreamed of Andrés and their sensual moment in the cabana. Only in her slumber, she hadn’t called things to a halt.
So she’d awoken this morning cranky, her body craving the touch of the man she’d refused last night. And in the light of day, she questioned her sanity. Maybe she should’ve stayed with him. Even if it would’ve been something completely unusual for her. Sometimes, well, didn’t you just need to take chances in life?
Though taking chances was equivalent to taking risks. And risking the heart was always a little bit terrifying. But she would always be a romantic. It’s what had inspired her to write Passport to Love.
Her editor at Modern Coquette had been thrilled with the idea of an article that not only retold the story from the old diary-of the lovers who had met while backpacking Spain-but also followed Chloe’s personal accounts of being a young American woman living and working in a foreign country.
And now she’d found a man who made her heart race and her body buzz with excitement, and she’d fled from him like a terrified virgin. Though that wasn’t far off the mark, with her experience limited to a man she’d dated briefly back in college. But he’d certainly never made her feel like this. No man had made her feel the way Andrés had last night.
Slipping into the hotel, Chloe prayed no one would notice her tardiness when she clocked in. But luck was definitely not on her side. The hotel manager was passing through the employee hall and noticed Chloe’s rush.
Estella Martinez stepped in front of her path and swept her gaze over her. The woman’s expression clearly indicated she found Chloe’s appearance lacking.
“Did you have a late night, Señorita Wilkinson?” Her voice dripped ice.
“I’m sorry,” Chloe said with a nervous smile, and smoothed a hand over her white blouse. “There was an incident on the beach last night—”
“I don’t want, nor need your excuses, Señorita Wilkinson. Consider this a warning.” The older woman gave her another glance, and then continued down the hall.
Chloe closed her eyes and groaned. For some reason the woman had taken a dislike to her from the first day she’d started working at Diablo’s Paraíso. And now she’d received her first warning. Just great. True, she would only be here for a little while longer, but it rankled nonetheless. For the most part, she’d always been a rule-follower.
As she continued down the hall, her thoughts slipped back to Andrés. Since he seemed to be a guest at the hotel, would she see him today? The idea sent a rush of both apprehension and heat through her.