“Thank you. Could you escort Selena to the guest bathroom and make sure she has what she needs to shower? And show her where to find some clothes.”
“Yes, sir.”
After wrapping her voluptuous body in the white terry cloth robe, Selena followed Felicita down the hall, looking over her shoulder to gaze at me one more time with her enormous amber eyes, which had made a permanent impression on my brain. “Thank you for being so kind to me.”
I carried two tall glasses of mango juice from the kitchen and set them down on a glass coffee table in the living room. I flipped through the latest
Fortune
magazine, while I waited for Selena to join me.
“Sorry I took so long,” she said as she stepped into the room. “You have a nice selection of women’s clothes in the closet. I really like this dress.” She wore a pale blue sundress that clung to her breasts and hips and highlighted her golden-brown skin. Her tanned feet were still bare; her toenails had been painted the same watermelon color as her fingernails. She dropped onto the couch beside me, her trunk hunched forward, giving me a delicious view of the tops of her plump, perky breasts.
The sight of her was enough to make any man with an ounce of testosterone in his blood cream his jeans. I cleared my throat. “There are shoes on a shelf in the back of the closet—although I don’t know if they would fit you. My mom wears size eight.”
“Oh, the clothes are your mom’s?” The muscles in her face relaxed and her lips turned up in a smile.
“Yes, they are.” She looked relieved. Warm satisfaction washed over me.
Maybe she likes me after all.
As my cock leaped to attention, I shifted on the couch. Struggling to steady my hand, I passed her a glass of mango juice. “This should give you a little pick me up.”
“Thank you.” She took a long swallow. “Mango juice is my favorite—it tastes so sweet.”
I imagined absorbing her mango-drenched lips in a kiss. “I’m glad you like it.” Determined to get my mind back on task, I pulled my cell phone from my pocket. “Would you like to call your family?”
Selena dropped her gaze and pressed her lips together before biting her lower lip. “There aren’t many of them left to call. My youngest brother, Tomas, started hanging around with the wrong crowd when he was twelve and ended up joining a gang of drug dealers. A rival gang killed him and my parents.” She wiped a stray tear from the corner of one eye. “That was fifteen years ago.”
She looked vulnerable, and I ached to pull her into my arms. Instead, I placed a steadying hand on her arm and grasped for words she’d find comforting. I knew anything I said would sound trivial; so I chose to be brief and express my heartfelt sorrow through my tone-of-voice. “I’m so sorry, Selena.”
“Thank you.” She paused and looked up at me for a moment before gazing at the spot where my hand rested on her arm. “I was sixteen-years-old that night when they broke into our house, firing shots, but my older brother, Jose, helped me escape through a bedroom window. He’s always looked out for me no matter what.”
“What happened after that? Oh, no, I’m asking too many questions. You don’t have to talk anymore if you don’t want to.”
Selena smoothed her hair away from her face. “Most of the time, I change the subject when anyone asks me about my family because talking about it is just too painful. But for some reason, telling you about it felt different somehow—because you’re so empathetic and you really listen to me instead of just spewing out empty words. But I’m sure you’ve heard enough.”
Her openness stunned me. Most women I’d dated had told more lies than truths. Did they even tell me their real names? Or did they pull them straight from
Fifty Shades
or their favorite TV shows? I mean seriously…How many Anastasias could there be in one Tucson suburb? “No, please, I’m interested in what you’re telling me.”
“After that, Jose and I snuck across the border at Cuidad de Juarez and obtained temporary visas through the immigration office. We shared an apartment in El Paso until I started college. Even then, I visited him often. Not too many of my friends were game for motorcycle rides, horseback trips, and bungee jumping, but Jose’s always up to any kind of adventure. He’s the best brother.”
It gratified me to know she had a family member she could depend on, but still… I wanted to be someone she could count on, as well.
What’s the matter with me?
“Are you two still close?”
“Oh, yes. I spent a week visiting him in El Paso during our school’s fall break.”
“Do you remember his number? Perhaps you can call him.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea. But for some reason, I’m almost sure he changed his cell number recently—I’m not sure why.” She raised a hand to her forehead. “It’s so weird how I remember almost everything, but there are these holes in my memory. It doesn’t make sense.”
Keeping my distance no longer felt like an option. I scooted closer to her on the couch. As I massaged her bare arm with my fingers, desire pulsed through my veins. The woman personified sexy—I felt an urge to lean in closer to claim her lips.
No! If she knew what I was thinking, she’d probably run. And I have to be sure she’s free to be with me.
“Would you like me to take you to the hospital?”
She gazed up at me with big sad eyes. “What would they do for me? I don’t have a head wound.”
“The doctor might be able to make sure you don’t have concussion or didn’t have a stroke.”
“I’m sure I didn’t have a stroke. No one in my family has ever had cardiovascular problems, and I’m only thirty. And all my limbs move just fine.” She extended one sculpted to perfection leg after the other as if to demonstrate.
I tried not to think about those long, shapely legs wrapped around my waist and her heels digging into my back while I sunk my cock deeper and deeper inside her warm wetness. I tightened my jaw and imagined speaking at an important business meeting. “I’ll arrange for my doctor to make a house call. And if he thinks rest is all you need, you can stay here for a few days.”
Selena shook her head and scooted further away from me on the couch. “But I don’t want to be so much trouble for you.”
“You’re no trouble at all. This is a big house, and I always spend my time alone down here—it will be nice to have company for a change.” My cell phone rang. “I’m sorry, will you excuse me for a moment?”
I stood up and pushed the
answer
button. “Nicholas, here.” I paced the room while Michael outlined the results of the tests.
“Everything went exactly as planned,” he said. “I scheduled a demo at the Nevada site next Tuesday. Jocelyn said your schedule was clear that morning, so I scheduled a flight first thing from Tucson.”
“Fine,” I said. “Call our list of suppliers and find out who has the best prices for materials. And make sure they can guarantee delivery dates.”
“I’ll get right on it. So you’ll be back in the office tomorrow morning, right?”
I lowered my voice and looked over at Selena, hoping she wouldn’t hear what I said next. “There’s been a development down here. I need you to have Jocelyn reschedule all my Thursday and Friday meetings to phone conferences.” I made a mental note to call my mother later, too, to tell her I wouldn’t make it to her house for our usual Friday dinner.
“Is something wrong?”
I couldn’t possibly tell him that a gorgeous woman with amnesia had delayed my departure. I had an image to maintain. “It’s a personal emergency. I’ll explain later.”
After I had concluded the call, Selena stood up and straightened her dress, pulling it further down her thighs. “I really should go. I can tell you’re a really busy man, and I’m messing up your work schedule. I just don’t feel right about this.”
I walked over and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, urging her back down onto the leather cushions. “Please stop worrying. If you want to recover your memory, you’re going to have to relax. You have no place to go, and you’re doing me a favor by being here.”
The truth hurt, but in this case, admitting it would work to my advantage. “As my company’s CEO, I’m a desperately dull workaholic. Michael has suggested for months that I take an actual vacation, socialize in a setting that doesn’t involve business—in other words, act like a normal person for a change. I took the first step buying this place, but I still haven’t been able to stay off the computer or phone except when I exercise in the mornings.”
“I can’t imagine you working all the time. You must have women waiting in line for a date.”
As ninety percent of the blood in my body redirected due south, I forced a laugh, hoping my facial expression would mask the lusty thoughts that tossed in my head. I didn’t feel like myself around her at all.
I paused to recall what I’d planned to say. “Women are drawn to me because of my wealth, not because they like me. To be honest, I’m dull company. I spend most of my weekends working up new designs on my computer and calculating profit margins.”
I cleared my throat and frowned, annoyed with myself for rambling. It wasn’t like me to share personal information with anyone, let alone someone I barely knew.
A smile broke over her face, like sunlight bursting out from behind a cloud. Her cheeks puffed up, revealing a row of straight teeth that looked brilliant white against her tanned face. Her honey-brown eyes sparkled, and her face looked radiantly healthy, as if she hadn’t nearly drowned earlier.
“That’s just silly. I think you’re very interesting. Your work sounds fascinating and as athletic as you are, I’m sure you go for outdoor adventures from time to time.”
Warmth spread from my belly into my chest. “I swim or run at least an hour a day, and once in a while I ride a horse or race around in a dune buggy. I also rarely miss Friday night dinners with my mom. But work is what I enjoy the most.”
“But what if you met a woman you did like? Would work still be a priority?”
I didn’t really want to discuss relationships, but I couldn’t seem to seal my lips. “If I met a woman I could relate to, I might slow my schedule a bit. But that just hasn’t happened yet.”
Her frown looked almost pitying.
“That’s a shame. Do you think you could relate to me?”
Gorgeous, curious, impulsive and sexy are definitely my concept of attractive.
I didn’t feel comfortable saying that out loud. “Maybe. I like what I see so far. But you strike me as different from the women I usually meet. I know this makes me sounds like a selfish jerk, but I don’t want to count calories and spend my weekends at the mall.”
Selena wrinkled her nose and frowned. “I hate diets—I think good food was meant to be enjoyed. And I only enjoy shopping for accessories for my bike. Where do you meet all these diet fanatics?”
“Oh, at parties, in airports, at weddings—when my friends and coworkers aren’t trying to hook me up with the perfect woman.”
She chuckled. “I bet you love that. What’s your idea of a fun date?”
“I like riding horses and motorcycles and trying out new and different cuisine.”
Selena’s head fell back in a laugh. “Seriously—you ride motorcycles? I think that’s awesome. You just need to hang around a different kind of woman, that’s all. We’re much more fun in the slums,” she teased. “I bought a Harley and a go-cart in California and love to tear around on them.”
“You have a go-cart?”
An enthusiastic rush of words escaped from her lips. “I sure do. My brother helped me build it. You steer it with your feet and are so low to the ground, it feels like you’re going fast. It’s a wicked rush.”
“Wicked, eh?” I grinned.
A woman who swims, rides horses and motorcycles is my idea of a good time.
“You seem to be just my type. Stay with me for now. We’ll have some fun while you recover.”
She laid her hands in her lap. “This whole situation is really scary and I could use some help. Are you sure having me won’t be too much of an inconvenience?”
“I’m absolutely positive. Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s talk about something else.”
Selena raised her hand like a police officer stopping traffic at an intersection. “Wait. Before you change the subject, I want it to be clear that I intend to repay you for everything.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
She gazed at me with unblinking eyes. “I don’t take handouts from strangers.”
“But I’m not really a stranger anymore, am I?”
Somehow, I have to get her to lighten up.
“I did give you mouth-to-mouth.”
Selena’s cheeks reddened, and she angled her head away from me. “I’m being serious here, Nick.”
“Very well. If allowing you to pay me back is the only way I can get you to stay, I’ll accept that for now. But I hope at some point you’ll reconsider, because helping you is what I want to do.”
“That’s very kind of you. But I can’t have you pay my way.”
Felicita picked up our empty glasses. “Can I get you anything, sir?”
“Selena’s going to stay with us for a few d—”
“She is?” Her voice pitched upward and her dark eyes widened. It was very unlike Felicita to interrupt me.
I cleared my throat and creased my brow to appear stern. “Yes, that’s what I said. I don’t want her to leave until she’s rested and seen Dr. Mendez. So please make up the bed in the guest room and then call the doctor and ask him to come as soon as possible.”
She nodded. “Yes, sir, I’ll do that right away.”
“Thank you, Felicita.”
She nodded and strode from the room.
I turned back toward Selena. “Are you hungry?”
“No, I don’t think I could eat anything just yet.”
She gazed around the room and ran her fingertips over the arm of the leather couch. “You must own a pretty important company to be able to afford this kind of luxury.”
I shrugged. I’d earned more than enough money to buy whatever I wanted and diligently saved money for the future. But I had no interest in comparing my net worth to anyone else’s. Making enough money to convince my mother to quit her two jobs had been my number one concern. “I’m just your typical workaholic executive—I’m no one special.”
“You’re a really bad liar,” she said. When she blinked, her eyelids looked heavy and then she masked a yawn by brushing her hand over her face.