Seducing His Opposition (15 page)

“I can forgive you, I understood why you left even as you were running away. But the anger is still there.”

She nodded. “I understand. By the way, why are you here? Enrique said you gave him a gig. I was going to call you and tell you I’m coming back to Miami.”

“That is good to hear. Enrique is trying to be helpful. I guess I didn’t move fast enough for your family. They want you back.”

“Of course they do,” she said, relieved that Justin was the kind of man she’d believed him to be. Not a man who would try to hurt her family because she hurt him. “But do you?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

She smiled over at him. “Thank God. I know it’s going to take time before you and I can be back to the way we were…I’ve already talked to my boss about resigning and moving home. I think—”

“No. You don’t have to resign and move back to Miami. I am here because I can’t stand another day without you. Together we will figure out what works for both of us because I’m not letting you leave me again.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

She jumped up and ran around her desk and threw herself into his arms, kissing him. He squeezed her tightly to him and she almost started crying. She’d thought she could control her emotions but she couldn’t.

“I was afraid to dream this could happen. I really didn’t know what to expect.”

“I knew what was going to happen. I have fallen in love with one woman in my life and that’s you. There
was no way I was going to let you go. I need you, Selena. You are the one person who grounds me.”

She cupped his face with her hands and kissed him again. “I need you, too, Justin. You make it possible for me to believe in my dreams again.”

“Good. Now what do you say we get out of here so I can make love to you.”

“Sounds like a very good idea,” she said.

Justin took her hand in his but stopped. “I am not leaving here until you answer one more question.”

She took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Will you marry me?”

Justin wasn’t playing around. He wasn’t about to get Selena back in his life only to let her walk away again. He needed her to not only be his but to show the world that she was.

“Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t,” he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box. He opened it and took the ring out. “I know that proper form means I should be down on one knee, but I wanted to look into your eyes when you answer me.” He’d had it specially made for her. A marquis-cut diamond that he knew would look perfect on her hand.

She nodded. “Yes, I will marry you.”

He slipped the ring onto her finger and then pulled her close for a kiss. She moved against him.

And he leaned back against the door pulling her closer to him. He wanted this woman. She’d turned his world upside down and now that he had her back in his arms, he needed to reinforce those bonds by making her his.

“Are you really mine?” he asked.

She smiled up at him, grinning ear-to-ear. “I am.”

She shifted against him and he hardened instantly. “Then let’s get out of here and find a proper bed so I can make love to you.”

She flushed and raised an eyebrow at him. “You drive a hard bargain. Give me a minute to get my bag and shut down my computer and we’ll go to my place.”

“Okay,” he said. “Are you ready to go yet?”

“I am.”

The ride across town to her apartment took too long and he held her on his lap and kissed her the entire time. He didn’t want to stop touching her and luckily didn’t have to.

She shifted around so that she was facing him instead of lying in his arms. “Thank you for coming after me. I mean, I was going to come to you, but thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I was angry at first and wanted revenge. But that just made me realize how much I love you—because I could never do anything to hurt you or your family.”

She hugged him close. “I know you couldn’t. Even though you are tough in business, you have a good heart.”

“Selena, I thought I was the Tin Man until you came along and showed me that I had one.”

The car came to a stop. “This is my place.”

“About damned time,” he said.

The doorman came and opened the door for them. Justin followed Selena into the lobby and onto the elevator. He couldn’t resist caressing the curve of her hips and pulling her into his arms for another kiss. Then he lifted her in his arms as the elevator doors opened and carried her down the hallway, following her directions.
As soon as she unlocked her apartment door and then stepped inside he leaned back against it and kissed her with all the carnality he’d been bottling up since she’d agreed to be his wife.

She dropped her bag and kicked off her shoes as he walked into the apartment.

“Bedroom?”

“Down the hall. Take your jacket off,” she said.

“I’d have to put you down and I’m not ready to do that yet.”

He walked into her bedroom and set her in the center of her king-size bed. It was covered with pillows. When she turned on the bedside lamp he saw that her room was done in warm hues of green and gold.

He toed off his shoes and socks and then took off his jacket. She reached for the buttons at the front of her blouse but he brushed her fingers aside and undid them himself.

He took his time stripping her. Each new bit of skin that was revealed he took the time to caress first with his hands, then with his mouth.

He lingered over her breasts and when she got restless and tried to hurry him, he refused. This time he wanted it to last and knowing that he had the right to make love to her for the rest of his life gave him the willpower to take his time.

“Now you are mine,” he said.

She unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders onto the floor. Her hands roamed over his chest and traced the path of hair down to his belly button. She ran the edge of her nail around the circumference of it again and again. Each circle she completed made him harden even more. She reached for his pants and quickly had them open.

“Now
you’re
mine, Justin.”

Luckily, they would have a lifetime to work through the fine points of this negotiation.

A
t the end of May, after Selena had tied up all the loose ends in New York, she and Justin flew down to Miami for the ground-breaking of the Mercado and Luna Azul’s tenth anniversary party. The guest list consisted of a glittering array of celebrities. But Selena didn’t really care about that. This afternoon, she was enjoying herself in the warm Miami sunshine. They were having a party at her grandparents’ house to celebrate her engagement to Justin.

“How’s my fiancée?” he asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Good. I never thought I’d feel this at home in Miami, but moving back here with you…it feels right.”

“We can always go back to New York. I’m up to the challenge of opening a Luna Azul club there.”

“No, Justin. I’m here to stay.” Selena was quiet for
a moment. Then, looking deep into his eyes, she said, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me back what I thought I’d lost forever.”

“What was that?”

“My family and my heritage,” she said.

“I didn’t give it back to you, you helped me find it and now we can share that. I think we both ended up winning.”

“I think so, too,” Selena said, going up on her tiptoes and kissing Justin.

“I told you he was a good man,” her
abuelita
said as she came up behind her.

“That’s not all you said,” Selena said with a grin.

“What else did she say?” Tomas asked.

“That he had a nice butt,
abuelito!
”

Justin flushed and everyone standing around them started laughing.

“Well, he does,” her grandmother said.

“I guess you are part of the family now,” Cam said to Justin. “They definitely like you.”

“I like them, too,” Justin admitted. He pulled Selena close and whispered in her ear. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Justin Stern.”