Authors: Delaney Diamond
Dazed, Talia handed over the baby to her grandmother, who settled into a chair beside the bed. Maybeth stared at him for a long time before her taut features transformed into soft lines and her chin wobbled. “He has your mother’s nose,” she said, her voice vibrating with emotion.
“You think so?”
“Yes. Definitely. That’s Theresa’s nose.”
Talia’s tear-filled eyes met Tomas’s, and he saw the appreciation for what he’d done. “Thank you,” she mouthed.
He left them alone and went out to the lobby as Ryan and Shawna stepped out of the elevator with a bouquet of flowers and balloons in hand. “How is she?” Shawna asked.
“Great. Her grandmother is in there now.”
“Maybeth?” Shawna asked in a stricken voice.
Tomas chuckled. “Yes, but don’t worry. She had a change of heart.”
Thanks to a little prodding on his part. He’d gone to her office downtown wearing a tailored jacket and one of the shirts and silk ties Talia had bought him. He was shown into Maybeth’s office and they’d had a nice long talk, at the end of which he’d backed her into the chair behind her desk. Resting his hands on the seat arms, he’d leaned over her. Her nostrils had quivered as she fought to remain defiant.
“I don’t care what you think about me, that I’m Cuban, that I’m an average guy with an average job who’s not good enough for your granddaughter. None of that matters to me because I will take care of my wife and my son, even if I have to work five jobs. They will never need anything as long as I have the ability to work. But I do care about how your behavior affects my family, and there are two things I will not let you do. I won’t let you come between me and Talia, and I won’t let you hurt her or our son.” Then he’d straightened. “You have two choices. You can come with me and meet your great-grandson and help Talia, a new mother who could use the help. Or you can stay here and be miserable and miss out on getting to know our wonderful little boy. It’s your choice.”
Maybeth hadn’t moved or spoken. She had laced him with a cold, deadly stare, using a tactic he imagined had worked on others. “Young man, no one speaks to me that way.”
But she’d come with him.
“I’ll go check on Talia,” Shawna said now.
When she left, Tomas met Ryan’s gaze. “So this is what it feels like,” he said.
“Yeah.”
Tomas chuckled. “Why didn’t you tell me before,
amigo
?”
Epilogue
Tomas rolled over but didn’t feel Talia beside him. The night before, she had opened the windows to let in the natural sounds of the country. Chirping crickets, crying Katydids, and frogs that lived near the lake’s edge had created a chorus of sound that coaxed them to sleep like a lullaby. They couldn’t do this in the summer because of the humidity. Now fall had arrived, with the overhead fan on low, the room remained the perfect temperature.
With his eyes still closed, he reached across the bed and touched her warm body wrapped in the red satin nightie he hadn’t bothered to remove last night when he’d slipped inside of her.
“What are you doing all the way over there,
querida
?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
He slid his arm under and around her and dragged her across the mattress until he could bury his face in her thick hair. The scent of her never failed to arouse him. He pulled the laced edge of the teddy up to her waist and hardened as he exposed her pantiless bottom. He lifted her hips into his and let out a low groan when her fleshy bottom made contact with his erection.
“That’s why I was all the way over there,” she said, but he heard the smile in her voice.
“There is no escape.”
He cupped one breast and massaged the nipple with his thumb until she made the sexy little panting noises he liked to hear. Slipping his fingers between her legs, he found the wet heat that spurred him into action. Sliding his knee between her thighs, he slipped into her from behind. She gasped and reached back, curling her arm around his neck and arching her spine. He groaned as her internal muscles pulled him further into the warm, slick channel.
He took his time, letting his thick, hard flesh enjoy each sensuous stroke until she was begging him to hurry in a pained, breathless voice that threatened to sidetrack his self-control. He kissed her neck and ear, sucking on the tender lobe until her hand grabbed a handful of his hair. Close to coming, she tossed back her hips in a wild bucking motion.
Tomas held onto one breast and bound her to him with his arm. He watched as she parted her lips on a keening cry, eyes shut tight to manage the powerful orgasm that rolled through her. Only when he saw she’d been satisfied did he allow himself to let go. He gripped the mattress with his left hand in lieu of putting a strangle hold on her petite form as he endured a mighty climax of his own.
Afterward, she stretched, and he lay spent against her back, groaning into her hair.
“Mmm, good morning,” she said, reaching back to stroke his bristled jaw with the back of her fingers.
“Good morning,” he repeated with a low chuckle. As far as he was concerned, there was no better way to start the day.
****
Talia didn’t know how long she slept, but when she awoke, Tomas stood at the window with Manuel in his arms. He wore only a pair of dark blue boxer briefs and spoke quietly to their son in Spanish. He was so good with Manuel. So many women had to barter with their husbands to assist with the parenting, but it wasn’t an issue in their household.
She slipped from the bed and entered the adjoining bathroom, washed up and donned a robe before joining her two men at the window.
“How’s my big boy today?”
She trailed her fingertips through the fine blonde hairs on Manuel’s head. He observed her with his father’s light brown eyes. She kissed his nose and was rewarded with a toothless grin. He was always well-behaved and had been a good baby inside the womb, too. Except for a couple weeks of morning sickness, her pregnancy had been uneventful. Even after he was born, he hadn’t been too fussy. In fact, she’d worried about his placid demeanor and had taken him to the doctor. The pediatrician assured Talia that not all babies cried constantly, and so she accepted that he must have Tomas’s temperament.
Sometimes she would stand over the crib and stare in awe at this tiny person who depended on her and marvel at her blessings, that she had such a good husband and a healthy baby.
She walked away, bare feet moving quietly on the carpeted floor. “What do you want for breakfast?” she asked.
“What do you feel like fixing?”
She paused with her hand on the doorjamb and turned to him. Big and brawny, framed by the sunlight pouring in through the window. Her husband, her lover, her friend.
She smiled. “How about some pancakes?”
The End
Spanish Translations
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading my latest novel! I hope you enjoyed it.
Normally I let the foreign words speak for themselves within the context of the story, but I wanted to point out some words/phrases where the meaning may not have been clear.
Coño
– Damn. Typically said by Spanish-speaking people from the Caribbean.
Caperucita Roja
– Little Red Riding Hood.
Mierda
– Shit.
Me gusta como hueles
– I like how you smell.
¿Que bola?
– Cuban slang for How are you? The English equivalent might be How’s it going? or What’s up?
“
¡Cállate cabrón!
– Shut up jackass!
****
Like Latin heroes like Tomas Molina? Read my Hot Latin Men series.
Ebooks on sale during the holiday season from $1.99 to $2.99
!
Sale ends December 31, 2013
.
More Stories by Delaney Diamond
Hot Latin Men series
The Arrangement
Fight for Love
Private Acts
Second Chances
Hot Latin Men: Vol. I (print anthology)
Hot Latin Men: Vol. II (print anthology)
Hawthorne Family series
The Temptation of a Good Man
A Hard Man to Love
Here Comes Trouble
For Better or Worse
Hawthorne Family Series: Vol. I (print anthology)
Hawthorne Family Series: Vol. II (print anthology)
Love Unexpected series
The Blind Date
The Wrong Man
Bailar series (sweet/clean romance)
Worth Waiting For
Short Story
Subordinate Position
The Ultimate Merger
Free Stories
Excerpt from The Blind Date
For Shawna Ferguson and Ryan Stewart, one night changes everything…again.
When Shawna entered the restaurant, smiling staff welcomed her with a “
Bienvenue
!” She told the hostess she had a reservation and gave her the name of the person with whom she had the meeting. “Roger James.”
“Your party’s already here.” The brunette smiled, and her gaze drifted to the interior wall, outside Shawna’s line of vision.
Shawna pasted a smile on her face and stepped forward to get a good look. That’s when her date stepped from the dim interior into the better-lit entryway.
Her smile froze in place and her body became as stiff as a corpse.
It wasn’t that her date was unattractive. Oh no, he didn’t suffer from a deficiency in looks at all. In fact, he was sexy. Hella sexy. Even more sexy than the last time she’d seen him, though a bit underdressed in a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal rugged arms dusted with fine hair. Wisps of dark hair, which she knew from firsthand experience were soft, brushed the collar of his striped shirt.
She pressed her palm to her chest in a futile attempt to control the erratic beat of her heart. Unfortunately, her brain had gone into overdrive, reminding her of unbridled passion in Chicago six years ago when she’d fallen into bed with this man.
She’d never forgotten the two torrid nights they’d spent together where the intimacies they shared had left her breathless and exhausted in his arms. Every caress of his lips and touch of his rough, work-worn hands was seared into her brain. And she could never, ever forget what it felt like to have the dark stubble shadowing his jaw graze the sensitive spot on her neck—or the skin of her inner thigh.
Her knees weakened at the thought.
A corner of his lips did a slow slant upward, and Shawna tore her eyes away from the invitation in them to stare into a pair of amazing blue eyes that rooted her in place.
“Hello, Shawna.” The mellow sound of his voice greeted her as he approached. He exuded a confidence and casual virility not present during their first introduction. Back then, he’d been a little less sure of himself, though very charming.
The sound of her name on his tongue sent a tremor through every cell of her body. “Ryan.” She whispered his name in disbelief because his name wasn’t Roger James, and he wasn’t a stranger. She’d hoped never to set eyes on this man again.
“It’s good to see you, love.”
Shocked out of her reverie by the affectionate word, rage erupted inside of Shawna. She hadn’t seen him since that day in Chicago when her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces. She did what she hadn’t been able to do back then.
She hauled back and slapped him.
Want more? Buy it now on
Amazon
.
https://www.facebook.com/DelaneyDiamond
About the Author
Delaney Diamond is the bestselling author of sweet and sensual romance novels. Originally from the U.S. Virgin Islands, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember and in her spare time reads romance novels, mysteries, thrillers, and a fair amount of non-fiction.
When she’s not busy reading or writing, she’s in the kitchen trying out new recipes, dining at one of her favorite restaurants, or traveling to an interesting locale. She speaks fluent conversational French and can get by in Spanish. You can enjoy free reads and the first chapter of all her novels on her website.
Join her distribution list to get notices about new releases.
https://www.facebook.com/DelaneyDiamond