Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
T wo Weeks Later – In Cancun
Diego knocked twice on Kash’s door, then stepped back, flexing his hands at his sides.
The corridor outside her suite was dimly lit, the walls a soft sand-colored stucco that glowed under the sconces. The warm, humid breeze drifting through the open-air hallway of the luxury resort made his skin prickle, like the night itself was closing in on him.
This whole Cancun trip, he’d fucked it up in more ways than one.
He should’ve left Kash alone. He should’ve had better control on his petty instincts to rile and provoke her. Especially after he’d seen her devastation that DP, the high school ex she’d lied about, was already in love with her friend Chaaru. And then her capacity to be genuinely happy for her best friend.
Instead, he’d viewed it as an opportunity, had wiggled his way into the couple activities with the rest of her friends even. And that very evening—desperate to provoke her—he had called her a prickly black widow in front of all her friends. Even knowing how heartbreaking her grief over Simon had been.
What the hell had he been thinking? Why did he compound his mistakes when she was the last person he wanted to hurt? She’d flinched when she heard the stupid haiku, before snapping her mask back on like it was fused to her skin.
So here he was, past ten in the night, pacing outside her suite, ready to beg for forgiveness.
The door swung open. Instantly, a thread of lush rose scent teased his nostrils, before sneaking into his blood, wrapping around his cock like a soft, silken hand.
Her hand.
God, but he was fucked.
Kash was a vision, with her long golden-brown legs on display in pink boy shorts. Her tank top clung to her thick hips and full breasts, skin glowing warm under the soft yellow light.
Dark curls kissed her shoulders, freshly washed and framing a face scrubbed clean of the usual makeup. Full lips were pursed tight. Large brown eyes rimmed red.
Had she been crying?
It hit him like a gut punch, that he had made this strong, fierce woman cry.
She lifted her chin, folding her arms across her chest, eyes sharp and flat like polished glass. The up-thrust of her tits made lust bolt through him like he was an out-of-control teenager.
“Come to throw more poetic insults my way?”
He swallowed hard. “No, to apologize.”
She didn’t budge. Just arched a brow, the corner of her mouth tilting in that infuriating, polished way. “Touched. Go ahead.”
“I didn’t mean to?—”
“Oh, you meant it, Diego.” Her voice skated on razor’s edge. “Every word. Don’t walk it back now. At least have the balls to face me with it.”
His shoulders tightened. This wasn’t how he pictured this going. Although, what had he expected? That she would burst into tears at his half-assed apology and fall into his arms? That she would regret throwing herself at several prospective hook-ups this past week?
“Why is this so hard?” he bit out, referring to how she’d provoked him at every stage this past week. Why couldn’t the damned woman admit that she wanted him?
Her brow lifted, cool as ever. “Hard to apologize?
He dragged a hand through his hair, the words scraping up his throat. “Doesn’t have to be like this between us, Kash.”
Something flickered behind those wide brown eyes, but she smothered it fast. “Maybe if you spent less time composing haikus about what a bitch I am,” she said sweetly, “you’d find me easier to deal with.”
“I never said that.”
“No, only that I was heartless.”
“I said you veil your heart.”
“Oh, forgive me, asshole, for not translating the trash haiku you wrote about me perfectly!”
With each word they lobbied back and forth, his own control simmered closer to the edge.
His gaze dropped, eager to take the rest of her in. Eyes red and shoulders tense, she looked like she’d fought something, herself probably, and lost. And in that moment, he knew Kash would never give in to what she considered beneath her, what she considered forbidden, what she considered a weakness.
And he fell straight into each of those categories.
She had to be won over, kicking and screaming, in all the ways that he wanted. A thrill washed over him at the idea.
He stepped closer, pitching his voice low. “All I want is for you to admit that you’re desperate, Kash, and ask for help. Just that.”
Her eyes widened—barely—but enough. Enough for him to see the spark flare there, sharp and dangerous. “No.”
“Why not? You’ve been hitting on anything that moves this past week. It’s been...” he let the pause gather momentum, “entertaining to watch.”
“You’re one to talk,” she shot back. “At least I don’t pant after people who can’t stand me.”
The space between them snapped tight, something unspoken vibrating in the air. His pulse hammered, every muscle strung taut. But he couldn’t stop now.
She didn’t get it—how easily she lit the fuse every time she opened that sharp mouth. Didn’t get how goddamn tightly he was holding on, trying not to wreck everything he’d been building just to get a taste of her.
He let the silence stretch, gaze deliberately sweeping—slow & lingering—down her body.
That tank top clinging to her curves. The skimpy bike shorts that outlined her shape for him. Her thick, toned thighs smooth. The pulse beating furiously at her throat.
Her chest rose and fell fast, breath shallow, like she was vibrating under her own skin.
She moved closer and the scent of her coiled tight around his balls, dripping heat down his spine like molten lava. “The woman you were dancing with tonight,” she said, voice soft but lethal, “does she know you have a daughter you once abandoned?”
It hit like a sucker punch, straight to his ribs.
His breath stalled, blood roaring in his ears. Leave it to Kash to take it there, to rip open the wound that was just healing.
“Maybe I should ask why you’ve been keeping such close tabs on me,” he murmured, proud of how steady he sounded.
She crossed her arms, but it only pushed those glorious tits higher, nipples hard under the thin fabric. “Maybe I enjoy your puppy-dog eyes trailing after me.”
His fingers curled into fists, pulse pounding. Every word out of her mouth was another jab, another vise-like squeeze of his cock. It was a dangerous game they were playing, one that had no rules and yet…it was the most thrilling moment in his life in the last few years.
She could bloody him, and he would still be into her…fuck, they were in so much trouble.
“How desperate are you, Kash?” His voice dropped, rough, cutting. “I mean you told me that you planned to hook up with your ex here. But I guess your friend Chaaru got there first, huh? So now you’re looking for your next sugar daddy to bend over for?”
Her nostrils flared, her cool mask faltering. Then she laughed—a sharp, breathless sound—and stepped right into his space, heat radiating between them.
“Don’t bring Simon into this,” she breathed, gaze flicking to his mouth.
Diego swallowed hard. If she broke down and broke apart, he would put the pieces back together, whatever it took. He would hold her through anything, if only she leaned on him.
“Why not? You brought Kat into this, didn’t you?” He tilted his head, eyes burning. “Even though we both know that neither Kat nor Simon has anything to do with this. With us.”
Her breath hitched. “There’s no us.”
“They’re gone, Kash, and I’m here, whether you like it or not. I’ll be here tomorrow, next year, and a decade from now. How long will you keep me out? How long will you pretend like you didn’t pull together right after the accident?”
She shoved him, hard, flat palms to his chest, knocking him back half a step.
He grabbed her wrists without thinking, yanked her flush against him, the air snapping taut around them. Their breathing turned harsh, their chests falling and rising together to some silent symphony only their bodies could hear.
Diego felt like a string pulled too tight, ready to snap at any moment.
Her body was tense, every sharp line of hers pressed hard against him.
Slowly, he loosened his grip, sliding his palms up her arms, threading his fingers into her hair. Waiting for her to push him away.
Instead, she burrowed closer into him until her breasts were crushed against his chest. Until his erection pressed into her belly. “This is wrong,” she whimpered, “but I don’t know how to stop.”
“Nothing’s wrong between us,” he whispered, before crushing his mouth to hers. Her breath hitched, and then like spring rain, she unleashed on him.
Lips and tongue and teeth…she licked and sucked at his lips like he was her last breath. Like she wanted to tear something out of him and keep it for herself. Her lush curves pressed into him, the sheer ferocity of her need obliterating every rational thought he had.
Dark chocolate and whiskey—the rich, addicting taste of her sank into his pores, spreading through every limb, pooling into heat in his balls. Against his mouth, she was want and fury and something wrenchingly sweet beneath.
Diego wanted to lure that sweetness out and keep it for himself. The world could have the controlling, perfect woman but this needy hunger was his. Only his.
He wanted her melting underneath him, revealing herself only to him.
Every time he eased up on her, she dug her nails into his scalp, into the nape of his neck, clinging to him. Licking into his mouth with her clever tongue, urging him to play some more.
By the time they pulled apart, both breathing hard, his cock felt like an iron poker, his skin two sizes too small. “I came here to apologize,” he rasped, voice rough. “For the haiku. For acting like an asshole toward you this past week.” His jaw flexed. “But fuck, if you don’t twist me inside out.” It took him a few seconds to walk his clouded brain to their back and forth. “That sugar daddy stuff...was a horrible thing to say. I wanted to shatter this prickly exterior you throw in my face at every turn.”
“You’ve managed that,” she said, eyes wide in her face. With her hair in messy curls, lips swollen, she looked less than put-together and more real than ever.
“I don’t care if Simon was your sugar daddy or if you married him because the world was ending…I don’t give a shit about the choices you’ve made to be here today, Kash.”
Her chin notched up. “Think I didn’t hear all that before?”
“I don’t care what others have said,” he said, regret pricking him fresh. “I shouldn’t have said it. And I’ll apologize any way you want me to.”
Her smile bloomed, slow and deliberate. Every muscle in his body curled with want at the spark of fire in her gaze. God, seeing her excited made something in his chest crack wide open.
One corner of her mouth kicked up as those brown eyes considered him with thorough leisure. “You really want to apologize?”
His pulse kicked hard, blood roaring. No doubt she would suggest something that would push him to the edge all over again. But he nodded anyway.
God, he was a fool over her.
“Get down on your knees,” she said, voice like rough velvet, “and apologize. If you really want to mean it.”
His gut twisted—every rational voice screaming at him to leave, to back away, to remember what the hell he came here for. But all he could see was the flush in her cheeks, the way her lips had parted when he’d kissed her.
What did she want?
A release valve for all that frustration? Probably.
What did he want?
He wanted her to drop the mask. Wanted her to admit that she needed him. And maybe, he wanted to burn off the ache clawing at him for months now.
His knees hit the carpet before he made up his mind.
Her lovely mouth fell open in an O. It was a bluff, of course. She hadn’t really expected him to do it.
He looked up at her, pulse hammering in his ears. “I was out of line, Kash. Forgive me.”
A filthy curse flew from her pretty lips, making him laugh.
“Jesus, Diego,” she said, panting as if she’d been running. “I didn’t mean for you to actually?—”
He reached for her waistband and tugged until her balance faltered, and he could bury his face in her lower belly. An explosion of that rose scent filled his nostrils, and beneath that, the musky thread of her arousal. All Kash.
The claws of her nails dug into his shoulders as she looked down, her gaze dark. The tip of her tongue snaked out to lick her lower lip. She was vibrating with that unnamed ache he had spied in her eyes for months now.
His voice turned low and rough as he pulled at the elastic of her boy shorts and let it snap back against her flesh. His mouth watered in anticipation. “Since you’ve got me here,” he said, gaze locked on hers, “why don’t I relieve you of your frustration?”
“What?”
He skimmed his thumb over the edge of her shorts. “Use me, Doc, to get yourself over the edge.”
“Why are you doing this?”
Her confusion was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.
He licked his lips, loving the string of tension tightening between them as she waited for his answer. The words floated to his lips easily, sweet but with a bite, just like the woman he was saying them to. “I like you, Kash, and I want to help you out of a tight spot.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“That the person you hate can like you?”
Color crested her cheeks. “I don’t... hate you. Hatred takes a lot of energy I don’t have. I just don’t care one way or the other about you.”
“Ouch,” he said, hand on his chest.
A thoughtful expression dawned in her eyes as she looked down at him and took one step back. Her sigh was a rattling exhale. “This shouldn’t affect how we show up for Tia, in any way,” she said, her words steady.
Diego stared at her.
“I’ll sign the custody papers when they’re ready. As long as you don’t throw any curveballs at me.”
Their gazes held as he spoke through a dry mouth. “You will?”
She nodded. “I... never realized that I made you question your place in Tia’s life. Of course, I trust you with her. The last three years would have been a special kind of hell without you steadying us. So, yeah, thank you.”
“I was just doing my job, Kash.”
“With Tia? Yes. But you’ve been... kind to me too, even though I don’t need it. Definitely didn’t earn it.”
Diego swallowed at how wrong he’d gotten her.
Kash was a tough nut to crack, but it didn’t mean there was no softness beneath.
Even as a boy, he’d known she was different. While the rest of them—him, her brother Kaif, and Katrina—had viewed their lower-middle class upbringing as challenges, she’d always aimed high.
Studied hard to land on every scholarship list she possibly could on the way to med school. Helped Kaif stay on the straight and narrow after he’d gotten into trouble with some bad kids. Kept the family together by using every free minute to help her mother with her catering business.
He’d always admired her no-nonsense attitude, her fierce ambition, the way she never gave a damn about pleasing anyone because she was fighting for survival.
Even when he’d been dating Katrina, this woman had left an impression on him. After all the missteps he’d made in his life, he wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d always been interested in her.
And now, on his knees in front of her, he saw more than what she showed the world. He saw the vulnerability she hid under the steel core.
He gripped her calves gently as she began to back away. “This is too complicated and not worth?—”
“Don’t speak too soon, Doc.” Palms spread wide, he ran them over the backs of her legs slowly. “I think we’ve proved over the last three years that we can put aside our personal grudges and make it about Tia, no?”
“You have personal grudges against me?”
“As if you don’t,” he said, laughing at her adorably miffed expression.
She arched a brow, lips curling faintly, eyes glittering. “This is just to work this… thing out of our systems. If you get me off, then I get you off too. You aren’t doing me a favor.”
He grinned. No one could call her cunning. “No, I’m doing myself a favor.”
“How’s that?”
He took a deep breath and the scent of her turned his voice husky. “I’ve been dying for a taste of you, Kash. Dying to know how you scream and how you look when you fall apart on my tongue. When you let go, for once.”
“Don’t be so cocky,” she said, swaying a little. “This isn’t as easy as you think.”
He laughed and saw the slight twitch of her lips that she buried with her teeth. “I know what’s been going on with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t come, yeah?”
After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded.
He traced his fingers over the seam of her shorts. “Good thing I’ve always liked a challenge.”
“A challenge, huh?” She licked her lower lip. His stomach tightened at the hunger etched into the strong angles of her face. “I’ll take that anytime over pity.”
He laughed, before scoring his teeth down the front of her thigh. When she jerked at the contact, he filled his hands with her glorious ass to kept her steady.
“Only one night.” Her hand came into his hair and gripped. A rush of electric sensation filled his entire body. “Just so I can get over this hump. Just so you can tell yourself that you had me pinned.”
“Just so you remember for the rest of your life how it felt to fall apart on my tongue,” he said, tugging at the elastic of her shorts again.
Then, pulse roaring, Diego got to work.