Chapter 26
Restaurant people knew how to party!
Fanning her heated skin as they exited the venue, Marissa was drunk off the excitement of the long night. She and Bruno waited with a small group of attendees for the valet to bring their cars, and when the young man drove up in the Ferrari, Bruno opened the door for her. She slid onto the seat while he strolled around to the driver side with his tuxedo jacket draped over his arm.
Turning to him as he slipped behind the wheel, she said, “Put the top down.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. I want to feel the wind in my hair.” She grinned.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He lowered the top and pulled into traffic.
“Woo-hoo!” Marissa flung her hands in the air.
Bruno looked at her. Laughter on his lips and in his eyes. She sighed happily as the sports car cruised along the roads in the light nighttime traffic and the cool breeze washed over her. The wind whipped her hair into disarray, but she didn’t care.
She felt amazingly free and light-headed after attending two afterparties where delicious food and drinks were served. Though she should be tired, she was high—buzzing, as if she’d had plenty to drink when in fact she hadn’t had any alcohol at all.
The majority of the excitement came from being on the arm of the man beside her. He’d tossed his tie in the back seat with his jacket and only wore his white shirt and lucky cufflinks. The wind was doing a number on his hair too.
The entire night she’d enjoyed watching him in action with his peers, laughing and joking and engaging in good-natured ribbing. Their celebrations included toasts for continued success in the following year and congratulations on their current success.
Ivy’s Restaurant had walked away with the award for Outstanding Hospitality, one of only two chain restaurants that won an award tonight. Esteban Galiano had “stolen”—Bruno’s words—the Outstanding Restaurateur award.
Marissa played with the bronze medallions around her neck. Garlique had won the award for Outstanding Restaurant and the Best New Restaurant award went to Oasis. Bruno went up on stage and collected each medal when his name was called, but somehow they ended up around her neck, and she couldn’t remember how. The entire night had been like that—a dreamlike blur.
Bruno rolled through his open gate and drove slowly up the driveway. At the top, he backed into the garage, and then the two of them exited into the first floor of the house.
“Tomorrow is an optional luncheon. We could go sightseeing instead and even stay an extra day if you like.” He led the way up the stairs, scraping tanned fingers through his messy hair in an attempt to tame the disruption of his normally well-coiffed tresses. He didn’t need to. The tousled look worked, giving him a rakish appearance.
“Sightseeing might be nice, but I need to leave on Monday as planned. I have to work,” Marissa replied.
“You could call in.”
“I can’t,” she said with real regret.
At the top of the stairs, they faced each other.
“All right, I’ll let you go to bed and get your beauty sleep. We can decide about the luncheon or sightseeing tomorrow.”
Bruno smoothed wisps of hair away from her face, and the light touch of his fingers sent electrifying sparks crackling across her skin.
“I must look like a mess,” Marissa said with a laugh. She smoothed her windswept hair with both hands.
“You never look like a mess. You look beautiful, as always,” he said, a rough inflection to his voice.
His words made her lose her breath, taunting her with their inappropriateness while at the same time teasing and making her long to hear more.
“You sure know how to make a woman feel special.”
He watched her intently, his eyes never leaving hers. “I never say anything I don’t mean. You know that.”
True enough, honesty was one character trait she could count on in Bruno. Honesty and candor.
“Well, since we’re being honest… you looked handsome tonight. You should wear tuxedos more often.”
“I might, now that I know you like the way I look.”
When he said things like that, it was tempting to forget the rules and submit to the cauldron of emotions that simmered inside her.
“I’m sure you must be tired. I, however, am a little wired. I’m going to make myself a drink. Good night, Marissa.”
She watched him walk in the direction of the kitchen.
“This late?” she called after him.
“Yes.” He continued walking.
She should go to bed, but instead her feet followed after him. “What are you drinking?”
“Tequila. Want some? It’s my father’s brand—Don Bene Tequila. High-end, smooth. A couple of my siblings invested, but I didn’t.”
“You missed out?”
“Big time,” he said, regret heavy in his voice as he poured a shot of the amber liquid.
“Don’t tell me Bruno Santana made a mistake,” Marissa said with exaggerated shock.
“Happens once every ten years. No one is perfect.”
She laughed. “Well, at least you have your other investments.”
“True.” He extended the glass to her.
She shook her head. “No, thank you.”
“You never drink.”
“No, I don’t,” she replied, not wanting to get into the specifics of why not.
Thankfully, he didn’t push.
“Come on, join me on the balcony.”
He took off, not waiting for her to respond. After a moment’s hesitation, Marissa followed. She could stay up a little later, and in all honesty, she wanted to prolong the night.
“What makes your father’s tequila so good?” she asked, following him into the master bedroom and out to the balcony.
“It’s delicious and has a sweet, almost caramel flavor,” Bruno explained.
“I’ll have to buy some when I get back to Atlanta. One of my friends loves tequila. How much is a bottle?”
“Five hundred dollars,” he replied.
“Say what now?”
Bruno chuckled, the laughter crinkling the corners of his eyes and shaking his chest. “Don’t worry. You’ll have lifetime access to a bottle anytime you want one, courtesy of me.”
“You’re extremely generous.”
“I only do these things for you.”
“Mhmm.” Marissa shot him a look.
Leaning on the metal railing, she gazed out at the valley below and the twinkling lights of the city. “This view is really incredible,” she sighed.
“I agree.”
He wasn’t looking at the view. He was looking at her, and her cheeks heated. She dipped her gaze.
She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to stay out here and bask in the warmth of his attention. She knew what she should do. Leave. Run. Go to bed. There was too much at stake if she made the wrong decision—and she knew herself. She was on the verge of making the wrong decision.
“It’s late. I should give these back.” She started removing the medallions from around her neck.
“No, keep them on. They look good on you,” Bruno said.
“They’re yours.”
“I’ll get them tomorrow.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Marissa continued to look at him, reluctant to leave and go to her own room. “I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you for inviting me.”
She rolled onto her toes and kissed his cheek.
His body stilled and his jawline hardened, his eyes lowering almost to slits as he looked down at her. She took a step back, and his arm snaked out, wrapping around her waist and pulling her against his hard body.
She gasped, drawing air into her lungs with a sudden, fast inhale. Time suspended.
Bruno kissed her ear and then the side of her neck and sent desire raging under her skin. Her knees softened, and she gripped the railing with one hand to keep from collapsing at his feet.
“Marissa, querida, as delicious as this tequila is, it pales in comparison to the taste of you,” he said huskily.
He brushed his lips against her neck again, and the balcony swayed under her heels.
His face twisted into a wry expression. “You should run along to bed.”
Turning his back to her, he focused his attention on the valley.
She hesitated, her heart beating faster, her body alive and alert. She opened her mouth to speak and then changed her mind. He had given her an out. She should take it.
Leaving the balcony, she walked across the soft carpet and hurried down the hall. Inside her bedroom, she shut the door and took a deep breath to calm the out-of-control beating of her heart.
She walked to the mirror and stared at her reflection—the messy hair, the gorgeous dress. She didn’t know when she’d have an occasion to wear something so chic and expensive again and felt lucky she’d had the opportunity at all. Bruno had taken her away from her normal life and given her an experience she’d never had before.
She used a finger to trace the design on one of the medallions around her neck. She didn’t want to remove them. In an odd way, they made her feel closer to him.
Reluctantly, she lifted off the heavy awards and placed them on the dresser. She did the same with the jewelry and then slipped out of her shoes.
A knock sounded on the door, and she paused. Padding over, she turned the doorknob. Bruno stood on the other side in only his trousers, and her mouth became as dry as desert sand. His muscular chest was a work of art, sprinkled with dark hair and filled with well-defined ridges. His abs were so cut they appeared fake, as if someone had drawn them in.
Marissa saw nothing but hunger in his light eyes, his trousers tented in front and signaling blatant desire.
“I want to know what the rest of you tastes like. Not just your lips. I want your breasts. I want the wetness between your legs.”
Who talked like that? Who said such indecently seductive words with no thought to the damage they did to a woman’s paltry resistance?
Bruno slowly entered the room at a snail’s pace, and she took slow steps backward.
“If you tell me to get out, I’ll leave. Right now.”
The back of her knees collided with the edge of the bed, and a trembling breath skipped out of her nostrils. “I don’t want you to leave.”
The fight was over. Slowly, over time, he had chipped away at her resolve, with every conversation and every little touch. Until this moment arrived, when she gladly succumbed to her need for him.
Bruno took her face in his hands. “Then I will taste every inch of you tonight.”
He whispered the words, his warm breath dusting over her parted lips.
Then their mouths fused together, and their tongues twisted and curled around each other in a searing kiss.