Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Y ou can’t stay in here all night.
Delta stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, trying to work up the courage to go into the bedroom. She had been in the bathroom ever since she heard Ignacio enter the primary suite while she was getting ready.
What was she afraid of? They were getting along better. The animosity she had experienced from him in L.A. and the cool indifference before moving in had diminished.
She was afraid of herself.
Afraid of how she would behave once she was in bed with Ignacio, tempted by his naked body on the mattress next to hers. She hadn’t forgotten the kiss at the Black and Gold Music Experience. On the contrary, she thought about it way more than she should—reliving the teasing tug on her lips and his warm breath fanning her mouth. Each time, a gentle, throbbing ache bloomed between her thighs. Their pleasant conversation yesterday had blurred the lines between them even more, causing her to lower her guard and feel more comfortable around him—to the point where she had almost shared her painful secret.
They hadn’t spent much time together since then, both busy with their own work. Early that morning, Ignacio had gone running in the neighborhood. He returned as she was walking downstairs to make breakfast, his shirt wet with sweat and clinging to his broad chest. Tendrils of hair curled around his damp forehead in revolt against the elastic tying his hair back. She fought hard not to gawk at him, smiling briefly as she passed him on the staircase on her way to the kitchen.
In the afternoon, Maria arrived, and Ignacio introduced them to each other. She adored his housekeeper right away, a petite and plump Mexican woman with a friendly personality. Delta knew they would get along fine. Now she was here, however, Delta and Ignacio had to share the same bed.
“You can do this. No big deal,” she muttered to herself, smoothing a hand over the cornrows in her hair. She would release the braids in the morning to give her hair a wavy appearance during the interviews her publicist had set up.
With one final tug to straighten her ivory pajamas, Delta turned out the light and exited the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind her. The room was dark but not pitch black.
“I thought you had fallen into the toilet,” Ignacio remarked.
She paused to let her eyes adjust to the low light in the room. Then she padded over to the king bed. “I appreciate the concern, but as you can see, I didn’t.”
She saw him better now, with his arms folded behind his head, his biceps flexed and tufts of dark hair sticking out from his armpits.
How did he manage to look so sexy by simply lying on a bed?
“Pajamas. Those are cute,” he said.
“Thanks,” Delta replied, knowing full well he was making fun of her. She climbed under the covers.
“I don’t remember you wearing pajamas before.”
“It’s been a long time since we’ve slept in the same bed,” she reminded him. “Besides, the pajamas are a good idea. One of us needs to wear clothes.”
“I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this. You never had any problem being naked in bed after we made love.”
“That was different.”
Delta lay flat on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She had a feeling she’d have a hard time falling asleep.
“Are you ready for the birthday event at the Brockwells?” Ignacio asked.
“Almost. I have a couple of interviews tomorrow, and then I’ll spend the rest of the day practicing. By the way, we should probably post pictures of each other on our Instagram profiles.”
“I’m way ahead of you. My publicist has a few posts scheduled already. One of them is the photo Crystal took of the two of us eating in the kitchen. The other gives a partial view of the backyard.”
“Perfect. I was thinking about posting pictures of the house too. I might use one or two of the kitchen… maybe with a plate of fruit on the island and Home Sweet Home as the caption. I don’t know. I’m never really good at those manufactured images. My social media manager will probably come up with something better.”
“Sounds good to me.”
It was strange talking in such clinical terms about how they planned to generate excitement from their followers.
They were both silent for a few minutes, and in the silence, Delta kept thinking about Ignacio being nude under the covers. The idea of him fully unclothed turned her on, and the fact that she wasn’t immune to him annoyed her.
She twisted her head in his direction. “Are you really naked under there?”
Ignacio shifted so he was also looking at her. “What’s the problem? I told you before that I still sleep naked.”
“There’s no problem. I was just wondering about your ass being in the sheets. That’s definitely your side of the bed from now on.”
“You should free yourself from the confines of clothes and let your ass be in the sheets too.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
His voice lowered with a hint of amusement. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were worried.”
“About what?” Delta demanded.
“Worried you might be tempted to come over here and molest me in the middle of the night.”
She laughed airily. “You wish . If anybody has to be worried, it’s me, considering you keep bringing up the possibility of us hooking up—which we won’t.”
“Six months is a long time,” he said.
“According to you, you’ve gone without for months, so abstinence isn’t a problem. But you know what? I don’t believe you. I think I need to be concerned that you’ll molest me in the middle of the night. Matter of fact…”
She sat up and placed two of her pillows end to end between them and plopped back down on the bed. Her head was lower, but she was too lazy to leave the bed to get more pillows from the hall closet.
Ignacio rolled onto his elbow and faced her. She tensed, eying him with distrust.
“Oh no, a wall of pillows!” he exclaimed in a mocking voice. “I’ll never be able to get past this impenetrable fortress you created. Dammit.” He shook his fist in mock anger and then dropped a heavy hand on one of the pillows.
The soft barrier seemed ridiculous now—a lame attempt to maintain distance when every nerve in her body was acutely aware of his presence. He could still make her… feel things.
Delta took a moment to glare at him and then rolled onto her side, tucking the duvet tightly under her arm. “You should have your agent try to get you more comedic roles. You’re so funny—at least you think you are.”
She lay on her side for a few minutes, but all she could think about was his tight body without a stitch of clothing in the bed with her. If she reached back, she would touch his?—
She closed her eyes and fought the urge to push back against him, a move she used to make when she wanted to have sex. Then he’d place a hand on her hip and start kissing her neck, slowly sliding his hand higher until he cupped her breast and pinched her nipple between his fingertips. He would tease her until she was silently begging by grinding her ass against him, desperate for some part of him to be inside her—his finger, his tongue, his hard dick. Didn’t matter, as far as she was concerned.
Delta drew a deep breath and moved restlessly. She pushed up on her elbow and punched the pillow, then plopped her head down again, releasing a frustrated breath.
“Are you okay over there?” Ignacio asked.
“I’m fine,” she said grumpily.
“All your moving around is making it difficult for me to fall asleep.”
“You could always go to one of the guest rooms,” Delta said with saccharine sweetness.
Ignacio didn’t respond. He didn’t move, but she could sense him watching her. She knew he was. The back of her neck became warm, and her body slowly tightened under the weight of his stare.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the mattress shifted as he rolled away.
“Good night, mi amor .”
This was the first time he had used the endearment since she had shown up at his place in California. The mocking tone had been removed from the words, and his voice sounded warmer—almost like an invitation. As if he were trying to seduce her.
But that was her imagination… wasn’t it? Ignacio was having a good time teasing and harassing her.
He didn’t really want her… did he?