Chapter Twenty-Nine Octavia
Twenty-Nine
Octavia
There was knocking in the distance.
I groaned as I rolled over on the bed, only to bump into a large, warm body. I blinked through bleary vision, and when it cleared up, I saw Javier lying next to me, eyes shut and mouth slightly ajar.
I took a look around, realizing I was in his room of the penthouse suite—and in his bed.
The knocking started up again, louder this time.
“Shit.” I rolled over, scrambling for my phone on the nightstand. It was seven thirty in the morning. Who the hell was knocking this early on a Saturday?
I climbed out of bed—completely naked, might I add—but not before hissing Javier’s name.
He groaned, and instead of waking up, he turned onto his side and burrowed himself deeper beneath the comforter.
“I swear you sleep like a bear,” I muttered. I hurried through the hallway and searched for the pajamas I’d worn last night. I found the cupcake-print shorts first. My shirt was behind the sofa.
The knocking resumed, this time with a voice on the other end. “Hijo, it’s me! Open the door,” Paola called.
Oh, double shit. His mother was on the other side of the damn door, and here I was standing naked in the living room. I hastily slipped into my shorts.
“Tava?” I whipped my head up to see Aleesa now standing in the living room. “Ewww!” she squealed. “You naked!”
It didn’t help that she had a fit of giggles afterward. Good thing she was young. She’d never remember seeing her nanny naked . . . I hoped.
I slipped into my shirt as Aleesa wandered toward one of the floor-to-ceiling windows to stare at the skyline. Then I hurried to the bathroom to grab a robe and thrust an arm into each sleeve.
“Coming, Paola!” I had no time to tie my robe as I rushed to the door and unlocked it.
When I opened it, Paola narrowed her eyes. Then she scanned me, taking in the robe hanging off my shoulder as well as a bit of rumpled pajamas beneath it. I bet my locs were a hot mess because I fell asleep without my bonnet.
Javier and I had several more tequila shots and read for a bit more, then we took a break to talk about random things, like his last season of basketball and how he wanted to build a garden so Aleesa could learn how to grow her own food.
After that, all I remember was his large body on me again and his tongue sweeping through my mouth. How had we even made it to the bedroom?
With Paola was Catalina, who stood a step or so behind her mother, with her phone in hand and a pair of cat-eye Versace sunglasses on. She looked at me over the sunglasses, then suppressed a laugh as she slipped her phone into her back pocket.
Paola frowned at me, clearing her throat. “Buenos días, Octavia.” She greeted me with a cold, hard, cheerless voice. “Where is my son?”
“He’s still sleeping,” I answered, pulling up the robe to cover my shoulder, then self-consciously folding my arms over my chest.
“Well, he should wake up soon. We are just stopping by to let you all know we ordered room service for everyone to enjoy a nice breakfast.” Her eyes flicked up and down again. “Javier said he wanted to view the billboard at nine, right?”
“Yes, I think so.” I tried racking my brain for the answer. My mind was still stuck on last night . . . on her son’s you-know-what inside my you-know-what.
“Well, we’d better get a jump on it to beat traffic.” It was Catalina’s turn to speak. Paola was still frowning at me.
Aleesa padded across the room and pushed by me to get to her grandmother.
“Ay, mi nina!” Paola scooped Aleesa up and hugged her tight, making sure their cheeks smushed together. Fortunately, that frown of Paola’s had disappeared. “You hungry? Hmm?”
“Sí,” Aleesa said with a giggle.
“Sí, I bet you are. Come with abuela. I’ll get you fed.” Paola swung her eyes to me, looking me up and down once again. This time, I swear she was looking at me with pure disdain. “Wake my son for me, yes?”
I nodded. “Will do.”
Catalina and I watched them go until they reached the door of the next penthouse suite. As soon as Paola opened that door and went inside, Catalina put her focus on me again.
“Long night?” She wore an amused smile.
I tried reading her eyes, but with those sunglasses on, she was unreadable. Hey, at least she wasn’t glaring at me to death like her mom.
“Sort of,” I answered.
“I bet.” She snickered before turning on her heels. “Come over for breakfast when you’re ready. And tell my bonehead brother to get up.”
Yeah. They definitely suspected something about us.
After a shower, I gathered my hair into an updo, then got dressed in a gray jumper and Nike Dunks. When I left the bedroom I was supposed to share with Aleesa and carried myself into the living room, Javier was there.
He stood in the kitchen with a mug of coffee in hand .
. . and no shirt. Just boxers. God, this man was impeccable.
Those six abs, that tan skin, the natural V-cut just below his abdomen.
Those long, thick black lashes as he looked under them to find me.
He had bed hair . . . and I had never felt so attracted to a sleepy human.
“You are staring,” he said before taking a sip of coffee.
I shifted on my feet. “Kinda hard not to when you look like that.”
He fought a smile. “Like what?”
“Like an Argentinean snack. I mean, really. God wasn’t messing around when he made you. Just gave you all the green flags.”
He laughed, setting his mug down on the countertop. “You flatter me, Octavia. You really do.” He walked across the room to approach me. “Where’s Leesa?”
“With your mom. They stopped by a little bit ago. She said she ordered breakfast from room service for everyone.”
“Oh, she ordered it, huh? Is she also paying for it?”
I laughed as he placed a hand on my waist. “Doubt it.”
“I doubt it too. That woman loves spending my money.”
“Hey, listen . . . I think your mom and sister might know about us.” I tucked a loc behind my ear. “Like, they probably suspected something before, but now I think they know.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
“Well, your mom gave me a look when she stopped by. Kind of like she was annoyed with me. I was still in my pajamas, and I think she’s putting two and two together. And Catalina was laughing like there was some kind of inside joke happening.”
“Okay.” He seemed confused by my confession. “Did they say anything about it?”
“No, but what if they start hating me or something? They seem really protective of you and Aleesa.”
“They can be,” he said, “especially my mother. But I am a grown man who can make his own choices. Trust me, they know not to overstep.”
“So, you’re basically saying they will end up hating me.” I rolled my eyes. Men truly did not understand how women operated. “Got it.”
“No. I am saying do not worry too much about it. When I am ready to tell them about you, they will respect it. In the meantime, let them think whatever the hell they want.”
“That’s a whole lot easier said than done, Valdez.”
“Fine. I will talk to them. Okay?”
I smiled. “Okay. Thank you.” I checked my watch for the time. “Well, I’m going to head over to that lioness’s den. You should get ready. Catalina said we should leave soon if we want to beat traffic to get to the billboard.”
“Right.” His attention traveled past me, focused on the skyline. “The billboard.”
“That isn’t a very excited response.”
“No, no. I am excited. I just am not looking forward to the crowds. But I want pictures so that Aleesa can be reminded of these moments.”
“It’ll be fine.” I pressed up on my toes to kiss his cheek. “Now wash your ass and come eat. Don’t leave me in there to drown.”
“What if what I want to eat is right in front of me?” He placed both hands on my waist, then twisted us around. When he lifted me up and placed my butt on the countertop, I yelped.
“Javier, did you not have enough last night?” I laughed.
“Have enough? Of you?” He kissed the bend of my neck, then the area just below my collarbone. “That could never be possible.”
“No?”
“No. I will always want more. I am insatiable when it comes to you.”
It was dumb of me to think, but I wondered if he’d said the same thing or something similar to his wife. Surely, he’d felt the same way about her.
Nope. Remember what Davina said. Don’t compare yourself.
Shoving the thought aside as best I could, I cradled his face in my hands and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
“We’ll have plenty of time later.”
He wasn’t done, though. Before I could wriggle away from him, he caught my mouth again, kissing me so deeply that I wanted to say Fuck it, rip my clothes off, and let him have every inch of me.
Who cared if his family was waiting? Who cared if his mom got mad? They could wait ten minutes longer.
Javier Valdez was the kind of man that could make any woman melt if he truly wanted her. His dominance, his accent, his body . . . it was all an addictive cocktail. One that I was becoming more and more thirsty for by the day.
By some miracle, we decided to behave.
He helped me off the counter. “Go,” he said, lowering a caress to my butt before spanking it. “Before you end up needing another shower.”
I bit back a smile as he gave my butt another squeeze.
Seriously. Don’t ask me how I managed to leave that penthouse intact.