Proof Of Their One Hot Night by Emmy Grayson

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A LIGHTAWAKENED ALEJANDRO. He opened his eyes to see the trumpet flowers on the balcony glowing as the setting sun lit them from behind. A quick glance confirmed the bed was empty. Concerned, he threw back the covers, tugged on his discarded pants and padded over to the glass doors, his heartbeat slowing as he spied Calandra on the cream-colored divan on the balcony.

Long legs, bare and sleek. That incredible body wrapped in a lavender bathrobe, the top parted just enough to hint at her stunning breasts. Her face, smooth and serene, eyelashes dark against her skin, eyes closed.

Sexy, yes. Sensual. Beautiful. But it wasn’t just her beauty that drew him in. It was her strength, the gentle nature she hid from all but the privileged few who got to see her commitment and loyalty.

When they’d gazed at the abbey, standing almost in the exact spot he remembered first viewing those ancient walls with his mother, a sense of rightness had settled over him. Just as Calandra had envisioned taking their child to the top of the Eiffel Tower, he saw himself standing with his son or daughter in the midst of the lavender, their tiny hand engulfed in his grasp.

That vision had included Calandra by his side. Where she was meant to be.

So he’d done what he’d been pushing her to do all week—he’d opened up. Told her everything. Either she could accept him, all of him, or she couldn’t.

Yes, she’d initiated sex. She’d responded with even more wild abandon, more passion than he had ever dreamed of.

But for the first time, sex wasn’t enough. He needed her to trust him, to believe him capable of managing whatever life they were going to forge together as much as she believed in his ability to make La Reina a success.

He distracted himself from his tumultuous thoughts by tugging his phone out of his pocket and checking his email. An update that one of the new ships was on track to be completed next month, pending a final inspection. Another about how the news of the impending new ship had spread and seventy-two percent of their cargo space had been booked in the past twenty-four hours alone, with more calls coming in.

All excellent news. More positives he could bring to the meeting and the vote on Saturday. Already he’d received emails congratulating him from three of the seven board members. Just one more on his side and he’d be clear.

So why could he not focus? Why, when everything he wanted was within reach, was he so distracted?

Distracted by the woman out on the balcony who had worked her way into his heart long ago and he was only just now realizing it? He’d been falling for her for years. It had taken a night of incredible, mind-blowing, soul-searing sex and an unexpected child to make him realize that how he felt about her went far deeper than casual attraction.

Yet still she held back.

Calandra opened her eyes, not seeing him in the shadows beyond the door. She stood and slowly moved to the edge of the balcony, her back to him. Drawn like a moth to a flame, he stood and walked out onto the balcony, his eyes fixed on her. Her shoulders tensed with every step he took.

She didn’t look back at him, just kept her eyes trained on the lavender fields laid out below them. The setting sun bathed the fields in a golden light that made the flowers glow like violet fire.

One of the most romantic places he’d ever been. His hand started to come up, to slide around Calandra’s waist and pull her against him, savor the warmth of her body. A natural reaction to being in such a relaxed setting with an attractive woman by his side.

The urge to press a kiss to her hair, to slide his hand around and let it rest over the gentle swell of her stomach, was unnatural.

Without Alejandro Cabrera, international playboy extraordinaire, he didn’t know who to be. But every time he thought about Calandra, not as an employee or business partner, but as a woman, as the mother of his child, he saw whom he wanted to become.

Calandra closed her eyes and leaned back into Alejandro’s embrace. She forced herself to breathe as she felt the warmth of his body kiss her skin.

“I remember as a child I was afraid of heights.” She let her hands settle over his and opened her eyes, savoring the incredible landscape before her. “I’m so glad I overcame that.”

“I won’t let you fall.”

Too late. I’ve already fallen.

His words made her want to melt. For years, she’d been the one to keep Johanna safe. Aunt Norine had been a wonderful guardian, but her age, coupled with her health, had made Calandra the one who ensured Johanna got off to school in the morning, who helped with cleaning and other chores around the house. She’d been in charge ever since she was seven and Mother had stopped getting out of bed. It had gotten lonely, leading all the time. But she’d gotten used to it.

Until now. Until now when this man cradled her in his arms like she was the most delicate of treasures. When the slightest touch seared her skin.

When he’d opened his heart to her.

“I told you that my father was larger than life. He also had a proclivity for living to the fullest. At least that’s how he’d termed it.”

Words she’d never thought she’d express bubbled up inside her, threatened to suffocate her as they piled up in her throat. She’d kept everything inside for so long. People had labeled her stuck-up and bitchy when she kept her distance. Gradually, she came to think of herself as such. Cold, calculating, unsympathetic. Once in a while she experienced a flash of emotion. But she kept to herself because she didn’t know how to handle them, how to be anything but detached. Detached was safe. Detached was bulletproof.

Detached was lonely. And the more time she spent around Alejandro, the more she suspected she had done herself a great disservice living so distantly from other human beings.

As if he sensed the dark place she’d slipped into, he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Strength.He gave her strength.

“I don’t know when my mother found out he was cheating. I do know that around the time I turned seven, she started to fade. Didn’t come down as often to meals, didn’t go out on family drives. My father also started spending more and more time away. I would get up in the morning, bring tea to my mother and beg her to drink something. She eventually would, but I usually had to cry to get her to.” She blinked hard. “I remember the first magazine one of the girls brought in. A photo of Dad getting out of a car in Bora Bora, a young lady in the front seat with him, his secretary. He had his hand up, like he was trying to cover up the camera lens.”

She could still see the woman in her mind’s eyes, the tiny red dress, the sky-high heels.

“I was upset. I wanted to be comforted, to have my mother tell me that our family was still okay. So I took the magazine to her. She said she’d asked my father about it, too, that he’d insisted it was a business trip. But over time there were more photos. I stopped bringing the magazines to her, because every time I did, she got weaker.”

She gripped his hands, soaked up the warmth of his skin, as her voice grew thick. “When I was nine, Johanna was born. I don’t know what happened between Mom and Dad, but just before and for about six months after, they were happy again.” Amazing how clearly she could remember sitting on Dad’s lap, smell his spicy aftershave as he helped her hold baby Johanna wrapped in a soft pink blanket. Mom had looked on from her bed, a rosy glow in her cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes.

“It didn’t last. Nothing did with Dad. Around the time Johanna turned one, he started going out again. Filled his absences with toys for Johanna and me, gifts for Mom. Every time one of those gift boxes arrived, she faded a little more. One night I heard Johanna screaming.” Her throat constricted so tightly she nearly choked. “I found her in her bassinet, wet and cold. No blanket. Mom had started taking sleeping pills. She slept right through it.”

Alejandro’s arms tightened around her waist.

“So I started taking care of Johanna. And Mom.”

“What about servants?”

It was almost a shock, hearing Alejandro’s voice after she’d been speaking so long.

“We had maids and a housekeeper. A cook during the week. But I was ashamed. Ashamed of my father for abandoning us. Ashamed of my mother for abandoning us, too, in her own way. So I did what I could by myself.”

She closed her eyes. Exhaustion and memories tugged at her, made her weary.

“I remember the last night I had with her. I was twelve. Johanna was three. I took her to Mom’s room for a visit and Mom was...happy.” Her eyes grew hot and she scrunched her eyes tight against the tears. “I was so...hopeful. She was dressed in this beautiful gown she hadn’t worn in years. She’d had the cook bring up treats. There were chocolates and strawberries and ice cream, and she even let me have a sip of champagne.” A tear escaped and traced a burning trail down her cheek. “She...she told me she was so proud of me. Her big girl.”

Somewhere in the distance, a bird tweeted. She opened her eyes. The sight of the French countryside lit by the warm glow of the sun calmed her racing pulse, tethered her to this moment enough for her to force out her next words.

“We put Johanna to bed together. She tucked me in and kissed my forehead. I thought we would finally go back to the way things were. That I would get to be a kid again. I went to bed happy.”

Her voice cracked. Alejandro started to say something, but she plowed forward. “I found her the next morning. She’d overdosed on sleeping pills.”

“Calandra...”

He turned her in the circle of his arms and cupped her face. She met his eyes, sucking in one shuddering breath after another.

“She said in her note...that she couldn’t go on...any longer.” All the emotions she’d suppressed, all the grief she’d stuffed down deep inside, rose up at once, a tidal wave of sorrow that threatened to drown her. “I confronted Dad...after the funeral. He cared more about his reputation and whether anyone knew that she’d killed herself than the fact that his wife had committed suicide because of him. And then a week later...he died. In a car accident with his mistress.”

She broke. Years of restrained sobs escaped. Had Alejandro not been holding her, cradling her, she would have sunk to the floor of the balcony.

He scooped her up in his arms, carried her inside and laid her on the bed. She started to reach for him, to ask him to stay, but before she could, he laid down next to her and drew her back into his embrace. How long she cried, she couldn’t say. Alejandro stayed by her side the entire time, stroking her hair, kissing her forehead, whispering words in Spanish she didn’t understand but still took comfort in.

At last, her tears dried. When she looked into Alejandro’s eyes, saw the emotion brimming his dark blue gaze, she couldn’t stop herself from kissing him. He paused, as if waiting to see if this was just a reaction to unburdening herself or if she truly wanted him.

She smiled against his mouth. Then sat up, rolled and straddled his hips.

His eyes flared. “Calandra...”

She leaned down and pressed her lips to his again. She nipped his bottom lip, thrilled at the groan that escaped him as his hands gripped her thighs. With one tug, she loosened the belt of the robe and shrugged out of the sleeves. Seeing his gaze darken with passion as he gazed at her naked body made her feel beautiful, sexy...

Strong.

She reached down, grabbed his hands in hers and guided them to her breasts. His fingers settled on her flesh, sliding down to stroke her nipples into hard points. She gasped, arched, moaned.

“Alejandro...make love to me.”

Before she could take a breath, he sat up, one arm circling around her waist, and laid her back onto the bed with a strength that stole her breath. He stripped himself of his clothes in record time and laid his naked body on top of hers. He kissed her as he slid inside her, claiming her body with his.

They moved together, their pace almost frantic as they arched against each other, hands grasping, lips tasting, fire building until they came apart in each other’s arms.

As they drifted down from the peak of pleasure, three words rose to her lips. She almost whispered them.

Wait.

Just a little longer. A little more time to think, to process.

Her eyes fluttered shut as he pulled the sheet up over them and she snuggled into his embrace.

“Calandra...”

“Hmm?”

Silence. Then another soft kiss on her temple. “Nothing. Go to sleep.”

Something in his tone filtered through, a hesitancy that sent off a distant warning bell. But the satisfaction from their lovemaking, coupled with the events of the day, silenced it, and she drifted off to sleep.