Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

After seven hours of lounging like a cat and exploring her passion, napping, lunching and watching the original Clash of the Titans, Henna unwillingly pulled herself from Eduardo's arms and stepped into the shower. She was in Bermuda for her sister's impromptu wedding. Not to spend her days in bed with Eduardo, taking the occasional sustenance and sleep breaks. That meant showing up for the cocktail reception starting in an hour.

As much as she wanted to lock the world on the other side of the door, she couldn't. That she'd spent the afternoon and the previous night wrapped in a cloud of euphoria with the father of the groom was between them. No one needed to know about their very private world.

Eduardo stepped into the shower behind her and began running his hands over her back. “How do you feel?”

“Honestly, a bit sore,” she said as the water fell on them like rain. “I don't think I've ever had an afternoon like this one.”

“That is a crime.” His fingers continued to work the muscles of her back. “Do you want me to come to your room tonight?”

“Yes.” Pretense had been abandoned hours earlier, and the only thing that left was honesty. “I would like that very much. But we do need to be discreet.”

“Of course,” he said. “You are not the only one surrounded by family. Although my wife has been gone for some time now, I try to be as respectful as I can to her family. They would not look fondly on my becoming intimate so quickly with another woman.”

“And what do you think?”

“About?”

“That we became intimate so quickly.”

“We were meant to be lovers,” he said. “It was destiny. Did you not feel drawn to me as I was drawn to you?”

“I did. But I just thought that was, umm…” She tried to think of a way Eduardo would say just being horny. “Passion,” she said with a nod.

“It was passion.” He turned off the water and reached for a towel. “It was also destiny.” He slipped a towel around her back and pulled her against him. His wet skin slid against hers as he wrapped them together. She lifted her mouth to his, and her arms encircled his neck as she rose to her tippy-toes.

Firm, moist lips grew demanding, and his tongue teased her mouth open. Eduardo moaned, and she responded with a deep, throaty groan. Suddenly, he broke the kiss, his breath still caressing her lips. His embrace loosened, and once more, her bare feet touched the cold floor.

“We have little time,” he said. “But much desire. It has been a long time since I have had a lover as beautiful, willing, and energetic as you.”

She looked down at his erection. His long, thick cock jutted from a tangled nest of coarse dark pubic hair. Her fingers wrapped around it. His engorged shaft felt like velvet over steel in the palm of her hand. Slippery, wet pre-cum passed slowly from the tip and covered her fingertips as she stroked him. “I don't care if we're late. Do you?”

“No.” He threaded his hand behind her neck and pulled her mouth to his. “Don't let me stop you.”

Henna dropped to her knees and slid his cock into her mouth. He tasted good, and she wanted to give back the delicious sensations he had given her. Her fingers cupped his heavy scrotum as her lips and tongue sucked and licked. She slathered her tongue along the vein that protruded down the length of his shaft, and his fingers wound through her damp hair. As her mouth continued to work him, his cock grew in her mouth until she could barely hold it.

Without warning, he groaned and spurted cum in her mouth. Henna swallowed the salty fluid down her throat, sucking until his thumb stroked her cheek and he pulled out of her mouth. He lifted her to her feet and cupped her head with his hands, giving her no choice but to look at him.

His lips landed on hers, and his tongue ran circles around her mouth, tasting his cum. “That was perfect,” he sighed then released her.

“Not too much?” she asked running a hand over his bare ass.

“No. Not at all.” He reached for a towel and began to dry his hair. “In fact, I like that you are not shy with me.”

“I'm not shy,” she said. “You're good for me. You make me slow down and let me just enjoy being made love to.” Henna toweled off her hair as she watched Eduardo dry off. “I think I've never really let go before and just let it happen.”

“Then our meeting was destiny.” He kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the bathroom. She followed, wrapping a towel around her body. As she moisturized, she watched him dress.

“I like being with you,” she said. “Normally, it would take me weeks before I'd admit that, but it's like we're in this alternate reality and the rules have all changed.”

“Perhaps the rules haven't changed,” Eduardo said as he buckled his belt. “Perhaps you have changed. Maybe what you needed was to be shaken out of your complacency.”

“I think you're right.”

“Always tell me what you're thinking. Never be afraid of the consequences of being honest with me.” He kissed her, his lips warm and firm against hers. “I'm going to my room to change for the evening. I am taking your second key so I can let myself in later.”

Again, she felt a momentary bit of shock at his presumption, then let it go. No one else could compete with Eduardo for her attention that evening. Why be alone if Eduardo wanted to be with her? “Okay.”

“I will see you at the party.” His finger lifted her chin, and his lips pressed against hers again. Her hand lighted on his chest then slid up around his neck. Her lips and mouth encouraged him not to go. As he pulled away, a sigh of discontent escaped her.

He took her hand from his neck and kissed her fingers. “You're like a siren, calling me to the sea. I cannot resist you, but I must. Tonight will be better than today.” He kissed her fingers again, then released them as he walked from the room.

Henna sighed. “Oh my.”. She shook off the cloud of euphoria that threatened to take over her common sense. It wasn't going anywhere.

After fixing her face and sweeping her hair up in a romantic mess of curls, she went searching through her clothing options. As she looked at her choice of distressingly utilitarian clothes for something that matched the sexy feel her body wanted to keep, she turned her attention to her limited wardrobe. Too much cotton and far too many sensible separates left her with limited options.

What she had was the gold dress she'd bought for the wedding. Maybe a bit too dressy, but then again, maybe not. She had a feeling Eduardo would appreciate her in a dress that reflected how she felt. For Eduardo, but more for herself, she wanted to grab hold of that feeling of exuberance and sexuality that raced through her body.

Nothing in her closet reflected how she felt on the inside so well as the gold dress. She pulled the dress from the closet and held it to her body in front of the mirror. With a tilt to her head and a smile, she decided.

“I will make time to shop tomorrow,” she promised herself.

After putting on the underwear she'd bought to go with the dress, she slipped into it and zipped it up the side. When her silver shoes were strapped into place, she gave herself a look in the mirror.

“You look fantastic. You feel fantastic. Life is fantastic.”

The door to the room opened, and Eduardo entered. He wore a black suit with a stark white shirt left open at the collar.

“Hey handsome,” she said. “Don't you look delicious.” The words came out of her mouth, but she had no idea who was saying them. Not once in her life had she ever complimented a man so boldly.

“Henna.” He scanned her from head to toe. “You are so perfect it makes me want to cry.”

Best compliment ever.

“You are a vision in gold.” He walked up to her and kissed her shoulder. “I wish I had something gold to give you to wear tonight that rivaled your loveliness. But I don't. So I promise you,” he lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles, “I will not forget how divine you are at this moment the next time I am near somewhere that sells appropriately expensive jewelry.”

She trembled girlishly at his compliment. “Okay.” She giggled. “I mean…thank you.” She stood a little taller and a bit more confident. “I thought it might be too much, but if you like it, then that's all that really matters.” She took her hand from his and smoothed her hands across the lapels of his jacket.

“What do you mean too much? You're perfect. What else would you wear for cocktails?”

“I don't know.” Of course she knew. She had a black silk wrap dress in the closet that was her go-to dress when she had no idea what to wear. That dress had been on the schedule for the cocktail party. “Should we go?”

He placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her out of the room and to the elevator. Her mother and Aunt Midge were already waiting at the closed doors when they arrived.

“Ladies,” Eduardo said. “You're lovely.”

“Stop it,” Aunt Midge trilled like a coquette. “You're wearing your dress for the wedding.”

“I can go shopping tomorrow,” she said. “It just felt right for the mood I'm in.”

“You look gorgeous,” Aunt Midge told her. “Like a movie star.”

“Why thank you!” She leaned in and gave her aunt a kiss on the cheek. “I feel like a movie star.”

“Don't you think it's a bit much?” her mother asked.

“Nonsense,” Aunt Midge said. “Flaunt it while you got it, kid. What do you think, Eduardo? Henna looks fantastic, don't you think?”

“She is a vision,” he said. “I am sorry our day together has come to an end. Perhaps tomorrow, we can repeat the experience.”

The elevator doors opened, and Henna looked up at him. “I don't think I can spend the day at the aquarium again. I really do need to go shopping for a new dress.” She sincerely hoped he got the hint. She really did need to go shopping, and then there was her spa afternoon with Eden.

“We can go into Hamilton tomorrow morning,” he said. “I will take you shopping, then for lunch.”

They stepped onto the elevator. Aunt Midge gave her arm a squeeze. “Say yes,” she instructed.

“I'd love to go.”

The elevator came to a halt at the lobby. Eduardo stood back as the women exited. “Henna,” he said. “Join me. I am not ready for our day together to end just yet.”

“I...” She looked over his shoulder to where Aunt Midge gestured wildly and mouthed the word “go” over and over again. “I'd love to join you.”

She took Eduardo's arm and let him lead her into the party. The first people they greeted were his parents, Inez and Enrique. After talking with them for a while, they moved on to Pilar's family, then friends, more family, and finally to the bar.

When they had a moment of relative privacy within the crowd, she looked at him. “You are introducing me to everyone you know like I'm the best discovery you've made since you realized girls and boys were different.”

“I am.”

The bartender approached, and Eduardo ordered the martini she'd requested and the same for himself.

She smiled, not wanting to reveal to anyone around them how annoyed she felt. “Don't you think that's a bit much?”

“No. I'd like everyone to walk out of here wondering if you and I might start sleeping together. Then, when they find out we are, it won't be such a shock.”

“Two things,” she said. “One. I thought we were going to be discreet in front of our families. Two. What makes you think they're ever going to find out we're sleeping together?”

“One—” The bartender arrived, interrupting Eduardo. When the drinks had been set down, he continued. “One. I am being discreet. I am also being enamored of you. Which I am. I want my family to see that I am wholly taken with you after our day together. They don't know that we're lovers. They just think we had a marvelous time together and made a connection. This is the most natural thing in the world. Two. They'll figure it out no matter what we do. I am not going to apologize for the fact I want to be near you.”

“What am I going to do with you?”

Before he could answer the question, Fatima appeared at his other side as if she'd popped out of the floor. Henna chocked on the mouthful of martini as her heart thumped in her chest. Fatima had the look of a woman who would not be easily placated. A string of words came out of Fatima's mouth. She spoke fast, energetically, through clenched teeth, and in Spanish.

“Should I leave you two?” she asked.

Eduardo roped an arm around her back. “No.”

“Yes.” Fatima looked at her in a way that made Henna grateful the woman didn't hold a drink in her hand. She strongly suspected that Fatima wasn't above tossing martinis in people’s faces.

Eduardo edged his drink away from Fatima before picking it up. “No.” He must know something that she only suspected about Fatima.

“Yes.” Fatima stared at Henna.

“I'm going to go and check in with my family,” she said. Fatima was Eduardo's problem to solve. She walked away from the duo, going directly to where her mother and aunt sat with her brother.

“He's a dish, isn't he?” her mother said, leading them to a table. “Reow.”

Henna stared at her mother. “Mom! How much have you had to drink?” Her gaze found Eduardo who spoke with Fatima at the bar.

“We're both three Manhattans down,” Aunt Midge said. “I'm feeling no pain.”

“I may be married,” her mother said. “But I'm not blind.”

“Let me tell you honey,” Aunt Midge said. “If I were ten years younger, I'd be all over that.” Henna felt slightly ill as she tried not to envision her beloved aunt getting up to the same things she and Eduardo had done just hours earlier.

Her mother looked at her. “I was too hard on your dress. You look very pretty. You blend with the Colombians. I'm still not sold on silver shoes with a gold dress, but it works.”

“Is that actually a compliment?” she asked.

“Of course, it is,” her mother said. “That Eduardo really does seem taken with you. Just don't do anything outrageous. This is your sister's time to shine.”

Leo sat down next to her, setting a beer bottle on the table then handing over a rocks glass to both their mother and Aunt Midge. “I would love to hit that Gloria.”

“Why would you want to hit that pretty girl?” Aunt Midge demanded, smacking Leo upside the head. “What kind of a man are you?”

“Not hit her like beat her.” Leo cringed from Aunt Midge. “Hit her like....” He looked from his aunt to his mother. “Henna you explain.”

Her mother and aunt looked at her.

“He wants to make love to her,” she said, borrowing Eduardo's phrase.

“Ohh!” her mother and aunt cooed.

“Make love to her? Seriously Henna?” Leo laughed. “So you and Eduardo seem awfully chummy. How were the caves?”

She turned to stare at her brother, yet his question went unanswered. “You know you're not a bad looking guy. You're actually really cute. But seriously…you want to hit her? How about you go over to her, tell her she's beautiful—”

“She knows she's beautiful,” he said. “Telling beautiful girls they're beautiful never works.”

“It doesn't?” Aunt Midge wrinkled her nose. “What works? Telling her she's ugly?”

“You might be surprised at how well the backhanded compliment works.” Leo nodded at the three of them. “For example. Henna—”

“I can kick your ass,” she said. Not true. She hadn't been able to beat up on Leo since he'd hit puberty, but fear of her potential kept him in line.

“Henna,” Leo persisted. “Every great beauty has to have a flaw, which is why that gap in your teeth works so well for you.” He sat back in his chair and grinned. “The backhanded compliment. Aunt Midge…”

“Just stop talking.” Aunt Midge raised a warning finger. “You ever wonder why you're thirty years old and single? That's why.”

“I may be single, but I am rarely alone.” Leo nodded.

Her mother smiled. “Sweetheart,” she said. “You are my only son, and I love you with all of my heart. But the simple truth is, every girl you've ever dated has had self-esteem issues. I used to think it was because you had a big heart and took pity on them. Now I see very clearly what the problem is. Nice girls with healthy opinions of themselves would walk away from you the second you let one of your backhanded compliments fly.”

“Mom.” Leo leaned forward. “That's a bit unfair.”

“No.” Her mother touched Leo's cheek with her hand. “It's accurate.”

“Face it,” Henna said. “Every relationship you've had has been a psychosexual nightmare of neediness and betrayal. By the way, do not ever introduce me to or give my name and number to any woman you meet until you seek help for your issues.”

“Because you're one to talk,” Leo shot back. “How many men have left you because there wasn't enough room in your neurotic little life for them?”

“Children.” Her mother exhaled. “Enough. Both of you have relationship difficulties. I suggest you work on them. Just not here.”

“Assuming you are correct…” Leo spoke to Henna and ignored their mother.

“We are,” Henna said.

“Thanks,” Leo sneered. “What do you three recommend? Give me your rules of seduction.”

“Tell her she's beautiful,” her mother offered. . “Tell her that she's funny, charming, sweet, interesting—”

“Oh!” Aunt Midge yelped. “Tell her that she's a vision. Uncle Lou used to tell me I was a vision.”

“Girls like that sort of thing,” her mother said. “When your father was courting me, he used to take me dancing. You should go and ask her to dance.”

“You're serious,” Leo said, looking at them. “Should I start quoting poetry, too?”

“That's an excellent idea,” Aunt Midge said. “I know. Offer to take her for a moonlit walk. Tell her that her eyes sparkle like the stars.”

“And hold her hand,” her mother said. “But ask her first if you can hold her hand. Treat her like a lady.”

“Pretty girl like her probably has her fair share of dogs barking at her,” Aunt Midge said.

“A little charm is very effective,” Henna said. “And when the moment arrives, tell her you want to make love to her.”

Leo stared at the three of them as if they'd lost their minds. “I think I'm just going to go back to the bar.” He picked up his beer and walked away.

The three women watched as Leo approached Gloria, she spoke to him for perhaps ten seconds, then he walked back to them.

“That has to be a new record,” Midge said.

“She has a boyfriend,” Leo said.

“She didn't waste any time,” Henna said.

“Not even a second. I walked up to her, and she said—and I'm quoting here—‘I have a boyfriend. He's a prince. A real prince. Not a metaphorical prince. He's rich, adores me, knows kung-Fu, has an Olympic gold medal in fencing, and is arriving on his private jet tonight. Walk away.’”

Henna, Judith, and Midge looked at each other for a moment and started laughing, loudly.

“I like that girl!” Midge said with a thump to the table. “She told you, didn't she?”

“I wonder if he's really a prince,” her mother said. “Imagine. They know royalty.”

“I really like Gloria,” Henna said. “She's scary, but I like her.”

“Whatever,” Leo said. “There are a couple of Colombian cougars over there who have been giving me the eye. You're not the only one who has an appreciation for something a bit aged.”

Her eyes bore holes into her brother’s. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You're a smart girl, and I'm a keen observer. You figure it out.” Leo walked off in the direction of the bar and went directly to a group of women who could only be classified as cougars, with Fatima at the center. Henna looked away when she realized they were all looking at her. It had to be her imagination.

As more people arrived, she watched Eduardo move among his family and try to make inroads with hers. Eduardo and her father spent an uncomfortably long time talking together.

“I think Fatima's going jump him,” Aunt Midge said.

Fatima oozing around Eduardo since their initial heated conversation hadn't escaped Henna's watchful gaze. Where Eduardo went, Fatima followed. Except for when Eduardo moved near either his parents or Henna’s father. Then Fatima joined the group of attractive middle-aged women Leo stood at the center of. It might be possible Leo had no shame. She'd know in the morning if he let her know how his night went. Which he would do, provided he ended up with one of his cougars.

Eden and Romeo walked to their table and sat down, breaking her study of Eduardo.

“Are you having a nice time?” Romeo asked.

“You missed Gloria shooting down Leo,” she said. “Now that was funny.”

Eden laughed. “She's so far out of his league.”

“Is her boyfriend really a prince?” Aunt Midge asked.

“He is really a prince,” Romeo said. “But he is also like family. His sister, Esperanza, is my father's god-daughter.”

“And Romeo’s ex-girlfriend,” Eden added.

“And now she is my friend,” Romeo said with his grandmother's gift for diplomacy. “We are all very close. He will be arriving soon. I will introduce you. You will be surprised at how normal he is.”

“I've never met a real prince,” Aunt Midge said. “You have a very interesting family. Your grandmother is just a doll. I like her a lot. I was spunky when I was young, too. We have a lot in common the two of us.”

“I love my grandmother very much,” Romeo said. He turned to Henna. “Did you enjoy your day with my father? He is clearly very taken with you. I hoped our families would blend well together.”

“Fine,” she said. “It was fine. Fantastic. The aquarium was founded in 1926 and is one of the oldest in the world. There are more than 200 species of fish and the tank holds 140,000 gallons of water.” The brochures came in handy.

Everyone stared at her.

Eden tilted her head in wonder. “Did it ever occur to you to go sightseeing just to enjoy the sights? Seriously, Henna, you really need to loosen the grip just a little. Next time you go to an aquarium, just look at the fish.”

She nodded. “Right. Next time I spend the afternoon at the aquarium, I'm just going to look at the fish.”

“But you had a good time?” Romeo asked.

“Yes. Absolutely. Your father is the perfect gentleman. Very charming.”

Aunt Midge nodded to where Gloria, Eduardo, and Fatima stood. “Is Fatima his girlfriend or no? Because your sister didn't seem too happy with her this morning at brunch. Later, when I was having my nails done with Inez in the salon, I ran into Fatima and she told me they were an item. But I get the feeling Fatima might be misreading the situation. You can just tell me to MYOB, but I'm a nosey old woman.”

“MYOB,” Eden said for Romeo. “Honestly. If the man wants to move on with his life, I really don't think Gloria threatening his girlfriend is productive.”

Her ears twitched like a dogs. “Threatened his girlfriend? How and in what way?”

“Don't get me wrong,” Eden said. “I love Gloria. But she is a bit psycho when it comes to Eduardo dating.”

“Not everyone,” Romeo said.

“Who else has your father dated?” Eden asked Romeo.

“You have a point,” Romeo said. “Only Fatima so far. But you are single, aren't you?” He smiles at Henna. “I am biased, but I will tell you that my father is a man with much to offer.”

Aunt Midge claps her hands together. “You're a matchmaker like me! I agree. They look good together.”

“Nope. Wouldn't work out.” Eden flicked a wrist. “Forget it. Might not just be Fatima Gloria has a problem with. We'll know if he starts dating anyone else, and Gloria takes a shotgun after them.”

“What? What do you mean takes a shotgun after them? Explain now.”

“She shot the windows out of Fatima's swanky SUV when she came home from Portugal and found them together.”

“Really?” Henna looked at Gloria who embraced a young man with black hair in an equally black suit that fit him like he had a fine athlete's body under the fabric. He had to be her boyfriend. Had to be. He looked like a wealthy fencing prince who knew kung-Fu. Leo never stood a chance. No man, possibly with the exception of Eduardo, could compare to that.

Aunt Midge gasped. “Was anybody hurt?”

“No,” Eden said. “But I'm just going to say it was a really interesting way for me to meet the Salazars.”

“You were there during all of this?” Her mother, mouth open and eyes wide, stared at her baby.

“We showed up just after Eduardo disarmed Gloria.”

Romeo held up a hand. “In my sister's defense, Fatima wasn't in the car at the time.”

“But she was in your father's car, trying to make her getaway when Gloria slashed the tires with a machete.”

“A machete?”

“It was a small machete,” Romeo said. “Nobody was hurt. You have to understand, we Colombians are passionate people.”

“No kidding,” Aunt Midge said.

“Speaking of Fatima,” Eden said. “Has anyone told you about her and Don Juan Esperanza?”

“No,” Henna said along with her mother and Aunt Midge.

“No,” Romeo said firmly. “Please no. I cannot hear the story of Fatima and Don Juan Esperanza again.”

Eden gave Romeo's hand a squeeze. “Okay,” she said. “I'll tell them tomorrow at the spa.”

“You'll excuse us,” Romeo said. “Hector, Gloria's boyfriend and my best man, has arrived. I would like to greet him.”

“Prince Hector?” her mother asked.

“Yes,” Romeo said. “But for us, he is just Hector.”

The two left them and joined Gloria and Hector who were in the middle of a reunion that involved a great deal of kissing, touching, and reaffirming the other truly existed and was present.

“Seriously,” Aunt Midge said. “Am I the only one that thinks that Prince Hector glows a little bit?”

“They are certainly an attractive couple,” Judith said. “Do you think we'll get invited to the wedding?”

Henna looked at her mother. “Whose wedding?”

“Prince Hector and Gloria. It's obvious that's the direction they're going. I wonder if I'd need a hat. You know, like women wore when William and Kate got married. I assume a prince would have a proper wedding and not just run off and get married on a whim, breaking his mother's heart and not giving her an opportunity to buy a hat.”

“Oh, I wonder!” Midge cooed. “I don't think people have enough opportunities to wear hats. Do you remember...”

Henna tuned her mother and her aunt out as she first watched Gloria, Hector, Romeo, and Eden converse with warm and friendly smiles and gestures. Then her attention turned to the dance floor, which was packed with salsa dancing Colombians. She had to give the Colombians credit. They knew how to have a good time. More than the Colombians needing some kudos, her father deserved a big one for getting out there and giving it a try.

As she looked around the room, two people were missing. Eduardo and Fatima were not to be seen. Her eyes swept back and forth until they spotted Eduardo returning to the party from wherever he'd been.

He walked over to their table and sat down. “Ladies. Are you having a fine time?” His smile was bright, but his eyes were burning.

“Wonderful,” her mother said. “You?”

“I am having a wonderful evening,” Eduardo said. “I have yet to ask my new friend Henna to dance.”

“I'm not much of a dancer,” she said. “Ask my mother or my aunt. They'll tell you.”

“Don't be such a stick in the mud,” her mother said. “What's the worst that can happen?”

“Go on,” Midge told her. “Don't be such a chicken.”

“Thanks.”

He offered her a hand which she accepted. “I'm really not much of a dancer,” she insisted. They approached the crowded dance floor, and she backed off. “I really can't dance. Maybe we could go for a walk, instead, and you can tell me where you disappeared with Fatima.”

“You noticed I was gone?”

“Yes. I do not trust that woman around you.”

“Probably wise. She did try to seduce me.”

“What?”

“You heard me. But here I am with you, telling you that she tried to seduce me. What does that tell you?”

“That either you have no discretion or you're pretty drunk.”

“Or I have no fear of being honest with you.” They stopped at the edge of the dance floor. “And I'm pretty drunk.”

“I really can't dance.”

“You can dance,” he said. “You just don't know it yet.”

“But you do?”

“Yes. I've experienced firsthand how your hips can move.”

“You did not just say that.”

“But I did.”

He gave her a nudge, and they walked onto the crowded dance floor as the band played a spicy salsa tune. Eduardo wrapped his arms around her as if he were giving her a hug, then took a step back. He placed her left hand on his right shoulder and loosely held her right hand in his left. He moved her around the floor, and she tried not to trip over his feet.

“Henna,” he whispered. “You must let me lead. Surrender to me as if I were making love to you, and let me move you. Give up that control you love so much and just let it happen.”

“I'll try.”

“Breathe deeply. Exhale and relax.”

She did as he instructed and allowed her body to be maneuvered. His hand on her back steered her around the floor.

“You're very good at this,” she said, getting into the rhythm and permitting herself to let go and have a good time.

“I like to dance,” he said. “You're getting it.” He smiled at her as he walked her into a spin.

After an hour of monopolizing Eduardo on the dance floor, she insisted they get some air. He walked her from the dance floor and out on to the terrace.

“That was so much fun,” she said.

“That was fun.” He kissed her cheek. There were people gathered nearby in their own groups, she didn't care. “Anytime you want to salsa, you just let me know.”

“I will.”

They were silent for a long moment without feeling awkward. He leaned over and kissed her. Just lips. No tongue. Pure perfection. “Before you object to a public display of affection, I want to point out the full moon, the stars in the sky, and the beauty of the night. How could you object to a kiss?”

“I can't,” she said.

“Besides,” he said. “Everybody is fairly drunk and nobody cares. I'm pretty sure your brother left with Fatima about a half hour ago.”

“No!”

“Si. Yes. We had a final conversation. At least, I hope a final conversation. I never really know with Fatima.”

“What happened?”

“I told you. She tried to seduce me.”

Fatima and Leo chose that moment to rejoin the party on the terrace from opposite directions at precisely the same moment. That could not possibly be a coincidence.

A manager from the hotel approached Eduardo with the sort of thin folder that generally contained a bill. The two men spoke briefly as she pondered the potential Eduardo had for meeting and perhaps even surpassing the rigid list of qualifications she considered essential in choosing a father for her future children. He pretty well ticked every box.

“Henna,” Eduardo said. “I need to take care of this. Wait for me here?”

“I'll be here,” she said.

He kissed her cheek then departed.

She watched him walk away until he disappeared around a corner. The stars, the moon, the music, and the beauty of the night held her attention as she waited. The sound of the music was loud and nearly covered the noise made by two people arguing. Henna's ears filtered through the sound of the music, isolating the voices.

Her feet moved her without prompting in the direction of the argument. She was not the first person to be drawn in. Leo had beat her to the scuffle. At the center of the disturbance, Gloria and Fatima faced each other like a couple of pugilists sizing each other up.

Henna didn't need to know what they were saying. She knew trash talk when she heard it regardless of the language spoken.

“What are they saying?” she asked Leo.

“Okay,” Leo said. “Fatima just called Gloria a crazy psycho bitch. Gloria told Fatima that she was going to kick her ass if she didn't stay the hell away from her father.”

“Is that really what their saying, or are you being creative?”

“I'm abridging,” he said. “Basically they're tearing each other to shreds. Now shush, so I can listen and envision the two of them in bikinis while standing in a mud pit.”

“You are vile.”

Leo shushed her.

She shushed for a moment then tugged on Leo's arm. “What now?”

“Learn Spanish.”

“Just tell me.”

“Okay.” He points to Gloria who was yelling. “'You fucking whore! I hate you, you fucking whore!'” His finger swerved to point at Fatima. “'You're a spoiled little bitch who has been given everything and offers nothing! You can't stand the fact I've replaced your mother. I know you're the one driving a wedge between me and Eduardo. Back off before I make you regret it!'” His finger redirected to Gloria. “'The only thing I'm going to regret is that I missed when I threw that knife at you!'” Leo laughed a little. “They're fucking crazy.”

“Did you hook up with Fatima?”

“How do you know that?”

“Eduardo told me that the two of you disappeared.”

“We did. She is one frisky hot babe. I can truly say she rocked my world. She knocked me to the ground and had my trousers off me so fast I was worried she broke my zipper.”

“I don't want to know this.”

“It's possible I've been approaching casual sex in the wrong way for years.”

“And yet you are going to tell me.”

“I've been living under the assumption that young, nubile, co-ed's were the way to go. It is possible that I could have miscalculated the benefits of both experience and the need for an older woman to validate she still has it where it counts.”

“You are gross.”

“Don't think I haven't figured out the two of you didn't go to the aquarium today.”

“You don't know anything.”

“I know the aquarium was closed for a private function today.”

“How do you know that?”

“I took Aunt Midge and Inez this afternoon after they had their nails done. A word of advice. If you are going to create a cover story, make sure you confirm the validity of it in advance.”

“Did you learn that in the CIA?”

“Nope. Leaned that from being a dude who won't be tied down by one woman.”

“How are you single?”

“Aunt Midge and Inez are on to you, too, but the three of us took a vow of silence over gimlets and cheesecake.”

“This is why you’re telling me.”

“Please. After the way Eduardo wore you around the room like a scarf, I'm not the only one who thinks the two of you are either already sleeping together or will end up in bed tonight.”

“What does Fatima think?”

“Who knows? It’s not like she could talk with my dick in her mouth.”

“You are disgusting.”

The two women lunged for each other, fell to the ground, and began pummeling and hair pulling.

“Oh, shit.” Leo jumped in the middle of the women grabbing onto Fatima as Henna’s father appeared and got two arms around Gloria. Together the two Hirsch men pulled the fighting women apart as they continued to swing at each other.

Eduardo arrived with the crowd that had come too late to see the real show. Leo forced the belligerent Fatima to walk away with his arm around her waist. Henna imagined she would not see her brother again until morning.

Romeo and Hector emerged from the direction her father had come and immediately went to Gloria, Eduardo, and her father. Her father gave the crying and distraught Gloria a hug before leaving them and coming to Henna.

“What was that all about?” her father asked.

“I have no idea,” she said. “I was kind of hoping you would know.”

“All I know is that I came up from the beach where I was smoking cigars with Romeo and Hector and found two women swinging at each other.”

“You were smoking cigars?”

“Don't tell your mother. Do me a favor? Try to make friends with Gloria. She's a nice girl. I think she's having a hard time with her mother being gone and her brother getting married.”

“I'll see what I can do.” Spending less, rather than more, time with Gloria seemed the logical thing to do. She liked Eduardo but not enough to have his daughter come after her with a vengeance for sleeping with him.

“That's my girl,” he said. “Don't be up too late. I hear Eduardo is taking you out again tomorrow.”

“Any objections?”

“Why would I have any objections? It's not like he's a bum.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I'm turning in. This party is going to go all night, and I'm too old for this.”

She followed her father to where her mother sat with Aunt Midge. She retrieved her handbag from the table, walked with her family across the lobby, then said goodnight in the elevator at their floor when they exited.

Behind her door, she took her phone out of her handbag and tossed the bag to the side. She sent Eduardo a quick message to let him know she'd left. His response returned quickly. He was on his way to the room. While she waited, she picked up the remote for the television. She clicked past the channels to the music selection stopping on Latin Beat.

The sound of the door being unlocked briefly caught her attention. Eduardo walked in, hooked the do not disturb sign on the outside handle, and flipped the security lock into place. He tossed his suit jacket over a chair then sat on the bed next to her and placed an arm around her shoulder.

“Do you want to make love?” he whispered in her ear.

“No,” she said, standing and smoothing the skirt of her dress. “I want to salsa.” She held out her hand.

“You want to salsa?” Eduardo laughed, taking her hand.

“I want to salsa.” She tugged his hand. She didn't want to talk about the determined Fatima stalking her or the possibly unbalanced Gloria taking a shotgun after her. She just wanted to dance.

Eduardo kicked off his shoes and pulled off his socks before he stood. “Take off your shoes.” He untucked his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. “I like my feet without your spiky heels in them.”

Henna kicked off her shoes and stepped down three inches. Next to Eduardo, she felt diminutive. He moved to stand next to her and took her hand. “What is the first thing you must know about dancing?”

“Don't step on your partner’s feet?”

“Yes,” he said. “But other than that, the woman always starts on her right foot. Do you know why?”

“Tell me,” she said.

“It is because women are always right.”

She laughed as he swung their laced hands between them. Eduardo began counting each step as he showed her how to move her feet. By the time she fell into bed, tucked into Eduardo's arms, she was hooked.

****

Eduardo sat in the sort of comfortable chair all women’s boutiques universally had for the men who had been brought along with their credit cards on a shopping trip. He checked his email, responded to a few texts, and offered an opinion when asked for it.

“I don't know.” Henna stood in front of a three-way mirror wearing a red dress while holding a white in her left hand and a black in her right hand. “The red is just a touch too hooch for a wedding. I can't wear white. I love the black, but I really can't wear black for a wedding. Well, I could...” She looked at herself then at him. “What do you think?”

He looked up from his phone for a moment, scrutinized Henna from behind in the red, understood her point about the dress he personally preferred being perhaps a touch too sexy for a wedding, then let her know what he thought. Whether she listened to him or not, was one of those things he knew might or might not happen. “I like the yellow.”

“Which yellow?”

He jabbed a thumb towards the entrance of the boutique. “The one in the window.”

The sales woman, knowing a sale when it walked in the door, scampered away for the yellow dress he'd noticed when they entered the shop. She was back a moment later with the dress that Henna took into the changing room.

He sat and waited in a contented silence, happier than he'd been in two years. Small, simple things that seemed so unimportant before, mattered more than he realized. Having to spend his morning sitting in a boutique while a woman he enjoyed the company of dithered over which dress she wanted was heaven.

She came out of the changing room in the flouncy, airy, feminine yellow dress he'd spotted.

“It's a bit princessy.” Henna looked at herself in the mirror as she moved.

“Do you like it?” He knew the right questions to ask.

“Yes,” she said. “I like it a lot. But it's just not what I would normally wear.” She looked down at herself then up at him. “I don't know.” She looked at the tag for the price, then made a grimace. “I do like it, but I may never wear it again.”

His phone rang and the number on the screen couldn't be ignored. He stood from the chair as he answered the call and told his goddaughter Esmeralda to hold for a moment. “Henna,” he said. “I like the yellow. Get the yellow.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed a credit card over to the sales woman. “Get them all. I like them all. I need to take this.” He held his phone to his ear as he walked out of the boutique.

“Esmeralda,” he said as he stood outside in the warm morning sunshine. “Tell me you are fine. I want to hear that you are fine and that you are coping better than you were yesterday.”

“I'm not fine,” she sobbed. “How can Romeo do this to me? He barely knows her. I can't believe Hector left without me. He locked me in a closet. Can you believe that? My own brother locked me in a closet.”

“Esmeralda, are you lying again?” He slipped on his sunglasses and reached for both a lighter and cigarettes. Then he remembered he'd quit smoking. Only Esmeralda could make him wish he’d clung to that particular vice.

She was silent except for sniffles on the other end. “Maybe exaggerating. He did lock me in my bedroom.”

“Did he? I'll ask him.” Past experience told him that he had to give her the benefit of the doubt. Hector very well might have locked her in a room rather than have to deal with her temper with kindness and compassion.

“Fine,” she said. “Maybe he didn't lock me in my bedroom. But he did leave without me. I have every right to be there.”

“You shouldn't be here. It would be too painful for you to see Romeo move on so completely.” He studied the traffic, made up mostly of scooters and busses. The few cars that went by were well maintained according to local laws.

“I hate you,” she shrieked. “Why are you so mean to me?”

He kept his voice calm as he silently tried to find a solution to all of his goddaughter's problems. “Esmeralda, you know I love you as if you were my own daughter. I know you don't hate me, and you know I'm not mean to you. Romeo is not going to change his mind. You were never going to get back together again.” He silently said a small prayer that Romeo and Eden truly did have the eternal love they believed they’d found. If not for them, then for himself. The thought of Romeo and Esmeralda together again chilled his blood.

“Bullshit!” The sound of something fragile smashed into a thousand pieces punctuated her shout. “If I were there, he'd change his mind.”

“Romeo is happy, and he is going to marry Eden tomorrow. If you showed up now, he would only be angry with you. You have to accept that life moves on.” He did everything he had been told to do. He kept his voice calm and level and tried to be both truthful and reasonable.

“That is hilarious coming from you!” Esmeralda shouted. “You are one to talk. Life moving on, indeed. I'll move on when you move on.”

“I met someone,” he said. “I was going to wait to tell you in person, but maybe you need to know now. Life does move on when you least expect it to. I promise that someday you will meet a man who will make you very happy.”

“I'm never going to be happy again.”

“You will. I promise. Now do me two things. Call Doctor Winterhalter and tell her how you are feeling. If you want to go back to the rest-home, just tell her and I'll make sure the arrangements are made.” Another silent prayer ran through his thoughts. Esmeralda locked up safely in Switzerland would give him the freedom to enjoy his life. Esmeralda free to do as she liked, equaled sleepless nights.

“Stop calling it a rest home!” she shouted. “It's a crazy house.”

“It's a hospital, and we both know that. I won't call it a rest home again. Okay? We are always honest with each other, so we'll be honest about that, too. Do you want to go to Switzerland and see Doctor Winterhalter? Stay for a few weeks? Rest. Make sure you're eating properly. I don't want you to get sick again.”

Silence except for breathing came over the line. “Maybe that might be a good idea. Will you come visit me?”

“I will come and visit you.” That he could easily do. He looked inside the store and saw Henna looking at jewelry as the sales women wrapped up the dresses. He would take her with him.

“Is she nice? The woman you met.”

“She's very nice.”

“Pretty?”

“Very pretty.”

“She makes you happy?”

“Very happy.”

“Smart?”

“She's a doctor.”

“Will you bring her to Switzerland?”

“I will ask her to join me.”

“Are you going to tell her I'm a crazy anorexic with emotional problems?”

“I'm going to tell her you are a princess and that I love you like my own daughter.”

“That's better than a crazy anorexic with emotional problems.” Esmeralda paused for a moment, but Eduardo felt she had something more to say. “I want him to be happy, you know.”

“I do.” He believed that, on a very basic level, Esmeralda wanted Romeo to be happy.

“I made him miserable.” That was an understatement.

“You two were very young to be so intensely involved with each other. It wasn't healthy for either of you.” Not even a little. He needed to get off of the phone. He couldn't tell her he needed to get off the phone without running the risk of her either refusing to take his calls in the future or having another breakdown.

Esmeralda didn't respond for a long moment. “I don't want to talk to you anymore. I'm bored with this conversation.” The call ended abruptly.

“Who was that?” Henna asked.

“My goddaughter, Esmeralda.” He kissed her on the mouth. “I told her that I met someone.”

“You and I really do have different definitions for discreet.”

“She needed to hear something good.”

“She's Romeo's ex, isn't she?”

“Yes.”

“Not taking him getting married very well?”

“Not at all.”

“If it's any consolation, I understand. I've been in her shoes more than once. Tell her I recommend cake and a day-spa. And whatever she does, do no spend any time looking on Eden and Romeo's wedding website. It'll just depress her.”

He put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “I will let her know. Come. I want to spend a lot of money on you and spoil you.”

“You've already spent a lot of money on me,” she said. “Four dresses that didn't come cheap are more than enough.”

“You'll wear the yellow for the wedding?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Then you need something to wear with it.” Before she could object, he put nudged her along to the Cartier boutique down the row.

His phone rang several times while he nudged Henna into trying on increasingly more exquisite pieces until finally she had a pair of emeralds in her ears he was certain she'd steal before handing back over to the salesman. Every call he ignored, but two. One from Doctor Heike Winterhalter, Esmeralda's psychiatrist, confirming that his goddaughter would be returning to her care for the foreseeable future, and that he did not threaten to never speak to her again if she didn't go willingly. The other call came from Gloria.

“I need to take this,” he told Henna before turning to the salesman. “I want to see emerald pendants when I'm back. Something to go with the earrings. Maybe a bracelet.”

He stepped outside and turned his attention to the call.

“Guess who I just talked to?” Gloria asked.

“Esmeralda.” He had anticipated this call coming from either his mother or Gloria.

“So…how many guesses do I get to figure out who the pretty, smart doctor who has captured your heart is?”

“How many do you need?”

“You think maybe you could have told your own daughter before Esmeralda? I mean…” She screamed a little. “I get that you like Henna. Fine. Fair enough. That was pretty darn obvious last night. And by the way, seeing my own father act like a…a…”

“A grown man?” he offered.

She screamed again. “I just…” Another scream. “You could have just told me.”

“I was going to tell you, then I had Esmeralda on the phone and she needed to hear something positive. Did she tell you she's going back to Switzerland?”

“She told me that if she didn't go willingly, you were going to have her security people tie her up and force her to go back to the hospital against her will.”

“Because that is something I would do to our Esmeralda?”

“I figured she was probably exaggerating.”

“I would like you to keep this between us. Henna doesn't want her family to know we are intimate.”

“Must you put it like that?”

“Do you want me to tell you that we are lovers?”

“That's worse.”

“Call it whatever you want. Just keep your mouth shut.”

“Might be too late for that,” she said.

“Who knows?”

“Other than me? Romeo, Hector, and Eden?”

“You're joking.”

“No. We just finished playing tennis together when Esmeralda called. They're all here right now. Along with Midge. She knows, too.”

“Put Midge on the phone.” He waited a moment as the phone exchanged hands.

“Hey handsome!” Midge greeted him with a cheer. “Good choice! My niece is a diamond!”

“She takes after her aunt,” he said warmly. “Do me a favor?”

“Sit on these four and make sure they keep their collective yaps shut?”

“Exactly.”

“I'll do my best. You know Fatima is on the hunt for you?”

“I don't want to know this. I have to go. I'm at Cartier with Henna. Tell them I will not have the four of them making her angry with me because they know something she would rather not have made public just yet.”

“I'm on the case,” Midge said.

They ended their call, and he returned to the cool interior of the store. Henna sat where he'd left her. On the counter in front of her rested a selection of emerald pendants. A gold band as thick as his finger wrapped around her wrist.

“Give us a minute.” He dismissed the salesman with a nod. “So…how grateful will you be if I get you these?” He touched the square stone in one of her ears. “This?” He wrapped his hand around the bracelet around her wrist. “And this?” He picked up a generous-sized square emerald pendant that just needed a chain.

“I…” She looked at him. “Honestly, I'd probably be a little uncomfortable. I'm not used to getting gifts like this.”

“What was the last gift you received from a man who wasn't a family member, a professional acquaintance, or your friend, Simon?”

“You mean like a boyfriend?”

“Exactly.”

“I need to think.”

He waited as she thought.

“That long?” he asked after a minute.

“It's been a while. Give me a moment.”

He waited as he wondered how it could be possible Henna didn't have a string of men trying to get her to be theirs exclusively. It confounded him.

“Okay,” she said at last. “But you have to promise not to laugh.”

“I am not going to make that promise.”

“Fine,” she said. “My last real boyfriend gave me a blender for my birthday.”

“A blender?” He laughed. “You're making a joke. What kind of man would give a woman a blender for her birthday? I wouldn't even give my mother or my daughter a blender for their birthdays. That's not a gift, that's an appliance.”

“He wasn't very imaginative.”

“It doesn't take much imagination to walk into a jewelry store and buy a bracelet.”

“I should have made you promise not to laugh.”

“Henna.” He bent in and kissed her. “Let me tell you what I want.”

“Tell me what you want.”

“I want you to be the kind of woman who not only loves to get beautiful gifts, but also the kind of woman that expects to get beautiful gifts. You are so much more valuable than you realize, and I want to be able to treat you as well as you deserve to be treated without making you uncomfortable. I am glad you have chosen the wrong men in the past. Now I can treat you the way you deserve to be treated.”

“I just don't want to seem greedy.”

“How is it being greedy when I am willingly giving you what I want to give you?” He lifted her hands in his and pressed his lips to her knuckles. “I wish I could make you see how I see you. So I'm just going to show you. Don't be uncomfortable. Just accept that you are worthy of being treated better than you have been in the past.”

“Isn't it a bit soon for jewelry?”

“No. I've given you my body already. I'd like to think that's more valuable than earrings.”

“No more blenders?”

“No more blenders. Now tell me truthfully, how grateful will you be?”

“Very, very grateful. Probably best we finish up here so I can show you in our room how grateful I would be.”

“Would your gratitude include putting on that little black thing you bought at the lingerie store?”

“It might.” Her arms wrapped around his neck as her mouth met his.

He lifted a hand and waved over the salesman. Henna peppered his cheek with kisses as he gave the pendant he liked a poke then gestured to the earrings and the bracelet. “I'll take these. Put a chain on the pendant. She'll wear it all out.”

The salesman took the credit card he handed over and disappeared.

“Thank you,” Henna said, her arms wrapped around his neck. “You realize I could easily get used to expecting this sort of treatment.”

“That is my plan.”

In the hotel room, behind the door with the security lock flipped into place, Eduardo walked around the room closing curtains and adjusting the air-conditioning. He turned off his phone and set it to the side. The world could wait for an hour or two. He considered undressing, then decided he'd rather be undressed. So he lay on the bed and waited.

He was a patient man who had just spent a fair amount of money on dresses, shoes, underwear, and jewelry. He hadn't done this for the promise of sex. He would have done it for any number of reasons. But on that afternoon, at that moment, he knew his generosity would equal an experience with Henna that would be as memorable and worthy of repeating as any they'd previously had.

“Condoms.” He shot up from the bed after checking the nightstand. It was just as empty as it had been after they'd used the last condom that morning. “Damn, damn, damn,” he muttered. “If my afternoon is ruined because I forgot to buy condoms, I am going to be very angry with myself.”

He went to the desk. Henna's giant bag of condoms might still be around. Or it might not. She may have handed it over to Leo. In a way, he hoped she had. Considering the number of his female friends and relatives Leo had fornicated with in one form or another, giving him a large bag of condoms seemed like an excellent idea. The bag was in the desk. Along with a photograph of a man on a postcard. On one side was a headshot. On the other, the man's vital statistics and the instructions to “call me” along with a phone number and a name.

He picked up the desk phone and dialed the number. A man answered. He hung up. “This annoys me,” he grumbled. “This annoys me far more than it should.” He stared at the picture. He knew the man from somewhere and somehow. But what was the connection?

Henna's mobile phone rang. Simon. He answered the phone. “Simon?”

“Uh, yeah.” Simon said. “Eduardo?”

“Si. Henna is in the bathroom. Does she have any friends named Antonio or Anton?” He tapped the postcard against his palm.

“Uh, well, yeah. My cousin Meadow's boyfriend is named Antonio. She and Henna are pretty tight. So I guess you could say that Tony is a friend of Henna's. Any particular reason you're asking me this? You know, I can just call back.”

He looked at the card. “What is his family name?”

“Last name? Uh, Martinez. Yes, Martinez. I'm sure of it. Antonio Martinez. But everyone calls him Tony. At least, I think everyone calls him Tony. We call him Tony. He might actually hate that. Do people call you, Ed? Eddie? Or is it always Eduardo?”

“Eduardo. Do not ever call me Eddie. Would you describe Antonio Martinez for me, please?” He looked at the picture of Antonio Martinez. He needed no additional confirmation to know there were men other than himself interested in Henna. Young men. Men who were no older than his son. Men who had pictures of themselves printed on postcards. What kind of a man would do such a thing?

“Uh, sure. Let's see. Tony. Brown hair. He's my height so about six-two, maybe one-eighty, works out a lot, took me running. He called it jogging, but I know that was not jogging. I can tell you for sure, the next time I go running it's only going to be because someone with a gun is chasing me. Nearly puked up a lung.”

Eduardo pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the picture of Simon that appeared on Henna's phone when the call came through. The smile and the mirth in the eyes came through in his voice. He shook his head a little then put the phone back to his ear. “Would you say he is an attractive man?”

“Uh, sure. Yeah. Okay. In a wholly heterosexual way, I can say he's pretty hot. Put a gun to my head, I could probably go gay for that. But I'd probably want to lose a few pounds first. He's pretty ripped, and I'm sort of getting a gut. Not bad, being unable to keep food down for the past three days has helped a lot, but some sit-ups wouldn't kill me. Can I be honest? This conversation is getting a little weird for me. Is there any particular reason you want to know about Tony?”

“Is he a model or actor?” He studied the picture once again.

“Not that I know of,” Simon said. “But he could be. As far as I know, he's just a secretary.”

“He's a man who’s a secretary?” That was just the sort of old-fashioned thinking that would annoy Pilar and would probably be just as annoying to Henna. He needed to keep that particular thought to himself.

“Technically, I think he's a paralegal. But, before he was nailing my cousin across her desk, he was getting her dry-cleaning and answering her phone.” On the plus side, he was not a secretary. He might not be twenty-four anymore, but he had something Antonio Martinez probably didn't have. A lot of money. The great equalizer.

“Does he live in San Francisco?”

“Yeah, over in the Mission District. Why?”

“What is the area code in San Francisco?”

“415.”

“I will tell Henna you called.”

“I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I could talk to her. You know. Make sure you don't have her tied up in a closet or something. Please tell me I didn't call in the middle of some kind of twisted sexual forty questions. Because I am going to be really offended if I just participated in some freaky sex game.”

The door to the bathroom opened and Henna exited in the black slip he favored.

“Just a moment.” He held out the phone to Henna. “Simon.”

Henna went from feeling ready to toss Eduardo on to the bed to slightly confused. “Hello.”

“Hey,” Simon said. “Are you okay? If you're not okay and you need me to call security, or better yet call Mel, just say bananas.”

“Have you lost your mind? I'm perfectly fine. What is going on with you?”

“Nothing. I called you to get an update, and now I'm wondering if your new friend isn't loco. Wanted to know all about Tony.”

“Meadow's Tony?”

“Yes. Very weird.”

“That's weird.”

“No shit,” Simon said. “So? Bananas?”

“No bananas. You're bananas. I'll call you back when I've sorted this one out.”

“If I don't hear from you in an hour, I'm calling Mel.”

“Do not call my father. He doesn't know about this yet, and I'm planning on telling him myself.”

“You really think Mel hasn't figured out you're nailing Eden's father-in-law? Have you met your father?”

“We're being really discreet.”

“Sure you are. Call me later.”

She ended the call then set her phone on the desk. “So?”

“Who is Antonio Martinez?” Eduardo held out the postcard from the bartender that he had to have found in her bag. “Why do you have a picture of him? Why does he want you to call him? If he is in a relationship with your friend, Meadow, then why is he encouraging your attention?”

“Three things,” she said. “One. Where did you find that? Two. Why are you quizzing Simon about me? Three. Where do you get off acting like I'm somehow accountable to you? Four. Why do you want to know about Tony Martinez?”

“You said three things,” he said.

“Don't.” She raised a finger and took a lungful of air through her nose. Then she remembered something. The bartender was named Anton Martinez. “How many Antonio Martinez's do you think there might be in the world?”

“A few,” he conceded.

She picked up her phone and flipped through the pictures until she found the one she wanted. Tony and Meadow sitting across from her at a mutual friend’s wedding. “That is Tony Martinez.” She shoved the phone at Eduardo. “You annoy me. You have no right to be jealous. You especially have no right to drag Simon into your neurosis. You want to know something about me? Ask me!” She snatched the postcard from Eduardo. “This is not Tony Martinez. Okay, well, it is Tony Martinez, but not my Tony Martinez. Meadow's Tony Martinez. You know what I mean.”

She tossed the picture on the desk and walked away. Eduardo picked up the postcard and studied it. “Who is he? I'm asking you, not Simon.”

Henna looked over her shoulder at him, her body sparking with irritation. Eduardo was a beautiful specimen of a man. He had reached his meridian. Everything about him, from his smoldering eyes and full lips to his broad well-muscled shoulders and chest down to his thick cock and legs with thighs like twisted rope, was pure masculine perfection. He had the build of a man who used his body for more than moving from place to place. A rare find in the modern world. “That's for me to know and you to find out.”

Mature. Really mature. At least she didn't stick her tongue out at him.

With his cat like quickness, Eduardo was behind her. He grabbed her roughly, and his hands probed her body with the casual arrogance of ownership. “Who is he?” he asked, nipping at her ear. Every moment with him, she learned something new. Depending on his mood, Eduardo ranged from being the gentlest of lovers to the roughest. Henna had enjoyed the pleasures associated with the full spectrum of his desires while exploring her own.

“Don't you recognize him?” she asked. “You should.”

He turned her around in his arms. He looked at the card, then at her. “Who is he? I recognize him.”

“He's the bartender from the Miami airport,” she told him. “The one who offered me money to blow him.”

He looked at the card a final time, then tossed it to the side. Eduardo was not shy about the fact that he wanted her. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, licking and twirling. His fingers grasped the fabric of the silky slip she wore. In a single practiced move, he slipped the garment over her head and tossed it to the side. The mixture of fabric covering his hard body added to the sensation of smooth hands brushing over her bare skin.

A low moan rumbled from Eduardo's throat as she ripped open the buttons on his trousers and freed his full thick cock from its confines. His erection throbbed, and he shifted slightly to encourage her touch. Hard and long, it jerked slightly. His shaft pulsed against her abdomen as he pulled her tightly to him.

Henna pushed back slightly, her palms against the cotton of his shirt. She looked him up and down once again. Eduardo was a perfect specimen of masculine sexuality, and he was hers to do with as she wanted. A thrilling sense of feminine power shot through her at the thought of being in control of all that masculine energy. It made her horny to think of all that power between her legs and the command she had over it.

She quickly unbuttoned his shirt, and then helped him shrug it off. It was discarded with a negligent flick of the wrist, in the same direction as her negligee. Her nipples tightened, and heat pooled between her thighs at the sight of his bare muscled chest and abdomen. His shoulders were wide, and his biceps like twined ropes. Not the build of a man who spent too much time at the gym, but one who worked with his body and came by the definition naturally.

His hands shifted, slipping over the mounds of her breasts. He stroked a finger along the full weight of one breast, sending zinging pleasurable through her. His light touch circled her nipple, stroked across it, then traveled to the other nipple. With a quick pinch and a twist, he silently asked her if she wanted it rough.

Eduardo enjoyed mixing up their exploits as much as she did. Their romps so far consistently varied. As far as she could tell, he was always up for anything and never afraid to let her know what he wanted. Whether she wanted to be a sultry, wanton minx enjoying the ride of her life, a goddess to be worshiped, or a slut that needed to be screwed, Eduardo gave her what she desired.

Her unspoken answer to his question came in the form of her teeth nipping at his bottom lip as she kissed him. While she ran her mouth over his face and raked her hands into his hair, he got his trousers past his hips and let them slide past his knees to the floor. He kicked his shoes along with the rest of his clothing off, and Henna rubbed against him, stroking his arousal.

She didn't protest as they sank to the floor, and he nudged her hips, telling her without speaking what he wanted. On her hands and knees, she sank to her elbows, wiggling her ass at him. He ran his fingers between her cheeks and the silk of her panties. With a quick jerk, he rent the flimsy fabric in two and tossed it to the floor.

Henna arched her back in anticipation, lifting her glistening sex and exposing herself to him. The flicker of a condom wrapper flying past her line of sight gave her a small thrill. She had never had her pussy waxed clean before and hadn't regretted the decision to give it a try for one moment. She liked the look of it. Even more, she liked the feel of it when his cock slid into her.

Her blood pumped heavily through her veins as heat suffused every inch of her. She bit her lip to keep from screaming in frustration when he fingered the folds of her sex, stretching, pulling, and exploring while avoiding the knot of nerve endings at the apex of her want. She pushed back to meet him, but he wanted to make her suffer a little so he held back, placing only the tip of his cock at her entrance, letting it move in and out with the rhythm of his heartbeat.

“Tell me what you want,” Eduardo demanded as he wrapped her hair around his hand and wrist pulling with an exquisite firmness.

“You,” she gasped as the tip of his cock stroked her swollen clit.

“What do you want me to do?” His hand reached around her and plucked at her nipples.

“Fuck me,” she ordered.

Gradually, bit by bit, he eased inside her. He moved slightly, forcing his cock deeper then withdrawing, causing her to moan at the denial of pleasure, controlling how much of him he gave to her. His fingers clamped around her waist in a tight, biting grip. The feel of his thick girth sliding into her heat made his gentle torment an excruciating test of wills. She wanted to plunge back and take him all at once, but the strength with which he held her prevented her from filling her cunt with his cock.

In one swift and unexpected thrust, he entered her with the full stiff length of his cock until the head pressed against her cervix and his balls kissed her swollen pussy lips. She shifted and her hot inner channel contracted around his rigid length, fisting it in a tight glove.

Her inner muscles relaxed and contracted, coaxing him deeper. Her back bowed as she shoved her ass upward, inviting him to fuck her as completely as possible. Finally, one finger slipped to the first joint into the tight pucker of her anus. Just enough to tease and enhance her pleasure.

“Did you want to fuck him? The bartender? Did you?” Eduardo’s palm came down in a stinging slap against her ass as his finger worked her hole and his cocked slid in and out of her liquid heat.

“Yes,” she said forcefully. The truth was no, but that didn't really matter. She liked him hot and jealous. She also liked the feel of his hand coming down hard on her bottom.

A second slashing sting across her buttocks called forth a gasp and sent a shiver of desire pulsating through her body, radiating out through her cunt.

“I'll bet you want us both to fuck you at the same time,” Eduardo said. “You know you'd like that.”

She nodded. Another secret fantasy revealed. “Yes. Absolutely. I always thought about doing that. Would you do that?”

He buried himself as deeply as he could go and stopped, just holding her against him. Together they paused to fully enjoy the range of sensations that coursed through their bodies.

“I would do that. Once. I could put aside my jealousy to give you that.” His fingers pinched her ass hard. “But you would have to give me something I have always wanted. “

“Let me guess. Two women?” Had to be. Would she? Depended on the woman.

“Yes. Would you?” His movements slowed as he waited on her response.

“Yes. Once.”

Eduardo resumed his effort of rapidly pulling out followed by a powerful thrust inside her. He repeated the movement, bringing both of them closer to climax. His balls brushed against her hard clit, causing her to tremble with pleasure with every fleeting touch. She groaned at the liquid intoxication of sensations that invaded her. The friction of his thrusting against her tight inner walls sent her senses into overload. The only sounds in the room were the heavy sighs of passion reaching its apex and the rapid breathing of exertion.

The potential energy of her orgasm coiled low in her core. She was so close, and Eduardo was not going to deny her. Her breathing was ragged. He pumped his hips, and she felt him all the way to her core. Her body ached for release, but her pussy cried out for more, harder, faster, and deeper.

The feeling of inevitability told her there was no more prolonging the exquisite ecstasy as her climax blossomed from her core like ripples on a smooth surface of a pool. A vibration of sensation rippled through her as she let go and came. She cried out his name as her back arched.

When the last wave washed over her, he came at her hard, strong, and hungrily, placing his hands on her hips and grinding into her. He moaned and sputtered, telling her what he wanted to do to her while his hips jerked forward in a sexual staccato as he sought his own release. With a cry of pure pleasure, Eduardo pulled her hips up, planting her wet spent sex against his cock as hot jets of cum emptied into the condom.

The sudden silence in the room was punctuated only by the sounds filtering up from below and the low breathy panting of two people who had found the peak of ecstasy in the other. Her entire body shivered then moaned with disappointment when Eduardo slid from her with a wet pop. He stood behind her, stretched his body, and held out a hand, which she accepted. He helped her from the ground and stood her before him then cupped a hand behind her hair and around the back of her neck as he stared into her eyes. “You know I'm just jealous.”

“You have no reason to be.” She smiled up at him.

“Don't forget that,” Eduardo said as he bent his mouth to hers. He lifted her into his arms, making her gasp in surprise. He kissed the tip of her nose as he gently laid her on the bed.

Henna lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “You’re really raising the bar on my expectations.” She leaned up a little and looked at him. “In every conceivable way.”

“So,” Eduardo said, and she knew what was coming next. “Would you really let me bring another woman to our bed just for a night?”

“Yes,” she said. “But…I have conditions. No friends. Top of the list. You might just get your chance to really hire an escort. No skanky ho's.”

“I know of a woman,” he said. “She runs a very discreet agency. Very professional.”

“You mean she's a madam.”

“Yes. Very professional. Very exclusive. Several of my friends have recommended her.”

“When is your birthday?”

“Next month.”

“Sort it out. No one prettier than me. If I'm going to go gay for a night for you, I think I'd prefer a redhead or a blonde. Oh no!” She propped on her elbows and looked down at him. “I know. A really pretty Asian woman. Like a geisha. I would so do that.”

“I…Fine. If that's what you want, I'll make the arrangements.”

“Oh…and my birthday is next month, too.” She walked her fingers up his bare abdomen. “I like blonds built like swimmers. All shoulders. Reow!”

Eduardo laughed as he wrapped an arm around her. “You'll do this for me?”

“Why not? When I'm with you, I feel totally free and uninhibited. If I'm ever going to do this with anyone, it's going to be you. I cannot imagine in my life that I will ever meet another man who I am as open with as I am you.”

He put his hand behind her head and pulled their mouths together. The kiss was pure sweet, compared to the hot and spicy they'd just shared. “I feel absolutely the same.”

The phone next to the bed rang.

“Ignore it,” Eduardo said.

She'd already picked up the receiver by the time he'd finished speaking.

“Hi there!” Eden chirped joyfully. “Busy?”

“Uh, not really?” She should have ignored the phone.

“You sound winded. Working out?”

“No. What's up?” Could she just hang up on her sister? Eden would hang up on her.

“You're late for the spa.”

“Spa. I forgot about the spa.” She looked at the clock. “I was supposed to be there ten minutes ago.”

“Chop chop,” Eden cheered. “That is unless something else has come up? Perhaps you are otherwise engaged?”

“No. Not at all. I'm on my way.” She slammed the phone down, scrambled over Eduardo, and stumbled into the bathroom. As fast as she could, she pulled herself together.

Eduardo lay on the bed with the pillows propped up behind him and the remote for the TV in his hand.

“I'm so sorry,” she said. “I'd much rather stay with you.”

“Henna,” he said. “Have a good time with your sister. I'm going to the pool for a swim and some sun. Join me there when you're done.”

“I'll text you.” She dashed from the room and made a line for the spa.

Eden sat in the waiting area with Gloria. When she sat with them, she checked the time on her phone. “I thought our appointment was at two. I'm so sorry.”

“My mistake,” Eden said. “I hope I didn't interrupt whatever it was you were doing.”

“Nice earrings,” Gloria told her.

Her hand flicked to the large square cut emerald solitaire in her ear. “Thank you.”

“Where did you get them?” Gloria asked.

Henna edged slightly away from Gloria.

“Where did you get those?” Eden asked. “They're really nice. I'd don't recall you wearing them before. In fact...” She moved seats and sat next to Henna. Eden lifted the emerald pendant she had around her neck. “I'm pretty sure I've never seen this before. So? Where did they come from?”

“Nowhere.” She took the pendant out of Eden's hand and held it in her own.

Eden hummed as she edged as close as she could get short of sitting on Henna’s lap. “Nowhere?”

Gloria sat on the other side of her presumably to get another look at her earrings. “I wish I could find emeralds nowhere.” Gloria laughed.

“Seriously,” Eden said. “Where did you get them? I know you well enough to know you'd never spend that kind of money on yourself. So…who's the man with the cash and the flash?”

“Anybody we know?” Gloria asked.

“Probably somebody older,” Eden said. “Older men are usually more generous. At least, that's what I've noticed.”

“Like a sugar daddy,” Gloria said.

“I have a few friends that have had sugar daddies. It's usually a pretty good set up. Who wouldn't exchange a romp in bed for some emeralds?” Eden picked up Henna’s wrist to examine the heavy gold bracelet. “Or something like this! Look.”

Gloria leaned in to examine her wrist. “Now the things I'd do for that. Let's just say I wouldn't want my father to find out.”

“No kidding,” Eden said. “Tell the truth, Henna. Who is your mystery man? What's the big secret?”

“It's not like that,” she said in her defense. “There is no big secret. I'm entitled to some privacy.”

“Sounds good,” Gloria said.

Eden clicked her tongue. “What is the expression? Where there is smoke there's fire? Are you the big secret or is he the big secret?”

“There is no big secret,” she insisted.

“Honestly, Henna,” Eden continued without pause. “Maybe I've misjudged you. I always figured you had this really sad, sort of boring life, but the truth is, you just might have a naughty side that you barter for jewelry. Are you into bondage at all? Is that it? Are you the mistress of your own dungeon? Some kind of dominatrix?”

“No.” She rose quickly from the couch, nearly knocking Eden and Gloria off with her. “It's not like that. I don't have a sugar daddy or some dark side, and I don't live a sad boring life. Grow up a little, Eden. Just because someone gave me a nice gift instead of a blender, doesn't mean I've done something egregious. You're not the only one who deserves nice things. Just because you've gotten into the habit of expecting to be treated like some precious princess…” She stopped speaking before she said too much. “You know what? Never mind.” She picked up her purse, promptly dumping it on the floor.

“Henna,” Eden said. “We were just teasing you a little.”

“Or were we?” Gloria asked.

She scooped up the contents of her purse, shoving it all inside. Gloria reached down and snatched up a condom that had spilled out.

“Yours?” Gloria asked.

She took the condom and tossed it in her bag. “You know, I just really don't feel like a massage right now.” She stood up and shouldered her bag.

“Seriously, Henna,” Eden said. “You deserve nice gifts. We were just teasing you.”

“Or were we?” Gloria repeated.

Henna looked quickly at Gloria and found her raised eyebrow and deep coffee-colored eyes filled with accusations. She asked Eduardo to be discreet, and he hadn't. The end result of her refusing to be firm was clear. Or at least clear in her thoughts. Gloria was suspicious and with reason.

“I'm sorry,” she said quickly. “I'll see you both later.”

Eden said something to stop her, but Henna didn't wait around to hear what that might be. Instead, she rushed to the open elevator outside of the spa entrance and made it inside just before the doors closed. Her phone rang in her bag. Eden. She sent the call to voice mail. Her phone rang again. Eden. She refused to answer.

Eden was the one who expected men to buy her expensive gifts, and when they didn't, she dumped them. That sort of behavior had earned Henna’s disapproval since Eden had emerged from her teen years as a young woman who had to be treated like a princess. Henna had never gotten comfortable asking for gifts let alone expecting them. The one time previously she'd tried her luck at being the sort of woman that expected expensive gifts as her due, she'd found herself alone on New Year’s Eve.

Her phone rang again as she stepped into her room. Eduardo was gone, but bouquets of flowers had been delivered with a card, waiting for her on the desk.

“Hello.” This time she answered because she knew it was Simon. The card, from Eduardo, of course, just had his name. The flowers made her smile. Eden made her want to punch something.

“I'm going to preface this conversation by saying this is the last time I get in the middle of a Hirsch girl pissing match. But first, did you sort out whatever that thing with Tony Martinez was? Because I'm going to say, that was a little weird.”

“Never mind. It was just a misunderstanding. Eden called you.”

“This is why I'm happy I only have brothers,” he said. “Men don't act like this. Men just ignore each other until they can have a few beers together and pretend nothing ever happened. So. Hold on.” He spoke in the background. “Just a moment, Eden. I have her on the phone. Yes. Just—I will call you back.”

Henna considered hanging up but waited. She wanted to talk to Simon anyway.

“Now,” Simon said. “What is the problem?”

“Eden was mean to me.”

Something that sounded like thumping came over the line.

“Are you banging your head against a wall?”

“No,” Simon said. “I am banging my head against the door. Eden was mean to you. Did she make fun of your hair, borrow some random piece of clothing without asking, or steal your doll?”

“Eduardo bought me earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet, and she asked me if I was a dominatrix who got paid in jewelry.”

Simon started out chuckling, which turned into a full belly laugh. “Are you kidding me? How much did he spend on you?”

“I don't really know,” she said. “I do know he bought me four dresses that were pretty pricey and spent as much as I make in a week on lingerie. Considering he's torn two pairs of my panties into shreds, he sort of owed me that. Why didn't you ever buy me anything nice?” She looked around the room and counted. “He left me five bouquets of flowers. You never bought me flowers.”

“How did this become about me?”

“Why don't men buy me nice things? Why do they buy me blenders? Why does Eden get jewelry and marriage proposals and I get accused of being into bondage?”

“That's a tricky one,” he said.

“Because you don't know the answer?”

“Oh, I do know the answer. I just don't want to tell you.”

“Just tell me. I think I need to hear this.”

“I'd really rather not go down this road with you. Ask Leo. You can't refuse to speak to him ever again for being just a touch too honest.”

“Just tell me.” She bent her head to a bouquet of roses and inhaled. They were fully scented and looked almost delicious enough to eat.

“Because you don't expect them to. I'm not saying you’re a cheap date. I'm just saying you don't make men work for it.”

“Meaning what?”

“Using Waverly as an example.”

“Must we?”

“Let's just call her the extreme example and then we can pull it back in from there once you have my point.”

“Fair enough.”

“Waverly makes me work like a bitch for her love. If I ever gave her a blender for her birthday, she'd chop off my dick and puree it. You, on the other hand, not only thanked Oliver when he gave you a blender, you made him smoothies.”

“I was trying to be nice and appreciative.”

“What you should have done was thrown that bastard at him and told him to fuck off.”

“I would never do that. He would have broken up with me.” She sat on the bed and started to remove her shoes.

“Sweetie,” Simon said. “He did break up with you two months later, and I'm pretty sure if he ever bought Emily a blender for her birthday, she'd pack it for him along with the rest of his shit and tell him to get out.”

Her arms fell over her head as she stretched as far as her body would go. A moment later, she popped to her feet and went to the bags Eduardo had carried back to the room after their shopping trip. “That's really hard to hear.”

“I know,” he said. “Have you had enough? Because I have.”

“Do you think it's possible I'm so afraid of losing a boyfriend once I get one that I try too hard and push them away?”

She picked up one of the bags from the lingerie store and dumped it out. The two bathing suits she'd dithered over were set to one side. The six Eduardo had liked and tossed at the saleswomen to ring up with the rest were set to the other side. “Yes. I think men thrive on the fear that they could lose their girlfriend in a moment if they somehow make the mistake of letting another man make her smile. I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it, but I suspect Waverly has me by the nuts because she's pretty well convinced me that she's doing me a favor by lowering herself just enough to have me in her life.”

“Are you advising me to act like that?” All of the price tags had been removed from the bathing suits. Was this standard procedure in swanky shops? Did the women working the cash register know to remove the prices when a man like Eduardo was handing over his credit card?

“God, no. What I am saying is, it's fine to expect more from a man than a blender, and if he doesn't deliver, you are well within your rights not to make him smoothies. It doesn't make you a bitch to expect a certain level of consideration. Next time, throw the blender.”

“Throw the blender?” She held up the borderline slutty yet sexy white one-piece they'd both liked but she had considered a bit too, what she liked to call Brazilian supermodel, for a thirty-six year old gynecologist from San Francisco. Eduardo had bought it anyway. He clearly thought more of her body than she did if he thought she could get away with wearing the white bathing suit she examined.

“Throw the blender. If a man buys you a blender, you throw it at him.”

“You bought me a wok and Chinese cooking classes for my last birthday.”

“You don't blow me.”

“Point made.” The white bathing suit was put to the side. She'd try it on again. Why not? Eduardo liked it. She liked it. She just didn't think she had the body for it.

“Tell me what happened with Eden.”

She told him, not omitting anything and including editorial on Gloria, the shotgun, the machete, and the dirty looks.

“Eden knows something is up,” Simon said. “That's clear. Especially if the Caballero Caliente was on you like a rash last night. She was just teasing you. I know both of you well enough to know she wasn't trying to be vicious. She might painfully misjudge a situation, but she's never purposefully mean. Always keep in mind that Eden views the world as it revolves around her. This is the curse of really beautiful people. They think the rest of us have been put on the earth for their distraction and amusement. She also just doesn't know when to stop sometimes.” Like Eden had done with Simon. Painfully misjudged the situation. Saw the world only from her perspective.

“You got that right.” She moved on from bathing suits to lingerie. The two bags filled with bras, panties, nighties, and about a dozen boxes of snug-fitting stretchy boxers that Eduardo seemed to like were dumped on the bed. His things were put in one pile, and then she began to pair up her things.

“Gloria sounds pretty scary. I'd avoid her until after the wedding at the very least. Maybe it's just Fatima setting her off, or maybe she really does have a problem with her father moving on with his life. Either way, you don't want her to start engaging in attention seeking behavior at your sister's wedding just because she doesn't like the fact you're doing the nasty with her daddy. Bottom line, stay away from her and stick to the weather and everyone's health if you get caught in a conversation with her.”

“I can do that.” She laid out a set of pale pink silk with caramel lace underwear on the bed. Eduardo was forgiven for shredding her panties.

“When the moment comes to go public, let Eduardo deal with her. Make it clear to him that if she's going to flip out or threaten you, that you're done. I don't care how much you like him, if his daughter is a psychopath, walk away.”

“I can do that, too.”

“Word of advice?”

“Shoot.” She went to the drawers and began carefully putting everything away. Her things went into one drawer. Eduardo's went into another drawer. As his drawer slid shut, she realized she'd given him a drawer. Not even a week into knowing him, and he'd gotten a drawer in her space. That gave her a moment’s pause.

“Be the woman you want to be with Eduardo. Don't be the woman you think you're supposed to be or the woman that everyone expects you to be. He found something sexy and exciting in you when you stepped out of your box, and I think you liked being that person. I think you're bored as shit being good little Henna that does her taxes in January and never misses a dental check-up. You like being sexy wild Henna who has sex in airplane toilets.”

“It wasn't me.”

“Really? Are you totally sure about that? Or maybe it was the you that you've always wanted to be but were afraid of taking a chance. Tell me something. When you're alone with him getting your funky on, do you feel more like your genuine self than you do when there are other people around?”

“Yes.” She opened his drawer again and inspected the contents. Twelve unopened boxes of underwear.

“Be that person. Give yourself a mental makeover. Wear the ridiculously expensive jewelry and tell Eden to fuck off the next time she asks you if you got it for spanking the shit out of some guy. Or better yet, just tell her to call you mistress.”

A phone rang on the other end. “That's Eden,” Simon said.

“I'm not going back to the spa if Gloria is there. I don't want her drowning me in the hot tub.”

“Fair enough,” Simon said. “I'm going to get this. Just let it go for the moment. I'll call you as soon as I have Eden sorted out.”

After they hung up, she went to the bed and picked up the white bathing suit. It was cut in such a way as to accentuate rather than hide what it covered. “I'm not going to let them bother me,” she said. “I'm not.” Did women wear expensive jewelry to the pool? “I do.”

She wrapped a pareo around her body, slipped on a pair of stupidly tall red strappy shoes, gave her hair a big shake then a tease, pinned it on her head in a messy pile, and grabbed her bag and her sunglasses.

There was no sign of Eduardo at the pool, but she did find Midge, her mother, and Leo sitting at a table under an umbrella.

“Don't you look like a million bucks,” Aunt Midge told her.

“Aren't the shoes a bit much?” her mother asked. “You know what your grandmother used to say? Only children and whores wear red shoes.”

She looked at her mother. “You know it's really hurtful when you say stuff like that. I'm certainly not a child, and I don't look like a whore. Before you tell me that wasn't what you meant, that was precisely what you implied.”

“What has gotten into you?” her mother huffed. “You used to be so pleasing, and the past couple of days I'd hardly recognize you.”

“I'd be willing to take a guess,” Leo said. “About what's gotten into her, that is. Multiple times I imagine.”

Aunt Midge swatted him. “Shut your mouth.”

“Nice rocks,” Leo chuckled. “What did you do to earn those?”

“Things your perverted brain could only ever dream of.”

Her mother huffed. “Nasty talk? But seriously, where did you get those?” she asked examining her earrings.

“They were a gift,” she said.

“Aren't you supposed to be at the spa with Eden?” her mother asked.

“She pissed me off, and I really don't feel like dealing with her right now,” she said.

“Henna!” her mother scolded. “This is Eden's wedding week.”

Leo snorted. “Since when did a wedding day morph into a wedding week? Or is this just Eden being the world's most super special girl in her own mind again? Wedding week, my white ass.”

There were times she could strangle her brother with her bare hands, but that was not one of them. Instead, when he offered her a hand for a high five, they smacked palms in a show of unity.

“You are acting like infants.” Her mother rose from her chair. “I'm going to start getting ready for tonight. Get over your snit in time for dinner. All of us ladies are having dinner while the men do their thing.” She walked off without a backward glance.

“What's her problem?” she asked.

“She's really hung-over,” Leo chuckled. “Hilarious.”

“Judith could never handle her booze,” Aunt Midge said. She rose from the table. “I'm going to have a nap. I'll see you tonight.” She walked off in the direction her mother had gone.

Henna looked at Leo who was gulping down a nearly empty giant bottle of water. “So what happened to you last night?”

The bottle came away from his mouth with a pop “I was abused repeatedly by Fatima. At one point, she had me on my back and was smacking me. She made me feel dirty, which I'm sure you know says a lot. I'm telling you, she is one crazy bitch. This morning, she kicked me out of her room and told me she'd cut me if I ever told anyone. You know, I actually think she might. Those Colombians really know how to turn up the volume.”

She looked up as a shadow fell over their table. Eden, Romeo, Hector, and Gloria were helping themselves to chairs. Before one of the four had gone for an additional chair at another table, she was up with her bag in her hand. “Take my chair.”

“Don't go on our account,” Romeo said. “There are plenty of chairs. I have had very little opportunity to get to know you. I would like that very much.”

“Henna.” Eden huffed. “I said I was sorry for teasing you. Just let it go already.”

“It's fine,” she said. “I’m…I have to do something.” Like run away from Gloria.

“Like go and find my father?” Gloria asked. “Because I just saw him having coffee with Fatima. In the lounge.”

“Gloria!” Romeo barked then said whatever he wanted to say in Spanish. Whatever words he used just made Gloria shrug one shoulder and smile as she flicked a hand. In the lexicon of body language, Gloria pretty well told Romeo to fuck off.

Henna looked at Gloria for a brief second. In that moment, she appreciated dark sunglasses and their ability to mask expressions more than she probably ever would again. “Like go to my room and get ready for tonight,” she said.

Leo rose from the table. “Come on, I'll walk with you.” He grabbed his towel, put an arm around her, and walked her away from the table before she had a chance to crack Gloria in the side of the head with her purse.

“Is it me or is she a total bitch?” she asked her brother.

“She is a total bitch.”

They walked through the lobby, passing by the lounge. Eduardo sat with Fatima in plain view of the door. He had an arm around her shoulders and his lips pressed to her forehead.

“That could be a giant misunderstanding,” Leo told her.

“You know what,” she said. “I just don't even want to go there right now.” Instead of continuing to the elevators, she turned and went to the reception desk with Leo following her.

The woman who had been on duty when she arrived gave her a smile. “How can I help you?”

“Can I get my room keys blocked and changed?”

“Of course.”

Less than a minute later, she walked across the lobby with her brother and her new room keys.

“You realize that really was probably nothing,” Leo repeated. “He's into you. I don't care how much money he has, no man buys—”

“That was me throwing a blender,” she said. “I'm a blender thrower now.” She furiously typed a text into her phone, informing Eduardo that she knew where he was, who he was with, and that he'd better think twice about darkening her doorstep ever again. She hit send after a moment’s hesitation. When the message was gone, she felt both elated and terrified.

“Is that supposed to make sense?”

“Ask Simon to explain it to you.”

As they rode up in the elevator, she sent Simon a text. I just threw my first blender. His response came less than a minute later. You go tiger!

Once behind her hotel room door, Henna had a moment to panic. What if he never darkens my door again?

Then he never darkens your door again. And that's okay because from now on you are going to be that person who makes you feel fabulous. You might even start buying gorgeous jewelry for yourself just because you want to.

But there was still a chance he might respond and she had to be ready. She quickly untied the pareo and tossed it in a ball on the dresser. What to do was the question. A question she didn't have a moment to answer when a distinct pounding on her door nearly gave her a heart attack. No matter what was going to happen, it was going to happen in her new bathing suit and the red shoes that only whores and children had the right to wear.

“I really have issues,” she mumbled as she went to the door.

Before she could look through the peephole, a fist pounded on the door a second time. “Henna,” Eduardo called from the other side. “I know you are in there, and I know you had the lock changed. Open the door.”

She opened the door just enough to prevent him from entering with her body. “You got my message?” Well done! You sound much more confident and sexy than you feel right now!

“I got your message. Are you going to let me in, or are we going to have this conversation with me in the hallway and the octogenarians in the next room hanging out their door?”

She stepped back from the door, turned, and walked away leaving it open. Jealousy, pure and engulfing, drove her ever breath and every move. For the first time, she would take a stand with a man rather than dismissing him for not being good enough or letting herself be dismissed for holding too tight.

The door closed nearly silently then the security lock clicked into place. “I can explain.”

She turned, stared at him, and let her nails strum a staccato against the desk. “Explain.” Henna didn't know who possessed her body, but she liked it. Hot emotions flooded her, bringing her to life.

“I can explain,” Eduardo repeated.

“I don't care.” She tossed her head and flicked her hand. “Or go back to your girlfriend. Give me some space and some peace. I like that you make me a more passionate person. I do not like that I’m behaving like…a bitchy teenage girl.” This immaturity out of character for her, it made her uncomfortable. She turned and refused to look at him as he approached her. Very mature.

“Querida.” A finger ran down her bare arm. “I owed her a polite, civil, conversation to explain that we were well and truly finished.”

Henna sniffed and flicked her head again. There was power in passion.

“Are you jealous?” he asked with a smile in his voice.

“Of course, I'm jealous,” she said with a push of emotion. “I see you touching another woman? I saw you. With your arm around her, kissing her.”

“I did not kiss her.”

“You did so. On the forehead.” She poked her finger at the spot on his face where the kiss had landed.

“That is not a kiss,” he said. “This is a kiss.”

Henna felt the kiss with her whole body and it was invigorating.

She gave him a look that she hoped conveyed her feelings of annoyance and passion. “I do not like seeing you touch another woman.” Whether she truly had the right to make demands of him or not didn't matter. Back in reality, she would have been cool and dismissive. In paradise, she was passionate and not afraid to make her feelings known anymore. “Would you like to see me touching some man?”

“I would not,” he said. “I am a very jealous man. As you well know.” He took her hand and lifted her fingers to his mouth. “I am sorry. It will not happen again.

Eduardo had known the moment he agreed to meet Fatima it was a mistake. He knew it. But he'd gone anyway. Fatima had been his friend and then his lover. He wanted everything to be right between them before their paths split.

“Never again?” Her arms were crossed over her chest, and the mass of her hair pinned to the top of her head tempted him. He wanted to pluck out the pins and mess it up.

“Never again,” he promised. “I can't tell her to leave. This is not my party and I did not invite her. But I promise you will have my attention.”

“I suppose that will do.” Henna sighed. She looked at her nails as she continued to pout.

He put his hands on her hips, gave them a small coaxing shake, and kissed her on the neck. “How about I show you how sorry I am?” He could work for forgiveness.

“You can always try,” she said.

His fingers found and removed enough pins, causing her hair to tumble down her back. With each hand, he captured a rope of hair and let it cascade through his fingers. She wore one of the bathing suits they'd chosen on their shopping trip, along with the emeralds.

He picked up one of the shoulder straps of the one-piece bathing suit that was in many ways more revealing than a bikini. “I like this on you.” The strap came down until one breast, topped by a taut pink nipple, was revealed. He lowered the other strap, letting the top of the bathing suit fall to her waist. “I like it better off of you.” With a small shove of his hands, the small bit of white fabric puddled on the ground around Henna's red shoes. “I like your shoes.”

He stood back and perused the whole of her. From the shoes, his gaze moved to her smooth pussy, then up to her full rounded breasts and the emerald that hung around her neck, finally to her pretty face with the sprinkling of freckles across her nose and the mouth the color of pink tulip petals.

He placed a hand on her bare hip as his head bent to hers. How long did it take for a person to fall in love? Could it happen in an instant? Yes. His inner voice answered the question for him. Then it gave him some advice. There's no rush. Take your time. Destiny is at work.

He sat on the bed with Henna standing between his thighs. His hands roamed over the smooth, firm skin of her thighs, hips, and ass. He cupped her sex in one hand, letting one finger then two slip inside the slick wet lips. When he fluttered his fingers, she bent her knees slightly, letting her legs spread. He moved her from between his legs so that she straddled him. He spread his legs wider, forcing her to sit on his thighs. The position exposed the pink flesh behind the bare mound.

He penetrated her with one long finger, followed by a second, which he kept absolutely still as he pressed his palm against the hard nub of her clit. If she wanted release, she'd have to work for it just a little. And she did.

She rested her hands on his shoulders as she rubbed against the palm of his hand. Every grind and twitch of her hips brought her closer and closer to her peak. When her inner muscles trembled, he removed his hand.

A cry of anger at being denied came from her pretty lips. She leaned over and pressed their foreheads together. “You always do that,” she growled.

“Do you want me to worship you?” He teased her a little with his twitching fingers. “Or do you want me to rush you to the finish?”

“Worship me.”

Withdrawing his fingers, Eduardo stood and gripped the flesh of her bottom. He turned and dropped her onto the bed on her back, then knelt on the floor in front of her. He pushed her thighs open, then dipped his head and blew gently on her wet, flesh. She moaned and deepened the spread of her thighs, giving him access to her pussy. He gazed at her waiting cunt, slick and ready for him, and slipped one finger between her bare lips, coating it in her cream. He withdrew it and placed it in his mouth.

He wrapped his hands around the backs of her thighs. With a sharp tug, he slid her forward and pushed her thighs as far apart as they would go, so she was fully exposed to him. Petal soft folds as pink as roses glistening with dew opened before him. He breathed in the scent of her essence, relishing the lingering sweetness. His tongue licked and sucked swirling around her clit. Just when she was about to climax, he moved his tongue off the hard little nub and moved his mouth lower.

Penetrating her with his tongue, he drove it in and out of her tight passage, alternating between shallow and deep and occasionally with a twist. She moaned at the sensation. He lapped at her clit, gently circling it with his tongue before taking it into his mouth and sucking. Again, when she was close to climaxing, he pulled away from her, eliciting a moan of disapproval.

“Why do you always stop?” She slammed her fists into the mattress.

He ignored her protests, knowing full well she enjoyed the slow torment as much as he did. In time, he very well might show her what real sexual torment and the accompanying frustration and gratification felt like. He ran one finger down the length of her creamy slit, drawing her natural lubricant lower. When he reached the small pucker of her rim, he stopped. Henna gasped, and he felt a small shiver of pleasure skitter through her.

“You like it when I touch you here, don't you?” He began a gentle yet insistent massage with his thumb. Henna nodded. He inserted his finger up to the first joint. She hissed in a small gasp and her eyes sparkled with anticipation. She liked anal play as much as he did. “Later.”

“What about now?” she asked, annoyance, frustration, arousal, and anticipation mingling in her words.

“Don't be so impatient.” He laughed. “You are wanton.”

“A woman knowing what she wants doesn't make her wanton,” Henna said, stiffening. Eduardo sensed dangerous terrain approaching and quickly moved clear.

“Of course not.” He rose from between their legs and climbed onto the bed, pulling her next to him. Without hesitation or pulling back, her tongue slipped in his mouth, tangling with his. He pressed her back on the bed, hoping she understood that on occasion he liked to be in charge of his own seductions.

Leaning over her, with his arm cradling her neck, he continued to stroke and pinch the folds of her labia occasionally dipping a finger then two inside. She trembled around his hand, her arms grasping him behind the head and pulling his mouth to hers. With a back-arching cry, she shuddered and climaxed, falling back against the curve of his arm once she was satiated.

“That was lovely,” she said, kissing him and started to get up.

“I'm so happy you appreciate my efforts,” he said, dragging her back down on the bed. “We're not done.”

Henna let her fingers creep inside the trousers he wore, slowly inching their way to his already stiff and ready cock. He rolled to his back and put his arms behind his head, perfectly content to be the object rather than the instigator of what was to come. He did unbutton and unzip his trousers before pushing them down and releasing his thrumming cock.

Her hand slid up and down the shaft, stopping on occasion to toy with the slit in the tip or to squeeze hard or gently. In their time together, Henna had made a great study of his cock and what it took to pleasure him. She knew him better than he knew himself.

In one move, she took him in her mouth, sucking hard and vigorously enough to make him gasp. That was new. While he was still accommodating himself to the delicious onslaught of her mouth, a second surprise came in the form of her finger reaching between his ass cheeks.

A finger rather indelicately pushed inside his unprepared hole, drowning him in a world of sensation. She forced the digit past the ring of muscle as her mouth sucked at his balls drawing them in one at a time. His back arched, forcing her finger in deeper. She took his dick into her mouth as deep as he would go while curling the finger in his anus. He cried out like he didn't know he was still capable of doing as a climax the likes of which he hadn't had in years exploded from him.

“Henna,” he sighed as she returned to the curve of his arm.

“Did you like that?” She leaned over him and studied his face.

“Yes.” He pulled her mouth to his, letting the kiss linger before he moved his mouth to her neck.

“I'm late,” she said but didn’t move.

“How did you know to do that?” he asked pressing his lips to her hair. “With your fingers.”

“You did it to me,” she said. “I like it. You seem to enjoy anal play. I figured you'd like the same.”

“I did,” he said. “Nobody has done that to me before.”

“I may have a surprise for you later on.” She gave him an impish smile.

“What?”

“You'll see,” she said.

“You forgive me?”

“I suppose I do,” she said. “I just don't want her near you. I've never been jealous like that before. It does sort of make a person crazy, doesn't it?”

“It does. I think she may leave,” he said. “Perhaps. Maybe no. One never knows with Fatima.”

“What did you tell her?”

“More like she told me,” he said. “Fatima has given me an ultimatum to which I have responded.”

“Which was?”

“Marry her or no Fatima.” He ran his hand down her bare hip. “I will not be dictated to by a woman who has little of interest to offer.”

“What could you possibly want that you don't already have in abundance? Truly, I can't imagine what is missing from your life.”

“I would like another child,” he said. “I am still young and healthy. I like the idea of becoming a father again. This is not something Fatima can give me. She is older than I. Her time to bare children has passed. But you...” He gave her body an appraising look. “Your body is ripe and ready to be filled.”

“Is that the reason you like me?” Henna asked, wondering what her response should be. Part of her told her to be pleased he thought of her as a potential mother for his child. The other part told her to be offended he looked at her like a brood mare.

“No,” he said. “I like your eyes. Your smile. I love your body. You make me laugh. Fatima does not make me laugh. She makes me cringe.”

“So if I said ‘Eduardo, we get along. The sex is great. Let's reproduce.’ What would you say?”

“I'd say I'd like to spend some more time getting to know you,” he said. “I'm sorry I made you angry, but I might have to do it again just to make up with you.”

“I'm sure you'll think of something,” she said.

Eduardo laughed. “Henna, you don't know what you do to me.”

She kissed him on the tip of his nose then rolled away and off the bed. She kicked off her shoes and continued barefoot across the room.

“Where are you going?” He grabbed her hand.

“I have to get ready for tonight. Unlike you, I can't just take a shower, run my hand through my hair, and voila, be gorgeous. It takes a lot of work to be me.”

“Wear the white,” he said.

“I thought you liked the red the best.”

“I'm not going to be with you, and I like the white the least.” He kissed her fingers. “Save the red for another night.”

She smiled, took back her hand, and disappeared into the bathroom. Eduardo lay back in the bed with his arms spread wide and let his bare body sink into the mattress. He was tempted to just lie there, but he had to be in the lobby in less than an hour. The shower was running when he walked into the bathroom and Henna was under the water. “How was your spa trip?”

“Disastrous,” she said. “Eden was mean to me. I probably overreacted. I did overreact. I'll make up with her tonight.”

He picked up one of the earrings he bought for her that morning and examined it. “What happened?”

“Nothing. It was stupid. Eden and Gloria were teasing me. I should have brushed it off, but I didn't.”

“Teasing you about what?”

“They wanted to know if I had a sugar daddy buying me jewelry or if I was a dominatrix with my own dungeon and was paid in gems. Puerile, juvenile behavior, and I let myself get sucked in. What they were saying was just so rude and so typical of Eden. Now that I'm saying this out loud to you, I feel even more ridiculous for the way I reacted.”

“Sounds like you had every right to be angry with them. They are grown women. Not little girls. They should act like grown women.”

“Truthfully, I do love my sister, but she can be very jealous when she thinks that I'm somehow getting something more or better than she is, so I've always just let her win at mine's better than yours. I don't know where this comes from. I was in college by the time she started kindergarten so there really was no rivalry when we were growing up.”

“Ah,” he said. “I can tell you why she's jealous of you.”

“She is not jealous of me.”

“Yes, she is. You are your father's favorite. She knows this. It's obvious to me. Eden is a lovely girl, but you are well educated and a successful doctor. Eden's ability with languages is admirable, but having such an accomplished older sister is a hard example to live up to.”

Henna turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He handed her a towel after opening it with a flick of his wrist.

“I never thought of it like that. I'm not certain you're right, but it would explain a lot.”

He watched as she dried her body. Telling her he wanted a child hadn't sent her running. A good sign. He kissed her on the cheek. “Don't let Gloria bother you,” he said. “I'll speak with her.”

“Don't,” she said. “I don't want her to think I ran and told on her. Besides, I think she's on to us, and I'd rather not have any problems with her between now and until the wedding is over. I am going to tell you now, that if she threatens me with a shotgun or comes after me with a machete, we're going to have a problem.”

“You heard about that?”

“Yes. I'm becoming a big fan of passion, but not when guns and knives are involved.”

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Have a good evening. I'll come back here to spend the night with you. That is if you'll let me take a new key.”

“You can take a new key.”

He kissed her again then left. Before shutting the door, he checked that he had the right card. Instead of going across the hall to his room, he went down the hall seven doors and thumped on it.

Hector answered in his underwear.

“Go put your pants on,” he ordered Hector as he walked past him into the room.

“You can't just walk in here,” Hector told him. “We're not children anymore.”

He picked up a robe from the floor and threw it at Gloria who was trying to hide under the blankets. “You and I need to have a conversation about you thinking it's acceptable to be a bitch to Henna when she's done nothing to harm you.”

“We'll be down in ten minutes.” Hector held the door open and gestured for him to leave.

He turned around, put a hand on Hector's chest, and shoved him out the still open door and onto his rear in the hallway. “Don't even start with me. Esmeralda is on her way to Switzerland right now. Have you even bothered to call her?”

“No.” Hector looked up at him from the floor, and for a brief moment, Eduardo saw the boy he'd known since birth.

Eduardo pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket and tossed it at Hector. “Call her now, you spoiled little shit bag.” He closed the door, leaving Hector outside the room. What he needed to say to Gloria had nothing to do with Hector.

Gloria was out of the bed, wrapped in the robe, and, based on the way her arms crossed her body, ready to fight with him.

“What is the matter with you?” he shouted.

“I was just having some fun,” Gloria shouted back. “She didn't have to be so touchy!”

“I told you this morning to keep your mouth shut. What do you do? Instead of showing me respect or consideration, you mock the gifts I buy for a beautiful woman who has given me so much joy in such a small amount of time.”

“I get it,” Gloria shrieked. “Okay? What is the big deal? I was just teasing her a little.”

“You try to ruin the first dose of happiness I've had since your mother died. Why? Why would you do this to me? What have I done to you to deserve such disrespect?”

“You are overreacting, and so is she. I can't believe she told you what happened.” Gloria examined her nails as she flicked her hair. “What a child.”

“She was right to tell me what happened,” he replied. “She also told me that she knows about you and Fatima. What you think is some harmless teasing, she very rightfully sees as an unbalanced lunatic being hostile towards her.”

Gloria's face fell slightly. “She knows about that? Who told her?”

“I didn't ask. She knows. That's what matters. Right now, she thinks you're a maniac who’s coming for her next. Do you see now how your stupid, childish behavior might cost me a relationship I want to explore? What woman in her right mind wants to be with a man who has a child that might start chasing her with a machete?”

Gloria rolled her eyes and huffed a little. “I am not going to chase her with a machete. Before she overreacted this afternoon—”

He held up a silencing hand. “She was going to refuse my gifts because the idea of taking something expensive made her uncomfortable. It took a great deal of convincing to get her to accept what I offered her. Then what do you do? You highlight the very things that made her uncomfortable to begin with.”

“Like she had a sugar daddy,” Gloria said with a grimace.

“Now you are seeing things through eyes other than your own. You are very stupid and selfish sometimes. You think only of yourself and not of others. That you were like this disappointed your mother terribly. She wanted you to be kind. Often you are not. There are times when you have no empathy.”

Mentioning Pilar had the effect he wanted. Gloria finally seemed to understand the world that existed beyond her limited scope. “Eden was much worse. Much worse.”

“That's an excuse? Henna knows her sister and can judge what was harmless, yet infantile teasing. She doesn't know you other than you went after Fatima and that you pretty well accused her of being a gold digger.”

“Are you sure she's not a gold digger?”

He stared at his daughter.

“Don't think I haven't seen the prenuptial agreement you made Romeo have Eden sign. You can go on about destiny all you want, but at the end of the day you still covered your ass.”

“There is a meanness in you that is ugly to me as it was to your mother. If she knew how you'd treated Henna, knowing I was developing feelings for her, she would cry and wonder what she had done wrong in raising you.” Perhaps a bit low, but it worked. There were times when he needed a sledgehammer to break through Gloria's thick skull.

“I'm really sorry.” Gloria started to cry.

Her tears no longer worked on him. They hadn't for twenty years. “I don't care what you have to do, but you make friends with Henna. She's very kind. Perhaps you can learn something from her.”

“I'll try to make it up to her tonight,” Gloria said. “I'll tell her I was just teasing. I'll let her know that I'm really okay with the two of you being together. Which I am.”

“Pay attention!” he barked. “Do not let her know you know. I'm not pleased with Esmeralda that she called you, but I should have anticipated that. It was stupid of me to tell her something I wanted her to keep quiet. Nothing until after the wedding.”

“Everybody knows,” Gloria said. “Between you acting like a teenager and her walking around like she owns you—”

“Not another word.” He opened the door and walked into the hallway. Hector sat on the ground with his hands wrapped around the phone.

“Did you talk to her?” He crouched down and took the phone from Hector.

“She won't talk to me.” He looked up, eyes somber and strained. “Screamed at me for a minute when she realized it wasn't you on the phone and hung up. I think I really might have gone too far, leaving her behind.”

“She doesn't belong here,” he said. “Her being here would only cause problems. You have to stop letting her hijack how you live your life. Romeo figured this out. Now you need to.” Eduardo stood and offered Hector a hand. “One more thing.” He put his hand on Hector's chest and pushed him against a wall. “You either marry my daughter, or you stop treating her like a whore. If I catch the two of you in bed together again, and she doesn't have a ring on her finger, I'll cut your dick off myself. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes.” Hector said.

Eduardo gave him a smart, but not hard, slap across the face. “So you don't forget.”

He released Hector from the wall and stalked back down the hall to his own room. When he was behind the door, he called Esmeralda's head of security to confirm she was still in Europe and not on a flight to Bermuda. He couldn't reach anyone. This was noteworthy, but not worrying. He had other resources. After he made a few calls, he pulled himself together.

There were messages on his phone, and a text from Henna. Esmeralda was truly in Switzerland. He was to come across the hall when ready.

He was ready. He left his room and walked into hers. Judith and Midge sat in the matching club chairs set near the window. Each looked at him with vastly different expressions as he walked into the room. Henna stood at the mirror and turned to him. She was in the white dress paired up with lime green shoes and the emeralds. Her hair was pulled up and off of her neck. It was lucky for her that her mother and her aunt were in the room. Otherwise, her hair wouldn't have stood a chance.

“Ladies. I was not expecting you.”

“Oh...” Henna looked at him. “I forgot to send you a follow up text. So much for being discreet.”

“Oh, my god,” Judith gasped. “You two are sleeping together. I knew it. Just don't let daddy find out. He'll have a kitten. He's already not happy about the fact your brother is behaving like a sailor on shore leave. You two mincing about won't help matters.”

“Judith,” he said. “I am a grown man. I feel no need to conceal my behavior from Mel.”

“You make a good couple,” Midge said. “My brother is a big boy. Don't let him bother you.” She stood up, pulling Judith up with her. “We're late. We'll meet you two at the elevator.”

“Don't dawdle,” Judith told Henna.

The two women left.

“Did you need me?” he asked her when they were alone.

“Not really,” she said. “I just wanted you to see me in my dress. Tell me I'm a vision or a goddess or…as you like.” She shrugged a little. “You pick.”

He laughed. “You are a vision.” He bent down and kissed her. “Thank you for letting me worship you.” His hands held her hips then slid down her thighs to the hem of her dress. He kissed her again as he drew up the fabric to her waist. He hooked his thumbs around her panties.

“Do not rip my panties off me. I don't care that you paid for them. I love them too much.”

Instead of ripping at the fabric, he shimmied them down her hips and thighs as he knelt in front of her. He blew on her wet, exposed sex, then gave it a long lick. The tip of his tongue slipped between her lips and found her clit. She leaned back against the dresser, supporting herself with her hands. He let his tongue flicker and pulse while her fingers threaded through his hair. He sat back just a touch then spread her lips with two fingers. Just enough to expose the bright pink button. His lips curled into a tight circle and he blew air, cool and hard.

“Oh.” Henna sighed. She was close. He knew. He could tell.

He finished sliding her panties down her legs. When they were unhooked from around her shoes, he stood. He delved two fingers inside her wet cunt. The muscles clamped tight around them. “I think I'm going to leave you like this,” he said. “Unsatisfied. Wanting me.”

“No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “You wouldn't.”

“Yes. I would.” He withdrew his fingers, stooped to pick up her panties, and tucked them inside his jacket pocket.

“That is mean.”

“Yes.” He adjusted the hem of her dress, letting it fall. “Feel free to punish me later.” He took her chin in his fingers, lifting her lips to his. The kiss opened her mouth. His tongue flicked and licked hers as it had her clit. Again, he pulled away before she was ready for to let him go.

“Oh, I will.” She stepped away from him, but not before her hand landed hard on his ass. She picked up a glossy red clutch and headed to the door. With the clutch tucked under one arm, she reached for the neckline of her dress and flashed her breasts at him. “Hard?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She tucked her breasts into her dress. “Hurry up. They already know we're sleeping together. I don't need my mother giving me funny looks.”

They walked together to the elevator where Midge and Judith waited. Judith looked at her watch. “Ten minutes.”

“I work well under pressure,” Eduardo said and put his hand on Henna's back.

Midge laughed and Judith looked horrified. Henna just shook her head. The doors opened, revealing Leo and Mel. “Where the hell have you women been? It's like wrangling cats,” Mel grumbled. “Eduardo. Good. Any sign of Hector or Romeo?”

“There.” Leo pointed. His hand fell against the elevator door that started to close.

He looked behind him and saw Hector, Gloria, Romeo, and Eden. Henna followed his gaze, then stepped away from him. Gloria. Although he had never actually beaten his child, he considered it as a real possibility at that moment.

Mel gestured for the four to move it along.

“We are not all going to fit in there,” Judith said. “Boys wait. Ladies first.”

Mel and Leo traded places on the elevator with Henna, Judith and Midge. Gloria and Eden stepped on last. Henna avoided Gloria carefully as she moved to stand between her mother and her aunt. This was not what he wanted.

“Hola!” He turned along with everyone else at the call from down the hallway. Fatima came charging after them, arm waving and bosom heaving.

Fatima stopped at his shoulder. She turned to him and told him in Spanish. “Esmeralda called me. You lied to me.” She smiled then walked onto the elevator with the women. Before the door closed, Fatima gave him a little wave. This was definitely not what he wanted.

****

Henna spent the ride in the elevator ignoring glares from Fatima and avoiding Gloria, who seemed determined to get closer. Midge and her mother were better human shields than she could have ever previously envisioned.

When they sat at dinner, one on either side of her, the two women stared at her without speaking until she grew so uncomfortable she had to break the silence. “What?”

“Really, Henna,” her mother said. “Romeo's father?”

“Honey,” Aunt Midge said. “All I got to say is, hubba hubba. You've done me proud. He's foxy.”

“He's incredible,” she told her aunt. “He's nothing like any other man I've ever met.”

“Well, I'm a fan,” Aunt Midge said. “Any fella who puts roses in your cheeks is okay by me.”

“This is ridiculous,” Judith said. “It's bad enough Eden is practically eloping with a stranger, but now you're…keeping company with his father? This is very unlike you, Henna.”

“Is that a bad thing?” she asked, not really looking for an answer. “He makes me think differently. What do you think about destiny?”

“Like love at first sight?” Aunt Midge asked.

“Sure,” she said. “Like love at first sight.”

“The first time I saw your Uncle Lou, I knew I would spend my life with him.” Aunt Midge smiled sadly. “I'll never forget it. It was at Coney Island, and your dad was trying to set me up with that Jimmy—what was his name, Judith?”

“Oh, god.” Her mother’s eyes rolled slightly. “I'm getting old. Jimmy…Jimmy Horschack.”

“That's it. Jimmy Horschack. Wonder whatever happened to him?” Aunt Midge shrugged a little. “Anyhow, Mel's got it all set up for me to meet Jimmy Horschack. Well, he shows up with Jimmy Horschack and your Uncle Lou. But your Uncle Lou wasn't there to meet me. He was there to meet your mother's friend. What was her name?” Midge asked her mother who stared blankly into space.

“Dottie Cohen,” her mother cheered at last. “My memory isn't totally gone.”

“Anyhow,” Aunt Midge continued. “Could have been Farrah Fawcett he was there to meet, and it wouldn't have mattered. It was love at first sight. I knew I would be with your Uncle Lou from that moment on, and it was the same for him. Does that answer your question, honey?”

For a moment, she'd forgotten her question then remembered she wanted to know if her mother and aunt believed in destiny. “Yes, I think it does. Not everything, especially matters of the heart, are always predictable.”

“That's the truth!” her mother said. “You're a planner like me, Henna, but some things defy order. Think of it this way. What would have happened if I hadn't been pulled over for speeding in your grandfather's brand new Chrysler New Yorker in Midtown when I was supposed to be in English class? I never would have met your father.”

“You realize that daddy offering to take you on a date instead of writing you a ticket is against the law?”

“Honestly Henna.” Her mother sighed. “You are a fuddy-duddy. Do you have any idea how angry grandpa would have been with me not only for skipping school but for speeding in his new car? Besides, your father was just the most handsome thing in his uniform. He looked like Magnum P.I.”

“Does everybody believe in destiny?” Henna asked. “I'm starting to think I need to rethink my position on what is an acceptable way to find a man. Maybe I should start listening to fortunetellers and tossing pennies into wishing wells. I like Eduardo, but I'm not convinced that anything can come from a flirtation under extraordinary circumstances.”

“Henna.” Her aunt took her hand and squeezed it. “You are my niece and I love you. I think it's possible Eduardo is the best thing that's happened to you in years. He's a lovely man. Kind, friendly, charming, handsome as the devil, and he loves his family. He also knows how to live. I say run with it.”

“I actually have to agree,” her mother said. “Maybe I was a bit quick to find fault with how you met him, but the reality is, he's a lovely man. Go for it.”

“I would, but there may be a problem. Or two. Possibly more.” She told them about Gloria, Fatima, the machete, and Eduardo's dubious taste in women. The three of them stood together in their desire to avoid both confrontation and trouble on the eve of Eden's wedding. Her mother and aunt finding out about Eduardo made life easier, rather than more complicated as she originally thought such a revelation would.

After dinner, drinks, and too much dessert, she made her way to the ladies room. She should have known better than to go alone. She should have taken Midge or her mother, but they were engrossed in conversation with Inez. Besides, she was a grown woman. She didn't need her mother to take her to the potty anymore.

The ladies room, with its dark wood, white marble, and pale yellow walls, neither felt nor looked like a trap. It wasn't until she was inside and Fatima stood between her and the door that she knew there was only one way out.

“Do you know we are getting married?” Fatima said. “Eduardo and I.”

“Are you?” she said lightly. “Congratulations. When is the big day?” Henna had no doubt in her mind that Fatima was deluded. Although she'd known him only a brief time, she knew he was an honorable man. He'd told her Fatima was aware of the fact they were going no further as a couple and Henna believed him.

“We have not exactly set a date,” Fatima confessed. “But this was decided two months ago. Two months ago.”

“How about you and I just cut to the chase,” she said. “You want to tell me to stay away from your man.”

“Stay away from my man.” Fatima growled as her pretty face turned sharp. “I don't know who you think you are, but I do know that Eduardo is confused and vulnerable. Romeo getting married reminded him he is no longer as young as he used to be. Whatever he is going through now is not being helped by you. He needs me. He is my man.”

“He's not your man, honey,” she said, mimicking her Aunt Midge. “Based on the fact he's spent the past two nights with me I am positive he's not your man.”

“He lied to me. He told me he was in his room alone. He doesn't want anybody to know that the two of you are lovers.”

“Or here's a thought. We're being discreet.”

Hands on hips, Fatima shoved her boobs in Henna’s face. “Or he doesn't want anyone to know.”

“That must be it,” she said calmly, pleased for the first time in two days she wasn't wholly driven by passion. “We are at my sister's party, and I am sure you do not want to make a scene in front of all of these people.”

“Stay away from him!” Fatima exhaled.

“Or what? You're going to huff and puff and blow my house down? You can't do anything to me. I'm not afraid of you, and the truth is, if you really start pissing me off, I imagine all I have to do is tell Eduardo and he'll deal with you directly. He's really very gentlemanly, but I suspect you do not want to make him angry.” The look on Fatima's face told her she was right. “I think you know perfectly well what Eduardo wants, and the truth is, you know you can't give it to him.”

“And what would that be?” Fatima asked. “Because you don't have half of what I have.” She gestured to her body with a flick of her hands and her wrists.

“How about a working uterus?” Why was she letting herself get drawn in? Why? “I know what he really wants, and it isn't a pair of giant fake boobs. He wants children.”

“Ridiculous,” Fatima scoffed. “Babies! Do you know how long it took me to talk him out of that nonsense? My children are grown. His children are grown. He will come to his senses soon enough. You stay away from him and do not give him any ideas. Just so you know, these are real!”

The door to one of the stalls flew open. “What do you mean my father wants children?” Gloria shouted.

Henna shrieked and her hand slammed against her chest. Gloria moved like a stiletto-shod ninja across to the bathroom. Accusing and shifty eyes darted from one woman to the other. “My father has two children. He doesn't need any more children.”

“You didn't know this?” Fatima turned to Gloria. “Your father, he wants babies. He wants a whole new family. Babies, babies, babies. It's all he talks about.”

“What do you mean my father wants babies?” Gloria stood with hands on hips and hair swishing. “He's too old to have children.”

“Actually,” Henna said. “He's not. Professionally speaking, he's actually at what many consider to be the optimal age for a man to have children—”

“Did I ask you?” Gloria shouted at her. She turned to Fatima. “What do you know about this?”

Fatima smiled like a cat. “Since he returned from Mexico, all he could talk about was starting his life again. Getting married. Another family. Having babies. Well, while you were off in New York and Romeo was in Italy, I was in Colombia trying to convince your father that he didn't want more children. Then she comes along with her bony ass and her skinny hips and all of a sudden he tells me we're really finished and he wants babies.”

Gloria raised her palms up. “Just...” She looked to Henna. “Is this true? Does my father really want to have more children? With you? You two aren't just fucking? Are you actually getting serious about each other? Oh, my god. Is that was he was talking about when he told me about the two of you today? You hardly know him, and you two are talking kids? What the hell!” The anger had been replaced by confusion. Possibly more dangerous than rage. She couldn't tell with Gloria. It was time to get out of there.

“I'm... You know what? This is my sister's hen party. I would actually rather talk to sane people and not you two crazy lunatics.”

She fled from the bathroom and immediately went to her mother, Aunt Midge, and Inez. “Remind me never to go to the bathroom alone again.” Placing the women between her, Gloria, and Fatima seemed like the smartest move.

“What's the matter?” Inez asked.

“Fatima is going to stick a knife in me.” Probably best not to mention Gloria to her grandmother.

“Fatima is a lunatic,” Inez said. “Sometime, when we have a moment and a pitcher of gimlets to share, I'll tell you all about Fatima and Don Juan Esperanza.”

“I need to hear that one,” Midge said.

“I still need to pee,” she said.

“Henna!” her mother scolded. “Really. Try to at least pretend you're a lady.”

“What? I didn't get a chance to pee. Fatima practically jumped me in the bathroom. I didn't get a chance to go.”

“Poor girl!” Inez laughed. “I never understood why Pilar tolerated her. I suppose that is friendship.”

Henna stood up. “I'm going to my room. Hopefully I'll be safe there. Just watch my back. If you see her stalking me, call security.”

She was nearly free of the bar, when Gloria stopped her. “Henna, I'm sorry.” Henna sort of heard Gloria's words, but all she could truly concentrate on was the large brilliant blue cocktail in her hand. “I didn't mean to jump at you like that...”

Fatima walked up behind Gloria and either tripped on accident or purpose. Only Fatima would ever really know. Either way, Fatima gave Gloria enough of a shove to jerk her arm. Whether the force of the shove was enough to send the contents of Gloria's glass flying was something only Gloria knew. What Henna knew, was that Gloria's cocktail covered her dress like a Pollack painting. Just like she knew it would the moment she saw the drink in Gloria's hand.

She looked down at herself then up at Gloria and Fatima. “You did that on purpose.” She didn't speak to either of them in particular.

“It was an accident,” Gloria grabbed a handful of cocktail napkins.

Henna took the napkins and began mopping up her dress. “I... You know what? It's fine. It doesn't matter. Please just leave me alone. If you are going to start attacking me because I spend time with your father, you win. I'm fond of him, but not enough to have drinks thrown on me or worse.”

“I said it was an accident,” Gloria said. “I don't care that you and my father are sleeping together.”

“You know about this? Does everybody know?”

“Everybody knows,” Gloria said.

Inez, Henna’s mother, and Aunt Midge came up to them.

“What does everybody know?” Inez asked. “Oh, dear. If you get it to soak, it'll come out. I know the best drycleaner on the island. What does everybody know?”

“Eduardo and this one are fucking,” Fatima said, giving Henna a nod. “Everybody knows.”

“You classless twit,” Inez snipped at Fatima. “Do you have any sense of decorum?”

Before Gloria or Fatima had the chance to say another word, she fled. Out of the bar, across the lobby, and to the elevators.

“Henna!”

There was no need to look to know Midge followed. They stepped into the elevator together. A couple her parents’ age tried to join them.

“Take the next one,” Midge told them. “This one is full.”

The couple looked offended but stepped back all the same.

The doors closed, allowing for privacy. “You want to tell me what that was all about?” Midge asked.

“Gloria is mean to me,” Henna sniffled and sobbed into her hands. “And she's crazy.” She looked up from her hands to her aunt. “She is. She's absolutely crazy.”

Midge put an arm around her shoulders. Not an easy feat for the tiny woman who stood half of a head shorter than Henna. “I saw what happened. It did look like an accident. But then, sometimes an accident isn't really an accident. What to do is the question.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Do you remember Stephanie Drinkhall?”

Henna snorted. “Like I could ever forget that little bitch.”

“What did your mother tell you to do when she was hassling you?”

“She told me to try to make friends with her.”

“What happened?”

“She stole my boyfriend, and I sat in Fraschelli's Diner with Uncle Lou eating cheesecake when I was supposed to be at homecoming. Uncle Lou was the best.”

“He was the best.”

The elevator opened at her floor. Behind her door, the dress was assessed for damage. “What the hell was she drinking? Blue dye?”

“Get it off,” Midge said. “Maybe if we get it to soak, we can save it.”

Henna slipped into the bathroom and out of her dress. Midge handed her a towel after turning on the faucet in the bathtub. “Have you taken to not wearing underpants?”

“Don't ask.” The dress was dropped into the tub.

“I was young and in love once. I don't need details. Tell me you have another dress.”

“I have a red and a black.”

“Which one makes you look like more of a floosy?”

“The red.”

“Get it on.”

“I think I'm done for the night.”

Midge put a hand to her ear. “Did you hear that?”

She shook her head. “I didn't hear anything.”

“I did. It was your grandmother Elena rolling over in her grave. You call yourself a Hirsch woman. Act like one. You get in that dress and you show both of those women you aren't afraid of either of them.”

“Really? Grandma Elena rolling over in her grave.”

“She wouldn't have let some chit push her around and neither will you. Now.” Midge gave her a firm swat on the butt. “Get that red dress on.”

“You're a very bad woman.”

“Never forget you get it from me.”

The red dress was the color of lipstick and the armor of a femme fatale. “Are you sure about this?” she asked Midge. The two stood side by side in front of the mirror. “I don't want to stir the pot.”

“Chicken.”

“I'm not a chicken.”

“Chicken. Little fluffy chicken that would rather stay in her safe little shell than crack it open and see what's out in the world.” Midge handed her the silver shoes they'd picked out.

She snatched the shoes from her aunt. “I am not a chicken.” The shoes gave her another three inches and would probably bring her eye level with Gloria, assuming she'd taken off her shoes. It wasn't much, but it would do.

“You are not a chicken. You're a Hirsch. Nobody pushes you around.”

In the elevator, Henna looked down at Midge. “Whatever happened to Stephanie Drinkhall?”

“She's a grandmother and works as a cashier at the grocery store.”

“She's a grandmother? She's my age.”

“What can I tell you? When you left for college, she had her first kid. Her daughter had a baby not that long ago.”

“Wow,” she said. “You know, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing I had braces, bad skin, and unmanageable hair when I was in high school. At least I had a lot of time to spend studying.”

“You're a swan now honey.”

“Am I?” She looked down at her aunt as they stood just outside the bar.

“You're a great beauty. Now. Tits up and ass out.” Midge gave her a small shove, which sent her on her way. Of course, the first person she encountered was Gloria.

She raised a hand before Gloria could get a word out. “Not another word from you. Not one. And if my dress is ruined, you're buying me a new one.”

Gloria smiled a maliciously contrived smirk. “Considering my father paid for that one—”

“Don't even go there,” Henna said. “Get it through your head now. For your sake. My relationship with Eduardo has nothing to do with you. Not one thing. If you ruined my dress, you're going to replace it.”

“It was an accident,” Gloria said.

“I'm sure it was. And like with all accidents, if you caused it, you need to fix it. Considering that dress cost as much as a car, use that as your base comparison. If you'd rear-ended me, you'd have to pay for that, too. No matter who paid for the car. The dress is going to the cleaners tomorrow. If it doesn't come back pristine, I have the receipt upstairs.”

Gloria stood her ground with a hand on her hip. “I'm not paying for a dress that my father bought.”

“Yes, you will. Because you need to start acting like an adult. That would be the adult thing to do.” A thought took seed then bloomed like a firecracker. She'd known a few rich girls in her life. They all had the same bitch and moan. “Or are you really going to tell your father to pay for it for you? Haven't you reached an age when you're getting a bit old for that?”

The sharp intake of breath and the flash in the eyes told her she'd hit pay dirt. Eduardo might have adored his children, but chances were he'd had more than one conversation with his daughter about her credit card bill.

And Gloria might have been taller than her, but Henna stared her down. “You'll either get the bill for the dry-cleaning or the dress. If you need your daddy to pay for it, that's between the two of you.”

She walked away with her head high as a thousand generations of Hirsch women who had come before her silently cheered her on in her head.

****

Henna sat up in bed, with her book reader in her hands, and a dilemma in her heart. Did she strangle Eduardo for telling everyone they were lovers, or did she push him off the balcony and claim it was an accident? Decisions, decisions.

The door opened and Eduardo stumbled in, somehow managing to land face down on the bed.

“You're so beautiful,” he told her with a smile.

“You're drunk.” She set her book reader on the nightstand. “And you smell like booze and cigarette smoke. Have you been smoking?”

“Will you be angry with me if I've been smoking?”

“Yes.”

“Then no.” A moment later, he started to laugh. “Okay. Maybe I've been smoking. But I didn't inhale.”

“Unbelievable.” She slid out of bed and to her feet. “I may have inadvertently told Gloria that you wanted children.”

“I know,” he said. “She sent me a text. I also know about your dress. It truly was an accident. I believe her. I told her I'd buy you a new one. She insists on replacing it herself. Very mature of her. I'm pleased. She's growing up. You can't imagine what a pain in the ass she can be sometimes.”

“Oh, I probably can.” She slipped off one of his shoes then the other. “You're not angry she knows about you and your baby fetish?”

“No,” he said. “You're my destiny. In fact...” He leaned up and looked at her as she pulled off his socks. “I'm feeling lucky tonight. You want to hop on and make a baby?”

“Unbelievable. Are you even capable of performing right now?” She stood over him and watched him grab his cock through his trousers.

“I am good to go. But you need to do all of the work. I'm just going to lay here and let you have me.”

“You realize that making a baby has more to do with you feeling lucky?”

“Not really,” he said. “So far, I'm two for two. If I were a bull, my stud fee would be enormous. I have very lucky sperm.”

She unfastened his trousers then pulled them down his legs. “I'm on birth control.”

“Why are we using condoms? Why?”

She tossed his trousers to the side. “Because we are responsible adults who haven't had a discussion about our previous sexual relationships and whether or not we're going to be monogamous.”

“You suck the fun out of spontaneous, unprotected, baby-making sex.”

“Good,” she said. She straddled him to unbutton his shirt.

“I have had sex with three women. You included. I have no diseases.” He sat up just enough to let her get his shirt off of him.

She tossed his shirt to the side. “You can't be sure of that.” The idea of no longer having to worry about condoms appealed to her.

“I can. I went to the doctor to find out whether or not I was healthy. I am. I only want to be with you. Except, of course, for that thing you promised me for my birthday. Then we can use all the condoms you want to use. Happy?”

She considered what to do while turning off lights and double-checking the door.

“Yes,” she said. “But I'm not stopping my birth control anytime soon.”

“Why not?” He pushed off his own underwear, revealing an impressive erection that pointed to the ceiling.

“Because I need some time.” She climbed on the bed and on him. “I'm ready to admit I only want to be with you, but I'm not going to rush into parenthood.” She pushed herself up on her knees as her hand guided his erection into her pussy. The silky feel of his bare skin stroked her delicate skin. The unaccustomed sensation, rapidly fired up her arousal.

His hands reached up to fondle her breasts through the thin fabric of the cotton slip she wore for bed. He pinched and plucked at her nipples through the fine material. “I did warn you that I'm feeling very lucky. Just don't forget that.”

“I won't.” Being on top allowed Henna to control the pace and the movement. She alternatively plunged him deep inside her, then pulled up just to the point he nearly slipped out. Everything felt right. From the feel of friction of their bare skin working together to the familiar way they touched. There was a quiet perfection of how they came together.

Her orgasm built slowly according to her design. When she purposefully pushed herself over the top, she plunged down hard, drawing Eduardo deep into her body.

“Don't move.” His hands held tight to her hips. With a few jerks and twitches, he ejaculated deep inside her. Without pulling off of him, she lay on his chest. Strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.

After a while, she found her place on the bed next to Eduardo. The very moment when her body passed from awake to sleep, she sat up with a jolt. Quietly as she could, she slipped from the bed and dug out her planner. After flipping through the pages, she found what she looked for.

“Oh thank god,” she mumbled. She wasn't due to have another birth control shot until her next period started.

Eduardo could feel as lucky as he wanted to feel. She had modern medicine on her side.