The night breeze blew across the deck. Jen put her hands up in the air as she twirled and clapped and sang along with the music.
“You’re not a bad singer,” he said.
“Let me hear your singing voice, Mr. Stern,” she said.
He danced closer to her, pulling her into his arms and singing into her ear. She tipped her head up and looked him in the eyes.
He had no idea what he was going to do with her but tonight with the half moon hanging in the sky and calm waters all around them, it didn’t really matter.
All that mattered was the way Jen felt in his arms. When the song ended, she took his hand. “Slow dance with me.”
He felt her hands make their way under his shirt. She tucked her fingers into the back of his pants and held her to him as they swayed to the sound of the breeze blowing over the bow of the ship and the water that lapped gently against the boat.
And in that moment he knew that no matter what his logical mind might be thinking, he didn’t want to be anywhere else. Even with her problems and the complications that Jen brought into his life, she enriched it and gave him something he’d never thought he’d find.
“Thank you,” he said.
“What for?”
“For this. For tonight. For dancing with me even though you have every right to distrust all men thanks to Carlos.”
She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Brushed her lips over his and then held the back of his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. “You are easy to trust.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, very easy.”
Nate wanted to live up to her expectations of him but he was very afraid that he wouldn’t be the man she needed him to be.
But tonight there was no need to worry about disappointing her. He lifted her in his arms and carried her back down to the master suite and laid her in the center of the bed.
“Tired of dancing?” she asked.
“No. I just wanted to make love to you.”
“I’m glad.”
He took his time taking his clothes off and then removed hers. He kissed every inch of her body and then caressed her until she was moaning his name and begging him to enter her. He was on fire wanting her so badly but he needed to savor it tonight. Needed to take her slowly so that he could wring every ounce of pleasure from both of their bodies.
And he did. When he finally thrust into her, she came in a rush and he followed her with his own climax. He thought he’d never recover from the intensity of it. He curled himself around her when they both came down and tucked her close as they both fell asleep.
Jen was nervous the next day as she waited inside the main room of Luna Azul for Carlos to arrive. This plan had been gone over many times and she knew all she had to do was pretty much let Carlos do the talking. Nate, Justin and Cam were all waiting a few feet away along with a couple of Miami’s finest detectives. Thanks to the ceiling’s design, if you stood on the far end of it the voices on the other side were clear. It had been designed in the same style as the whispering gallery in St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The door opened letting in the bright Florida afternoon sun and Carlos. He walked over to her looking very confident. Now that Nate had mentioned it, he did look a little too slick for his own good.
“I see you changed your mind,” Carlos said by way of greeting.
“I haven’t,” she said. “I just wasn’t sure I heard you right the other night. The music was so loud.”
“Give me a break. You know what I said. If you don’t agree to my terms I will make sure your new bosses know all about your past as well as making you and this club the reason why I cannot teach in Little Havana.”
“What are your terms?”
“Since you don’t seem willing or able to help me get a job teaching at the dance academy, I think a hundred thousand dollars will do it.”
“For what? I don’t have that kind of money.”
“No, but your bosses do. And rumor has it you are dating one of them…Nate. I should have guessed that when I met him the other night.”
“That’s crazy, Carlos. I’m not going to be able to convince Nate to give me that kind of money.”
“For your sake, I hope you can,” he said. “You cost me my job, Jen, and my reputation.”
“That’s not true. You cost yourself your reputation. You asked me out and yet they blamed everything on me.”
“I did, but the panel found I was at fault as well. I was demoted to the regional circuit, if you recall…I’m not meant to live in Indiana, Jen.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. And she was sorry. Carlos had tried to make her the scapegoat but she at least had something else to turn to.