More Than a Mistress

Maybe it was the wine or just the quiet comfort of the house, but Sonia relaxed into an enjoyable conversation with Esteban as they finished the meal. When her plate was clean, she patted her stomach.

“Thank you, that was delicious.” She drained the last of the wine from her glass and stood, reluctant to leave but not wanting to overstay her welcome.

The legs of Esteban’s stool scraped the floor when he pushed it back. “Thank you for joining me.” He went over to the desk, opened the top drawer, and withdrew an envelope, the same as he’d done the first time.

Sonia quietly took it. “Thank you. Good night.” She turned to leave.

“What do you do when you go home at night, alone?”

Esteban’s voice stopped her departure. He settled his butt on the edge of the desk and folded his arms, waiting for an answer.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a shame that you sleep alone. I sleep alone. Maybe we should sleep together.”

She laughed, heart racing. “Are you drunk?”

“I’m quite sober. All night with my guests you were charming, funny, sweet. They like you. I like you. So why do you go home alone?”

She hadn’t told him about Pedro, that the man whose résumé she’d handed him at the first party was her boyfriend. At the very least, he ensured she didn’t spend every night alone, though that hadn’t been the case for a while. They’d been drifting apart.

“Thank you for this.” She held up the envelope and folded it, tucking it into the pocket of her jumpsuit. “I appreciate your generosity more than you know, but the extent of our conversation should center around business.”

“There’s more than business between us, querida. You know that as well as I do. You pretend with me, but I’m no fool. If I kissed you right now, you would kiss me back.”

Her heart rate quadrupled. “If you kissed me right now, I’d slap you.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

The arrogant, smug way he dismissed her comment inflamed her anger. “Why do you sleep alone, Esteban?” she asked, throwing caution to the wind. “Other than the woman I saw you with after Arturo’s party, is there anyone in your life? Do you have a girlfriend?”

“I don’t have girlfriends. I don’t need girlfriends.”

“Of course you don’t. You have your cars and your big house and your private plane, which makes women flock to you, I’m sure. It doesn’t matter if you have a heart, because all that matters is the money.”

“Having a heart is for weak fools. When you have a heart, it gets trampled on by selfish people who don’t give a damn about you and your heart. You want to know what matters, Sonia?” He pushed off from the desk and came closer, his dark eyes glittering down at her. “Money, querida, is what matters. You don’t want to hear that, but it’s the truth. Money is more important than heart. More important than love.”

“I feel sorry for you.”

“Really? Is that what you feel, when you look at me with those big brown eyes, as if you want to tear my clothes off? When you look at me and lick your lips, as if you want to lick my skin?”

“I-I don’t do that.”

He let out a dark chuckle, one filled with the raw hunger of a man who’d reached the edge of restraint. “I’d have to be blind not to see how much you want me, and I’ve been very patient, giving you time to get used to me, but tonight, you’ve tested me in this outfit. You’re not wearing a bra, and I can see your nipples pressing against the fabric. But you know that, don’t you? That’s why you wore it.”

“That’s not true!” Sonia’s voice shook with the need to make him believe the lie. That she hadn’t worn this one-shouldered jumpsuit with him in mind. That she hadn’t considered how the royal-blue color looked against her skin, or spent much too much time making sure her face, hair, and makeup were perfect.

“Business?” Esteban continued with a scoff. “You weaken what’s between us to business—what’s been between us from the beginning.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing between us, and I’m leaving.”

His hand snaked out and caught her wrist. “Admit you feel the way that I do.”

She twisted her arm, but he refused to release her. “You said you were hiring me to be a wine consultant. Nothing more.”

“I lied.”

He gently pulled her into his body and her skin came alive. Looking down into her face, he gave her ample time to resist. When she didn’t, his nostrils flared and his mouth crashed down over hers.