Page 19 of Ignacio

Her bare shoulders shimmered under the soft lights, capturing his attention. All the pretending should have been draining, but Ignacio felt the opposite, as if the touching, brushing against each other, and smelling her perfume had invigorated him. He felt oddly alive, his nerves buzzing with restless energy.

Her full lips parted slightly, as if she had more to say, and a thought entered his head. Completely crazy.

Kiss her.

He remembered how her lips used to feel against his. Petal-soft. So soft he could kiss her for hours and never tire of her succulent mouth. He wanted that experience again.

Right here. Right now.

He leaned closer, and she stiffened. “Go with it,” he whispered, brushing his nose along her ear.

Her body remained tense, and she turned slightly toward him. “Ignacio, I don’t think?—”

He kissed the corner of her mouth, and then, with deliberate slowness, used the tip of his tongue to taste her before capturing her plump bottom lip between his. Her soft mouth yielded to him, and what sounded like an involuntary whimper escaped her.

Ignacio gently tugged on her lip before releasing her. Delta’s breathing sounded jagged in his ears. The teasing gesture only lasted for a moment, but he turned rock hard, his pelvis tightening like a clenched fist.

As they looked into each other’s eyes, Ignacio wanted to pull her closer and kiss her again, longer this time and more thoroughly, unconcerned if they had an audience.

Then a memory slammed into his brain. A small velvet box. An engagement ring never given. Sitting in the safe at home.

He eased back and removed his arm from the back of her chair. “That should get the tongues wagging,” he said, his voice rougher than expected.

“Yeah,” Delta replied softly, her eyes downcast.

The lights dimmed, signaling that everyone should take their seats because the ceremony was about to begin. A rapper and his wife sat next to Delta and immediately struck up a conversation.

Meanwhile, the magnitude of what Ignacio had done weighed heavily on his mind. He ran his fingers through his hair as his thoughts raced.

He had done a very foolish thing. He had kissed Delta and tasted heaven on her lips.

And now, he wanted more.

Chapter Eight

“Smoking is bad for your health.” The admonishment came from Ignacio’s oldest sibling, his stepbrother Ethan.

They sat in front of the fire pit in the backyard of their brother Bruno’s house, enjoying the cool fall evening after a delicious meal. Ethan had come straight from work and wore a white shirt that contrasted with his mahogany skin.

“I’m trying to quit.” Ignacio dropped the cigarette to the ground and extinguished it with the heel of his shoe.

“I thought youhadquit.” Ethan sipped his after-dinner drink in a relaxed pose.

“I did, sort of. I’m a little stressed, that’s all.” Ever since Delta showed up at his L.A. condo, and the kiss on Saturday hadn’t helped.

“Are you worried about getting funding for the movie?” Ethan asked.

“Yes and no, but I have other issues on my mind.”

After the kiss, the evening with Delta had been a blur of performances, speeches, and nonstop interactions with people in the industry. After the limo pulled up in front of herhome, they walked to the front door, and he suffered from the disturbing urge to kiss her again.

What the hell was wrong with him? She couldn’t be trusted. Eleven goddamn years had passed since their breakup. This should be a cakewalk.

“Ignacio, you have some explaining to do.”

His head snapped up at the sound of Bruno’s accented voice when he joined them outside. Dark-haired with gray eyes, he was a successful chef and restaurateur recently returned from his honeymoon in Fiji.

Ignacio liked to think the marriage was all thanks to him, considering he was the one who had suggested Bruno hire a matchmaking service to find a wife. Then he and his matchmaker ended up falling in love.

---