Romero looked around her room. “Damn, Izzy, I knew you were neat but this is… ”

“What?” She’d never tire of his sexy smirks.

He sat down on her bed. His eyes went from her dresser to her nightstand and back to her. The moment she was close enough he pulled her to him and sat her on his lap. “Is there anything about you that’s not perfect?” he said, kissing the corner of her lips.

“Like I’d really tell you.” She wrapped her arm around his neck.

“I don’t think there is.” He turned her over gently then pinned her to the bed.

Isabel stared at him, her breath caught when she felt his hand in between her legs. He’d already made reference to her easy-access sundress at the beach. He kissed her as he pulled the sliver of panty aside and slipped a finger in. She kissed him deeper, instantly aroused. “You’re so ready,” he said against her lips.

“I am.” She ran her fingers through his hair, as the second finger entered her. She moaned, squeezing his shoulder. Then he slid the third in.

He pulled his mouth away from hers and sucked her neck, all the while his fingers playing with her, his thumb tormenting. She squirmed, feeling the sensations run through her body like an electrical current. It was building, the more his thumb rubbed the more she felt herself losing control. “Romero!”

“Hold on, baby.”

He pushed her up slightly and pulled himself down to the edge of the bed. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but the jolt like lightning that torpedoed through her body when she felt his tongue on her, was not it. She cried out in pleasure. She’d already been so close. Her entire body trembled as he continued to work her with his tongue—his lips. Her hands fisted the blankets around her as she felt the incredible explosion of pleasure. She moaned, arching her back, willing him to stop. She couldn’t take anymore.

She felt him kiss her one last time before having mercy on her. The waves of pleasure still pulsated through her as she lay there, breathing heavily.

Romero lay down next to her, staring at her as she tried to catch her breath. “Izzy?” he whispered.

“Hmm?”

“You’re perfect.”

***

Waking up next to Isabel was a mixed feeling for Romero. On the one hand, he loved seeing her first thing when he woke up. On the other, he was afraid if he got too used to it he’d never want to wake without her again. He wasn’t sure if she was ready for that. His feelings for her had taken him by storm. He was afraid of freaking her out.

Hearing something in the front room, he sat up. He frowned when he realized he woke Isabel, but then smiled at her perfectly naked body. “That’s probably Valerie. What time is it?”

“Nine.”

“Really?” She sat up. “Already? I never sleep that late.”

Romero smiled, remembering why. “We had a long night.”

Isabel got out of bed and searched her closet. “What are you looking for?”

“My robe. It’s in here somewhere.”

She found it, flung it on and hurried out of the room. Romero sat up and pulled his jeans on. He walked out into the bathroom. When he walked out of the bathroom, he saw Isabel hurry back into the room. The phone in the kitchen rang.

“I got it!” Valerie yelled from the front room.

It kept ringing, so Romero walked out into the kitchen. He froze when he came face to face with Valerie. She seemed surprised to see him, especially since he was still shirtless and barefoot. Her expression amused him. “You gonna get that?”

“No,” she said, her eyes obviously trying to avoid his bare chest. “The answering machine can pick it up.”

The machine went off just as Isabel came out of the room, now dressed in shorts and a blouse. Romero turned back to Isabel when the machine beeped.

“Isabel this is Michael. I just wanted to tell you I had a fantastic time with you Friday night…”

Isabel took a step toward the machine, but stopped when Romero stepped in front of her. The heat inside him was already on the rise. The kind of heat that made him do things he never wanted Isabel to be witness to. He swallowed hard, trying to understand what he was hearing. She’d said she was with her sister Friday night. He listened as the message went on.

“… I’ll be here a little longer than I thought, so I was hoping I could see you again before I leave…”

He couldn’t take his eyes off Isabel, feeling his heart beat pick up with every word the f**ker on the machine said.

“… I hope we can make this happen.” He left his number for her, then hung up.

“Funny story,” Isabel said, attempting to make light of it, but Romero felt on the verge of exploding.

He tried to stay calm, hoping she did have a reasonable explanation. “Yeah, Isabel? Tell me about it.”

“My sister set this up before we even started going out.”

Romero saw red. “You were on a date with this guy Friday?”

“No, we just had dinner—”

“That’s a date! What else did you just do with him?” He had a vision of her with another guy and the guy’s words slammed into him. “You know what? I don’t wanna know.” The urgency to get out before he snapped had reached a disastrous stage. He rushed to the bedroom. “Whatever you did, it was f**king fantastic!”

Romero pushed the door to her room open, slamming it against the wall. There were only a handful of times he’s felt this way in his life and each time he’d exploded beyond his control. He didn’t want that to happen now. That side of him was off limits to most people he knew, but especially Izzy. He grabbed his shoes and slipped one on as she walked into the room, closing the door behind her. He couldn’t even look at her.