I pressed my lips more firmly against his, my tongue sliding out to touch his mouth, one little lick of fire to tempt him. My hands slid up to his neck as my fingers weaved into the hair on the back of his head. It was so soft and just long enough to pull a little as I tugged his head down closer to mine to deepen the kiss.
That must’ve done the trick, because in that moment, Hector’s body language changed. He was now an active participant, as his hands moved to my hips and pulled me closer to him while his mouth ravaged mine. One of his hands slid to my lower back, pressing meflush against him, my hard nipples brushing against his chest. His other hand moved to grab the side of my face and tilt my head exactly where he wanted it. He took control of the kiss and gave me the rough, deep kiss I had longed for. It was incredible.
I pressed my hips forward, feeling his cock rub against my stomach, wanting to feel more.
I moaned at the same time Sarge let out a loud bark and then another one, followed by a hard knock on the front door.
“Surprise! Happy birthday, big brother!” someone yelled from the other side of the door. “Open up!”
Hector released my mouth quickly. “Shit,” he mumbled before leaning his forehead against mine as if to gather strength for what was about to come. “I’m apologizing now for what you are about to experience.”
“It’s your birthday?” I asked him.
He pulled back and stared down at me, his mouth a firm line, his eyes unblinking and serious. “Iris, do not, under any circumstances, leave me alone with them. If you’re here, my family will limit their craziness. I will literally give you anything—any favor, any request—if you stay here.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be thrilled at what he just offered me or scared because of the underlying cause.
“Okay. Deal.” I gave him a small smile in return as the wheels started turning in my head of the kind of favors I could ask for.
First, I had more important things to do. “But Hector, I need to go change first.”
He looked down at me, his gaze still full of heat. “Okay, but make it fast. Do not leave me out here by myself.”
“Super-fast. Promise,” I said and then ran to change as fast as I possibly could.
I heard the door open, and Sarge barked a few more times as several voices filled the background. I felt this weird urge to make a good impression on his family. I didn’t have enough time to fix my hair or add makeup, but I swapped my clothes, thankful I had packed my good pair of skinny jeans and a pink wrap blouse that tied around my waist and had cute flutter sleeves.
I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever chaos Hector thought was about to happen. I was a little nervous, but Hector’s eyes on me as he asked me to stay were so uneasy, I wanted to be there for him. I wanted to be the support that he needed, so I would do it. Plus, I was also secretly hoping that after they left, we could pick up where we left off in the kitchen.
Fingers crossed.
13
“A sunburn is like an ex—it leaves a mark and shows up at the worst possible time.”
—It’s science
Hector
“Open up, birthday boy,” my sister Rita shouted again.
“Make sure you put clothes on first!” her husband yelled.
I groaned, turning to shut off the griddle so we didn’t burn the house down.
Not that I hated birthdays, but my family didn’t dosimplefor anything. So that meant my house was about to be invaded by my entire family, and with Iris here, there were bound to be a lot of uncomfortable looks and questions from all of them.
“Last chance,” Rita yelled.
The door handle jiggled and then flew open. The family all rushed in one after another, practically tripping over each other. Sarge was already there, ready to greeteveryone as they piled in. They were all talking loudly—everything from complaining that I took too long to answer the door, to why hadn’t I answered my phone, to why my house smelled funny.
When you came in the front door, there was a narrow wall on the right-hand side, but it was open on the left, flowing into the living room. That small wall effectively blocked most of them from seeing me in the kitchen at first.
I noticed someone had left the door wide open, so my first task was to close and re-lock it while keeping an eye on the hallway, waiting for Iris to come back out. There was a small part of me that thought she might actually escape out the bedroom window. She would’ve been smart to do that, but God, I hoped she didn’t.
“There he is,” my dad said, followed by a round of cheers and people yelling happy birthday.
My mother and youngest sister, Dani, walked over to me and each gave me a hug.
