Chica Bella Read online

  “Well then, you need to come to dinner to find out more about me. I’m a fascinating guy.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “You think so?”

  “I’m hoping you’ll think so.” He remembered he hadn’t ever wanted anyone to say yes to a date more.

  She had studied him for another moment, and looked him up and down. “Very well, Landon, I will have dinner with you.”

  Coming back to the present, he turned the corner to the hallway leading to his room. He went to the elevator and waited. Going up the seven floors of stairs wouldn’t have been a challenge for him, but he was simply too tired.

  The elevator arrived, and he rode it to the top floor. His boots echoed on the tiled hallway as he made his way to his room. Once there, he stuck his key in the door and stepped inside.

  The furnishings were exactly as he had remembered, and that made him smile.

  The warm, brown wood floors gleamed with a high shine. The king-sized bed was covered in a chocolate brown and white comforter and held half a dozen big, thick pillows. To his right was a small bar with bottles of tequila, rum, and vodka. Below them sat a small refrigerator filled with sodas, beer, and water. He grabbed a beer and went to the sliding glass door that led to the balcony and stepped out. Right away, he was wrapped in the warm ocean breeze, its slight briny smell channeling up his nose. He inhaled deeply, feeling the cleansing begin.

  Moving out onto the balcony, he went to the railing and leaned on his elbows, closing his eyes. Yes, it was renewing coming here. Cabo was a place of incredible beauty, a place where he was able to forget his duties as a Navy SEAL, forget about the missions he had been on, the people who wanted to kill him, and those he had killed. It was a place where he could let go of being a highly trained specialist, and focus on just being a man. He inhaled again and let the mellow relaxation that Cabo San Lucas brought him seep into his bones.

  After a moment he went back into the room, not bothering to close the door or the curtains. He stripped off his clothes and padded into the bathroom.

  After spending a half hour in the shower, he stepped out and wrapped a white towel around his waist and examined his reflection. Damn, he looked bad. Tired. Really fucking tired. The scar on left shoulder from the bullet he had taken two years ago was finally beginning to fade, but the ache inside it had left seemed to be getting worse. On his left pectoral was a tattoo of the Navy SEAL Trident, a golden eagle clutching a U.S. Navy anchor, trident, and flintlock style pistol. The right side of his chest had small scars from some shrapnel he had caught a few months back. The tattoo on his right shoulder was simply a skull and bones.

  He ran his hand down his muscled chest and flat stomach. He felt as if he were thirty-five going on seventy.

  Walking back to the bedroom, he stopped at the bar and downed a shot of tequila. Flipping off the towel off and leaving it where it landed, he pulled back the covers and crawled in between the crisp, white sheets.

  Heaven.

  Letting out a groan of appreciation, he closed his eyes and slammed into sleep.

  Chapter Three

  Maya Gonzalez glanced over the stock in the bar, getting ready to open for the day, and was certain she had everything she needed. The pool area was already packed, and more kids on Spring Break had arrived. Spring Break was both a blessing and a curse. She liked that the hotel was busy and she hauled in more tips, but she hated she had to put up with a bunch of drunks, as well as the sexual propositions the men—no, they were boys—liked to throw her way.

  She sighed, and lifted the keg to make sure it was full. It didn’t contain enough beer to last the day, but she wouldn’t have to change the barrel for a few hours.

  Looking down, she made sure her white tank top was tucked into her black shorts. She pulled her long, jet-black hair up into a pony tail, and checked her face in the reflection of the stainless steel container where the bottles of liquor were kept. Big brown eyes stared back, her skin smooth and also brown. She hadn’t bothered with any make-up. She would have liked to apply a little mascara and blush, but today was going to be a hard day’s work, and there wasn’t any sense in worrying about running mascara or blush touch-ups that may or may not need to be done. Smiling at herself, she smeared her lips with a balm/sun protectant.

  The alarm on her watch went off, letting her know that 11 a.m. had arrived. Time to open for business.

  Four hours later, six different boys had propositioned her in some way. Mierda, you think they would learn that no meant no, and she didn’t want to have anything to do with them. She wasn’t that much older than they were, but she was a mature twenty-eight years old. She had been working for thirteen years to help her family keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. They weren’t rich by any means, but they were better off than a lot of people. And she definitely knew what her definition of a man consisted of, and these assholes didn’t make the cut. She had trained her brain not to think about the one man that she knew and loved, and hadn’t seen in almost a year.

  Four girls were gathered at the bar, giggling and laughing while looking at something over Maya’s shoulder. All were some shade of blonde, all bone thin, and all in the skimpiest of bikinis. They sipped their margaritas, and one ran her tongue over her lips while staring at whatever, or whoever, had her attention.

  “What can I get for your girls?” Maya asked, pushing her thoughts aside and concentrating on her job.

  “We all want another margarita, and don’t look now, but there’s a guy on the other side of the bar who is just to die for. Big guy with brown hair, wearing a black tank top. Give him a shot of tequila and tell him it’s from us, and then ask him if he would you know, like to come say hey, okay?”

  Maya nodded and smiled, but was thinking what a chica estúpida this one was. Why wouldn’t she just walk up to the guy and buy him a drink?

  She filled up the girls’ glasses and poured out the tequila into a shot glass. Turning, she examined the crowd for the big guy with the brown hair and black tank top, and saw him immediately. He stood in front of her; the tattoo on his chest branding him the warrior he was peeked out from under the tank top. His gaze burned through his sunglasses, and the air left her lungs as though she had been punched in the gut. Joy filled her. He was alive! She wanted to run to him and throw her arms around him, but hot on joy’s heels was anger. She hadn’t heard from him in nine months. The hurt, the worry, the tears all came back to her in a rush.

  Taking a deep breath, she walked up to him.

  “You’re very popular with the girls over on the other side of the bar,” she said, setting the glass down in front of him.

  His mouth lifted in a small smile. “Really?”

  “Si. They want to know if you want to, you know, like to come say ‘hey.’”

  He flipped his glasses to his forehead and tilted his head to look past her. The girls giggled as he lifted the shot and slammed it back, and he gave them a wink.

  “Not interested,” he said, losing the smile, his gaze coming back to hers. They matched the sky and the oceans of Cabo. He appeared tired as he always did when he landed on her doorstep like this, but this time it seemed more pronounced. Tired and desperate, as if he were begging for someone to take away the sights and sounds from wherever he had been and replace them with pleasant things.

  This was the third time he had come into her life, and she hurt just thinking about when he would leave.

  “No? Por qué?” Why?

  “There’s only one girl I’m interested in,” he said in a low voice. She marveled how he could be among throngs of people, yet when he spoke to her she felt as though they were the only two in the universe.

  “Hmmm.” She put her hands on her hips as she studied him. “What if this chica doesn’t have any interest in you?”

  His gaze quickly traveled to her left hand, looking for a wedding band, she guessed. The idea that she could get over him and move on to dating someone else, let alone getting involved with someo
ne that would lead to a ring around her finger was utterly absurd. The thought of doing so rang through her body in a way that was about as pleasant as the stomach flu.

  Those searing blue eyes met hers again, but this time they danced and glittered. She had seen him look at her like that before, and suddenly the ocean breeze wasn’t enough to cool her. Flames burst within her, desire pooling in her core.

  He gave her a small smile. “Are you seeing someone?” he asked softly. She studied him a moment and shook her head.

  “Well then, I would hope the chica bella would at least give me a chance.”

  Beautiful girl. She blushed, but at the same time the anger and uncertainty rose. She was so torn when it came to him. Give him a chance? Mierda, she had handed him nothing but chances. He would stay for a few weeks or months, and one day out of nowhere tell her that he had to leave the next day, or worse, in a few hours. The time he was here was nothing but sheer bliss as they did very little but love one another. Sure, she had to work, but the time with him was always nothing short of magnificent.

  It was when he departed that the problems began. No, he couldn’t say where he had to go. He was unable write, or call or text or email. She wandered from day to day wondering if he were alive. For many months after he left, the worry kept her up at night, settling into her gut as a tight knot. Whether it was sheer exhaustion or the simple fact that there was no way for her to fix situation, the worry eased a bit. Just as she decided that maybe it was time to move on, he showed up again, his timing as accurate as the World Time Clock. Frankly, she had grown tired of giving him chances. Well, being honest with herself, she simply didn’t think she could take it anymore. If he was able to tell her he’d be staying, that would be something different…but he never did.

  She looked down at the ground, noticing that she had spilled something on her white tennis shoes. She slowly shook her head, and met his eyes again. “I don’t think this chica can take any more chances.” Tears welled in her eyes.

  Chapter Four

  Landon winced at her words as if a fist hit him instead of a few highly accented syllables. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but he had to convince her to give him another chance. He needed her like the ocean needed the tide. Thoughts of her kept him warm at night, whether he slept on some cot that was too small, or in some trench he had dug. Seeing her face in battle always renewed his desire to stay alive. He had nothing—no family, no home...just her. Before him stood the motivation for his miserable to heart beat in his chest for any other reason than it had to, and Landon hoped, prayed and wished with everything in him that he would be able to stay this time, that there would be no goodbye.

  But he didn’t know that yet, and Landon wasn’t about to tell her things or make promises he couldn’t keep.

  He had to convince her to be with him while he was here and quickly decided he wasn’t above begging. However, before getting to that point, he would try a few other things.

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Landon studied her. Sweet Jesus, his memory of her didn’t do her justice. She stood there with her hands on her hips, her white tank top hugging the curves of her chest while the black shorts were snug against her slim hips and upper thighs. He let his gaze drop to her long brown legs to her white tennis shoes. Flashes of them making love went through his mind, and his groin responding accordingly. It certainly wasn’t a good time to get an erection.

  But what killed him a little bit was the shimmer in her eyes. Landon hated being responsible for it, and knew he would hurt anyone who ever made her cry, and wondered how he could punch himself in the face and do some damage.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” the guy next to him slurred, “bring your pretty ass over here and get me two more beers.” The guy took another sip from his cup, turned and whispered something to his friend, making them both laugh.

  Landon closed his eyes, feeling his anger spike, hating this part of her job. Absolutely hated it, especially during Spring Break. These college-age men who acted like thirteen-year-old boys were so obnoxious and crude. Landon hoped the kid didn’t say anything else or he might have to break his neck. Getting a grip on his emotions and opening his eyes, he watched Maya pour a couple of beers out of the tap and handed them to the kid.

  “Last ones, guys,” she said.

  “What? C’mon, honey. Don’t cut us off.”

  “Sorry. Last ones.”

  Landon could tell the kid was angry, and his friend was upset as well. He hoped they just moved along and went to pass out in a lounge chair.

  “We’re coming back when we want more, and you’re going to give it to us,” the kid said.

  Great. A little boy with a big attitude.

  “No, I’m not. Now scoot before I call security and have you banned from my bar.”

  The kid took a sip, swayed a bit, whispered something to his friend, and then threw the half-full cup at Maya.

  Without hesitation, Landon had the kid face first on the ground with a bloody lip before the last drop of beer landed, and he watched out of the corner of his eye while the kid’s friend made a run for it and the crowd around him stepped back.

  “Didn’t your mama teach you any manners, boy?” Landon whispered in the kid’s ear. The way Landon had his knee in the kid’s back, his left cheek pushed down to the ground and his arm bent back behind him, the kid didn’t have a chance of answering.

  “Let me give a quick lesson in case your mama forgot, okay? One, you always be polite to women. Two, you don’t throw fucking beer at them, and three, you consider yourself very, very lucky that you’re alive when a guy like me catches you not minding your manners. Understand?”

  Tears welled in the boy’s eyes.

  “I’m going to let you up. You’re going to walk away, find a nice quiet place to lick your wounds, and then you’re going to stay clear of this lady. Got it?”

  The kid nodded.

  Landon lifted himself up off the kid, dragging him to standing position all in one fluid movement.

  “Glad you didn’t fall so hard that your head got cracked or something,” Landon said loudly. The kid stared at him for a moment and left. “That’s right. Better go rest now.”

  The kid moved through the crowd with jerky, drunk movements and Landon turned back to Maya. He was expecting him and everyone else at the bar to be getting quite the show of her beautiful breasts.

  Instead, she stood there dry as the desert on a summer’s day, obviously a pro at dodging beer thrown by drunks.

  She looked at him and shook her head, reaching for the mop. She didn’t say anything for a moment while she cleaned up the beer. Finally, her gaze met his. “I get off at four. Make it good, Walker.”

  He smiled widely, and for the first time just under a year, his heart beat with something other than necessity.

  He nodded and smiled at her, turning to make his way through the crowd.

  If the lady requested a good date, he would make sure that’s what she got.

  Chapter Five

  Maya finished up her afternoon with a bucket load of tips, tired feet, and anticipation mixed in with some resentment and anxiety.

  After she had handed everything over to the night crew, she glanced around. At least a hundred people milled about, yet she found him without any problem as if there was just some type of connection between them that drew them together.

  He stood on the walkway, staring at her. Dressed in tan pants and a white shirt, he looked stunning. Her breath caught, and she couldn’t take her gaze away.

  Her whole afternoon had been replaying the high points of their relationship, and there were many. Like the time they went jet skiing, and the thrill she felt of having an excuse to wrap her body around him, and the excitement as he took them faster and faster across the ocean. She remembered she had ended up screaming, cursing, and laughing all at once. That had been the first time he had stolen a kiss from her, and he had set her whole being on an explosion of want and desire. When she introduced him to he
r family, and how they had embraced him. The first time they made love on Lover’s Beach in a secluded cave with the moon high and the stars bright. She was forced to look at the beach each day as it was directly across the water from her job.

  “You still up for a date, beautiful?”

  Her resentment melted a bit, and her anger ebbed. “I need to change.”

  “You don’t, but I figured you’d say that.”

  Maya smiled, half expecting him to tell her he brought her something to wear. She raised her gaze to the building above and wondered if he was staying in the usual suite. Her memories swirled to the huge bed and the pleasure they had given each other, to their laughter as they hung out on the balcony while sipping tequila and watching the sun set on the ocean.

  “I’ll drive you home,” he said, approaching her. He stopped inches away from her body. “You look exhausted.” He brought his hand up to her cheek and gently caressed it.

  Again, she longed to press her body into his, to let him wrap her up in his strength and beauty. Instead she pulled the keys out of her pocket. “Here you go, sailor.” She dropped the keys into his hand when he lifted it. “I believe you know the way.”

  Chapter Six

  Landon did know the way. He had been there a few times, loved it, and dreamt about it a thousand times. As they cruised the streets of outer Cabo in her black Honda, they were quiet. He pulled into the driveway of the small, quaint, clean house, and worried about the reception he would get. He knew he had hurt Maya last time he left. There hadn’t been much time for goodbye. It had been quick, tearful, and the pain on her face let him know she was hurting. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he weren’t exactly welcome in the Gonzalez home.

  They got out of the car and made their way to the front door in silence. The door opened before they reached it, and Maya’s father, Ricardo, stood in the doorway looking surprised.