De La Fuente Family: Love in Montana Part 4

Eric cursed, and slowly stepped back. Sylvia found it difficult to meet Ruben's knowing smirk.

"Thanks for that, Ruben."

Ruben patted Eric on the back. "No trouble." He turned to her. "Sylvia, we meet again." He grinned.

She blushed.

"Ruben, we really need to stop meeting like this." She straightened her dress for something to do and met the amus.e.m.e.nt dancing in his eyes.

"Yes, we should."

"Don't you have something better to be doing," Eric grouched at him.

"Nope. I'm fine right here."

Laughing, Sylvia picked up her latte and pushed in her chair. She glanced toward her office building that she'd escaped. She'd told Sebastian that she'd be ten minutes and she'd been gone for thirty.

"Well, I think I'll be off."

Eric frowned.

"I still have a few hours of work before I call it a day...So, Ruben, Eric, enjoy the rest of your day."

"Bye, Sylvia. You too," Ruben said.

Eric added, "I'll be up to see you soon."

Her heart fluttered at the prospect, but she couldn't keep the grin from her face at the thought of spending the night with the handsome man.

Chapter Seven.

Hanging up his cell after he'd talked to his brother-Dante-Eric felt unsettled. He'd always managed to stay in touch with his brother, even when they were kids and Dante was away at school.

Being the eldest, Dante had always tried to keep Eric and their other brothers together, but it wouldn't always work. They'd been a restless group of boys who'd longed for adventure.

For the first time, he felt that there was something really bothering his brother, and he had no idea how to help or what the problem was, which was why he felt unsettled.

Dante was a priest in a small town outside of Denver, and he loved it there. Even though Eric had convinced himself that Dante loved the place he lived more than he did the priesthood. Dante had always been the religious one out of all of them. Much to their mother's delight, Dante had been an altar boy and always seemed to shy away from girls. Eric didn't think that his brother was gay, Dante just never seemed interested, but he also didn't have any inclination to date. It surprised them all when he went off to a private school for boys after their mother had died. He hadn't lived in the family home since then.

They always tried to call each other at least once a month to stay in touch, but he felt that Dante hadn't been close to him, or any of their other siblings in a very long time. He just wished that Dante would confide in him about what troubled him. A visit to Denver was needed. Dante loved to walk in the mountains that surround his home and church. They could go camping like they used to do as kids before their mother became sick with cancer.

He sighed. He missed his brother, and, maybe, he needed to be with Dante as well because he'd be d.a.m.ned if he knew which direction he really wanted to go.

The contract work he'd done for the past few months had kept him out of trouble, but he couldn't see himself being a security consultant for the rest of his life. He loved the outdoors and didn't want to spend most of his time inside four walls, also known as an office.

He'd spent the rest of the weekend thinking about his future, and he hadn't been impressed at constantly having Sylvia popping up in his thoughts. He didn't want a girlfriend or even anything more permanent, at least until he had something to offer her. But what if she got a better offer while he tried to organize his life?

He was basically screwed, and he'd only f.u.c.ked her the once. Well, a few times that had lasted one night. He hadn't lied to her when he'd said that he could still taste her, or that her scent was still on his sheets. Every time he climbed into bed, her scent would slowly slip into his nostrils and he'd turn his face into the pillow and inhale. Then he'd be in pain with an erection from h.e.l.l, which his fist couldn't get rid of.

Sylvia was under his skin whether he liked it or not. His d.i.c.k felt like it had an itch that needed scratching all the f.u.c.king time, and only Sylvia's wet p.u.s.s.y would do.

And now he tented his trousers as he remembered how she'd felt wrapped around him, especially as she came and flooded his c.o.c.k.

"f.u.c.k!" he roared, and made quick work of his pants before he had them kicked off as he headed for the bathroom, and a cold shower.

His date with Sylvia was within the hour, and he sure as h.e.l.l couldn't turn up with a raging hard-on that strained to get to her.

His fist would have to do until later.

As he pulled up at the restaurant with Sylvia, his hands twitched with nervous energy. It had been a very long time since he'd bothered to take a woman on a date. In fact, as he thought about it, he seriously couldn't remember the last time that had happened. But the nerves were with him as he ran around to the pa.s.senger side of his truck to collect his beautiful date.

They had done the whole date and s.e.x back to front, but who cared? He was confused about Sylvia, and needed to figure out what to do about her sooner rather than later. He needed to have this sorted before he hurt her badly.

Sylvia had worn her blonde locks down and when he got close to her, he inhaled her scent and felt the stirring of arousal. Her dress came to mid-thigh and was black, white and purple in a checked pattern, but it was the shoes on her feet that showed off her gorgeous legs. They were purple high heels and the thought of her legs wrapped around his hips with nothing but those shoes on had him hard and aching...again! The l.u.s.t needed to be subdued because he sure as h.e.l.l didn't want Sylvia to notice how much she had him by the f.u.c.king b.a.l.l.s. She made his head spin. There had been something about her that caught his eye from the first moment he saw her. And it had taken him a while to figure out exactly what but now he had. He was completely enamored with her freshness after the hard life he'd been living.

The feel of her fingers as they wrapped around his while he helped her from the truck ignited his blood. She was delicious, and with the blush on her face, he realized he'd been staring.

Their fingers intertwined, and with a gentle tug on her hand, they started to walk toward the restaurant. All of a sudden he felt parched, and no words came. If his d.i.c.k and b.a.l.l.s weren't aching so much, he'd be tempted to grab hold of them to check that they were still attached to his body with the way he was acting all f.u.c.king mushy.

"Are you okay?" Sylvia asked, breaking into the silence of the evening.

With a quick glance, he focused on the entrance to the restaurant. "I'm fine."

"Look," she pulled her hand free and stepped away, "if you've changed your mind, then we don't have to go through with this. I mean, I know you're more of a one-time deal kinda guy. So just give it to me straight."

His 'I'm fine' had come out abruptly and he knew she'd caught a sense of the mood. Really, they wouldn't be having this conversation if the head on his shoulders was in on it, instead of the one below his belt.

Glancing around to check that they were alone, he stepped into Sylvia, and caught her sigh of pleasure. He grabbed her by the hips and brought her up against him. "Does," he pressed his c.o.c.k against her stomach, "that tell you how much I want to be here with you? You're s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with my head."

"Mmm." She pushed hard into him. "Eric," she whispered, her voice breaking as she grabbed onto his arms for balance.

Bending to her ear, he asked, "What?" before he ran his tongue around the sh.e.l.l of her ear. Her body quivered against his, which created desperation in Eric to be inside of her. He remembered what it felt like to have her naked in his arms, and she drove him crazy with l.u.s.t. She kept him permanently hard.

Just as he debated with himself as to whether or not he could get away with dragging her into the trees that surrounded them, Sylvia's stomach let out a hungry growl.

He chuckled and reluctantly moved away. The spark of laughter in her eyes had him taking a step back into her. If it weren't for her hands on his chest, he'd have ignored her stomach and dragged her behind a tree.

"Let's eat." She slipped out of reach. "Then we can find a bed."

His eyes popped open. Bed? He was game.

She held her hand out and smirked when he took what she offered as he wrapped his hand around her smaller one.

Eric dwelled on his next question. It was something he needed to know and for the first time in his life, he felt insecure at the possibility that the woman he was becoming obsessed over could still be attached to someone else. It p.i.s.sed him off at the same time because he didn't want to be obsessed with anyone.

Instead of using tact, he blurted, "Are you using me to get back at Ramon?"

She gasped as pain filled her eyes and her smile slipped into a severe frown. She tried to yank her hand away, but he was ready and kept a firm hold. "You're not running."

"Get your hands off me. Now, Eric," she hissed, and managed to s.n.a.t.c.h her hand back as though his touch burned her skin. She pressed the hand to her chest as though she nursed an injury...and maybe she did...only it was her heart that he'd hurt. "I think this evening has come to an end," she admitted, sounding resigned. "Thank you for the thought, but I'm going home." She spun on her heel and started to make her way back down the path.

Panic rushed through him as he watched her walk away. He'd screwed up by mentioning Ramon. That had been a f.u.c.king s.h.i.+tty thing to say, but when he felt himself being pulled under, he'd pushed back with something that he knew would get her back up.

He sighed heavily and took off after her as she neared the parking lot. He wasn't sure where she thought she was going, or how she planned to get back to the city, but she sure as h.e.l.l could walk on those stilts she called shoes.

When he caught up to her, he wrapped an arm around her stomach from behind and hauled her against his chest. He whispered, "You aren't going anywhere without me. I was a d.i.c.k with what I said, and I'm sorry."

She stilled. "You're really apologizing?"

"Yes. Can we please try this dinner again? I'm really hungry and I know that you are as well."

After a few seconds, she nodded and wiggled free of his grip. He only let her go because he didn't want another argument or disagreement or whatever the h.e.l.l you wanted to call it.

"I don't ever think about Ramon, the way I do you," she admitted. "Ramon is a friend, and I don't have any regrets where he's concerned, so please stop accusing me of wanting him. The only one I want is you. So deal with it."

Eric blinked in surprise and then roared with laughter.

She'd told him.

Wanting her close, he wrapped his arm around her neck and brought her against his body. The feel of her hand as it slowly made its way around his back had a bolt of desire shooting through him straight to his swollen d.i.c.k. The evening would be uncomfortable with how much she made him throb. It was his last thought as they entered the restaurant.

The matre d' glanced up when they entered the restaurant, and he mumbled, "So they've come inside," which gave Eric pause. The door they entered was gla.s.s so he had probably seen them, and their disagreement, clearly.

"De La Fuente," he gave him his family name and smiled when the name registered with the matre d'.

Sylvia frowned and glanced up, but her silent question would have to wait to be answered. He wanted privacy before he discussed his family with anyone.

The matre d' pulled himself together, and said, "Please come this way."

Finally seated at the table, Eric offered Sylvia an explanation to the matre d's recognition of his family name, "Three of my brothers have their names in the papers, often. I'm not sure which one he will have seen, probably all. It's just one of those things. Wherever I go, the name is recognized."

"I must live under a rock or something because I've never noticed."

With a genuine smile on his face, he took hold of Sylvia's delicate hand. "That makes me happy."

She offered a small smile in return. "Will you tell me about your brothers? About your family?"

"Only if you agree to tell me all about you."

She nodded, and kept her fingers tangled with his on the table, even through giving their order to the waitress.

"I'm not sure where to start, so I'll start with the eldest, Dante. He's a priest and lives in a quiet town outside of Denver."

"I've met Dante on a few occasions," Sylvia added, reminding him.

"I remember now. You've met Mateo as well, right? At Ruben and Rosie's wedding?"

"That's right," she nodded slowly, "but we didn't really talk so I don't know much about any of your brothers."

"Mateo is a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, so his name is in the paper a lot, more so when it's football season. Then there's Kasey who is a right-winger for the New York Rangers. He tends to be in the paper regardless of what season it is." He chuckled. "They're the youngest two before my father had the twins with Lucia, after our mother died."

"What about the others?"

He paused while their entrees were placed in front of them, and the wine was poured. Taking a sip to wet his parched throat, he continued, "Aiden races on the formula one circuit, but I think he's getting tired of that life." He shrugged. "Then my half-brother, Diego is a firefighter in New York, and his twin, Emelia, our only sister, lives to drive Dante crazy."

Sylvia paused while cutting into her chicken parmesan. "They don't get along?"

"I'm not sure what's going on with them to be honest. When our mother died, my father married, Lucia, our mother's best friend. They married within a month of our mother's death, and about seven months later, Emelia and Diego arrived." He paused to let the implication of his father having an affair with his mother's best friend sink in, and then continued, "Dante was the eldest and he left home to attend private school before Emelia and Diego were born. He's never lived under the same roof as they have. So where my brothers and I finished our schooling at home with the young twins around, he never did. And where I feel protective of my young sister, I'm not sure Dante feels protective of her because she's his sister."

They fell into silence after his story about his siblings while they ate. He wondered sometimes about Dante and Emelia, but the ridiculous thoughts that bombarded him, he'd always shoved to the back of his mind. They may never have lived under the same roof, but they're still siblings regardless of what he suspected his brother would like.

The mood had darkened and he needed to bring it back into the light.

"Tell me about you. All I know is that you work for the McKenzies, and have a brother." He smiled to encourage Sylvia to talk. Up until tonight, they'd hardly spoken and when they had, something s.h.i.+tty had always come out of his mouth. Well, no more.

"My parents, Joy and Tim, own a small dairy farm. It doesn't make a lot of money but enough for them to live on. My brother's wife, Kelly, helps out and she's awesome working a tractor. p.i.s.sed my brother, Kane, off at first." She paused and chuckled as her eyes turned dreamy, obviously remembering something funny. "In fact, that's how they met. She applied for the position of part-time hand, and proved her worth, not just to my parents, but to my brother. He didn't want anyone to get through to him after his military career came to an end." She paused for a sip of her wine. "It took a while but he's happy now, and totally adores his wife and baby girl." She sighed.

"You miss them?" he observed.

"I do. I miss my niece a lot. She's growing up and I'm not there to see it. When I visit, it takes a day or two for her to warm up to me, and act like herself instead of a shy little girl. But I love them, and I'll go home at Christmas for a few days before Ramon and Noah get married."

He needed to accept that she wasn't hung up on his cousin. She'd never acted like she was. It had been him who really had the problem. He'd never been jealous of anyone before he'd met Sylvia, but he was with her. He wanted and needed her to have eyes for him alone.

She was even more beautiful when she let her guard down and her nerves settled.

Chapter Eight.