CHAPTER NINE

Lola had started her swimming gymnastics again, looking more and more like a professional with every movement she made. But Santiago’s last words prompted her to quit her fun and turn to him with a mix of shock and surprise in her eyes. “You were in the army?!”

Santiago laughs. “The kind of things you don’t see or hear anywhere else. First-hand information from the horse’s mouth. For free, too. Seems like I’m on a giving spree.”

Lola swam closer. “¡Mierda! You’re a veteran? At thirty-seven? How’s that even possible? Is that why your body looks like it's AI? Wait, wait. Forget I said that part. Delete that from your head.”

“If you don’t shut up, I might just drown from your bad sense of humor,” Santiago managed as laughter made him throw his head back and rock his shoulders.

Lola wore an embarrassed smile. “Seriously, though. How come this isn’t something people know about?”

Santiago took a deep breath and raked his fingers through his damp hair. “Because I want to be in charge of what people know or do not know about me. I don’t want to give them everything, that’s too much leverage.”

“Okay… But someone within your close circle should know about this. Besides Gabriele, of course.”

Santiago chortled. “You’re assuming I have a circle of friends to begin with.”

“Well, billionaires do keep their circles super small,” Lola agreed. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to believe that I’m the only one you’ve told this to.”

The look in Santiago’s eyes confirmed her words without him speaking.

“Holy shit,” she said again, her facial expression anchored between disbelief and shock. “But… why? Why tell me?”

Again, Santiago shrugged. “Because you heard me whistle. Because you asked about it. And because it felt right to tell you. Other than that, I honestly have no idea.”

As Lola pondered over his answer, he quickly added, “Besides, we’ve already seen ourselves without clothes, so…”

Lola rolled her eyes with a groan. “Way to go, hotshot. You just ruined the whole moment.”

Santiago grinned widely, offering her a salute for her troubles. Lola simply looked at him, squinting her eyes like an idea just took shape in her head.

“So, according to your logic, if you opened up to me simply because you’ve seen me naked, I wonder what other things you’d tell me now.”

Santiago leaned on the edge of the pool, tilting his head upward with his eyes closed. “I don’t think you know how this works, muñequita. It’s not that simple.”

“Oh? And if I were to get naked right now?”

Santiago’s eyes flew open immediately. Not because of Lola’s interesting suggestion, but because he felt a slender hand slip into his trunks and grope his throbbing member. He didn’t realize she closed the gap between them, quietly as well as quickly. Her apparent boldness made him smile broadly.

“Now that you’ve come to the mountain, Lola, does that mean you do not wish to play with boys anymore?”

She growled playfully. “Maybe I want a man now. And all his secrets, too.”

“That would be put into future consideration. For now, though…”

Santiago placed strong but gentle hands on her waist as he pulled her closer. In a flash, her remaining pieces of clothing came off, as did his. He began with a tease, hovering his lips just above hers until she took the bait like a hungry fish. As her lips worked their magic right above his, he got busy downtown again, sliding his fingers inside her. Her sharp intake of breath immediately alerted him that he’d hit the right spot. He kept at the right pace, drawing soft moans from her lips pressing tightly against his.

As soon as he sensed her body beginning to spasm, Santiago switched tactics entirely.

He pulled his hand out, lifted her onto his groin, and slid into her perfectly.

“Oh… Hell, yeah,” he moaned.

“Someone missed my sweet, tight spot,” Lola teased as she began to wiggle her hips.

Santiago glanced at her with a half smile. “Look at you. Riding me like you’ve been practicing for years. Feels good too, doesn’t it? Better than your boys.”

Lola threw her head back as she upped the tempo, with Santiago’s hands firmly on her slender waist. Every single nerve in her body yearned for the thrill coursing through her body, the intensity had no bounds. Every thrust brought her closer to the peak, yet she didn’t wish for it to end. She continued to give with each arc of her spine, with each rotation of her lower back. And Santiago played a huge part as well. His hands found her nipples, caressing them repeatedly until she begged for more.

Then, in the last moments climax, her body finally gave in to the primal urge. With a loud moan, she gently eased to a halt, collapsing beside an equally exhausted Santiago. They stayed like that for a while; lying on the steps and repeatedly being rinsed by the cold pool water and warmed up again by the touch of their bodies. They didn’t need words to express the invalidity of any rules they placed on themselves. It was simply irrelevant. They were trying to fool the world, not themselves. And yet, somehow, that was exactly what happened.

“Have you seen the stars from the rooftop before?” Santiago asked suddenly.

Lola giggled in his arms. “We only just arrived here, genius. So that’s a funny question.”

“That’s why I’m not talking about this rooftop, muñequita. It’s more of a general inquiry.”

“Oh.” Lola draws on his chest with her fingertips. “I don’t suppose I’ve done that before.”

“Well, you’re in luck. The view from up there is amazing. Especially with a cloudless night sky. And there’s a telescope I built somewhere in one of the rooms…”

“You built a telescope?!”

Santiago was busy fondling her breasts. “Huh? Oh, no. I assembled it. You know, like IKEA.”

“Tsk,” she pouted. “All my hopes up for nothing.”

“That wouldn’t be the case when we get up there.”

Lola remained in her fetal position for a moment longer, then she suddenly sprang up from the water like something tickled her toes.

“Santiago?”

“¿Si, muñequita?”

“I have two questions. Do you mind?”

“Shoot.”

Lola cleared her throat—a habit of hers that Santiago had come to accept.

“Are we really going to ignore every rule Gabriele laid down?”

Santiago sat up as well. “You heard her. She didn’t mean it. And we’re adults who can make our own decisions. That’s the moral lesson I’m going with.”

“Huh. As long as those decisions don’t land us in more trouble, she said.”

“Precisely.”

Lola nodded. “Alright. Second question: why do I have the feeling that you’re planning to fuck me on the roof?”

Santiago’s smile became so mischievous that Lola nearly ran away. “You’re beginning to think a lot like me, muñequita. I don’t know if I should be proud or worried.”

Lola smirked. “I’m taking that as a yes, then.”

“Of course,” Santiago quipped. “All you have to do is bring your lovely self while I get the champagne.”