Antonio and Elena, the young woman she had seen him with at the bar yesterday.
“Antonio?” Kenzie blurted, unable to hide her surprise.
“You two know each other?” asked Melinda, a bemused smile playing on her lips.
“We’ve met before,” Antonio calmly explained.
Antonio may have been calm but Kenzie’s blood was boiling over. What was going on? Who was this man?
“Who doesn’t know the most successful distiller in all of South Florida and the Caribbean?” Antonio’s associate chimed in.
“Very true,” Melinda conceded.
“Antonio, may I have a word with you—in private?” Kenzie asked, her voice shaking.
“We’ll give you two a moment,” Melinda said, gesturing for Antonio’s lawyer to follow her out of the room. Once the door was closed, Kenzie practically pounced over the conference table.
“What’s going on here?” she demanded.
“What’s going on,” Antonio said calmly, “is that I’m interested in a property that you’ve recently acquired.”
“Did you know who I was...last night?” Kenzie’s eyes were ablaze as she waited for an answer.
“I may have gone there to scope you out,” Antonio admitted, “but it was you who seduced me.”
Kenzie was speechless. Okay, so maybe it was her that did most of the seducing, but Antonio had been a willing participant. More than willing! And the fact that he hadn’t revealed that he knew who she was seemed unnecessarily deceptive.
“Were you afraid that if I knew who you were I wouldn’t sleep with you?” Kenzie asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“No,” Antonio answered emphatically. “I was afraid that maybe you wouldn’t want to do business with me. But I couldn’t stop myself.” His last sentence was whispered, and the two of them both instinctively looked toward the door, where the other women were waiting.
“I’m sure we can work out a good business deal,” Antonio said with a smile. “One we can both benefit from. My family has a long history of rum production. And I’m sure you have no interest in a little, run-down distillery.”
“Why are you so sure about what I’m interested in?” Kenzie asked, her tone simultaneously flirtatious and challenging.
Antonio looked up and chuckled. “I just figured...”
“That because I’m a woman I don’t know anything about how to run a business?”
Antonio reached out and touched Kenzie’s hand. “No. Not at all.”
The door handle clicked, which caused Kenzie to jump, pulling her hand out of Antonio’s grasp.
“Everything okay?” Melinda asked, peeking her head back into the office.
“Everything is fine,” Kenzie said, looking directly at Antonio. The practical side of her said to put her pride aside, take the check and catch the next plane back home. But something else in her was beckoning her to take a risk. So maybe she didn’t know anything about the rum business, but she also hadn’t known anything about opening a yoga studio when she’d started one. When was the last time she’d taken on a real challenge? Looking at Antonio, she could feel that there was unfinished business between them.
Kenzie turned to Melinda. “We were just discussing the terms of Antonio’s proposal,” she said, almost sweetly. “And I think we both agree that I have a lot to offer.” Kenzie locked eyes with Antonio who raised an eyebrow with what looked like a combination of genuine surprise and unmitigated lust.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Melinda said matter-of-factly. “Any thoughts on next steps?” she asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. Kenzie wondered if she suspected that there was something more between them than an unsigned contract. At least for Kenzie, the electricity she felt ricocheting off the walls was undeniable.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go see my distillery now,” Kenzie said, unable to prevent a small smile from forming on her lips.
THE EARLY-MORNING MIAMI sun blazed through the white curtains. Antonio Navedo stirred in his bed. It had been a strange night for him, full of racing thoughts and strange dreams. He usually slept straight through, but last night had been different. He found himself getting up every few hours, taking trips to the bathroom and pacing around his large, professionally-decorated bedroom. He couldn’t figure out what was off. Everything about his bedroom was perfectly in place—the blue-and-gold throw pillows piled neatly on a nearby chair, the glass and pitcher of water he kept next to his bed were filled, and all of his devices were docked and charged. But something still felt off. It probably had to do with his dealings with the self-assured and beautiful New Yorker.
Antonio was used to getting his way—in business and with women. Perhaps that was why his encounter with Kenzie Fox had him so frustrated. He had expected, no, counted on her accepting his business proposal at first offer. The buyout he and his lawyer had drawn up was more than generous. In fact, it was so much in her favor that it bordered on ludicrous.
It was the crack of dawn, the time Antonio usually reserved for a dip in the surf to begin his day. But this particular morning he found himself unable to unravel himself from the twisted sheets of his king-size bed. He always thought that staying in bed, even an extra few minutes, was lazy. He liked that he could start each day with vigor and enthusiasm. He was always ready to meet any challenge, but this morning he sank back into the pillows and let himself daydream.
Thoughts of Kenzie’s long curly hair falling over her perfect breasts, her pert nipples pointing out to him, just begging to be sucked, sent his mind into a daze. That, and the image of her ample ass pushed out toward him back in the hotel room played on a seemingly endless loop in his head. Absentmindedly, his hand traveled down the length of his naked body to the aching hard-on that arose every time he pictured that brief but oh-so-hot encounter.
After the meeting in Melinda’s office yesterday he had needed to relieve himself so badly from the feelings she aroused in him, he had excused himself to the bathroom to take care of business. The fiery look in the brunette beauty’s eyes when she had yelled at him was enough to make him want to come on its own. But that, coupled with how her businesslike yet somewhat tight suit revealed the outline of her very fit but also voluptuous form meant that he had been useless for anything that didn’t involve stroking his own cock for the rest of the day.
Antonio ran his hand up and down the length of his formidable manhood, feeling simultaneously annoyed and titillated by what was turning into a perma-erection ever since he had met the mysterious Ms. Fox. He knew that he could quicken his strokes, increase the pressure, play with himself a little bit rougher until he pictured Kenzie lying back on the bed and the sight of her gorgeous, well-formed body waiting for his touch that would make him come and at least momentarily relieve his constant state of arousal. Instead, Antonio growled and threw back the sheets. The Miami sun was an unforgiving alarm clock to him and he knew there was work to be done. He had to be showered and ready in an hour to meet Kenzie. Thankfully,
