EMILIANO
Emiliano has just finished reading a detailed report about the woman upstairs. She introduced herself as Cassie about fifteen months ago, but her full name is Cassandra Miller. She was raised in foster homes and never knew her biological parents. She doesn’t have any known family or friends, except for her son. Alex… His son.
Emiliano takes a few minutes to let the information sink in. He’s a father–something he never imagined he would be.
Cassie is twenty–four, but she looks like she’s only nineteen. Her petite stature might make you think she’s too young to have a child, but Emiliano knows that beneath her small frame is a woman full of passion and desire. A woman who gave herself to him so freely one night that he’s spent countless sleepless nights since, thinking about her enticing body. Just thinking about her makes him hard.
Emiliano can’t believe how much Cassie has affected him. She’s not his usual type; he prefers tall, slim, blonde women, while Cassie is short and curvy, with vibrant green eyes and fiery red hair–hair that makes her fair skin glow.
He’s not t sure what he’ll do once it’s confirmed that he’s the father. But he knows his mother will finally get what she’s been yearning for a grandchild, the next Rodriguez in line.
Emiliano heads upstairs to his office and safely stows the file in one of the top drawers. He then returns to the bedroom, where he finds Cassie lying next to Alex, gently stroking his hair with the same small hands that once eagerly pulled at his clothes and explored every inch of his body.
Emiliano feels himself harden at the memory. Damn! What’s wrong with me? I’m not some horny teenager. I’m a grown man who can have any woman he wants to keep his bed warm for a few hours.
Sensing Emiliano’s presence, Cassie rises from the bed. The pins holding her hair fall out, and her hair cascades around her face, framing it.
Emiliano takes a sharp breath. Cassie looks even more stunning with her long, loose hair; it shines. He doesn’t often encounter natural redheads, but she’s the real deal.
He catches a faint whiff of her floral scent, and it makes his nostrils flare. He grows hard again as she tries to tie her hair back and her shirt tightens around her breasts, revealing that she isn’t wearing a bra.
God! Emiliano groans and looks away. He really needs to get laid before he makes the mistake of sleeping with this woman again.
After what feels like an eternity, Cassie finally gives up on trying to tie her hair and lets it hang loose on the side of her face. She then picks up a pen and notepad, jotting down whatever the baby might need.
Their fingers brush lightly when she hands him the paper, sending an electric charge up his arm and through his entire body. Their eyes meet, and he can tell she feels it too. He tucks the paper into the inner pocket of his jacket.
“Are you breastfeeding?” Emiliano asks, imagining how much he would love to taste her breasts.
Cassie’s cheeks turn red–she’s blushing! He’s never seen a woman blush so openly. She wears her emotions on her face.
That innocence should be a warning to Emiliano not to sleep with her again, but when Cassie bites her bottom lip, it feels like a punch in his gut. He yearns to bite that pink lip himself and find out if she still tastes as sweet as before.
“No,” Cassie replies, “He drinks formula.”
“What kind?” Emiliano asks, forcing himself to concentrate instead of fantasizing about throwing her on the bed and stripping her naked.
She tells him. “How long will I be here?“”
“Four days. Five at most.”
“I’m going to need my clothes and some personal stuff.”
He wouldn’t mind if she walked around naked. “José will…..”
123
Cassie interrupts him. “I’m not comfortable with a man going through my drawers. I’m going to need underwear too, so it would be best if I get it myself.”
She has a point. Emiliano doesn’t want any other man to see what Cassie wears under her clothes either unless that man is him. “Fine. We’ll go when Alex wakes up.”
Chapter 6 of 57: Chapter 6
Just then, the baby stirs.
“He’s going to need his bottle,” Cassie murmurs, half to herself, as she picks up her son. “Can I use your kitchen to warm it up?”
Emiliano nods, and she follows him downstairs, retrieving a pre–made bottle from Alex’s daycare bag before heading to the kitchen. He shows her where everything is
He’s about to leave when Cassie softly says, “Wait.” He turns. “Could you hold him for a second?”
Emiliano hesitates, but then he takes Alex, allowing Cassie to sit him down on the couch and show him how to hold the baby so his neck is supported. Alex gazes up at him, and Emiliano feels an immediate tug on his heart and a surge of protectiveness for this tiny baby; it’s his responsibility to ensure no harm comes to him.
Looking into the child’s big, round eyes, Emiliano strokes his soft cheek. Alex smiles, and Emiliano’s heart feels like it’s going to burst with love
To think he might never have known him.
If Emiliano hadn’t offered Cassie that ride and followed her into the daycare, he would’ve never known he had a son. She could’ve told him sooner, but she kept quiet in his office, which proved she would’ve never told him.
Cassie returns to the living room with Alex’s bottle, and Emiliano hands the baby back to her. The moment she puts the bottle in his mouth, he drinks eagerly.
He was really thirsty, Emiliano thinks.
“His medicines are on the kitchen counter.” he tells her.
“I saw them. I’ll give them to him once he’s finished drinking. Thank you!
“Don’t thank me. He’s my son, after all.” Emiliano’s words hang in the air, but Cassic doesn’t challenge them this time. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to go out with his fever. I’ll have José pick up Alex’s things, and we can get your clothes another day.”
She doesn’t respond.
“I have to leave. I’ll be back later. Make yourself at home, and if you get hungry, call room service. There’s a list of restaurants in the hotel next to the phone. Just tell them to bill it to my room.”
With that, Emiliano walks away, leaving them alone.
CASSANDRA
Cassandra gives Alex his medicine and then draws a lukewarm bath. His fever seems to have broken, and he’s no longer irritable or
restless.
Once Alex falls back asleep, Cassandra decides to take a shower. She’s sweaty from taking care of him. In the bathroom, she undresses and eyes the large bathtub. She yearns to soak, but it’s not the right time or place.
Stepping into the shower, Cassandra realizes this must be Emilio’s bathroom. It’s filled with men’s shower gel and hair products. Why did he bring them to this room? Why not put them in a guest room?
She needs to finish up before he finds her in here. Given his sour mood, he probably won’t be pleased.
A few minutes later, Cassandra has washed her hair and feels much better–she feels alive. She wraps herself in one of Emilio’s soft, plush cotton towels and picks up her clothes from the floor, When she leaves the bathroom, Alex is still sleeping peacefully between the pillows she had placed on either side of him.
No clothes, no underwear–what is she supposed to wear? She can’t walk around in a towel the entire time she’s here. Maybe Emilio won’t mind if she borrows one of his shirts…
The walk–in closet next to the bathroom is enormous. How can one man need such a large closet? All his clothes ure neatly organized, not a single shoe or tie out of place. She finds a shirt and puts it on, his scent surrounding her.
What am I doing? This man isn’t mine to fantasize about.
“I see you’ve made yourself comfortable in my clothes.”
12:54
Emilio’s voice startles her, and her heart starts to race.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I don’t have anything to wear. I hope you don’t mind.”
His gaze travels up and down her body, making her skin tingle.
“Even if I did, you’re already wearing my shirt.”
