A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Mystical_Playz
Thank you so much for the sweet comment!! Keeps me motivated to write this story for y'all 🤍🤍
Carlos
"Babe d'you have to leave right now?" Rebecca asked as she lay across the bed. The sheets did nothing to hide her toned body and Carlos almost debated if he should just skip his parent's event and spend the night with her instead. He shook his head in an attempt to dissipate those thoughts and shrugged on his jacket. "I'll be seeing you again tomorrow, let's go to that dessert bar you've been raving about for the past few days," he said as he leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. She smiled at him as she sat up and stretched, her breasts angling up that Carlos had to force himself to look away. He cleared his throat and scooped up his keys, "See you tomorrow Bec," he said before hurrying out.
Back in his car, he made sure he didn't look as ruffled as he was on the inside. He didn't want to get to the venue looking like he'd just rolled out of bed, which he had he thought with a grimace. But the fact that the paparazzi hadn't gotten wind of his rendezvous with Rebecca meant that he was being subtle about his affair with her.
He drove to the countryside and distracted himself by focusing on the radio. He wasn't sure what to expect at the event. The last time he'd attended was when he was with Isa. Now with Morgan, he wasn't so sure how the night would progress.
The thought of Morgan made his mood sour. She had been super distant lately and the only time she spoke to him was when they were in front of the paps. She always kept her distance, choosing to bury herself in her work and nothing else. A couple of times she had gone golfing with him and Lando and while she had gotten along well with Lando she hadn't even looked in his direction the entire time. He wondered if she already suspected him of his relationship with Rebecca but with all the sneaking around he had been doing lately, Carlos doubted that she would've caught wind of what was happening.
The gates to his family's vineyard loomed ahead of him and he drove inside before looking for a place to park. None of the guests had arrived yet and he was glad for some privacy which he needed when he went to confront her. He had to settle whatever animosity that was going on between them before the event started. Most of his close family and friends were attending and this to him felt like the ultimate test. If he wasn't able to convince them he wasn't so sure about convincing the glaring eyes of the spectators and anyone else in the paddock once the season starts. He made his way into the house to find her talking to someone from the evening's security detail. "You're sure this isn't the outfit for tonight?" he asked indicating at her plain black jeans and the leather jacket she had thrown over a tshirt. On close inspection he stared at the bright red elmo graphic that peered from underneath her jacket. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her.
"Where have you been? Your mother has been looking for you everywhere," she said, dismissing the other man with a wave of her hand. She turned to Carlos and cocked her head to the side, waiting for his answer.
"Went to play some golf, wanted to clear my head before tonight," he said.
"In that outfit?" she asked but before he could come up with another excuse Blanca came running up to the two of them.
"Why aren't you two already dressed up? The guests will be here any minute," she picked up a strand of Morgan's hair and shot Morgan a perplexed look. "This will take me forever to fix, I need you to get ready asap!" Blanca said, her tone raised to a whine.
Carlos watched as Morgan tried to fight off a smile. Over the course of his continued absence he suspected that Blanca and Morgan had gotten closer. He didn't know if he should be happy or worried about their alliance. "I won't take too long," Morgan said before turning to him, "You might want to change out of those clothes as well," she said giving him a pointed look in the process before turning on her heel and following Blanca down the hallway.
Carlos watched her go and shook his head in exasperation before making his way to his designated room. Morgan's bag sat on the couch at the far corner of the room and he stared at the array of different files and pouches that lined her table. He couldn't help but smile when he saw a slim knife and a gun sitting in the midst of all the mess. Carlos ran a finger down the side of the knife and he couldn't help but wonder what she looked like when she used it. He moved away from her things and proceeded to run a cold shower before slipping into his clothes. He was in the midst of buttoning his shirt when he heard the door open and his mother walked in. "Oh," she said when she saw him, "I was looking for Morgan, she's not here I presume?" she asked. Carlos shook his head and caught sight of the slim blue box his mother held, "What's that?"
"Just a necklace your papa gifted me when we were dating, thought I'd give it to Morgan to wear today."
"That'll be good, it'll make this look real for those who have their doubts."
His mother pursed her lips together. "I like Morgan, she's a nice girl and from what you've told us- she's been through a lot," she caught on Carlos trying to interrupt and she raised her hand, silencing him in the process, "Whatever you do, don't hurt her." she said as she placed the box beside Morgan's things and made her way out of the room.
With his mother's words still ringing in his head Carlos continued getting ready. He was almost done when he felt her walking in. "I hope Elmo isn't going to make another appearance today," he joked, adding the final touches to his hair.
"Not for the rest of the night at least," Morgan said with a chuckle. He turned then and couldn't help but stop in his tracks when he saw her. Her skin shone against the deep red dress she wore, he had to control himself from doing something stupid when he ran his eyes down the slit of her dress where a toned thigh peeked out. Her hair was pulled up, strands of it framed her face and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful her eyes were. Her lips were painted red and she parted them to shoot him a small smile, "What?" she asked as she made her way towards him. He stayed rooted in place as she angled pass him and reached for her knife. God help me, he thought as she placed her foot on the small stool and her dress parted to reveal her leg as she slid the knife into the garter she wore around her thigh. He swallowed as she reached for her gun and made sure the safety was on before she slid it into her purse. She caught him staring and raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?" she asked.
He had to snap out of this trance he was in. Grasping for something to turn his attention to he caught sight of the blue box. "My mother wanted to give this to you," he said as he opened the box and pulled out the tennis necklace, "She wants you to wear it today," he choked out. She looked radiant, beautiful. He wondered what had changed his mind about her. She looked as pretty as she did the first day he had seen her.
"Oh my, this is gorgeous," she said as she tried to take the necklace from him but Carlos couldn't let go of it. "May I?" he asked swallowing nervously in the process.
She looked up at him. "Uh yes," she mumbled before moving away from the table and towards the balcony for better light. He followed her, fighting down the urge to pull her close and rip her clothes off her. Fuck he wanted to take her right here on this balcony. Fuck, he needed to get a grip!
"Will only your family and close friends be attending or are there any other surprise guests I should be aware of?" she asked as she turned her back to him and raised her hair up a little. He swallowed as he stared at the back of her neck, her skin was warm as he wound the necklace around her throat and he could feel her pulse. Her heart was beating as fast as his was.
"Just a few other guests, some from my father's line of work and some of my sponsors," he managed to ground out as he tried clasping on her necklace.
"Oh," she whispered as his fingers fumbled over the clasp. Up close he could almost taste the earthy and sweet tones of her perfume, he swallowed nervously.
"We have to convince them that we're in a serious relationship,"
He could feel her shoulders tense for a second before she relaxed, "What do you propose?"
"We can't only be holding hands and dancing throughout the night, I may have to kiss you," as the words left his mouth he could feel his cheeks heat up. He wanted to smack himself for being so bold and suggesting something like that. He noticed the flush that ran down her neck and now finally clasping on the necklace he waited as she turned to face him.
"You're going to kiss me?" her tone was uncertain as she whispered it. Her perfect lips were parted in surprise.
"Just a peck but we have to show them that this relationship is real," now that he had started, Carlos doubted there was a surefire way of escaping what he had thrown himself into. He tried to gauge her reaction but she remained expressionless as she continued looking up at him. "It's simple," he said, his traitorous hands reaching out and pulling her tight towards him. She fit against him perfectly, her body lining with his in all the right places. He almost expected her to push him away, punch him in the face even but she remained looking up at him, her cheeks flushed, her breathing as laboured as his. "We could be dancing, or just having a drink, but I'll pull you close like this. Hold you like this," his voice had dropped to a whisper as his right hand splayed against her back. Her breathing was shallow as his palm made contact with her bare skin. Up close he wasn't sure if it was her erratic heartbeat he was hearing or if it was his own. "I'll hold your face like this," he choked out as his left hand reached out and angled her face up. Their noses were almost touching and up close he could see how brilliantly her eyes shone.
"And then what?" she asked.
"And then I'll do this," he whispered as he closed the distance between them. He didn't know what he was doing but he didn't care. All he could focus on was how her lips felt against his. He pulled her closer towards him, and moved towards the wall sandwiching her inbetween him and the cool surface of the marble. She gasped into his mouth as he grabbed her hips, squeezing them as he continued kissing her. He pulled back but only for a second before he came back for more. Her lips moved against his, and she made a small noise at the back of her throat which drove him to the edge as he lost his last shred of control and claimed her.
He pulled her leg up and she wrapped it around his waist as he deepened the kiss. She tasted sweet and he savoured it as he grabbed her throat and kissed her harder. Kissing her drove him crazy, kissing her was addicting. He had read somewhere that kissing felt like you were being drowned and he welcomed it. She was grabbing onto his suit as she kissed him back, her hands reached up and grabbed onto his hair as he ground his hardness against her. She gasped as she felt his arousal and he used that opportunity to angle her head up so he had better access to her neck.
"Carlos!" she gasped as his lips latched onto the soft skin below her jaw and he peppered her neck with kisses. Fuck, this was driving him crazy. He couldn't stop.
He didn't want to.
Then they heard it. Footsteps coming down the hallway. She pushed him away then and turned on her heel, making her way to the table just as the door opened and Lando poked his head in. Carlos was grateful for the dim lighting in the room or Lando would've caught up on what had just happened seconds ago, "What's taking you guys so long? Most of the guests have arrived."
"Yeah we're coming just give me a second," Morgan said as she hurried to the bathroom to fix herself. Lando watched her go before turning to Carlos.
"Little Carlos down there is staring at me right in the eye, you better calm him down," Lando said shooting Carlos a knowing grin.
Well fuck.