Born Into Love Read Online Free PDF

familiarity with women, although he had had thousands. The sense that Mercedes and he had the potential to change each other’s lives teased him. How his condition could improve, he could not guess, but his existence was already better for having met her.
    The silence grew until all they heard were the lapping waves. Her hand rubbed the leather upholstery then slipped to the polished teak that trimmed the windows. How they broke boundaries he was not sure.
    Diego exercised no power over her.
    Mercedes’ eyes searched his, no longer the windows to his soul that he had been born with, but perhaps the very abyss she feared. Would she see his emptiness?
    In grateful amazement he watched as she came to him. He straightened as if he rode his daring stallion, among the first to climb the dunes on Peru’s arid coast.
    Mercedes’ hair cascaded onto his face, brushing his cheeks. The lustrous strands bound them together.
    If only he were just a man.
    Her floral scent that toyed with him earlier in between gusts of ocean air, slipped glove-like over his body.
    “Are your lips cool like mine?” she asked.
    “Touch them.”
    She brushed her fingers against his mouth. He smiled and rejoiced in her gentle touch.
    Her hands rested on the corners of his shoulders. The pressure she exerted pushed him deeper into the cushions. She studied his face then kissed him. A chaste kiss followed by playful nibbling. She pulled back and waited. He had honorable intentions with this raven-woman. “Mercedes, what have you started?” His voice echoed that of a prospective lover, annoyingly uncertain, fearing rejection.
    “In the galley I saw my reflection in your eyes. I liked being there, but I needed to break the ice. You had me on edge.”
    “And now?”
    “I’d like another kiss.”
    He began slowly with tender kisses along her temple then his lips followed the curve of her neck that smelled of beating life.
    “I think you’ve had a lot of practice.”
    “You bring out the best in me.”
    “Tonight, I’m being a little reckless, but you need to know up front this time around I’m looking for a caballero.”
    “A wise decision this time and always.” He sensed that tonight was not the time for more. Still, a boundary had been eased, another line crossed. This line was much finer than the one that had been drawn centuries ago in a far away land. Further delight would have to wait. He had nothing but time.
    “I will take you home.”
     
     
    * * *
     
    Mercedes walked up Diego’s sidewalk wondering if going to his house was a good idea. Why had she made the first move? How could she have been so bold? Had Sister Margaret been right to call her a “brazen thing” in the fourth grade? And now she waited in front of Diego’s door. Could she be more out of her comfort zone?
    Diego stared which didn’t help. Her heart galloped. Did the guy have to be so continental? “It’s late. Maybe coffee isn’t appropriate. What about Luz?”
    “I hope she is asleep.”
    “Why? You regulate her life?”
    “I meant that she has a tendency to meddle. I do not want a visitation.”
    Inside, Mercedes felt as though she should remove her sandals. Niches dotted a long wall. In the nooks, vases and vessels with stirrup spouts decorated with geometric drawings returned her gaze. Another wall held textiles, the dyes intense with red dominant. “These are stunning.”
    “The woven material is relatively new.”
    The dynamic designs drew her closer. “The ones under glass are so vibrant.” She smiled. “Imagine spinning wool, dying it and then creating something so beautiful.”
    “They are artists.”
    The interior of the house contradicted the cottage-y exterior. The floors were marble and cold, unlike her aunt's house where oak dominated and a staircase shouted master-craftsman-at-work. “Are these objects returning to Peru?”
    “No. A touch would lead you to the truth. They are excellent copies. The kitchen is this way.”
    She followed