Trust Me
      Chapter 4
 

Michelle surfaced near the man-made waterfall. It was lit up with spot lights located within the rocks. Like everything in the Santos house it was bold and huge. The water fell hard and loud.

She laughed out loud, "This feels wonderful!", She twirled in the water, relishing the freedom.

Danny smiled and watched her, loving the look of joy on her face. "She looks like a little kid." He stayed back.

Suddenly she felt like she wasn't alone. "Danny?" Michelle knew it was him. She could feel his eyes on her.

"So this is what you do when you go for walks in the garden. You should have told me. I would have joined you sooner.", he said. His deep voice was a like dark chocolate. Rich and heavy.

Michelle watched him come closer.

"I thought you'd given up on that."

"On what?", he questioned raising his eyebrow.

"Sneaking up on me." treading water she moved around him. Stopping directly behind him.

"Sorry.", he turned and found himself looking into her beautiful brown eyes.

"I thought I was alone.", she played with the water running her hands through it.

"You were. Now your not.", he whispered.

They stared at each other.

"I knew it was you."

"You did? You weren't even a little bit scared?", he teased.

"Should I be?", she retorted.

"Well, you never know what you'll find in the water...", he lowered his gaze to her breasts barely covered by the lapping water.

"Really?", she reached out and lifted his chin.

He smiled. Her eyes lit up and her mouth broke out into a huge grin. This was the Danny she missed. As much as she loved his dark, mysterious side, she loved his playful, teasing side most. From the teasing, would emerge the romantic Danny. It was the part of him reserved for her only.

They linked hands. She brought his left hand to her lips and kissed each finger. She opened her mouth and began sucking on his thumb. Her eyes never closed as she stared into his. His eyes grew heavy and dark, but he never broke the stare. He sucked in a deep breath.

This was the part of Michelle he enjoyed most. He loved the sweet, good, innocent Michelle that everyone else did, but the sexual Michelle thrilled him. It was like seeing a person transform into someone else. This was the Michelle Bauer Santos only he knew-- the sex kitten.

He removed his finger from her mouth and leaned in for a kiss. They tasted each other. He moved his lips to her neck sucking at the droplets of water, she ran her hand through his wet hair. Michelle brought her legs up and enveloped his hips with them. He began moving towards the waterfall. He hesitated in front of the sheet of water, "Ready?", she nodded her approval and leaned her head on his shoulder. They both closed their eyes as he ducked under the falling water. The cold water hit them on their backs and their bodies reacted to it. She shivered. He drew her closer.

Inside the wall of water there were five marble steps. When you reached the top there was a terrace and another five marble steps that led down into the Jacuzzi. The terrace circled the Jacuzzi decorated with couches and tables and all kinds of plants. In the summer, the gardeners brought in palm trees. The walls were marble. It was a majestic setting. The first time Michelle had seen it she had exclaimed, "It reminds me of an Egyptian palace!". Danny had said, "My father would have liked to hear you say that. That's the effect he was going for."

Michelle released her hold on Danny and started for the stairs. Danny was right behind her. He watched her body come out of the water.

"Whoa!"

"Danny!", she turned to look at him and covered herself in embarrassment.

"Don't do that.", he said seriously, squinting his eyes.

"What?", she asked.

"Don't cover yourself."

"Your embarrassing me."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about.", he walked towards her, proudly displaying his desire for her.

"You!" He stepped closer to her and she stood on her tip-toes to hug him.

Huskily she whispered, "Come on...", as she reached for his hand.

They climbed the steps together, the anticipation building between them. When they reached the top he turned to her and brought her into his arms. He lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They kissed. Their tongues impatient, their bodies desperate. It had been too long.

He moved towards the couch, laying her down, his body and his mouth never leaving hers. He reached for a button on the wall and pressed it. The ceiling began to move, opening up to reveal the night sky and millions of bright stars.

She shifted her position and, opening her legs, welcomed him. His body knew hers so well that he needed no guiding hands. He slipped into the folds of her femininity exhaling deeply. "Hmmmm...".

She inhaled at the same time, "Uhhhh...".

"Don't move.", she told him. She stared into his eyes. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

"Forever", he echoed.

He kissed her eyes, her cheek, her ear, and buried his face in her hair.

"I love you Danny", she whispered into his neck.

"I love you Michelle", he whispered back.

Michelle opened her eyes and smiled remembering the night before. She turned over to reach for Danny and found his side of the bed empty. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up.

"Danny?", sleepily.

"Danny?", a bit louder. There was no response.

"Maybe he's in the shower", she thought. Getting out of bed she walked to the bathroom. She knocked lightly on the door. "Danny?" She opened the door and found the bathroom empty. He had been there though. His shaving things were strewn over the counter and his towel was on the floor. She bent down to pick it up, disappointed that he was already gone.

She showered and got dressed. As she walked towards the kitchen for some breakfast she felt herself getting angry. She had been patient. She hadn't complained, yet, once again, Danny had pulled his infamous disappearing act. It bothered her.

She entered the kitchen and found the cook cleaning up. It looked like she had made breakfast for more people than usual. Who had Margarita made breakfast for?

"Hola Margarita", Michelle said in heavily accented Spanish.

From the look on Margarita's face Michelle realized she was going to have to ask Abuela for more time on the Spanish lessons, focusing on pronunciation.

"Buenos dias, Senora."

"Um...Margarita, who was here for breakfast?"

"Senora, the men are still here. Sra. Santos and Daniel are in a meeting.", she said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh!" "So that's where you were off to so early Danny"

"Senora? Senora? Breakfast?", Margarita interrupted her thoughts.

"You know what. No. I'm watching my weight.", she answered as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Ayy Dios!" Another flaca to worry about. Pilarsita no come y ahora...." Michelle heard Margarita muttering as she left.

"I guess she thinks I'm becoming as obsessed as Pilar".

Michelle didn't want to do it but, Danny's behavior and her growing impatience were getting to her. She headed for the conference room. If Danny wasn't going to tell her what was going on, then she was going to investigate the matter herself. More determined than ever she walked with purpose. As she turned the corner she ran smack into Jimmy, one of the guards.

"AH! Jimmy!", she said friendlier than usual while rubbing her nose.

"Geez, he's got a hard chest!"

"Mic-Mrs. Santos", he corrected rapidly. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing!" She tried looking as innocent as possible. Nonchalantly she asked, "What's going on? Who's here?".

"UM...Mrs. Santos, I think it'll be better if you went back to the family quarters."

Jimmy knew that Danny would have his head if he didn't get her out of there. Danny and Carmen were in a meeting with some guys from the Rivera family. His instructions were to always keep the new Mrs. Santos as far away from the business as possible. He intended to do his job.

He blocked her path. There was no way around him. He wasn't going to let her near that door. Michelle decided it was best to turn around and leave.

"Bye Jimmy!", she smiled and waved.

"Yeah, bye.", he answered seriously.

As she walked back to their room, she considered what she could do. Listening to the meeting was out of the question. Jimmy wasn't going to budge.

"Wait a second! Why was Jimmy guarding the door like that?" Michelle had never had a run in with him before. "Why now?" She heard noises outside the window and went to look. She opened the curtain and saw men throughout the yard. There were dogs on leashes also. "What are they looking for?"..."What is going on?"...

Danny sat at the table playing with his pen. He listened as his mother and Rivera's right-hand man went over some documents regarding a transaction involving both families. He stifled a yawn.

"Well, last night, sleep was the last thing on your mind", he smiled remembering...

After making love on the couch they had cuddled and then the heat got the better of them and they had decided to go swimming again. They had wrestled in the water, splashing each other and ended up making love all over again in the middle of the pool.

As he entered her she had said, "What would you do if I told you your mother is looking out here from her bedroom window?" He had stopped in the middle of his thrust and quietly said, "I hope you're kidding me!" She looked into his face and said, "Don't stop now".

"Michelle!"

"Danny, Danny you are too gullible..." , as she put her lips on his and traced their form with her tongue...

He chuckled out loud without realizing it.

"Daniel? Mr. Santiago and Mr. Leonard are leaving."

He sat up straight and put his hand in his lap. "Sorry!", he said sheepishly. "Good-bye Hector, Sam. Thanks for stopping by." He didn't stand up.

Carmen walked them out and came back to the table. Looking at him, she frowned.

"I trust you've thought about our meeting last night."

"I have."

"What do you plan on doing about our problem?"

"Mother. I'm handling it. Give me a break.", he stood up and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry. I'll be working."

He walked outside and rested his head against the door. He hadn't thought about "the problem" all that much. He knew what he had to do. The fact was that all he could think about was Michelle and how this affected them. After she had fallen asleep he had called Johnson, one of the security supervisors, and had requested a full security sweep. At the moment every available security personnel was combing the grounds, searching for any irregularity. He wanted all fences and gates checked. All of the alarm systems were to be put through a complete system run. If Dietz was the problem then every security measure had to be revamped. For now, he wasn't going to confront him. He had to think this through. There was too much at stake.

Danny knew that Michelle was probably already aware of the security personnel's presence. It wasn't normal to see so much activity at the house. He didn't know if he would be able to explain it away. She wasn't going to buy just any story. He knew Michelle was already suspicious because of his behavior over the last few weeks. He blew air out of his mouth and put his hands on his hips.

"Danny?"

It was Jimmy.

"Yeah?"

"I thought you should know that your wife was here earlier."

"Here? Great!", he sighed.

"Thanks Jimmy.", he walked out.

Michelle sat in their room worrying. She waited for Danny to return. The more time that passed, the angrier she got. It began to consume her. She hadn't asked any questions the before, but this was it. Danny was going to have to explain everything...

She heard him open the door and she stood up. Her eyes flashed angry sparks.

"What the HELL is going on?" ...