I glared at her coyly. “You’re not so helpless yourself, I’d say. I’d love to know how you learned to speak English so well.”
“When Señor Primo first came to live with Señor Vargas, he was required to learn English. My duties as a housekeeper were expanded to include caring for Señor Primo, and since he was only allowed to speak English in the house, I had to learn along with him.”
“So, you helped raise him?”
She dropped her gaze and smiled fondly. “I’m not sure I would say that. He was a very mature twelve years old when he arrived and didn’t need much mothering, but I did what I could.” It was clear the woman cared deeply for her boss, which spoke volumes about him.
“Do you have children of your own?”
Alma beamed. “Oh, yes. Three boys and two girls, all grown with families of their own now.”
“Do you get to see them often?” I wasn’t certain if she lived in the house or not, but she was definitely there for long hours.
“Well, they’re all very busy, but we get together when we can. Aside from my sister, my entire family lives here in Guaymas, which helps.” There was a melancholy tone to her voice, though she tried to hide it with her positive outlook, but I could tell she missed her family.
I offered her a tight smile, wishing there was something I could do.
“Don’t you give me that sad look,” she chided playfully. “This job has helped me provide for my family in ways I couldn’t have otherwise, and Señor Primo is a good man to work for. I have no regrets.” She accented her statement with a sharp nod.
“Good to hear.” I chuckled. “What makes Primo a good boss? I’d love to know more about him.”
Soft footfalls sounded on the tile behind me. “It seems I’ve arrived at the perfect time,” Santino mused. “Alma, don’t you have more important things to do than gossip with our guest?” He wasn’t particularly harsh with her, but she made her apologies and hurried from the kitchen.
“Well, you’re no fun,” I pouted.
“Fun or no fun, I’d like to keep my head on my shoulders where it belongs. Now, what’s on the agenda for today?”
“Do I have any options?”
He squinted as if deep in thought. “I have to be here at the house for the next hour, but if you’d like, I could take you on a drive through the area after that. There are some canyons nearby and a marina worth seeing.”
“That would be amazing, thank you!”
“Don’t thank me. I’m just trying to keep you out of trouble, for both of our sakes.”
“I’m not sure why you seem to think I’m planning on causing a problem. Have I tried to escape or made any unreasonable demands?” I widened my eyes in my best puppy dog impression.
Santino eyed me suspiciously. “I’m not buying that for a second.”
“Then you’re smarter than you look.” I gave in to a devious smile, drawing a huff of laughter from the young man.
“Just try to stay out of trouble until I’m done.” He shook his head to himself as he walked away.
True to his word, Santino came for me about an hour later. We set out in his Land Rover but never made it to the canyon before he received a phone call from Primo instructing us to return to the house. The relaxed, carefree mood in the car became saturated with tension.
Santino was worried he’d upset Primo, and I was worried I’d gotten Santino into trouble. As much as I’d joked about causing issues for him, I didn’t truly want him reprimanded on my account. By the time we got back to the house, I was ready to go to bat on his behalf and argue that he’d done nothing wrong, but my mental preparations were unnecessary. Primo merely nodded at Santino when we entered the house and instructed me to put on a swimsuit.
“Are we going out to the beach?” I asked cautiously, not wanting to poke the angry bear. He may not have been upset with Santino, but he was visibly tense about something.
“No, we’re going out on my boat. Alma is packing us a lunch, so get whatever you need to be on the water for a couple of hours and meet me back down here when you’re ready.” He disappeared into his office, and I made my way upstairs to see what I could scrounge up for a boating date.
Twenty minutes later, I was back downstairs in a beach dress over my swimsuit with hat, sunglasses, and all the outdoor necessities. As of yet, I’d only seen Primo in suits and one glorious view of him naked, but never in anything casual. When he strolled in wearing a white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a faded pair of jeans ripped at the knees, my legs threatened to give out.
He was raw, seductive masculinity—every schoolgirl’s crush and every grown woman’s late-night fantasy. Refined with a razor-sharp, jagged edge. A man so ruthlessly confident he had no need of stereotypical bad-boy attire. He was sophisticated, savage, and infinitely complicated—I was utterly dumbstruck at the sight of him.
I rolled my tongue back into my mouth and tried to string together a few coherent words. “Um, I’m all ready.”
Primo slid a pair of sunglasses into his breast pocket. “I’ll get the cooler from the kitchen, and we can go.”
Fifteen minutes later, we were walking down the pier toward his boat on a gorgeous equatorial fall day. The temperature was closing in on eighty degrees, warm even for the moderate climate.
“Which one is yours?” I asked, scanning the long line of docked vessels.
“Second from the end on the right.” He pointed at a moderately sized sea-faring boat that may not have been the largest boat in the marina, but what it lacked in size, it more than made up for in luxury. It looked brand new, and it was stunning.
“That’s not a boat, it’s a yacht!” I gaped.
“You see that behemoth across the way?” He motioned toward what looked like a small cruise ship. “That’s Nazario’s boat—now, that is a yacht.”
“That’s not a yacht, it’s obscene,” I muttered. Who could possibly need such a grandiose boat?
Primo just smirked and led me over the gangplank onto his craft.
A man already on board popped his head out from the interior and addressed Primo in Spanish. I could only assume he would be our captain, so while the two talked, I slipped around to the front of the boat and admired the posh leather seating and the ornate wood floorboards.
“I’d never want to leave if I had access to this boat all the time,” I said when I sensed Primo join me.
“When the water is rough, you might change your mind.”
“I don’t know. I have a pretty strong stomach.”
He motioned for me to join him on the bench seat. “Hopefully, we shouldn’t test that theory today. Diego is going to take us down the coast a bit, and here in the Gulf of California, the water is rarely rough. I enjoy taking the boat out myself sometimes, but since someone has been rather insistent about having my undivided attention, I figured I’d leave the navigating to someone else.” His tone was dry, but I could sense the sarcasm.
“Is that teasing? Do I detect a jokester hiding deep beneath all that stoic badassery?”
He scoffed. “Hardly.”
“Santino has a lighter side, so if you put up with him, you must have a softer side in there somewhere.” I leaned in, bumping my shoulder against his.
“Don’t talk about Santino,” he grumbled as the boat slipped from its mooring.
“I won’t talk about him if you’ll tell me how you two met.”
Primo glared at me with resigned exasperation, a look I was more than used to receiving. “We met when I lived on the streets. He was a part of the same fighting circuit I used to compete in, but he was two years younger, so he wasn’t fighting age yet. We looked out for one another while we were there. Once I’d been with Naz for about a year and was more comfortable with him, I asked if Santino could train to be one of his men to help get him off the streets. Naz agreed. We located Santino, and he was more than happy to join us. When I got a home of my own, it was natural that he would come with me as a part of my security team.”
�
��The same way you brought Alma with you? I understand she’s been a part of your life for a while.”
“I think you need to stop snooping in other people’s business.” His words were a warning, but the tone conveyed little threat.
I had to fight to contain a smile. “I like learning about you, and it’s not like there’s much else to do at the house.”
“That’s why we’re here. To distract you and keep you from meddling in other people’s affairs.”
“I’d like to think we’re here because you wanted to be here with me. Although you certainly didn’t seem too thrilled when we arrived at the house.”
He tilted his head back and inhaled the salty sea air that tousled his waving sandy hair. “The situation with you is complicated, but it’s also not the only problem I’m dealing with.”
I adjusted to angle myself farther toward him and gave him an earnest look. “I know you’re not a fan of sharing, but if you’d like to talk about it, I’m happy to listen. Contrary to popular belief, I can listen when the situation calls for it.” I smirked, coaxing a small smile from him.
He reached out his hand and took mine in his, tracing the lines of my fingers and examining me as if I were foreign to him. I watched raptly, loving each delicate touch and forgetting to breathe when he brought my hand to his mouth and inhaled my scent. When he was done, he wove our fingers together and looked off in the distance, cradling my hand in his lap and ending the conversation.
I was entirely too awestruck to argue.
We sat quietly for a half hour, watching the coast drift by and spotting the occasional dolphin racing alongside the boat. When it was time to eat, we went inside to take a break from the sun and enjoyed the array of options Alma had packed for us. Primo pulled a beer for each of us out of a small refrigerator, and though I wasn’t typically a beer drinker, it was the perfect accompaniment to a boat picnic.
Once our stomachs settled and we went back outside, Primo instructed Diego to take us into an isolated inlet where the water was especially clear, and there was a sandy beach along the shore. I discovered during our expedition that much of the coast was rocky, and while it was still beautiful in its own way, something about a white sandy beach was always magical. The most appealing part about this stretch was that it was completely unoccupied.
The boat slowed, and I stood to peer over the edge. We were only about a hundred yards offshore, and the entire area was sandy-bottomed and clear.
“How deep is it here?” I asked Primo.
He joined me at the railing. “Only about ten feet, which is why we can’t go closer. It’s a protected beach, no access on land, but there’s a small dingy on the back of the boat. We can take it ashore if you want to check out the beach.”
I grinned up at him, then removed my hat and sunglasses before lifting my dress over my head.
His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, I quickly stepped up onto the chaise lounge built along the side of the rail and hurtled myself over the edge, diving into the chilly water below. Being impulsive and a tad reckless filled me with elation. When I surfaced, I immediately sought out Primo and grinned up at him. “Or we could just swim there.” I bit down on my lower lip, reveling in the begrudgingly amused look on his face, then turned and began to swim toward shore. The water was cold, but adrenaline kept me from feeling its effects.
Seconds later, a splash sounded from behind me. I glanced back to discover Primo had launched himself over the railing fully clothed. I squealed and kicked away with Primo in pursuit. He allowed me to reach the shore, slowly stalking after me as I stumbled in the sand and laughed. Walking backward, I openly gawked at the chiseled mountain of muscle hulking after me, wet clothes hugging his perfect body.
Without warning, he charged forward and lunged to scoop me over his shoulder. I lost myself in a fit of cackling laughter, not even pausing when Primo’s hand smacked me on the ass. He took me to the tree line and lowered me down his body, pressing me back against the trunk of a palm tree.
“What am I going to do with you?” His rumbling voice vibrated from his chest into mine, wrapping its way around my heart. “I can’t tell if you were sent as a curse or a divine reward, nor does it seem to matter. You could rain down havoc on my life, and I still don’t think I could stay away.”
“Then don’t. Don’t stay away.” I licked a drop of salty water from his lips, drawing him into a deep kiss. My shaking fingers reached for the clasp on his jeans, fumbling to get my hands on his cock. I was seized with the needed to touch him—feel him inside me—more than I needed life itself.
“Tell me you’re on birth control,” he rasped.
I nodded rapidly. “I use the shot. It’s still good for another month.”
He instantly dropped down, wrenching my bikini bottoms to the ground. He then stood and finished unfastening his pants, removed his button-down shirt and instructed me to slip it on to protect my back. The second my arms were through the sleeves, he lifted me in his arms and ground the long length of his cock against my center.
We both moaned a chorus of inhuman sounds, slipping back to a place governed by primal, dark desires. A place only known to feral creatures of the night and the deeply depraved.
“Fuck, I missed this.” He lay his forehead against mine, then angled himself at my entrance and rocked inside me. Just the tip at first, but with each firm thrust, he penetrated deeper into my core until I could feel him burrowing into my soul.
My head rolled back and around, lost in a sea of sensation. I buried my fingers in his wet hair and shrieked when he yanked my bikini cup down and latched his mouth over my aching nipple. Every breathless gasp and whimpered moan that slipped from my lips fed his insatiable hunger. The world spun in a dizzying whirlpool of pleasure until I thought I would hyperventilate from the coiling, clambering orgasm skittering along each of my nerves until it barreled into my pussy and exploded from my core.
A supernova of sensation blinded me from the inside out and stole my hearing, leaving in its staid a high-pitched ringing. I couldn’t see or hear or feel my way around it until I released a shuddering breath and ordered my muscles to loosen one by one. Only then did I realize that Primo was also coming down from his own release, and I gently sank into the cradle of his brawny frame.
I eventually lowered my legs, centering myself on solid ground and retrieved my clothing. When I removed Primo’s shirt, I discovered a slew of scratches and stains.
“I’m afraid this is ruined.” I held the shirt up for him to see.
“It’s just a shirt. Better it than you.” He took the shirt in one hand and clasped the back of my neck with the other, pulling me in for one last languid kiss. “Let’s get back.”
We made the easy swim to the boat, and Primo helped me onto the back platform. Diego had placed a couple of towels on a nearby bench that we used to dry off. Primo instructed him to take us back to the marina, and we went up to the shaded top deck for the journey home.
He sat in the corner of the booth seating, and I curled up against him, knees pulled into my chest. I wasn’t sure he’d meant for me to invade his space so thoroughly, but I didn’t care. He curved his arm around me rather than pull away, and that was all that mattered.
“There’s something I’ve been curious about from the beginning,” he said, his thumb gently stroking up and down my arm. “Why do you steal things?”
I looked out over the water and tried to think of the proper words. I’d never talked about it to anyone, so it was hard to even know how to explain it.
“I’m not sure, exactly. The first time I did it, I was thirteen, and my aunt Vica was getting married. All six of us girls—my sisters and cousins—were flower girls. Our moms got us ready first at my grandparents’ house, then ran around helping to make sure everything else went smoothly. I got annoyed with my oldest cousin, Maria, who always threw fits about family weddings, so I went off on my own and happened to find this small silver obj
ect in a hallway. When I wandered back into the fray, I discovered everyone was looking for a missing cuff link the best man had misplaced. I realized that must have been what I found, but as I watched everyone searching and thought of the tiny secret stashed in my purse, I couldn’t find the words to tell them. The wedding would go on without it, and something was thrilling about knowing I had what they were all looking for.” I glanced down and chewed on my lip as I finished. “I guess it sounds pretty petty and ugly when I say it out loud. Usually, it’s not meant to be malicious, and I never go into a situation planning to do it. It just … happens.”
He knew my dirty little secret, but I still hated to lay out the nasty details and expose myself further. I didn’t want him to think I was spiteful or unworthy. More than ever before, I wished I wasn’t so flawed.
“I told you before that I thought you wanted to be caught, and I still believe that. Has anyone else ever caught you or suspected?”
“No, you’re the only person who knows anything about it.”
He made a low humming sound deep in his chest. “I think you needed someone to see you for who you are, which is not the person you’ve portrayed yourself to be. I’m not sure why you didn’t feel like you could be yourself, but that’s what happened, and then you felt trapped.”
I didn’t understand how someone who had known me for such a short amount of time could see me so clearly, but he did. And giving credence to his assertion, knowing that he did see the real me and accepted me as I was, filled me with a resounding sense of inner peace.
“My family’s not bad, but I’ve just never connected well with any of them,” I admitted, then realized that all of Primo’s family was dead. What an idiot I was. Who gripes about not connecting with their family to someone who had no family left? I felt like smacking myself in the head. I couldn’t imagine if my entire family were killed. Just the thought brought a hollow ache in the pit of my stomach and made me realize that I did sort of miss them.
I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, but he didn’t seem to be hurt by my careless words. Next time, I’d try to be more thoughtful. For now, our discussion about family was the perfect segue to a question I’d been mulling over.
Impossible Odds: A Mafia Romance (The Five Families Book 4) Page 13
