by Renee Rose
Shut up and enjoy the view, girl! As if I can do anything else. He stops and smiles. I melt. This is why I can’t stop thinking about him. He’s so gorgeous, it hurts to look at him. The corners of my mouth lift in a grin but they drop again when I recall my current reality. I grab the towel and focus on cleaning the bar top.
Roxy nudges me and jerks her chin toward Armando. “So what’d he say when you approached him earlier? Did you ask him out?”
My eyes lock with Armando’s sultry gaze and I try to put the washcloth back into the pan of bleach water… except I hit the glasses on the drying mat, and they tumble like dominoes. Between Roxy and myself, we save them from crashing to the floor.
Her shoulders bounce as she tries to suppress her laughter.
Jeezus! One look from that man, and I am a mess! My cheeks burn, and I pray Armando didn’t notice. If he did, he’s not showing it as he nods to Maximus, who’s going up the stairs to the office.
I sigh and straighten our fragile inventory. “Yes, I asked him out, and he kissed me. We’re supposed to do to dinner Sunday night.”
Roxy slaps my ass. “Yeah, baby!”
I purse my lips. “Don’t get excited. I think he’s taking pity on me—”
A scream from outside penetrates the thumping club music. Armando dashes to the entrance, right behind Tiberius.
“What the hell?” I stand on my tiptoes, trying to see what’s going on over the heads of people.
A tall, dark-haired man has an unconscious woman in his arms, her familiar red hair swinging as he shoulders his way through the customers. “I’m a doctor. Let me through.”
Karina! I scream and flip the bar pass to shove my way through the crowd.
The bouncers at the front door clear the way for this man carrying my best friend. I elbow my way between bodies on numb legs, but strong arms engulf me. The familiar scent of Armando wraps around me, and I collapse against his chest. “What happened? Is she okay?”
Red stains Karina’s white blouse.
“Oh God, she’s bleeding.” The words fall from my lips in a whisper.
My legs falter. I can’t breathe. My chest twists into a painful knot. This can’t be happening. My worst nightmare is unfolding right in front of me. Did Phil hurt Karina to punish me? I will never forgive myself if I’m responsible for this.
Armando catches me before I fall. “Shhh.”
Augustus shoves Karina’s purse into my arms, and I follow him and the guy who caught her up the stairs to the office.
Maximus blocks the door.
“Coming through!” Augustus moves him to make way for Karina’s savior.
“Alex.” Theo jumps to his feet from behind Lucius’s huge desk, and his breath hitches. “Karina.”
“What happened? Is she going to be okay?” Tears burn my eyes, threatening to fall, and I clutch Karina’s handbag as if my life depends on it
Theo snaps his fingers at Augustus. “Will you please take Miss Wilson downstairs? Karina will be well tended to, Zoe. We’ll keep you posted.”
I nod as I try to stop shaking. This has to be Phil. He’s trying to prove I can’t escape him. I know it! Numbly, I allow Augustus to lead me out of the office, but run into a warm, broad chest.
“I’ve got her, Augustus.” Armando wraps an arm around my waist. “Come with me, mi cielito.”
“Yes, sir.” The submissive part of me surrenders. And why not? I feel so out of control at this moment, I take refuge in his commanding presence.
He leads me down through the club to the secret door in the coat check closet. When the door shuts behind us, blackness consumes me. There’s barely any light in the stairwell, and my heart pounds in my temples. My grip on Armando’s hand tightens.
He halts, and his hand guides me into his arms. “Shhh, mi cielito.” He presses my head to his chest, and I sink into the sanctuary of his embrace. “Come. Let me care for you.”
His strong arm around my shoulder, he opens the door at the bottom of the stairs, and the red mood lighting engulfs us.
The sights and sounds of sex greet us. My body has a mind of its own and becomes hyper-aware of the man at my side. Two women—limbs entwined, and mouths fused—sway to the music in a cage across the room. A man is strapped to a St. Andrew’s Cross, his erection jerking as his dom whips his thighs with a flogger. The room blurs, and I blink several times.
Red stains the mouth of a woman a few feet in front of us. I blink again, not quite trusting my eyes. Blood play? Not unheard of, but I’ve never actually seen it until now. She sneers at me as she stands behind a man bent over a spanking bench. Her hips roll while she fucks him with her strap-on.
Armando guides me past the main area into one of the semi-private alcoves and closes the curtain. The chains hanging from the ceiling give me all sorts of ideas that I grapple with as an escape. Reality hurts too much. A tear slips down my cheek. I slump into the simple wood chair.
“Bring Zoe a glass of water.” Armando is peeking through the curtain, placing an order with one of the waitresses.
The waitress nods. “Do you want some blood?”
Did she say blood? Maybe Bloody Mary, and I missed the rest.
“Tequila, please.” His voice is far away amidst the music and moans.
Armando crouches next to me. I retreat into those dark brown eyes, so filled with concern yet edged with lust. Or is that just my wishful thinking?
He runs his hand down my back, offering comfort, but all I feel is desire. “Karina will be fine.”
I nod. My lip trembles. I squeeze my eyes shut against the memory of blood staining Karina’s blouse. My whole world is collapsing in one night.
Armando cups my cheek and I lean into his caress, breathing in his scent, his heat.
“Look at me, mi cielito.” His intense eyes penetrate my soul.
The curtains part and the waitress is back. She picks our order from the crowd of glasses and bottles on her tray and hands the drinks to Armando. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Drink, Zoe.” He holds ice water to my lips. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
I nod and accept the offering, the cool, moist glass as soothing as his voice. I drink it down. I’m thirstier than I realized.
Armando stands and tips his head back, downing the tequila. He relieves me of the tumbler and sets it and his empty shot glass aside on the small dresser in the space. When he returns to me, his strong hands settle on my thighs and he parts them, kneeling between my legs. The intensity in his eyes, this firm grip on my legs—they speak of possession and I welcome it. I want to get lost in this man, even for just a few moments. Pretend no one else in the world exists but the two of us.
His gaze drops to my mouth. I’m mesmerized, praying he’ll kiss me. I lick my lips in anticipation. Armando groans and dips his head, his mouth slanting over mine, claiming me. More than anything, I want to belong to him.
Hands sliding up my thighs, he grabs my hips and tugs me to the edge of the chair. His erection grinds against my aching pussy.
Yes! I cling to him. Armando is my lighthouse in this storm of emotions that are tearing my insides apart. He grips my ass and I wrap my legs around his waist as he lifts me from the chair and sets me on the spanking horse. Our mouths devour each other, tongues dancing, teeth nibbling, breaths mingling. He grunts, thrusting his hips against me, his hardon delicious and painful against my cunt, soaking my panties.
“Gods, I love the way you smell.” He pumps faster, harder, as he buries his face in the crook of my neck, nipping a path to where my breasts swell over my corset.
I thread my fingers through his soft hair, clutching his head, his stubble scraping delightfully over my sensitive skin. “Take me, please.”
Armando hovers over me, his eyes searching mine, and I reach for his belt, wanting this more than anything I’ve wanted in my life. I need this like I need air. He helps me release his belt and unzip his pants. He shoves his pants down over his ass, his cock sprin
ging free, and I hiss through my teeth. He’s so fucking hard and thick.
He makes quick work of my short shorts, pulling them, my panties, and fishnet stockings down my hips to my knees. Faster than I can register, he yanks me to my feet and spins me around to face the bench. With a firm hand on my back, he bends me over the side of the horse and groans.
I gasp as he buries his face in my cunt, lapping at my sopping pussy. A brief, sharp pain on my labia quickly vanishes as he grips my hips and grinds his mouth against me, his tongue fucking me, drinking me deep. I cry out as he flutters over my clit. In seconds, he has me shuddering through an orgasm and screaming his name.
I whimper from the loss of his tongue, but groan as he sheathes his thick rod into my weeping cunt.
His deep, sensuous voice cascades over me with a wave of Spanish words. And though I cannot understand him, the beauty of his phrases matches his passion in how he touches me, fucks me, rolls his hips against me, filling me with his cock.
Armando grabs my wrists, holding them against my hips as his shaft slides sensuously in and out of me. I groan at how creamy my pussy feels wrapped around his dick, how slick I am.
“Harder,” I command.
He chuckles, and deliberately slows his pace. “No, mi cielito. I enjoy feeling your pulsing pussy stroke every single inch of my dick.” He hisses. “Watching myself disappear inside you. Thrust…” he pumps and slides out, “after thrust.” He buries himself inside me to his balls and bucks deep, pumping and grinding before he draws back again to the tip. “After thrust.”
He feels so fucking good!
“Please.”
“You want me to fuck you harder?”
“Yes, please.”
“You’re not saying the right words, mi cielito.”
Oh, my fucking God, yes! “Please fuck me harder, sir.”
Another string of carnal Spanish pours from his mouth, and I grow even wetter. “That’s my girl.” Armando pounds his cock hard and deep, stroking my drenched cunt and filling me. His pace increases, his balls and hips slapping against me, driving me to a mindless climax that shatters my world.
“Fuck, yes!” He mutters in his native tongue, crashing into me and sending me over the edge one more time until I cry out his name again. Armando grips my hips, ramming me until he shivers and roars his own climax.
His bucking slows to a sensual and dreamy pace. He bends forward, nuzzling my ear and panting, mumbling more sexy words I don’t comprehend, but the meaning is clear—he enjoyed this as much as I did.
I don’t know how long he stays inside me, caressing me, kissing my neck and shoulders, whispering endearments, but when he stands and pulls out of me, my soul aches from the absence. My body misses him already.
He smooths his hand over my ass and slaps it, the crack against my sweaty skin slicing through the air and I revel in the sting. He slaps it again, and I moan. “Dios mío! Your ass is so fucking delicious, mi cielito.”
I chuckle and squirm. “What is mi cielito?”
He encourages me to stand upright, wrapping his arms around me, my back against his chest. He nuzzles my ear. “It means my little sky, because you cover my world with your presence.” He nibbles my earlobe.
Son-of-a-bitch! Why is this perfect man coming into my life now, when I have to leave? I blink away the tears stinging my eyes. “Listen. I love what you’ve done for me. And, God, I wish we could stay here all night.”
“But?” He trails his tongue along the side of my neck.
I tremble. “I really need to get back to the bar. You have to return to your post. And I need to figure out where I’m staying tonight.”
“No.” Armando smooths his palm over my belly, down between my legs, and his fingers slip into my slick folds. I groan and drop my head back to his shoulder. “You’re coming home with me. Theo told me you have a stalker. I’ll keep you safe, Zoe.”
My heart skips a beat at my name on his lips and, while his fingers continue to stroke my clit, my mind conjures up all kinds of things we could do during a stay at his place. “But what about Karina?”
“I’m sure she is staying with Theo.” He dips his fingers deeper inside me and curls them against my G-spot. “Stay with me.”
I angle my hips, driving him deeper. Within seconds, he has me panting and close to reaching a climax, but he retreats. I whimper, unfulfilled.
“Say you will stay with me tonight.” He slides his fingers back inside me, stroking and pinching my clit until I tremble, close to the edge again. He retreats.
“Armando.”
He chuckles. “You want to come again, mi cielito?
“Yes, sir, please.” I gasp as his fingers thrust inside me, his rock-hard erection pressing against my ass.
“Then say you will stay with me.” Two fingers stroke the length of my slit, caressing my clit between them, driving me to the edge. He stops. “Say it.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Dios mío, mujer, deja de pelear con migo.” He rubs my over-sensitive nub, then stops. “Say it.”
“Yes… sir… I will… stay with you.”
I’m breathless as he plunges inside me and fingers me to another earth-shattering orgasm as I convulse in his arms.
“Good girl.” He brings his hand to his mouth and licks my juices from his skin like he’s enjoying sweet honey, savoring every drop. He smiles triumphantly, his hooded and smoldering eyes consuming me to ash on the spot. He slaps my ass once more before he pulls my panties, stockings, and short shorts back up over my hips. I draw my bottom lip between my teeth to stifle a groan as he tucks his thick cock away and rights his pants. Of course, he goes commando. The man is a living, breathing sex god.
I straighten my clothes, then clutch Karina’s bag to my chest. “Are you sure?” I force myself to think about the problem and not Armando’s full lips, which are still glistening with my cunt juices. “I don’t want to be a burden.” At least, that’s what I tell him. The truth is, I don’t want to get too attached, and I can tell that’s exactly what’s going to happen if he keeps rocking my world the way he just did.
Armando narrows his gaze. “I never say something I don’t mean. You doubt my ability to keep you safe?” His brow furrows, and his lips purse.
Everything suddenly feels right again, and my usual moxie returns. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, big guy.” I shoulder Karina’s bag and slide my hands up his chest. “I didn’t say I doubt you. I’m just saying my problems are not your problems. But I appreciate a place to stay for a few days.” Come to think of it, it’s actually brilliant. As long as Phil isn’t around to follow us, he shouldn’t be able to find me at Armando’s place. One thing is certain—I’m going to enjoy feeling protected while it lasts. It’ll be nice to have one less worry for the moment.
I rise on my tiptoes and press a kiss to the tip of his nose before I head to the bar to finish my shift with a lump in my throat. There are times in life when you know shit has just taken a left turn and you know nothing will ever be the same again. The train carrying me just flew right off the rails. The question is, will this be for better, or worse?
Chapter 3
I’m anxious to talk to Karina. Theo retrieved her bag not long after I returned to my station at the bar, and now she’s asking for me. That’s a good sign. My heart settles slightly.
Armando leads me to her room in the dungeon. I knock and clasp my hands in front of me to contain my anxiety. Theo opens the door and stands aside. My gaze scans the room and lands on my best friend. The relief is dizzying. She’s alive, and sitting up in bed. I rush to her and throw my arms around her. Remembering she’s injured, I pull back from our embrace.
“Are you okay? What happened?” I fight back my grin when I notice she’s naked. “And where are your clothes, you naughty girl?”
Theo and Alex share a laugh.
Get it, girl! I’m proud of my BFF. She’s far more adventurous than I am, it seems.
Karina’s mouth twitch
es. “My clothes are ruined and it’s a long story, but I’m okay now, thanks to Alex, here. We’ll talk more later, though. Theo told me about Phil. I don’t know if I want you going to the apartment and running into that creep.”
“Armando isn’t going to let anyone hurt me.” The corners of my mouth turn down as I look at one of the best bosses I’ve ever had. “I may have to quit my job, Theo.”
He crosses his arms. “Reliable employees are hard to find, Miss Wilson. Let’s not jump to conclusions. Armando and I will see what we can do to help.” He moves to the door. “Alex, come with me to the office while we let the ladies catch up a little.”
Alex kisses Karina’s forehead before following Theo out of the room.
After they shut the door, I turn wide eyes to Karina. “Two men? Look at you, girl!”
One of her hands flies up to her forehead, and she flops onto her back. She winces and sucks in a breath. “Ow.” Her mouth tightens before the corners lift. “Yes, they are both quickly stealing my heart.”
I reach behind her and position the pillow to help her sit up.
She holds out her hand. “Give me your phone, and I’ll jot down a list of things to grab from our apartment for me.”
Reaching into my apron, I grab my smartphone and swipe up to unlock it then hand it to Karina. She presses a few buttons and starts typing.
“How does that asshole keep finding you anyway?” Karina’s frustration matches my own.
“I don’t know. It’s like he’s bugged me or something. I know he’s pretty tech savvy, but so is Armando, so maybe he can help me figure this out. I’d really hate to leave this job. I love it so much.”
“I know.” She gives me back the cell. “Theo says you’re staying with Armando?”
I practically bounce on the bed, unable to contain my joy. “Yep. He won’t let me out of his sight. I love how protective he’s being.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling. Both Alex and Theo are doing the same thing. It’s nice having a champion, huh?” Her gaze turns wistful.
