by Kenya Wright
Tonight she’ll be mine.
I promised myself that once these murders were solved I would go after her. Discovering Reece and Dayanara as the culprits shook me up and shoved me off the edge of normalcy. Earlier, I’d sat in my office and drank, not desiring to pour my sadness all over Elle.
But I couldn’t stay away from her. I couldn’t not be next to her when she sat somewhere in my castle.
When I arrived at her door with the weight of the entire world on my shoulders, she drew me into her arms and knocked all of my stress away. She comforted and spent time with me when she didn’t have to. She didn’t know me at all, had no idea who I was or what I intended for her, whether passion or pain. But her heart pushed her forward, that beautiful heart I wanted for myself. So when the moment came to kiss her as we stood in the water at the beach, I seized it like a desperate man. I was a mad one on the edge of insanity and she was the tonic I needed.
Moaning, she melted into my arms and molded her body against mine as if giving me permission to take whatever I yearned for.
And I will. I can’t think of anything else.
The ocean waves crashed against us. That cool water rose up to our knees. All was forgotten in those sweet kisses—lips gliding against lips, wet tongues twisting and exploring, hungry hands and taunting fingers. Fireworks of lust and need exploded inside of me. My jeans stuck to my legs, but I couldn’t care less. I moved us further into the ocean. Her dress painted her wet body, yet she followed me deeper into the waters as they reached well above both of our hips.
Greedy tremors of desire shook me. I had to be careful, and take my time, kiss by kiss, because what formed inside my chest and turned over and over until it was a huge hot orb expanding and building, would be too much for her to handle. It was too much for me to even contain, but I had to. Elle deserved patience and someone who could wait as long as she needed before trying to taste every part of her.
She giggled. “All the times I’ve lived near a beach. I’ve never just walked in like this and gotten all wet.”
“We can take your clothes off, if you would like.” I’d meant it as a joke right before diving in for another sample of that welcoming mouth, but she surprised me.
“I’ll take mine off if you take yours off.”
I stiffened against her. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
“Why? Are you telling me that as a Cuban man you have something else to offer when your clothes are off? You already claim to have an extra heart, do you have something else that’s extra?” She signaled to my crotch.
“No. One is enough.” I nipped at her neck. Little drops of salt water met my tongue. “Now back to our clothes. I must warn you. If I take off my clothes and yours are off too, I can’t guarantee I’ll behave myself.”
She didn’t shy away or avert her eyes. Instead, she met my gaze with a confident one that made me hard inside of my pants. “Alvarez, I’m hoping you won’t behave yourself.”
Shedding my clothes took no time. I swore I heard a few rips come from my shirt and jeans as I wrenched them off. She laughed when I fell back into the water with one leg entangled in some weird knot of fabric. My butt hit the sandy floor. Water soared over my head and swallowed me whole. Salt water rushed into my nostrils. I should’ve felt shame or embarrassment. I didn’t. I was with my lady.
A comforting sensation washed over me as my head and body immersed in salty water. Holding my breath, I opened my eyes in the ocean. Moonlight seeped through the water. A mermaid with lush black hair, pale skin, and a wondrous white tail of shimmering pearls swam to me. She lifted me up. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t know mermaids were real.”
Elle hit my chest. “Oh stop it. Did you lose your clothes?”
“Yes. My shirt and jeans are probably floating their way to Cuba by now.”
She turned her head from side to side. “No. They’re probably around here somewhere. Do you want me to help you find them?”
“No.” I pulled her to me. “I want you to lose your clothes, too.”
I slid her straps down over her shoulders and kissed the wet skin. Her hair slicked back and showed off that incredible face. I paused for a second to really take her all in. “You have an amazing face. I think all of that beautiful hair hid it from everyone. I feel lucky to see it.”
A red tint rushed over her cheeks. “Thank you.”
Inch by inch, I pulled her dress down. The soaked material dragged away from her skin. The more the dress revealed, the more she backed up and moved deeper into the water. We were far away from the shoreline. Waves reached over her shoulders and the middle of my chest.
“You don’t want me to see your body?” I whispered. In the water, I continued to pull the dress down her hips and glide my fingertips along the edge of her panty line.
She gasped at the touch. “I don’t want anyone else to see me. I know it sounds so weird, since I’ve been on thousands of paintings in the nude, but when it is an intimate moment like this, I get nervous.”
Still gripping her dress, I tugged Elle forward. “No one’s around. Our guards cleared this part of the beach.”
“Can they do that?”
“You see how big they are? Would you argue with them?”
“No.”
“Don’t ever be nervous with me.”
The dress fell to the ocean floor. She pulled off her bra and stepped out of her panties, not caring where those undergarments would float away to. I couldn’t care less, either. If necessary, we could have the guards buy some clothes while we swam in the water. All I understood was that I yearned to be next to, inside, and against her. I longed to consume and make her mine in any way possible.
“Mi amor, un día vas a ser mi esposa.” I brought her into my arms. Her hard nipples pressed against my chest. Her heartbeat boomed so fast and loud I could feel and hear it all around me.
“That’s not fair,” she whispered.
Battling with myself to take my time, I explored her body with my hands. “What’s not fair?”
She bit her lips and groaned, “You’re saying things I don’t understand. Although, I must admit those words sound so sexy coming out of your mouth.”
“A continuación, voy a hablar en español cuando hago el amor.” I lifted her up and she wrapped those long legs around my waist. My length rested under her and begged me to push it inside of her, but I ignored his pleas.
“Stop that.” She laid her arms on my shoulders. “Tell me what you’re saying.”
“Which time?”
“Both.”
“Promise me you won’t run off in fear.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
“The first thing I said was. . . my love, I’ll make you my wife.”
She parted her lips.
“No running.”
“I-I’m not.” She trembled in my arms.
What’s on your mind, mi amor?
“The second thing I said was. . . that I would speak Spanish the whole time I make love to you.” I heard her intake breath. “What’s on your mind, Mami?”
She shook her head. “This. . . whatever this is can’t be more than just the summer or—”
“No limits.”
“There has to be limits.”
“Why?”
“Because. . .”
“You don’t even know why. You just know that you have to protect yourself and guard your heart.” I stroked her back.
“Yes, but you’re talking about marriage and earlier when we were in bed together you said that you would make me yours. That’s too much.”
“Are you sure about that?” I ran my fingertips across her soft behind. The water stirred around us. “No limits between us.”
“There has to be some.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to lose myself. It’s happened before.”
“Then let me lose myself in you.” I lapped at the beads of water on her nipples. A loud moan fled from her lips,
urging me to suck that hard point into my mouth and flick my tongue across the tip. I moved my face between her moist cleavage and licked some more.
Maldito, she feels so good. I’ve got to have her.
I trapped her other nipple in my mouth. Her legs shivered against my waist with each lick. I stopped and looked into her eyes. “Don’t over think this, Mami. It’s too special. Promise me?”
“I can’t.”
I dug my hand between our bodies and caressed her between those soft thighs. “You can.”
Her whole body trembled against me. I toyed with that velvety flesh some more, needing to see her face as she let go for me, just pushed down all of those barriers around her and accepted everything I had to give her.
“Oh god.” Those two words vibrated from her lips. I traced poetic lines with my fingertips, little messages that she could read on nights when I was not next to her and she lay in the bed, wet and alone. She shrieked in pleasure at my words and statements teasing her body. With my fingers, I outlined our future, every step, each milestone, all the years we would celebrate between us. It was a book I placed between the softest place on earth.
By the end of my finger writing, my fingertips were slick with her. I could tell the difference between ocean water and her arousal, and I loved it.
“Stay right there.” I drew in as much oxygen as I could, lowered into the water, put her legs on my shoulders, and sucked on all the places I wrote on, everywhere there was a letter that needed a dot or slash, any spot that yearned for extra attention. She squirmed against my mouth, swishing water and bubbles around my face.
Fuck. I wish I could breathe under water, but I have to stop.
Coming up for air, I rose with her sitting on my shoulders and her hands holding the back of my head. Water streamed down our bodies. I looked up at her. She was a shuddering mass of panting that echoed across the ocean’s surface. “Oh. . . my. . . goodness.”
I drew in more air and took us back under the water. I didn’t waste any time, drinking to my heart’s content. Pressure pushed against my lungs. I twirled my tongue, as fast as I could, coating my tongue with her. We rose again.
She looked down at me like she’d just seen me for the first time. I lapped at her center once again so she could see me do it. She blinked her eyes as if unsure of how to respond.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.” I raised her off my shoulders, lowered her to me, and guided her legs around my waist. “Why did you take so long to come to me?”
“If I knew you were here, I would’ve come so much sooner.”
“Yeah?” I displayed a wicked grin.
“God, yes.”
“Then no limits?”
She swallowed. “No limits.”
“Can I make love to you, mi amor?”
“Please.”
In no time, I entered her. It took no effort or light from the moon above us to figure out where to push and pull. I’d learned her body in those few moments of writing my thoughts on her and she was so ready for me. I slid inside her precious area, which was so yielding to my thrusts yet immediately formed around my length whenever I had to pull away.
Dear god!
I bit my bottom lip to control my speed. With her, I had to take my time. She was more than anybody else and ten times more than that. But I was already so close and barely inside of her for a minute. A little squeak left her mouth and transformed into a humming tune of sensual moans that throbbed throughout my flesh. If it could be put to song, I would’ve done it right there. But instead I listened intently, just to burn the memory into my brain for another day when life didn’t feel this good and my mind needed to remember the sound of love.
“You’re going to ruin me,” I groaned and sped up more than I should have, but I couldn’t help it. All of my concentration dove to my length and the suctioning of velvety pleasure around it.
“Oh, don’t stop,” she begged. “Please, don’t stop.”
“Never, mi amor.” Driving harder into her with liquid movements, I held her body close to mine, just to keep her from falling back as she writhed against me, winding those hips and taking my breath away. Waves crashed against us. But the sound couldn’t drown out the loud noises that left our lips.
“Yes!” She dug her nails into my shoulders. Pain gnawed at them. I had no time to move those hands away while we screamed, making love and rubbing against each other.
The whole time the moon watched us. Wet flesh splashed against wet flesh. Our motions disturbed the sea. I couldn’t get enough of her. Each of my strokes pushed deeper than I’d gone before. Rumbling low noises mixed with screams. Nails bit into skin. Vibrations of lust merged with greedy strokes that seemed to never be satisfied.
Until the moment when our gazes met and the world crashed around us in a blurred shade of darkness. We fused together into one moving body. Explosive. Just like those marvelous fireworks from Hex’s party. We disintegrated into hot sparks and throat-burning groans, wet orgasms and satiated flesh. We filled the night air with light and shone brighter than all those millions of glittering stars watching us from the sky.
The waves slammed into each other, jealous of our sex. The clouds separated to give the sky a better look. We hypnotized the moon.
Then we stopped to rest, asked the guards to get us clothes, and did it all again.
Chapter 21
Elle
Our time at South Beach would forever be engraved in my mind. We’d made love until my legs went numb and my body ached in the most sensitive of places. Afterward, the guards brought us back towels and clothes, mainly shorts and shirts that read, “What happens in South Beach stays in South Beach.”
I hope not.
After we dressed, we lay together on the towels and talked about everything. Alvarez’s fears didn’t stop at clowns. Kittens freaked him out. Not cats, but kittens. He talked about a time during his teen years when Hex laid little kittens on his bed, woke Alvarez up, and laughed as Alvarez jumped to the other side of the room and screamed. I confessed to him my panic of too much texture on natural things—rocky surfaces in strange unusual patterns, bumpy mold, bulbous layers on odd plants, roots shaped into weird contours. When I found things like that and looked too long, I would be close to vomiting.
We also discussed our dreams.
“How happy are you with your life?” I leaned my head on his hard chest.
“I think I’m happy.”
“You think you are? Here’s a test. If you had billions and billions of dollars, would you still manage Hex’s career?”
“Hell no. I would sail in a huge boat, one of those big ones with a bedroom, living room, and kitchenette. I would have a staff sailing and taking care of it. I wouldn’t even have a house or condo on land. I would just sail forever, stopping at ocean-side cities throughout the world and learning about each different culture. Would you sail with me?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe is not an option, mi amor. Not after what we did.” He took me again on the sand, and I had no strength or desire to stop him.
Hours later, I relaxed in Alvarez’s arms the whole ride back to Castillo Castle. The limo hummed a mellow tune. Alvarez kept his side of the window down and stared out of it as the fast South Beach life and brightly lit buildings transformed into suburban homes and spread out farms. The limo driver took his time getting us home. A gentle breeze came through the window, stroked my skin, and coaxed me to sleep.
When we arrived, Alvarez gently nudged me awake. “I didn’t want to disturb you, but I plan on carrying you to my bedroom. Do you disapprove?”
I yawned. “No. Not tonight.”
“Not tonight.” He chuckled to himself.
“What’s so funny?”
“I need you in my bed every night. We might as well move your stuff to my room.”
“And will we be getting married next week, conceiving our child next month, and searching for a house to live in together soon after?”
I hit his chest. “Alvarez, that’s not funny.”
He kissed me. “So you need space and for us to take our time?”
“Yes.”
“But tonight you’ll lay next to me?”
I hid my smile. “Yes.”
“And tomorrow night?”
“We’ll discuss it when it comes.”
“No. Let’s talk about it now.”
But we never got a chance to discuss it, because when we stepped out of the car a bonfire greeted our eyes. An earthy scent filled the air, reminding me of marijuana and other herbs. Nude people drenched in crimson red liquid danced around the flames. They chanted foreign words and held bottles in their hands. There must’ve been twenty of them. Every few steps they took, they sipped from the bottles and spit the liquid into the air, rustling the flames and causing sparks to shoot out.
Alvarez put me down. “Dear God! What is Grandma doing?”
I squinted my eyes and realized that there was a short woman with gray hair among the crowd chanting and spitting liquid, too. “Oh goodness. That is your grandma right there.”
Alvarez released my hand and stormed her way. “Grandma! What are you doing? Who are all of these people?”
She stepped away from the circling line as everyone else continued to chant and spit. “You! How dare you have that sweet girl Reece arrested? And how dare you let those people take my daughter out of her home in handcuffs?”
“No. First you explain what this is.” Alvarez pointed to the bonfire and people. “Then we’ll talk about why the cops took Reece and Dayanara for questioning.”
“Questioning? They didn’t do anything.”
“There was evidence that they were involved.” Alvarez pulled off his shirt and tried to hand it to his nude and bloodied grandma.
“What evidence? There’s no evidence.” She snatched the shirt from his hands and flung it on the ground.
“Who are these people out here and what in God’s name are they doing?”
“What evidence?” She rung her closed fists in the air. “How dare you take my daughter off without telling me? That’s my daughter!”
“I’m done talking to you, until you stop screaming at me and put some clothes on.”
