Picking a piece of spaghetti out of her hair, I bend my knees, bringing me level with her mouth before pressing my lips against hers.
I take it back.
I wouldn’t change a fucking thing about her.
But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t change everything about my parents. If they had a sincere bone in their body, maybe I’d consider giving them the benefit of the doubt but my mother didn’t want to be a grandmother, she wanted to show Eric off like he was a prize filly. Then there was my old man, standing alongside ‘Mommy Dearest’ with the same useless expression his face carried when I was five and asked him to play catch with me. If he isn’t turning millions into billions, he has no fucking clue what to do with himself.
They’ll try to throw their money around, offer to put Eric in a fancy school and probably enroll him in fucking fencing classes. I know the consequences of being a Montgomery heir and I don’t want that for my son. I want him to be his own person, someone who creates his own destiny. If he grows up and tells me he wants to join the fucking circus, guess what, Kitten and I will be at every show cheering him on with big red noses.
My mother looked like she was about to have a stroke when she looked at me. It didn’t matter she hadn’t seen or spoken to me in years. She was disgusted by the ink that covered my skin and in the back of her twisted head she was probably scheduling an appointment with her plastic surgeon to see if they could be removed.
The tattoos on my skin tell my life story one she never took an interest in.
And if she knew the life I chose over the one she wanted for me she’d be appalled. If she knew Lauren was shot, or that Bones died because of some beef my club had she’d fucking lose her shit.
This is who I am.
And as Lauren takes me as I am, loves me for who I am, that’s all I need. The only man I need to be is the man that owns her heart.
I’m not a Montgomery.
Though, the trust fund they set me up with helped when I fucked that shit with the Chinese. Thank God for that fucking thing.
I slide my tongue between Lauren’s parted lips and take my frustrations out on her mouth. Cradling her face in my hands, my thumbs caress her cheeks as she tightens her hold on my neck and presses her body against mine.
That body.
My hands drop away from her face and slide down her curves, finding the hem of her t-shirt. I start to work the cotton up her body, breaking away from her mouth to pull the shirt over her head.
“Are you trying to shut me up?” Kitten asks as she reaches for the button on her denim shorts. Her breasts are heavy, full, and her nipples, those perky things were begging for Riggsy boy to play with them.
“Maybe,” I admit, bending my head to take one nipple between my teeth. I tug on the bud before drawing it into my mouth and running my tongue over it. “Is it working?”
“Promise me you’ll give it some thought.”
“I promise you I’m not thinking about my parents while I have your nipple in my mouth. Now take your shorts off, Kitten,” I order as my hand slips into the waistband of her shorts and my fingers graze the lace covering her pussy.
“At least you’re honest,” she groans as she shimmies out of her shorts. I drop to my knees, lifting one foot at a time and rid her of the shorts that pool around her ankles. Next, I cup the cheeks of her ass with my palms and bring her closer and brush my mouth against the scar from her cesarean.
Her fingers work my hair as my teeth latch onto the elastic of her panties and drag them down her body.
“I’m going to be real honest with you,” I murmur as she steps out of her panties, pulling her glasses off her face and shaking out her hair. She gives me the come fuck me eyes and puts her sexy face on. I should to tell her she didn’t need to do all that because I always want her. I wanted her from the minute I came home, dressed in a wet t-shirt, with SpaghettiOs in her hair. Lauren is the sexiest woman I have ever laid eyes on. “Honesty is me telling you you’re beautiful. Honesty is my word that you’re all I need to get by in this world. Honesty is you and me becoming one and forgetting there even is a world outside this apartment. You, Kitten, you’re everything and that’s the fucking truth. It doesn’t get any more honest than that.”
Her breath hitches as I grab a hold of her thighs and push them a part, all the while keeping my eyes locked with hers.
Love those eyes.
She braces her hands on my shoulders and I shift so I am sitting on the floor, staring up at her.
“Come here, Kitten, give me my honesty…give me you,” I rasp, reaching behind her to cup her ass and bring her down to me. She wraps her arms around my neck as she takes a seat on my lap.
“This what you want?” She asks breathlessly as she rocks against my erection straining to break through my worn jeans.
“No,” I admit, lowering my back until it was flat against the carpet. “Up here, Kitten,” I say, pointing to my mouth before taking one of her hands and guiding her up my body until she was positioned right where I wanted her, hovering over my face. She looked down at me, her hair wild around her face as her tongue traced her bottom lip.
“Give me you,” I plead.
She closes her eyes and lowers herself onto my waiting mouth. A moan escapes her as my tongue parts her lips and delves inside. Honesty was knowing I’d never get tired of this. I grip her hips as she arches against my mouth, my tongue teasing her, lavishly licking my way until I find her clit. She cries my name as I suck it into my mouth.
Honesty is knowing my name was never truly mine until I heard her say it.
Scream it.
Cry it.
Whisper it.
I pull my mouth back, glide my fingers over the path my tongue took before pushing two of them inside her and slamming my mouth back over her clit. She fists my hair and quickens her pace, riding me, taking what she needs from me.
Honesty.
Woven within every move she made.
Pushing my fingers deeper, I flick my tongue over her clit, once, twice and find it. Her pussy squeezes my fingers, quaking against my mouth as the rest of her tries to remain still and soak up the aftershocks of her orgasm. I feel the change in her, her body going lax over her mine, her grip loosening on my hair and the hold she had on my fingers easing allowing me to guide them out of her. I let my tongue take another swipe before leaning back, watching as she rolled off me and onto her back.
“Honesty is admitting the Tiger gives great head,” she pants.
Grinning, I kick off my boots and work my jeans down my legs before reaching behind me and pulling my shirt over my head.
“Are you going to fuck me now?”
“God, I love it when you talk like that. Keep talking,” I demand, positioning myself between her legs. The head of my cock teases her glistening pussy.
“Just before you were trying to shut me up and now you want me to talk,” she teases, bending her knees and closing them around me. “What do you want to hear me say, Riggs? You want me to tell you how badly I want your cock? How I was disappointed you left this morning before wrapping my mouth around you?”
“Fuck yes, more of that,” I grunt, bending my head to graze her nipple.
“Or maybe I should tell you I fingered myself in the shower this morning wishing it was your cock fucking me.”
“That’s it, Kitten,” I hiss, taking her hands and slamming them over her head as my dick pummels into her drenched pussy. “Take my cock,” I demand, sliding in inch by inch, filling her until she screams.
Fuck the world. Fuck the people who brought me into it. Everything could go up in smoke and I wouldn’t give two fucks. This right here, this moment, wrapped up in Lauren, this was everything. To hell with everything and everyone else.
I pull out, push back in, branding her mouth with kisses as I give her all of me, all the honest parts of my soul. I lose control, pounding into her mercilessly but Kitten takes me as always, matching my te
mpo. Jerking my hips, I groan coming and coming like a fucking champ. After I’ve emptied my balls, and sure I’m paralyzed, I collapse over Lauren.
She wraps her arms and legs around me, holding me close to her as her hands travel the length of my back.
“I love you, Riggs,” she whispers against my ear.
I remain tangled in her, joined to her as I roll us over and lie on my back, draping her body over mine like a blanket.
“Love you too, Kitten,” I say pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Call your mother, see if she’ll watch Eric tonight.”
She lifts her head from my chest and frowns.
“She’s watching Tori and Luca today there is no way she will watch Eric tonight too,” she says, trailing her finger down my cheek. “Grace called Anthony and Adrianna over to discuss Victor’s transfer.”
“These mob folk are so greedy. Jack is off the grid too because Victor summoned him up to the can,” I inform her, shaking my head. “Fucking Victor, always messing with me.”
Lauren giggles before she bends her head and kisses my lips quickly. I trail my hands down her sides and hold onto her hips.
“See…now if you were talking to your parents we could’ve asked them to watch Eric,” she says.
I raise an eyebrow at her.
“You sure about that? You’d let those clowns watch Eric?”
She bit her lip, wincing as she shook her head.
“Maybe not. I mean not for a while and maybe the first time we’d supervise. Oh, fine. I don’t think I’d let them watch Eric either.”
“Now look who’s being honest.” I wink at her.
She smacks my shoulder playfully.
“Still think you should consider calling your dad.”
“I think it’s time to shut you up again, Kitten.”
“What did you have in mind?” She asks with a hint of mischief playing in those blue eyes.
Honesty was knowing my Kitten was down to play. Honesty was finding all sorts of ways to keep her quiet, well maybe not completely quiet. I like hearing her scream my name.
Chapter Sixteen
The first time Victor was shot the girls were young. Nikki was still in diapers and Adrianna was in pre-school. In those days, Vic worked nights, he’d leave right after the girls were tucked in for the night and return in the morning just in time for breakfast. It was a Tuesday; I had overslept and was frazzled, trying to get the girls dressed so Adrianna wouldn’t be late for school. I was used to doing things for the kids on my own and instead of wondering why Vic hadn’t returned I went about my day feeding and dressing both girls. I didn’t bother dressing myself and hurried out the door with mismatched pajamas only to find Val’s car blocking mine in the driveway. He and Maryann got out of the car and started for me.
He didn’t need to say the words, I knew something was wrong the minute my eyes met Val’s. Maryann took Nikki from my arms and bent down to talk to Adrianna
“Come on, sweetheart, Mikey is in the car. Aunt Maryann will take you guys to school,” she said before peering up at me. “Give your mommy a kiss,” she added.
I snapped out of my trance, smiled when I felt like dying because I was a mother and my job was to shield my daughters from the world Victor and I brought them into. I kissed Adrianna’s head and watched Maryann lead her away.
“How bad is it?” I questioned, keeping my eyes trained on Maryann as she peeled out of the driveway with our kids.
“He’s okay. He took a shot to the stomach, but he’s going to be fine,” Val said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.
“This time,” I muttered numbly as I finally lifted my eyes to his. “Until one day you knock on my door and tell me it’s not okay.”
“Not on my watch, Grace. You won’t hear those words from me,” he promised.
It would’ve been easy to believe his words, after all, they were exactly what I wanted to hear but I knew better. Even then I knew one day this would all catch up to us. Val was true to his word, he never delivered the words he promised he wouldn’t. I wish Victor made the same promise to me but he was too busy making other promises he wouldn’t keep.
That was the first time Victor cheated his fate. He’s been shot a total of six times, arrested over twenty-three times and has beaten sixteen cases. Each time I got a visit or a phone call from one of his guys and each time I wondered if that would be the time I had to sit my girls down and tell them their daddy wasn’t coming home.
Now the time has finally come and all the preparing I’ve done throughout the years is lost. I have no idea how to do this. They’re going to have questions, ones I don’t have the answers to. I wonder if I knew thirty years ago this was how it was going to end, if I would’ve married him and vowed to stand by him until death do we part.
“Ma, how many times do we have to tell you to lock the door?”
Adrianna’s voice startles me and I jump before spinning around to face her and Anthony.
“She’s right, Grace,” my son-in-law adds before bending down to kiss my cheek.
“I could’ve sworn I did,” I mumble, forcing a smile as I wrap my arms around my daughter. “Thank you both for coming. I hope Maria didn’t mind watching the kids?” I turn to Anthony and question him with my eyes.
“Watching the kids keeps her out of trouble,” Anthony replies with a shake of the head. “Or at least it stops her from breaking Riggs’ balls.”
That made me smile genuinely as the back door swings open and my youngest storms in like the tornado she was, my smile widening ever so slightly.
“I’m fucking late and I suck but I’m here and I brought Dunkin,” She exclaims waving a Box of Joe enticingly.
“Where’s Mikey?” Adrianna asks, grabbing the mugs from the cabinet.
“He’ll be here, he had to see a customer about an estimate,” Nikki explains as she hugs me. “I miss you,” she whispers against my hair before she pulls back a fraction and smiles. “Where are the crazies?”
“They took Nana to bingo at the church,” I explain, laughing at her reference to my in-laws.
“When are they going back home?”
“That depends on when you’re getting married,” I tell her. I’m not pressuring her to get married but a part of me is worried she’s stalling because of Victor. I want to reassure her it’s okay for her to move forward and her father will be there in spirit.
Spirit.
That word makes it sound like he has already passed.
We pull apart as I clear my throat and tip my chin toward the living room. “Why don’t we all have a seat?”
“Ma, I’m not going to lie, you’re freaking me out,” Nikki says warily.
“Yeah, what’s going on? Why the family meeting? Did something happen with dad?”
I avert my eyes between my two girls before turning to Anthony. It hadn’t dawned on me until now that he may already know about Victor’s condition. Staring at him he looks just as anxious as the girls and it became clear that Victor faded Anthony out of the limelight of the organization just as he a promised. I guess there were some things he kept his word about.
“I went to visit your father,” I pause, offering Nikki a smile. “I showed him the photograph of your engagement and told him all about it. He was so happy for you and Michael. He made me promise to tell you to pick out the wedding dress of your dreams.”
I take a moment to keep myself in check, to keep the tears at bay and the emotion buried, reminding myself this isn’t about me. It’s not about my feelings but rather my girls, our girls. Nikki glances down, toying with her engagement ring before looking back at me.
“It fucking sucks he won’t be at my wedding,” she admits, turning to her sister. “It was fitting your son gave you away to Anthony, the three of you were becoming a family.” She violently wipes away a tear.
“And you’ll have me to walk you down the aisle,” I interject. “He asked me to do that you know, to walk yo
u down the aisle, to give your hand to Michael with his blessing.”
“I still feel guilty,” Nikki whispers. “I still blame myself for him being in there.”
“The only one who should be blamed is me,” Adrianna argues. “I’m the one who pulled the trigger. I’m the one who did the crime he confessed to committing. If anyone is to blame for daddy not being at your wedding, it’s me, and I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I took that from you,” she cries.
“Stop it! Both of you stop it,” I insist, inching forward to take their hands in mine. “Your father is in jail because he deserves to be, because for the last thirty years your father has done a lot of bad things. I never wanted to admit that, especially not to you girls but what’s the use in hiding it when both of you have witnessed him in action, both of you have suffered at the hands of his organization. That was too much for your father to handle, his conscience too heavy with guilt to continue as he was. It was his choice to turn himself in and his alone. Does that mean you should blame him? No, it means he finally earned the respect he always craved. You can be hurt, you’re entitled to be, but you should always have respect for the man who gave his freedom for us to live a life free of his sins. Your father loves you both so much,” I assure, turning to Adrianna and then to Anthony before I continue.
“He is so proud of you two and those babies you created,” I smile, cocking my head as my gaze settles on my son-in-law. “He’s grateful for you.”
Anthony takes a deep breath before giving me a slight nod of his head, showing his appreciation for my words. Anthony wasn’t a man who needed gratification from anyone but having Victor’s appreciation was closure for him. He never wanted to hate Victor, he looked up to him, but my husband was threatened by Anthony’s hold over our daughter’s heart.
“Did you show him Victoria’s picture?” Adrianna asks.
“I did,” I say, looking back at her. “Just as beautiful as her mama.”
“You didn’t call us here to recap your visit,” Nikki whispers. “You’re stalling, ma,” she accuses.
Eternal Temptations (The Tempted Series Book 6) Page 13
