“Listen, don’t make me out to be the bad guy,” County snapped, her lovely features taut with anger. “I’m willing to bet my ass you haven’t told a soul in your family.”
The confusion of Fernando’s expression changed to wicked intensity. “Is that a bet you’re prepared to cash in?” he asked.
County blinked. “You told someone?”
“Mmm hmm,” he confirmed with a simple nod before reaching for the rest of his sub. Contentedly, he munched on the sandwich, knowing she was watching him in disbelief. “What?” he cried, when she slapped his shoulder.
“Who?”
“What?”
“Who did you tell?”
“Oh. My mother.”
Stunned, County flopped back against the seat. “You told your mother about me?” Disbelief flooded her words.
Fernando continued to devour his sandwich. “Of course I did.”
“Do you tell her about all of your women?”
“Only in passing,” he shared around a mouthful of food. “I doubt I’ve ever mentioned one of them by name.”
Quiet for a time, Contessa ate more of her sandwich and assessed what she’d learned. After polishing off chips and her sweet tea, she blurted. “What makes me so special, then?”
Fernando set aside his food, wiped his mouth and looked right into her eyes. “You’re the only one I’ve ever fallen in love with.”
CHAPTER NINE
Contessa felt sick and it had nothing to do with the delicious deli meal she’d just enjoyed. Fernando was in love with her. He was in love with her and she was snooping around in his business. She was uncovering things that were potentially illegal and he was in love with her. She was in love with him. She was so very much in love with him too.
Fernando locked the front door to the condo and followed County inside. His expression was thoughtful as he removed his coat and gloves while watching her dazedly trying to do the same. When she fumbled over the top button of the trench, he went to assist.
“Did I scare you?” he asked, smothering her hands within his.
Contessa blinked. “Scare me? No-no Ramsey.”
Fernando shrugged and unfastened the button. “Women have said it to me before and it scared the living hell out of me,” he admitted.
“Did it scare you to say it?” County inquired softly, studying him through her thick lashes.
He curved a hand beneath her chin. “Not a bit,” he swore.
“Fernando I-”
“Shh,” he gave her chin a squeeze. “I don’t need you to reciprocate. I can wait.”
The confidence masking his baritone voice brought a smile to her face. “You’re so sure I’ll fall in love with you, Ramsey?”
“You already have,” he removed her leather trench and gloves. He grinned at the surprise on her lovely honey-toned face. Then, he nuzzled his nose against hers in an adoring gesture before he kissed her.
A helpless whimper escaped her mouth just as Fernando captured it fully with his own. She responded instantly and eagerly thrusting, caressing and stroking his tongue with the same leisurely desire he bestowed upon her. Contessa hardly noticed that in addition to helping her out of her coat, he’d quickly relieved her of the blouse and trousers she wore. He lifted her and she kicked off the stylishly bulky black heels. She relished the friction of her body clothed only in peach silk tap pants, hose and a lacy bra as it rubbed against the fine material of his shirt and pants.
Fernando’s intention was to take her to the bedroom. He could make it no farther than the stairway, where his powerful legs seemed to give out beneath him. Seated along the carpeted stairs, he straddled her across his lap and began to feast on her breasts.
Contessa buried her fingers in the silky crop of his brown curls, pressing his gorgeous face deeper into her chest. Fernando groaned, filling his palms with the ample mounds of cleavage. His teeth raked her nipple-half in, half out of her bra and already rigid with need. He suckled only for a moment and then favored the other with the same erotic torture. County ground herself over the steel length of his arousal- silently pleading for him to stop teasing her. At last, he obliged, removing the bra even as he caressed a pouting nipple with a hungry tongue.
County’s fingers shook with desire as she unbuttoned his shirt and splayed her hands across the chiseled massive wall that was his chest. Her arousal intensified when the impressive pecs flexed in response to her touch. Her thumbnails brushed his nipples and she moaned when he drew her closer.
Still feasting on her breasts and the delicate skin beneath, Fernando sought to free himself from the confines of his trousers. He muttered a soft curse of approval when County tugged the zipper down and massaged his stiffness.
Fearing he was only a second away from release, Fernando made her stand and remove what remained of her undergarments. County smiled when he produced a condom from the back pocket of his trousers.
“Always prepared?” she noted.
“With you, I have to be,” he said.
Again, his big hands cupped her hips to settle her across his huge frame. Contessa’s breathless cry echoed in the silence of the space. Never, had she been so fulfilled by any man. Fernando’s length was almost equally matched by his girth and he made expert use of both attributes. County’s nails curved into the flawless caramel-toned skin of his shoulders, leaving half moon impressions. Fernando cupped the back of her head, massaging the silky hair where her cut tapered into a perfect V. His other hand squeezed her hips, urging her fully onto his iron power.
County tugged her bottom lip between her teeth as his invasion forced a wealth of moisture past the petals of her love. She smiled when Fernando uttered a surprised gasp in response to the subtle contractions she applied to his length.
“Stop,” he groaned, squeezing her bottom in an attempt to control her movements.
She was full of wicked temptation. “Why?”
Fernando only groaned again, his impossibly long lashes fluttering as sensation overwhelmed him. His arousal lengthened and swelled even more each time he felt her walls tense purposefully around his manhood.
Reveling in her control over the massive god with the gentle touch, County assumed the lead. Slowly, she rode him; grinding ever so often, and then easing off before he reached satisfaction. His hands were filled with her derriere, but he had no strength and rested his forehead against her shoulder. The foyer came alive with an ocean of deep male cries of pleasure. Soon, Contessa felt as powerless as Fernando. Her hips rocked and rotated as she sought to take all he had to give. At last, his grip tightened and he was thrusting up into her with shocking lunges that sent more moisture tumbling forth and sheathing his granite desire with her creamy need.
Thoroughly weakened then, County was merely a trembling mass. She held onto Fernando and increased the intensity of her ride, wanting to bring him to where she was. Fernando tried to resist, wanting the moment to last an eternity. County’s skill triumphed however, and soon he was moaning his approval into the hollow of her throat. Their physical needs were satiated for a time, yet arousal continued to pulse like a throbbing thing just below the surface. They remained on the stairs for quite some time, clutched in a heated embrace.
~~~
“What?” Fernando probed later, as he massaged her foot, ankle and calf while they lounged on the bed.
County’s smile was a mixture of laziness and curiosity. “I’d love to know how you made the transition from such a bad boy to a gentle masseur.”
Fernando chuckled, instantly igniting the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. “That’s a long, ugly story,” he told her.
“With a happy ending,” she said and flexed her toes until he looked at her. “So that would definitely make it worth hearing.” She finished.
Fernando shook his head, his expression turning serious. “When I think about all the crap I used to pull...seems like it was a different guy.”
“What made you do it?”
Again, Fernando shook his head and concentrat
ed on County’s other foot. “I believe for a while I thought I was just trying to get attention because my dad was so disinterested. That was a cop-out.”
A frown furrowed Contessa’s soft brow. “Why would you think that? It’s a perfectly understandable reason.”
“I’d have done it anyway,” he admitted, leaving her feet and coming to rest his head against her bare chest, “I had a lot of anger inside me, County. It needed a way out.”
“Anger at who? Your father?” She guessed, stroking his hair where it smattered at his temple.
“Anger at the way things were,” he explained and clenched a fist near her hip. “Do you know lots of my best friends were guys who had no home, no food, barely had clothes on their backs? And there I was, bitchin’ ‘cause my dad worked too much?” he pounded his fist to the bed with light, repetitive motions. “Hell, it was because he worked so much that I had everything I wanted.”
County pressed a kiss to his head. “A parent’s time is all a kid really needs.”
“A kid needs to eat, Contessa.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “You know what I mean.”
Fernando grimaced. “It’s hard to look at that when I saw my boys goin’ to a shelter for dinner instead of their homes. Hmph, the ones who had homes were no better off,” he propped his fist against the side of his face while resting his weight on his elbow. “I met a guy who became one of my best friends while me and Pop were spending a father and son day together.” He grinned. “That was a laugh. My dad spent most of the day dragging me from one business meeting to another. We stopped by one of his apartment buildings. Another laugh,” he said, his brown eyes darkening as they traced the outline his fingers made across County’s stomach. “That building was barely standing. Nobody should have to live the way that guy and his mom did.”
“Fernando,” County soothed, hearing the pain color his voice when he spoke of his friend. She feathered his cheek with tiny kisses.
“That’s when I first started to lose respect for my father. To let a kid and his mother live that way- at least my friend was almost grown. I remember seeing real little kids runnin’ around half dressed, crying ‘cause they were cold or a rat had just taken a nip at their toe.” Fernando shook his head and relaxed on the bed again. “I grew real close to that guy,” he said, thinking of Stefan Lyons then. “I was closer to him than my own brothers. I think. Pop even put him through school.”
“Marcus?” County probed, surprised and impressed. “Very generous to help a wayward kid like that,” she noted.
“I believe it was a genuine gesture,” Fernando admitted with a chuckle. “I don’t think my pop was always a conniving jackass.That time, I guess he just wanted to do a good thing,” he shrugged. “Maybe he acted so foul all these years because he was so used to everyone thinkin’ the worst of him and he just didn’t give a damn.”
“Is that how you were?” County rested on her elbow to look down at him.
“I guess,” he admitted with a roll of his eyes.
County pressed her lips together and studied the striking breadth of his chest. She decided it would be the perfect time to tell him what was going on. Fernando, however, had other ideas. Her breast nudged his fingers and soon they were fondling and squeezing the nipple until it had firmed.
“Wait,” she whispered, her lashes already fluttering in response. “Fernando I have something to say.”
“Later,” he urged, moving to capture one nipple between his perfect teeth. His fingers fondling the other.
“Fernando…”
He rose, forcing her to lie back as he half covered her with his broad form. “Baby, I’m all talked out. Later? Please?” his words grew faint as he buried his face between her breasts.
Contessa heard a low grumble of sound from the depths of his muscular torso and succumbed. “Ramsey,” she tried again.
“Let it wait,” he soothed.
***
Quest and Quaysar stood in a long hug. Their silent bond said more than any words could have. Clearly, they’d missed one another but Quest knew his twin had his reasons for staying away.
“So what now?” he asked when they’d stepped back from one another.
“Guess I’ll try dealin’ with Marcus,” Quay sighed, massaging the tight muscles in his neck, “I know it’ll be impossible to avoid it. Unless his ass is on the run too,” he added with a grim smirk.
“And you know that won’t happen,” Quest said, slapping his brother’s shoulder as he stepped past.
“You’re sure?”
Stopping mid stride, Quest sent his brother a narrowed gray black look. “You’re still on that?”
Quay’s expression was answer enough.
“You still think Marc’s got somethin’ to hide?” Quest persisted.
“Please don’t tell me you think he’s lily white?” Quay snapped.
“Hell no, but murder?”
“It was good enough for Houston.”
“And tryin’ to frame us for it?” Quest challenged. “Remember, it was Houston who always had a beef with Pop.”
Quay rolled his eyes and headed toward the bar in his brother’s den. “I don’t know, Q. I guess I just want them fools out of this family so damn bad...before anymore crap turns up.”
“You say Wake told you he was a cleanup man for this guy?”
“Right.”
“And that the man he worked for hated dad with a passion?”
“Yeah and?”
“And it just makes sense for this to be about Houston instead of Marc,” Quest took a seat on the sofa. “After all, it was Pop who took Ma off Houston’s arm.”
“Yeah,” Quay slowly agreed, using his index finger to stir the ice cubes in his glass of bourbon. “Something just doesn’t fit, there’s got to be more to it.”
“Quay- why’re you so worried about this?”
“Been on my mind since I’ve been away,” Quay shared, turning to face his brother. “What if Houston isn’t the only one with skeletons in his closet?”
“I think you’re reaching,” Quest crossed his jean clad legs as he rested his bare feet on the coffee table.
Quay’s eyes narrowed almost to the point of closing. “Reaching?”
“Hell yeah, you just want someone to take out your anger on because you can’t get your hands on Houston.”
“Dammit Q, can you blame me?! Hell, it’s because of Houston that I lost all that time with Ty and that shit makes me mad enough to kill.”
Quest folded his arms across his chest and studied his brother closely. He knew Quay’s words were no idle threat. His temper was well earned and well feared. “Let it go, Quay,” he urged softly. “Focus on what you have now instead of what you lost back then.”
Quest was right, as usual Quay thought. “I just don’t trust myself to see the man,” he confided.
“I hope you’re not saying this to get out of coming to the party,” Quest probed, his narrowing gray eyes twinkling with sudden humor.
Quay couldn’t help but chuckle. “Mick won’t have it, huh?”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“You know Q, if you talked to her-”
“Hell no, I swear that girl’s gotten stronger since she’s been pregnant. One wrong word from me and she’s liable to hit me hard enough to loosen some teeth,” Quest joined his brother in hearty laughter. “Seriously though, man,” he said when they sobered. “Just take it easy. Marc knows how everyone feels about him. With any luck, he won’t even show up.”
***
“Alright. Tomorrow? Sounds good,” Fernando said as he arranged the meeting with one of the club’s other managers. “Was there any other information?” he asked.
Contessa walked into the kitchen then, wearing a lavender T-shirt that scarcely covered her bottom. Fernando’s attention was wholly focused on her as she went to study the contents of her cabinets. His call ended shortly and then he tossed aside the phone.
County smiled when she felt hi
m behind her, massaging her hips before his hands curved around her thighs. He pulled her snug against his semi-hard arousal and for a time, they savored the embrace.
“Everything okay?” she asked after a while.
“Mmm hmm,” he murmured against her hair. “You hungry?”
“Starving,” County nudged his chest with the back of her head. “That sandwich didn’t hold out against our earlier activities.”
“Well then,” he squeezed her hips before setting her aside. “I should fix you something better. I don’t want you giving out on me later.”
“And what’s later?” County teased, her vibrant browns widening when he turned to tower over her.
“You know what’s later,” the bass of his voice rumbled.
County’s eyes lingered on his mouth for a suggestively long time and soon after, she was crushed against his chest. His tongue thrust harshly inside her mouth and she groaned, loving the pressure.
Fernando frowned, knowing he had to let her go before his hormones got the better of him.
“Get away from me,” he ordered, putting at least five feet of space between them.
County obeyed and chose a spot on one of the bar stools lining the counter. The easy look she wore seemed to fade after a while and she appeared serious. Deciding then, that the time for stalling was over, she began to speak, telling him all she’d discovered.
As she spoke, his movements slowed. By the time she was done, he’d turned away from the stove and simply watched her. County cleared her throat, dragging her eyes away from the slow steady rise and fall of his bare chest. “You know, I am investigating your family for this book so I have every right to be looking into things like this,” she rambled, not caring for the set look on his face.
Suddenly, Fernando smiled, easing his hands into the deep pockets of the sleep pants he’d taken to leaving at Contessa’s house and which were presently slung low on his hips. “My guys are slow,” he acknowledge softly. “I only got the call about the girls working on the ship while we were in the car.”
“Wait you- you didn’t know?” She blinked steadily.
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