Cori gives me a “what the hell” look and all I can do is shrug. With a loud sigh, she begins eating.
I glance at my husband and he’s having a difficult time hiding a grin. Slowly, conversation picks up and we enjoy our meal while I keep an eye on the strange thing happening between Cori and Duke.
The entire room is filled with people I would have gladly arrested when I was an officer. They’re killers, weapons dealers, and drug suppliers with my husband leading the pack. But when I look around, all I see are friends. I’ve come a long way, though my old buddies at the police department would argue that I’ve lost my mind. Life experience changed me. Crooked cops just helped it along and now I’m part of the criminal world. Hopefully, I can live with it.
Turning slightly, my eyes skim over Moon, who’s finished eating. His hand rests on my back and I’ve noticed he wants me near; touching me assures him I’m alive. He loves me and that love swells inside me. It’s like breathing, eating, and water. Love makes us stronger and keeps us alive.
Moon sees me looking at him and he pulls me in closer and pecks my lips with his. It’s quick, but the taste of him lingers, and for several minutes I forget we’re really gathered here because of Fernandez and I allow Moon’s love to surround me.
Gabriella walks in carrying a large platter filled with extra plates and pie, which she divvies up. It’s pecan and after one bite, a smile spreads across my face. Even at the worst of times, family is everything and small things like having dinner together make me feel like we will come out stronger after Fernandez is dead.
We fight to win.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Fernandez
I send Goose to pick up the C-4. This is placing a lot of trust in an idiot, but leaving the house is not in my plans for now. After killing the girl Goose brought, the manic anger I’ve been dealing with is under control. Goose took the girl’s body with him and will dispose of it.
Using my laptop, I search Google maps for Moon’s property. The aerial view isn’t great and the darned zoom feature doesn’t let me see more than the connecting street and driveway leading to the house, but it helps a plan formulate in my brain.
While working on the details, my cell rings. It’s an unknown caller. “Hello,” I answer while looking at my fingernails, which need a manicure.
“Moon has a warehouse and we need you to get him to pay it a visit. We’ll take it from there.”
Even the cartel is incompetent. “How the hell do I get him there?”
“If you hand yourself over, it’s where you’ll end up. Be creative and do it quick.”
The line goes dead. I made a deal with these guys so they could take care of part of my problem and now they’re also my problem. With the C-4 on its way, I may not need them. They won’t understand and to make it worse, I won’t hold up my end of our bargain. I can easily find new drug suppliers in California. With the syndicate I’m building, the Frontera Cartel needs to stay out of my way or their fucked-up lives will be over quicker than they plan.
I go back to the map’s details and continue preparations. Setting explosives at Moon’s home will be dicey even though I won’t necessarily be doing it to kill anyone; I just need Austin and my sister out of the house so I can get to Melina. If the house is compromised, they’ll leave. My dick gets hard just thinking about that bitch and what I’ll do to her when she’s in my hands. That teasing cunt has been a thorn in my side since her birth. Her days of running around like the little slut she is are nearly over. Taking Austin out will be the highlight of my year. He’ll suffer and she’ll pay with some lovely bruises. Hell, I may even cut off her hands. She doesn’t need hands to be my brood mare. I’ll keep her stomach fat and her cunt and mouth filled with cock.
“Fuck,” I yell into the room at the burning need in my dick. I should have held off killing the girl Goose delivered because I could use her cunt to take the edge off again. No do-overs in this life, so I handle it myself. A few minutes later, I groan loudly while imagining exactly what I’ll do to Melina when I have her back.
I use the towel that’s laying on the table to clean myself and then toss it on the floor before going back to planning Moon’s demise. If I’m lucky, I will fuck his bitch and then kill her while he watches. This time she’ll fight and I’ll enjoy every minute. Hell, I’ll cut her up and shove the pieces down Moon’s throat.
My plan forms and I’m impatient to begin. Thankfully, Goose returns with the C-4 minus the dead body before I lose my mind. At least the bastard is good for something.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alex Gomez
This entire situation is fucked up.
“Come to bed when you’re finished pacing,” Celina says in a tired voice.
“I’m not pa—,” I look down at where my next step will take me and realize I am. The attempted hit at the mall and Mak’s kidnapping still have me on edge.
Without giving Celina a heads-up, I launch myself at the bed and land beside her with a bounce that almost sends her off the other side. Her small screech of laughter is what I was hoping for. I pull her into my arms and roll us so she’s on top. Her laughter dies when I place my lips a breath from hers. “I was pacing.”
“Yes, you were. Shut up and kiss me and then you can fuck me,” she says and wiggles her hips against my hardening cock.
I remove a strand of dark hair from her cheek and peer into her beautiful eyes. “You’re getting very bossy for someone in such a compromising position.”
She laughs again. “Compromise me, please.” Instead, I tickle her until she begs me to stop. I love the sound of her laughter. When I stop, she pouts. “Now we’re both out of breath and you haven’t even kissed me.”
“I thought you were tired?”
She snuggles into me, laying her head on my shoulder. “I’ll never be too tired for you to fuck me,” she whispers.
She’s exhausted and the experience at the mall shook her up too. I understand what she’s feeling, though. Sex after a tragic event confirms you’re alive. I roll us again so she’s beneath me.
“You have too many clothes on,” she gripes with one of her sexy smiles.
I don’t reply and then I move down her body, lifting her nightshirt so I can kiss the soft skin of her belly. “You won’t need these,” I say as I push her panties down her legs. She helps by kicking them off. She’s perfect. Better than perfect. The taste of her is what I think of when we’re apart. Hell, I think about it when we’re together too. I’ll never get enough.
I flick my tongue across her slit, admiring the beauty of her cunt. The sounds she makes jolt straight to my cock. Her fingers tangle in my hair and she pulls me closer. This is why I cut my hair less often than I did before she careened into my life. A gentleman should always give a lady something to hold onto when he eats her.
“Use your fingers,” she groans loudly.
“Be patient or I’m flipping you over and fucking your ass.” It’s a threat I’ve made good on before. She knows I need control and she enjoys fighting me on it. Watching her blossom into a sexual vixen has been interesting. Knowing she’s mine is what keeps my black heart beating and dominating her keeps my soul alive. Before Celina, I would say I didn’t have a soul. I had no idea how wrong I was.
I tease her clit and bite a little too hard just to hear her gasp. She’s close to losing it, though she really does like coming on my fingers and cock. She’s getting a little out of control sexually and I need to rein her in. Her thighs squeeze me tighter and I nibble her clit again.
“I hate you,” she yells before groaning her release.
“Take that back,” I say and slide one finger into her ass. She screams into the room as the orgasm intensifies. I’m thankful the walls are soundproof or Gabriella, who’s in the apartment directly off the kitchen, would be up here in a heartbeat.
Before my amazing woman comes down from her orgasm high, I pull her legs, moving her down the bed, resituate myself, and lift her so she’s ove
r my legs, ass up. My palm makes a loud sound when I bring it down on her perfect ass cheek. She thrashes her legs and half laughs, half groans when I strike her again.
“Say you love me,” I demand and slap her harder.
“Okay, okay, I love you.”
I lay one more down on the opposite cheek.
“No fair,” she whines. I move her off my lap and stand while slowly unbuttoning my shirt. “Leave the tie on,” she challenges.
What can a man do? I shake my head. “You never learn.”
“That’s because I like the punishments too much.”
This woman ticks every single box. She’s the yin to my yang. A minute later, I’m free of my clothes except the tie. If she thinks she can control me with a noose, she’s mistaken. She controls me through love and I never saw it coming. Now it’s too late and she’s stuck with me.
I take her fast and hard, driving into her sweet pussy and relishing each moan that tears from her throat. I take one nipple into my mouth, sucking to the point of pain and then give equal time to the other breast. My balls tighten as my cock drives in harder. Her fingernails dig into my ass cheeks and we prove we’re alive.
It will take more than two armed men at a mall to take us down. No one will hurt what’s mine.
Later, she’s laying half on my chest, circling my nipple with her finger. “I thought you were tired?” I say into her hair.
“I am, but I don’t know if I can sleep. I’m worried about Mak and Cori.”
Of course she is. Celina is one of the most caring people I know. She almost died saving her niece and then she did what was best for the child and walked away. That brought her back to me. “Madison is one of the strongest women I know. Moon will take care of her,” I say, circling my palm across her back. “Cori will find her place too. I think Dax’s man has a thing for her.”
“Yeah, that will never work. He’s a biker. Cori is all about sophistication. She’ll marry a rich dude, have children, and eventually put this behind her.” She remains quiet for a moment and I hope she’s falling asleep. She decides she isn’t quite ready. “Did you know they were raped?”
We haven’t touched on this subject, but I knew it was coming. I will never hold anything back from my woman if she asks. “Fernandez sent Moon a video.”
She turns her head slightly and snuggles closer into my chest. “Would you still want me?”
Damn woman. I grasp her hair and lift her head enough so she can look into my eyes. “I don’t like that question. You’re mine and don’t ever forget it.” She leans up and kisses my lips. I straighten her hair after she rests back against my chest. A few minutes later, her breathing deepens and I’m able to move her and cover her with a blanket.
There’s a meeting tonight and I’m late.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Moon
Taking a break and enjoying dinner was good for Madison. She needed a sense of normalcy and Gabriella provided it. I would like nothing more than to take her to bed before my meeting with the men. She’s now part of that meeting, though, so I won’t be tucking her in for the night until afterward. We chose to take a walk around the property with the short time we have.
Even with the sun down, the temperature is in the nineties. I left my suit jacket behind after Madison gave me the look. My skin is damp beneath my dress shirt, so I’m glad I did. Autumn can’t get here fast enough.
With Madison’s hand held firmly in mine, Two Dogs runs around stiffing the trail in front of us. The path circles the property inside the fence offering a landscaped oasis in the desert complete with a small water fountain I had installed to commemorate the place where I touched Madison intimately for the first time. I never told her why I put the fountain there. The look in her eyes when she saw it was enough.
“I’m not sure if I want to return to the agency,” Madison says into the quiet night, interrupting my thoughts. I have extra men on duty and they’re being as covert as possible. It’s something she’s grown accustomed to because of necessity. Her words are meant for my ears alone because she said them softly knowing voices carry out here.
“Don’t go back,” I tell her with conviction. “You can help me with business matters or pamper yourself and eat bonbons all day.” I grin down at the pout that immediately appears on her lips.
She squeezes my hand. “Bonbons would go to my hips, I’d turn fat, and I would probably go stir crazy within a week.” She gives my arm a small punch for emphasis. “You really want me involved in your business dealings?”
“Your hips would look good with a bonbon or even a hundred,” I add for good measure. She’s lost at least five pounds these past few days. The thought of Madison heavy with my child lightens my heart. Some day. “You’re my wife.” I lift her hand and kiss her knuckles. “I always want you by my side. I’m just not sure if this is a part of my life you really want to see. There are aspects you could have trouble dealing with.”
“Are your business decisions up for discussion?”
“Most of the time,” I answer honestly. “If it’s an instant decision and you don’t like it, we can discuss it in private. I’m not saying I’ll change my mind, but you do have a way of convincing me to see your point.”
She gives me a sexy grin before making her case. “I need to be more involved. I’m done with burying my head in the sand. I know what you’re involved in and when I said ‘I do’ I knew exactly what I was in for. Planning to kill Fernandez is a first for me. Even if he is a pig, I’ll live with the consequences of my actions. I’m ready for the future with you.”
Crickets chirp in the distance and then go silent as we walk closer. “We’ll start looking for someone to take over the service if you want me to keep it.”
Surprise changes her expression. “You would let EE go?”
I nod. “My aunt ran it and I let her because I had little interest. When you took over, I again let it ride. You did a good job and you worked hard to keep the place successful.” I glance at her profile. “I’d rather have you with me and now I won’t need to leave you behind when I go to New Mexico.” We reach our special section of the yard, the water from the fountain surrounds us, and I do what I’ve done so many times before. I pull her in close and kiss her beautiful red lips. This dead zone is the only place where the cameras can’t see us nor can the guards due to the foliage unless they move closer. I’ve thought about having the cameras adjusted hundreds of times but then we walk out here and enjoy our few feet of privacy and I change my mind.
My hands glide over Madison’s hips and I pull her against my hard cock. She always tastes divine. We don’t have long and I plan to kiss her until she can’t breathe. I don’t care if the men in the meeting tonight have their own women. I want them to know Madison is mine. Her lips will be swollen when she speaks, and I have no doubt she’ll speak up when needed. I angle us so my scruff leaves a little redness in its wake too. I’m truly a wicked man, but she doesn’t complain.
I run my tongue across her lips simply to taste before delving inside. Her fingers curl into my ass possessively. She moans into my mouth and my dick throbs. A life without Madison would be a life without sustenance. I could never live without her. I’d rather be making love to her in our bed right now, but kissing her is exquisite and I’ll survive with just kisses until after the meeting.
Her breasts slide against my chest and I feel the hard pinpoints of her nipples through the material of our shirts. The ache in my cock doubles. It’s not just her taste or the feel of her nipples, it’s her scent. When she’s turned on, the scent magnifies. Its only purpose is to drive a man wild. I deepen the kiss and swirl my tongue deep, battling with hers for supremacy. I never thought I could love any woman enough to simply kiss her and walk away with a hard cock. Not that I’ll walk far from Madison. She’s my sunlight and before she came into my life, I was filled with darkness. I don’t know if she’ll ever understand how she’s changed me. I had settled into the life of a lonely crime lord, convinc
ed I would be alone forever and not even knowing how bad I needed a woman by my side. From the moment I laid eyes on her, she was mine. Ornery and frustrating as hell, she was in way over her head when I realized how badly I needed her. She fought me every step of the way. It was a battle I had no intention of losing.
Really, though, I never won. Madison wrapped me so tightly around her finger that when it comes to her, I’m little more than a lap dog. Seeing Alex, Dax, and now Austin with their women reminds me of what love truly is. Madison is that love. A man will give up everything for that one special woman and if he won’t, he doesn’t deserve her.
“I want you,” she whispers.
“That’s the thing about all these damn meetings,” I whisper back. “They’re hell.” I kiss her again and now she’s rubbing herself against my thigh like she did on our very first walk. I grab her ass and press her harder into me. Her desire flares and this way at least one of us will be satisfied over the next hour. When I get her back to our bedroom after the meeting, all bets are off.
∞∞∞
I’m at the head of the table with Madison on my left. Dax and his man, along with Austin, arrive on time. We make small talk while we wait for Alex.
He enters a few minutes later with a sheepish expression. “Sorry, boss,” he says with a grin he can’t hide.
“Sorry my ass.”
The room breaks out in laughter. When the laughter and smiles stall we’re ready to discuss our problems. I look at Alex. “Please give us the latest intel on the attempted hit at the mall.” He told me before dinner what he had and now we have some major decisions to make.
His eyes travel the room before he speaks. “It’s the Frontera Cartel. We received confirmation a few hours ago.”
Madison turns to me. “I thought you worked with them.”
Alex laughs and answers in my stead. “Moon pushes their buttons and keeps them in line. At least he did until Fernandez crawled into bed with them.”
Inferno (A Hotter Than Hell Novel Book 7) Page 12
