“A mother can hope, but not when you treat women like they’re nothing. Didn’t I teach you anything?”
“You taught me plenty. But if you’re hoping that I will get married one day and have children, you will be long gone before that happens.”
I grab his face and hold on tight. “Don’t say that Vin. My biggest fear is I will leave you here alone. You need to find someone to love. I need you to. Don’t you see that you deserve to be loved?”
“You love me, that’s enough.”
“No son, it’s not. One day, like you said, I’ll be gone. Please don’t make me leave you here alone. I will never rest peacefully knowing I left you here without anyone to take care of you and love you.”
He lays his hands-on top of mine that are still on his face, “Mom, don’t talk like that. You’re not going anywhere. I won’t let you.”
I smile, trying to hide my tears. “You’re right. I’m too mean to die.” I laugh it off and start to walk off, but Vin grabs my hand and kisses it before leaving me.
When I’m alone, I can’t hold my tears in anymore; I release all my anguish. He’s all I have left on this earth to settle. If he only allowed himself to be loved, he would make my job so much easier. He has no idea what happiness could be. He tries to hide so much from me, but I have always known it all. I feel his suffering, I always have. He is so different from the rest of my children. He has all the same training and he will put it to use when needed. But my other sons have never seen or been through what he has. Zander felt a little of it but nothing like Vincent. Vin is so tortured inside, and it kills me that I had a part to play in it. I should’ve been stronger for him; the Lord knows I tried, but I failed him and it’s another thing to pile on top of everything else in my life that is unforgivable. If I only had more…
“Catherine.”
I dry my tears and put on a happy face when I hear Theo calling for me.
“I’m here.”
“I’ve been looking for you.”
“I was talking to Vincent.”
“He’s home? Good, we can call the search party off.” He laughs and says, “I told you he was probably with a lady. You know men do that sometimes.”
“Not Vincent.”
“Katie, he’s a grown man. If he wants to spend the night out, he can.”
“I’m not stupid, Theo. It’s just, Vincent always comes home. He doesn’t ever spend a whole night with any woman.”
“Well, maybe he’s found a woman worth doing that with now.”
I smile and then wonder, maybe he has, but just doesn’t realize it yet. Interesting.
11
Vin
Mondays and Thursdays are the days I have scheduled with Brittany. By the time this Thursday comes around, I’m desperate to see her. My days are a blur as I handle everything Catherine asks of me. She had two men that needed to be handled in the only way that could be done by my expertise. This is not a calling card, this is a plain, silent assassination. The two men were stealing from a local owner that had helped Catherine in the past. They’d been coming back for more until they roughed up old Earl enough to send him to the hospital. Catherine wanted me to handle it because her connection with Earl is not known nor did she want it known, hence the reason I was sent instead of Zander.
When Zander comes for you, it’s out in the open and he makes sure everyone knows it was him. He is Catherine’s calling card. I am her silent, behind the scenes, man. I can get to anyone, any time, anywhere, and you will never see me coming nor will anyone else. I’m silent and deadly, where Zander alerts the city of his strength. We all have our parts to play and we play them to perfection. That’s what makes us unstoppable, and untouchable. Gabriel and Liam are the charming faces of the business. Zander and I are its strength.
I’m so frustrated from restless nights and bloody days this week; I need just one good night. It makes me anxious for Brittany’s company. Without being able to wait any longer, I arrive a little early and knock on her door. She yells at me to enter. Letting myself in, I follow the noises I hear from the kitchen. When I get there, her back is turned to me cooking.
“You’re early.”
“Do you just yell for people to come in? What if it wasn’t me?”
She turns her head and says, “But it was you.”
Walking over, she leans in raising up on her toes and kisses me then continues, “I wasn’t expecting you so early. I was just cooking my supper, but I have enough if you’d like some. Have you eaten yet?”
Shaking my head no, she kisses me before walking back to the stove. “I hope you like chicken carbonara and garlic bread. Homemade. Not any of that box shit.”
“I didn’t realize you could cook gourmet too.”
“Yes well, I don’t know about gourmet but as far as the rest goes, there is a lot you don’t know about me.”
Sitting down at her kitchen table, I watch her expertly make her way around the kitchen. She’s right, I don’t know her, but I find I’m wanting to, even though I shouldn’t.
“As you can see, I wasn’t ready for you.” She waves down to her outfit then points to her wine refrigerator saying, “Why don’t you open a bottle of wine and I’ll be right back. Just let me change my clothes so I can look presentable for you.”
“You’re fine the way you are. In fact, I prefer you this way.”
She laughs telling me I’m crazy. When she tries to walk past me, I pull her down on my lap, needing to kiss her.
“Okay fine, I’ll stay the way I am. Why don’t you still open a bottle of wine and I’ll finish dinner.”
I let her go, to do as she asks. She hands me two wine glasses and starts making our plates. After she brings them to the table, we sit, and I pour the wine.
“Where did you learn how to cook? This is delicious.”
She twirls her fork in her plate and says, “Mostly I just picked it up here and there. I enjoy cooking. I try to do it as much as I can. I’ve also taken a few classes to learn how to make more elaborate meals.”
“Do you always make so much food?”
“I do. I like leftovers. Some nights, I get home late and want to have a late meal. Sometimes I bring what’s left to Candy and her daughter. They only live three houses down.”
“That’s right, Candy has a daughter. I can’t believe how stupid she was to allow herself to get pregnant by one of her Johns.”
I’m not sure what I said but Brittany becomes pissed. She throws her fork down hard making a clanking noise on her plate and looks at me with hate in her eyes.
“You don’t know shit! She wasn’t stupid, she was in love and he wasn’t a John. You know when I told you I don’t do roleplay?”
I nod my head.
“Well, if you liked that kind of stuff it would’ve been Candy I would’ve sent you to. You all think she’s stupid but it’s an act. She’s not. Candy is highly intelligent. She got pregnant by a man she had been dating and living with for over two years. They were doing their residency together.”
“Their residency?”
“Yes, you ass! Candy is a doctor or at least she would have been if she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant. Her boyfriend started cheating on her while she was pregnant and then refused to accept responsibility for the baby. She tried to stay in the program, but she found herself alone and pregnant. She was in debt up the ass in student loans. She tried as long as she could but once the baby was born, she had no choice but to find money elsewhere. She plans on finishing her residency one day, but she has responsibilities now and the money is too good to just stop. So, you can take your assumptions and stick them up your ass. You have no right to judge any of us.”
“I’m sorry…”
“You’re damn right you’re sorry! What makes you think that you and your brothers are so much better than me or Candy. I know what you all do to keep the power you have. What makes you feel like you have any room for judgment?”
She’s right. Normally I would be pissed at having
someone speak to me like this. Instead, I agree with her. And now I do feel like an ass.
“You’re right. I never knew her story. I just always saw her as the ditzy blonde. I have no right to pass judgement.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t have. That’s why she’s the best at role-playing. Men think she’s stupid and they reveal things to her all the time; things that they think will just go over her head.”
She laughs and says, “You should see her costume closet. The shit Candy will do is above and beyond.”
“I really am sorry. I won’t ever look at any of you that way again.”
She nods her head. We start eating again and I wonder about her; did she go to school?
“Did you go to college?”
She doesn’t answer me but when I go to ask again she stops me.
“No personal questions, remember?”
“Why? It’s a harmless question.”
Now she looks pissed again. “Didn’t you come here to fuck?”
“Why do you have to do that?”
“Do what, my job? That’s what I get paid for, to fuck, not to answer questions.”
I might not have been pissed before, but I am now. “You’re right!” I wave my arm knocking everything off the table then jump up grabbing a scared looking Brittany. “You want to just fuck, then let’s fuck!” I toss her down on the table and raise her dress, ripping her panties off in one pull. It happens so fast I don’t even remember how I got my pants down. All I know is I enter her hard. She hollers out and throws her head back. She tears at my shirt trying to get it off me. I rip it open and throw it down. She lifts her hips and continues rotating on me. I lean down passing my thumb over her red lips. “Is this what you wanted? You want me to fuck you?”
She hollers out, “Yes! Oh God! Yes!”
I thrust into her as hard as I can; sliding my hand down from her lips to her neck. Holding, feeling her pulse underneath my hold. “Harder!” She yells. “Fuck!” Thrust after thrust I quickly drown myself in her moans. I slide my hand down from her neck to her breasts grabbing a handful, roaring out my pleasure, cumming so hard my body shakes. With her legs wrapped around me, I fall over her panting, trying to catch my breath. I’m kissing her neck when she tells me to get off. I look up at her to see if she’s still mad. She didn’t fuck me back like she was mad. My brows pinch when she says it again.
“Get off!”
I stand sliding out of her and that’s when I realize I didn’t wear a condom. How the hell did I forget to wear a condom?
She stands pushing her dress down. “I’m going take a shower. You can let yourself out.” Then she walks right past me.
Brittany
How could I have been so stupid? That was probably the hottest sex I ever had. Raw and primal. He just took control and gave it to me without doubting his ability to give me all of him. I left him in the kitchen because I can’t blame him for this. I knew immediately he wasn’t wearing a condom. It felt different, different good. I’ve never felt a man without a condom before, but I could tell the difference right away. I just got so wrapped up in the moment, nothing else mattered but the pure power he was evoking.
Once I’m in my bathroom, I run the shower and strip out of my dress. Looking in the mirror, I see that my skin is still flushed. I pass my hand over my neck and chest, still feeling him all over me. I shake my head clear and walk away from my reflection. In my shower stall, I reach down between my legs feeling the sticky wetness from him, proving there was nothing between us. I start washing him away, wondering what I’m doing. Allowing him to take me like that? I’ve never, nor would I ever, have done something like that with anyone else. I’m always the one in charge, even when I make them think they are. I’m always in control of the situation, but not with Vin. He takes over all my control with just a look. Damn him!
Drying off, I slip into my robe. I head back downstairs to clean the mess we made but when I get to the kitchen, I see everything has been taken care of already. He picked everything up before he left, even the pots and pan are cleared away. I raise my hands covering my face, still in disbelief of this man. But then I hear him say,
“Come here.”
I jump a little, startled because I thought he left. He’s sitting in my old recliner in the corner.
“What are you still doing here?”
He doesn’t answer he just repeats himself, stressing his words.
“Come here.”
I wrap my arms around myself standing my ground. “I asked you to leave. I don’t think this is going to work out.”
He doesn’t make a move, nor does he say a word. “Vin, I’m tired. Please just leave.”
He looks dead serious as he says, “Don’t make me come get you. You know I will.”
Even though my mind is telling me no, my feet are stepping towards what I’m scared will be my demise. Before I know it, I am standing directly in front of him. He sits up, laying his hands on my hips and his head against my stomach.
“Vin, I think it’s best if we stop. We’ve already broken so many rules.”
“Rules are made to be broken.”
That makes me giggle. “Not mine, they’re in place for a reason.”
He slowly unties the strap to my robe sliding his hands beneath each side. I feel his stubble on my bare stomach now.
“Vin.”
“We’re not stopping.”
“Vin.”
“I am telling you, I signed a contract and I’m holding you to it. We are not anywhere near finished.”
He starts kissing my stomach and I can’t help but let out a moan.
“I’m sorry, Brittany. I didn’t mean to do that, I’ve never gone without a condom before.” He returns to kissing around my navel.
My eyes close when I confess, “I didn’t stop you and I should have.”
My hands go to his head holding him as I feel chills running up and down my body. “I’m protected if you’re worried.”
He doesn’t say anything, he just stands to kiss me then he reaches down to my ass pulling, lifting me off the ground to carry me upstairs. I should be stopping him, but again I have no restraint when it comes to him. At this very moment, I would let him carry me anywhere and that scares the shit out of me.
12
Brittany
I wake when I feel his fingers running through my hair. “Mmm, morning.”
“Good morning.”
“That feels good. I always loved when my mom played with my hair.”
He chuckles, “I wouldn’t know. No one’s ever played with my hair before.”
“Then grow your hair out and I will.”
I still haven’t opened my eyes because it feels so good and it’s been ages since someone caressed instead of pulling my hair.
He taps my head with a finger and says, “Do you always sleep like this with a man?”
I lift my head and realize I slept on top of him again. I’m not talking leg wrapped around him, but literally, I’m lying on top of him. Smiling and feeling awkward, I try to lift myself up, he grabs my shoulder, “Don’t. Stay.”
Lying back down, I stay looking at him as he continues, “I just wanted to know if this is how you normally sleep when you’re with the others.”
He sees my reluctance to answer so he says, “Please, it doesn’t matter, either way I’m just curious; it seems like an odd way to sleep. But who knows, I’ve never slept all night with any woman before you.”
“No, I’ve never woken up like I do with you.”
“Then why with me?’
I lay my head back down and say, “I don’t know.”
“Why haven’t you ever slept with a woman for the whole night?”
He takes a few minutes to answer but then says, “I don’t sleep much. Besides, I’ve never wanted to.”
I can ask so much about his answer but choose to leave it alone. I doubt he’d answer anyway and I’m not sure I really want to know.
After a few minutes of silen
ce, he says, “Let me up. I want some breakfast before I leave.”
I lift, shocked at his presumption, “If you think I’m going to cook you breakfast, you have another thing coming.”
He quickly shuts me up, as he throws me on my back and lowers his body over mine. “I have everything I need right here to start my day off.”
He slithers down my body while keeping eye contact. But the second his tongue touches me; my back arches off the bed and my head falls back. I start moaning and my hand slams on the back of his head. Shit, I wish he had longer hair instead of stubble to grab. Lifting my head, I see his eyes still on me watching every single movement I make. There is nothing sexier than a man watching you as he feasts. I use my hand to push his head further onto me as my other hand pulls and tugs at my nipple. My mouth opens in moans as he inserts a finger, stretching me. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s watching for the signs on my face and when he sees the reaction he wants, he works it like no other. My moans get louder as he inserts another finger, curving them to hit my g spot over and over as he speeds up the in and out momentum. My eyes shut for just a second but immediately are forced back open when I feel him bite into my clit demanding my eyes back on him. It doesn’t take long before I am panting and yelling out his name as I cum. However, Vin doesn’t let me fall from the bliss of orgasm. He never stops working me and has me peaking again, fast. All while his stare is demanding my full attention.
By the time he allows me to come down, I’ve already climaxed two times. He wipes his face and slowly slides up my body showing me that he’s prepared with a condom in his hand. When he enters me, I expected it would be fast and hard, but he changed my expectations when he enters me slow and gentle. He’s studying me again to see my reaction to this new way for us. I’m trying hard not to show him any. I have to look away as its becoming dangerous staring into his eyes. But when I turn my head he stops.
“Look at me, Brittany.”
I don’t. I keep my eyes closed and my head turned but I feel his hand pulling my face back towards him.
Art of Loyalty (A Stern Family Saga Book 4) Page 8
