“You love XSource, don’t you?” Roman demanded suddenly, his arms tightening to the point of pain. “Don’t bother denying it, I can tell from the way you talk about him. How many times have you fucked him?”
“Roman!” Katie gasped, twisting in his hold. “Of course, I’ve never been with Source! Don’t be ridiculous! Where is this even coming from? You know I’ve only ever been with you and Colin.”
He slid his fingers in her hair and tilted her head back. Because of her high heels, she was tall enough that her head rested against his shoulder giving him access to her delectable lips. He held her firm against his body, taking the occasional bite and sip from her gasping mouth as he studied her painting.
“Wanted to burn it you know,” he told her, his deep voice an angry growl.
Katie gasped, going rigid in his arms as though afraid her precious masterpiece might be in danger at that very moment. She would fight him tooth and nail if he were to try anything with her new baby. She glared up at the ceiling. He was holding her too tightly for her to level an appropriate look of censure his way. The painting was literally worth millions!
“Why?” she asked him, her voice trembling with the perfect amount of aghast disgust his remark deserved.
He pressed his lips against her jaw. “Because I look at her, your Woman with Folded Arms and see my Katerina when she is left alone in the dark. She is sad and lost, huddled in on herself. She hurts herself and goes slowly insane with the bad thoughts in her head. That is why she needs her man, whether she likes him or not.”
Katie’s chest lifted and dropped with each breath she took as she processed his words. A tear escaped her eye. He captured it with his tongue before it could drip off her cheek. This man saw her better than she saw herself. He turned her slowly in his arms so she was facing him. He used his grip on her hair to tilt her face up to his. He studied the vulnerability shining through as clear as day and nodded his head. She knew he had brought her here to prove something, perhaps break down some kind of barrier.
“We are so messed up, Roman,” she sighed, leaning against him, absorbing his strength.
A slight smile twisted his lips. He gently set her away from him and straightened her wedding dress and veil, smoothing the latter back over her shiny curls. His gaze was hungry, but he clearly intended to savour both the evening and his new bride. He took her arm and escorted her back to the door. Katie was surprised when he gave her the code to get in, but he explained that both the painting and the room were hers to enjoy.
“Y-you won’t harm my painting?” she asked anxiously, as though she were protecting a child.
He shook his head with a frown. “You should know by now, mi amor, I could never harm something that you loved.”
She smiled brilliantly, and then a mischievous glint sparkled in her blue eyes. “Unless the object was another man.”
He growled, his hand tightening on her arm. “You better stop playing with me or you’ll miss your wedding feast and instead spend the time in my basement apologizing for such remarks.”
“Yes, Señor Valdez,” she murmured, dropping her eyes.
He led her through the corridors toward the back of the hacienda and out into the warm evening. She was surprised to see that it was just starting to grow dark. What an eventful day! Katie tipped her head back and searched out the Southern Cross. Seeing the beautiful stars that each part of the world had to offer was one of her favourite parts of being an international traveller. They walked together with Roman’s hand warm at the bottom of her back.
He led her across the hard-packed dirt yard toward another home, much smaller than theirs, but well taken care of and beautiful from the outside. She could hear music and laughter as they approached. She looked up at him questioningly. He gave her his usual blank expression and knocked on the door.
“Jorje and Lana wished to host our wedding dinner this evening,” he informed her as the door opened.
“They live right next door to us?” Katie asked, surprised, just as the door swung open.
Lana beamed at Katie and drew her into a warm hug as if they’d been close friends for years instead of just a day. Katie hugged her back and allowed herself to be drawn into the warm, enchanting atmosphere. Who was she to turn down an authentic Mexican wedding feast? Especially when she was the guest of honour.
Katie had a genuinely good time getting to know Lana’s large family and many of the people that now worked for Roman. Roman was never far from Katie’s side and, though he let her chatter away to her heart’s content with the women, he was quick to move her along whenever she happened to engage in conversation with a man. Such a chauvinist!
She stood at Roman’s side, his arm tight around her waist. They had eaten and were listening to a band play lively music in the open air of a pretty patio while Katie attempted to a follow a conversation between Lana and two of her nieces. The girls worked in the neighbouring town and enjoyed the work because the pay was good. After that, Katie lost the thread of the conversation because the Spanish was too quick for her with a little too much local dialect thrown in.
Since her attention was drifting away from the women, she was all ears when Jorje approached Roman and said in a gruff voice, “I have news on Ramirez, boss.”
Roman’s dark eyes flicked down to Katie’s face, taking in her curious attention. He gave her hip a squeeze and inclined his head to Jorje, indicating they would take their conversation elsewhere, away from the women. Katie understood. Cartel business. She crossed her arms to ward off the sudden chill when Roman moved away from her. She stayed with Lana and smiled indulgently when one of her nieces asked if she could touch Katie’s hair.
“Don’t be stupid, Ana,” Lana snapped sharply throwing her hands up expressing her annoyance. “You act like you've never seen a blond before!”
Ana giggled, completely unperturbed and rolled her eyes at her auntie. “Well, never one so beautiful or freakishly tall or married to Roman Valdez. Mierda, he’s so gorgeous!”
Lana gasped and slapped at Ana as she reached for Katie while Katie burst out laughing. Ana’s sister grabbed her and hustled her away before her aunt could truly slap her silly for swearing and ogling the cartel boss.
“Wow, Lana,” Katie said, reaching for her glass of wine and taking a hasty gulp. “I can see why you might not even want children if those are the sort of monsters your family are producing. And I am not freakishly tall, it’s the heels!”
Lana laughed heartily and gulped her own wine with abandon, collapsing into a nearby chair. “Si, niña, and us Latina women are much shorter than you. Those nieces of mine can be very wicked.”
“Amen to that!” Katie agreed, toasting Lana and taking the seat next to her. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” Lana said, her eyes scanning the room distractedly, making sure all of her guests were in order and having a good time.
“Who is Ramirez?” Katie asked in hushed tones, cutting straight to the heart of what she wanted to know.
Lana’s eyes widened slightly and her entire focus landed on Katie. She glanced around anxiously for a second and then shrugged slightly. She kept her voice low as well when she replied, “I suppose it is no secret around these parts. The name is well known, although I would not go around speaking it to just anyone, child.”
Katie nodded, having guessed that already. “So, who is he?” she persisted, taking another sip of her wine and glancing up. She could feel the heat of Roman’s eyes on her. Sure enough, after a quick scan of the room, she discovered him standing just outside the patio doors alone with Jorje. The two men were deep in conversation, but Roman’s gaze never strayed from his new wife.
“Ramirez is the name of the cartel that took out Roman’s family and ran this area until recently,” Lana said quickly, her voice dropping even more until she was whispering.
Katie glanced sharply back at Lana. She wanted to ask more questions. It had sounded like Jorje was referring to a specific Ramirez, no
t an entire group of people. But Katie could tell that Lana was uncomfortable and didn’t want to push the other woman on the subject. Not in a room full of people loyal to Roman. She smiled and moved the conversation onto something more harmless, much to Lana’s obvious relief. The two women drank and chatted together until Roman came to collect his rosy-cheeked bride.
“We’re going?” she asked, turning bright blue eyes up to him. “But I’m having fun!”
He pulled her out of her chair, set her glass aside and guided her to the door. Leaning down, he spoke in her ear, “It is now time for my fun, mi esposa.”
His dark eyes met hers and he swept her out the door and into the cool night, picking her up when she couldn’t keep up with his long, impatient strides. She gripped his shoulders and watched his clenched jaw as he strode through the black night with her toward their home. Though he had laughed and seemed to enjoy their evening together, the intensity of his emotions were now coming off him in waves. He seemed… enraged.
“Are you… angry with me, Roman?” she whispered hesitantly.
He stopped just before they reached the door and looked down at her. His dark brows were drawn down in a deep frown. His arms tightened around her and he didn’t deny her question. She shivered against him. Was she going to be punished again for running from him? When would it end? When would he be done hating her for leaving?
Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet, despite the intensity she could feel vibrating through him. “You make me feel things, Katie… things I don't feel with anyone else. It’s always been this way with you. I’m long past questioning this part of me. But…”
“But…?” she whispered, reaching up to touch his lips.
“I know you still want to leave me, even though I’ve tied you to me in marriage,” he said bluntly, his eyes cutting to her fiercely, accusingly.
She gasped and dropped her hand. She lay stiffly in his arms, waiting for his next words.
“I know you so well, Katerina. Can see your thoughts before you even have them. I know you’ll keep trying to find ways to leave me and I will keep finding ways to tie you tighter to my side. Yes, I am angry,” he snarled down at her, causing her to jump against him. “You bring out this savage in me that will do anything to keep you. I gave you your years of freedom and now you will pay for them.”
She curled against him, blinking up at him. “What are you going to do to me tonight, Roman?” she whispered.
He chuckled darkly, his laughter reverberating against her body where she lay pressed against his chest. “I’m going to fuck my wife so hard that she won’t forget she’s mine. I’m going to exhaust her for one more night so she won't be able to walk away from me again.”
He shoved the door open and strode into their home with Katie clasped so tight against him that she could barely breath. Her heart broke a little for her beast of a husband, because he wasn’t wrong about her. The first chance she got, she was going to leave. She had no choice if she was going to secure their happy ever after.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Roman didn’t take Katie to her room. Instead, he took her to the master suite, a room on the floor below Katie’s tower room, and set her gently on the huge bed. She sank into the smooth, plush bedding and leaned back. She watched him warily, heart beating with trepidation as he stepped away to remove his jacket and tie. As always, he stared back at her with a dark intensity that made her feel like both the only woman in the world and his hunted prey.
“Are you going to hurt me tonight, Roman?” she asked, a slight quaver in her voice. She pressed her knees together, aware of the ache still there from their earlier bouts of rough lovemaking. God, this man knew how to make an impression.
His gaze roamed over her body, lingering and warming over each part of her. That was what she loved about this man. He loved her wholeheartedly. Not just bits and pieces, but everything about her, from her face to her knees to her toes and everything in between. He’d never treated her like she was just tits and ass. That’s how she knew if they made it to old age together, he would indeed love her to the end of her days just as fiercely as he did right now.
“Do you want me to hurt you, Katerina?” he asked, his hands going to the buttons on his shirt, the tattoos on his fingers flashing as he worked.
She thought about it for a moment. If she was honest with herself, though he did sometimes frighten her with his rippling power and intensity, the kind of sexual pain he dealt her was incredibly tempting. She met his eyes and shook her head slowly. “No Roman,” she whispered. “I-I’m a little sore.”
His lips curled into a wicked half grin. He reached for her with a suddenness that had her curling her legs up to protect herself. It was useless though, Roman would always have his way. He easily knocked her knees apart and held her open while he slid a big hand up the inside of her thigh and cupped her pussy through the silk of her panties. Katie gasped and squirmed against his possessive hold.
“Not too sore I hope, baby,” he grunted, massaging her. She moaned, growing instantly wet for him, powerless against his masterful fingers and the slide of silk against her heated pussy. Still cupping her, he slid his fingers further down the back of her panties until they were pressed against her backside. “I can fuck you here instead. It’s going to happen anyway, why not today? I fucked your pussy this morning. Should I take your ass, too, and make you mine completely?”
Katie’s eyes dilated at his dark words, fear and adrenaline crashing together in a crazy symphony of need within her. She was helpless not to buck against him as sparks of pleasure shot through her core while he rubbed his fingers against her back passage, promising her the forbidden. She bit her lip and moved her hips restlessly, her knees falling open as he shoved her dress up her thighs.
He grunted and leaned on the bed, pushing her back until she was laying under him. He increased the pressure, sliding his thumb under the silk of her panties and pressing it against her clit. She tossed her head back restlessly into the bedding and thrust her hips up into his hand, cries of pleasure escaping her lips.
“Yeah, baby, tell me how you like it,” he rumbled against her, nipping at the lacy edge of her dress, seeking access to her silken throat. “Never stop purring for me.”
“I’ll never stop,” she moaned and reached for him, bringing his head down for a kiss. She told him with her tongue and her lips the things she hadn’t been allowed to say during their brief wedding ceremony. She knew they were fucked up and they had a ways to go before they were ready for forever, but he belonged to her and she was ready to belong to him. At least for the one night, their wedding night. And this was the one thing they wouldn’t screw up.
She pulled away from him for just a second, her hands tugging his shoulders down, and whispered against his mouth, “Make me feel so good, Roman.”
“Fuck, baby,” he groaned against her and kissed her so hard he arched her head back into the bedding and plundered her mouth with his tongue, fucking her in imitation of the way he would soon take her body with his cock. He shoved his knee between her legs and pushed them even wider. He pushed her panties impatiently to the side and plunged two fingers deep into her pussy.
Katie cried out sharply into his mouth, her hips bucking up to meet his fingers as pain from the sudden invasion of her still sore vaginal passage merged with pleasure as he began pumping his long, skilled fingers against her g-spot. She lifted her hips and moaned, thrashing underneath him while he slowly drove her insane, forcing her higher and higher toward the edge of mindlessness.
“Come for me, hermosa,” he growled against her lips.
Katie did as he commanded and came with a scream and a rush of fluid across his still pumping fingers as he pressed them mercilessly against her. She bucked wildly under him, hanging onto his shoulders for dear life, her nails biting into the tanned skin over his tattoos. He forced her higher and higher, as more fluid soaked the back of her dress. She begged and cried for him to stop while urging him on with her
hands and lips. He used his knees to force her legs impossibly wider.
“You are so good, Katerina, mi esposa,” he praised her in deep, accented tones. “I have never seen such a beautiful sight. So abandoned, so full of life, and all mine. You have no idea what you do to me, baby.”
“I can't take it Roman,” she sobbed against his shoulder, rocking her hips into his lap while he continued to thrust his fingers in her soaked passage. “Please, you’re killing me… it’s too good…”
He chuckled and trailed burning kisses from behind her ear, down her throat to the edge of her dress. “Come for me one more time and I will take pity on you,” he murmured against her ear.
“I d-don’t know if I can!” she wailed, lifting her hips when he added a third finger and pressed them hard against her g-spot until she screamed and thrashed.
“You can and you will,” he growled and placed a firm hand on her belly before dropping purposefully between her legs and pulling her clit into his mouth. He knew to be gentle with the tender flesh given the hard thrust of his fingers. It took only seconds for her to fly off the edge of another orgasm, much more intense than the last.
“Roman!” she screamed, reaching for his shoulders and digging her nails in. She needed something to ground her while her mind spun off in all directions as pleasure exploded from every pore.
Katie’s body collapsed into the mattress, a boneless pile. She barely felt Roman shift her onto her stomach so he could unzip her dress and tug it off her limp body. He also took her bra and thoroughly soaked panties off. She stayed on her stomach and allowed her eyes to drift shut while Roman stood behind her and finished removing his pants and underwear.
“You tired now, baby?” he asked soothingly, running his big hands from her ass up her back in circular motions.
Thieving Hearts Page 17
