A Lover's Mask

by Altonya Washington

Mick laughed. “May I take that as a yes?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Quay grudgingly agreed after a moment.

  “You promise?”

  “Promise.”

  “Right, I’ll speak with your wife now to tell her you’ve accepted.”

  Rolling his eyes, Quay pressed the phone to his chest and fixed Ty with a dark look. “Mick,” he announced, passing her the phone.

  Unfortunately, it was virtually impossible for Ty and Mick to hold a conversation. Quay began a sensuous assault with kisses to his wife’s thigh, the moment she began to speak into the phone. Ty couldn’t concentrate on a thing and could only promise Mick she’d get Quay there before the call ended.

  “I expect you to get me out of this,” he ordered, his voice muffled against her throat.

  “You shouldn’t have promised, then. Besides, don’t you want to know about the baby?”

  Quay fixed his wife with a narrowed stare. “Sure I do, but you know how I feel. This thing’ll be a big disaster if I get there and see Marcus. He’d get everything I want to lay on Houston.”

  “Shh…” Ty soothed, brushing her fingertips along the furrows on his brow. “You shouldn’t worry about that. Quest’ll be there and he won’t let you do anything and neither will I. Besides—” she shrugged and gave him a saucy wink “—you know Mick will kick your ass if you ruin her party.”

  Quay couldn’t contain his laughter. “Damn right,” he agreed.

  “Are you okay now?” Ty asked, tilting her head just a bit to gaze more steadily into his eyes as her fingers curled into the neckline of his white T-shirt.

  He nodded. “I am.”

  Tykira sighed and glanced back at the cookbook she’d been studying. “So, what are we gonna do for dinner?”

  The wolfish smile disappeared on Quay’s face as he threaded his fingers through her tumbling tresses. “We’re already doing it,” he said and drew her into a satisfying kiss.

  Contessa tugged on the lapels of her ankle-length leather trench and strolled off the elevator. Her gait was alluring and unhurried as always, but still she looked like a woman with a lot on her mind. She’d replayed her conversation with Spivey five times already and was always left with the same question: Why did Fernando own a cruise ship for gentlemen only? Of course, there was always the same answer: There was more going on than gambling. There had to be, right? She remembered when she’d questioned him about The Spot. She’d believed him and felt bad for doubting when he insisted there was nothing illegal afoot. But what about this? Should she ask him? Would the story be the same?

  “Hey Drake,” she greeted the evening security guard.

  “Evening, Ms. Warren,” Drake replied, turning around the log for her to sign out.

  “Night,” she whispered, leaving the middle-aged Haitian with a warm smile before turning toward the row of glass doors. Her steps slowed the closer she drew to the exit.

  Asking him would be best, she decided. Just put all the damn cards on the table and let the chips fall. Would he fly off the handle? Would they argue and decide to end things? At least then she’d be free to handle her business without guilt. But then, she’d be without him.

  “Are you hungry?”

  The depth of his voice, riddled her spine with the most delicious sensation. Closing her eyes briefly, she rid her mind of unwelcomed thoughts before turning to greet him with a brilliant smile. “I’m starving,” she told him.

  Fernando’s smile relayed curiosity as his vibrant brown eyes narrowed. “Are you referring to food?” he inquired softly.

  “’Course I am!” County laughed.

  A broad shoulder rose in a shrug. “Just checking.” Fernando said, pretending as though he’d been confused.

  They headed outside the building and into the biting cold. Fernando drew her close and Contessa wanted to snuggle into the warmth that radiated from his massive form.

  “Damn, Chicago winters are as ferocious as its summers are gorgeous,” he noted.

  County smiled and blinked up at the darkened sky. “That’s why I love it so—from one extreme to the next. Makes me feel alive,” she praised.

  Fernando ushered them inside the back of the waiting Mercedes limo. He turned to County and extended his hand. Familiar with the routine, she dropped her keys to his palm.

  “James, take care of Ms. Warren’s car after you drop us off,” he instructed his driver.

  “So, um, where are we going for dinner?” County asked, while removing her coat.

  “We’re here,” Fernando announced, winking devilishly when she frowned her surprise.

  County shook her head when she noticed him waving the bag which carried the logo of a well-known deli in town. “I can’t believe you’d want to feast on messy subs in this car,” she said, shaking misty rain from her chic cut.

  “I don’t want any interruptions when we get back to your place,” was his simple response. “All right, we’ve got a monster turkey sub for me and a toasted chicken salad sub for the beautiful lady,” he announced while peering into the large white-and-green checkered bag.

  “I’m gonna miss all this when it’s over,” County lamented, resting against the cushioned backseat and watching Fernando extract the sandwiches.

  His movements halted at her words and he slanted her a curious look.

  “Being pampered,” she clarified, watching the expression leave his handsome face.

  “Are you expecting that?” he asked, setting aside the food in order to remove the black leather bomber jacket he wore.

  County closed her eyes and sighed. “Things happen.”

  “Yes, they do,” he agreed, tossing his coat to the opposite seat. “Things are definitely going to happen,” he promised, facing her fully, “but that’s not one of them.”

  In a split second, Contessa found herself scandalously entwined with his powerful form. Fernando’s big hands cupped beneath her arms while he arched her into his kiss.

  County moaned breathlessly. She was completely content allowing this man to bend her to his desire. His kiss demanded participation that she willingly obliged. Their tongues dueled slowly and with a shocking thoroughness that elevated their arousal to an even fierier pitch.

  County tugged her bottom lip between her teeth to stifle her cries, soon to become screams of delight. Mouth trailing her neck, his hands roamed every inch of the mulberry cashmere cardigan shirt she wore with figure flattering black slacks. She writhed against him unashamed of the way he affected her. Fernando toyed with the buttons momentarily then made quick work of them. He broke the kiss when more of her body was exposed to his view.

  Trailing her fingers through her glossy, boyish cut, Contessa chanted Fernando’s name. Her nipples strained madly against the lace cups of her bra as though they were begging for release. Fernando seemed to hear their plea, but freed only one of the rigid buds, capturing it between his perfect teeth. He began to suckle just as a cell phone chimed in the distance.

  “Damn,” he growled, amidst the voracious feasting of his mouth against her bosom. Expressing clear reluctance to leave her, he pulled away slowly. “Don’t you dare,” he commanded, when County moved to fix her bra. “What?” he snapped into the receiver. His hypnotic gaze following the path his thumb trailed around one nipple.

  County let her lengthy lashes flutter close and enjoyed the light, yet satisfying caress until it stopped.

  Fernando’s expression had hardened and he muttered a wicked expletive. “Are you sure?” he demanded to know.

  Terence Newsome, one of the club’s managers sighed before repeating his news. “The girls who left are working as hostesses on a ship called The Wind Rage.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Well, Fern, it’s a gentlemen-only ship, so…”

  “Damn,” Fernando could only whisper, bowing his head to massage the bridge of his nose. He was the proud owner of a sex ship. Yippee!

  “What you want me to do, man?” Terence asked.

  “Nothing right now T,
I’ll be in touch and we’ll meet before I leave for Seattle.” Fernando decided. “Talk to you later.” He clicked off the phone.

  County had already fixed her clothes and sat watching him. “Everything okay?” she asked, not caring for the set look to his profile or the way his hand smoothed across the front of the blue-and-gray paisley print shirt he sported.

  “Business,” he explained after a silent minute.

  “Wanna talk about it?” County asked, folding her legs beneath her.

  “Not at all,” he said.

  There was no coldness in his voice, but County could tell whatever the business, it had him in an awful mood. “Why don’t we postpone tonight so you can go handle it?” she encouraged.

  Fernando’s grin appeared, sparking the adorable crinkle of his eyes. “No way are you getting rid of me tonight, Ms. Warren.”

  “But you’re obviously upset,” County argued, though she loved the sound of his words. “You may not be in the mood for—”

  “Yes, I am upset and being with you is the one thing that has a chance in hell of relaxing me.”

  County propped her elbow against the seat and rested her cheek next to her fist. “Why Mr. Ramsey, you say the sweetest things,” she said, pretending to gush.

  Fernando was serious, however. “The words are easy to say when they’re true,” he said and pulled her snug into his lap.

  The cool teasing in Contessa’s brown eyes grew warm with passion. “Oh” was all she cold muster before he captured her parted lips in another explosive kiss. Eagerly, she suckled his tongue when it thrust savagely past her teeth. Her body was weak with desire, but she couldn’t resist grinding herself onto the arousal rising beneath his navy trousers. When he cupped her hips to situate her in a more accommodating manner upon the stiff ridge of his manhood, County ordered herself to slow things down.

  “No,” he refused, when she tried to move.

  “We should eat,” she suggested.

  “Later.”

  “Now,” she decided, cupping his face in her palms, “I don’t want any interruptions when we get to my place,” she repeated his earlier words.

  Fernando winked. “Good point,” he said and effortlessly placed her back to her side of the car seat. “Now let’s see,” he said, returning his attention to the bag of food.

  “Yes, I’ll certainly miss this,” County lamented, resting her head back against the seat, “for the next two weeks, anyway.”

  “Explain,” Fernando urged, passing County her toasted chicken salad sandwich.

  “Mick’s shower party?” she clarified, “I’ll be going to Seattle next Friday.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Fernando grinned, adding extra tomatoes to his monster turkey sub. “She called and demanded my presence too,” he remembered. “So why are you leaving so early? The party isn’t until the end of the month.”

  County cut her sandwich in half. “We’ve really been missing each other. We just want some time together beforehand.”

  “So you can’t make time for me during those two weeks?” he asked, biting down into the sandwich.

  Contessa’s brows rose, but she offered no response. Instead, she took a huge bite of the zesty sandwich. Munching filled the car for several moments. Fernando was halfway through his sub, when he noted that she had not uttered a reply.

  Meanwhile, County went on eating and enjoying. It didn’t take long however, to feel the beckoning translucent stare fixed her way. “What?” she questioned innocently.

  “May I have an answer to my question?”

  “Ramsey, I don’t know how much time we’ll have,” she replied flippantly. “I mean, it’s been a while since Mick and I really got together.”

  “That really it?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest and watching her try hard to swallow. “Spill it,” he said. “Contessa,” he called, when she stubbornly refused to talk.

  “Dammit Ramsey, I don’t want them to know about us, all right?!”

  “Them? Who? Mick and Quest?”

  “Your entire family.”

  “Why?”

  County fixed him with a look that practically radiated the phrase you’re an idiot. “Are you joking?” she said instead.

  “Do you see me smiling?” Fernando challenged the brows above his deep-set gaze drawn close.

  “Why? you ask,” County repeated, bracing her elbows on her knees as she clasped her hands. “Why, because my House is working on a tell-all book about them. Why, because I don’t want to have to deal with Mick and her questions. Why because your father is a jack—sorry. Let’s just say he wouldn’t take this well.”

  Fernando’s caramel brown face was a picture of confusion. “Do you care? Because I don’t,” he confided, watching her hold her head in her hands. “Is this how you want us to be? Seeing each other in secret?”

  “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 almost whispered.

  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?” she asked, disbelief flooding 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 9

  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 into 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 urged, giving 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 said, removing 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. Con
tessa 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.