by Sienna Mynx
“This is hate? You coming here, making me fall in love with you.”
“Fall in love?” she frowned.
“You know what I mean. You played games, just like Clarissa. Assumed the worst about me. Just like her. You're just like them. I'm the monster. I'm the cancer. I'm the one to blame.”
“She killed herself!” she shouted.
“And you think I don't live with that, every fucking day? Do you!” he shouted at her. He stopped arguing. He cast his gaze to the fire. The flames caused shadows to flicker over his hard features.
“I didn’t know what my father and Dale had done until it was too late. And when it was over... it was over. She didn’t want me, and I didn’t want her. She killed my fucking kid without a fight. What kind of heartless bitch could do that?”
“A confused girl who thought she was sacrificing herself for you.”
“Bullshit! Did Maria Garcia tell you about the paid off mortgage for their hotel by the sea? Ah, she didn’t, did she? Or maybe while she kissed your boo-boo's, and helped you with your homework she didn't mention how she took the money, and drove Clarissa to the clinic to flush my fucking kid down the toilet! Her own mother did this. The both of them kept it from her father. She turned to her mother for help and this is how she helped her. Because she didn't want me to run off with her daughter any more than my father did. So I got revenge. The final time I saw Clarissa. After they convinced her father to take the payoff to keep his beach home but stop protesting MGS. A deal he thought was given to him because your family died. I told her father what she did. And that broke Clarissa. It destroyed her. Two days later she committed suicide. I can never take that back. Whatever, she’s the baby murderer not me. That’s the fucking true story.”
Kassidy blinked in horror.
“I am not a monster,” he told her.
“You aren’t a victim either,” she said.
He picked up the bottle of tequila and toasted her. “Okay, then I’m something in between.”
She pressed her lips together. The Garcia family hated Tarek Marshall. Maria Garcia never spoke of Clarissa and Tarek. Not even when Kassidy was a young girl, and begged her to explain why Clarissa was dead and buried. No mother could live with doing what she did. Especially being reminded of the fact that they were bought, and their business paid off by the Marshalls. Kassidy stared at him, and he stared into the fireplace. No one was ever who they seemed, she supposed. Maybe his truth, this time, was indeed fact. Either way, it was plain sad.
“What are you going to do to stop them?”
“My father is old, a relic. He’s recovered from his stroke but he isn’t half the man he was. Dale is pulling the old man strings now.”
“They have to be stopped. You may not have caused the death of my parents but Alek Marshall did. He has to be made to pay for his crimes,” she said.
Tarek chuckled. “Everything is good and evil with you Kassandra. Somebody has to be the villain in Kassandra’s world. No in between.”
“Not really, I only...”
“Yes Really.”
“I was a kid when this all started. But I grew up tough. I had too. The Garcia’s were so racked with guilt they just spoiled me instead of raised me. And I did things. I lashed out, I rebelled. I used my talents for evil not good.”
“What talents?” Tarek asked.
“I have what my psychiatrists told me was an addictive personality. I’m a thrill seeker. I walk into danger and get off on it. That’s why I slept with you even though I thought you killed my family. That’s why I wasn’t scared in Alaska. Why I’m not really scared now. This was supposed to cure me Tarek. Finding you. Defeating you. Finally putting all my demons away. So I could be normal. And nothing has changed.” She took the bottle from him. It was strange, but she had developed a taste for the bitter liquid. The alcohol confused her emotions. She switched from sad to giddy in a blink. And that relaxed her.
“That explains it.” Tarek said.
“I guess so. You know everything now.”
“Yeah,” Tarek mumbled.
The lights flickered. They both looked up and waited. The lights blinked back off. She sighed. She put her hand to her forehead.
“Come here,” he put his arm around her shoulder.
“Don’t touch me,” she moved.
“You didn’t mind before,” he said.
“Can we forget that we ever had sex, please?” she rolled her eyes.
“I don’t want too,” he said.
“Not funny.”
“You’re not easy to forget,” he teased.
“We can’t stand each other. Remember?”
“We have issues, who doesn’t.”
“So you’re not weirded out about who I am?”
“Yeah, that is weird. But the kid I knew is nothing like the woman you are now.”
“That kid died a car crash,” she mumbled.
Tarek took one more drink and then passed the bottle to her. Kassidy drank from it, instead of pouring it into the glass. Tarek cleared his throat. “Why did you kiss me? The very first time. On the plane. You came over and sat next to me and kissed me.”
“I kissed you because it was the job.”
“No. The job was to hate me… To get revenge for Clarissa. You kissed me because I was Prince Tarek, and you wanted too. That little girl who promised to find me in twenty years is still inside of you. She didn’t die in the fire.”
Kassidy frowned. The alcohol was making her brain fuzzy. The man was making sense to her, and that sounded crazy. Kassidy burped. She put a hand to her mouth and apologized. They settled into a comfortable silence while she thought over his revelations. Clarissa had made a mistake and couldn't live with it. Her death had turned Tarek into a monster, so he could live with it. And a confused orphaned six year-old, took on their cause to live with the fact that on a dark road her father lost control of the car and killed her entire family. The things we do to live with our pain confused and enlightened her in that moment. She looked over at Tarek. And she remembered so much about how she felt about him. Why she kissed him. Why she gave her body to him. Why for months between now and then she brought down her defenses and extended the game between them.
She reached for the bottle of tequila and he stopped her. “Maybe you should ease up. That’s not for a novice.”
“I’m Braveheart. Besides after the day I’ve had, no one can blame me for needing a drink or two to see it to an end.”
The howling wind grew louder outside. He glanced over to the window and so did she. They felt like there would be no end to it. “You took a lot of risks doing what you did, sneaking around my company and conspiring against me.”
“I know,” she said sadly. “And now look at how I got Daniel caught up in this drama." Kassidy burped and covered her mouth. Her stomach clenched. She felt a little bile rise up in her. She met his stare. “I have a favor, a request to ask.”
“You think you can ask me for a favor?” he chuckled.
“We’re understand each other now, right?” she asked.
He didn’t respond.
“Listen to me. Please. Reese is innocent in all of this,” she said. “She's been a good friend and boss to me this past year. I don't want her dragged into it.”
“I doubt that,” he scoffed.
“She is. Like I said I will confess but—” Before she could finish her thought her gut clenched and she gagged. Kassidy got to her feet and ran for the bathroom with one hand on her stomach, and the other on her mouth. She barely made it in time to grab onto the commode, and up came all of the liquor and dinner she consumed. Chunks spewed from her mouth. She felt like her insides were being dragged out through her throat.
And then he was there. He had her. He helped her and kept her from slipping down. She gagged several times before it ended. Tarek let her go. He wet a rag and returned to clean her face and chin. She felt the bile rise in her throat again, and again he helped her. It went on like that for what she tho
ught was forever. Her eyes stung with tears and her throat burned as her body shook with tremors.
“It’s the tequila, darling. I should have never let you mix it with the wine.”
She opened her mouth. In her mind, she begged for help, but all that escaped were a few grunts and another burp. She felt unbelievably sick. He left her side once more, returning with another rag to clean her face, and then yet another to press to her brow.
“How you doing?” he asked her in a soothing voice.
“Not so good,” she managed.
“Wait here,” he said. He left the bathroom, this time he came back with another robe. She hadn’t realized she soiled the one she was wearing. He helped her stand. He handed her the robe to change into as he went to the sink and washed out the rag. Kassidy dropped one robe and quickly covered her nudity with the other. With the last of her strength, she walked over to the sink and gripped the edge of the vanity. There she rinsed her mouth and then used some of his mouthwash. But she felt weak. And she couldn’t stop the tears. Her robe fell open. She didn’t have the strength to close it and he didn’t seem to notice.
“C’mon,” he said.
“I can’t. If I move, I’ll fall. I-I...”
Before she knew it she was swept up into his arms again and carried out of the bathroom. It was the second time he did so. But this time he put her under the covers.
“It’s cold,” she trembled. Her body hurt everywhere. He left her side and turned up the gas flames in the fireplace. Kassidy closed her eyes. She heard him cleaning up before she drifted and then slept.
Chapter 17
When Tarek returned to the room Kassidy was sleep. He looked around the darkness. No room was as warm as this one. They would need to share it. At his real home, he had a golden rule. None of his women ever slept in his bed. Kassidy was one of the few he dropped his guard for since Clarissa's death. And that always troubled him. Now he had answers. Now he knew what it was he felt when he kissed her on that plane in Chicago. It made sense.
Tarek thought of sleeping on the floor. And then considered the chair was his best option but the man in him wanted the bed, her bed. After debating the impropriety of his actions, and her vulnerable state, he suppressed his darker nature and retrieved a blanket for her. He covered her. Kassidy mumbled something but she turned away from him.
The chair in the room was next to the window. He pulled it over to the front of the fireplace. He dropped down in it and stared into the flames, more troubled than he was before. Cash was one of the best men under his employ. He’d do the difficult things and never be seen. And he always delivered…always. But Tarek had to wonder about his late arrival. Was it the storm or something else? For the first time in a long time he didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.
And then there was Kovalevsky. His brother wasn’t just setting him up to take the fall with the Feds. No. The Russians would not be double crossed again. He was the man in front of them. He spent two months working with Yegor on the arctic drilling deal. Forging that relationship and cutting deals to wash the blood from the Kovalevsky money through his own company. And now he was the fall guy? It was bullshit.
Kassidy moaned. Tarek glanced over to the bed. She rolled over to her back. He could only see her face, not much else thanks to the heavy blankets. He was joking when he gave her the nickname Braveheart. But he had to admire her courage. He wasn’t that easily charmed nowadays. Possibly he was too cynical. Kassidy was a woman that would go the distance for what she believed in. He respected that. In fact, he found it irresistibly sexy.
He settled into their sleeping arrangement and found himself weakened enough to drift to sleep.
37.
The ache was in the pit of her stomach hit her again. The pain was strong enough to startle her awake. Kassidy double blinked before her eyes opened. She drowned in darkness. She hurt everywhere. She tried to lift her head but her senses spun. And then she realized she wasn’t alone. Kassidy’s head turned once more. Tarek had joined her in bed. He opened his sleepy eyes and smiled. She slept on his chest. Embarrassed and confused by her compromised state she scooted away from him.
“You okay?” he yawned.
She lifted the covers. He was in his boxers. Her robe was closed. She looked at him questioningly.
“No. We didn’t. You were sick remember? And then you fell asleep,” he told her.
“Why are you in bed with me?” her voice croaked.
“It’s my bed. You’re in bed with me,” he corrected her.
She scooted from him a bit more discreetly. She left the bed and went into the bathroom. She used it. She then went to the sink and put water on her face. He had mouthwash. Her mouth felt yucky. She gargled twice and spit it out in the sink. She wished for a toothbrush but didn't have one. She used her finger and put toothpaste on it and scrubbed her teeth. And then she gargled again. It was then she felt a little normalcy. But her stomach still hurt. She left the bathroom and returned to bed with him. He pulled the covers over her.
“Need an aspirin?” he asked again.
“My stomach is a little achy.”
He turned over to his side. His hand eased under the covers to land on her stomach. It happened so quick she didn’t have time to object.
“Here?” he asked and untied her robe. His hand slid inside and it was large, his palm was warm. Slow and easy he caressed her stomach.
“How does it feel now?” he asked.
“Uhm, better,” she said. “That’ll be enough, thank you.”
If he kept touching her that way he’d soon discover her secret. Her panties accompanied her bra in the dryer below. Tarek inched over and drew closer. His lips brushed the side of her brow. It was magic. In an instant the pain in her stomach had went lower to throb between her shut thighs. Kassidy eyelashes fluttered, and the achy burn began to melt down to a numb coolness. His hand went north instead of south and slowly caressed her right breast. Kassidy’s lids flashed open wider. His eyes were sharp and assessing. She could hide nothing about how much his touch pleased her. He seemed to like her nipple. At first he pinched it, and then he pulled it gently before he used his thumb in circular motions to rub it erect. Her lips parted and air rushed out of her lungs. And then it happened. Another kiss. His mouth came so close she inhaled his breath. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke.
“So you like to kiss? Kiss me,” he said. And his moist, firm mouth demanded a physical response when it swept over hers. The moment she responded and invited him in he took her mouth with a savage intensity, forcing her to belong to him, with his tongue thrusting, sweeping at the roof of her mouth. His silky tongue rimmed the edges of her teeth, and his lips suctioned softly. He was a good kisser. He eased his body over hers and she parted her thighs to welcome him. When his erection brushed her bare sex he stiffened. Her lips burned in the aftermath of their fiery passion when he drew away.
“What’s this darling? No underwear? For me?” he asked as if impressed.
“I-I—”
His lips slowly descended to reunite with hers and silenced her. He swirled his hips a bit so his dick could slip between the folds of her vagina. She quivered. There was a sweet tenderness to his kiss now. She drank in the yumminess of his seduction, and locked her legs around his hips. If he were to slip inside her she wouldn’t complain. No. No. No. What was she doing?
His mouth grazed from her mouth, and over her cheek to her earlobe. He spoke in his deep Texas drawl, “You got a fatty,” he whispered. “Mmm, fat, wet, and juicy, mmmm,” he rubbed his erection hard against her sex. She knew exactly what he was talking about.
She pushed at his shoulders, and he grabbed her wrists to pin them above her head.
Tarek chuckled. “It’s a compliment. Don’t move. Let me see,” he said. “You did once before,” he said and his smile faded. He looked into her eyes with that hypnotic charm of his, and she was paralyzed into submission. “Okay?”
She slowly nodded. He kissed her neck and
then her collarbone. That wonderful tongue of his that she wanted to suck traveled to her attention-starved nipple. He sucked it into his mouth with such tenderness and consideration of her bruises she nearly wept.
Then he eased under the covers.
It happened fast. It happened without reason. She could never explain why a woman who loathed and distrusted her kidnapper could desire him so deeply in that moment. And she did. His tongue traced her slit and it parted the folds, as his hands pushed back against her thighs. When the tip of his tongue found and enticed her clit into his mouth, he sucked. Kassidy gripped the sheets and her ass lifted off the mattress. He sucked, licked, and nibbled her into bliss. Her ass bounced on the mattress as she thrust her pelvis against his face, and his tongue pierced her below with undeniable warmth and strength.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she cried until the final climax crushed the air from her lungs and the sheets ripped from the edges of the bed. He eased up her body, dragging his tongue over her skin. He stopped only twice to lick her navel and then her nipples.
“Are you ready for me?” he asked.
“Yes, Tarek! Yes, please! Pleeeeeeeaaaaasseeeeee!”
“Please what?”
Kassidy’s eyes flashed open. She looked over to her left and no one was in bed with her. She sat upright. Tarek was in a chair by the fire. He stared at her in the dark. She drew the sheet up over her sexually awakened body. She didn’t know what was going on. Caught up in the climactic bliss, she was still wet and quivering below. She could feel moisture pool between her thighs as her heart raced.
Tarek leaned forward. Only part of his face was revealed by the fireplace. His dark eyes were assessing as always. “Please what, Kassidy?”
“Nothing, I am, I’m fine,” she said.
“You were begging in your sleep,” he said. “Begging me for what?”
“I was? What did I say?”
“You said my name,” he replied.
