Duty (Andino + Haven Book 1)

by Bethany-Kris

  Still nothing.

  Fine.

  Andino stood from the stool, put his hands on the bar, and launched his body overtop of it in one fell swoop. He landed almost soundlessly on his feet, and reached for Haven before she could even think to protest.

  There were a lot of things he couldn’t say to her right now. Some, he just wasn’t ready to speak out loud, and other things … well, he had to figure that shit out on his own. But he came to her time and time again because it was with her that he found some semblance of fucking peace in his chaotic days.

  And he was sorry—fuck, he was so goddamn sorry—if she felt unimportant to him because that was so far from the truth, it wasn’t even funny. Maybe he needed to work a little harder at trying to convey the shit he just wasn’t ready to tell her.

  Starting now.

  Andino closed the distance between them, and practically handed his blackened, ruined soul over to her with a kiss. He was quite aware that she was working, and this was not the kind of thing she would usually do … but it didn’t matter to him.

  All that mattered right then was the way her body felt tucked against his, how she grabbed his jacket to pull him closer, and the way she kissed him back. Those were the things that made Andino think, this is worth it; it’s far more than worth it.

  The longer he kissed her, the more she relaxed.

  The better they felt.

  All too soon for his liking, Andino pulled away, and then just as fast, dropped a soft kiss to Haven’s forehead. Her work was forgotten about for the moment, and the club around them just disappeared while they dealt with them.

  “I’m still a little mad at you,” she admitted softly.

  “I like a woman that can hold grudges better than even me.”

  She laughed. “Is that so?”

  “Very much so, baby.”

  “I don’t really want to keep being mad at you, Andino.”

  Yeah, he knew that.

  She was due her feelings, though.

  No matter what he was doing.

  He wished he could tell her …

  Didn’t she know?

  How could she be his secret when the only thing he wanted to do was shout how much he loved her from the rooftops?

  Except he couldn’t.

  Not right now.

  EIGHTEEN

  “You waited for me?”

  Andino’s head popped up at Haven’s soft question. Leaning against his Lexus, she thought she might finally understand what people meant when they said the devil you know. In his long tweed coat, opened to show off the black three-piece suit with a matching silk, blood red tie and vest underneath, the collar flipped up to shield his face from the cold, and those green eyes on her … this man was most certainly the devil she knew.

  “I thought you might like to do something,” Andino replied.

  Haven, despite all the messy feelings she had about this man, couldn’t help but smile like a stupid little girl who was entirely head over heels for someone she could never really have. Not entirely, anyway.

  “Something like that?”

  Andino shrugged his broad shoulders. “Lady’s choice, baby.”

  “I actually promised to have breakfast with my roommate and her daughter in the morning. You know, because I’ve been so distracted lately, and all that. I haven’t made very much time for them. I don’t think staying out later than what I already have would be a good idea, all things considered.”

  He pursed his lips together, and then gave her one of those sly, sexy grins of his. “And what if I went home with you?”

  Haven laughed. “Really?”

  “Why not? I can even be out before morning if you need me to.”

  “Valeria wouldn’t care as long as you didn’t walk around half naked for her daughter to see. Oh, and you were quiet.”

  Andino’s grin deepened into something sinful. Just the sight alone was enough to make Haven wet. She bet he probably fucking knew it, too—maybe he could hear the way her body reacted to him when he barely had to do anything at all.

  He does have an ego the size of Texas.

  “You’re not saying yes or no,” Andino murmured.

  “I’m thinking.”

  “You’re not still mad at me, are you? I didn’t mean to make it seem like I was hiding you because you’re you. I was trying to avoid—”

  “I wasn’t angry … kind of,” Haven said quickly. “But if you bring it up again, then yeah, I’m going to get back in that head space again.”

  And she was trying to let it go.

  Sort of.

  Haven peered into the Lexus. “Where’s Snaps?”

  “Spending an evening with my father and mother.”

  “Really, what like grandkids might?”

  Because that was amusing.

  And cute.

  Andino chuckled. “Sort of, I think. Makes my mother feel less emotional about the fact she doesn’t have any grandbabies yet. At least, if my dog is over there and not me, then she can go on and on to him about me knocking somebody up as soon as I possibly can instead of directly to me.”

  Haven blinked. “Oh, wow.”

  “You did ask.”

  She had.

  And was regretting it.

  “So, is that a yes on me coming over to your place, then?” he asked.

  Haven hummed under her breath, and crossed the short distance between them in the empty, dark parking lot until she was right in front of Andino. He didn’t waste any time before snaking his arms around her waist, and pulling her in close to his hard body.

  Honestly, she liked it here better.

  Staring up at him, Haven smiled. “Thanks for waiting.”

  “Things are better when you’re around.”

  Were they?

  She didn’t dare to ask.

  “Your mom and the grandbaby thing—is that because you don’t want kids, or …?”

  “I want an army of kids,” Andino said.

  Haven blinked again.

  Andino just laughed.

  “Really, a whole army? Because that’s a lot of diapers, and sleeplessness, and … college funds. Eighteen years’ worth spread over several different little humans that suck the life and soul out of you. Because that’s what kids do, you know? You give them life, love them, and nurture them, and how do they pay you back? By puking on you at three in the morning when you’ve just gotten home from being on your feet for eight hours. And yet, when they wake up smiling the next day, all you can do is smile back and love them. That is parenting.”

  Andino shrugged. “I know—that’s what I want. Just not today.”

  Huh.

  And why exactly did that make her feel so fucking warm inside?

  Goddamn him.

  He made it terribly hard to stay angry—when she had every right to be exactly that with him even now—when he kept doing things that reminded her … oh, yeah, she’d somehow fallen in love with him.

  Stupid fucking heart.

  “So, back to your place …” Andino winked, and dropped a quick kiss to her mouth that really only left her wanting more. “Is that a yes, or a no? It’s kind of cold out here, and I would much rather be doing something else entirely.”

  Sure he would.

  So would she, really.

  “Can you be quiet?” she asked.

  Andino grinned—flashing white teeth and a promise of sin in a blink. “I think the better question is can you?”

  She smacked his chest.

  Andino’s laughter filled the parking lot.

  Heady, dark, and wicked.

  But really, where was the lie?

  He knew her well.

  Maybe too well.

  • • •

  Heaven was Haven on her back, panties stuffed in her mouth, and Andino between her thighs. It was two of his fingers massaging her wet G-spot while he sucked on her throbbing clit like it was a small piece of candy he was trying to get every drop of sweetness from. It was sparks behind
her eyes, and fire in her blood, and bliss.

  Oh, God.

  Heaven was that bliss.

  She couldn’t feel anything except the magic he was working on her pussy, and that was just fine to her. Instead of her soft bed, her body felt suspended. Floating high, and riding closer to the edge of an orgasm with every passing second.

  In her head, she was screaming.

  Begging.

  Needy, and unashamed.

  Outwardly, she was silent.

  Or mostly.

  The panties acting like a gag in her mouth were doing their job of keeping her quiet. Andino had been right about that—she wasn’t able to maintain a respectable level of noise when he was making her come again and again.

  How many times now?

  Three … four?

  Jesus, what did it matter?

  She was so close to coming again that she didn’t even care how many times she’d come before this one. All that mattered right then was that she got to come again.

  Andino’s mouth left her sex just long enough for him to whisper darkly against her inner thigh while his fingers worked her aching pussy a little harder. God, he knew her body so well—maybe too well. Better than her, anyway. He could make her come like nothing at all, and now, she struggled to reach an orgasm by herself.

  The asshole.

  “Come on, come on,” she heard him murmur. “Fucking give it to me. Christ, do you know how good you look spread out like this with those panties in your mouth? You’re a mess, Haven, and I love it. Fucking come. Let me taste that pussy after you’ve come again before I give you what you really want.”

  His teeth bit into her leg, and Haven didn’t even try to ease the way her fingernails raked lines over his back in response. The second his mouth was back on her clit, and that tongue of his started working its magic with a harsh beat that had her shouting behind the makeshift gag in her mouth, she was done for.

  Spinning.

  Flying.

  Blissed again.

  Haven felt the loss of him between her thighs before she’d even finished shaking her way through the orgasm—it was substantial to her nerves and body; every part of her screamed to pull him back in again, and have him close.

  She didn’t need to do anything.

  He just knew.

  Andino’s hands found her face as he slid up her body—all the hard, firm lines of him fitting against her softer curves. His soul was on display when he kissed her; she was sure of it. Positive she could feel parts of him that he rarely even whispered about when no one was around to listen. She could feel all of that when he kissed her.

  It was easy to get lost in that.

  Easy to forget the world.

  His mouth—still wet with her come, and tart with her flavor—was the best kind of distraction. She wanted nothing more than to keep him right there, kissing her forever. Nothing else needed to get in the way, right?

  Andino was something else on his worst days, but in bed? There, he turned into something else entirely. Something far more sinful, and wonderful. Fast, sure hands, and a kiss that lit her body on fire. He never even broke their kiss as he rolled Haven to her side on the bed, lifted her leg to rest it over his shoulder, and fit himself between her thighs.

  The size of his length was always a bit of a shock to her at first—no matter how wet she was, or ready she was … or needy, she felt him. She viscerally felt every fucking long, thick inch of him when he started to slide inside her cunt.

  He took her slow.

  Too slow, maybe.

  Teasing and taunting.

  “Yeah,” Andino murmured above her, one of his hands locking her wrists against the bed while his other grabbed tight to her hip. She was pinned like that—stuck beneath him while he fucked her how he wanted until he chose to let her go. She didn’t even mind. “I can feel how much you love that cock, baby.”

  He wasn’t lying.

  Every little bit he gave, her cunt was clenching for more.

  She always wanted more.

  Please, she wanted to beg. Just fuck me.

  Andino chuckled like he could read her thoughts. She bet she was quite a sight being under him like she was, naked and gagged with her own panties. “A little more, Haven?”

  She nodded.

  A whimper escaped.

  He gave her what she wanted—just a little bit more of him sliding into her pussy, but still not nearly enough. Why did he have such good control?

  Fuck him.

  She lost track of time as he kept playing that goddamn game with her. A little more of his cock, and then less when he’d pull right back out. Over and over until she was a trembling mess, and ready to shout at him.

  Only then did he thrust in.

  Only then did he fuck her the way she wanted.

  Hard.

  Fast.

  Deep.

  So brutal.

  His hands kept her pinned down, and the gag kept her quiet. Every snap of his hips pounding into her body ached in the best way. Being silenced, it made her all the more aware of the sounds he made while he fucked her.

  Husky words.

  Sexy grunts.

  More.

  Her body felt overheated, and far too overworked. Every muscle screamed as it clenched in preparation for relief—it was coming again.

  Fast.

  “Fuck, yeah,” Andino said, the words practically dragging their way out of his mouth through his gritted teeth, “show me what you’ve got, baby.”

  He fucked her until her throat felt raw from trying to hold back her screams; until her body was numb and she just couldn’t come anymore; until he had to put her on her knees, and take her from behind because she’d used up every bit of strength she had.

  And even then, the second he let out that quiet, deep fuck under his breath and pulled away from her, she rolled over and waited. Finally took those panties out of her mouth, and begged with raspy, soft words as he tugged on his cock above her with hard jerks of his fist around his shaft.

  “Please, Andino.”

  She loved the way he looked when he came. Loved it even more when she was able to watch him paint her body with his seed. There was something raw about the way his eyes drifted over the milky white fluids spilled across her chest, and smeared along her ink.

  Something beautiful.

  Haven would miss that, she knew. When he broke her heart—because he would, that much was painfully clear about this thing between them—she was going to miss this.

  She would miss him.

  • • •

  “Get up, and let me say goodbye to you,” Haven heard murmured along the shell of her ear. Still half asleep, she managed a smile when Andino’s lips grazed the spot that always made her hot, and shivering. It sent strong memories of the night before flooding her mind which only served to make her body heat up. This man didn’t even realize the kind of effect he had on her. How could he? “Come on, get up.”

  His strong hands urged her to turn, so she rolled to her back. Unfortunately, she found he had already pulled on his suit from the night before, and even had his tweed coat slung over his arm, too. He was ready to leave, and she just wanted to yank him back in bed, and keep him there with her for a few more hours.

  Who could blame her?

  “You’re leaving already?” she asked.

  Andino grinned even as his brows lifted. “It’s five in the morning.”

  Was it?

  That was a big nope from her.

  “What is wrong with you? This is too early.”

  Andino’s husky laughter was only muffled when he bent down, and pressed a hard kiss to Haven’s still tender lips. It hadn’t just been her pussy that he’d put to use the night before, not that she was complaining.

  “I don’t want to make your roommate and her daughter uncomfortable,” he said, pulling away from her far too soon for her liking. “And I have a big day today.”

  Haven abused her bottom lip with her teeth. “It’s Val
entine’s day, Andino.”

  He was too busy adjusting the cufflink on his dress shirt to notice the way she fidgeted and waited for a reply.

  “Yeah, I know—big party at my grandparents’ mansion today.”

  “For Valentine’s.”

  “They always throw a party whenever they can. The Marcellos like showing off.”

  “I suppose I’m not invited, huh?”

  Finally, he looked at her again, and his face said it all.

  Haven’s smile was gone. “Yeah.”

  “It’s just a party.”

  She knew that.

  Except it was more, too.

  “I just don’t want to be used, Andino.”

  “When do I use you?”

  It was starting to feel like it.

  More often than she cared to admit.

  “Be quiet when you leave, okay?” she asked, rolling over to put her back to him.

  Andino’s sigh echoed in the quiet room. “You’re not my secret, Haven.”

  He kept saying that.

  She didn’t know if she believed it.

  • • •

  “You look rough. Bad night?”

  Haven almost choked on the coffee when she took too big of a drink at the same time Valeria strolled into the kitchen. She coughed out half of a lung, and checked the clock at the same time.

  “What are you doing up at five-thirty in the morning?”

  Valeria raised a single brow, and shrugged before coming to stand next to the island. “Woke up when you tripped over the toy in the hallway, and didn’t even try to be quiet about it.”

  So, maybe it wasn’t Andino who needed to be quiet.

  She shot her friend an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

  Valeria peered out the window where it was still dark. “A bit early for you to be going out to run or anything, isn’t it?”

  “A little.”

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  Haven sighed. “Not really.”

  “You know, I saw his shoes and jacket when I got up to check on Maria last night. And while you were quiet … have to give you that,” her friend said, “I couldn’t help but hear something else, too.”

  Haven’s cheeks pinked instantly.

  Valeria laughed, and she leaned over the island a bit. Her hand came up to rhythmically smack the countertop with a fast, hard pace before she added, “The boy can sure keep a beat, though, can’t he? A long beat.”