He nodded. "Yes. I even started going to see someone. You know, a therapist..." His cheeks reddened a bit, and he cleared his throat and straightened in the driver's seat. "My Daddy doesn't know. Mama either. Imagine what they'd think of me going to a head-shrinker."
Ali smiled in spite of herself. Carmac and Cecile, like her own parents, thought every problem was solved behind the closed doors of your own home. And look how fucked-up we all are because of it. She knew what a big step it was for Bobby to have done this. It was maybe even a bigger step that he admitted his weakness to her.
"You're a good man, Bobby. I never doubted that," she said honestly.
"I'm so sorry I hurt you." His voice was choked with emotion. "I'm sorry I treated you like that... I'm ashamed of how I acted, Ali."
"No, Bobby, hey..." She turned to him and laid her hand on his arm. "It's okay. It's done. The important thing is that you're getting the help you need. And I'm here for you, as a friend, no matter what happens between us."
"Do you mean that? About us being friends?"
"Of course I do. You mean a lot to me. You always will."
He smiled and patted her hand. "Then that's good enough for now."
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Ali was all the way up her driveway, almost to her house, when the bike gleamed in the glare of her headlights. Alejandro was nowhere to be seen. The bike was tucked into its usual spot, the house still dark except for the soft glow of the porch light.
"Alejandro?" she called, taking a few tentative steps toward the house.
"Right here, Baby." His deep voice came from behind her, and she spun around, almost losing her footing on the gravel in her impossibly high heels. "I went to the barn to see Tip."
"You scared me."
"I didn't mean to," he murmured, walking closer until he was standing right in front of her. "I figured you could see me in the porch light."
"I meant when you left the other night. When you didn't text me back." Her eyes blurred with tears.
"You haven't checked your phone, then."
"No."
He closed the gap between them, tipping her chin up so he could brush his lips across hers. "I couldn't stay away."
"I'm sorry I kept it from you," she whispered into his kiss.
"Later you can explain why you did," he murmured, nibbling along the edge of her jawline until she shivered.
"Later?"
He nodded as his hands cupped her ass and he pulled her flat against him. "Later. After we take care of some other business." He stared down into her face, his lips hovering just a breath away from hers.
"Nothing happened," she blurted, even though he hadn't asked. "With Bobby, I mean."
"I know that, Baby." His lips hitched up in a whisper of a smile, but his eyes were serious. "I don't think I'd be seeing all that heat in those pretty gray eyes of yours if another man had satisfied you even a little bit."
Ali shook her head and whispered, "I only want you."
"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that."
"Take me inside," she begged.
***
Alejandro lifted Ali onto the kitchen island and pressed his lips to hers just once before twining his fingers in her hair. One by one he removed the pins until her curls draped around her shoulders like a veil. All the while she could feel him, smell him, practically taste him as his fingers worked their magic.
When she made a move to touch him, he tucked her hands under her thighs and commanded her to keep them there, his dark eyes fixing on hers so that she couldn't refuse even if she wanted to. She shivered with the need to be touched, and she wasn't the only one affected. When she peeked up at Alejandro through lowered lashes, she heard his breathing hitch a bit. The pounding in her chest grew more insistent as the erotic energy built between them.
His hands stole around her back, feeling for the zipper. When he found it under her arm he tugged it down in one smooth stroke. A bra hadn't been possible with the dress, so when he drew the thin straps away from her shoulders her breasts were on full display for him. Reverently he skimmed his hands down the front of her body, making her sigh as his calloused palms scraped her stiffening nipples. He rubbed his knuckles over one erect bud, pinching it between two fingers and smiling at her little cry of pleasure.
"If I slide my hand up inside this dress, will I find that you're just as naked on the bottom?" he asked, his voice husky. "What will I touch, Ali? Lace? Silk? Cotton? Or just you, bare and wet?"
The hunger in his voice took her breath away. All she could do was stare at him as he spread her thighs as far apart as the tight gown would allow. His mouth closed over hers and she moaned against his kiss as he slid his hand up the rounded muscle of her calf, over her knee, and between her thighs.
"Please," she whispered, when his fingers finally brushed over the soaked panel of her satin panties.
"Please what, Ali?" He hooked his finger behind the sodden undergarment and tugged until it slid down her thighs.
"I need you inside me," she begged, groaning softly as he yanked it the rest of the way off. He said nothing, just drew her hands out from under her thighs and quickly bound her wrists behind her back with her own panties.
"Oh, Alejandro, please..." Her entire skin felt feverish, every touch heightening her arousal. She writhed on the counter in front of him, begging to be put out of her misery.
"Not yet," he said conversationally. "I need to be sure you really want it."
***
She still wants me. No matter that she spent the night on that rich bastard's arm. She's still mine. Alejandro didn't know how to contain the relief that surged through him. He had been so sure a different Ali was going to greet him tonight and had braced himself for the guilty look in her eyes. He'd been prepared to hear her words of apology, or even worse, see that look of fear he'd caught a glimpse of the last time they'd been together. Instead he found that she was still his. Completely.
His fingers slipped into her impossible heat and she undulated her hips to meet his touch. With her hands bound behind her she was somehow even more responsive, as if she was trying to make up for not being able to touch him. Watching her teeth sink into her lush lower lip he recalled the last time they'd been together, how he'd pleasured her until she couldn't see straight.
Before she'd told him she was going with rich boy to the gala. Just the thought of that metaphorical face slap nearly wilted his erection. But whatever had happened that night between Ali and Bobby, it hadn’t been sex. Her body told him he was the only one.
Alejandro realized they hardly ever talked about anything important: Bobby, the fucking engagement ring that had magically reappeared on her dresser, his return next month to San Antonio. Instead, they devoured each other like it was the last day of their lives. Which, as amazing as it was, didn't bring them any closer to figuring out what the hell would happen when he had to leave town again.
He already knew he wasn't letting her go. No fucking way was he going back home without something. He didn't want his next stint in Arroyo Flats to put him face to face with Ali and some other guy's kids. His fingers bit into the skin of her thigh as he imagined running into a lushly pregnant Ali in the grocery store with a little blonde toddler already in the cart.
Her lusty gasp brought him back to the here and now as he thrust his fingers inside her. She was open to him, dripping, waiting for him to make love to her. He couldn't wait. He tugged open his fly and grasped his straining cock. Ali's eyes widened as she glanced at it, licked her lips, and then looked back at him, blazing with need.
Alejandro was inside her before he realized how roughly he had grabbed her, but the satisfied look on her face was echoed by her eager moans, and he knew it was exactly how she'd wanted it. He twined one hand into her tangled mane and tilted her head back until her body was a smooth marble line in front of him. With his other hand he clasped her buttocks and shoved as deep in her as he could go.
Her entire being seemed to
shudder with pleasure.
"That's it," he growled. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? This is what you thought about when you were eating dinner with all those rich fuckers at the gala."
"Yes," she whimpered, arching to meet his touch.
"You sat next to him and you thought about me fucking you. You thought about me making you scream my name."
“Yes, Aleajandro…”
“You’re mine.”
She shivered and gasped something he couldn't understand. He could feel her tensing, tightening as her climax built in her and he stopped trying to hold back his own.
"That’s it." He pounded into her, his hand cupping her ass. “Come for me, Baby.”
Ali nodded and whispered yes, yes, yes over and over. When he saw her chest start to flush, he had just enough time to pull out and jet his seed onto her heaving belly as she shuddered and sobbed his name.
The shrill chime of his phone broke the spell. It signaled from his hip pocket, vibrating relentlessly from where his jeans had slipped down his thighs.
"Fuck." Alejandro untied Ali's hands and then pulled a bandanna from his pocket, cleaning his spent desire from Ali's stomach before hitching up his pants and reaching for the phone. It had stopped ringing. He hesitated, glanced at it, and placed it on the counter, within easy reach. Cupping her face in his hands, he captured her mouth in a slow, tender kiss.
"Do you have to go?"
"I hope not." He grimaced. "If I do, I'll try to come back."
She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him in for another kiss. His fingers traced over her shoulder blades and skimmed down her back. They were traveling under the hem of her bunched-up dress once again when the phone interrupted.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
"Fu-uck." Alejandro picked up the phone. "Yeah?" he barked.
Ali could hear an animated voice on the other end.
"Wait, what?" Alejandro rubbed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Shit. No. Yes. No, just hang on. I'll be there in ten."
He hung up and groaned, leaning until his forehead rested against Ali's. "I gotta go."
"There's a spare key hidden in the fern on the table out back. If you come back, just let yourself in if I'm asleep, okay?" She looked tired but her eyes still sparkled with promise.
"Yeah, Baby." He cupped his hand around her mound and kissed her tenderly. "Go to bed and I'll see you in the morning."
***
"We got a problem," Pitbull announced grimly when Alejandro charged into the clubhouse. "You know I'd never bother you this late unless it was an emergency."
"Get to it," Alejandro stripped off his gloves.
"Remember when Dobie said that Crockett was about to split off from the Bezerkerz."
"Shit. Did that happen?"
"Well, yeah, but it's worse than just that. Crockett and Spidey had a huge falling out. Crockett brought some new guys on board, and the word I just got from Dobie is that Crockett's new club is going under the protection of the Diablos. Getting patched in and everything."
"Fuck!" Alejandro's voice echoed off the warehouse walls. "That means the Diablos would have protection from the DEA. But they're already under investigation!"
"Unofficially. And maybe that's why they agreed to take Crockett's club under their own," Pitbull suggested. "His cousin must be part of the deal."
"That crafty little fucker," Alejandro growled. "What's Spidey gonna do about this?" He walked to the fridge, pulled out a beer, and popped the top.
"That's the thing. I think he's gonna ask us to go in on a hit to get rid of Crockett."
Alejandro paused mid-swallow and set the beer down on the table next to him. "Whoa--what?"
"A hit. To get rid of Crockett. I can't be positive, but I think that's where Spidey's going next."
"Says who? Dobie?"
Pitbull nodded.
"Fuck." And if we have to go in on a hit, we set a precedent, Alejandro thought. We do it once, every motherfucker from here to the coast will tap us as hired hit men. We're supposed to be moving hot product and bringing a few people over the border. Not killing people for the highest bidder. "Anything else?" he asked.
Pitbull nodded. "Actually, there is." He pulled out his phone and showed Alejandro several pictures of a black car. "This car's been following me all day, man. I saw it like five times today. Just before I called you, it was parked outside for the longest time. You see what's on the hood?" He tapped the screen with his fingertip.
Alejandro frowned and squinted. The picture was blurry but after a while, he made out the distinctive green devil. Cold sweat broke out down his back. "They don't waste time, do they?"
Pitbull nodded. "If anything, I'd say they're ahead of schedule."
***
The Diablos Verdes obviously weren't satisfied with the piece of the pie they'd gotten. They wanted the whole thing, but Alejandro sure as hell wasn't going to just sit back and let them take it.
"I don't want you going anywhere by yourself, you understand?" he told Pitbull. "That goes for everyone in this club. I'm calling a meeting for tomorrow morning. Tell everyone they better be there."
He swore under his breath and paced back and forth. Alejandro wished he could call Turk, but it was too late at night to bother the old man. He knew what he'd say, anyhow. The DVs were thumbing their noses at the Padre Knights, and they couldn't let them get away with it. The Diablos had started with Haji, and now Crockett was leaving the Berzerkerz and heading his own club under their protection--a club that not only cut away some of the paid work from the other clubs but also left the Padres exposed to DEA investigation.
He had to do something, and quick.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
Alejandro crept up the stairs, determined not to wake Ali if she was asleep. Though her bedroom light was on, he didn’t hear her stirring about. She must be exhausted, he thought. I’ll let her sleep.
He was unprepared to find her looking so irresistible. She lay sprawled face-down on the bed, her golden hair fanning around her, completely naked. Despite the late hour, he felt himself stirring at the sight of her ivory flesh on display for him.
Almost naked, he realized. The tiniest of pink straps ran across her hips and tucked between her creamy cheeks. He was almost to the bed before he realized she was wearing the thong, and somehow that was even more erotic than seeing her completely nude. She had clearly worn it just for him. The thought made him instantly hard.
Alejandro sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand down the valley of her spine, up over the curve of her buttocks and down her thigh. Her lips pouted adorably in sleep, and he hungered to kiss her. There was something about touching her while she was sleeping, though, and he didn’t want to ruin the moment.
He wanted to let her sleep, but he also wanted to roll her over and have his way with her. His fingers caressed the smooth skin of her back, dipping into the little dimples at the base of her spine. Without thinking about it he pressed his face to one of the little hollows. Her fragrant smell wafted from her skin and that was all it took to tip him over the edge.
One hand sank into her flaxen curls while the other broad palm made a thorough examination of her bare backside. Beneath him, she stirred and arched against his touch. “You’re back,” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
“Couldn’t stay away,” he breathed, hooking his front teeth through the tiny elastic laced between her cheeks. “We’re gonna have some fun with this tonight,” he growled, twanging it like a guitar string. She wriggled her hips and he gave her bottom a light slap before climbing off the bed to undress.
The smack had gotten her attention, and she flipped over, her eyes bright and cheeks flushed as she watched him undress. Alejandro stripped his socks and tucked them into his boots, then folded the vest and draped it carefully across the chair. Her gaze never left him as he reached behind his head and snatched off his tee-shirt.
Teasing her, Alejandro shook out the tee-shirt grinned as
she pouted. He knew full well the effect he was having on her, and he loved every second of making her wait. The corners of his mouth twitched as he folded the shirt with deliberate care and placed it next to the vest. She’d told him before that she loved to watch him undress, and he was happy to oblige her now. Her gray eyes devoured him as he removed his clothes, and it only served to heighten his arousal, knowing she was turned on by him and waiting, eager and wet, for his touch.
***
Between her thighs, Ali was ablaze. His hands on her skin had brought the first drops of moisture, and his kisses had saturated the tiny scrap that passed for panties. It was his smell, though, that had really pushed her over the edge. It was that masculine scent that did it every time. It promised pleasure, and love, and freedom.
Don’t You Dare: A Bad Boy MMA Fighter Romance Page 58
