Carlito crossed his arms. “You got a point you’re going to come to?”
Val stared at a spot above Carlito’s head, wondering yet again if he was really going to do this. “The point is I got the job thing taken care of. That’s not what I need.”
“Then what could you possibly need from me?”
Val released his breath in a huff and stared up at the ceiling. “It’s like I said. My job is good, solid.” Solid enough that they hadn’t kicked his ass to the curb when he had to take off to get Mina. That had been a shock. “I got enough stashed away for first and last months’ rent some place close. I got the means to pay my rent every month. I think it’s time.”
He worked his jaw. These words were so hard to say. “The one thing I don’t have right now is credit.”
The simple statement hung in the air between them, getting heavier with each second of silence. Finally, Val tilted his head forward, looking away from the ceiling and toward his brother.
“You want me to cosign for you,” Carlito said, not asking.
Val scoffed. “Want? No. You know damn well I don’t want to ask anyone for anything.” He shook his head, swallowing around the bitter lump in his throat. “But it takes years to fix credit, and you know the longer I’m in your father’s house, the more likely that’s going to end in disaster. I can’t ask him for help, obviously, and that means I can’t ask Mom for help.”
“Which leaves me.” Carlito leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
“Like I already told you, I’m not asking for money. I have the money. You need a reference from my boss telling you my job is as secure as anyone’s? I can get that too. He likes me, and I’m doing well. I could get your name off the rental agreement after a year. It won’t cost you anything.”
“Except a ding on my credit report.” He said the words almost by rote, as though he had to have something to object.
“Yes, except for that.”
Carlito was quiet, and Val had a godawful feeling roiling in the pit of his stomach. He was humiliated and ashamed, and his little brother was going to say no. If Carlito said no, he had no idea how he was going to get his own place. He didn’t want to think about the disappointed look on Mina’s face. He didn’t want to think about letting her down.
He sat up straight, putting his hands flat on his brother’s desk. “You going to give me a version of the same old song? I’ve been nothing but a drain on this family all my damn life?” He scoffed. “Tell me something I don’t know. You think I don’t know what I am? I take, and I take. I try not to, but I do. I know what that looks like to you, to everyone. We’re a family. We have to depend on one another, but who can depend on me?”
“I didn’t say that,” Carlito replied, eyeing him.
With a huff, Val sat back in his seat. It was all he could do not to slump down. “I’ll let you get back to your important job.”
“I also didn’t say no.”
Val tapped his fingers against the side of the chair. He let one, two, three beats pass before he let it sink in. He glanced at his brother. “Yeah?”
Carlito smiled and nodded. “Sure. Yeah. It’s no big deal.”
~0~
“It’s no big deal?” Mina’s eyes sparkled, and her grin was huge as she giggled. “You know that’s bullshit, right? He’s totally going to make a big deal about it.”
Val clinked his wine glass against hers. “Only every chance he gets.” He put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. “But that’s okay.”
“Is it?”
“Yep.” The house was empty, and he was celebrating a victory with his most important person. He took a long drink. “This one’s going to stick. That’s what matters. I’m going to get this apartment, and I’m going to keep it.” He polished off the wine and made a face at the empty glass. “Why do you drink this shit?”
She chuckled. “Because it makes me feel fancy.” She polished off her own glass and poured refills for both of them. “And it’s delicious.”
“This isn’t delicious; it’s disgusting.” He raised the glass to his lips.
“And yet, you’re still drinking it.”
“Damn right, because on top of being the most disgusting-tasting alcohol known to man, it’s also expensive as hell. But it’s still alcohol.”
Mina hummed. She’d turned into his embrace so her hand was on his chest, stroking up and down as she stared at him. “I think you just haven’t tasted wine the right way yet. That’s why you think it’s disgusting.”
“How many ways are there to drink wine that I’m doing it the wrong way?”
Her grin turned sly. She turned her body more toward him, cupping one hand at the back of his head. She stroked her fingers through his hair as she took a long drink of her wine. Then she kissed him.
Val shuddered with the wave of erotic pleasure that went through him. Mina opened her mouth to him, and he could taste the pool of warm liquid on her tongue. He moaned against her lips, his hands snaking along her side, cupping her ass to bring her closer to him. He stroked his tongue along hers, breathing in the heavy bite of the wine.
When they leaned back with the pesky need to breathe, Val licked the remnants of her taste from his lips. “Well, it does taste better that way,” he said, breathless. “But I’m pretty sure I can’t do that at a fancy restaurant.”
They gazed at each other, and she looked as he felt. Her brown eyes dilated and glazed over with lust. This tumultuous thing they felt for each other…
He was hungry, starved for her. The strength of what he felt for her—desire and a need to tuck her into him, right under his skin—crawled over him with a kind of desperation. He breathed in through his nose and out again, taking her face between his palms, trying to find calm.
His voice was rough when he spoke. “It’s a good thing I’ve never given a damn what my neighbors think of me.”
She blinked and then laughed. “What?”
He stood, bringing her up with him. He needed to feel the length of her body against his, needed to move this up to his bedroom or hers. He kissed her, his hands at her hips, as he walked her backward. He kissed a trail up to her ear and nibbled on her earlobe, relishing her gasp and the way her body arched up against his. “Because, bonita, mi vida, when I’m away from this house and alone with you, I’m going to make you scream.”
She exhaled and laughed, a shaky sound that ended in a gasp as he dragged his teeth down to her neck. “Are you saying you’ve been holding back all this time?”
“Hah.” He raised his head, catching her face between his hands again as he flashed a dirty grin. “You’ve never seen my best moves. Not here. Too risky.”
He could see her nipples had pebbled beneath her shirt, but she only smirked at him, her smile serene though her cheeks were tinged red. “I call shenanigans on that. You’re good, Valentin, but people scream during sex just because they can. It turns some people on, and if that floats your boat—”
Rather than let her finish, he pushed her back against the wall, instantly smothering the space between them and claiming her lips. He swallowed her gasp of surprise that turned into a throaty moan in his mouth. He slid his hands along her side and then up under her shirt. He danced the tips of his fingers along her skin, feeling the shivers that went through her.
“You think I haven’t been holding back?” His fingers crept down her side, and he stole another kiss from her lips, silencing whatever she might’ve said. “You think all I got is what I’ve been able to do to you while I’m half afraid someone’s going to walk in on us?”
“Big words.” She tugged on his hair, bringing his head back up, and returned his kiss with fervor. “This house is empty, except for the two of us.”
He hummed, flexing his hand behind her knee and hitching one of her legs up around his waist. He pressed into her, bucking his hips against hers. “This is pushing it, and you know it. They could be back any minute.”
&
nbsp; “Pfft. Excuses.” She dragged her hands down his back and squeezed his ass, pulling him closer. “Momma Cora and Dante are out on a date. Dinner, a movie, and a trip to the bar afterward, like always. They won’t be back for hours.”
She shifted against him, riding the bulge in his pants, making him suck in a breath at the exquisite friction. “I’ve got no complaints. Your fingers, your tongue, your cock—they all do such nice things to me.” Now it was her who stole what little remained of his breath from his lips. Her nose to his, she grinned wickedly. “You want me to believe you’re some kind of sex god?” She gripped his shirt in her hands and pulled him against her, putting her lips to his ear. “Prove it.”
For a moment as she pulled back to look at him, her grin wicked. He couldn’t even breathe. She was a vixen, a temptress. She was the goddess, and he would gladly worship at her temple.
But his goddess had issued a challenge. Please her? Absolutely. Make her scream?
Well, that would be his genuine pleasure.
He started slow, drew her away from the wall, wrapping her up in his arms and putting his lips back to hers. He kissed her, soft and languid. He heard the stutter in her breath as she tilted her head into his kisses. As he walked them backward, his step unhurried, he stroked his hands up and down her back.
There was tension in her at first. They’d been hot and heavy only moments before. His words had promised something fast and hard. Yet, now, he was gentle, tender. She was confused, suspicious. Not in a bad way, of course, but this wasn’t what he’d promised her.
He sat back down on the couch, bringing her with him, arranging her on his lap. He pressed his tongue into her mouth, licking the length of her tongue in long strokes, like he was savoring ice cream from a cone. All the way from the back until the tip of his tongue danced with the tip of hers and back again. He caressed her.
With a sigh, she went pliant against him, her hands rubbing almost absently up and down his chest. She was wrapped in the moment now, he thought. She melted against him, forgetting, he hoped, what they’d been talking about.
He spread his hands wide against her back, supporting her as he laid her down on the couch. He followed her, holding himself up on one arm, kissing her as he let his other hand wander her body. They used to call this move heavy petting in junior high and high school. It was pure titillation, teasing.
When she bent her leg around his body and whimpered, trying to catch his mouth in more than a fleeting kiss, he sat up. He was kneeling between her legs, staring down at her. What a sight. Her hair was wild around her head. Her eyes were huge, her lips wet and plump. She was out of breath, so her chest rose and fell sharply under his hand. She licked her lips. “Babe—”
“Shh.” He put a finger to her lips. With his other hand, he undid the button of her jeans and drew her zipper down, holding her eyes as he did. “Be quiet, or I’ll have to find something to do with your mouth.”
She gasped and laughed at the same time, her body tremoring as he tickled the skin of her belly. “I thought you were going to make me scream.”
He shrugged, hooking his fingers in the waistband of her jeans and peeling them down. She lifted, letting him slide them and her panties all the way off. “This is more fun.”
“Oh, yeah? For who?” Her bravado was thrown off somewhat when she made a low noise at the back of her throat as he brushed his fingers through the tangled curls between her legs.
“Well, you won’t be bored.” He leaned in and kissed her, hard and firm. “Now, be quiet. I need my mouth for other things than arguing with your smart ass.”
He kissed her once more on the lips and then began dropping a trail of kisses down, down, down. He kissed her chin and nudged her with the tip of his nose so he could nip at her neck, her collarbone. He opened his mouth and breathed around each nipple so she could feel the warmth of it through two layers of cloth. He sucked lightly. All the while, he let his fingers play in her curls, teasing along her slit.
“Oh, hell,” she muttered under her breath. Her hips moved against his hand, trying to pull him in. Her hands flexed on his head as he worked his way lower. He lifted her shirt just a bit and pressed feather-light kisses around her belly button. “Val…”
It would’ve been easy to devour her. He loved the taste of her and the sound of her pleasure. Mina during sex was a feast for his senses. Sight, sound, feel—he craved all of it. But tonight wasn’t about him. Tonight, he savored and listened, playing the long game for the ultimate payoff.
He teased her, licking along her slit, probing at her entrance with just the tip of his tongue while his fingertips made lazy circles at her clit. He thrust his tongue inside her, and when she raised her hips, hissing a long, low, “Yessssss,” he pulled back again, nuzzling her curls.
She groaned. “What are you doing?” She tugged at his hair. A tiny pinch of pain.
Pushing her legs wider, he gave her what she wanted. He worked her with his tongue and fingers, flicking and rubbing harder and faster. Her body rolled beneath him, pressing up to meet his licks.
“Vaaalll.” She drew out his name in a high-pitched moan.
As he raised his head, he moved his hand so his fingers tickled the insides of her thighs but didn’t touch her where he knew she wanted him. He waited a beat—two, three—as she panted. Her leg was hitched around him, and she dug her heel into his ass. “Val, what are you doing?” she groaned.
He lowered his head back down, taking her clit between his lips and flicking his tongue against it. He worked her until her hips bucked wildly, her cries of, “Oh, oh, oh, yeah. Yes, please!” got desperate.
And then he backed off again.
“You bastard,” she said, breathless, her fingers in his hair, tugging. “What are you trying to do?”
He lowered his head, brought her to the edge. Stop. Rinse. Repeat.
Her heels kicked at the backs of his legs, and she pounded her fists against his back. “Damn you to hell, you bastard,” she said between pants. She was writhing beneath him, her skin flushed, her eyes hooded and unfocused. “What the hell kind of game is this?”
“What is it, bonita? Como tu quieres. Digame. Tell me what you want, and you can have it.”
“Fuck me. Please. Please. I need you.” Her hands tugged at his shirt, trying to bring him up her body.
“You want me to fuck you, Mina?”
“Now.”
Demanding woman. “Oh, I will. But not like this.” He got to his knees on the couch and yanked her up with him. He kissed her hard, sharing her taste, but pulled away just as quickly. He got to his feet, tugging his jeans down, freeing the erection he’d been grinding against the couch. “Come here.”
He took her by the waist and pulled her off the couch. She gasped but didn’t object to being manhandled, not even when he spun her around and pushed on her back so she bent over. He gave the inside of her thigh a smart smack, and she sucked in a breath. “Spread your legs for me,” he demanded.
She obeyed, bracing her hands on the couch. “I need you now.”
“You have me.” He guided his cock between her legs, rubbing it against her slick slit, coating himself. “This is what you want?”
“Yes.” She pushed back, trying to catch him, capture him.
He was torturing both of them, rubbing without entering. He bent over her, framing her body beneath his, holding himself up with both hands next to hers on the couch. “Say please,” he rumbled near her ear.
“You bastard,” she moaned.
“That’s not a please.” He brought one hand up to fondle her breast over her shirt.
“Please. Please. Now. Please, asshole.”
He chuckled, straightening up as he guided himself to her entrance. Hand on her hip, he pushed. She cried out at the contact.
After a few thrusts, he took one of her wrists in his hand and pulled it to the small of her back. Then, he took her other wrist and similarly yanked it behind her. “God!
What?” she cried out, rearing up a bit.
“I have you in my clutches,” he said, his voice husky but teasing. “I have you, Mina.”
Her center of balance now depended on his grip on her wrists. He could see her shoulders tense, but then, as he thrust into her, she cried out and gave in. He’d made her helpless—her hands behind her back in his iron grip and her legs spread wide to keep her balance—but he knew she trusted him.
This wasn’t the kind of position he could hold for long, but that was fine. After all the buildup, he didn’t need to go slow. She was already on the edge, and so was he. She was just the right height, the right angle. He slid into her deep with each thrust.
“Ah!” she cried. He grunted, cursing under his breath, because hell, this was good. This was so good. He used the weight of her to keep them both balanced as he moved. Skin slapped against skin.
“Val. Val. Val.” She chanted his name in a crescendo, getting louder. She was babbling, not all of her words audible as she gasped for breath. Other words came out as a hiss. “D…. sssssstttttop.”
“You want me to stop?” he asked, knowing she didn’t. He slowed his pace.
“No! No, no, no!” She shrieked once when he slammed into her hard, fast, and deep. “Noooooooo!” She wailed the word, screaming as she began to tighten around him.
“Mina!” He cried her name, his hips convulsing as he came.
Just as the high crested and he began to come down off the other side, his whole world jolted. He flew backward, ripped away from Mina and fell to the floor. His legs tangled in his jeans, he couldn’t get onto his back before he felt a sharp kick to his side.
Never Enough Page 16
