by LK Shaw
Pablo's eyes flickered over my face. "Are you sure?"
I answered him with a kiss. We sipped at each other's lips, tasting, savoring. He laid me back on the couch and then reached for his wallet, pulling out a condom and setting it on the end table behind my head. I raised my hips so he could tug down my pajama shorts and underwear. He made to lower his head to my center, but I stopped him with a light touch.
"As much as I want you to take your time and do all the dirty things I've been dreaming about for the months since I met you, this first time should probably be just the main attraction," I told him with a cheeky grin. My eyes darted in the direction of the hallway and my room. “I would hate to be interrupted during the sneak peek of what's coming next and miss out on a performance I've really been looking forward to."
Pablo buried his face against my thigh trying to stifle the laughter spilling from him. He got himself under control quickly and nodded. "You're probably right. If need be, we can take a break during intermission and maybe squeeze in the second act."
"Tonight might just be your lucky night."
His expression turned serious. "No might about it. Every night I get to spend with you is lucky."
My heart swelled, and I leaned up for one more kiss. “I love you."
“I love you, too."
Pablo raised up and grabbed the condom, while I worked on his belt buckle and loosened his pants. He tugged them down enough to free his cock. My eyes worshipped the sight of it and a surge of disappointment hit that I wouldn't be able to spend time touching and exploring him. He tore the wrapper open and slid the latex down his length. I grabbed the throw from the back of the couch and tossed it over our bodies. No need to risk horribly embarrassing questions from Maisie if, god forbid, she interrupted us.
Pablo settled between my legs, his shaft hitting me in the right spot. He leaned down and laid his lips on mine. We kissed while our hands roamed over each other. His disappeared beneath the blanket, and my breath caught. A finger flicked over my clit, and pleasure ricocheted through my body. I separated my legs as best I could in this position, pushing myself upward in hopes of getting more of his touch. Pablo didn't disappoint. He circled and rubbed the tiny bundle of flesh, and with each gasp and moan repeated the motion that caused it, learning what pressure and direction pleased me the most.
Wetness poured from me as he lashed his tongue against mine while his fingers continued their sensual assault below. My fingers threaded through his locks, and I clung to him, deepening the kiss. A moan of pleasure rumbled out of my chest and Pablo swallowed it down, softening the sound. His lips trailed from my mouth to the crease in my neck, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out at the sensation. With a free hand, I reached between us and circled his throbbing cock.
“I need you inside. Please," I begged, trying to guide him to where I wanted him most.
At last, he lined himself up with my entrance and slowly pushed forward inch by agonizing inch until he was fully seated deep inside. I sucked in shallow breaths, and wrapped my free leg around him, just under his butt and then I pushed up, pulling him down at the same time. The air seized in my lungs, and Pablo let out a gruff groan.
"Fuck, you're tight. You feel so good," he rasped against my neck.
I nipped his ear. "Move, damn it. Fuck me. Please."
Those few words were all it took to ignite the fire. Pablo began a steady thrusting, hitting me in that one spot with each one. Sweat-slicked hair stuck to my forehead and his as our passion rose. I buried my face in his neck, holding back my cries of ecstasy as I was swept higher in the maelstrom of pleasure. With only a few flicks to my clit, my body tensed and then shook with my release. Colors exploded behind my eyelids and I whimpered as pleasure racked my entire body. Pablo thrust a few more times and slammed his mouth down on my shoulder. He went rigid, and a groan vibrated from his throat against my shirt, muffling the sound.
His weight sagged against me, and he made to take some of it off me, but I tightened my hold on him. "Not yet, please. Stay."
I loved the feel of him on top of me. The heaviness. I wanted to hold on to this feeling a little while longer. I breathed in the scent of Pablo and sex that lingered in the air. My pussy still pulsed with need. He shifted and let out a gruff sound.
"If you keep squeezing me like that I can't be responsible for my actions."
I clenched down, tightening myself around him. "Like that?"
"God woman, you're killing me."
That made me giggle. I finally took pity on him and loosened my hold. He pulled out of me and while he disposed of the condom, I quickly grabbed my clothes off the floor and tugged them back on. Pablo returned from the bathroom, thankfully without issue, and sat next to me on the couch. I tugged him down until his head rested on my lap. I fingered his hair, plucking at the loose curls I loved so much.
"Are you feeling any better?" I asked, staring down at him.
“I am, thanks to you."
"Good."
"Mama?" A sleepy Maisie appeared around the side of the couch rubbing her tired eyes. Pablo sat up and he and I exchanged relieved looks that she hadn't come out five minutes earlier.
"Hey, baby. Why aren't you in bed?"
“I heard a noise, and I got scareded." She crawled up in between us and curled her small body against mine, her head under my shoulder and her feet tucked under Pablo's thigh. Within seconds she was right back to sleep.
"Good lord, I wish I had the sleep of babes," Pablo joked.
"You and me both. She's always been like that. Wakes up in the middle of the night, and falls back to sleep in seconds.”
“It was probably me in the bathroom that woke her up. I’m sorry. I thought I’d been quiet.”
I snorted. “More than anything it was probably all the grunting and groaning you were doing out here that woke her up.”
Pablo’s head whipped in my direction. I tried desperately to hold in the bubble of laughter, but the look of affront on his face was too much. It escaped, and I covered my mouth trying to quiet it. My whole body shook with the effort.
He mock-growled. “Your daughter won’t always be between us to protect you. Just wait. Next time we’ll see who does all the grunting and groaning. I’m going to keep you on the edge of pleasure you’ll be cursing and screaming at me to let you come."
"Do you promise?" I nearly bounced with anticipation.
Pablo's mouth dropped in shock, but he quickly recovered. “I love you, you know that?"
I leaned over my daughter for a kiss. “I love you too. "
Chapter 27
"Still no word on Valesquez?" I asked Landon.
"Nothing. It's crazy. I finally heard from our undercover agent's handler, and even the agent doesn't know what's going on. The cartel is in utter chaos right now and has been since Salazar's death. His second-in-command, Martínez, has gone into hiding, and no one knows why or where. They're currently without a leader. The compound where he lived has been abandoned. Staff is gone as is security. I'm assuming they're regrouping. Got some intel out of Mexico that a couple men from down there are crossing the border and may be arriving in Chicago in the next few days. Don't know yet if they're on Salazar's or Valesquez's payroll."
That woman had truly done some major destruction. “I guess there's nothing any of us can do but wait until the dust settles and see who's left standing."
"We're blind right now," Landon said. "The Spanish Serpents apparently are back in the game now that Los Lobos is lacking a leader as well."
Earlier today, I'd discovered the evidence we'd received that got us the warrant for the Morales raid. A hat- and sunglasses-wearing dark-haired woman had strolled straight into our local precinct and handed an unmarked package to the officer at the front desk. He opened it and began flipping through the enclosed photos. When he looked up, the woman had disappeared. Surveillance footage caught her entering and exiting the building, but she'd kept her face averted away from the cameras, and no one had b
een able to pick her up on any of the street cams surrounding us.
"Yeah, they're still trying to find the woman who dropped off all the photos and that video," I stated.
All the pictures had been of Ricardo Morales inside the same house we'd raided, surrounded by drugs, money, and guns. On the back of each one were the initials M.L.V. There had also been a DVD showing him dousing the inside of a black SUV with some type of accelerant and striking the match. Reports showed the gas tank had been emptied, which was why there hadn't been an explosion.
"You know, it makes me wonder if she didn't discover those women locked in the basement and decided that she could get rid of two of her problems in one swoop. Based on her history, my guess is she wasn't too keen on keeping a working relationship with Morales. As someone sold at the age of fourteen, she probably wanted to see him suffer. Instead, she was smart about it. She let him kill the half-brother who'd sold her and got him arrested not only for Salazar's murder, but also for a shit ton of drug and weapons charges. It's pretty brilliant if you ask me," Landon said.
She fit right in with our family. All the women knew they were just as capable and smart, often smarter, as the men in their life. It seemed all of the Rodriguez or Thomas men had our work cut out for us. None of us would change our women for anything though.
"It's entirely possible. I still want to know what her end game is."
Landon sighed. "You and me both. It would certainly solve a lot of our problems. Alright, I need to get going. Keep in touch."
"Will do."
I hung up the desk phone and picked up my keys, ready to head home. Michele and Maisie were coming over for dinner and there was something important I wanted to talk to her about. I was nervous as fuck though.
"Hey, you on your way out?"
I glanced up to see Oliver heading toward me. It had been a few days since I'd last spoke to him. The day after the raid, he'd been called up to the front desk and then had taken the next couple days off. He looked tired.
“I'm meeting Michele and Maisie at the house in about an hour. Hey, congratulations on getting all that evidence against Los Lobos. We got in, what twelve arrests? I think with all the drugs and money recovered this is one of the biggest drug busts we've had since we took down Ortega three years ago."
He took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of my desk. "Thanks. Morales got sloppy. He started bragging about too many things around too many people. I suspect he thought he'd be under the cartel's protection or something. That with this new deal with Salazar and then Valesquez he and his gang were untouchable."
"Add in those women we found, and Morales is going to be put away for a very long time. Speaking of, how's the one you went to the hospital with? Was she okay?" I asked.
Oliver flinched, not meeting my eye, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Traumatized, of course. She'd been chained in that room for a week, which she said was lucky for her. From the sounds of it, she was the last one that had been taken. The other women had been in there far longer than she had, but she didn't know exactly. They weren't allowed to talk to one another."
"Christ. Those poor women."
We both sat in silence, reliving that day and seeing the condition we'd found them in. I don't know how she could have counted herself lucky. Then again, she was still alive, so maybe that counted for something. Oliver rose. “I won't keep you. I know you're anxious to get to your lady and your kid. Have a good one."
"Huh, oh, yeah, you too," I said distracted, my brain hung up on hearing him call Maisie my kid. God, that was one of the best sounding things in the world. A slow smile began to spread across my face. If I had anything to say about it, she would be mine.
For the second time I picked up my keys and headed out to my car, both anxious and nervous about tonight. Whatever happened was going to change the rest of my life.
Chapter 28
There were an awful lot of cars in front of Pablo's house. Ines and Brody were supposed to be having dinner with us as well, but from the looks of it, the entire Rodriguez and Thomas clans were here. Not that I minded. I loved all of Pablo's family. It was just a little intimidating being around all of them. Considering how things were going with us though, I better get used to it. Was this a special occasion?
I helped Maisie out of her car seat, and we headed to the front door. I rang the bell and waited, while my daughter danced excitedly next to me. It opened wide and conversation and laughter spilled out.
"How are my two favorite girls?" Pablo sang out, bending down to pick up Maisie. Once she was in his arms, he leaned over and gave me a kiss.
“I hope we didn't keep everyone waiting. I didn't realize the whole family was going to be here," I said after he closed the door behind us.
"Neither did I. They were all here when I showed up."
The three of us headed to the family den where everyone was gathered. They all waved at our entrance. Pablo set Maisie down and she rushed over and started playing with Cristina and Nicholás.
"Hey, you made it," Ines came over and pulled me into a hug. "Brody and I kind of hijacked your and Pablo's dinner plans, I'm sorry."
“I don't mind."
"Food's just about ready. We were going to head to the kitchen as soon as you got here. The kids are getting hangry," she said.
"Good god, we don't want that to happen." Pablo shuddered and Ines smacked his arm.
"Marguerite will let you deal with her two if you don't watch what you say."
He scoffed. “I'm the favorite uncle. They wouldn't act like assholes around me."
"Hey, I heard that," Victor butted in, Estelle at his side.
She leaned over and stage-whispered, "Are you sure you're ready to deal with this family? You still have time to run. I'll hold them back while you get a head start."
Pablo playfully nudged her out of the way with his elbow and wrapped his arm around my waist, tugging me against his side. "Don't you dare give her any ideas. I finally caught her, and now that I have, I have no intention of losing her."
He emphasized his words with a kiss to my temple.
“I guess you're stuck now," Victor joked.
"Don't you worry. I'm right where I want to be," I replied.
"Ha," Pablo spit out. "See, I told you she wasn't going anywhere."
"Lucky us," Ines added.
"Alright, everyone, dinner is ready," Ernesto called from the doorway wearing a bright white apron tied around his waist. Pablo's niece and nephew jumped up and tore out of the den screaming and hollering while their mother followed after them with a shake of her head.
Ernesto's eyes lit up when they landed on me, and he hurried over. "Hola, my lovely, I'm so happy to see you." He squeezed my shoulder and brushed a kiss across both my cheeks before pulling back and glancing around. "Where is the pequeño mono?"
I pointed to where Maisie was half-hidden behind Manuel and Brody, squatting and moving a few dolls around that were sitting in tiny chairs around a tiny table apparently having a tea party. She must have been satisfied with their placement, because she stood and looked around. There were a few less people in here than when we'd arrived. Her brow scrunched and then she was running over to us. She hooted in excitement. "Hola Mister 'nesto," she yelled right before colliding with his legs and wrapping her arms around them in a hug.
He patted her lovingly on the head. "Very good pequeño mono. Where did you learn that?"
"Mama told me. I wanted to s'prise you with my Spanish. That's all I know, so you have to teached me some more."
“I will be happy to," he said. "Are you hungry? I made a special meal for all of us."
"My belly is always hungry."
"Well then, why don't we go join the others?"
While we'd been talking to Ernesto, everyone had left the den and headed into the kitchen. Like we had at the birthday party, we formed a long line, slowly moving through until we all had our food and then were seated at the table. Much more relaxed this time around, I participat
ed in all the conversations around me, laughing and having a great time. Soon dinner began to wind down. A tinkling sound grew louder, and our attention turned to Ines who was clinking her knife against her glass.
“I'm so glad everyone was able to get together tonight. I know there's a lot of us." She gently bounced Zoey who was seated in her lap. Her eyes danced to mine and they twinkled with delight. “I asked papá to bring you all here, because...Brody and I are getting married."
She squealed and stuck her hand out in front of her, wiggling her fingers and showing off the ring that now graced her third finger. All the women, including me, gasped, all of us vying to get a good look at it, while the men offered their congratulations. She handed Zoey over to Brody and jumped from her chair to come around the table and show it off to everyone. It was absolutely stunning. A single cushion diamond set in a v-shaped band inlaid with tiny diamonds.
Once we'd all gotten a good look, Pablo and I helped clear the table and clean up the kitchen. Maisie had run off with the other kids.
"Hey, you," Pablo snuck up behind me, wrapping his arms around my belly and nuzzling the crease in my neck. "Why don't we go outside? It's a little more private out there."
He led me outside, and we sat at the same table where everything had started. Unlike that first day, the silence between us was comfortable. Easy. Just being near him was enough.
“I wanted to ask you something, and I want you to think about it."
My eyes widened with a bit of panic. "Okay," I answered nervously.
"You and Maisie are the best things to ever happen to me. Until I met you, I never thought I'd find a woman who was more perfect for me. You are so easy to love. So is your daughter. I want to spend all my time with you and her." He paused and took a deep breath. "You work harder than anyone I know to provide for your daughter. But I want to help take some of the burden off of you."
Pablo reached over and tugged me out of my chair and into his lap. “I want to take care of you both. I worry about you living in that neighborhood. We both know it's not the safest."
