by Kiki Leach
"Not much of what I wanted." A faint smile crossed her lips before she got up from the bed and moved to the dresser. While staring at herself in the mirror, she combed her fingers through her hair, then lowered her hand to her chest, placing it on top of her heart. "I'm planning to meet up with Ronaldo Gambiano after we're married, Nikko."
"What the fuck?" He jolted from the bed and dropped his feet to the floor. "Fuckin' no, Cheyenne."
"I need more answers that Deborah isn't willing to give me in order for us to escape this mess alive and out of Chino's clutches, along with those of Snake. I'm certain he knows what the hell they are and that telling me about them can get him paid."
"You talked to his ass tonight?"
"Yes. And he agreed."
"Baby." He stepped behind her as she whirled back to him and leaned against the dresser. "This asshole is not gonna tell you shit to keep us both alive and paid beyond anything he's already said in order to meet up with you in person. I know these motherfuckers -- him and his brother have only ever been in shit for themselves. The fact that they still want me taking out your old man says as much."
"He said that he's willing to take that off the table in exchange for Chino," she told him. "Along with some information on Snake."
"What kind is he looking for, Cheyenne?"
"The kind that gives him proof of Chino's desire to take that money for himself and run."
"Shit." He frowned. "Who the fuck spilled this shit to Ronaldo?"
"Rox, this morning, as a way to save himself from you and Chino."
He dropped back and rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ. They fuckin' got to your old man."
"Yours still can't. But more money from to the PO's in order to gain access to him gives more problems to us," she said. "Rox knows that telling you about Chino put a much bigger bounty on his head than telling you about Snake's role in how this all started, because the club finding out aren't going to come after him for ultimately protecting one of their own by keeping his mouth shut, even if it was on the basis of a lie."
"But my old man gets cooked as a result."
"The Gambiano's don't want him dead; they need him alive to go after Snake."
"And after this shit is done, so is he." He returned to the bed, taking a seat and folding his hands. Cheyenne folded her arms and looked to the floor. "Loco knows what the fuck is up and let Nix know what was bound to happen with my old man possibly taking off with the money."
"How did Loco react to finding out about Snake?"
"Don't think he wanted to believe it at first, but after seeing how Taz went off about 'Lena', he knew I wasn't full of shit." He paused. "I also let him and Nix know about me asking Benny to look into Taz before all this shit went down."
She gulped. "Did Benny ever find anything?"
"Never got word back one way or another before my old man took him out."
"Maybe it's the best for now," she muttered.
As his eyes rolled back to hers, his brow arched in confusion. "Why do you say that, Cheyenne?" he asked.
"Be...cause there's a chance you might not like what was found."
He sat up straight and glowered. "Did you learn some shit from Deborah tonight that I need to know about, baby?"
"I don't know, which is another reason I need to talk to Ronaldo again."
He rested his hands on top of his knees and returned to his feet. He stepped forward and stared directly into her eyes. He took her face into his hands as she attempted to avoid his gaze, uncertain of what would come next, fearing the truth of what she would say. "What did Deborah tell you tonight, Cheyenne?"
She tugged at his shirt and pushed her brows together as tears instantly filled her eyes. "Deborah claims that she was in love with Chino when they were initially together, Nikko; she went as far as saying that he was the love of her life above Snake or anyone else."
"She said that shit?" he asked. She bobbed her head and sniffed. "Why the fuck would she turn on him for Snake?"
"I don't know."
He lifted her head, forcing her to stare into his face. "My old man going along with this bullshit Lena narrative," he started. "Him knowing who she was and not only keeping his mouth shut but continuing to lie about it could get us fucked, baby."
"I know..."
He brushed the tears from her eyes with the tips of his fingers. "Why are you crying about this shit, Cheyenne?"
She swallowed back her fears of the truth and removed his hands from her face; she stepped to the window and wrapped her arms around herself to keep from tumbling forward. "She mentioned having a son with him," she said, "saying that Chino didn't want anymore to do with her until after that baby was born." She brought her hands together as they rattled and turned on the balls of her feet; Nikko's face darkened as his eyes watered. "I think the son she was talking about is Taz." Nikko eyed her with a hint of bile filling his throat as the news left him voiceless, and gradually lowered himself back down to the bed. Cheyenne sat down beside him and brushed her hand across his arm. "Nikko--?"
"Did she tell you that Taz was my old man's son? Did she say the actual words on that shit?"
"No... But she doesn't have any other children--"
"That you know of," he blurted. She dropped her hand to her lap as he turned back to her. "Loco said some shit about her taking off when they split for good; after coming back, she hooked herself to Snake and got pregnant with Taz a few years later."
She leaned away from him and crinkled her nose. "You think she was pregnant with Chino's baby when she left?"
"I think the shit is possible; I think whoever the fuck this kid might be is the reason my old man didn't flip on her ass when she snitched; he's the reason they were fuckin' around again and the reason he probably thinks once he gets his hand on the money that's supposed to be mine, she'll come with a pair of motherfuckin' bells on. For all we know, she's more in on this shit with him than Snake. Taking my money, running off with Deborah, giving what's left to this other kid -- The shit isn't above this asshole."
"Nothing is above any of them at this rate, but... Deborah checked out on us after telling me about their son; I don't know where the hell she went after she left the club. Did Chino show up out there tonight?"
He shook his head. "Told me he was meeting up with some high rollers in Poughkeepsie with the hope of landing another attorney on par with Benny, minus the PI on payroll."
"On a Saturday night?" She soured. "Do you think he linked up with Deborah at any point tonight?"
"If he did and she spills what she told you about their kid, I'll be hearing from his ass in one way or another soon enough."
"I'm sorry..." She clutched his arm between her own and rested her chin on his shoulder. "She also knows that I think Chino could run with the money."
He sighed. "Maybe he thinks you suspecting him will help to hold back whatever shit he's tryna pull with keeping it for himself for awhile." She lowered her mouth to his shoulder and closed her eyes; she squeezed his bicep and parted her lips, exhaling against him. "Shit, maybe Marleena can look into something about this; maybe she knows who their kid is or could find out and lead us straight to him."
"It's possible; she was passed out for most of the night -- I'm not sure if she heard us talking or not."
"That's some shit we need to find out before the wedding."
"We will."
He stared into her face as a tightness filled his chest and rested his hand on top of her leg. "Are you planning on staying in here with me tonight?" Her eyes reopened at the sound of his plea; she nodded. "I wasn't sure if that was gonna become a habit with you staying downstairs."
"I needed space," she said. "Not from you, but from what we're doing with all of this and why after what happened to Benny, after learning about Lena being Deborah -- It's all been too damn much for me, Nikko. Just one hit right after the other that we keep taking and it's barely been two months. I'm afraid of not reaching the end with our heads still attached. Everything surro
unding us is determined to knock us from where we stand -- everyone is expecting something once we're official, and it scares the hell out of me to think that we won't survive it, together or apart."
"You want us apart--?"
"No." Her arms tightened as his muscle flexed inside her hand. "I thought for awhile that it might be for the best; that staying together no matter what happened at the end might not be worth everything we had hoped for once we agreed to do this, but I was wrong." She brought her hand to his face, sliding her fingers across his bruise before pushing them into his hair; his eyes closed as he pressed his forehead against hers. "I want to stay with you, Nikko. No matter what comes after we're married, I still want to be your wife; through thick and thin, for better or worse... I've fallen in love with you -- completely, wholly, faithfully. Everything I could've ever wanted in someone else, I found in you."
"Even with who the fuck I am?"
"Especially with who you are," she told him. "Everything you've done was with a purpose, good or bad; you're mine now and that's not going to change."
"You mean that shit, baby?"
"Very much so, yes... Am I yours now too?"
"Fuckin' always, Cheyenne." He pulled back from her and grinned. "No matter what the fuck happens, no matter what the fuck we find out... No matter what the fuck my old man or Snake try to pull, we're in this shit with each other 'til the goddamn end." He brushed a strand of hair behind her neck and lowered his eyes from her face. "Loco asked me tonight what I felt for you; said I didn't know anymore 'cause I wasn't sure if it would matter."
"It does..." Hope filled her heart as she anticipated the hell out of his answer. "What do you feel?"
"That I'm in love with you, baby; more than I maybe need to be." A sexy chuckle escaped him; she swallowed back the thrill of tasting it between her lips once again. "Shit probably started for me with those cookies and has only gotten stronger since then."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, baby... Fuckin' so."
A lightness filled her chest as she got up from the bed and stood directly in front of him, taking his face inside her hands all over again. He encircled her waist and gently lifted her shirt, then pressed his mouth against her stomach, exhaling against her skin, allowing the warmth from his tongue to pour between them until her hands fell to his shoulders and her head rolled back in pleasurable agony; in a pain so deliciously pleasing, she refused to let it go.
"Make love to me tonight," she whispered in a voice only meant for him to hear. While spinning her fingers around the coils of hair at the nape of his neck, he gently lifted her from the floor and placed her at the center of the bed. "Make love to me always, Nikko."
"Fuckin' always, baby." He smiled as she caressed his cheek, as she dragged her fingers across his lips; as his tongue rolled between them, tasting her skin. "Goddamn always and forever for me."
"Promise?"
He nodded and bent forward to rest his lips on top of hers.
"You've got me, Cheyenne -- for good, baby. 'Til goddamn death do us part."
Chapter Fifty-Two
Runaway Pride
Despite the hustle and bustle outside The Ritz Carlton sweeping through the cracks of my suite, the room itself had been quiet enough to hear a needle fall to the carpet since my arrival a few days prior.
With one exception.
"Baby?" I turned from the window as Nikko emerged from the bathroom beneath a set of wet, floppy curls and bright white towel hanging low around his waist. His deeply dimpled smile sent my heart racing as he stepped forward and eased his hand around my throat as if I would break. Like an arsonist, he set me on fire. I swallowed hard and leaned my head as he lowered his face to mine and licked his lips. "Less than five goddamn hours and we're official. You get that shit?" He pulled me close enough to taste the desire for me on his tongue and exhaled. "Five goddamn hours."
"We've managed to make good use of our time while waiting for it, though unconventional."
"It's us now, baby, unconventional as fuck." He smirked. "I needed this shit before we're standing in front of my old man's side of the family; I need you to keep my head in check and my ass in gear."
"I can only do so much."
"You can do everything for me, Cheyenne. More than you might ever fuckin' know." He brushed the tip of his nose along mine and lowered his hand from my throat. "I wanna give you something else before I head out to get dressed."
"You've given me enough this morning, Nikko."
"It's something else, baby." He chortled while guiding me to the bed across the room. I tightened my robe and took a seat, then bent forward as he reached into the drawer and pulled out a small, red velvet box. After placing it inside the center of his hand, he turned to me and pointed. "I wanted to give you something new along with everything else you're supposed to have today with the traditional shit." I stifled a laugh and shook my head. He grinned. "But I never found something good enough and thought to give you something from my mother instead."
"Nikko." My mouth dropped as he fell to one knee and wrapped his other hand around the lid of the box, pulling back until it opened. I gasped at the sight of a rose shaped diamond nestled between two silver petals at the center of a matching band. "Oh my God."
"My grandmother gave it to her when she turned sixteen," he said. "My mother never took it off 'til after I was born." He swallowed hard enough to rattle us both while keeping a keen focus on my eyes. I pinched my lips as a smile emerged, then crossed my legs and deeply inhaled as he continued. "She put it inside this box and gave it to me a few weeks before she died. Told me that if I ever found somebody who deserved more than anything I could ever give her from myself, this should be it." He removed the ring from the box, holding the band between his index and thumb. "I wanna give you the entire goddamn world and more of it, Cheyenne. I wanna give you a life without the fear you've known since we were both too goddamn young to even know what the fuck it was that we were supposed to be afraid of. I wanna give you every part of myself for the rest of my goddamn life the way you keep giving yourself to me, baby. Day in, goddamn day out... 'Til motherfuckin' death do us part."
I lowered my eyes to the ring before dragging them back to his face. "If this was part of your vows, you'll have to repeat them word for word in front of everyone else this afternoon."
"I can do that shit for you -- I'll do damn near anything for you, Cheyenne -- always."
"Damn near?"
"Any fuckin' thing." As he took my left hand inside of his own and slid the ring onto my finger, I rolled the tip of my finger along the small crease at the base of his palm. "You're my goddamn lifeline, baby," he said. "It's where that shit starts and where it'll always end for me."
"I love you."
I bent forward to kiss him so deeply that I stopped breathing. He pushed his hands inside my robe and massaged my breasts, then lowered me to the bed and maneuvered himself between my legs. I snaked my hands along his back as he tickled my lips with the tip of his tongue, then lowered them to his towel and shoved it to the floor.
After moving the bottom half of my robe aside, he wrapped one hand around himself and brushed my slit with his shaft. I ripped my mouth from his and turned my head to exhale, then moved my fingers into his hair and winced as he sank his teeth into the corner of my jaw.
"So fuckin' soft for me, baby."
"Always." As I bit the inside of my cheek, he removed his hand and rolled his middle finger along my slit. I whimpered as he pushed it inside me, along with his index and ring finger, then clinched around him and rocked against his hand as he gradually caressed my clit, as the feeling of his touch rushed through me like a wave, nearly forcing me to come on command. "You need to go," I muttered through a sharp, wistful breath. "We can't..." I stopped to swallow back the taste of warm air floating between us and shook my head. "We can't again, Nikko -- Not again."
"Shhh, baby." He bent his head to take my bottom lip between his teeth before kissing me again. As his ton
gue swirled around mine, as his lips moved against the rhythm of my own, I could feel myself on the verge of release. "Baby..." He pulled out of me before it could happen and rolled my taste across his tongue. "Needed more of you," he said, "knowing we weren't turning away from this shit before I left." He returned to his feet and reached for my hands, brushing his thumb across my knuckles and pulling me back to a seated position. I felt dizzy with desire and gulped while staring at his dick, full and erect, all too tempted to roll it between my lips, remembering the taste of it across my tongue. "I know you're liking what you see from me right now, Chey."
"You need to go," I blurted, averting my gaze, hoping like hell to push what I wanted from him out of my mind.
Nikko laughed to himself, all too aware of the truth while reaching for his towel and stepping back to tighten it around his waist. "You know the love I've got for you is all too goddamn real for me now."
"Yes." I retied my robe and stood in front of him. "But I'm giving you forever to show me just how much."
"That shit's never gonna be long enough for me, baby, but hearing those words coming from you is a goddamn privilege. One my ass is never ever gonna take for granted."
"Promise?"
"Fuckin' always, Cheyenne. Always, baby."
We smiled at each other before he leaned in for one last kiss.
As the weight of it lingered between my lips, melted along the tip of my tongue, he backed out of my room and returned to his suite downstairs, preparing for what we both knew was bound to come next for us, and beyond.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Two for the Show
I fanned myself after swallowing back a full glass of champagne, then returned to the floor length mirror near my dresser and sucked in my stomach. Brandi slinked up behind me to fasten the last button on the back of my fitted lace bodice and peeked over my shoulder, grinning at my reflection.
"What is it?" I asked her.
"You look like Black Barbie come to life before my very damn eyes, Cheyenne." She brushed the loose curls of my hair across my neck and adjusted my paper thin, spaghetti straps, then dusted small pieces of lint from my beaded, off-white gown and stood back, folding her arms. "It still amazes the hell out of me that you managed to find a dress like this at the last minute with Marleena's help."