“Y-yes,” he wheezed, nodding frantically.
“Good,” I replied, curling my lips to bare my teeth. “And if I ever find out you so much as looked in her direction, I will end you. That’s a fucking promise.”
Letting him go, I turned on my boots stomped out of the office to the sounds of Blacks struggling for air.
Xander was waiting for me at the mouth of the hall. “He still alive in there?”
“Just,” I answered. “But he’ll probably have to suck his meals through a straw for the next few days.”
A knowing smile spread across his face. “So you think you got your point across?
“Only time will tell. If he’s smart, he got it.”
That smile turned positively vicious, revealing the darkness that Xander Caine had lying dormant just beneath the surface. He hid it well enough, but me and the rest of the guys at Alpha Omega could sense it was there, and I think we all secretly worried about the day he finally lost his tenuous grip on that control. “Know you probably won’t agree, but I’m kinda hoping he’s stupid. Be fun to teach that prick a harder lesson.”
He was right. I didn’t agree with him. I’d made Gypsy and her family a promise I had every intension of keeping. I was going to give them a great life, and I couldn’t do that if Malachi Black was still in the picture, casting shadows.
“Need to get back to Gypsy and the kids,” I said. “See you tomorrow.”
“You got it.”
With a flick of my wrist, I exited Pink Palace.
As I made the drive to that shitty trailer park in a not-so-nice part of Hope Valley, I did it with a smile on my face. Because it didn’t matter where I was going.
As long as Gypsy was there, I’d be home.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gypsy
Bracing my hands on the edge of the sink, I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes against the pressure building in my core.
“Ah, ah, hermosa,” Marco panted, driving into me harder. “Eyes open. I want you to see who’s fucking you.”
My eyelids popped back up, and I stared at our reflection in the mirror in front of me as he took me from behind.
We were complete opposites in every way, his dark caramel skin against my fair peaches and cream, his black hair against my blonde, his huge, muscular frame against my smaller, curvy one. We shouldn’t have gone together, but looking at us just then, it was hottest thing I’d ever seen, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever been more turned on in my life.
Then again, I’d gone to bed the night before so aroused and restless my skin felt uncomfortably tight. I’d did my best to stay awake and wait for Marco to get home, but I must have dozed off at some point. When I woke earlier this morning, wrapping in his strong arms, that need had only intensified.
The kids were already up, fighting for the shower and clambering around in the kitchen, so that ache in my core had gone untended as I begrudgingly got out of bed and went to make sure they didn’t kill each other or tear the house down before I could get them out the door and off to school.
Marco had dropped Raleigh at Odette’s while I hopped in the shower to get ready for the day, and when I climbed out, he’d been resting against the bathroom counter with a look in his eyes that made my whole body flush and my sex clench.
He was on me before I even had a chance to dry off, wilder and more intense than I’d ever seen him.
I let out a guttural moan, my wet hair slapping my breasts as I watched the erotic image of us in the mirror.
“Who’s fucking you, Gypsy?” Marco grunted, digging the pads of his fingers harder into my hips, pulling me back against him with each brutal thrust.
“You are.” I gasped, arching my back and tipping my ass to take even more of him. I was like a spring coiled so tight I was at risk of snapping as he fucked me harder and rougher than he ever had before.
“Who does this belong to?” he asked, sliding one hand between my thighs where our bodies were connected and pressing hard on my clit.
“God, Marco,” I cried, my neck snapping back. “You, baby. It belongs to you.”
His hand traveled up, coming to rest between my breasts right over my heart. “And this?”
At the tenderness in his gaze just then I was at risk of bursting into tears at the same time my body went up in flames. “It’s yours, Marco,” I whispered on a hitched breath. “It’s all yours.”
“That’s right, baby. It’s mine.” He made an animalistic sound deep in his throat before burying his face in my neck and wrapping his arms around my waist, holding me in a steel grip as his hips snapped, powering in and out of me. “Fuck, Gypsy, you feel so goddamn good. Like heaven.”
“Oh god,” I whimpered as the pressure inside me built and built. “I’m so close.”
He pulled out quickly, spinning me around and lifting me onto the vanity. His eyes locked on mine as he shoved back in and continued, “Could lose myself inside you.”
The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the small bathroom and pushed me closer to the edge. “Marco.”
“Lose myself and never want to be found.”
That tension snapped and I careered over the edge wrapping my arms around his neck and holding him close as I came, repeating, “I love you. God, I love you,” over and over. My climax seemed to carry on forever, growing stronger once again when Marco drove deep and groaned out his own release. “So fucking beautiful.” The muscles in his neck strained and his jaw locked tight as he grasped my chin between his thumb and forefinger, holding my head in place to make sure we didn’t break eye contact.
Once it finally left us both, he dropped his forehead against mine while we clung to each other and struggled to regulate our breathing.
“I love you too,” he said softly seconds later, lifting his head and staring down at me with a tenderness that made his hazel eyes shine like gold.
“What do you see right now?” I asked just as quietly, remembering what he’d said to me back in DC.
A lazy, satisfied smile stretched across his handsome face. “My whole world, girasol,” he answered. “Every time I look at you, I see my world.”
The sting of tears returned, and I buried my face in his chest, squeezing him with my arms and legs to hide the rush of emotion threatening to burst free. “Don’t make me cry right after we’ve had sex,” I grumbled against his skin.
His whole body shook with silent laughter as he gathered me up in his arms and carried me from the bathroom into my bedroom. He deposited on the bed with a stern, “Don’t move from that spot.” Then he disappeared back into the bathroom to deal with the condom. He returned a minute later and climbed in beside me, pulling me flush against his side.
“I really need to get ready for work,” I mumbled even as I snuggled deeper into him. “My hair’s gonna be a disaster if I lay on it while it’s wet.”
“Just a few minutes,” he muttered in returned, his voice rich and husky. “I just wanna hold you for a little while.”
My belly swooped happily as I turned my head and smiled against his skin, inhaling his intoxicating scent into my lungs. If he wanted to hold me, who was I to argue? Truth was, I could have laid there all day and never gotten bored as long as Marco was with me.
“I tried waiting up for you last night,” I said a while later in an effort to keep from dozing off. The good loving I’d just received coupled with the random patterns he was drawing on my hip with his fingertips was quickly making me drowsy. “I didn’t realize you were going to take so long. Everything okay at work?” All thoughts of sleep disappeared when he blew out a deep breath and his whole body grew tight. Lifting my head, I rested my chin on the backs of my hands and looked up at him. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I was late because I stopped off at Pink Palace to have a word with Black,” he stated flatly.
Wrapping the bedsheet around my breasts, I shot up to sitting and screeched, “You what?”
Pushing himself up so he was resti
ng against the headboard, Marco said, “Gypsy, it had to be done. I wasn’t here to protect you when that bastard broke into your goddamn house. I needed to make a point.”
I thought my head was going to explode at any second. “You needed to make a point? So you went there to threaten him?”
“I went there to make sure he knew never to fuck with you again,” Marco answered on a growl. “And to inform him you’d be quitting. Effective immediately.”
“Oh my god.” Letting out an incredulous laugh, I raked a hand through my damp hair. “Are you crazy? Marco, that man in dangerous. You could have been hurt!”
“I wasn’t going to get hurt,” he insisted.
“You don’t know that,” I bit out. “You have no idea what this man is capable of. He could’ve had a gun or a knife or—”
Marco moved fast, pulling me into his lap and taking my face in his hands as he spoke in a low, soothing tone. “Gypsy, calm down. It’s okay. It’s all right. Just breathe, girasol. Breathe.”
I stopped rambling and did my best to pull in a much-needed breath. The thought of losing this man, of losing the love of my life, was just too much to bear. My lungs felt like they were full of sand and I had to fight for that air, but I was finally able to calm myself enough to focus on Marco.
“Baby,” he started once he knew I could hear him. “I need you to trust me, okay? I know men like Malachi Black. They’re cowards. They’re weak. I was never in any danger, because assholes like him are only a threat to someone they feel they can hold power over.”
“Maybe, but—”
His palm slid down to the sides of my neck, the caress gentle and warm. “You have nothing to be scared of,” he cut in, “I promise you. I will always protect you. You’re my world.”
I knew to my soul he meant that, that he’d go to his grave to protect me. And that was part of what scared me so damn much.
“I’m not worried about me,” I admitted. Placing my hands on his chest, I pressed deep until I could feel his heartbeat. “I can’t lose you, Marco.”
“You won’t lose me, Gypsy. Never. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Then promise me. I know you’re highly trained and all that shit, but I don’t care. No more stupid risks.”
“Bab—”
“Promise,” I demanded, pressing harder against him.
He grabbed hold of my hips while the corner of his mouth trembled with humor. “All right, I promise. No more risks.”
My face pinched in an unhappy scowl. “No more stupid risks.”
“No more stupid risks,” he amended on a chuckle.
“And don’t lie to my anymore either,” I carried on. “If you feel like I’m going to disagree with something you’re doing, I still want to know. That way we can talk about it, all right? You’re a smart man, Marco. I know that. And if you really feel that strongly about needing to do something, I’ll hear you out.” I moved my hands up, circling his shoulders so I could sift my fingers in the soft hair at the nape of his neck. “We’re in this together, right?”
Those hazel eyes glimmered with love as he stared back at me. “We absolutely are.”
My whole body sagged in grateful relief, and I smiled brightly. “Good.”
His expression turned heated. The hazel darkened, his fingers dug into my skin, and the air around us changed, growing thick with desire. The sudden shift in the atmosphere made me fidget on Marco’s lap, and the steel of his erection pressed right against my center.
A rough, craggy rumble vibrated from his chest. “You keep squirming like that, you’re gonna be late to work.” A flood of arousal built between my thighs as I bit down on my bottom lip.
Needless to say, I showed up for my shift at the grocery store late with my ratty hair pulled into a ponytail.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Marco
It had been three days since my confrontation with Black, and as I walked into Alpha Omega Investigation, I felt lighter and freer than I had in weeks, hell, probably even years. And it was all because of Gypsy. It was as if a weight I’d been carrying on my shoulders since childhood had finally lifted.
I was no longer that little boy desperate for my parents’ acceptance. I wasn’t the unruly teenager hell bent on taking my pain and anger out on the world by causing trouble at every turn. I wasn’t the man who didn’t belong anywhere.
I belonged now. I belonged with Gypsy and those kids. They were my family. The only real family I ever had. And the best one a man could ever ask for.
“Well, look at you,” Roxanne greeted with a brash grin as I pushed through the glass door. “Someone’s rather chipper this morning. Get yourself a little somethin’ somethin’ before work, huh?”
Lifting the white paper cup I’d just picked up at Muffin Top, I swigged back some coffee before replying, “Always a class act, Rox.” Moving in her direction, I deposited the coffee I’d gotten her on the ledge of her desk.
“Oh, honey. You have no idea,” she teased with a wink, grabbing her drink and taking a gulp. “So how’s the lovely Gypsy doing? Just as peppy as you, I’m guessing.”
A chuckle worked its way from my chest as I gave my head a shake. “Never change, babe.”
“Not plannin’ on it, darlin’.”
“Xander make it in yet?”
Swallowing down another glug of coffee, she nodded before answering, “Yep. Back in the control room where he always is.”
The control room of Alpha Omega was every techie’s wet dream, and, seeing as he lived his life behind a monitor, that was where Xander spent most of his time. The guy was a wiz on a computer. If there was anything you needed to know, no matter how deep it was buried, he could find it.
I started in that direction when Lincoln appeared in the doorway of his office. “Marco, You got a minute?”
Giving Roxanne a tip of my chin, I changed course and headed into Linc’s office, sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. He followed after me, rounding the imposing piece of furniture and taking a seat across from me. I was eager to get this conversation over with so I could get Xander’s help on something, but it wasn’t often Lincoln would ask for our time, so when he did, it was something important. “What’s up?”
“There’ve been some developments on Black that I wanted to make you aware of.” My back shot straight, every one of my senses going on alert.
“What developments.”
Leaning back in his chair, Lincoln kicked his feet up on his desk, the picture of relaxation in spite of the intense subject matter. “Well, it appears your... talk the other night set something off in him.”
Leaning forward, I braced my elbows on my knees and asked, “And that means?”
“That means he’s freaked. Freaked enough that he’s taken it out on Gypsy’s girl.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. “McKenna?”
“That’s the one.”
“Fuck,” I hissed, throwing myself back in the chair.
“She got word about what went down with you and Black and how you took Gypsy’s back. She’s a smart girl, has good instincts. Had a gut feeling you were the kind of man who could do something about it, and when she saw you with Xander after your showdown the other night, she reached out, told him what she had planned.”
I didn’t give a shit about any plan. She was Gypsy’s girl and if anything happened to her, my woman would be devastated. That was all I cared about. “Fuck her plan, Linc. We have to get her out of there.”
His easy going demeanor shifted instantly. Putting his feet back to the floor, he sat up straight and turned to face me full on. “We can’t.”
“What the fuck do you mean?” I barked. “Of course we can. Pull her out. She’s just an innocent girl, she doesn’t know what she’s gotten herself into.”
“I mean, we can’t pull her out because she doesn’t want to be pulled out.” My vision started to burn red, and reading the meaning behind my growing temper, Lincoln quickly added, “It’s no
t what you think, Marco. She’s got no loyalty to Black. She came to us ’cause she knows exactly what’s going on. Apparently, he’s a talkative motherfucker once he’s gotten off. He’s spilled some serious shit to this girl, and she wants to help us take him down.”
“Lincoln, man, it’s too risky. We can’t ask her—”
“We didn’t ask. She only reached out after putting this shit into motion, and what she’s already given us is better than anything we’ve managed to dig up on this asshole in the past year and a half. She’s determined, brother. Believe me, I tried talkin’ her out of this when Xander brought her to me yesterday, but if we don’t take her back, she’s gonna do it on her own and probably get herself killed in the process.”
“Goddamn it,” I grunted, scrubbing at my face, the two-days’ worth of stubble on my jaw scraping across my palms. Inhaling deeply, I counted to ten in an attempt to calm my agitation. And when that didn’t work, I counted to twenty. “So what have we found out?” I asked once I had myself in check.
“Well, first, we learned that Black bought the club so he could use the private rooms to deal his shit. Since everything went down with Christian Fanning getting locked up and his other dealer being killed in a shootout with the cops, he decided he needed to change up his distribution methods. Thing is, it worked so well, he got greedy, started forcin’ some of the girls into sellin’ crystal while giving free hand jobs by way of threats. They’re pissed off and scared. They’re dancers, not whores and dealers. They don’t like the direction shit’s goin’, so when McKenna made her approach, they were all too happy to join up in taking that prick down.”
Wrong Side of the Tracks (Hope Valley Book 4) Page 20