Men in Control: Special pack: The Smith Brothers Series

by Brenda Ford

  “Oh yes, he was great.” I nod and smile. “I liked him as a friend. But there will never be anything more.”

  Sheri looks regretful. I’m sure she imagined all kinds of scenarios when we would be on double dates all the time. Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen. Especially if me and Angelo are going to make things work. I should just tell her to put her out of her misery. It’ll stop her from setting up any more dates.

  “You know…” I start, but before I manage to get the sentence out, Sheri continues.

  “It’s just good to see you getting out of that rut with Angelo and starting to date someone who is more suitable for you. I mean, Tom might not have been the one for you, but he definitely isn’t either.”

  “I…” I don’t know what to say now. She looks really determined that he isn’t right for me.

  “You couldn’t hang around forever for some guy who isn’t ever going to look your way.” I part my lips again, but still nothing comes out. “And even if he does look your way, it’s going to be weird, isn’t it? It certainly can’t happen for a long time, can it? He will need plenty of time to get over his long-term relationship and to heal from any baggage that has come with it. You don’t have time to stick around and wait for that. There are so many men better out there for you and I really think that you should spend some time finding him.”

  Okay, that’s it, she definitely isn’t going to be pleased that me and Angelo have been fooling around while he has a girlfriend. I’m going to have to keep it inside until I know what’s really happening.

  “Hmm, yes.” I lean back and look away, needing to change the subject now. “So, I guess it’s more dating then. But I will have to take a little time first to get over the last one. While Tom was a nice guy, it was a shock to the system. I think that’s why I felt ill and left really, because it was a bit much.”

  I feel terrible for lying, especially when Sheri apologizes and blames herself for pushing me in to a situation that I wasn’t comfortable with, but I guess when you do bad things that’s the consequence of it. You have to lie and do terrible things to cover up the initial lie. It sucks. I won’t let it happen again. I don’t do well with lies. This life isn’t good for me.

  “Anyway, what’s going on with the band,” Sheri asks, changing the subject for me. “All good?”

  “Gary thinks that he spoke to someone who might push us in the right direction. So, things might be going well. But as usual, I don’t want to get my hopes up because you know what it’s like. The music industry is filled with people who will promise the world and not deliver. Alex will get carried away, but not me anymore.”

  “No, you’re much more sensible these days.” Sheri smiles knowingly. “I bet you’re a bit excited.”

  I let out a little laugh because I know that she’s right. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  It’s nice to think about that instead of Angelo because now, even without her knowing, Sheri has put all kinds of doubts into my mind. Are we moving too quickly? Will it be problematic because he will have baggage? Are we going to end up being torn apart because we haven’t been sensible? I knew this was going to be messy, but now I’m really concerned.

  Chapter 16 – Angelo

  I raise my hand to knock on the door, but I don’t quite have the courage to do so just yet. I’ve been here for eight and a half minutes already and I still haven’t made it happen, but that needs to change soon or I’m going to lose my mind. I absolutely have to say what I need to, or I’ll complicate things even further.

  “Come on, Angelo,” I hiss to myself. “Just knock already. Think about Rachel.”

  The thought of Rachel is enough to have me melting into a puddle. She’s amazing, I really want to be with her, which is why I absolutely need to have this damn conversation already. With her face on my mind, I work up the courage and I bang a few times on the door, drawing Mandy and her terrifying mood towards me.

  “Oh, Angelo,” Mandy says with a smile as she swings the door open. She looks happy like she has completely forgotten that we argued the last time we saw one another. “Good, you’re here. Come in.”

  I step inside, my heart thundering painfully against my rib cage as I do. It’s all well and good being brave when I’m outside and thinking about Rachel, but now with Mandy right in front of me, I’m freaked out all over again. I know what her temper is like and I’m one hundred percent going to unleash it today. I don’t stand a chance. I just need to remember to hold my head up high and to keep strong no matter what.

  “You want a coffee?” She glances at her watch. “I’m supposed to be meeting my friend in a bit, but…”

  “Mandy, we can’t do this anymore,” I blurt out a little too loudly. “I can’t be with you anymore.”

  “Huh?” She spins and stares at me, her eyes wide with shock. “What are you talking about?”

  “I can’t… I can’t be with you.” I shake my head slowly. “This isn’t working. It hasn’t been working for a long time. Six months probably. Maybe even longer, I barely know anymore. It’s hard to keep track.”

  “What the hell do you mean ‘hasn’t been working’? It’s been fine. We’re fine.”

  “No, we aren’t. Are you serious, Mandy? You know that it’s been bad. You are cheating on me; I know that you are. And you know what, it doesn’t even bother me. I don’t care because my heart isn’t in it anymore.”

  “You are kidding?” she screams. “You have to be joking me. I am the best you are ever going to get, Angelo. I mean, look at me. I’m beautiful. And look at you. I am better than you could ever hope for.”

  Her words leave me breathless. I wouldn’t ever expect her to be so cruel to me. I know that she has a nasty streak, I have been on the wrong end of it a few times, but never quite this bad.

  “Okay, well even if that’s the case, I don’t think this is going to work out any longer. I don’t want this to turn in to a tit for tat. I certainly don’t want to call each other names, I just want to have an adult discussion…”

  “You are a fucking asshole,” she yells, ignoring everything that I just said. “You’re a fucking asshole who doesn’t know what he has. Do you know what I have sacrificed for you? What I’ve given up? Huh, you have no idea. You don’t have a damn clue. And now you are the one breaking up with me? I can’t believe this. I can’t believe that you are saying any of this to me. I’m stunned. I don’t even know what…”

  “Mandy, please. Please don’t do this. Please don’t turn this into something nasty.”

  “Me turn this into something nasty? You’re breaking up with me. I don’t even know what to say.”

  I stare at her, wondering how I will ever be able to get through to her. I know that our communication is bad, it always has been which has been part of the problem, but this has to be the worst time ever.

  “You don’t need to say anything. Nothing at all. I have said my piece now. I think that this is just the end of the matter. If you don’t have anything else to say, then so be it.” Tears fill my eyes. I do feel a little bad for all of this. I don’t like ending it with Mandy in this way, but it has to be done. “I will leave you now.”

  “I have so many more things that I want to say, but I don’t see the point.” She tosses her hands in to the air in frustration. “I want to understand you completely. But if you’re fucking off and ending our relationship in this way after so many years of us being together then so be it. I’m disgusted with you but that’s how it is…”

  “Disgusted? Because I’m finally standing up for myself? Fine, you’ve made this easy.”

  “Easy? Wow. You really are horrible, Angelo. Horrible. I’m glad this is over and yes; I have been cheating on you. Is that what you want to hear? That I found happiness with another man? Well, now you know. So, you haven’t really broken up with me because I haven’t ever really been in this anyway.”

  With a nod and a crack forming across my heart, I take a step back away from Mandy. It’s horrible to lose her this
way, but it’s definitely the right thing to do. She isn’t lying when she says that she didn’t give a shit and I believe that despite not caring, she would have stuck with us forever, leading me on even knowing that I wasn’t the one that she wanted. I am glad to have cut ties with her. Thank goodness Rachel gave me the strength.

  As I finally break out through the front door with Mandy screaming behind me a string of profanities, I smile with joy. I’m out now, done, free to move on with whatever I want. And the person that I want to be with is Rachel. She is beautiful and sweet, uncomplicated and perfect for me. She is the one that I want to be with.

  I get myself far enough away from Mandy’s house and I grab out my cell phone to call her. Maybe I should wait a little bit before calling her, but I’ve been holding back from seeing her until I’m done with Mandy, and now I am. I can’t wait for another second longer, I need to be with her right now.

  “Angelo?” she says with a question as she answers the phone. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I just wanted to tell you that everything is okay now. I have sorted things out.”

  “What do you mean?” Rachel replies cautiously. “Sorted what out?”

  “Sorted things out with Mandy, just like I said I was going to.” I feel over the top happy about that. “I wanted to have a chat with you if that’s possible? I don’t know if you’re free right now or…?”

  “I’m free. I’m at home. You can come over if you want to.”

  A heat fills my chest. She’s so much simpler than anything I have ever been through before but in a wonderful way. I just know how she feels and where I stand with her. I don’t need to panic about anything. I need that.

  “Yeah, that would be great. I would love to come over and chat.”

  “Great, well I will be waiting for you. I’ll see you soon, Angelo.”

  The shitty feeling that I have had with Mandy vanishes as I say my goodbye and hang up the phone to Rachel. She is the woman who completely consumes me now, I just want to be with her. To know that we’re giving it a go to see if we can be together forever. I am already ready to commit to Rachel fully.

  I pick up the pace, practically running to Rachel’s home, and I find her there standing at the door waiting for me. She smiles widely, tears flooding her face as soon as she sees me.

  “Is this for real?” she demands as I scoop her up in my arms. “You’re truly single?”

  “I ended things with Mandy.” I kiss over her cheeks, my heart racing as I do. “Because I want to be with you. You are the only person who makes me feel like this and I need to know where it’s going to lead.”

  I carry her through the front door and kick it shut behind us. As soon as we block the rest of the world out, she kisses me with such an intense passion the chemistry is wild and flowing violently. Her hands are all over me, the same as mine are hers, and I think we’re both aware that this is leading somewhere now. Somewhere more than we have ever been before. There are no obstacles in the way for us anymore. We can just be free.

  Rachel presses her back against the wall behind her, and with her hands around my neck I come with her and press against her. I can already feel a buzzing from her core, a need emanating that matches how I feel as well. So, I slide my hand down her body in between the both of us, and I slip it between her thighs.

  “I love the way that you’re always in a dress,” I groan in bliss. “Those legs of yours are amazing.”

  “Oh, just my legs, huh?” she laughs while tossing her head back in desire. “There’s no other reason?”

  “Well, it does mean I can touch you much easier, which of course I love.”

  I match those words with my fingers brushing against the outside of her panties. I know the wet heat inside of there, I have touched her before, which just makes it even more thrilling for me. Just knowing that she’s hot as hell for me makes me hard as a rock. Even harder than I was before. I need her right now.

  “Well, you can have any part of me,” she rasps. “I want everything from you.”

  Holy fuck, I love this version of Rachel so much more than when she’s holding back. She’s definitely had her own walls up recently because I’ve had baggage, but now that I have cut the strings and she’s so much more awesome. I hope that the more time we spend together, the more of her I get to see.

  “Take me to your bedroom,” I beg. “I want to taste you, to be inside of you, to have you.”

  She leaps up and wraps her legs tightly around me before pointing to the end of her hallway. I go where she commands, kissing over her throat the entire time. She moans and pants desperately, the need radiating the entire time as we go. I love that she’s just as messed up and raw and exposed for me.

  “Oh, Angelo, I’m so glad that you’re here,” she whimpers. “I have missed you so much.”

  It might not have been long, but I know exactly how she feels. I’ve missed her like crazy as well. That says a lot, doesn’t it? I missed Rachel in that short time more than I have ever missed Mandy. And now I get to be inside of her, I get to be with her, to know her in a way that I haven’t before. I’m a lucky son of a bitch.

  “You look so beautiful,” I gasp out as she slides back on to the bed, spreading wide for me. Her body fills the whole bed. “Honestly, Rachel, you’re the most gorgeous woman in the world.”

  It chokes me up to see her, to know that she can be mine now, I am so fucking happy.

  Chapter 17 – Rachel

  I wiggle my finger, indicating for Angelo to come down and meet me on the bed already. I love him looking at me like that, it feels good to have his eyes on me like I’m the most stunning woman in the world, but I have been waiting for him to be free and single for me forever. I can’t hold back any longer. I’ve been good, but now it’s time for me to be bad. Really bad. I want to have him plunge deep inside of me.

  “Come here you,” I mutter as his lips crash back to mine. While we kiss, I edge his tee shirt upwards, immediately groaning as I feel the most incredible set of abs there. Seeing Angelo clothed, it’s easy to guess that he has an incredible body underneath there but feeing it for myself is something else. He’s muscular, toned, and hot as anything. From here, it even feels like he has one of those muscular V shapes leading down towards his cock. My heart thunders and hammers painfully, all I want to do is travel down that V ladder…

  “I need to taste you,” Angelo calls out, stopping me in my tracks. “I have to. You don’t understand.”

  “What do you mean?” I pant out as I arch my back desperately. “What don’t I understand?”

  “How long I have spent fantasizing about tasting you, how much I want to feel you on my tongue.”

  Oh God, is he serious? Has he really been thinking about me like I have him? I thought that I was alone in this crush. I never would have assumed that this wonderful man would think of me as well. Hearing that he has and just knowing that he’s telling the truth because that’s the sort of man that he is, makes me yearn with need.

  Angelo’s lips kiss down my body. Even through the thin material of my dress, I can feel the same fizzing and tingling I get in my lips when he’s kissing me. He has sparks of desire everywhere; I can hardly stand it.

  “Oh wow,” I pant as I arch my back towards him. “Angelo, that feel so…”

  I don’t get to finish that sentence because he strips the air from my lungs by kissing the outside of my panties. The cotton grazes over my clit, setting my whole body on fire. I grab on to his hair, knotting my fingers through the silky locks as he moves up and down my slit, eventually pushing the material deep in to me.

  “It isn’t enough,” I cry out in need. “I need all of you. You’re the one who doesn’t get it.”

  He whips my panties away so quickly; I barely even realize that he’s done it until they’re gone and I’m cold and exposed. Angelo’s fingers grip my thighs and part them further so he can really have access to me. His head nudges between my legs and grazes his nose against me, causing me
to scream.

  “Oh shit,” I yell out as the pleasure bursts. “Fucking hell, that feels so good, Angelo.”

  I expect him to dive in like he always does in my fantasies, but he waits for a moment and just allows his breath to tickle over me. However, because this reality and not just in my imagination it feels so wonderful. It sends a deep and intense thrill through my whole body that I don’t want to end. I don’t know if I even need him to touch me. I can just be here with him breathing all over me until I explode.

  “Can I taste you now?” he whispers, intensifying the sensations. “I really want to taste you.”

  “Oh fuck, yes.” I push my hips upwards, trying to guide him towards me. “I need you too.”

  He starts by plunging his tongue deep in to me, massaging my walls all around, creating a warm buzzing sensation to spread all the way up to my chest. Then he drags that sexy mouth of his to my clit and he circles his tongue around me rapidly, sending my head spinning. I’m seeing stars already. Falling deep, tumbling, swimming in to the abyss. Clouds surround me and I love it. I don’t want to ever leave this place.

  “Angelo, you’re here… I love it. I don’t ever want to be away from you again.”

  He moves faster, taking more of me in, responding to my words with an intense physical reaction. I need more of this. Even though he’s tipping me over the edge much too quickly, I can’t stop myself from greedily needing more. So, I say more things about needing him, wanting him deep inside of, yearning for it all.

  “Fuck, Rachel,” he mutters, his words vibrating all the way to my cervix. “You’re driving me crazy.”

  “Then come up here already,” I demand. I don’t want him to leave me down there but at the same time, I suppose I don’t want to explode too rapidly because I still haven’t experienced enough of his cock yet.

  “You want me up there?” he asks with mirth in his tone. I don’t need to answer though because he’s already bringing himself up here to me. “I will do whatever you need of me. Just because you’re so damn beautiful.”