Billionaire Brothers 2 : Love Has A Name

by S. Ann Cole

  “Kiss me,” Trudy mouthed. “Please.”

  And then they inflamed into a steamy kiss that made me feel a bit queasy.

  “Um, guys?” I said tentatively, trying to get their attention. Over and done with this crazy night, I was dying to get home, but wasn’t about to get around a steering wheel after drinking three glasses of whiskey. No such risk would I dare take. “Guys?” I tried again. But neither of them so much as peeped in my direction. I suddenly felt like an interloper.

  Not sure what to do, I glanced around the club, thinking maybe I could get a phone call at the bar. Knowing that Tish would be here with me, I’d left my cellphone at home.

  “You okay, Axia?”

  The hand that touched my shoulder startled me, and I turned to see Trevillo standing behind me, wearing a frown.

  “Actually, no. I need to go home and those two seem to have forgotten that I exist. I’ve had too much to drink, so I’m not taking the risk of driving home.” I eyed his pockets, checking for a cellphone bulge. “May I borrow your phone to call for a ride?”

  “No need to,” he shrugged. “I’ll take you home.”

  “And leave your crew,” I smirked, as I glanced over in their direction. Nicole was consoling a blubbering Carla, and the rest of the crew were popping a new bottle of champagne.

  “They’ll be alright.”

  I watched him with skepticism, knowing damn well that this was Trevillo I was dealing with, and his ride offer was much too innocent. “How drunk are you?”

  He laughed out. “I’ve only had two glasses of champagne. And I hold my liquor well. C’mon,” he grabbed my hand and pulled me off, “I know what you’re thinking, and I promise I have nothing up my sleeves this time. Just wanna make sure my future sister-in-law is safe and sound.”

  “I told you to stop calling me that,” I hissed, as I followed him out of the V.I.P. booth.

  Trevillo chuckled and wove us through the club. His long strides were hard to keep up with, so he brought my arm around his waist and hooked my fingers through his belt loops to keep me close when the crowd began caving in. Once we made it safely outside, he continued, “Don’t see why I should stop calling you that, when I know you are going to be my sister-in-law.”

  “You should stick to the real estate business, Kinky Boy, because you suck at prophesying,” I quipped, nudging him to remove his big warm hands off mine so I could unhook my fingers from his belt loops.

  He laughed, gazing down at me with an unreadable expression as he walked me down the people-lined sidewalk to his sleek black Audi. He plucked his car keys from his pocket and swirled them around his forefinger once, tilting his head to the side as he continued to stare down at me — why? With a terse shake of his head, he pressed the unlock button and opened the passenger door, gesturing for me to get in.

  Once we were buckled down and off in traffic, he asked out of the blue, “What makes you think Love’s back with Nicole?”

  “I’m just gonna skip over all the shady moves he’s been making ever since Nicole came back, and jump straight to today when he came to my workplace to ask me if I wanted to play third-wheel on a lunch date with him and Nicole.”

  Trevillo coughed one of those ‘shocked’ coughs. “He did what? You’re joking, right?”

  “I leave that to comedians.”

  “Are we talking about the same person? Lovello All-Knowing, Rational-Thinking, Wiser-Than-King-Solomon Nelson?”

  “Yep,” I confirmed on a laugh. “That same one.”

  Trevillo threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, his white teeth bright against the darkness of the car. “I think you’re making him crazy, Axia.”

  “I’m innocent.”

  “I doubt it.”

  True to his word, Trevillo pulled no rabbits, eggs or roses from his sleeves, proving that he could, after all, be trusted. He drove me home at moderate speed with absolutely no flirting. When he wasn’t being a complete foul-mouthed douche, I actually liked him. He was nice. And surprisingly funny.

  When he pulled up to my driveway, there, parked comfortably on the left as if it belonged there, was Lovello’s Bugatti. What the hell was he doing here? The lights were on in the house, which meant he was awake.

  “Uh oh,” Trevillo teased. “Daddy’s home.”

  Laughing at his silly expression and inflection, I flipped him the bird and hopped out of the car, then thanked him for the ride. He didn’t drive off right away, waiting for me to get inside safely, I guessed.

  Opening my clutch, I took out my keys, but before I got to the door, it swung open, revealing all six feet three inches of Lovello, wearing nothing but black basketball shorts that hung low on his hips.

  Thanks to the alcohol in my veins, I was fortressed and wasn’t bowled over by the man’s overwhelming sexiness. Why, oh, why did he have to look so damn delicious? All the time. All the time. It was painful. Utterly.

  I heard Trevillo’s car gas off behind me, and before I could step a foot through my door, Lovello demanded, “Was that Trev?”

  “That’s none of your friggin’ business.” I pushed past him, and the heat from his body that grazed me made me both aroused and angry at the same time.

  The door closed quietly, and I could feel him looming behind me as I wobbled trying to unzip my thigh-highs. His nearness was making me so much hazier than alcohol ever could, and as my breath began quickening with need for him, I sent a silent prayer to God, begging him not to let me give in to this man tonight.

  “Axia, were you drinking?” Incredulity laced his voice. He knew, of course, that I didn’t drink. At all.

  With one removed boot in my hand, I whirled around to face him, pointing it in his face. “That, too, is none of your goddamn business! What’re you doing in my house, anyway? You’re not welcome here anymore, Nelson, so give me back my flippin’ keys and get the hell out!”

  Lovello raked a hand through his hair. With bloodshot eyes, his face looked a tad weary. “Scream all you want, Axia, but I’m not going anywhere. Tell me, what were you out doing with my brother?”

  I guffawed and threw up my hands in frustration. The boot slipped from my fingers and went skating across the tiled floor. “Even now, when we’re not together, you still wanna be possessive?! Still jealous of your brother? Yet, your current woman, Miss Polish and Shine Nicole is allowed to go clubbing with him? What the hell am I, your puppet?”

  Lovello bit down on his lip in that sexy way he always did when he was trying to suppress a smile, and, as if he couldn’t help it, he turned his face away from me for a count of five seconds, then came back with a semi-serious face. “How and when did Nicole become my woman?”

  Refusing to answer that silly question, I turned and walked away from him, awkwardly unzipping my other thigh-high in the process. “I’m not playing this game with you, Nelson. Tricks are for kids.”

  I was suddenly swept off the ground, cradled in strong, secure hands and carried off to my bedroom. “What are you —”

  “Shut up, Axia,” he whispered. Setting me down on the edge of the bed, he took over the job of removing my boot. “Is that why you’re trying to break up with me? Because you think I’m sleeping with Nicole?”

  “Well you are, aren’t you?”

  Sitting back on his haunches, he began massaging my feet. And I couldn’t find the voice to object, because I didn’t want him to stop touching me. I needed him like my next breath. “No, I’m not. I feel nothing for Nicole anymore, beauts. Swear to you.”

  “Then how do you explain —”

  “Coming home late without alerting you? Calling only once a day? Keeping a distance? Popping up today?”

  When I nodded, he continued. “Because I was trying to get you back. The you that goes berserk with jealousy and has a temper fit when I don’t do things like call to say I’ll be late. The you that goes bat-shit crazy because someone complimented me on my hair. The you that shouts and screams and fights me. It’s how I know you feel for me.” />
  “I don’t understand,” I whispered.

  He released a heavy breath as his fingers kneaded my instep, pulling a faint hum from my lips. “Well, before we even saw Nicole that day in my building, I kind of had a, um, insecurity panic. I don’t know why, but I just felt that, well, maybe you were growing tired of me or something — seeing that I’m always around you, selfishly, in your space and in your face. I thought maybe I’d overwhelmed you with our fast-paced relationship and was losing you —” He stopped and sighed. “Okay, I’m lying to you. Sorry. I do know why.”

  He took a breath. “I’d been going through your messages, and I see that you communicate with your ex — almost daily. Almost daily, Axia. It’s not that you talk to him that bothers me, it’s because you told me that you’d loved him. Then when I saw those messages of him wanting you back, I wondered if you felt the same — if you still love him, too. So, yes, I felt insecure, and I wanted to be sure that you need me, that you love me. That’s why I’d suggested we stayed home all day that day. I just wanted to spend some time with you to assure myself that what we have was still there. But as soon as the clock struck twelve, you were insisting we go to work.

  “Then, when we ran into Nicole in my building, you were so indifferent about the whole situation. You weren’t even trying to make a statement that I’m yours. You just coolly left me with her. You were just … not you.” Avoiding eye contact, he brought his hands up the back of my leg, kneading away the tension from my muscle that the high heels had caused. “What was I to think but that you just didn’t care anymore. Because of him. You said nothing when I didn’t call to say I’d be out late. No argument, nothing. No reaction from you no matter what I did. Felt like you were just slipping away.” He moved on from one leg to the next, granting it equal treatment. Dios, will I ever get used to his touch?

  “Yesterday when I came by your gym, I was miserable as hell. But you were so damn happy without me, laughing and flirting with your staff. It pissed me off. I’m the one who taught you how to laugh. Me. And there you were, laughing … but it wasn’t me that was making you laugh anymore.” His chest rose and fell as he heaved a heavy breath, still refusing to look at me. “I was desperate. I thought if I asked you to come on a date with me and Nicole, you’d throw one of your crazy fits. Then I would laugh tell you I was just messing with you. But even then, you were indifferent. Until you finally said it, that you don’t love me. You confirmed it. But, as you can see, not even that can keep me away.”

  Raking my fingers through his hair, I grinned, my heart expanding to the size of the room. “I thought you didn’t like my crazy fits.”

  Lovello finally lifted his eyes to mine and chuckled. Rising to his feet, he lowered me back onto the bed, bringing down his firm frame on mine. “I don’t. But at least I know when you do it, it’s because you feel for me. Because you care. It’s how I mark the intensity of your love.”

  “But I heard that Nicole’s at your office every other day. I just don’t understand…”

  He shook his head. “Nicole pops up without notice sometimes. Think she’s just bored. She’s trying to get into real estate and is twiddling her thumbs for now while Trev pulls some strings for her with license and such. So, with nothing to do in the interim, she stops by sometimes to chat — which I rarely have time for — so I let her hang in the studio quarters with Carla. Nicole’s used to being taken care of, and she hasn’t much companionship since she’s moved back, because her two best friends have moved away. So I’m only trying to be there for her until she settles. But I swear to you, I’m not sleeping with her.” Lovello dropped his face in the crook of my neck. “I can’t lose you, Axia. I can’t. You’re like my pacifier. I need you to stay grounded and focused when work gets heavy. With you, my world is clean, organized and sensible. I’ve never needed anyone before. Ever. Until I met you…” He trailed off on a sigh. “I almost lost my mind when I came in tonight and you weren’t here. I thought you were probably seeing him —” He stopped abruptly and lifted his head, searching my eyes with his vulnerable ones. “What were you out doing with Trev?”

  “Nothing,” I hurriedly tried to explain, never having seeing him this emotionally exposed before. “My girls and I went to a club and he showed up there with a group that had your assistant and your ex a part of it. I drank more than I should have and didn’t want to drive myself home, so he gave me a lift.”

  “Did he try anything?” Lovello asked in a chilling tone.

  “No,” I giggled. “He was on his best behavior. Unbelievably so.”

  “Good. I don’t even wanna ask why you were drinking. If it’s because of me, then I’m deeply sorry — or not.”

  He lowered his lips to mine, sweeping me into a kiss that reminded me of my interminable love for him. The love that I had for this man could not be washed away with alcohol or be ignored with feigned indifference. For my happiness, loving him was a necessity, and I was going to love this man as if it were my duty.

  We didn’t need more words, because our firing passion filled the room with silent whispers from our hearts. Lovello’s kisses grew hungry and aggressive as my hands grew feverish, roaming over the sinews of his back, down his spine and beneath the waistband of his basketball shorts. I grabbed his ass and pressed him into me, his erection strong and mighty and ready for battle — the battle of the sexes. Goodness, I needed him.

  He pulled my top over my head, ripped off my bra and attacked my breasts with animalistic need, cupping them, kneading them and tugging my nipples between his teeth.

  “Dios mío, Love. More,” I panted, lifting my hips so he could pull off my pants and panties in one drag.

  His shorts went along with the discarded pile. And in one swift move, he was inside me, filling me to capacity. Filling that emptiness that had been there throughout his absence. For every day that he’d not been there, I wanted him to fill me with fierce acquisitiveness.

  “Hard, Love. Hard,” I begged. I wanted to be reminded me why I should fight for him. Why I should stake my claim and show that I cared. Yeah, I needed to be punished. “Más difícil, bebé. Por favor. Harder,” I cried, as he pounded into me.

  Hell, this felt so damn good. Was it the alcohol that made me courageous enough to demand such intensity from the man with the biggest size I’d ever had?

  Lovello grabbed my legs and bent them, pressing them down to my chest. He pulled out his length, then slowly slid back inside. Slowly and patiently, as I awaited the decision of the jury. Out again … and then, we have a verdict, I was sentenced to capital punishment. Punitive slam after slam inside me with a fierceness that had my lungs overworking with Spanish jabberings that not even I understood.

  Because he had my legs pinned to my chest, I couldn’t even move, and the position made the penetrations so intense that I could feel them in my stomach. It was pain. Good pain. Pleasurable pain. Pain that I didn’t want to end. Pain that was going to shove me over the edge any … minute … now.

  “Said you wanted it hard, right?” Lovello growled through ragged breaths. “Is this hard enough?” Slam! “Or this?” Slam!! “Answer me, beauts.” Slam! Slam!! Slam!!!

  “Y-y-yes,” I could barely manage to breathe, let alone speak. I was teetering on the edge of something unbalanced, hazardous, unhinged, and with each death slam I wobbled precariously on one leg.

  “I want to keep you, beauts,” he breathed. “So whatever you ask for, I’m gonna make damn sure I give it.” He paused and groaned when I squeezed my muscles around him. “So if you … shit, that feels … shit … Stop! I’m in control here,” he barks, pressing my legs harder down on my chest. But my unruly muscles refused to behave and continued to squeeze around him.

  Lovello made a frustrated growl and crooked his arms under my legs. He ordered me to lock my hands around his neck, then lifted me up off the bed, and, without warning, he slammed me down onto his length. That was it. I exploded like an atomic bomb, calling the Lord’s many different names as I judder
ed in his hands. Without pause, he continued impaling me on and on. Slamming me down on him with such ease as if I weighed but an ounce. Until I felt his teeth clinging to my flesh as he came violently inside me, a spate of his warm fluids filling me. He tumbled with me back onto the bed. Our breathings harsh and loud.

  “I love you, Pretty Boy,” I managed. “More than Milky Way Milkshake.”

  He chuckled, still breathing harshly. “Nice, I’m ‘Pretty Boy’ when you love me, and ‘Nelson’ when you hate my guts.”

  What wasn’t nice, though, was that he couldn’t even return the words. Just as he needed his assurance, I needed mine. “Do you … love me, Love?”

  Lovello raised his head to find my gaze, holding my stare without so much as a blink, his brows furrowed in a manner that said: ‘what kind of stupid ass question is that?’ “You had to ask? Isn’t it friggin’ obvious?”

  When he saw that I wasn’t satisfied with his answer, he smirked. “Beauts, you can bet 1.1 million dollars that I do.”

  XXIV

  The continuous dinning of my cellphone forayed the peaceful quietness of sleep. I blinked open my eyes to the surroundings of my master bedroom, rays of sunlight lased across the room from both sides, forming asymmetrical shapes while proclaiming it was a new day.

  Stretching my arms out over my head, I decided to let the phone ring out to voicemail. But as soon as it stopped, it started again. And such had Lovello grumbling something about turning ‘the damn thing off and come back to bed’. It was Saturday, so he, of course, could sleep in bed all day. I, on the other hand, had business to attend to. On Saturdays, I opened the gym doors at 10am, as opposed to 5:30am on weekdays. So I had a few hours to get ready.

  Plucking Lovello’s arm from around me, I slid off the bed and retrieved the hollering cellphone from the nightstand, only to see Zane’s name flashing on the screen. With nimble fingers, I hit the silent option, then peered back over my shoulder at Lovello. He was sound asleep, his nose pressed into the pillow. Why was Zane calling so early in the morning? Jeez.