Right when she gave herself over to the act, right when she lost herself and forgot why she was groping a man she’d long since watched from a distance, her name rang out above the crowd.
“Maria! Is that you?”
Cade shifted beside her. “Don’t move.”
Drake locked his arm around her waist and drew her against him. He nuzzled her cheek and buried his face in her hair. “We’ll have to hide from crowds more often.”
She trembled then, but somehow managed to pull away from his safe embrace, aware of the danger approaching. Scott stood, shielding them from Marvio and his friends.
“Got a problem, son?” Scott stepped to the right then shifted to the left, deliberately blocking her brother’s view.
“I ain’t your boy, old man, but in case you didn’t know, that’s my sister behind you.”
“You have to get out of here,” Maria whispered, pushing Drake toward Cade. “We’ll meet you in Dominique’s room.” She squeezed Cade’s wrist. Their eyes met for a brief moment and she mouthed, “He’ll recognize you. Go.”
If Marvio and his men were there, it meant they were looking for someone and they were packing. Marvio didn’t travel without his only friends—guns and plenty of people who knew how to use them
Her heart took off at an uneven beat, peppering her chest with the reminder of her most recent conversation with Marvio. She quickly left the booth and shoved him as hard as she could, delighting in the look of surprise washing across his face. “What did you do? Did you follow me here? Is that all you have to do now?”
Marvio sneered. “Kind of hard to follow what tries to hide from you, Maria.”
“So it’s a coincidence you’re here?” She pushed him again, turning at an angle so she could make sure Drake and Cade slipped away unnoticed.
“It must be.” Marvio glared at her as if she were a complete stranger instead of his sister. “What the hell are you doing making out in public? If Mama were alive today, she’d—”
“Maria is with me,” Scott said, bracketing his arm around her.
Marvio sneered. “And that better be a lie, old man.”
Scott let the insult slide. At thirty years old, he probably considered the source behind the intended slur.
He drew her against his side, resting his palm on her hip. “Do I look like a man who would cover up the truth to save Maria’s little brother the trouble of hurt feelings?”
Her brother’s sullen expression changed to one of recognition. “Wait a minute. I know you.” He glanced at his sidekicks, a partial army of his gang thugs. “He’s the one in those pictures you brought over from Maria’s place.”
Maria was enraged “You’ve been at my apartment?”
“I just told you as much,” her brother quickly replied. “Dodge me again, sister.”
“But you went inside my apartment? You went through my things? You stole my pictures?”
“I didn’t steal anything. I was concerned about you.” He stroked his chin and studied Scott. “Are you the one who’s been sneaking around with my sister, amigo?”
Scott smirked. “I’ve been sleeping around with your sister, amigo.”
Marvio snarled. “You got some balls. I’ll give you that.” He took one step forward, twisting his leather-clad wrist.
“Don’t even think about it, Marvio.” Maria jumped in front of Scott about the time she caught the glossy shimmer of a silver blade.
“Fuck!” In one fluid motion, Scott pushed her out of the way, shoved his arm behind his back and pulled a gun free from his waistband. He aimed his .45 at Marvio’s head. “Drop it, you son of a bitch.”
Her brother acted all cool and shit. That act of his could escalate her temper faster than anything.
His knife had nicked more than enough of her expensive dress to present a slight problem. Slapping her hand to her chest, she glared at her brother and said, “You need to get out of here.” Maria glanced over Scott’s shoulder. Tig and a few of his bouncers rushed them. “You need to go now.”
“Listen to your sister, friend.”
“We ain’t friends, asshole.” Marvio motioned for his buddies. Turning around, he walked backward, making a gun sign with his forefinger and thumb. “I’ll be seeing you.” He shook his shoulders and bounced his head like a cocky little prick. “You watch for us, motherfucker. You’ll meet up with us again soon and so will those chickens that ran out of here as soon as they saw us. You tell them to sleep with one eye open.” He laughed. “One of your boys might have a problem with that one, eh?”
Scott went rigid. Out of the corner of his mouth, he said, “They saw Cade.”
“Yep,” she agreed, listening to her brother’s rambling as he placed some distance between them.
“Make nice with that doctor friend of yours, Maria. I need to talk to him,” Marvio sang. “You tell him there are mutual friends we need to find.” He pointed at Scott one last time. “Enjoy your time with mi hermana.” Marvio’s wicked laugh rang out louder than the music. “It will be the last night you spend together. That, mi amigo, is mi promesa to you.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Cade sent me over. Got a problem?” Tig acted jittery.
“It’s handled,” Scott assured him.
“We don’t want any trouble here, Mr. Zelmore,” Tig said, waving his bouncers away.
“Do I know you?”
“I know you,” Tig assured him. “And everybody else that works for Donovan.” He stood taller, prouder. “When a man shows up in Dallas flashing a lot of cash, the only thing he buys is a lot of attention.
“It’s my business to know about you. Keep my clubs off your radar. You can stay here tonight because that gang of thugs you just provoked will be watching for you, but after tonight, don’t come back. Tell Donovan if he wants to use my club, he can buy it. He has my price.”
Scott didn’t comment. He turned to Maria, ready to pound her with questions, but he was stilled by what he saw. Her eyes were wide. Terror was housed behind those dark pupils, sheer fear.
And that pissed him the hell off.
“Did he hurt you?” Scott asked, clutching both her arms.
“No.”
“Then what is it?” He attempted to peel her hand away from her chest.
“He cut the damn dress. All right?”
Scott tried to pull free her three middle fingers. “Show me.”
There was nothing more than pure unadulterated desire behind his demand, but he didn’t care. It had been nearly two years. They’d played enough games and tormenting one another wouldn’t even the score. It would only fuel the raging fires.
“Scott, it’s too late for us.”
“Says you,” he muttered, trying to remove her hand again.
If Maria’s eyes gauged the level of escalating passion, they were headed for a crazy kind of evening, a lustful event full of good fucking, and making-up loving.
“Show me.” This time, he backed up, and waited patiently.
“Here?” She set her lips in a tight line. “Now?”
“I didn’t ask, sub.”
The visible lines of stress marked her forehead. “Why are you doing this?”
“We were brought together for a reason, Maria.”
“It doesn’t mean you own me.”
“It doesn’t mean I don’t.”
“Do I own you?”
“Every inch of the man I am when I’m with you,” he admitted without missing a beat. “Now drop your hand before I spank your ass right here in front of everyone.”
Her head bowed and she slowly released the front of that sexy black number she wore better than a fitted negligee.
A long guttural growl seeped from his lips. The sight of her extended nipples made him as hard as bricks.
“Satisfied?” She dared to look up at him with a challenging expression, one that showed him more about the submissive than the woman.
She wanted punishment. She’d earned it, deserved it, and by damn they�
��d both enjoy the spankings to come.
“Not by a long shot.” He dragged her back to the booth and took a seat. “But give me a minute and I will be.”
Before she objected, he reached under the table and jerked a lever. A large burgundy curtain slid across a rounded rail, closing them off from the rest of the club.
He cupped her nape and forced her to look at him. “I’ve missed you, Maria.” He lowered his lips to hers, but only gave her a peck before he kissed her chin and neck, traveling to her ear. “I can’t get you out of my blasted head.”
“You can’t do this,” she whispered.
“Why not?” He drew her tighter against him. He had no intentions of stopping now.
“You just can’t.”
“I’m taking what I want, what you want, unless you give me a good reason to stop.” He trailed his fingers up and down her inner thigh.
“I don’t want us anymore, Scott. There’s nothing between us anymore.”
“Nothing at all, huh?”
“No.”
She didn’t convince him.
“I’ll place a bet on the fact your body will make a liar out of you quicker than you can think up another objection.” He thrust his hand under her tight skirt and parted her pussy lips with his fingers, delving inside her slick passage before she could slap him away.
Once he dipped his fingers inside her heat, he knew he could take what he wanted, have what he needed, what they both had longed for and missed. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder and moaned as he plunged higher, forking his fingers in a maneuver she’d always loved.
“I can’t promise you what you want, Scott. I can’t leave the Unit.”
“Shh,” he whispered, stroking her back. “Tell me about that need you don’t have, how there’s nothing between us anymore. That’s what I’m most interested in, sub.” Yanking her body against his, he threw her legs over his so she sat sideways in his lap. He then ground his erection against her bottom. “Let me hear you say it, Maria. Deny you want me, baby.”
“Scott, please don’t.”
“I can’t help myself.” He pressed his thumb against her clit and rolled the small bead under the pad. “You’re all I think about.” He nuzzled her nape. “You’re all I see when I close my eyes at night.” He fingered her harder, deeper, pushing another digit still higher until her body responded with a rocking motion. “That’s right, baby. Fuck my fingers. Ride my hand.”
She grabbed hold of the table and clutched the furniture until her knuckles turned white. Scott’s cock thrummed against his zipper. He was certain the jagged track-like imprint had marked his cock, but the slight discomfort was worth it. The numbing pain would soon turn into complete rapture.
Her black hair tumbled across her bare shoulders and she released one whimper and then another. Her hot pussy milked his fingers, squeezed and closed around them until he cursed under his breath.
Tearing his hand away from her body, he unsnapped his jeans and practically ripped away his zipper. Once freed, he tugged his cock from his boxers.
Maria hiked up her skirt and faced outward. Her legs overlapped his. She clutched the table and visibly braced for the impalement, preparing for that first hard thrust.
“Ah yeah, honey, I can see how much you don’t want me anymore.” His hips shot off the bench. His cock rubbed against the firm and gradual swell of her bottom.
Her soft cries echoed in his ears. Before he could stop himself, the carnal male within took hold. He stood. Grabbing hold of her body, he pushed her forward, and plunged inside her from behind, claiming that hot, wet snatch all over again, the pussy he’d marked as his long before she knew about a damn mission or an Underground Unit operation.
He slammed into her like a beast with no conscience, watching his cock disappear between those perfectly rounded globes. He slipped in and out, in and out, cursing his inability to take her slow and enjoy the climb as much as the ride.
Maria threw her weight into their movements. She rolled into him as he thrust inside her again and again. “God help me, I swore I’d never let you touch me again.”
“We both know you’re good at breaking promises when they concern me.” He held onto her hips then and threw her forward, dragged her back.
“Why do you do this?” Her nails raked across the table’s surface. She pushed up on her elbows and glanced over her back at the same time. “Why won’t you let me go!”
“Because.” One thump. “I fucking…” Another hard, mind-blowing jolt. “Can’t.” One more and then another. “You’re a part of me now, Maria.” This time he fucked her like he might not stop. “You’ll always be a part of me.”
“Don’t you think I know that!” Her body convulsed as the tremors took hold. She swung against him with speed and delivery, slamming against his groin as he screwed his cock higher and tighter, burying himself deeper.
“Come.” The exquisite sensations surrounded his dick and drew him inside her like a force, an incredible tug too delicious to name. He’d wanted to indulge. He’d waited two years to enjoy her, love her, fuck her. Now, all he could think about was finishing her and satisfying them both. “Come now, sub.”
Her cunt clenched around him, pulsing in the sweetest vibrations he’d ever known. Her heat pooled around his cock and she whispered his name again and again as she took hold of her release.
Coming to his senses then, he pulled out before he shot off. He jerked in hardcore spasms against her warm, damp flesh until he was not only cursing the act itself, but cursing himself for not giving her what she’d always desired, what he’d always known would be the one reason, the only way, she’d ever turn her back on the career she’d chosen.
He could’ve given her that much. He could’ve finished inside her and prayed night and day that he’d impregnated her with his seed.
Then again, the time wasn’t right. As long as she was a part of the Longhorn division, the time would never be right.
They were a product of the Underground Unit and he couldn’t bring a child into that life. He would spare Maria what Veronica and the Remington brothers had learned to accept as a daily fear. If she ever walked away from his loving pregnant with his child, they would both leave the Underground Unit once and for all. And that day was coming. It was coming soon.
Chapter Sixteen
Las Vegas, Nevada
Drew bowed his head and said a prayer for Manny. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d prayed, but the one he sent upstairs was passionate and sincere.
He prayed for Manny’s recovery and asked God to forgive them all of their sins in hopes that he might spare Manny’s life and bring him back to them the same way he’d left them—full of love for his friends and full of promise in his career, a career that would’ve been suited better for the devil than for someone like Manny.
When he said, “Amen,” he pushed back from the bed and met his beautiful wife’s concerned gaze. Before Suzy made a remark, he said, “I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. He should be with people who can take care of him, but no one can take better care of him than we can.”
“You’ve put Sydney in a bad position, Drew.” She walked over to Manny’s bed and rested her palm on his shoulder. “You’ve asked her to betray the men she loves, the men she gave her heart to when she was a young girl.”
“I’m asking her to choose between right and wrong.” He moved away from her.
“Whose right and whose wrong? Yours? Brock’s? The Unit’s?” Suzy followed him. “Manny’s? Is this right for Manny?”
Drew stormed out of the room and away from Manny’s attending nurse and listening ears. He marched down the hallway and flung himself on the sofa, splaying his legs and dropping his head.
“Don’t you push me away, Drew Remington. I have stood by you in everything you’ve chosen to do. I’ve waited years to love you, but I cannot stand by while you put Manny’s life in danger and ask another woman to lie to the men she loves!”
; “Then don’t stand there, damn you! Leave!”
Stunned into apparent silence, Suzy’s eyes filled with unshed tears. She clenched her fists and shook until he wanted to eat those words. He wanted to go to her then and tell her how sorry he was, but he just couldn’t. If he showed any doubts in his actions, she would pick up the phone and call Donovan herself. She’d do it because she loved him unconditionally and she’d do it to spare him the burden of responsibility later, on the chance Manny didn’t pull out of this.
Rather than crumble under pressure, Suzy positioned herself between his legs. “Look at me.”
“I see you.”
“This isn’t about Manny. You’re doing what you always do.”
“And what is that exactly?” He lifted his chin and stared down the bridge of his nose, willing her to go ahead and make her accusation, call him out on what Brock Donovan had said so many times before.
“You’re running. And this time, you’re taking anyone and everyone with you and it just isn’t right.” She squeezed his knees and gave his legs a hard yank. “Don’t do this. Manny needs to be in a hospital.”
“He’s dying.” He stilled then, aware of that truth more than just the mere possibility. “He needs to be here at home, surrounded by the people who love him.”
“Damn it! You aren’t a doctor!” She swung her arm in the direction of where Manny lay fighting for every breath. “That man in there trusts you. He thinks of you like a brother. If you were the one in that bed in there, don’t you think he’d take you to the best hospitals in the world? Don’t you think he’d try to save you?”
Drew leaned forward and stared into her pleading eyes. “Then work with me, Suzy. Help me save him.” He wasn’t sure why he’d said Manny was dying, but he knew then it was a mistake. He’d shown weakness rather than strength. Manny wouldn’t give up on him and he’d be damned if he’d give up on Manny. “Believe in me. Believe in Manny’s ability to fight. Hell, at least believe I have the best doctors in the world on their way here now. I can protect him here. I couldn’t protect him in Colorado.”
Cowboy Boots and Uncensored Behavior Page 11