by Ashley Jade
“You don't,” Shelby and I shout. “Not even close.”
She might not think so, but she looks stunning. Jackson's mouth is going to hit the floor when he sees her.
I turn back around and finish applying my makeup. "That green dress really brings out those hazel eyes of yours."
She stands beside me in front of the mirror. “Bitch.”
There's laughter in her tone and I can't help but laugh with her. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be laughing with this girl over an inside joke, let alone be friends with her...but now?
I can't imagine not having her in my life.
Shelby clears her throat. “You girls ready to go? Tyrone just texted me and said they're all waiting for us to arrive.”
She grabs her purse and Alyssa and I exchange a glance. It's really not fair for one girl to be so strikingly beautiful and put together all the time.
Alyssa curses and looks down at her feet again and my lips turn up in a snarl.
Shelby looks at us like we're nuts. “What the heck did I just miss?”
“We hate you a little right now,” Alyssa tells her and I nod. “Oh yeah. Big time.”
Shelby opens her mouth but clamps it shut, looking beyond confused.
“You're too pretty, too poised, and too perfect all the time...makes us look bad,” Alyssa says with a wink.
I gesture between us. “Yeah, in case you haven't noticed...we're a little...” I let my voice trail off so she can fill in her own blanks.
“Trust me, I'm far from perfect. And I definitely wasn't always so put together,” she says when we walk out into the hallway.
Her lips curve into a smile that's part innocent cherub and part sassy vixen.
Alyssa and I exchange another glance...because we know all too well.
There are two sides to every story...
The party is nearly in full swing by the time we arrive and I have to remind myself to relax and breathe. Being in a room full of people will always make me a bit nervous, but one look at a pair of dark, smoldering eyes from across the room makes a different part of my brain go haywire.
“Sweet Jesus,” Shelby utters at the same time Alyssa says, “Yeah, I'm pretty sure bad guys aren't supposed to look that good.”
I can hear my heart beating erratically over the music with every step he takes toward me.
Everything around me becomes a blur, because when Ricardo and I are in a room together...everyone else ceases to exist.
My mouth goes dry when my eyes travel down and I take in his appearance.
His black on black three-piece suit is immaculate, there's not a hair out of place on that gorgeous head of his, and the stubble lining his strong jaw is just as sexy as ever....but it's that cocky smirk and the damn near menacing confidence exuding from him that causes my knees to start buckling.
And those eyes of his.
Those penetrating eyes that haven't left mine. Only to stop and scan every single inch of my body from head to toe with a bloodthirsty stare that makes my mouth water.
Ricardo's the epitome of lethal, and if I was smart, I'd stay away and admire from afar like all the other women in the room. Hell, make that the world.
But that threatening nature of his? That's part of the appeal. That sheer intensity about him is what makes my blood pump and causes my heart to race out of control.
I know what a hazard he is to people and all about the boundaries he doesn't have.
I know what lines he wouldn't cross...none. Because they don't exist in his world when it comes to getting what he wants.
I know that 99.9% of the people in this room are in danger of not making it out alive if they so much as breathe in my direction or dare to look at me the wrong way.
And I don't care.
I know the heart inside this monster. Because that heart is mine...and it beats for me and me only. Every part of it. The good and the bad.
Ricardo and I were two souls who were never destined to be together.
We were never supposed to find each other in the dark...but we did.
And if I had to live my life all over again—every single brutal, agonizing detail...just to find him again...
I would.
He makes his way across the room until he's standing in front of me...and then before I can even greet him, I'm being lifted in the air and his lips are on mine—staking his claim in a room full of people I've never met before, killing me slowly in a kiss so sensual and provocative, it should be outlawed.
“Hi,” he whispers when he finally breaks away and puts me down.
I almost stagger back I'm so dizzy, but his arms latch onto me, steadying me.
“Hi,” I say back, my voice sounding breathless.
When he bites his lip and peruses my body again, he doesn't just light my nerve endings on fire...he blows each and every one of them up.
His jaw sets and his gaze darkens. “That dress.”
“Would you rather I take it off?”
A low growl erupts from somewhere deep within his throat. “I'd rather not ruin Tyrone and Shelby's big night with a mass homicide.”
“Yeah, me too,” Tyrone says before he pulls me into a hug and whispers, “Told you that dress was his kryptonite. I'd invest in one hell of a dry cleaner if I were you.”
“I'll see what I can do.”
He's about to respond, but when he sees Shelby his words fall by the wayside. He tugs her on his lap and gives her a kiss so passionate the entire room starts howling and cheering.
Ricardo's fingertips graze the small of my back as he leads me to the bar.
Ricardo orders himself a drink but I decline, given I'm already drunk on him and it's hard enough to plant my feet on the ground in his presence.
I prop myself up on a stool and his fingers lightly trickle along my thigh, leaving goosebumps in their wake.
“What are you thinking about?”
When my flushed cheeks and neck are his answer, he tilts his head back and laughs. “I meant outside of the bedroom.”
I lean forward, intentionally giving him a peek down my dress. “We can do it outside of the bedroom, I'm not picky.”
He groans and looks around the room. “Christ, you're gonna kill me tonight.”
I pluck a cherry from the bin and suck on it. “But what a lovely way to go, huh?”
Something crosses over his features then, something I don't understand and I'm not quite sure what to make of it.
Before I can prompt him about it, he holds his hand out to me. “Our song is playing.”
My ears finally tune in to what's going on around me and I hear the familiar chords of I'll Stand by You gearing up.
He presses his body to mine and we begin swaying to the music. I've never loved a song more in my entire life and every single word strikes me right through the heart.
“I'd do it all again,” I tell him, because I need him to know. “If I had to live my life over again, I'd do it just to end up right here with you.”
That look crosses over his face again and I see his Adam's apple bob.
“Ricardo, what's going on?”
“Nothing.”
The hand on the small of my back stiffens as does the rest of his body. Dread fills my belly, because somehow in the span of two seconds our connection has shifted.
“You don't have to lie to me. Whatever it is I can handle it.”
“This isn't the time or the place, Lou-Lou. Just enjoy the party.”
His tone is distant with the slightest bit of solemn in it.
“Okay.” I stop dancing. “Now I know something is wrong.”
He looks around the room again, his eyes focused on anyone but me. “Nothing is wrong. Come on, just dance with me.”
He reaches for me again but I pull away. “No. I don't want to dance.”
“Why not?”
I take another step back and look down because I can't take the look in his eyes right now. “I don't want to keep dancing with a man
who looks like he's about to break my heart before the night is over.”
“Lou-Lou—”
“Tell me, Ricardo. Tell me what you're thinking or I will cause a scene. We don't keep things from one another. Not unless it's life or death.”
I wave my hand in the direction of the people dancing on the dance floor. “Secrets are for other couples who live their perfect little lives with their heads in the clouds. But me and you? We're real, Ricky. We've seen the darkest parts of one another and survived. It's not a matter of life and death anymore. We're finally free...so tell me what's wrong.”
The lights in the room flicker then and the music cuts in and out.
“There's supposed to be a bad storm coming,” someone near us drawls. “Guess it's starting now.”
You've got that right.
“You're free, Lou-Lou.” His hands clench into fists. “Not me.”
“What's that supposed to mean? You killed the council—”
“It means I'm leaving.” He starts walking back over to the bar and I follow him.
“Leaving? What? Why?”
“I'm not discussing this tonight and definitely not here,” he says, his tone clipped.
A horrible thought hits me just then. Maybe this is too much for Ricardo? Maybe I'm just too much and too crazy for him to handle? “You don't want me.” It's not a question, it's the cold, hard truth.
“What?” My statement only seems to make him angrier. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“I—”
He walks behind me and rests his forearms on top of the bar, caging me in.
The lights flicker again but I couldn't care less when I feel his jaw graze my cheek and he leans in and whispers, “You honestly think I don't want you?”
Despite the way my arousal rises to dangerous levels, I find my resolve and focus. “You told me you're leaving me, Ricardo. So it's either because you don't want me...or you don't love me.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “Perhaps both.”
“Wrong.” His breath tickles my ear and one of his hand’s splays over my stomach, pressing me against him. “I love you so much I can't even see straight...because all I see is you when you're in front of me.”
“Then—”
I'm cut off when his hand slowly travels up my inner thigh and he digs his erection into my back, compressing me into the wood of the bar. “And I crave every single inch of you, every goddamn second.”
“Then why would you leave me?”
I tell myself not to cry, I tell myself not to break down in a room full of strangers, but my eyes start filling with tears anyway. “Why would you leave me when you know how much I need you? How much I love you.”
He presses a kiss to my temple and the hand that was about to cup me between the legs freezes. “Because I love you too much.”
He spins me around and grabs my chin. “I love you...but that love isn't enough to change who I am on the inside, Lou-Lou. The way I love you isn't good for you.”
I reach for him but he backs away. “I love you too much to destroy you. I love you too much to make you watch me turn into him. I won't do that to you.”
He gestures to the dance floor. “Now please try to enjoy yourself, tonight. Go dance and have fun.”
He brings my hand up to his lips and kisses it. “You don't belong in the dark, baby. You were always meant to shine, don't ever forget that.”
This whole time I thought I was the crazy one, but Ricardo must be deranged if he thinks I can ever be without him.
When he starts walking away, taking my entire heart with him, I make another snap decision. The second most critical one of my entire life.
It's not a mature decision, and it's not the brightest one I've had, but it's something I know will set him off. It might not make him stay, but it will cause him to have no choice but to let me reach him, in the only way I know how.
The strobe lights on the dance floor flicker and I march up to some random man. I don't know who he is, but he seems more than happy to let me have my dirty little way with him.
I position myself so I'm facing Ricardo's back as he continues walking out of the room and away from me.
I bring the man's hand to the front of my dress, letting him roam over my tits as I snake my arm around his neck and grind against him to the music.
Then I call out Ricardo's name...because I want him to see this.
There aren't enough words to describe how downright scary he looks when he finally turns around and sees some guys hands all over what should be his.
It's far past jealousy, it's obsession in the purest, darkest form.
And that right there tells me that when Ricardo said he was going away...he meant it permanently, because Ricardo can't stay away from me and I sure as shit can't stay away from him.
His eyes tell me I'm his target, but when he draws his gun, he aims it at the man who's still dancing in his ignorant bliss against me.
Since I'm not looking to get this man killed, I quickly break away from the dance and run up to Ricardo.
A flash of lightning zaps outside the window right before the lights in the building cut off for good.
In one fell swoop, he wraps his fingers around my wrist, pulling me toward him and yanking me out of the room.
I don't know how he can see or make out where he's going when it's pitch black, but he keeps walking and I fight like hell to keep up.
“You did that on purpose,” he growls. “I was going to kill that man.”
“I had to,” I say and his grip on my wrist tightens. I need him to know that I love him and I don't give a flying fuck who he killed or who he may kill in the future.
I need him to know that I understand his urges. I understand his reasons for being what he is. I understand the things inside him he can't control.
And I still love him. I love all of him and I would never want him to change.
I need him to know once and for all that he's not Bruno DeLuca in the only way I know how to show him.
I'm saving Ricardo if it's the last thing I do.
And if I can't save him?
Then I'm joining him tonight. We can roast fucking marshmallows in the pits of hell for eternity for all I care.
Either way, he doesn't get to walk away from me without a fight. And since Ricardo is a fighter first and foremost, I know he's not going to back down from this one.
Ricardo's not easy to love...neither of us are.
But it's the people who aren't easy to love who need love the most.
I know that because Ricardo gave me love when no one else did. He loved me when no one else knew how to.
And I'm going to give that love right back to Ricardo.
Even if he ends up killing us both in the process.
My eyes adjust enough to let me see that we're about to go down a long and narrow hallway.
He tugs on my hand harder and I stumble and fall, my heels no match for his long strides or his aggressive, caveman pulling.
For a moment, I think he's going to be a gentleman and help me back up, but no, he towers above me and moves forward until I have no choice but to crawl back and my spine meets the wall.
“Open,” he says low and deadly.
That command is my only warning before that thick cock of his rams into my mouth. His piercing hits the back of my throat and I start to gag, but Ricardo doesn't stop, it only fuels him on.
Me as well.
He fists my hair and snatches it until my scalp tingles. “More.”
He knows I can't take any more of him into my mouth, not without his dick suffocating me or his piercing scratching and ripping out my tonsils, but I no longer have a choice in the matter.
He braces his arm on the wall and fucks my face so hard I feel my teeth vibrate.
This is without a doubt the most aggressive Ricardo's ever been with me, and I know it's his way of proving a point.
Too bad for him I have a better one to prove.
I moan
and suck harder, then I reach up and knead his ass, pulling him even further into my mouth. My moan is cut off when his balls graze my chin and I finally stop breathing. He groans, my near asphyxiation causing his cock to throb harder as he holds my head still so I can't move.
White spots form in front of my eyes because he's not letting up. My body's on the verge of struggling and just when I think I'm about to lose this game after all, he hauls me back up—but only so he can slam me into the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.
My body buzzes, my sense of urgency for him is taking over, rendering me unable to resist his touch and focus. He knows the effect he's having on me when he lifts up my dress and feels how slick the bare skin between my legs is for him.
I didn't bother with frivolous things like undergarments when I got dressed, and right now I'm certain it's one of the best decisions I've ever made.
Especially when he slides me up against the wall and instructs me to wrap my legs around his head.
The first swipe of his tongue causes me to flatten my palms against the wall and push my hips forward.
The second swipe of his serpent tongue has me peeling and chipping away at the paint.
He sucks my clit into his mouth, the wet sounds echoing off the walls of the hallway. I cry out his name and he coils his tongue in response, dipping inside me now. The move infuses me with a fresh dose of desire and I latch onto his hair and grind into his jaw.
He groans and curses, the gruff noises sounding muffled because my thighs are clasped so tightly around his head as he continues to eat my pussy like it's a goddamn golden delicacy.
A moment later, he reaches up and pulls the top of my dress down, causing my breasts to bounce out and into his hands. He palms them both forcefully, plucking and rolling both my nipples between his two fingers.
My hips rise off the wall and I buck into his face, so close to exploding all over that talented mouth of his.
But Ricardo doesn't grant me that privilege.
He removes his mouth, sets me down, then pushes me against the opposite wall instead. “You're not my cure, Lou-Lou. I'm too sick to save.”