Heat (Deceit and Desire Book 4)

by Cassie Wild

  “Odd. Like what?”

  Joelle and Suria exchanged another look, then Joelle looked back at me. “He tried to make me get married a few weeks ago.”

  I blinked at her.

  She just stared right back.

  “You’re sixteen.”

  “Yes. The man he wanted me to marry was in his forties. He was from one of the clan families that were better off – a strong, powerful family. Our family is…” She shrugged and made a face. “We’re kinda down on the bottom rung. Dad always wanted more power. Marrying into a better family was his way of getting it.”

  “But you’re sixteen,” I said again.

  “Romany families used to frequently arrange marriages between their children. Fourteen, sixteen…” She lifted a shoulder. “Most have become a little more progressive. But not ours.” Her mouth firmed out. “No. We aren’t part of that anymore. But the clan isn’t progressive. They were all going to happily stand by while Dad made me marry this guy. They didn’t care what happened, if I wanted to marry him, if he’d hurt me…” Her breathing hitched.

  There was a part of me that was appalled, that wanted to ask if she was serious, but I could see it in her eyes. She was deadly serious.

  I wanted to pace, but Nicco was already doing that, his restless, caged energy filling the room. “I take it this all plays into whatever it was that you all did.”

  Joelle glanced at Suria, and she took over. “Jo and I ran away. We were hiding out in a hotel.” She nodded at her brother. “We’d just found out about Nicco – I found a picture of him and his mother, and I tracked him down, went to talk to them. They offered help.” She sighed sadly. “I should have accepted it.”

  Nicco passed by her, behind the chair where she sat and rubbed her shoulder. “You haven’t had a lot of experience in trusting people. Don’t beat yourself up over this, Suri.”

  She nodded and continued. “But I wasn’t ready to trust him. We were at the hotel. Jo was swimming, and my dad showed up. She’d called our cousin – wanted to let her know she was okay and Dad overheard the phone call, heard her tell my cousin where we were. He came after her. He made her leave with him and…” She glanced at Kian next. A faint smile curled her lips. “Man, talk about complicated. Anyway, we went after her. Nicco helped. He talked to Dad, kept him distracted while Kian and I helped Jo sneak out of the house. The wedding was set to happen two days after we got her out.”

  Joelle’s lips twitched. “I kept telling myself I should go to the police, call them…just run. But I didn’t. I didn’t know what to do.”

  Her sister went to her, wedging into the narrow space in the seat and wrapped her arms around her.

  Silence spread over the room, weighted, taut.

  After a few moments of it, I looked at Nicco. “Does he know you were helping them?”

  “Seeing as how I took off out of there like my ass was on fire? Probably.” He shrugged. But there was a funny little smile on his face. “He’s an arrogant bastard, though. Kept talking about how he always knew his boy would be looking for him. ‘Romany blood,’ he said. ‘It’s too strong to ignore. Your bloodline is showing through.’ He kept saying shit like that.”

  “We could use that,” Suria said from where she sat wrapped around her sister.

  “Use it how?” Kian asked.

  All eyes turned to me.

  Fourteen

  Nicco

  “Hi, Mom.”

  She was in her library, curled up in a chair with her feet tucked under her, a book in her lap.

  But she wasn’t reading it.

  She was staring off into the distance, her eyes unfocused.

  At the sound of my voice, she stirred and glanced at me. “Hey, baby.” She slid her glasses off and straightened up in the chair, gesturing to the other one opposite hers. “You all are having quite the discussion in there.”

  She hadn’t come in, not once.

  I’d wondered why.

  There was no love lost between my father and her, and I’d often suspected there were times when she wished she could have done more than just get me away from him.

  But she’d been a kid when he married her, not much more when she ran away with me – a scared, determined kid who was doing her best to avoid letting me grow up in that same life.

  I lowered myself into the seat she’d indicated and folded my hands in front of me.

  Words burned up my throat, but I didn’t even know where to begin.

  When I finally did speak, what came out wasn’t at all what I’d envisioned myself saying – not at first, at least.

  “He scared you, didn’t he?”

  She blinked.

  A light flush settled over her cheeks, and she looked away, tension settling in her shoulders.

  “I was a child when they told me I’d marry him,” she said, her voice whisper-soft. “It wasn’t what I wanted, but we didn’t argue with what we were told. Especially back then. It was…expected. Gabriel was smart and determined. My parents thought he’d be a good match.” She laughed, the sound sharp and bitter. “Were they ever wrong. One thing I’m grateful for is the fact that they didn’t live long enough to see how wrong they were.”

  “Why?” I demanded. She rarely talked about her parents. I knew the marriage had been arranged, and I’d often assumed she didn’t mention them because she was angry at what they’d forced on her.

  But the tone in her voice implied otherwise.

  “Because they loved me,” she said simply. “The Marks weren’t the most well-off family, but mine…” She rolled her eyes. “My father was…simple. He could barely sign his name, and he was a terrible liar. Running cons was something he just couldn’t do. My mother tried to make up for it, but we spent most of our lives with barely enough food. She got sick the winter after I got married. It was the flu. And you know enough about the Romany. They don’t like doctors. She was malnourished, I think. That’s why it took her so easily. Dad died a few months later. I’ve always believed it was a broken heart. They did love me. And when Gabriel asked for me…well, he could be charming when he wanted. Convincing. They believed the lies he told them and died before the lie fell apart.”

  “How bad was it?”

  She stared at me for a long time. “I don’t want to tell you anything that will make you go after him, Nicco. He isn’t worth it.”

  “If he hurt my mother–”

  “I left him,” she said, her voice passionate. “In the eyes of the Romany, that would have humiliated him. He, who always wanted power and respect, had his wife run off with his son. How much respect do you think that gained him?”

  “Is that why you did it?” I asked. “To embarrass him?”

  “I did it for you.” She tossed down the book and flicked a hand in my direction, her eyes snapping. “I wanted you to choose the life you’d have. And I wanted a chance to choose my life. And that’s what we did.”

  Now she was smiling, looking around the pretty little condo. “I worked so hard for this. For you. I got my revenge on Gabriel Marks. I don’t need you to do anything on my behalf.”

  “He’s going to pay,” I said gently.

  “And he should. For what he wanted to do to that poor girl – for the life he forced Suria into. She’s going to spend a long time trying to figure out just how to live a normal life,” Mom said. A sardonic edge entered her voice, and she added, “Believe me. I know. And whatever he did to your cop…”

  Her words trailed off.

  “What makes you think he did anything to her?” I hadn’t told her.

  “I saw the look in her eyes when she came in the house, Nicco. That kind of determination only comes from a personal sort of loss.”

  Looking away, I stared at the rows of books lining the walls. It was Ravenna’s story to share, not mine. But she wasn’t wrong.

  Sometimes, I forgot how insightful my mother was.

  “You got to know him.” I looked back at her. “You know him far better than I ever will, bette
r than I ever want to. Is he as arrogant as I think he is?”

  A smile bowed her lips. “He’s more arrogant than you think. You can’t possibly imagine how arrogant he is.”

  “Excellent.”

  Fifteen

  Ravenna

  Suria had shown me to a bedroom earlier, and I laid on the bed, not entirely comfortable. I hadn’t slept well in several days, and it was all culminating in a massive headache. Granted, stress was probably playing into it too.

  I’d hoped I could grab a quick nap, but my mind wouldn’t stop racing.

  We had a plan, of sorts.

  A big part of me didn’t think it would work.

  I was going to have to reach out to my brother and ask him to place a lot of faith in me.

  It was possible if things went bad I’d end up jobless.

  If things didn’t work out, and I was wrong…

  Shit.

  What if we didn’t have things worked out as well as we planned?

  What were we going to do?

  I just didn’t have an answer for that and lying alone in the bedroom where Suria had led me to wasn’t helping my frame of mind.

  I started when the door opened, sitting up and staring at the man who filled the doorway.

  Nicco.

  His eyes roamed over me as he propped a shoulder against the doorjamb.

  I sat up slowly, staring at him.

  “Are we doing this?” I finally asked, desperate to break the silence if nothing else.

  A faint smile quirked his lips.

  “I thought we’d already decided we were.”

  “Did we?” I blinked, not entirely certain we were thinking along the same wavelength. I remembered us talking about what we might do, but not actually agreeing to it. Had we agreed?

  The smile on his face widened. “That was what we discussed.”

  I threw my legs over the side of the bed, staring at him. “We discussed…that means we decided.”

  He lifted a shoulder in an elegant shrug. “More or less. Our choices are sort of…limited.”

  I knew that.

  I just…this all sounded entirely too final. I wasn’t sure I liked how final it sounded.

  And it involved Nicco getting extremely involved.

  He came closer, not stopping until he had one knee braced on the edge of the bed.

  “Are you certain this will work?” I asked softly.

  “He’s arrogant enough.”

  “You’re sure?”

  He shrugged again, incredibly lazy, elegance in every move. “I talked to somebody who knows him far better than I do.” Then he covered my mouth with his thumb. “I think we’ve talked about him enough today, don’t you?”

  The spit in my mouth dried up.

  Easing closer to the edge of the bed, I opened my mouth around his thumb and sucked it inside.

  Yes, we’d talked about Gabriel Marks, and other things, enough.

  I was tired of talking.

  Drawing his thumb deeper into the cavern of my mouth, I lifted my eyes to his. At the same time, I reached for his hips, drawing him closer to me. Nicco made a low sound in his throat, pushing the fingers of his free hand through my hair.

  I reached for the zipper of his pants, dragging it down.

  There was something I wanted to do, something I’d wanted to do for some time, but I hadn’t had the chance. Now seemed like a good time.

  Once I’d freed the zipper, I popped the button on his trousers and eased back, looking up at him as I tugged his pants down. I darted a look past him, but he’d closed the door when he came inside, locking us in solitude.

  As I watched him, I pulled his boxer briefs down, my eyes never once leaving his face.

  But my peripheral vision had always been good, and I could see his cock as I freed it.

  “I want to taste you,” I said, leaning in. “Like you’ve tasted me.”

  Then I dropped my eyes to his shaft and opened my mouth, taking him inside.

  He groaned, the hand in my hair knotting, tightening, dragging me closer. “Ravenna,” he muttered, the words ragged and sharp.

  I loved the sound of his voice just then.

  I dragged my tongue over the head of him, tasting something salty against my tongue.

  Rolling my eyes upward, I watched as his head fell back.

  “Please,” he muttered.

  He didn’t need to ask. I was already aching for more.

  The heavy, hard feel of him in my mouth was indescribable, the way he pulsed and vibrated against my tongue, the vein on the underside pulsating…and he shuddered.

  I’d never felt more powerful.

  Both of his hands cradling my head, I reached for his hips, guiding him on.

  He lurched against me, a litany of pleas and wordless, senseless noises falling from his lips as he rocked against me. I heard my name. I heard the word please. I heard him begging…

  And he moved against me, his hips shuttling his cock back and forth between my lips.

  My breasts swelled.

  The flesh between my thighs felt slick and hot.

  When I dug my nails into the flesh of his ass and sucked on him, he made a hoarse noise deep in his throat.

  Sliding my tongue over the vein along the underside of his cock, I sucked, and he shuddered. “I’m going to come, Ravenna,” he warned me.

  Good.

  His hips jerked, and he thrust deeper, harder.

  He bumped against the back of my throat, and I swallowed, fighting back the gag reflex out of sheer instinct.

  He bucked against me again and caught my head between both hands, holding me still. “Just…let me…” he muttered. “Just like…fuck, Ravenna.”

  He came. His cum hit the back of my throat, and I swallowed instinctively. He still moved, barely rocking his hips now, and I struggled to take more of him, swallowing and working him with my mouth.

  Finally, he pulled away, smoothing a hand down my cheek before bending down to nuzzle my neck.

  “You’re amazing,” he said against my skin. The stubble that had formed on his face rasped against me, making me shiver.

  When he straightened, I watched, my mouth going dry as he reached for the buttons on his shirt.

  “Do I get a strip-tease?” I asked, licking my lips.

  “I’m not going to dance for you.” But he did slow down his movements, making a show of it as he flicked each button open. Bit by bit, more skin was revealed. His skin was golden all over, a rich olive tone that made my fingers itch to touch and trace.

  When he finally finished with the shirt and shrugged out of it, he nodded at me. “Your turn.”

  I stood up and reached for the hem of my shirt, dragging it slowly upward. Since I didn’t have the buttons, there was only so much I could do to give him a show. After the shirt cleared my head, I tossed it onto the floor, right where he’d tossed his, then traced my fingers along the waistband of my jeans as I stared at him. He’d hitched his pants up over his hips again but left them open. A thin line of hair started at his belly button and ran downward, disappearing under the band of his boxer briefs.

  I caught my lower lip between my teeth, held it for a second before letting go. Meeting his eyes, I said, “Now you.”

  He shoved the pants down, not quite so showy this time.

  Not that I minded.

  His eyes lingered on the hand resting at my waist, clearly waiting. I grinned and slid it down along my crotch. I imagined I could feel the heat and wetness right there through the sturdy material of my jeans.

  Nicco closed his eyes and dragged in a deep breath. He looked back at me then, pointedly. “Your turn.”

  I popped the button on my jeans, dragged down the zipper. The rasp of it sounded terribly loud in the quiet room, and it dawned on me that we were far from alone in this condo. “We’re going to have to be quiet,” I said.

  “Want me to gag you?” His eyes gleamed.

  “You seem to have a thing for bondage. First, you t
hreaten to cuff me – with my own cuffs, no less. Now, gagging?” I arched a brow as I caught my jeans by the waistband and began to slowly inch them down, giving a wiggle of my hips.

  His eyes glazed over.

  I was going slow enough that it might have been silly if it wasn’t for the way he was reacting to the whole thing. By the time I had my jeans to my hips, his breathing had gotten ragged. “I just might be kinkier than I thought, because I’m tempted to spank you right now…get the damn jeans off, Ravenna.”

  I laughed, finally kicking free of them. I’d barely straightened when he came for me, yanking my body to his and slamming his mouth down on mine.

  I caught his shoulders, opening for him as he drove his tongue into my mouth. I sucked on him, giddy delight exploding through me when he shuddered.

  Against my belly, I felt his cock, so hard and heavy.

  I was already wet and ready for him. Jumping up, I wrapped my legs around his waist and undulated against him, the ache inside me growing.

  It was insane, wanting somebody like this.

  It was divine, needing somebody like this.

  Nicco tore his mouth away and muttered, “Here…like this…” He caught my hips, lifted me higher and canted my hips inward. I gasped as he filled me, my weight driving me down on him until I was completely impaled. Eyes widening, I looked at him.

  He turned around and sat, then lay on the bed, his hands on my hips. “Ride me, baby…let me watch you take me.” His blue-gray eyes bored into mine, all but searing me through.

  I braced my hands on his chest and tentatively rolled my hips. Sensation blasted through me, ripping a moan from my throat.

  Nicco reached up and pressed the tips of his fingers against my lips.

  Opening my mouth, I sucked one inside.

  His cock jerked inside me.

  I watched him as I moved again. At the same time, I rubbed my tongue along his finger, using it the way I’d done when I had his cock in my mouth. Judging by the way his eyes flashed, I think he noticed.