by James, Marie
“Hey,” he says leaning forward and kissing my lips. “He’s like a brother to me; I have to be there. I want you with me.” He sweeps his fingers over my scrunched up brow. “I won’t leave without you.”
I can’t imagine staying here. Wrench is around somewhere, and I know he hates Diego and me, and I wouldn’t put it past him to try something when Diego is gone.
“Only if you kiss me first,” I concede.
“Now that, my beautiful woman, I can do.”
I grin at his possessive words and let him kiss me senseless.
***
The drive to Denver was uneventful, and we only stopped once to gas up and grab something to eat. Diego somehow made arrangements for a dress and shoes to be waiting at the bride’s sister’s house. He informed me we will stay here tonight after the wedding and reception.
Transportation was provided from the couple’s home where the wedding took place to the reception. Shadow is the only one who rode with us today. I talked to Diego earlier and explained that Kid was getting me something to eat when Wrench came into the room. He says he understands, but his sour mood over the subject tells me he’s still pissed about Kid not being there to protect me.
“Do you dance?” Diego asks me as he hands me a flute of champagne.
“Not really,” I tell him. Bobby would always tell me that women who dance in public are whores and should be ashamed of themselves, so it’s something I haven’t done since the few high school dances I attended years ago. What I don’t tell him is that I would dance around the house all the time when I knew for certain Bobby wasn’t around.
“Not really is good enough for me,” he says tugging on my hand as I set the champagne glass on the table.
I smile as he leads me out to the dance floor. I know there’s no chance I’ll run into Bobby at this swanky hotel, but that doesn’t keep me from looking over my shoulder.
Diego turns my head, so I’m looking up at him. “I’ve got you darlin’. I’m all you need to worry about right now.”
I wrap my arms around his waist under his suit jacket. I’d thought Diego was handsome in jeans, a t-shirt, and his leather cut, but Diego in a dark suit? I was dumbstruck when he walked out of the bathroom back at Ian and Lorali’s house. He looks like a million dollar business mogul, but with a flagrantly devious edge to him.
He saw me lick my lips and then he did the same looking at me. The dress his cousin’s fiancée picked out is tight and short and makes me feel beautiful and incredibly underdressed at the same time. I tried to entice him to take it off of me, but he refused, promising me he’d love to do it tonight.
I’m ready. I realized it on the way to the wedding and again to the reception when all I wanted to do was strip naked and have him take me in the back of the town car. The urge was even worse after watching Josie and Kaleb get married. There’s just something about seeing two people so in love that makes you wish for the same.
Diego hasn’t taken his eyes off of me all night and has barely kept his hands to himself. I haven’t really talked to anyone since arriving. They’ve all been courteous, but they all have a lot going on. Thankfully I’m not being put on full display. I have a feeling that Diego has done something or said something to keep them from bothering or interrogating me.
I’m a sweaty mess thirty minutes later when Diego finally gives us a break so we can grab a drink. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face if someone tried to force me to. I felt so free on the dance floor as he led me around. We danced to every song no matter the pace or tempo. Diego moves like a god out there, and it makes me wonder about the rhythm of his hips while he’s on top of a woman, me in particular.
I peek over a large glass of iced water at him. I think he may be having just as much fun as I am. His smile grows wider when he sees Josie and Kaleb waving goodbye to people from the front of the room. They haven’t been here long, and I can guess where they’re heading if the looks they’ve been giving each other all night is any indication.
“They look really happy,” I say watching a beautiful redhead give her a tight hug.
“They’ve been through so much in such a short period of time. They deserve every happiness in the world.” He places his glass on the table, takes mine from my hand, and does the same with it. “You deserve every happiness in the world as well, Emmalyn.”
I avoid his gaze because deserving something and getting it are extremely different things.
Cold chills run up my damp spine when he bends his mouth near my ear. I can feel the heat of his breath on my skin when he whispers, “I cannot wait to get you out of this dress.” I feel his fingers run along the bottom hem of the garment at my thigh. I’d never wanted to leave an event so much in my life.
Chapter 30
I’ve been in a perpetual state of arousal since the very first time I saw Emmalyn in the bar so many weeks ago. I would assume that spending so much time with her that the feeling would go away or at least subside some, but it hasn't. I've kept her practically connected to my hip. This wedding is only close friends and family, but I’ve seen the men give her appreciative looks. They’d have to be blind not to notice her; she’s stunning.
The other men looking at her is not the only reason I’ve kept her so close. I can’t seem to keep my hands off of her. The anticipation has been building all night, and I waited until after Josie and Kaleb left before I suggested to Em that we get out of here as well. Thankfully, the newly wedded couple cut out as quickly as they could.
I saw Shadow in a darkened corner with Misty. I grin at the sight, seems the teacher’s assistant isn’t as easy to resist as he’d lead me to believe. No doubt Shadow will have company tonight.
I can’t tell if she’s nervous about what may happen tonight or if she’s tapping her foot on the floorboard of the town car out of excited anticipation. I place my hand on her knee and kiss the top of her head when she leans against my chest. Ian has staff at the house, but assured me we wouldn’t be bothered. He knows a little of the situation Emmalyn came from and has been very accommodating to her needs.
Finally back at the house, I close and lock the bedroom door we’ve been graciously provided for the night. She turns around, and the seductive look on her face shoots straight to my cock, which wastes no time getting rock hard.
“Emmalyn,” I grunt and stride toward her ready to throw her on the bed and fuck her all night. I lift my hand to touch her face, and even though she tries to hide it, I see her turn her head slightly preparing to be hit.
My world crumbles. Even after all this time, somewhere in her mind, she believes that I could turn into a man violent enough to put my hands on her in an abusive way.
I take a step back, and she reaches for me. “Diego?”
“You’re scared of me.” It’s not a question; she can’t deny it.
“I’m not,” she swears. “I flinched. I’m sorry. It wasn’t purposeful, I promise.”
“Let’s get ready for bed, Em.”
I undress quickly, tossing the suit haphazardly on the low dresser. I grab the t-shirt I wore for the ride into Denver and walk over to Emmalyn. She’s upset; that makes two of us.
“Let me help you with your dress.” I unzip the back and let it fall to the floor at her feet and pull my t-shirt over her head. Not exactly how I saw undressing her going when I first pictured it earlier.
“Diego, I didn’t mean,” she swallows roughly, and I can see tears begin to shine in her eyes. “I’m not afraid of you. I just…” I put my finger over her mouth.
“Let’s lay down.” I guide her to the bed and let her climb in first.
We lay in silence for a few minutes before I feel the need to explain my position. I need her to trust me completely.
“My mother,” I begin. “My mother was abused for years by my father.”
She stiffens against my chest.
“I remember her begging him not to hurt me; to hit her instead when he’d get angry.” I pause in an attempt to let the em
otions running through my head subside. They show no signs of leaving, so I continue. “It was all I knew. My very first memory of my mom was her clutching me to her chest, crying. She had a black eye and her lip was split.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she says softly.
“I’d hear him from my bedroom late at night.” I cringe at the memories. “He’d…” I can’t even finish. I turn my head so I can see her eyes. “Did your husband ever… did he force you to…”
She shakes her head. “Never,” she whispers. “Thankfully. He’d beat me and tell me he hated me because I wasn’t attractive anymore, but he never forced himself on me that way. He had other women, though.”
“Thank God,” I mutter and kiss her forehead. “I’m not telling you all of this to get sympathy. I want you to know that after seeing my mom abused for so many years, I’d never hit a woman. My instincts are always to protect those who can’t protect themselves.” I run my hand up her back. “I know it will take a long time for you to fully trust me, and I’ll work towards that every single day, Emmalyn.”
“Until you, Diego, I hadn’t had a loving touch in years. Bobby would be nice sometimes, but I was always waiting for the slightest thing to change him into the devil I know he is.” She places her head back on my chest. “When did your mom finally get away from your dad?”
A tear rolls down my cheek. “The night he killed her.”
She doesn’t say anything; she holds me tighter, and I can feel the shake of her shoulders as she cries at my loss and a woman she’ll never be able to meet. I turn my head into her hair and breathe her in.
“I could never hurt you, Em.” It’s a promise I’ll never have trouble keeping. “I could never be him.”
I hold her until her shoulders stop shaking, and the soft whimpering from her sobbing disappears.
“What happened to your dad?” she asks softly.
“He’s in prison. He got life without the possibility of parole.” In Colorado, where he was sentenced, life in prison is a forty year sentence. I hate the idea that he could come out after his time is served, but knowing there have only ever been two people in all of Colorado’s history to survive that long in a Colorado prison provides some solace.
“Where did you go? After, I mean,” she asks.
I smile at memories of my childhood after losing my mother. “Kaleb’s mom and dad, Angelica and Gustavo raised me. I was eight when it happened, and I spent the rest of my childhood with them. I joined the Marine Corps right out of high school. We were raised just like brothers. They treated me just like one of their own.”
“She seems like a wonderful woman. I met her but not your uncle.” She runs her finger up and down my chest, leaving a burning path on my skin.
“My uncle was a cop. He was killed in the line of duty several years ago.” I clear my throat, still raw from the pain of losing my uncle and not being able to make it back to the States because of my deployment.
I feel her begin to shake again from crying. I shift my weight so she’s on her back and I hover over her. “Em.” I kiss her cheek. “Please don’t cry.”
She shudders and sucks in a trembling breath. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. No child should ever have to witness something like that.”
I look down at her in awe. This woman, who’s seen years of abuse herself, is crying for a young boy who had suffered years ago. Not only is she beautiful, but she's also compassionate, her emotions streaming down her face.
I wipe her tears away with my thumbs and peer into her stormy blue eyes. A moment of understanding and consent passes between us. There is no other place I’d rather be right now, even with the emotions that the story of my mother’s death brings to the surface.
“Diego,” she whispers reverently as I lower my mouth to hers.
Chapter 31
The pain I felt for him knowing what he’d gone through at such a young age began to melt away the second his lips touched mine. It was replaced by a burning lust and desire I’d been bottling for weeks now. There was no turning back now. There was no way I was letting him put the brakes on tonight.
“I need you,” I whisper against his lips as his hands roam over my stomach and under the bottom edge of my breasts. “Take my shirt off.”
You’d think at this moment, after weeks of dancing around each other he’d rip my clothes off and ravage me, but he slowly pulls back and lifts the shirt over my head. He’s patient and taking his time, savoring this moment. Deep down I’m grateful for the care he’s showing, but my arousal is dancing around inside my body and begging him to speed things up.
He watches his hands as they tenderly cup each breast, his thumbs working the tips like a pro. I reach between us and cup the straining length in his boxers, smiling as he groans deep in his chest.
“I’m not prepared for this,” he says with an exasperated sigh.
I reluctantly pull my hand from him. “I’m not going to push you if you don’t want to have sex with me, Diego.” I’m disappointed. I mean who wouldn’t be? I wouldn’t want him to push me if I wasn’t ready.
He throws his head back and laughs. He thrusts his hips against my thigh. “Does this feel like I don’t want to have sex with you?”
I frown. “An erection doesn’t necessarily mean you want to have sex.” He gives me a look that says ‘of course it does.’ “I’ve been wet for you dozens of times,” I say softly. “But until tonight I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to have sex.”
He grins at me; I sigh at him.
“Emmalyn.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “My dick has been hard for you every single day since the first time I saw you in the bar. Each and every time I’ve wanted to bury it deep inside of you.”
“But not tonight?” I’m so confused. It’s almost like I’ve missed half of the conversation, and my confusion is beginning to lead to frustration.
“Tonight?” He gives a light laugh again as he studies my face with dark, hooded eyes. “Tonight, I’m literally not prepared. No condoms, darlin’.”
Fuck.
I run every scenario through my head. We can wait. I can make him come; he can make me come. He could go to the store and get some.
“What’s going through that head of yours?” He asks as he tries to unknit my brow that has drawn up in contemplation.
“You’re worried about STDs,” I say now wondering about the same thing. He’s the President of a motorcycle club, and I’m certain he gets around. It’s something I should’ve given more thought to prior to tonight, but thinking about his past escapades, especially when some of his conquests are always around at the clubhouse, is something I try not to let invade my brain.
“Hell no, Em. I’m clean. We have blood tests done each and every time we get back from a job.” What the hell kind of a job does he do that he’s worried about STDs?
I begin to shift out from under him, unsure now of this entire thing. “You have to test for STDs every time?”
This is the least sexy conversation in the history of conversations. My libido has taken a nose dive, and I’m not certain I want to even be in the bed with him anymore.
“Where are you going?” Diego asks when I try to pull the sheet to cover my body up.
“I know it’s a big secret, and you can’t talk about your work, but I don’t know if I can handle taking this forward if you’re away,” I lower my voice even more, “having sex with other women.”
“Having… what the hell are you talking about, Em?” He sits back on his knees, and now my confusion from earlier is on his face.
I feel like I’m in the damn twilight zone.
“You have to get tested for STDs,” I say it like the statement covers the entire conversation. It answers his question perfectly.
He hangs his head and rubs his hands down his face, but when he looks back up at me, he has a smirk of understanding on his lips, which confuses me even further.
“We’re like,” he pauses as if he’s looking for
the right word to use. “Like special forces, but civilians.”
“Special forces have to have sex with women on jobs?”
He laughs, and my anger at this point is through the roof. He reaches for me, and I hold my hands up to ward him off. “I’m glad you think this is funny because I sure as hell don’t. I know this is probably just some fun for you, Diego, but I’m not the mess around with a guy without expectations type of girl. I’m a little insulted you’d even think I’d be okay with something like this.”
“First off,” he says, his tone growing suddenly serious. “You are not just some fun for me. I thought you knew that but apparently I haven’t been as transparent in my intentions for you, so I’ll work harder on that. Secondly, there typically isn’t sex involved when we go on a mission, Emmalyn.”
I raise my eyebrow at the word ‘typically.’
“I haven’t had sex with anyone in three long ass months.” I begin to interrupt him, but he holds his hand up to silence me. “We have blood work done because there is a lot of violence with what we do. The combatant’s blood doesn’t always stay in their body. Sometimes it gets on us. We test for not only STDs but also other diseases that may not be common in the US.”
Well, that changes things. I want to smile, but after my outburst, it doesn’t seem very appropriate. I’m afraid I’ve ruined our evening. What I’d hoped was going to a long night of hands, mouths, and earth shattering pleasure has taken a turn for the worse, and it’s all my fault for jumping to conclusions. Once again I’ve reacted before getting the full story.
“Sorry,” I mutter and try to wiggle away from him. His hands on my thighs stop me.
“No, darlin’, that’s not how this night ends. You’re not running from me.” He leans in kisses my lips softly.
His mouth on mine is gentle, calming. He doesn’t attempt to take it further until I sigh at his touch and open my mouth slightly. Then and only then does he sweep his tongue along mine. A tingle of electric current crawls down my spine and my nipples begin to harden against his broad chest.