“I understand,” Ty mumbled.
“Now we can have dinner. Mitchell will see that Ty is taken care of.” Emiliano led her to the door and back upstairs.
Ria resumed her seat on the couch, trying to get her shaking under control. Emiliano appeared as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t just had two men beaten on his orders. He sat unconcernedly on a chair with Carmen sitting adoringly at his feet. Each night she had attended, he had a different woman. They all were beautiful, but with different hair colors, faces, and ethnicities. She had yet to figure out if he had a particular type, only that he liked variety.
The door opened and Nicholas entered. He had changed from shorts to slacks and a dress shirt that highlighted the blue of his eyes.
He kneeled down in front of her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she answered. “How could you?” she ended on a whisper.
“I’m not going to lie; Emiliano offered me a choice with Henry. The sick bastard deserved what I gave him and more. Do you think you’re the first woman he’s attacked?”
“No.” The violence he had inflicted on her had shown his total disregard for women. “But Ty?”
“That one he didn’t give me a choice.”
“Is he okay?”
“Mitchell is getting someone to take him to Zane.” Nicholas’s jaw was clenched.
“It’s time for dinner.” Emiliano stood and walked into the dining room with everyone following.
Nicholas pulled out a chair for her, and she sat down with him next to her.
Ria barely managed to swallow any of the delicious food served to her. Nicholas, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have a problem, nor did he mind the other women flirting with him.
She glanced up from her plate of food, and Emiliano’s eyes caught hers. She read the silent message. Stiffening her shoulders and picking up her fork, she was going to take his advice and show Nicholas that his flirting with the other women didn’t bother her.
After dinner, they returned to the living room where the women were being selected by the men for the night. Nicholas was talking to a pretty blond with breasts that were a good D cup. His type, she was familiar with—brain dead with large boobs.
“May I leave now?” she asked Emiliano, ignoring Carmen stroking his lean thigh.
“Yes.” He motioned to Mitchell, who went to stand by the door. “You do not want to stay?” He arched a brow in Nicholas’s direction.
“No, thanks.” She left without a backward glance, ignoring her name being called. Her heels clicking on the tiles drowned out Nicholas following her.
“Ria, wait up.”
“Go away, Nicholas. I don’t want to interrupt your fun.” She slung open the door before Mitchell could.
Before she could slam the car door, Nicholas wrenched it open, getting in beside her. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
She released a volley of Spanish that she hadn’t spoke since she was young and had learned the words from her brother Matthew. Nicholas just sat there, staring at her with a smile until she ran out of names to call him.
“Finished?”
She glared at him in the darkness of the car. “Yes.”
“Good. I was only talking to her to try to find out if she knew who I would be fighting next. I didn’t think you would know.”
She didn’t. She bit her lip in consternation. The women would have heard the men talking about the upcoming fights and the bets they placed.
She looked out the window.
“I’ve never been faithful to a woman.”
Ria swung her head back to him.
“I’ve never cheated, either. I’ve never been in a committed relationship, Ria.”
“I haven’t, either,” she confessed.
“I doubt for the same reasons. You’ve been too busy going to school, working, and caring for your mother. The most important thing to my life is—was—my title,” he corrected himself. “I don’t want to get serious about anyone.”
“It’s not exactly the best time in my life to get serious over anyone, either.”
When the car pulled up outside her apartment, Mitchell opened the door for them, and Ria got out while Nicholas remained inside.
“Do you want to come in?”
“I shouldn’t.” Nicholas stared back. They both knew if he came inside what would happen.
“No expectations.” She held out her hand.
He didn’t take it. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
Ria smiled at him. “How about we just take it slow?”
“That I can do.” He got out of the car, taking her hand.
In her apartment, Ria was barely in the door before she found herself in Nicholas’s arms.
“I thought we were going to go slow?” she laughed.
“Fuck slow. Let’s speed things up.” His mouth went to her neck, brushing her hair back so he could explore the sensitive flesh.
“I can do fast,” she moaned, feeling herself tighten in desire.
She broke away from Nicholas, going to her bedroom door and opening it.
She was taking off her dress when he came to the doorway. She saw the indecision on his face.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
She had held back her desires because she hadn’t wanted her family embarrassed by her behavior. She wanted Nicholas, to have a part of him she would never forget. She was sure she wasn’t the only woman who thought she could take a part of Nicholas by having sex with him.
She wiggled out of her panties, seeing his eyes darken with desire.
He started removing his own clothes. His body was perfection.
Ria licked her bottom lip.
“Don’t do that,” Nicholas groaned, taking her down to the bed.
“Do what?”
“Lick your lip. It makes me want to give you something to suck on.”
Ria pushed him back, going to her knees beside his hips. She deliberately licked her lip before bending down to lick the tip of his cock. “Is this what you want me to suck on?”
His only answer was a loud groan as her mouth covered the head of his cock.
She used the limited amount of skill she had gained from the other night to escalate his passion. His hips thrusting upward tried to get her to take him deeper, but she lifted her head to trace his length with her lips.
Nicholas rolled over, pinning her underneath him. His mouth covered hers, his tongue delving in. This time, it was her moan that filled the bedroom.
His hands widened her legs just before his cock poised at her entrance.
“Damn it.” Nicholas left her for a second before returning with a condom in his hand. He ripped it open then slid it on.
Ria began having doubts, looking at his cock. His eyes caught hers, seeing the hesitation.
“We can always stop.”
“Can we.” It wasn’t a question. She had been fighting her feelings for him, but seeing him sitting on the side of her bed, he seemed vulnerable, and she was sure that was a new experience for him.
“Come to me, Nicholas.” Ria held her arm out to him, for the first time in her life lowering her guards for a man.
“Ria, I never expected to want you this much.” His mouth lowered to her breast, lifting the delicate tip to his mouth. His tongue laved the nipple with gentle strokes.
With him treating her body with care, Ria felt beautiful under his hands. Her mouth placed gentle kisses on his muscular shoulders as her hands glided to his back, feeling the rippling muscles.
He lay over her, his weight making her feel protected. He was going slow, not taking her body, but giving her his.
His cock brushed against her opening, entering her slightly with his head lying on her chest.
“Are you sure?”
For her answer, she lifted her hips, helping him to enter her. She sucked in a deep breath at the slight pain. Nicholas frowned, beginning to pull away.
“Don’t stop!” Her m
outh went to his ear. “I want you.”
He groaned, thrusting himself inside her, and then licked the tear away from the corner of her eye.
“Give it a minute, and I’ll make it feel better.”
“I hope so. Right now, I’m not enjoying it so much.”
She felt his body shake with laughter. Insulted, she hit at his shoulders.
He reached up, taking her wrists in one of his hands. “Give me some of that Spanish fire you showed me earlier.” His mouth took a nipple as his hips slowly began to pump. She felt each ridge of his cock against her vaginal walls, stimulating her passion.
“Better?” he whispered.
“Yes.” She adjusted her hips to take more of him and was rewarded with him moving more easily inside of her.
For a first time, Ria had to admit it wasn’t too bad. She had heard all the horror stories. Even Lacey had told her not to expect too much. Ria was enjoying the feeling of him inside her after the brief pain had faded away.
“I’ve never seen anyone concentrate on sex before,” Nicholas murmured against her breast.
“I don’t want to make a mistake.”
“Baby, it’s not a test. Relax.” His hand went down to where they were joined. She felt him touch her intimately, rubbing her clit until she felt a rush of moisture.
“That’s it.” He began to move faster.
Ria wrapped her thighs around his hips, loving the feel of him, the way he moved.
His fingers began rubbing her harder and she felt a sudden need to move faster herself. She thrust her hips against his, the erotic sounds they were making heightening all her senses. His masculinity and driving need overtook her femininity, making her give more to him than she had expected. She had thought to keep her emotions under control, but Nicholas’s body stormed her defenses, pulling responses that had her screaming as she reached her peak.
She unconsciously dug her nails into his back as she felt him climax with her.
“Ay, que rico.”
“What does that mean?” Nicholas moved to her side. “You weren’t just insulting my lovemaking, were you?” A small smile played on his lip as his thumb brushed over her nipple.
Ria laughed. “No, I said that felt good.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” His gloating look disappeared as he stared down at her flushed body. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a virgin?”
Her eyes dropped to his bare chest. “My brothers were very protective of me, until I left for college then…I don’t know. It’s not important, is it? I didn’t want to make a thing of it like I was losing my V-card. I wasn’t keeping it for marriage or anything. I almost had sex once before my first semester in college when I saw a boy named Luke a few times. We were on my bed making out, and I realized I was getting ready to have sex, not because I wanted to, but because everyone else was, so I got dressed and left.” She shrugged.
“Ria, can I tell you something without you getting upset?”
“Of course.” She smiled up at him.
“It’s not polite to talk about making out with other men when you’re lying next to one.”
She burst into laughter. “All right, I’ll save my secrets for when we’re sitting on the couch.”
“If it involves other men, keep them to yourself,” he grumped, getting out of bed and going into the bathroom.
Nicholas was very much a self-centered man. He would be a jealous lover over a woman he loved. Ria lost her smile, frowning, feeling the ache in her heart at the thought of him loving a woman.
Nicholas came out of the bathroom, lying back down next to her. “I have to go out of town for a couple of days for a commercial shoot.”
“What’s the commercial?”
“Hooter’s and a small company for athletic wear. I got offered one for an energy drink, but I turned it down. I won’t promote products I don’t believe in.”
“Then why are you promoting Hooter’s?” She was unable to keep the jealous twinge out of her voice.
He laughed. “Have you ever tried their wings?”
“Oh, God. That old line?” Ria groaned. Her head fell back onto the pillow, and then she made a face at him. “Are you going to have some wings while you are gone?” She was angry at herself for asking as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She had told him no pressure, and as soon as they had finished having sex, she was already questioning him.
“I’m not craving hot wings right now. I’m more in the mood for tamales. One hot, little tamale in particular.” He lifted her until she was lying on top of him.
She rose up until she was sitting on his stomach, stretching as she felt his eyes go to her swaying breasts.
“I’ve never had feelings for any other woman in my life. I expected it to be the same with you, but it’s not. There’s something here that I don’t understand, but I don’t want to screw it up.” His expression was serious as he stared up at her.
Ria gazed down at him. She had been trying to fight her feelings for him because she’d known it was just a matter of time before Nicholas walked away. He was the type that would never be satisfied with one woman and a family of children.
She wondered at the plastic façade he presented to the world. Sometimes, like now, he dropped it and she saw the real Nicholas. That was the Nicholas she was beginning to care about.
“Every time I’m near you or I hear your voice, I can’t resist. You’re right, there’s a powerful attraction between us,” Ria agreed with him. She knew deep down they would probably crash and burn at some point, but right now, while they had this time together, she wanted to make the most of it.
“I think we both can keep our heads on straight,” Ria said as she stared into his beautiful, tortured eyes. She was giving him an out when he wanted to take it. She didn’t want to hold him to her when the mess in her life was over.
She reached to caress his face, and he held her hand as he leaned in to kiss her.
“Cogerme.”
“What does that mean?”
“Let me show you.”
Chapter 17
“Ariel.” She jumped when she heard her name, turning to see Mitchell standing in the doorway with a file in his hand. “Sorry, you must not have heard me knock.”
She hadn’t. She had been staring out her window, thinking of Nicholas.
No one but the cartel referred to her as Ariel. Her family had always used her mother’s pet name for her. When she had left with her mother, she had left Ariel behind and hadn’t looked back.
She didn’t reach out to take the file. “Don’t you get tired of being controlled by them, Mitchell?”
“It is a life I have chosen,” he said stiffly.
“Men don’t have long lives in the cartel.”
“Emiliano will be different. You will see. He will take the cartel to heights it has never seen before.”
“If he lives that long.”
“Emiliano is not like your father or brother. He cares about those within the cartel. The men feel the difference and would lay down their lives for him.”
“Unlike my brother, whose men orchestrated his murder?”
“You finally want to learn the truth? I always wondered if you would,” he said sarcastically. “It took you long enough. I assume you’re missing the money Alejandro sent to you all those years.”
“I didn’t take his money! I returned it! Whenever the messengers came, I always sent it back. I never even opened the envelope.” Ria’s eyes widened when she realized she should have kept her mouth shut. The person who had delivered the money must have kept it. She had inadvertently revealed a traitor among them. At least now she could be open; there was nothing to hide. Her plan to shock him with the knowledge of her brother’s death obviously didn’t faze him one bit.
“I may have needed the money, but I didn’t take it. I wanted nothing to do with the cartel.” She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her, even though she felt the urge to run away.
Mitchell looked
down his nose at her. “What the hell do you know about the cartel? You say you want no part of it, yet it is in your blood.”
“No,” Ria denied. “I’m not like them.”
“Yes, you are. You tried to save and protect your mother. You were loyal to your brothers even though you know they weren’t good men. When your father died, you were grief-stricken. Family ties are the hardest to break, yet the hardest to live with.”
Mitchell was right. She had loved her family, despite knowing the cruelty they were capable of.
“Your father made a mistake, and your two brothers made the same. He used fear to maintain power of the cartel. They would threaten the lives of the members’ families to maintain control”—his hardened face was filled with hatred—“which is why I wanted him dead. He threatened the life of my sister while treating you with kid gloves. Emiliano uses loyalty to keep control. He would give his life for my sister. A man like that, the cartel will protect.”
Ria didn’t ask Mitchell if Alejandro had hurt or might have killed his sister. She knew her brother had been an evil man. Still, he had been her brother, and she knew he had loved her and their mother. She felt the sense of loss, not ever truly knowing her eldest half-brother.
Ria hoped she could find out who’d killed her brothers. She had to know who they were to know if and when they would come after her next. She understood Alejandro’s murder, but Matthew was young; he didn’t deserve to die before seeing his twentieth birthday. Whomever that person was deserved to pay for his actions.
“Who killed my brothers?” Ria asked.
“Alejandro’s grief over Matthew continued to get worse over the years. It was clouding his judgment, and his decisions were more about punishing people for their mistakes instead of making smart business moves to expand the empire he had lost all respect. His last decision was to kidnap the girlfriend of a loyal employee who wanted to quit the cartel. He was a good employee who had completed all tasks asked of him. Alejandro could have let him go—he had no fear of the man reporting him. Instead, your brother put all his energy into kidnapping the girl as punishment. That is the man that killed your brother.”
“What’s his name?”
Stand of Redemption Page 12