“I know.” And then we stopped talking as we stared out at the ocean. His words echoed in my head and I realized how I would feel if it was my daughter. I would not be happy, but he was also right—I would never cut my child out of my life. My mom was being selfish and while I wanted to make her happy, it was my turn to be happy...even if it meant being happy without her.
Breaking into my thoughts, he said, “So, what do you have planned for today?”
“I have to go and make the final adjustments to the flowers and then I am going to be cleaning out the second guest bedroom for Mackenzie. She is expected here next week and will be staying for a week before the wedding and a week after we are gone.”
“So what does that mean for me?” Jake asked.
“It means that you are going to have to share the house with Mackenzie or move back to your own place,” I smiled and then added, “But you need to not flirt with her. I mean, Mackenzie just got off a bad break up, the last thing she needs is another hollow relationship.”
“Hollow!” he burst out in laughter. “I am far from hollow, I leave every girl in my relationship feeling filled.”
I laughed, stood up and kissed the top of his head as I passed by. “I’m sure you do, baby, but on that note, I have to get to the florist and you have to go and see if your current relationship is awake.”
Chapter Six
Stepping out of the florist shop, I glanced down the street towards where I parked and stopped in my tracks. A tall man with dark black hair was standing beside it, his arms crossed as he leaned against the black metal of my car. I narrowed my eyes and took in the scar running down his cheek and partially hidden by the man’s sunglasses.
But they didn’t hide how the scar twists up the corner of his mouth to make it look like he has a crooked smile. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt and my mind flashed back to the man standing on the beach earlier today. It can’t be the same man? I thought to myself, but a part of me knew that that was exactly who he was.
Fear made my heart thump and I ducked back into the alcove of the door—out of sight of the man. I opened the door and nipped back into the florist’s, who looked up at me when I entered. “Did you forget something?” he asked.
Biting my lip, I walked over to the flowers in the window and said, “I just remembered that I wanted a bouquet for the house. I have guests arriving in the next few days and I want to have a beautiful arrangement waiting for them.”
The man shifted on my car as he watched me and I knew, without a doubt, he was waiting for me. Pointing to a few of the loose flowers, I said, “Can you put together a nice arrangement with those ones?”
Smiling, the florist walked over and began collecting the flowers I had pointed to. The brilliant reds and oranges were perfect for the fall season, but I realized I’d chosen flowers that I didn’t really care for. My attention was focused on the man outside and I cursed silently as he stood still, unmoving. There was nothing else I could do except go out and confront him.
“That will be a hundred and twenty-nine dollars,” the florist said with a triumphant smile on his face.
I gasped and then glanced down at the arrangement. While it was a beautiful grouping, I was floored that I had to spend that much just to avoid some asshole standing at my car. Giving him my credit card, I snapped up both the bouquet and the card before I headed out the door.
I ground my teeth as I walked towards the car, watching the man’s reaction carefully. He stiffened slightly before he went back into that lazy pose against my car. “Can I help you?” I asked as my hand tightened around the pepper spray I carried everywhere with me.
I couldn’t see his eyes from behind the dark shades covering them, but I knew he was staring at me now. His chin dropped, and I had the uneasy feeling that he knew about the pepper spray in my pocket. “Hello, Mia,” he said, ignoring my question.
A chill ran down my back and I fought the urge to run. I ignored his statement and asked, “What do you want?”
A twisted smile spread across his face and it was grim with the sharp scar on his cheek. I felt my stomach lurch at the sight of it and wondered how many people had looked into that smile seconds before they died. There was no doubt that he was a murderer. I knew it as surely as I knew I loved Damon. “I just wanted to see how you were after that nasty attack,” he said and shrugged his shoulders. “How have you been doing?”
My hands shook as I clenched the pepper spray tighter. I didn’t answer or move and I wasn’t sure if I should open my door and try to drive away or simply leave and call a cab. There was no way I would call Damon to come and get me. As much as I wanted him right now, I knew this guy was waiting for me to do just that. “I’m good,” I said, lamely, not quite sure how I should respond.
His smile widened, if that was possible, and he said, “Good, good to hear that. I heard you’re getting married.”
My face must have betrayed my shock since he chuckled and continued, “See, we know lots about you and what you and Damon are up to. So, are you going to answer me? When is the big day?”
I felt the blood rush from my face and I felt dizzy. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away—I was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing my tears. “Soon,” I replied. “In a few weeks, actually. Do I know you?”
He shook his head, “No, not me personally but I know Damon. We used to run together.” He looked down the street and then back at me. I glanced back and saw that the street was empty. I took a step around the hood of the car and put it between us. “Where are my manners,” he said, “I know you, but you don’t know me. My name is Diego Sanchez.” He held out his hand to me as he turned and reached across the car. I stared at his hand, but didn’t take it.
I took another step towards the driver’s side door. “It’s nice to meet you,” I forced out, “but I should be going.”
“That’s right,” he said, his smile slipping and I felt a cold tension coming from him. “You have a deadline, don’t you. So many plans for the wedding and all that.” I nodded and his next words chilled me completely and I stopped, “Don’t you hate having an axe above your head? Doesn’t it feel like it’s going to fall at any moment?”
I shook my head, and I could feel my fear taking root in my head. “I know I hate the feeling and I live with it every single day. I mean, when Damon first went straight, I won a lot of money on the running bet I had on him. I knew he wasn’t cut out for his career and it was only a matter of time.”
He smiled as he sighed. “Then I got all of his contracts and some of them were quite lucrative. I had no idea how red-hot Damon was or how many people he was contracted for. Do you realize how red your fiancé’s hands are?”
I shook my head. All I wanted to do was press my hands against my ears so I could stop his words from searing into my mind. I didn’t know what to do...what to say to everything he was telling me. I wanted to scream at him and tell him to leave us alone. I knew it was pointless—he was making a point and he wouldn’t leave until it was made. His smile disappeared and he said, “Probably not. I know Damon has always been a gentleman...he never kissed and told.”
He placed his arms on the hood of my car, “But the problem is, I did kiss and tell and I told Damon a lot of things. I enjoy having my accomplishments praised by people I respect and I do respect Damon. But now there is this little difficulty of his files. People in the group say he should be quieted, but then those files go out to the world and we will end up finding ourselves in a small little cell or dead. I don’t agree with that at all.”
He rubbed his jaw and then picked at the scar on his face as he waited for me to answer him. It seemed like he was deep in thought when he said, “Other people said to just leave him alone. Let him go legit and not bother with him anymore. I kind of agreed with them.”
“Then why are you here?” I asked after a short pause. He cocked an eyebrow and his smile grew grim.
“Well, I was going to, but th
en I started thinking about that file. How much of it contains things I have done?”
“But the file stays buried unless something happens to him,” I said. “He doesn’t want to do that to anyone, but he just wanted some security.”
He chuckled. “I understand security and I have my own files on a few people, but Damon has caused me to lose that sense of security. I have this axe hanging over my head and I am not sure how to remove it. So that got me to thinking...” his voice trailed off before he added, “What I needed was some of my own security. I mean, what would happen to this file if Damon died accidentally? I am sure the file would be mailed and my children would lose their father. I can’t have that, can I?”
I gasped at his mention of children. I couldn’t imagine how such a cold man could have children or even care if he was around for them. “And Damon doesn’t have any kids so there was no way that I could use them as a security. And he doesn’t really care about himself. If I threatened him, he would just laugh it off. Besides, the only way that file would go out is if he was dead...not much of a security. I wanted to lift that axe on my head feeling and put it on Damon.”
He waved his hands like he was spit balling. “And then it hit me,” he said and the smile returned. “He has a pretty, little fiancée that could have an axe dangled over her head.”
It was like he punched me in my stomach. I lost all the feeling in my body, and I felt the air rush out of my lungs on a gasp. The tears did appear now and they streamed down my face silently. I didn’t even sob. All I did was lean against the car as the world began to tilt on its axis. “Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. I don’t want to hurt you. I mean, I would fuck you if you let me, you are quite pretty. But I am not going to drop the axe unless Damon forces it.”
“Why?” I asked breathlessly as I struggled to get air into my lungs.
He put his hands up as if he was giving up. “Hey, all I want is for everyone to have a long and happy life. You do what you do...finish up that teaching degree,” he said, alerting me to the fact that he knew everything about me, “Damon can do what he does at his motorcycle shop. And I’ll continue on with my current career path. We’ll all be happy, but we need to sort out that axe Damon has before we can all breathe a sigh of relief.”
My lungs burned as I drew in that breath I had been longing for. Diego smiled. “That a girl, you can think straight with air in your lungs. Now you must know that there is a reason for me telling you all those things.”
I nodded. “Yes, because you are giving us a threat.”
He laughed. “Not a threat, darling. A promise...actually a compromise. I don’t really care what is in that file, except if my name is mentioned. Damon can keep his axe on the rest of the gang, I just want it off of me. So he can give me all the information he has on me and that axe I have dangling over you will ensure that he doesn’t try to keep any of the information.”
I winced with every mention of the axe. My life had been in danger more times than I cared to count since I had been with Damon, but this time, it felt like it was worse than any other. I had no doubt that he would follow through on his threat...or his promise as he wanted to call it. “So what do you want me to do?” I asked, my mouth dry from the fear coursing through me.
“I want you to tell Damon what I said. I want my file in my hands before he is married. I give him until Friday. If I don’t have it, I will see to it that my pretty, little axe will drop.” His words ran like ice through me. “That gives him about three days, I am sure it won’t take that long to get the file together. The file on the rest of the gang he can keep for his own security. And then I will leave you all alone.”
“What assurance does he have that you will?” I asked.
His smile was toothy when he said, “He doesn’t, but he knows me well, sweetheart. He will know that unless I get a job with his name on it, I will leave you two alone.”
Standing up straight, he adjusted his sunglasses and waved at me. “Well, you should get going. Tell Damon I said hi and that I will be seeing him on Friday. If I don’t, I will be seeing you Friday night.” And then he walked off down the road as though he had just been chatting with an old friend. I shivered at how at odds the image he projected to the world was with the words he had been saying to me.
Sliding into the driver’s side, I locked the door and then cried for a half hour before I was able to even start the car.
Chapter Seven
“Mia? Is that you?” Damon’s strong voice filled the hallway, and I rushed towards him. As I rounded the corner, his eyes widened in fear and he raced towards me. Grabbing my arms, he looked me over and then asked, “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head, unable to speak and wrapped my arms around him. I needed his warmth to chase away the cold fear that had been filling me since I had left the florist shop. I hadn’t gone straight home, but instead, I had manoeuvred through the streets, jumping whenever a car followed me for more than a block. I was terrified that it was Diego following me, which was stupid. He knew where we lived, so there was no reason not to go right back home.
When I’d finally realized that, I turned towards home and cried when I saw Damon’s bike. I felt like the cold of the grave was clinging to me and I needed Damon’s heat...his life pouring into me.
I planted a kiss to his neck as I clung to him and then I kissed him again. I felt his arms around me and I felt safe. “Mia,” he said as he pushed me away from him slightly to gaze into my eyes. He moved my hair away from my forehead and planted a kiss to it. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I murmured as I pulled him closer against me. “I need you, Damon. I need to feel you inside me so I can believe that everything will be okay.”
“Mia,” he said, “we should...”
I cut him off and took control of things for once. Usually I waited for Damon to take the initiative, but today I needed to feel him around me. To feel his warmth as he glided inside of me. I needed to forget about Diego and everything he’d said...if only for a little while. I grabbed Damon’s head and lowered him so I could press my mouth against his. I snaked my tongue inside of his mouth and sparred with his tongue.
He reacted instantly to me, his arms tightening around my waist and his erection growing. “Please,” I pleaded, “I just want to make love to you first...and then we’ll talk.”
His eyes were filled with a strange combination of longing and lust as he nodded. Then he scooped me up in his arms and carried me into our bedroom as I buried my head into his shoulder. I closed my eyes and allowed the scent of him to spread through me. It worked on that cold knot that was in the pit of my stomach.
I sighed when he placed me on the bed. His gaze raked over me and I felt warmed by that alone. I slowly raised my hands and began unbuttoning my shirt as desire flared in his eyes. He leaned forward and knocked my hands away, and then he reached for my shirt and ripped it open. I shuddered as buttons went flying and scattered across the hardwood floor.
He undid my jeans and pulled them off of my legs. I lifted my hips to help him and then I was lying there, naked except for a lavender panties and bra set. His hand slid over my skin and cupped my breasts, playing with nipples through the thick fabric. His eyes searched mine and I cleared them of everything except for the need that I had burning in me for his touch.
Damon nodded, as though he was positive that I was okay, then he began to remove his clothes. I watched him silently, marvelling at the beauty of his body and the intricate tattoos that he had on them. The angel was a masterpiece and I traced it with my eyes. When he was fully undressed, his erection pressing up towards his stomach, he crawled onto the bed with me. My hand cupped his balls, but he pulled my hand away. “No, baby, let me make you feel better,” he whispered.
He kissed me and it was possessive and tender all at the same time. I sighed into his mouth as I opened for him and his tongue plunged inside of me. He licked the top of my mouth and along my teeth b
efore his tongue sparred with mine. I felt my blood heat and a pulse thrummed through me right to the apex of my thighs.
The weight of his body against mine made me feel safe and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing him deeper against me. Damon sucked my lip into his mouth and bit it, drawing a gasp from me as he soothed the tortured flesh with his tongue. He deepened the kiss and claimed me as his hands ran up and down my sides. Gooseflesh rose on my body everywhere he touched, but I didn’t feel cold. I felt like I had swallowed the sun.
Breaking the kiss, Damon followed a familiar path down my throat until he kissed the valley between my breasts. I felt his hands work the front clasp of my bra and then my overheated skin was free for him. His mouth replaced the fabric on one of my nipples and he bit it. I shivered under him and arched my back for him. His nails dug into my skin as his teeth grazed my nipple, causing a sweet ache to bloom in my breasts.
His fingers pinched and tugged on the nipple of my other breast and I cried out as my first orgasm rocked through me. He gave me a questioning glance and I panted, “Keep going, I want to cum around your cock.”
Damon chuckled, and he switched nipples with his mouth biting and sucking on the sensitive nub while his other hand pinched and tugged on the other one. I was shaking around the second orgasm that rocked me and realized that I was coming simply from his touch. My body had needed his comfort so badly that it was reacting instantly to him.
I gasped as he nipped his way down to my stomach. His tongue darted out and filled my belly button, causing me to startle in response. He chuckled and pressed me back against the bed with his hands on my breasts. He massaged the heavy globes as he continued to lick and nip at my stomach. His teeth captured the small scrap of material that was my panties and he pulled them down before he slid them off my legs.
I opened my legs as he slipped between them, his cock brushing against my clit before he settled with his head against my groin. He lifted my legs over his shoulders and then he looked up at me. “Just relax and let me make you come,” he growled.
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