“Oh hell yes you should’ve. Think he’ll give me a look at his legendary appendage?”
“Um, no. Besides, I’ll be much too busy with it,” I teased.
“That’s the spirit. Maybe you’ll do it tonight in the locked bathroom once everybody goes to sleep. Not as exciting as on a plane, but still. You gotta hit that kind of hotness while you’ve got the chance.”
The unintended implication of his lighthearted jest darkened my thoughts.
“Yeah. Probably.” I swallowed hard. “Have your friends in high places come through for me?”
“No, MJ, baby, I’m so sorry. No one yet at least. They’re all afraid of the big bad Wolf. But don’t give up. Let me make some more calls. These were just the first rounders.”
“There’s still a few from your previous relationships? Favors to be called in?”
“In part. But more from the other girls at Sexxy. They’re totally behind you. No one likes the idea of an asshole like Campanella strong arming one of us.”
Powerful warm hands slid around my waist, immediately gliding under the hem of my top. I drew in a ragged breath. His skimming touch electrified my skin.
“Sir Hungalot is back,” Mike guessed.
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Love you, MJ.”
“Love you, Mikey. Always and forever plus a day.”
“So.” King lifted a brow as he spun me around to face him, his hands settling low on my hips where they branded me with their heat. “Did he call me what I think he did?”
I smiled slowly and nodded.
“Pillow talking with the best friend about me, ese?”
“Bragging.” I waggled my brows.
“It’s not bragging if it’s the truth. Shall I give you something more to talk about?”
“You have my full support on that agenda.”
He pressed his lips into the sensitive hollow below my ear. I turned my head to give him more surface area to work on. He glided the tip of his wet tongue along my skin until he reached my ear lobe which he nibbled. “You’ll be full of something for sure later,” he whispered.
I let out a moan just as his mother walked up on us. Warmth creeped over my cheeks.
King gave me a mischievous wink. “Are you blushing, Reina?”
His mother smiled and spoke something to him in Spanish while she kept her eyes on me.
“What did she say?” I asked as she stepped away to join the others.
“Only that you remind her of herself when she was your age.”
Oh that’s nice, I thought.
“And that I had better stay in my own bed tonight and be a gentleman or no migas for me in the morning.” King made a face and put his hand over his chest like he had taken an arrow.
“A difficult choice, apparently,” I quipped.
Everyone laughed.
“Seriously, I don’t want to put anyone out of their usual spots,” I spoke into the murmured din of the group. They were debating who would travel in the family sedan with María and who would accompany King in Sager’s sleek new Dodge Challenger Hellcat.
Finally, María held up a set of car keys and beckoned his grandmother to follow her. It had been decided. Abuelita would go with her daughter-in-law. They would be making a stop at the market for extra supplies before heading home. Melinda would accompany King and me.
“Doesn’t your mother need help with the groceries and your Abuelita?” I asked Juaquin as we strode down the hospital corridor behind them.
“Not really. We’re all accustomed to helping Abuelita in and out of the car. Her chair is lightweight. They all know my grandmother at the mercado and give her and mi madre extra attention. Plus, Abuelita prefers to do things herself, and her persistence has paid off. At home she’s often able to set the chair aside and use her walker.”
Juaquin held open the glass door for Melinda and me, and we stepped into the parking garage. It was much cooler in Seattle than it had been in Vegas. I ducked closer to Juaquin and his warmth while the blue-eyed pixie wore a determined visage beside us, her white cane clacking rhythmically back and forth against the pavement. Melinda and Abuelita. Two women who had risen to face and conquer those individual challenges. Admiration for both filled my chest.
“Does she understand English? Your mother, I mean.”
“Oh, yes.” Melinda piped up before King could answer as she settled into the backseat. “Not much gets by her.”
“This is true.” King shut her door and opened the front passenger one for me so I could climb in. “Don’t let the fact that she doesn’t speak it so well fool you.”
Ah, I thought. Good to know. I buckled up, watching King as he rounded the iconic hood of the muscle car. The yellow tinted garage lights washed over his sculpted form. My eyes remained on him as he fired up the ignition. He glanced over the console at me grinning ear to ear as the engine growled. His golden gaze sparkled with excitement.
“I’ve been itching to drive mi hermano’s newest toy.” He threw his arm over the back of my seat and steered the car out of the parking space. His fingers flexed on the leather wrapped wheel as he turned the Hellcat and we crept out of the multilevel garage at a snail’s pace behind his mother.
“I can practically feel your eagerness.” I grinned back at him.
“Sager’s just as juvenile,” Melinda offered from the back seat. “He says he bought the Challenger for me, so I can open the window and feel the wind whip my face like it did when I skied competitively.” In the rearview mirror I saw Melinda cock her head slightly. “But I know it’s really for him.” She snorted. “Boys and their toys.”
“A supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi ain’t no toy,” King chimed in, punching the gas to lurch us out of the garage and onto the main thoroughfare. “It’s a fuckin’ beast.” He tapped on the steering wheel and cursed as he was forced to brake at a red light. “All this power will be wasted on this short drive.”
He was right. The route from the hospital to his home was all residential streets with frequent stops. No chance to unleash the full fury of the muscle car. From the airport we had traveled to the hospital mostly on the freeway. Now we were in the heart of Southside. As we made our way past its tired buildings and somber denizens, I remembered how it had been growing up here. I didn’t feel nostalgic. I felt relieved and sad and disheartened at the same time. Happy that we had moved to a better neighborhood thanks to my brother but also sad for those who might never find their way out.
King’s house was a welcome oasis in the neglected neighborhood, small but comfortable and bustling with activity within minutes of our arrival. María took the lead. Carrying two paper bags, she issued orders about what went where and who was to do it with her son translating. I might be the queen, but here she held the power, the queen mother, la madre. She insisted I call her that. “You’re here in my home. You make mi hijo happy, then you’re a daughter to me.” She said in Spanish of course. But when King explained I saw the heavy emotion in his eyes. This was serious stuff. Stuff I wanted. Him. His family’s acceptance. A place to fit in. But though I thanked his mother, I turned quickly away from his watchful gaze and busied myself setting the dinner table.
I might want all those things. I might have them for tonight, for a couple more days even. But I knew deep down that it probably couldn’t last.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
King
“How’s he doing?” I whispered to Sager.
“Good. He’s sleeping now. When he was semi coherent earlier he asked about you and Miriam. I told him it’s a good thing. That seemed to satisfy him. You don’t have to whisper by the way. I’m the one in the room with him, not you.”
I had offered to stay with my father prior to his surgery. He had declined. The tension remained between us even after I had laid things out. But it seemed less since I had given it to him straight. My feelings. My expectations for our relationship going forward. With a little softness on my part thanks to Miriam and her faith in me.<
br />
“I’m out here on this hard as fuck couch while all the others are resting on their nice soft beds,” I explained why I was keeping my voice low.
“Ah, porbrecito.” Poor baby. “The chair here by our father isn’t all that comfortable either, mi hermano.”
“Thanks for being there with him,” I grumbled my appreciation.
“That almost sounded sweet. Who the hell are you and what have you done with my brother?”
“Fuck you, asshole.”
“Is sweet Miriam responsible for this astounding beast to butterfly metamorphosis?”
“Sager,” I warned. “Give it a rest.”
“Uh-uh. This is fun. You told me once that love is like getting kneed in the balls. Seems like you might be walking a little funny these days yourself.”
I couldn’t say jack to him. He always saw straight through my bullshit.
“The Hellcat drives like una pantera,” I said changing the subject.
“A panther she is. And anytime you wanna take her out of her cage, she’s yours.”
He had an open invitation to my Hummer as well. He knew it. I didn’t need to reiterate. We both might be territorial about our women, but not with our possessions. We grew up with nothing. We could afford a lot of shit now because of the band’s success. But our bank balances didn’t change who we were or what mattered to us. Money couldn’t buy or change the important things. I thought of Miriam. Who I was or what I had because of it didn’t factor with her. I had to have her. And I was determined to win her. The problems I once saw as unsurmountable between us I now saw as only wrinkles that needed to be ironed out. I was waiting until I knew everyone was asleep before I went to her to try to explain, to try to show her how good we were for each other. But it was still too early. Not because I was opposed to breaking mi madre rules. I just didn’t want any interruptions when I did.
“You talked to any of the guys lately?
“Not really. We’re all busy trying to get in as much normality as we can before we go back on the road. But I know that War’s in LA with Shaina. Dizzy’s here in Seattle with April. You know how tight Melinda and she are. Bry is with Lace at his mom’s place. Those three Tempest women were just starting to come together before we went on the European tour. Now they’re a brick wall of solidarity.”
“Your pixie looks like she’s happy these days.”
“Yeah, she makes me happy that’s for sure.
“Bueno. She seems to be making good on her vow to me as well.”
“Speaking of vows…”
“¡No mames!” No fucking way, I exclaimed.
“Yeah. I gave her the ring. It was a technicality anyway. She already had my heart. Everyone knows it. But she refuses to wear it until we have your blessing. She wants you to give her away. Things with her dad haven’t improved. Besides, she knows how important you are to me. And with how things have been between us lately I wasn’t sure about asking…”
“You have it.” I cut in, my throat nearly fucking closing in on itself. “My blessing. My approval. My full support. Whatever you need.”
“Gracias, Juaquin.”
“De nada, mi hermano.”
• • •
Miriam
“Mmm,” I protested. From far off I might have heard someone calling my name, but deep beneath waves that were warm and luxuriant, swimming toward the surface seemed unappealing.
“Mi reina.” A firm pinch on my backside snapped my eyes open as the waters receded to reveal an irritated prince staring down at me from on high. “Damn, you are hard to wake,” he hissed low glancing at the other bed where Melinda slumbered peacefully. “Vengas aquí.” He held out his hand, and I threw back the covers to slide mine into it.
He guided me from the room, down the short hallway and through the living room where the moonlight streaming in through the sliding glass doors ahead of us revealed the sofa and the bed linens folded in a pile at one end.
“What time is it?” I asked as he slid the patio door open and led me out into the backyard.
“One in the morning.”
“Did you not sleep at all?”
“Nope.”
“Oh.” I pulled in a protesting breath when my bare feet encountered the wet grass. “Where are we going? It’s cold out here.”
“I plan to fix that problem shortly.” We turned the corner and arrived at a narrow strip of side yard between the house and a fence. My mind registered the warmth first. Then I saw the outdoor space heater. And the pallet of blankets laid out on the ground nearby it. Understanding dawning, I smiled at him slowly. He grinned at me wickedly.
“You’re a clever man.”
“Migas, be damned,” he said, turning me into him. My palms landed on the center of his naked chest as he wrapped his arms snuggly around me. Juaquin stared down at me, his gaze intense. “I’d go through flames to have you.”
He lowered his head. I lifted mine allowing myself the pleasure of cataloging the sensual features of his handsome face before I closed my eyes. Firm lips felt like fire, his technique just as devastating as he allowed me a moment to enjoy the pleasure of our connection before he coerced me into more. I opened my mouth to the gentle persuasion of his tongue, and he slid the spaghetti straps of my sleep tank from my shoulders. My arms became trapped at my sides. He had me where he wanted me apparently but not close enough. He curled his long fingers around my upper arms and yanked me closer. Crushing my breasts to his rock-hard chest, he deepened the kiss. When I began to mew into his mouth and rocked that part of me that throbbed over his straining erection he lifted his head.
“You make me hot as hell, chiquita pero picosa.” His gaze was dark with devilish promise. “So fucking perfect.” He set me back to look at me. The moonlight shown down on both of us. All of Southside seemed to be holding its breath, or maybe it was just me.
“I’d like to tie you up the first time I take you tonight.” His eyes searched mine. “Would that be alright with you?” My answer seemed very important to him.
“Yes,” I whispered, my fingers tightening on his arms. I liked the idea of being restrained by him as much as I liked the fact that he knew even before he had me the first time that once wasn’t going to be enough. In truth, the idea of being completely underneath his control made me a little lightheaded, in a good way. “But why ask? Why not just do it? I thought you were the one always in command.”
“Sí in the bed we share. But when it comes to my heart you should know by now that you have all the power, Reina.”
“Juaquin. Please.” Emotion flooded my eyes.
“Yes, I know what you need. Let me take care of you.” His warm hands stamped ownership on my lower back. “There’s something important here, a dynamic in our relationship that I want to explore. Something I feel might have been there way back at the beginning.”
“What?”
“A need and a solution. A question and an answer.”
“Have you ever done something like this?”
“Never.” He lent me a moment to absorb the truth of his answer. The significance of it. The fact that I was the only one. “You were there for me today when I needed someone. Now I need you to know that you can count on me.”
Mesmerized by him and his words, I nodded my acquiescence.
He whisked the tank over my head, but before my hair had returned to settle around my shoulders, he had pulled my hands together and secured them with a plastic cable tie.
He was masterfully fast and artfully devious. It made me a little… ok a lot…breathless.
“Where did you get that?”
“The garden shed.” He pointed with his gaze.
“You’ve been busy tonight.”
“Not yet. But I plan to be,” he rumbled, whisking my skimpy sleep shorts off in a flash. “Now lay down.” His voice changed like a switch from dark and playful to something edgier and completely irresistible. “Was I unclear?” He lifted a brow when I hesitated slightly.
I s
hook my head and scurried to do his bidding. I was on my back on the pallet completely nude when the second command came.
“Lift your arms over your head.” He joined me on the blankets, naked as well, his cock flagpole erect and already sheathed. My mouth went dry. He was glorious. I licked my lips. His gaze dropped to them briefly.
“Kiss me,” I begged him, heat unfurling low in my abdomen, heat that seemed directly connected to my pussy.
“In a moment.” His gaze swept over me. “You’re so beautiful. So strong. So very powerful. Teasing men to the brink when you dance. Teasing me even now with your hands tied.” His eyes hit mine. “I think it’s more than just titillation when you’re on that stage. I think you’re sending a message. The way you move your body. Giving an opening then taking it away. A challenge,” I held my breath as he stepped closer. “To the man who can see and understand that you need someone strong.”
“It does. You’re right.” He knew so much. “But I don’t want to be overpowered.”
“It’s not about taking anything you don’t want to give me, my queen. It’s about you surrendering. It’s about me earning the right to your submission. Just me, though. No more dancing for anyone else anymore.”
“But I need that job.” I was spread out before him, but I lifted my chin. If I could extract myself from the Campanella mess that job would be the only way I had left to pay the bills.
“You’ll find another way. We’ll find another way. Together.”
“My body. My life. My choice what to do with them.” Tears pricked my eyes. I started to sit up. He dropped to his knees in front of me. My servant and my master. He placed one hand on the center of my chest stopping me gently. He lifted his gaze. Our eyes met. I knew in my heart I was safe with him, but never in my life had I felt more vulnerable.
“Ah, we have arrived at the crossroads. You have a choice to make now before we go any further. Do you trust me? Trust that what’s between us will be enough?”
“Why? Why are you doing this tonight?” I shivered.
“Because it’s time. Because circumstances are chaotic. Because I think we both need to see and feel and lay hold on what is right there in front of us. What we both need.”
The Complete Tempest World Box Set Page 176