Beautiful Regret

by MJ Nightingale

  Blaze followed and kissed her on the other cheek. She felt the love from this family that she desperately missed. These were her brothers, and then there he was, Gio. Her one true love.

  “That’s right, Red,” he called. “Family sticks together.”

  Her smile lit up the room. “Family sticks together,” she repeated.

  He pulled her into his arms, and kissed her as the brothers silently disappeared into their respective rooms. He just held her, knowing now that he would be able to do so forever, but he couldn’t resist it. She had opened herself up to this. “Boy,” he whispered seductively in her ear, “I sure would like to stick it you, Red, right now.”

  Lisa laughed. God how she missed this. She whispered back. “Then stick it to me, Gio.”

  His eyes widened in surprise, but there was no way he would let that challenge pass unanswered. He took her hand and led her to the living room. “Quiet Red, we have a full house, and no bedroom of our own. It’ll be just like old times,” he said, beginning to strip for her as she began to fumble with her own clothes.

  He lay on the coach, the tattoo across his chest glimmering in the rays of the moonlight coming in from the window. “La Vida Loca,” “This Crazy Life.” True. But it was going to be a good one. She sank onto him then, knowing there was no place she would rather be.

  Gio sighed his pleasure. “Stick it to me, baby.”

  She did, and then together they soared.

  The next day brought Alex with the official news. “The prosecutor has officially withdrawn the charges. He issued charges against Albert for the attempted murder of Gio, and the plot to frame you. He thinks they will be able to use some of the confession Gio got, if not the video recording, at least having him testify. Albert denied everything at the police station, and of course shut down completely once his lawyer got there, but the best piece of news, is that the police picked up Connie in Atlanta last night and they are charging her as well. If she turns on Albert she will get a lesser charge and that might motivate her.”

  “Oh, Alex. This is great news.” Lisa turned into Gio’s waiting arms.

  “We also discovered something else. Something totally new.” Alex sounded excited.

  “What is it?” Gio asked.

  “Well, those pictures you took all those years ago, Lisa, the one inside that warehouse. Well, we just assumed the car in the picture belonged to the man Albert had met, but it didn’t. It belonged to the Senator. We are enhancing all the pictures now, and thankfully your private eye still had the negatives. We called him this morning. My guys saw something, shadows, someone was watching. If we can get an ID on the Senator, they are all going down. It’s going to be big. Connie will be offered protective custody after she serves her time for turning them all in. It’s practically a done deal.”

  “Fabulous,” Gio stated putting out his hand to shake Alex’s while draping his arm over Lisa’s shoulder possessively.

  “Yes, it is. Almost makes me wish I sill worked in the prosecutor’s office. Doesn’t it?” he included Blaze in his question.

  Blaze nodded. “I like it when the bad guys go down. But, I’m very happy right where I am.” He was thinking of Bella and flying back home tonight. He had hated leaving her once again, but he hadn’t wanted his brothers to do this without him. She completely understood, but her own hearing was just a week away, and they were all needed for that.

  Alex didn’t stay much longer. He’d only wanted to deliver the good news, and catch up with his old friend, Blaze. He envied him. He’d found out Blaze had finally met the right woman. He left feeling happy for him.

  Lisa, and Gio returned to the kitchen. They were cooking up a storm for everyone before Blaze left. Andreas and Nikko were staying one more day before they returned to Tampa, and she and Gio and Johnny would follow in a couple of weeks although Gio needed to be present at Bella’s hearing. But that would just be the one day.

  She needed to put her apartment in Jersey on the market, and decide what she wanted to take. She also needed to make sure she had all her son’s school records with her, and start looking for a place in the Tampa area. She wanted him to be in a great school. A public school, Gio had insisted, but he would buy the house, and they would scour the internet together finalizing their list.

  Nikko had given them the name of a good realtor, a woman by the name of “Annie O.” He and his fiancée were looking for something as well.

  As she stirred the pot of sauce she was making, Gio chatted with Johnny, explaining how to make the perfect meatball. “You got to add just the right amount of water and cheese. Fresh basil is key. And don’t handle it too much.”

  Andreas was reading the paper in the living room, and Nikko was on the phone talking to Ronnie, his girl.

  Yes, Lisa thought, cheerfully, she couldn’t ask for more, and she didn’t want to. This was her family. They always had been.

  Gio closed the back door of the small moving truck. Lisa had weeded out a lot, wanting to have a fresh start in Florida.

  They had dinner at her parents’ house earlier and they just added the last few items to the truck. He and Johnny were driving it down to Florida together, their first road trip.

  Lisa was like a mother hen, saying goodbye, making sure they had everything. Gio shook his head as she rubbed something off the kids face while he tried to push her hand away.

  “Mom, please,” he urged.

  “Sorry,” she pulled him to her one more time. “Habit.”

  When she released him Gio was there standing beside her. “Three days, Lisa. We’ll be fine.”

  “I know, but I’ll miss him.”

  Gio’s eyebrows were raised in question.

  “You too.” She reached her arms around him and held him.

  The sound of the truck door closing told Gio their son had given them some privacy. “I’ll miss you too, woman.” His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “Especially that ass.” He squeezed it and dipped down for a kiss.

  Lisa was ready; she opened to him and allowed him to get his fill. She’d be there ahead of them. Her flight left tomorrow morning, and she would be signing the contracts in the afternoon for the new house. They had found it on line, and their realtor, had taken them through the house in real time using Facetime. They had fallen in love with the neighborhood. Seminole Heights was one of the quaint historical neighborhoods in the Tampa Bay area. The homes were not identical and the architectural styles showed the influence of the arts that the neighborhood was known for.

  Lisa loved the porch that ran along the entire front of the four bedroom home, and the tree lined streets. The schools in the area were top notch. Andreas had gone with the realtor as well, to assess the work on the recently renovated home. It had been priced to sell, but he had nothing but good things to say about all the upgrades.

  Both Gio and she agreed to make an offer, and it had been accepted. She would be there for the final inspection, sign all the papers, and Gio would be there the following day.

  She couldn’t wait to fill the house with things they chose together. Their home, she savored the thought, as Gio broke the kiss that curled her toes and left her wanting more.

  He began to walk to the truck, and she followed him. “Okay, we will call every night, and we will be careful,” he assured her one final time before climbing in. He wanted to get a few hours of driving in so he could take the next two days easier and get to know more about his son.

  “Love you. Both,” she called and waved as Gio began to back out of the driveway of her parents’ home. She was sleeping there for her last night. Her parents had promised to visit them in Florida once they were settled.

  Gio honked the horn, and rolled his window down. “Love you, Lisa.”

  She smiled. Yes, he did.

  She. Was. Beautiful.

  Still is, he thought.

  He scooted closer to the wall, repositioned himself for comfort, and then once again brought his face to the small hole he had made in the closet.
Placing his eye over the peephole he watched, and remembered.

  Catarina Stone was standing before her mirror brushing out the tangles in her thick black hair as she blow dried it to make it smooth. His palms itched to touch her hair. He felt himself getting hard.

  She wore a simple white nightgown that reached her knees. Her feet were bare. What he could see of her legs showed him she was still fit. Perfect. He adjusted his erection choking back the groan that threatened to escape from his lips.

  He had to sit back for a moment, collect himself.

  He counted to twenty, and then leaned forward again to watch.

  She had unplugged her blow dryer, then disappeared into the bathroom, and he cursed his impatience. He watched until his eyes began to water, trying not to blink so he wouldn't miss her coming out of the bathroom. He'd be able to catch a glimpse of her face then.

  It seemed like forever. But ten minutes later she emerged from her ensuite, and grabbed the remote off her high boy dresser.

  He nearly choked back a sob at her beauty. The whore. That's what she had been, still was. Yet he loved her still. She had been kind to him once. That was when it began, twelve years ago. Catarina was thirty-one now. But he still remembered her at nineteen. He'd been just a few years older. Only twenty-two. She'd disappeared. Vanished. Then everything had come crashing down around him. His father still rotted in jail, but he'd managed to escape. But for two years he'd yearned for her. Her smile. Those eyes that glowed brown with flecks of gold. She hadn't smiled much then. But for him she had. They had been friends, he'd thought.

  He'd brought her extra food, books to write in. She was always writing in her little books. He'd asked her about them once. She said it was her diary. But they were all in Dutch. Her language. She was born in Amsterdam. She'd told him that.

  He got bits and pieces out of her when he brought her treats. But he never dared to stay too long in her presence then. He didn't want his father to find out, plus she was a working girl. One of his father’s many slaves.

  Catarina stood, legs slightly apart by her bed. She was close enough to touch. He wanted to touch her. He'd never dared. He sniffed at the wall trying to inhale her scent as he imagined stroking her thighs, cupping her.

  His cock hardened even more, and it became so painful. Yet he resisted.

  Not yet.

  Catarina settled on Bay News 9, a local twenty-four hour news program. She always did that. She'd surf the local stations, but always chose the news. She placed the timer on the remote so the television would shut itself off in forty-five minutes, then set it on her night stand. She quickly crawled into bed. She always slept in the middle. On her back, then in the night she would roll to her side away from him.

  It never took her long either. She was usually out in fifteen minutes, and then came the turn. Away from him. Just like before.

  He watched. He waited. And just like clockwork, she fell asleep.

  After she turned, only then did he grasp his cock in his hand after fishing it out of his pants, and jerk off. He came silently, but wanted to scream her name. Catarina. He silently lifted his closed fist, and pretended to smash the wall that separated them. He cleaned himself up, and got ready to go to work. He covered the hole with white putty that he'd be able to remove tomorrow. But now he had to go to work. He had hallways to vacuum, mirrors to clean, and banisters to polish. The Trump Towers in Tampa did not clean themselves. And he needed to hurry. This wasn't even his floor.

  Salvatore shut the closet door, and padded out of the empty apartment. The owners were snowbirds, and they were gone for eight long, beautiful months of the year. That gave him time. Plenty of time, he hummed softly as he hit the stairwell taking him back down to the seventh and eighth floors.

  He immediately got to work upon finding his cart.

  Ah, Catarina. He'd missed her. And she brought back those urges he thought he'd been able to suppress. A plan began to form. He hadn't done anything bad in nine years. Nine long, lonely years. And she had made him do it when she disappeared.

  Twelve years ago, this beauty had escaped him. She wouldn't do that again, he vowed. Never again. If she tried, she would be beautiful no more.

  Her erotic romance series, Secrets & Seduction, is the tale of three different couples with secrets that may destroy their chances of finding their happily ever after. These books are definitely books you will NOT want to read in public. Check them out. They are available on Amazon for your kindle and Barnes & Noble for your nook.

  Ex-army buck, Victor, teaches innocent sexy school teacher, Monica, all about sex, and not the old-fashioned variety your grandmother was used to either. Filled with gut wrenching emotional turmoil due to Victor’s secrets, you can be sure one of them will melt and the other will burn.

  Teddy is not your average bartender by any means. A cop on the mend from 9/11, he wants nothing but good times and to live each day to the fullest. When it comes to the bedroom, well, hmm, let’s just say he is not your average Joe. Then, he meets a fiery red-head named Ana, and she can teach him a thing or two in the bedroom. He falls for her, but she pushes him away. Why? Because she has so many secrets, and they make her Afraid to Love.

  Jay and Louisa are both battle scarred, but ready to start anew. His scars are not just from the war in Iraq, and hers are not just from a teenage pregnancy that resulted in raising a child alone. The scars in them run deep, and they both have secrets. Can two people so deeply wounded learn to trust each other enough to share those secrets? And if they do, will those secrets make or break them?

  All three of MJ’s books in the Secrets & Seduction Series will have you turning pages, reading in the dark, and wanting more. Will her characters find their happily ever after? You’ll have to read to find that out. But one thing, I can tell you is that they are hot, hot, hot!

  Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

  Ronnie Sears has a college degree, a promising future, a boyfriend, and a plan. But, her perfect life comes crashing down around her in the blink of an eye. Arrested, framed for drug smuggling, and facing years behind bars, Ronnie sees no choice but to run. Only she can prove her innocence.

  Nikko Marino is a sexy, devastatingly charming bounty hunter. His job, as told to him by his older brothers, is to keep an eye on the curvaceous blonde. Make sure she doesn't run. But what his brothers don't know is that he and Ronnie have a past. He and the Ice Princess are more than mere passing acquaintances. She makes his blood burn, and he knows how to warm up this woman.

  Nikko wants to prove himself, but this beauty might just take him down. With his reputation on the line, will Nikko, the hot-blooded youngest Marino, fall for this temptress? Will he be able to protect this beautiful bounty from herself, from the man who framed her, but most importantly can he protect his heart?

  Beautiful Bounty is the first book in The Bounty Hunters - The Marino Bros.

  Suspenseful, erotic, and romantic, these books are packed with passion, sex and characters you will love. What more could you want?

  (Book 2 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.) Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

  Bella Chase led a simple life. She was a good girl who worked hard at a job she loved, had good friends, and enjoyed her life. She just fell for the wrong guy. A bad boy with a bad reputation. When he maliciously involves her in a crime that goes awry, and someone is killed, it is her life on the line. She has no choice, but to flee. She not only faces life in prison, she faces a death sentence if she talks.

  Blaze Marino is done with women. They can’t be trusted. Period. Not even the good girls. When his next case lures him to the hills of Tennessee, hunting down another “good girl”, Blaze is torn between taking down this natural beauty, and losing himself inside of her. He, who has vowed to never love, or need again, is drawn to Bella and he just can’t help himself.

  Terrified, Bella doesn’t know which way to turn. She doesn’t know who to trust.

  Jaded, Blaze can’t fight the pull of attrac
tion. He doesn’t know if he can trust her.

  He has to chase her for his job. Or so he keeps trying to tell himself that.

  Beautiful Chase is the second book in The Bounty Hunters - The Marino Bros.

  Suspenseful, erotic, and romantic, these books are packed with passion, sex and characters you will love. What more could you want?

  Lisa Rasmussen, formerly Lisa Raphael, has had enough of her manipulative abusive husband. He has forced her to his will, tortured her both physically and psychologically, and she wants out. Her sham of a marriage to Albert, son of the blue blooded Rasmussen’s of Manhattan, has to end. But, Albert has vowed to never give Lisa her freedom. He owns her. Body and soul. Her plans to blackmail him to get out, will not go unpunished. Albert will strike first.

  Gio Marino knows Lisa. He knows of Albert. After all, Lisa left him to marry the son of the luxury classic car dynasty. So when Lisa calls him begging for help, he is floored. Not only because she called him, but because of what she has been accused of. Attempted murder! She had meant everything to him, but after what she did nearly a decade ago, he knows not to trust her, but the temptation to see her in an orange jumpsuit is just too hard to resist.

  Lisa is full of regret. She has a lot to feel guilty about. But, she doesn’t have any one else to turn to. She needs Gio. He is the only one she can trust even though he might never be able to trust her again.

  The minute he walks into Riker’s and sees her, he knows he has made a big mistake. The emerald eyes, the flawless skin, the fiery hair, bring it all back. Especially the regret. Can he help her? Does he want to? And why, after all these years, does he find her beauty so hard to resist?

  Beautiful Regret is the third book in The Bounty Hunters - The Marino Bros.

  Suspenseful, erotic, and romantic, these books are packed with passion, sex and characters you will love. What more could you want?