Miami Inferno, page 9
“What are you guys talking about?” Candis licked her surgically injected lips.
Lorenzo finally examined the woman, like one would a lab experiment, briefly thinking he should feel guilty for his uncharitable thoughts, but Candis brought it all on herself. The fact she got his brother in trouble with his fiancée before she died was bad enough. But what really made Lorenzo dislike her was the way she’d acted at the funeral, clinging to Fernando like they were an item. Lorenzo knew his brother would never have betrayed Melanie.
“Yep, I’m out. Have fun.”
It was a relief to step outside into the heat and escape the stuffy feeling from inside. It seemed the new clubs popping up overnight were all very cookie cutter in their style. Nothing like Club Inferno, which catered to the rich and famous, and they sure as hell didn’t compare to what he and Derek planned for Miami Inferno.
Not wanting to go home, he decided to swing by and see how his sister was doing. Lorenzo wished she’d wanted to be a partner with him and Fernando. Gia had a natural flare for making people feel special, and, in the entertainment business, it was a definite must. Everyone wanted to feel like they were the best customers, the most important people there, and she was the best at all the above.
“Hey, big brother, whatcha doing here?” Gia asked, standing near the bar.
She looked fantastic, as usual. Men followed her like panting puppies, waiting for a little pat on the head. It was a truly amazing thing to behold.
Not wanting to appear like he was checking up on Angel, or the club, he kept his voice neutral. “Good evening, Sister, dear. I just stopped by to see if you had everything under control.”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” she laughed. “You miss my best friend and didn’t want to go home alone. Am I right?”
He tugged her earlobe. “You’re a brat, you know that?”
“Heh, so you say. I saw the two of you leave together.” Gia’s infectious smile had those around her wishing they were her friends.
She stood in front of him with that engaging, shit-eating grin and her patented gum-filled mouth. Someday, his baby sister was going to fall for a man she couldn’t control and wrap around her little pinky. He couldn’t wait to see it.
Lorenzo was usually the patient one, could wait for people to tell him what he wanted to hear without asking. Tonight was the exception. “I don’t kiss and tell, but back to my original question. Are you going to answer or not?” He waited a beat. “All right, you win. Have you heard from Angel?”
The smile disappeared from her face so fast it might’ve never been there.
Gia’s eyes widened. “I’ve called her several times, but she hasn’t returned my calls. I’m sure she’s fine.” But she didn’t sound so sure.
“Tell me about this dickweed who proposed to her. What do you know about him?”
“Let’s see,” she said and tapped her chin. “He’s rich, but that wouldn’t matter to Angel. He always sends her presents and treats her with respect from what I’ve seen. She said he was okay with waiting until they were married before…ya know…they did the dirty, dirty. Anyway, that’s all I know. I met him a couple times when I visited her in LA. He gave me the creeps, for real, though. There was this way he made me feel like he was sizing me up for his next conquest.”
“Oh, that makes me feel much better.” He paced away from her.
An uneasy feeling took up residence in his stomach.
“I can call her roommate, Renee.” Gia didn’t wait for him to approve, and for that he was grateful.
Her face scrunched up, and then he heard her leave a message.
“It’s still early in LA, maybe she’s in the shower. I’m sure she’ll call me back.”
Lorenzo wasn’t so sure. He had an overwhelming urge to hop a flight to LA. His family jet could be waiting on the tarmac in less than an hour, and he’d be with Angel before the sun rose. But, if she was okay, then she’d think he didn’t trust her.
Damn!
She had until noon tomorrow. After that, all bets were off.
Gia touched his sleeve. “I thought you were hanging out with Derek.”
“I was, but I left him with Candis.” Distracted, he stared off.
“What? How could you do that?”
The outrage that accompanied each word made Lorenzo take a closer examination of his sister. Gia’s beautiful face was shadowed with a hurt she couldn’t hide.
Lorenzo tilted her face up to his. “Gia, I’m sorry.”
“Whatever, it’s okay.” She jerked away from him, her usual smooth movements absent as she turned towards the bartender.
But it wasn’t, and Lorenzo knew he’d just fucked up. Damn. Damn. Double damn.
He wondered if his sister had known about Angel and Derek five years ago, and almost asked, but changed his mind. He’d already screwed up where Gia was concerned by assuming her feelings for his best friend were nothing more than a young girl’s crush.
What a hypocrite he’d turned out to be. Angel and Gia were the same age, and Lorenzo was actually older than Derek by a few months.
“I’ll make this right with you, I promise.” He touched her arm.
Gia grabbed the bottle of water the bartender handed to her. “Just forget about it. I gotta get back to work. I’ll talk to you later.” She shrugged away from him.
She walked off to make a trip around the club without the bounce he had come to expect. The young girl who always chewed gum and popped bubbles was missing, and he had nobody to blame but himself.
He pulled his cell phone out and called Derek. Never had he been called a cockblock, but this once he would do his best to be just that.
“Hey, Derek, where are you?” Holding one finger to his ear, he thought he heard the same music on the other end of the line.
“I’m actually getting ready to walk into Club Inferno. Where are you, you fucking pussy-ass-bitch? I can’t believe you left me alone with that…that…I have no words for what she is, and my mother taught me better. I will leave it at that, but just so you know, we are so fucking pax, it’s nonexistent. You feel me?” Derek yelled over the club’s sound system.
“You’re at my club? That’s great.” Relief made him lean against the bar.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me, and, yeah, I’m here. Why? Is something wrong with Gia?”
The concern in Derek’s voice came through the phone loud and clear.
“She’s fine, so chill,” he teased. “Have you gotten past the bouncers?”
“What the hell? Of course I’m past your goons. They know to let the rich, famous, and beautiful inside, and, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m all the above.”
Lorenzo saw Gia stop in her tracks and totter in her extremely tall heels. That was his first clue she knew Derek was there, and then she did an about face and fled in the other direction.
Holding his hand out, Lorenzo grasped Derek’s palm and pulled his best friend in for a back-slapping hug. “We’re cool, man. No hard feelings, okay?”
Derek’s grin flashed. “Buy me a drink, and all’s forgiven.”
“You’re such a cheap date.”
“I know, and I’m a sure thing, too.” They laughed at Derek’s lisping accent.
The bar was packed with scantily clad women, and well-dressed men, with music pumping through the sound system. The waitresses were rushing to fill drink orders, and the VIP sections were filled to overflowing. All the things that usually made him happy, paled without knowing how Angel was.
Lorenzo decided to say screw trust. It wasn’t a matter of whether he trusted, but the fact he just wanted to hear her voice. Before he could change his mind he dialed her cell number. The ring back music on Angel’s cell reminded him of her and happened to be one of his favorite songs, Maroon Five’s “Moves Like Jagger.” When her voice came on the line, telling him to leave a message, he hung up and called her apartment number, but instead of Angel answering, it sounded like her mother.
“Mrs. Rugiero? This is Lorenzo Delgado. I thought I called Angel’s number in LA. I apologize for calling you so late.”
“Do not apologize. You did call my daughter’s phone. Her father and I are here visiting.”
Lorenzo nearly collapsed in relief at that bit of news, until her next words.
“What is my daughter to you, Mr. Delgado?” He pictured Mrs. Rugiero standing with her hands on her hips, demanding an explanation.
“I love her,” he said simply.
Maria exhaled. “And how does my baby feel about you?”
Lorenzo cleared his throat. “I think you should ask your daughter that, ma’am.”
“Oh please, don’t ma’am me, niño,” she said.
He chuckled at the image of an older Angel chastising him. “Is Angel available? I’d like to speak to her before I go to bed.”
He had already left his club and flagged down a cab while he spoke with Angelina’s mother.
“Angel is already in bed, but will be returning with us tomorrow. I will have her call you mañana, si?” Maria’s voice whispered through the line.
“Is she okay?” The shock of hearing Angel’s mother answer had his gut clenching. The overwhelming urge to rush to LA returned.
“She will be fine. I’ll tell her you called.” Maria sniffed. “Thank you for calling, Lorenzo. You are a good man. Adios.”
Inside the cab, he stared at the silent phone. Replaying the brief conversation, and the strange choice of words her mother used, in his head, he was somewhat relieved, but also confused. Angel’s parents, like his own, had moved to Miami when they were in their early twenties, but still had the heavy Cuban accent. Maybe he misinterpreted her words, but he would bet his left nut she’d said Angelina would be fine, not that she was.
He’d get answers tomorrow, if he had to camp out at her parents’ home on Fisher Island. That decided, he instructed the driver to take him across the bridge. Lorenzo would stay at his family’s guest house. That way he would be closer to her when she returned. The thought he might be a little stalker-ish crossed his mind.
****
Standing in the middle of her parents’ guest house she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to suppress a shiver. Despite her determination to tell Lorenzo about what happened, the thought of his reaction kept her mouth shut and her feet planted. She couldn’t make herself pick up the phone. “Gah! I am such a wuss.”
“Angel?”
Too involved in her inner dialogue, she hadn’t heard Lorenzo come in. She swung around, eyes rounding in shock that was quickly replaced with a longing so intense, it made her knees weak.
“I’m so happy to see you.” She rushed forward to hug him.
“What in the fuck happened to you?” Lorenzo took a step closer to her.
The expression on his handsome face frightened her. She wasn’t worried for herself but about what he might do to Andrew. There was no way she would allow him to endanger himself on her behalf. She had no doubt that in a fair fight Lorenzo would wipe the floor with her ex, but Andrew wouldn’t fight fair—she knew that with everything in her body.
Lorenzo was still staring at her. His fists were bunched at his side and a tick at the side of his jaw made him appear dangerous.
“I am a total fright.” She touched her face, pushing her hair behind her shoulder.
“Angel, what the hell is going on?” Lorenzo’s eyes traveled from her head to her feet and back to stare at her face. “What happened to you?”
“Could you just give me a hug? I could really use one right now.” She wanted to erase the past couple of days.
“Shit, Angel. I’m so sorry.”
His powerful stride ate up the distance between them. His arms snaked around her, anchoring her to him like he wanted to absorb her pain.
“It looks worse than it feels.” Angelina breathed Lorenzo’s scent.
“Really, because it looks like it hurts.” He inhaled against her.
Angelina snuggled into his embrace. His heart beating beneath her ear was reassuring and felt like home. Tears stung her eyes.
They stood holding each other in the middle of her parents’ guest house for long moments, until her body lost some of its tension. She could feel the worry ease from her shoulders and wanted to crawl inside Lorenzo. The tears she refused to let flow, disappeared, and new warmth started to replace the cold. She’d cried enough. Now she needed Lorenzo.
It had been two days too long since they’d made love. She wanted to feel him moving inside her. Wanted to feel the completeness she’d only ever felt with the only man she’d ever loved.
Her hands slipped down of their own volition to squeeze his extremely taut butt cheeks. Damn, but the man has a fine, fine ass.
“Make love to me?” She pulled away enough to make eye contact.
His eyes lit up, only to dim. “You’re in no shape for that.”
“Yes, I am.” She felt like stomping her foot. How dare the man tell her what she was and wasn’t ready for.
“Let’s sit down so you can explain everything to me first.”
When he stared at her like that, she had the insane urge to give him anything he asked for. “If I tell you what happened, you have to promise me you will not do anything. I’ll need your word on this, Lorenzo, because I know once you give your solemn promise, you won’t break it.”
He continued giving her that intense gaze, as if he could make her tell him. She held his stare, trying not to blink. Angel knew how he operated. Gia had told her plenty of times how he could wait an eternity to win a battle, and, looking at him now, she could totally understand. But, in this instance, she would be the winner. If he didn’t swear on his honor, then she would have no choice. She wouldn’t lie, but she would refuse to speak.
“Fine,” he agreed, sitting next to her. “You tell me what happened, and I promise I will not kill whoever did this to you.”
“I need you to swear you will do nothing, Ren.”
“How the fuck am I supposed to swear to do nothing, without knowing what I’m facing here?” He threw his hands in the air.
“You will just have to trust me.” She took a deep breath.
He leaped up from the couch, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. She could see the tremor in his big body and had a moment of guilt. If roles were reversed, she would most definitely want to kill somebody. But this was Lorenzo, not her. She would want to rant and rave, but, at the end of the day, that’s all she would do. Lorenzo, on the other hand, would think nothing of hopping on a plane to LA. She had to protect him.
“It’s not a matter of trust. It’s about honor.” His hand banged his chest. “What kind of man would I be if I allowed my woman to be hurt?”
She patted the seat beside her. “Please come and sit back down.”
At first she didn’t think he heard, or, if he had, he wouldn’t listen, but then she heard him take a huge breath and release it.
“I swear to hear you out, and I promise not to do anything rash. But that is all I can promise, without knowing the full story.”
She knew how much it cost him to give that concession, even if it wasn’t what she wanted. She inhaled, and let it out. This was so much harder than she had anticipated. In her mind it had been so easy. All she would have to do is ask him to make love, and then, while they were both exhausted, she would tell him. Easy as pie! Why, then, wasn’t he falling in line? Taking one last gulp of air, she began to tell him the whole story, not leaving anything out.
Angelina closed her eyes, not wanting to see disgust, or anger, on his too beautiful face. She felt so incredibly stupid and naïve. How she could have let this happen, kept running through her mind.
The words tumbled out of her mouth like a freight train with no breaks. Once she was finished, she stood up with her hands grasped in front of her, and still he didn’t reach for her. She fidgeted from one foot to the next.
“Andrew Cage is a dead fucking man!” The sound of his voice sent a tremor through her. His tone was flat, with such deadly menace Angelina had no doubt if Andrew had been anywhere near, Lorenzo would’ve made good on his threat.
His lips brushing across her eyes, and then down to her nose, made her smile. His mouth continued its journey down to her lips, gently rubbing them back and forth. Her mouth opened for him, wanting to taste his unique flavor. Lorenzo’s tongue came out, circling, playing with her tongue, licking the roof of her mouth. He didn’t just kiss her mouth, he made love to it.
She was melting into a big pile of goo.
He nipped, first her top lip, and then the bottom, before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. His breathing was rapid, sawing in and out. She was shocked to find herself in his lap, with her own rapid breaths.
Taking his face in her palms, she brought his mouth back down to her. With a shift, she straddled his body, grinding her core on the hardest part of him. He was as affected by her as she was him, thank you Lord.
The feel of his hard cock pressing against her pussy had her juices flowing. She could feel her panties getting wet, the crease of his zipper another delicious form of torture.
His hands rubbed along her thighs, up to her hips, squeezing her, moving her on him. The shock of pain that ripped from her throat had her falling to the side.
“What did I do?”
“N…nothing… It’s okay, not your fault,” she panted.
“Bullshit.” He loomed over her.
The sharp jolt she felt from the bruise on her hip only hurt when pressed on. She should have thought of that. Now he was gazing at her like he’d killed her. All thoughts fled her brain as Lorenzo stripped the shorts off her.
Swear words flew from his mouth as he ranted in Spanish and English in equal measures. And then he did the sweetest thing. He dropped to his knees and kissed the ugly bruise, taking care not to press on the area.
She rubbed her legs together, trying to ease the completely different ache that hadn’t gone away. He was so close to where she needed him, if only he would shift his head and move up a bit. The wanton thoughts swirled in her head. Her hand came down, running through his long hair.
Lorenzo finally examined the woman, like one would a lab experiment, briefly thinking he should feel guilty for his uncharitable thoughts, but Candis brought it all on herself. The fact she got his brother in trouble with his fiancée before she died was bad enough. But what really made Lorenzo dislike her was the way she’d acted at the funeral, clinging to Fernando like they were an item. Lorenzo knew his brother would never have betrayed Melanie.
“Yep, I’m out. Have fun.”
It was a relief to step outside into the heat and escape the stuffy feeling from inside. It seemed the new clubs popping up overnight were all very cookie cutter in their style. Nothing like Club Inferno, which catered to the rich and famous, and they sure as hell didn’t compare to what he and Derek planned for Miami Inferno.
Not wanting to go home, he decided to swing by and see how his sister was doing. Lorenzo wished she’d wanted to be a partner with him and Fernando. Gia had a natural flare for making people feel special, and, in the entertainment business, it was a definite must. Everyone wanted to feel like they were the best customers, the most important people there, and she was the best at all the above.
“Hey, big brother, whatcha doing here?” Gia asked, standing near the bar.
She looked fantastic, as usual. Men followed her like panting puppies, waiting for a little pat on the head. It was a truly amazing thing to behold.
Not wanting to appear like he was checking up on Angel, or the club, he kept his voice neutral. “Good evening, Sister, dear. I just stopped by to see if you had everything under control.”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” she laughed. “You miss my best friend and didn’t want to go home alone. Am I right?”
He tugged her earlobe. “You’re a brat, you know that?”
“Heh, so you say. I saw the two of you leave together.” Gia’s infectious smile had those around her wishing they were her friends.
She stood in front of him with that engaging, shit-eating grin and her patented gum-filled mouth. Someday, his baby sister was going to fall for a man she couldn’t control and wrap around her little pinky. He couldn’t wait to see it.
Lorenzo was usually the patient one, could wait for people to tell him what he wanted to hear without asking. Tonight was the exception. “I don’t kiss and tell, but back to my original question. Are you going to answer or not?” He waited a beat. “All right, you win. Have you heard from Angel?”
The smile disappeared from her face so fast it might’ve never been there.
Gia’s eyes widened. “I’ve called her several times, but she hasn’t returned my calls. I’m sure she’s fine.” But she didn’t sound so sure.
“Tell me about this dickweed who proposed to her. What do you know about him?”
“Let’s see,” she said and tapped her chin. “He’s rich, but that wouldn’t matter to Angel. He always sends her presents and treats her with respect from what I’ve seen. She said he was okay with waiting until they were married before…ya know…they did the dirty, dirty. Anyway, that’s all I know. I met him a couple times when I visited her in LA. He gave me the creeps, for real, though. There was this way he made me feel like he was sizing me up for his next conquest.”
“Oh, that makes me feel much better.” He paced away from her.
An uneasy feeling took up residence in his stomach.
“I can call her roommate, Renee.” Gia didn’t wait for him to approve, and for that he was grateful.
Her face scrunched up, and then he heard her leave a message.
“It’s still early in LA, maybe she’s in the shower. I’m sure she’ll call me back.”
Lorenzo wasn’t so sure. He had an overwhelming urge to hop a flight to LA. His family jet could be waiting on the tarmac in less than an hour, and he’d be with Angel before the sun rose. But, if she was okay, then she’d think he didn’t trust her.
Damn!
She had until noon tomorrow. After that, all bets were off.
Gia touched his sleeve. “I thought you were hanging out with Derek.”
“I was, but I left him with Candis.” Distracted, he stared off.
“What? How could you do that?”
The outrage that accompanied each word made Lorenzo take a closer examination of his sister. Gia’s beautiful face was shadowed with a hurt she couldn’t hide.
Lorenzo tilted her face up to his. “Gia, I’m sorry.”
“Whatever, it’s okay.” She jerked away from him, her usual smooth movements absent as she turned towards the bartender.
But it wasn’t, and Lorenzo knew he’d just fucked up. Damn. Damn. Double damn.
He wondered if his sister had known about Angel and Derek five years ago, and almost asked, but changed his mind. He’d already screwed up where Gia was concerned by assuming her feelings for his best friend were nothing more than a young girl’s crush.
What a hypocrite he’d turned out to be. Angel and Gia were the same age, and Lorenzo was actually older than Derek by a few months.
“I’ll make this right with you, I promise.” He touched her arm.
Gia grabbed the bottle of water the bartender handed to her. “Just forget about it. I gotta get back to work. I’ll talk to you later.” She shrugged away from him.
She walked off to make a trip around the club without the bounce he had come to expect. The young girl who always chewed gum and popped bubbles was missing, and he had nobody to blame but himself.
He pulled his cell phone out and called Derek. Never had he been called a cockblock, but this once he would do his best to be just that.
“Hey, Derek, where are you?” Holding one finger to his ear, he thought he heard the same music on the other end of the line.
“I’m actually getting ready to walk into Club Inferno. Where are you, you fucking pussy-ass-bitch? I can’t believe you left me alone with that…that…I have no words for what she is, and my mother taught me better. I will leave it at that, but just so you know, we are so fucking pax, it’s nonexistent. You feel me?” Derek yelled over the club’s sound system.
“You’re at my club? That’s great.” Relief made him lean against the bar.
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me, and, yeah, I’m here. Why? Is something wrong with Gia?”
The concern in Derek’s voice came through the phone loud and clear.
“She’s fine, so chill,” he teased. “Have you gotten past the bouncers?”
“What the hell? Of course I’m past your goons. They know to let the rich, famous, and beautiful inside, and, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m all the above.”
Lorenzo saw Gia stop in her tracks and totter in her extremely tall heels. That was his first clue she knew Derek was there, and then she did an about face and fled in the other direction.
Holding his hand out, Lorenzo grasped Derek’s palm and pulled his best friend in for a back-slapping hug. “We’re cool, man. No hard feelings, okay?”
Derek’s grin flashed. “Buy me a drink, and all’s forgiven.”
“You’re such a cheap date.”
“I know, and I’m a sure thing, too.” They laughed at Derek’s lisping accent.
The bar was packed with scantily clad women, and well-dressed men, with music pumping through the sound system. The waitresses were rushing to fill drink orders, and the VIP sections were filled to overflowing. All the things that usually made him happy, paled without knowing how Angel was.
Lorenzo decided to say screw trust. It wasn’t a matter of whether he trusted, but the fact he just wanted to hear her voice. Before he could change his mind he dialed her cell number. The ring back music on Angel’s cell reminded him of her and happened to be one of his favorite songs, Maroon Five’s “Moves Like Jagger.” When her voice came on the line, telling him to leave a message, he hung up and called her apartment number, but instead of Angel answering, it sounded like her mother.
“Mrs. Rugiero? This is Lorenzo Delgado. I thought I called Angel’s number in LA. I apologize for calling you so late.”
“Do not apologize. You did call my daughter’s phone. Her father and I are here visiting.”
Lorenzo nearly collapsed in relief at that bit of news, until her next words.
“What is my daughter to you, Mr. Delgado?” He pictured Mrs. Rugiero standing with her hands on her hips, demanding an explanation.
“I love her,” he said simply.
Maria exhaled. “And how does my baby feel about you?”
Lorenzo cleared his throat. “I think you should ask your daughter that, ma’am.”
“Oh please, don’t ma’am me, niño,” she said.
He chuckled at the image of an older Angel chastising him. “Is Angel available? I’d like to speak to her before I go to bed.”
He had already left his club and flagged down a cab while he spoke with Angelina’s mother.
“Angel is already in bed, but will be returning with us tomorrow. I will have her call you mañana, si?” Maria’s voice whispered through the line.
“Is she okay?” The shock of hearing Angel’s mother answer had his gut clenching. The overwhelming urge to rush to LA returned.
“She will be fine. I’ll tell her you called.” Maria sniffed. “Thank you for calling, Lorenzo. You are a good man. Adios.”
Inside the cab, he stared at the silent phone. Replaying the brief conversation, and the strange choice of words her mother used, in his head, he was somewhat relieved, but also confused. Angel’s parents, like his own, had moved to Miami when they were in their early twenties, but still had the heavy Cuban accent. Maybe he misinterpreted her words, but he would bet his left nut she’d said Angelina would be fine, not that she was.
He’d get answers tomorrow, if he had to camp out at her parents’ home on Fisher Island. That decided, he instructed the driver to take him across the bridge. Lorenzo would stay at his family’s guest house. That way he would be closer to her when she returned. The thought he might be a little stalker-ish crossed his mind.
****
Standing in the middle of her parents’ guest house she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to suppress a shiver. Despite her determination to tell Lorenzo about what happened, the thought of his reaction kept her mouth shut and her feet planted. She couldn’t make herself pick up the phone. “Gah! I am such a wuss.”
“Angel?”
Too involved in her inner dialogue, she hadn’t heard Lorenzo come in. She swung around, eyes rounding in shock that was quickly replaced with a longing so intense, it made her knees weak.
“I’m so happy to see you.” She rushed forward to hug him.
“What in the fuck happened to you?” Lorenzo took a step closer to her.
The expression on his handsome face frightened her. She wasn’t worried for herself but about what he might do to Andrew. There was no way she would allow him to endanger himself on her behalf. She had no doubt that in a fair fight Lorenzo would wipe the floor with her ex, but Andrew wouldn’t fight fair—she knew that with everything in her body.
Lorenzo was still staring at her. His fists were bunched at his side and a tick at the side of his jaw made him appear dangerous.
“I am a total fright.” She touched her face, pushing her hair behind her shoulder.
“Angel, what the hell is going on?” Lorenzo’s eyes traveled from her head to her feet and back to stare at her face. “What happened to you?”
“Could you just give me a hug? I could really use one right now.” She wanted to erase the past couple of days.
“Shit, Angel. I’m so sorry.”
His powerful stride ate up the distance between them. His arms snaked around her, anchoring her to him like he wanted to absorb her pain.
“It looks worse than it feels.” Angelina breathed Lorenzo’s scent.
“Really, because it looks like it hurts.” He inhaled against her.
Angelina snuggled into his embrace. His heart beating beneath her ear was reassuring and felt like home. Tears stung her eyes.
They stood holding each other in the middle of her parents’ guest house for long moments, until her body lost some of its tension. She could feel the worry ease from her shoulders and wanted to crawl inside Lorenzo. The tears she refused to let flow, disappeared, and new warmth started to replace the cold. She’d cried enough. Now she needed Lorenzo.
It had been two days too long since they’d made love. She wanted to feel him moving inside her. Wanted to feel the completeness she’d only ever felt with the only man she’d ever loved.
Her hands slipped down of their own volition to squeeze his extremely taut butt cheeks. Damn, but the man has a fine, fine ass.
“Make love to me?” She pulled away enough to make eye contact.
His eyes lit up, only to dim. “You’re in no shape for that.”
“Yes, I am.” She felt like stomping her foot. How dare the man tell her what she was and wasn’t ready for.
“Let’s sit down so you can explain everything to me first.”
When he stared at her like that, she had the insane urge to give him anything he asked for. “If I tell you what happened, you have to promise me you will not do anything. I’ll need your word on this, Lorenzo, because I know once you give your solemn promise, you won’t break it.”
He continued giving her that intense gaze, as if he could make her tell him. She held his stare, trying not to blink. Angel knew how he operated. Gia had told her plenty of times how he could wait an eternity to win a battle, and, looking at him now, she could totally understand. But, in this instance, she would be the winner. If he didn’t swear on his honor, then she would have no choice. She wouldn’t lie, but she would refuse to speak.
“Fine,” he agreed, sitting next to her. “You tell me what happened, and I promise I will not kill whoever did this to you.”
“I need you to swear you will do nothing, Ren.”
“How the fuck am I supposed to swear to do nothing, without knowing what I’m facing here?” He threw his hands in the air.
“You will just have to trust me.” She took a deep breath.
He leaped up from the couch, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. She could see the tremor in his big body and had a moment of guilt. If roles were reversed, she would most definitely want to kill somebody. But this was Lorenzo, not her. She would want to rant and rave, but, at the end of the day, that’s all she would do. Lorenzo, on the other hand, would think nothing of hopping on a plane to LA. She had to protect him.
“It’s not a matter of trust. It’s about honor.” His hand banged his chest. “What kind of man would I be if I allowed my woman to be hurt?”
She patted the seat beside her. “Please come and sit back down.”
At first she didn’t think he heard, or, if he had, he wouldn’t listen, but then she heard him take a huge breath and release it.
“I swear to hear you out, and I promise not to do anything rash. But that is all I can promise, without knowing the full story.”
She knew how much it cost him to give that concession, even if it wasn’t what she wanted. She inhaled, and let it out. This was so much harder than she had anticipated. In her mind it had been so easy. All she would have to do is ask him to make love, and then, while they were both exhausted, she would tell him. Easy as pie! Why, then, wasn’t he falling in line? Taking one last gulp of air, she began to tell him the whole story, not leaving anything out.
Angelina closed her eyes, not wanting to see disgust, or anger, on his too beautiful face. She felt so incredibly stupid and naïve. How she could have let this happen, kept running through her mind.
The words tumbled out of her mouth like a freight train with no breaks. Once she was finished, she stood up with her hands grasped in front of her, and still he didn’t reach for her. She fidgeted from one foot to the next.
“Andrew Cage is a dead fucking man!” The sound of his voice sent a tremor through her. His tone was flat, with such deadly menace Angelina had no doubt if Andrew had been anywhere near, Lorenzo would’ve made good on his threat.
His lips brushing across her eyes, and then down to her nose, made her smile. His mouth continued its journey down to her lips, gently rubbing them back and forth. Her mouth opened for him, wanting to taste his unique flavor. Lorenzo’s tongue came out, circling, playing with her tongue, licking the roof of her mouth. He didn’t just kiss her mouth, he made love to it.
She was melting into a big pile of goo.
He nipped, first her top lip, and then the bottom, before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. His breathing was rapid, sawing in and out. She was shocked to find herself in his lap, with her own rapid breaths.
Taking his face in her palms, she brought his mouth back down to her. With a shift, she straddled his body, grinding her core on the hardest part of him. He was as affected by her as she was him, thank you Lord.
The feel of his hard cock pressing against her pussy had her juices flowing. She could feel her panties getting wet, the crease of his zipper another delicious form of torture.
His hands rubbed along her thighs, up to her hips, squeezing her, moving her on him. The shock of pain that ripped from her throat had her falling to the side.
“What did I do?”
“N…nothing… It’s okay, not your fault,” she panted.
“Bullshit.” He loomed over her.
The sharp jolt she felt from the bruise on her hip only hurt when pressed on. She should have thought of that. Now he was gazing at her like he’d killed her. All thoughts fled her brain as Lorenzo stripped the shorts off her.
Swear words flew from his mouth as he ranted in Spanish and English in equal measures. And then he did the sweetest thing. He dropped to his knees and kissed the ugly bruise, taking care not to press on the area.
She rubbed her legs together, trying to ease the completely different ache that hadn’t gone away. He was so close to where she needed him, if only he would shift his head and move up a bit. The wanton thoughts swirled in her head. Her hand came down, running through his long hair.
