Roses Are Red, page 7
“Anything else?”
“Jain started rehearsals for Grease.”
“Yeah she told me when I talked to her last week.”
“You know, Jimmy, I have to get up in the morning. Working some crazy hours with these investigations.”
“Got anything special in your house right now?”
If Jimmy considered his baby sister special then he’d have to say yes. “You didn’t call me in the middle of the night to ask me I had a woman spending the night.”
“I need you to do me a favor.” At Jimmy’s soft tone, the hairs on the back of his neck stood and his earlobe tingled.
“This can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“No.”
He scrambled up from the sofa. His earlobe still tingled he almost regretted answering the phone. “You aren’t stepping in on my case, Jimmy.”
“This isn’t work related.”
Which can only mean it’s about one thing.
“It’s about Jain.”
And there it was. “Okay.”
“I got a weird message from her.”
His eyes drifted to the ceiling again. He felt like a liar talking to Jimmy about his sister. The sister presently upstairs, naked, and in his bed. He counted to ten, to twenty and cleared his throat. “What kind of message?”
“I’m sure she’s dating someone new.”
Marcus froze. He hadn’t spoken to her in a week, he supposed it could be a possibility she’d met someone. He had a hard time believing she would have let him put his hands on her if she were in a relationship. “Okay. So what’s the problem?” Other than the ulcer burning through his stomach lining.
“I think he’s a total dick. Swear to God her message went on for five minutes complaining about the stupidity of man. At first I thought she might have been drunk.” A car door slammed, two other voices stilted the conversation.
“Where are you?”
“Sitting in an East LA ghetto.”
“I’m sure she’s fine.”
“Yeah, but she never calls me about guys. Usually she avoids the topic altogether because no one is good enough for her.”
Marcus couldn’t find fault with his statement. No one was good enough for Jain, himself included. But it didn’t stop him from imagining her in his bed or wondering how Jimmy would react. “So what’s the favor?”
“Do I have to spell it out?”
He didn’t but Marcus had a feeling it wouldn’t be difficult to discover who the stupid man is. He knew Jimmy wouldn’t let this go. “So what? You’re asking me to check into it?”
“Yeah. Jain’s always had shitty taste in men.” Marcus didn’t know why the comment stung. “With her luck, she’d hook up with your serial killer.”
He couldn’t disagree. Some people drew luck. By the time she turned thirteen, Jain drew trouble the way pollen attracted the bees. He returned to the sofa and let his head fall to the cushion. “I’m not going to follow her around. She’s not a kid anymore, Jimmy.”
All these years he’d sided with Jimmy. She’d ceased being a baby in his eyes the second his lips touched hers. Selfishly, he didn’t need his best friend intruding.
“She’ll always be my kid sister.”
Translation, Jimmy wasn’t going anywhere. “You’ve got to let her live her life.”
“Did I just hear you correctly? She’s got to live her life?”
“Well, yeah. She’s a grown ass woman. They have to go through the bad apples until they find the shiny red one.” He’d have to tread lightly here or Jimmy would put two and two together. He wasn’t stupid. “What else did she say about his guy? Give me something to go on.”
“Other than he’s stupid, nothing. You’ll have to get her phone.”
Marcus rolled his eyes. Okay, so maybe Jimmy was stupid after all. He lacked common sense when it came to his sister. Or maybe he knew squat about women. Getting her phone would involve him searching through her purse. And if he’d learned anything in his thirty-five years, a guy didn’t go into a woman’s purse. Even if she asked him to.
He glanced up from up from the couch and spotted Jain standing on the bottom step wearing nothing but his shirt and a questioning look on her face. How long had she stood there? She turned to head back upstairs. He jumped to his feet and snagged the hem of the shirt covering her naked rear-end before she made it halfway up the steps. She tried to escape his grip. Marcus put a finger to his lips. “If she is seeing anyone I am sure he’s a decent guy.”
She managed to crawl up two steps. He fisted the cotton as she again tried to get away. If Jimmy couldn’t hear the commotion louder than a bomb detonating in his living room Marcus would suggest the FBI test the other man’s ears. The hem of his shirt stretched out by about a foot and he got more than a cursory view of her charms. The phone fell from his limp fingers and bounced on the stairs. He grabbed her waist, hoisted her, and then retrieved his phone. Her ass pressed up against his now raging dick and Marcus forgot all about Jimmy on the other end of the line. If she didn’t stop wiggling, Jimmy would know he had an overnight guest.
With one arm banded around her hips, he brought the phone back to his ear. He bit his lip hard when, whether intentionally or not, she thrust back and then stilled. He ached to grind himself against her curvy softness.
“Marcus what the hell is going on over there? Are you wrestling bear?”
Maybe a baby cub. He had an extreme hard on now. Odd, considering Jimmy yapped in his ear while Jain tortured his balls, which were undoubtedly turning blue. “Jimmy. I’ve got to go. Something just came up.”
Jimmy’s chuckles echoed in his ear. “I knew you had a woman over there.”
Marcus ended the call. He dropped the phone on the carpet and engulfed Jain in both arms. His mouth dropped to her neck, his nose nuzzled behind her ear. Her breaths of exertion revved up and he knew it would be so easy to lose the sweatpants and slide into her wet heat and take her right there on the stairs.
* * *
Jain stilled at the hard length of him pressed up against her rear. His warm hand slithered over her belly making her shiver. Her fantasy. She needed it with her next breath, but didn’t understand how she could be angry with him not two minutes ago and then aroused in the next.
“What were you talking to Jimmy about?”
He froze mid caress. Her knees dug into the carpeted steps. They didn’t move. The hot breath on her neck sent more shivers along her spine. What should she do now? She hardly had on any clothing. Her heart raced and it had very little to do with their earlier wrestling match and everything to do with Marcus’ big body draped over hers.
His fingers spanned across her mid-drift tightening once, twice. “You left him a concerning voicemail on his cell.”
“And he called you about it?”
He shifted and sat on the stairs tugging her until she sat one-step below, plopped between his legs. Hands gently kneaded her shoulders. She groaned as some of the tension eased.
“I’m always his first call when it comes to you.”
Was Sam Toretti right? Had Marcus truly been running checks on men she came in contact with? Had Jimmy coerced him into doing so?
Her chin dropped to her chest and she winced when his fingers dug into a knot. “When is he going to understand I am not a baby anymore?”
“You can’t fault him for looking out for you.”
“Not looking out. Intruding,” she muttered.
“Well in his words, you’ll always be his baby sister.”
Jain turned on the steps and faced him “So which are you? Looking out, or intrusive?”
His hands stopped their ministrations and moved to circle her neck. He brushed his thumbs over the skin below her ears. “Maybe a little bit of both. Though I’m heading toward intrusive. Very intrusive.”
His voice lowered. Fingers stroked her arm. She didn’t put up much of a fight when he pulled her into his lap. Couldn’t prevent the tremble the hands caressing her rear caused. Her breath hitched in her throat. “How intrusive?”
He yanked her forward until her mound met the cotton sweatpants shielding his arousal. Her legs fell wide open. “Full invasion.”
He stood and walked up the steps cradling her. Each movement sent a surge of desire to her core. The blood rushed her ears and she thought she might hyperventilate on the spot. He didn’t take his eyes from her as he nudged the bedroom door open with his foot. The last time she’d seen Marcus without a shirt on, she’d been fifteen. He and Jimmy had come to the family Fourth of July barbeque. The temperature had scorched in the upper nineties. They’d all turned to prunes well into the evening. He had more than a smattering of hair covering his defined chest now. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
She licked her dry lips. He sat on the edge of the bed. Had she shaved her legs today? She couldn’t remember. He shifted until he leaned above her on the bed. His hands planted on either side of her head pressing his soft, yet hard, mouth against hers. Teased, nipped and tangled.
The T-shirt rose above her torso or maybe his teeth pulled it up. His mouth, lips, and tongue, dragged over the exposed skin. Flicked her belly button. The oxygen left her lungs. Who knew a tiny indentation was such an erogenous zone. He nuzzled the right side of her abdomen. His stubble lightly abraded, tickled, and she arched to his mouth. He moved across the expanse of goose bumps making her body jump involuntarily.
His head jerked up. She sensed he watched, waited. Their gazes met. Some would say his eyes were dark brown. They weren’t. They were obsidian black. A splash of gray rimmed the irises. Pretty. Not a word she’d ever use to describe him. She looked away before she lost herself in their intensity. A finger under her chin contradicted her efforts.
“Eyes on me.”
If he ever snapped those words to her outside the bedroom, she’d have replied with an unladylike response. Marcus lying on top of her, commanding, sent her arousal skyrocketing. Hot, hot, hot. His hands crawled down her body until he slithered off the side of the bed to his knees. He looped is arms under her thighs, but made no further motion.
“On me!” Jain hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes. He’d barely touched her and her mind raced out of control. Fantasizing, lost in the sensations he pulled from her. His gaze filled with dark, potent, promise, held hers. The smile took on a sexy leer. His jaw clenched, his fingers dug into her inner thighs and then he roughly jerked her to the edge of the bed. He took his eyes off her and removed his hands. She pressed her bent knees together sending a zing of desire between her legs. A moan bounced off the walls. Her face to the tips of her toes warmed when she realized it had come from her.
She arched her neck up off the bed, unable to see where Marcus had gone over her bent legs. His hands returned a second later, rubbed her kneecaps then spread her legs wide. Large palms slide down, down, down, until his thumbs met between the junction of her thighs grazing, teasing her clit. His nostrils flared and his breath left his lungs with the harsh rise and fall of his chest. Eyes never leaving hers, his head lowered placing light kisses over her belly. She couldn’t pull her gaze away when his lips closed over a part of her body no man had ever touched.
The stubble on his jaw scraped her inner thighs. Her hips bowed from the mattress. His throaty growl vibrated along her skin. She cried out at the sensation, thrusting toward the lips that worried and tortured the nub throbbing with desire. He held her open with those dangerous thumbs. His tongue slid inside of her with firm strokes. One finger joined in, filling her, then another. A loud squeal ended in a breathy gasp. She had no time to be embarrassed over the surprising noise.
“Oh, yeah.” His fingers plunged with sure and steady ease. In. Out. In. Out. Her hips rose and fell. Her body tightened sharply. Ready to splinter. Explode into a crescendo of pleasure that should be illegal. She moaned, enjoying the feeling. As if he knew, his hand moved faster and faster.
Her fingers twisted in his hair. He shoved one of her legs over a broad shoulder. She curled it around his neck anchoring herself to his hot mouth. Each stroke went deeper than the last and an unexpected twinge of discomfort shot through her making her gasp. Concern riddled his features and he lifted his mouth from her heat. She gasped again as his fingers slid free. His other hand caressed her leg, removed it from his shoulder. She couldn’t breathe. Would he stop with her entire body abuzz with unsatisfied arousal? She yanked not so gently at his hair. A wicked chuckle rumbled through his body.
* * *
Jain’s eyes turned dark green. Jade, to be exact, in the height of her excitement. They rolled around, crossed, squinted in the sexiest way he’d ever seen. Her cries and moans sent a surge of raw lust through him. His cock jerked in his sweatpants. And she thought he was about to stop. He sucked her clit in his mouth and again slid two fingers into her tight pussy.
In two seconds, she moaned wildly. He couldn’t contain his grin. She slapped at his head and ripped his hair while her body prepared itself for his invasion. His name fell from her lips in a surprised gasp. Another followed––a little less pleasurable. He stilled, forbidding himself to hurt her. She immediately settled and her hips gently rode his fingers. He climbed over her body until his lips touched her mouth. His tongue thrust inside, letting her taste herself. She moaned again and he rubbed the outside of her soaking wet pussy. He couldn’t remember being with a woman who turned him on enough to make him howl at the moon.
He rose off the bed for the ten seconds it took to kick is sweats off and rolled on the protection he’d damn near forgotten to pull out of the nightstand. He lined his dick up against her opening, slick with desire and had to watch the first time it sank into her silky depths. The tip of his erection glided in with ease. He rocked his hips and slid in another inch. An inch later, she clamped down on him. Her moan turned into a groan. He ripped his eyes away from her sex to her face. Her lower lip was between her teeth, hard enough she would draw blood. Indecision etched across her flushed face. He licked her lip and stopped, slightly confused.
He brushed her hair from her forehead and then noticed her legs no longer gripped his hips. Her arms hung loosely at her sides. He pushed up on his hands. His dick slid further into her wet heat. Her eyes widened and she winced. The reason why suddenly crystal clear.
“Talk to me, baby.”
She wiggled beneath him and her legs once again clenched around him. He groaned in pleasure, but held off doing anything other than lying there still as a statue. At a loss, he didn’t know what to do. Marcus couldn’t remember ever having been with a virgin. Did he stop? Did he give her a minute? He didn’t know if could stop.
“Getting better?”
She didn’t open her eyes. “Mmm hmmm.”
He didn’t know if would be able to hold out to build her up a second time. The clasp of her body encouraged him to continue. He rolled over until her knees hit the bed. The motion forced his dick further inside. They both hissed at the sensation. He could only hope she wasn’t in pain, but at least she could control the rest of their lovemaking while on top. He looked up at her face. She leaned against his bent legs with her head thrown back and lifted herself off him, slowly sliding with more ease. This snail’s pace would kill him. Dead to rights in his own bed. She repeated the gyrations, his hands tightened on her hips, sure to leave marks. His heart pounded in his chest. He didn’t close his eyes, intending to savor the moment when she finally went over the edge. He gripped her breasts, pinched her nipples.
She fell forward and picked up the rhythm. Marcus gritted his teeth. Jesus, he didn’t know if he could delay the oncoming explosion. He recited Yankees stats in his head. He refused to come before she did. Her eyes opened as she bent toward him. He sucked on her lower lip and she slammed down on him. “Get there!”
Her pussy fluttered around his dick and he reached between them pressing a thumb on her distended clit. Rubbed it with each stroke. He switched to the Mets at her loud moans. He didn’t follow the Mets, but it might slow him a bit. Or not. A keening wail spilled from her lips and her channel clenched. His hips surged upward, quickly with the force of a jackhammer. Jain’s entire body froze suspended atop of him, trembling. Her pussy convulsed and he emptied himself wishing he hadn’t worn a damn rubber. She slumped to his chest, rising and falling in time with his harsh breathing. If that was not the single most fantastic round of lovemaking he’d ever experienced he didn’t know what was.
His hand caressed the length of her back, the indentations of her spine. His heart wouldn’t slow for a long while. She still quivered around him. To his amazement, he didn’t soften. If anything, he got harder. He rolled them over. Heavy lids lowered over her green eyes. Spent, he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead and gently disengaged their bodies. She sucked in a breath and a few specks of blood coated the condom along with her creamy juices. He left the bed for the bathroom, disposed of the rubber and returned with a warm cloth laying it between her legs not giving her a chance to become embarrassed.
“I can do that.”
“I know. You should have told me, Jain.”
“Why? You might have stopped.”
“I might have hurt you.” He countered and finished tending to her.
“But you didn’t.”
“You might feel differently come morning.” He sounded like an arrogant prick.
She pulled the sheets up over her bare body. He longed to yank it away and look at her body again. Her face lit up in a blush, traveling probably well past her breasts. Marcus waited for the guilt to settle in. No going back now. Definitely, no guilt. Not with his dick demanding to reacquaint itself with her wet heat. She leaned up toward him, thrust a hand in his hair, and pulled him close for a mouth-watering kiss. He almost missed the angry buzzing coming from the corner of the bed.
“Answer it.” He rolled away from her, heading back to the bathroom.
