“Call me when it’s done.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
After I toss my phone onto the mattress, I let my head fall back against the pillow. My fiancée has certainly gotten herself into some shit, but a sense of relief washes over me at the knowledge Danny will get rid of any damning evidence against her.
I turn to find Carina’s back to me and I rake my gaze over the sensual curve of her neck, trailing it down the gentle slope of her spine and over the generous swell of her hips. The strands of her light brown hair are waves cascading over the bedding and I take one in hand to admire the silky texture. Her skin is softer than this and the urge to touch her comes over me.
So I give into it. Like I do every time she’s near.
Carina doesn’t stir while I lightly skim the length of her side. The quiet room, paired with the enticing woman in my bed, allows my mind to drift into a state of relaxation I seldom experience. Thoughts ebb and flow as I continue to caress her skin, and strangely enough, my subconscious brings about visions of my parents.
They are both deceased, my father gone and buried. Whereas, my mother is a different story. Yes, my family and I attended her funeral, but her death was never confirmed. It didn’t stop my brothers and me from mourning the loss of her, and my father took it especially hard. It was difficult to watch a strong and formidable man break down because of a shattered soul.
Or maybe it was because half of it went missing when she did.
My mother was what kept him alive, kept him breathing. I think he would’ve died sooner if not for the fact he needed to raise us. If he hadn’t, my mother would’ve kicked his ass, in heaven with all the saints and the Creator watching. She was that fierce, but still loving.
Or I thought so, until she left us behind; a husband and three small boys to care for.
I absently touch the tattoo I have in her memory. There’s no reason for me to look at my hand because I remember every detail of the tribal phoenix. It represents me and how I’ve remade myself, risen from a situation shrouded in death, only to soar above those who tried to burn me to ash. But a creature can only fly for so long before it has to return home. That is something I don’t have. Not in the emotional sense anyway. However, I did when my mother was alive, as did my brothers and my father. He loved her more than any human being on earth, even himself.
To me, that is what love is. This willingness to sacrifice yourself for another and put all your selfishness aside in order to do right by them. No matter the cost.
Too bad my parents’ love ended up being one-sided for my father.
I don’t have to worry about that weakness because I’m a selfish bastard. I do what I want, with whom, and when. I don’t make apologies and I don’t deny myself anything. This is why Carina is in just as much danger of being taken advantage of with me as she is by someone out in the world.
But at least in my bed I’ll see to it that she’s cared for. I doubt the same can be said of the world.
I splay my fingers on her hip and slowly ease her onto her back. She sighs and the sound is everything I don’t have in my life: peace, contentment, and trust in another. How can Carina sleep so soundly with a monster like me hovering nearby?
Especially one that wishes to devour her, body and soul?
With light strokes, I tease one of her nipples and then the other. The peaks stiffen under the shirt and I’m of half a mind to tear it from her. I don’t want anything hindering my view of Carina.
She inhales deeply, pushing her breast into my palm and I squeeze it, circling the tip with my thumb. This woman is so fucking responsive to my touch, as though she was made for me. I highly suspect she’s not a virgin and it doesn’t matter.
Or at least it shouldn’t.
But it fucking does.
The idea of someone else, someone like that fucker Federico, plunging into her delectable body irritates me to no end. Unwilling to allow thoughts of some other bastard to ruin this moment, I shove them aside. Probably only because he’s already dead.
That brings a smile to my face.
I run my hand down Carina’s chest, past her navel and the dip in her stomach, to slide my fingers in between her thighs. The dampness I discover has me groaning and my cock jerking. I reveal the rest of her by moving the shirt aside. Then with gentle sweeps, I caress her clit. It blossoms for me, becoming more pink and swollen.
“Rafael.” Carina grabs my hand in a weak attempt to stop me. “What the hell are you doing?”
I reluctantly shift my gaze from her glistening slit to her flushed face. Without stopping my strokes, I take in the way her brows draw closer together with every circular motion of my fingers. She’s already close.
“Good morning,” I say. “Did you sleep well?”
She scoffs and the tail end of the indignant sound morphs into a quiet moan. Carina is quick to recover and digs her nails into my skin. Is she holding onto me to inflict pain or is she trying to keep her arousal from taking over?
“As well as one can with a debaucher nearby,” she snaps.
I nod, lips twitching. “I understand. I feared for my life because I wasn’t sure if you’d grab my gun or my cock. They both shoot, but only one can kill.”
