24. Nero
Chapter 24
Nero
I never owned anything for long growing up. Looking back, there were brief moments of joy when my father would return from his travels with gifts for Tala and me. We had a short time to love the items he brought because Evangeline would find ways to destroy them when he was gone.
One summer, Tatay brought me back a Batang-X action figure. I watched the Filipino Sci-fi movie a dozen times with him. By then, I knew Evangeline’s patterns well, so I played with the toy as much as possible while my father was around. I spent every night cuddled up to the action figure, desperately praying that our time wouldn’t be cut so short.
After all those years, history was repeating itself with the woman sitting inches in front of me.
This fucking place makes me uncomfortable. The high ceilings, people dressed in designer clothes, a pianist, servers with trays waiting hand and foot on everyone.
I could see the glamour in this lifestyle. I could see Ari in this world. She was drawn to the finer things in life, even if she had to live within her means at the moment. This was her future. Pretty boy Preston Cuevas was her future.
Their little show for the paparazzi seemed to please the crowds. Coos and aww fell from bystanders’ lips when they kissed. Something about that kiss has led to the impulsive and murderous thoughts replaying in my head.
Even if this whole thing was staged, the thought remained that one day this motherfucker would be her husband.
To have and to hold for as long as they both shall fucking live.
I thought taking her virginity would be enough to satiate me, but now I wanted to be her only. The realization of what I’m feeling sucker punches me in the stomach.
Obsession.
I was obsessed with Ariella Reyes.
She was a foot away at a table with her future husband and family while I was obsessing over her. Mentally tracing the blueprint of her body. The small freckles on her back. The birthmark on her right calf. Every place on her body that surrenders to my touch.
There was nothing special about Ariella Reyes, right? Wrong.
Special didn’t even begin to describe her.
My dick pledged its allegiance to her pussy. No other pussy would do.
It wasn’t just my dick at this point. She consumed my very possessive thoughts. Wrestling with reason was pointless when it came to her. Nothing about the way I felt made sense. Not when Happily Ever Afters don’t exist in my mind.
And yet, the idea of losing her bedevils me. It was a dangerous game we were playing. Just like those toys from my childhood, I couldn’t keep her.
She would only be mine for a short while before I would watch her walk down the aisle to be with Preston Cuevas. That asshole would be the one to fill her with his babies, watch her grow old, and he would have her forever.
This obsession is nothing more than a weakness. Weak men can’t succeed in my world, and just like her, I had an oath to protect my own family. To find and protect Tala.
“You see Benji?” I ask lowly to Jasper, taking advantage of the loud music.
“Far left, front table.” He replies
I look to find the informant sitting comfortably with his wife and several other couples. There was a blend of powerful families here tonight, but one of them was our enemy. I’m on a mission to figure out who ordered and executed that hit on Leatherface. I keep my eyes on Benji and his table, watching as one of the men stands and walks to the stage.
“Whose that fucker?” Jasper asks, and I shrug.
I stay attentive as the man takes the mic and begins his speech.
“Welcome to Verdis. We are honored to have you on our opening night. My name is Cesidio Verde Biondini-”
“Get an extensive background report on this guy,” I whisper to Jasper.
“Already on it.”
The crowd bursts into a round of applause, and Cesidio walks down the stairs past the table where he was sitting. Preston moves to get up in front of me, and Ari removes herself immediately after. I move toward her. Bodyguard duties and whatnot, but my fist clenches at my sides when she raises a hand to me.
“I need to talk to Preston.” She mouths.
I assume privately, so I respect her decision.
Yeah right.
A regular bodyguard would do that, but I’m not a regular bodyguard. We abandoned client-employee etiquette a long time ago. My eyes trail hers, and a minute passes before her absence triggers my obsession.
“Nero,” Jasper says from behind me.
“What?” I ask, turning to face him.
“Keep your head in the game.” He lectures.
“Keep your fucking nose out of my business.”
When I turn around, I’ve lost track of them. There are two options to choose from in the direction they were headed.
One is a dark hallway off to the side of the first dining hall. The other option is the second dining hall behind the massive bar.
I take the second option to be safe walking around the bar. The restaurant is completely packed. I look around for blonde hair and pink sparkles but come up short.
Turning back around, I spot Benji eyeing me from the bar. His eyes shift to the side, calling me to join him.
“What are you doing here?” He whispers harshly when I step up to the stool next to him—an attempt to remain discrete so no one suspects anything.
“I’m making sure you’re doing what you’re supposed to if you want your sister back,” I say, taking the empty stool next to him.
“I’ve got a hunch who is in charge of things, but I’m not completely sure yet. This is not a safe environment for me to disclose anything.” he brings the glass of wine to his lips and keeps his eyes glued in front of him.
“Text me when you have valuable information,” I reply, standing and straightening my suit jacket. “Did you happen to see where Preston Cuevas went?”
A small laugh escapes Benji at the question.
“Knowing him, I’d check the dumpster out back. That’s where he takes most women.”
Anger leads the way. Controlling my forward movement as I search for an exit to the back alley. The images of what I will find propel me to walk straight through the kitchen and out the back door. The night air hits my hot face, and I look around for the dumpster Benji mentioned.
The alley is dark and free of any commotion. I listen attentively as I look around the empty space. It’s not long before I hear the sounds from behind the blue dumpster outside Cartas, an elite gambling house next door. My steps are light. The closer I get, I make out a female giggling softly.
Reaching back, I grab my gun from the back of my suit pants. Holding the weapon out in front of me, I take slow, deliberate steps toward the voices.
Three hundred fifty feet stand between me and the murderous thoughts creeping into my mind. I’ve made up my mind. Shoot first and look for an alibi later.
“Nero.” I hear a voice whisper behind me and freeze.
Relief washes over me when I turn to face her.
“Ariella. What the fuck are you doing out here?”
She stares at me with a perplexed look on her face.
“What are you doing here?” Her eyes narrow on the gun outstretched in front of me as she walks towards me.
She stops and tilts her head. The sounds behind me have turned to moans.
“Let’s go back inside.” I plead.
The plan I made to kill Preston, who I assumed was fucking her, has shifted to a plan to protect her feelings. She shakes her head, and her eyes look up at the fire escape above the dumpster.
In a flash, she’s walking to the stairs. Tucking my gun back in, I follow up behind her. Wasting no time, she tiptoes up the ladder and moves through the shadows, her eyes wandering to the scene below.
Below us, Preston is fucking one of the poker room’s massage girls up against the garbage can. Ariella’s lips part, and her eyes fixate on them. She moves forward to get a better view, tilting her head to me and placing her finger to her lips. She’s focused on the show below us. Her future husband fucking another woman.
I thought I’d find sadness on her face, maybe even anger, but she shows neither emotion. She’s intrigued by the act.
Preston pushes the busty blonde to her knees, and she begins to suck his cock. Ari’s hand clenches around the rails to the side of her. Placing a hand over her mouth, I pull her back into the shadows against the brick building.
“You look so much better than that when you’re on your knees for me,” I whisper into her ear.“?Estás mojada?”
I run my free hand under the fabric of her dress, over her ass, and make my way up to her bare cunt. She hisses into my palm.
“Is this making your pussy wet, Ari?” I plunge two fingers into her tight cunt.
“Keep watching,” I say, encouraging her to do what feels right. Letting her explore her voyeurism.
Preston’s back is to us, the blonde in front of him on her knees. His dress pants sag around his knees, and his hand tightly holds the woman’s hair.
I add another finger, and Ari grinds into my fingers. We watch from above as Preston thrusts violently into the woman’s mouth. In perfect sync, I feel Ari’s pussy clench around my fingers as Preston finishes with a deep growl. I push my palm into Ari’s mouth as she fights not to make a sound with her release.
We stay there, hidden in the shadows, Watching Preston pull up his pants and throw two hundred-dollar bills to the ground. The woman grabs her pay and straightens her dress before walking in the opposite direction.
I drop my hand from Ari’s mouth and remove my fingers from her soaking cunt. She catches herself on the rails in front of her, taking a deep breath.
“Nero.” She says, looking back at me.
“Yes, Princess?”
“I need more. Make me forget about that.”
I stare at her.
A second passes.
Two.
By the third, I don’t give a fuck about any morals I should uphold.
I grab her by the nape and pull her into me. I devour her mouth, starving for her taste. I yank the front of her dress down, freeing her hard nipples and sucking the pink peaks into my mouth.
“What was that-” I remove my lips from her breasts and turn her body around and push her with my hips against the rails. “-thing you put on your bucket list. About heights?”
I pull her dress up, and she gasps. Dropping to my knees, I push her legs apart before kissing my way up the back of her thighs. She whimpers when I bite down on the fullness of her ass.
“Stand up on the rails,” I command, standing to my full height and unbuckling my pants. Looking down, she shakes her head.
“On the rails, Ari, or I’m walking back to the restaurant.”
She looks back through hooded eyes and parted lips. Wobbling in her heels, she steps up onto the rail.
Her knuckles turn white as she grasps on tightly. I push her back down, and she tenses when I force her to lean over the edge.
We’re a good 10 feet above the ground, her face looking down at the dumpster below. Angling her hips up, I free my cock and slide inside her.
She’s soaked from me fingering her. Her liquid heat milking my hard cock as I push deeper inside her. She arches her back, adjusting to my length and position. Rolling my hips, I give her time to adjust before pounding into her.
“That’s it, Maniká.”
Thrust.
“He may have his sluts, but you’re the only whore I need.”
Thrust
“My perfect little whore. Taking my cock like such a good girl.”
Thrust
“Mine,” I growl.
Her pussy feels so fucking good. Moans escape her as the fear subsides and pleasure replaces it.
My thighs slap against the back of hers, and she grips tightly to the rail. Meeting my every thrust. I pound into her harder and faster as the rails begin to shake. Her cries increase.
“Oh God. Nero.” She whimpers.
Her pinned hair falls loose with each thrust, and I can imagine the mess on her face. When I hit that special spot, warm liquid floods over my cock as she cries out.
The squirting sounds of her arousal and the moans falling from her lips send me to the peak of my climax. The orgasm hitting me hard as my vision blurs.
“Fuck Ari.” I roll my hips to feel deep inside her filling her with my cum.
Thank God this woman is on birth control, but in the high of my orgasm, I’m not opposed to the thoughts of her carrying my baby.
I grab her limp body by the waist and hold her up. Reluctantly I pull my cock out and pull her off the rails. She wobbles and crashes against me. Her face is flushed red, mascara running down her face. A beautiful fucking mess.
My beautiful fucking mess.
I wrap my arms around her, and we hold each other while we catch our breaths. I kiss the top of her head.
“You’re such a good girl, Ari.” I continue to praise her until our breathing returns to normal.
I pull the sleeves of her dress up over her bare shoulders and pull down the bottom to cover her bare ass. Her eyes soften on mine, and I run my thumb over her streaked mascara.
“You can’t go back in there like this,” I tell her.
“Oh my god, do I look ugly?”
“You never look ugly.” I look down at the evidence of her orgasm running from her legs.
Her eyes follow mine, and she lets out a silent gasp. She almost loses her balance before I scoop her up. She clings to me tightly as I carry her down the stairs.
When we reach the bottom step, I place her down next to the wall for support.
“Hold on,” I tell her, pulling out my cell phone and calling the prospect.
“Sup, Boss,” Louie answers.
“Call Jasper, we need to get the fuck out of here fast. Meet me in the back alley.”