Chapter 8
LUCERO
Hot glorious water washed over my skin. I was careful with my injured hand.
It itched but I was certain it had nothing to do with the wound and everything to do with the fact Onyx wasn't next to me.
Every inch of my body had an underlying itch that no amount of scratching would ever help get rid of.
I popped my neck, easing some of the tension there.
Sleeping out on a park bench was, in fact, not the best idea.
I could feel aches and pains that I would have never noticed before. They were all worth it.
Ringing penetrated past the sound of running water.
Shit, that might be Onyx.
I was out of the shower in seconds and snatched my phone up.
Damian's contact appeared on my screen and I winced.
He was no doubt pissed off with me. I'd avoided all his calls since getting married.
Not to mention, I'd been a bit occupied.
But he had to understand, then again all my siblings thought I was a bit strange.
I answered as I tied the towel around my waist. There was no hello, not when I knew my brother was angry.
"Enough is enough. Where the hell are you, Lucero?" Damian growled.
The smile that stretched over my face was impossible to wipe off. "At home."
"No, you aren't." He sounded exasperated with me.
To be fair, that had been Damian's overall way with me. Since we were kids. He was only three years older than me but he acted as if he was closer to our parents’ age instead.
If anyone asked me, he was stressed beyond measure, unable to really relax.
"I'm here now and you're nowhere to be found. In fact, all your shit is gone."
I nodded and quickly remembered I was on the phone. "Yeah, well, I'm married now and can't live at home."
"Stupido stronzo. Di cosa stai parlando?"
I could understand Italian way better than I could speak it. My parents said it was the American school system that ruined my Italian. I wasn't too sure if that was true, but I wasn't going to argue either.
"You knew the plan before anyone." I'd told Damian exactly what I was going to do before I finally captured Onyx's heart.
"That's not what—Fuck. Lucero, where are you right now? Emir already told me you got stabbed."
"Man, this family can't keep a secret to save their lives."
Damian huffed out a laugh. It was short lived but at least he wasn't shouting at me anymore. "You already knew that when you called him. He said your husband stabbed you?"
I looked at the stitched wound on my hand, unwrapping it to admire it even more. "We held hands."
"I'm not going to attempt to understand you right now. I know how you are when you get obsessed with something." Damian let out a long dragged out sigh. "Did you move out?"
"Yeah, all my stuff."
There was a long enough pause I had to make sure Damian was still on the phone. "I want to ask but I already know your dumbass will say yes."
"Then don't bother."
He grumbled more Italian my way. "You're breaking Ma's heart."
That hurt a bit. I never wanted to hurt her in any way. I loved my mother, but I loved Onyx too, and if I didn't act now I'd never have him.
"Maybe I should do a check-in. Make sure your new husband hasn’t maimed you yet."
I rolled my eyes. Onyx would never. "Aren’t you busy?"
"I'm always busy. If you've forgotten, we're trying to show that we can handle our newfound power.
" There was a tightness in Damian's voice the longer he spoke.
"You've missed four events, not to mention there was an incident last week that could have used your attention.
Instead, I had to pull Prince and Nash off their own tasks to cover for you. "
"So what I'm hearing is that I'm irreplaceable and a real asset."
Damian muttered something in Italian too low for me to really catch it. "You already know that. You're my brother, and as annoying as you are, the family needs you. I need you."
I'd always be there for my family. There wasn't a part of me that was ready to let them go.
"Just give me a bit. I can get some work in now that I've moved in with Onyx, but I need to make sure everything here is solid."
"No matter what, Lucero, I got your back, but stop ignoring me and disappearing. I know how important this is to you but there is no shame in it not working. "
A knot formed in the middle of my gut and threatened to drag me down. I placed a hand on my stomach as if that would stop the feeling from taking over. "I won't." I shook my head, no wasn't enough. "I can't fail." I can't be without him.
"Then do what needs to be done and get back to work. We need you too," Damian reminded me.
"Yeah." I cleared my throat, shoving away the emotions that tried to creep up. "I'll send you the address."
"No need. I know where you're at now," Damian said. "We will be talking about what you did yesterday. Don't forget we have the same connections."
Oh, right, I still hadn't broken the news to my family. I'd been a little preoccupied getting everything set up after Onyx agreed to stay married to me. "If we could wait to tell Mom and Dad…"
"Too late. The old man is livid and you made Ma cry."
"Fuck." I hadn't meant to, but Onyx's happiness meant so much to me.
"Look, I know you're crazy but you're loyal. I know this doesn't change anything; you're still my brother and you're a Marino through and through."
I nodded, my head jerking up and down, flinging water droplets everywhere. "Yeah, of course."
"Good, see you soon."
I blew out a breath as I got off the phone with my brother.
Onyx had an endless supply of beauty products in the bathroom.
There was shit I hadn't even heard of. I held a tiny bottle that disappeared in my hand.
It was maybe five droplets of clear liquid.
One sniff of it and I put it back down. Why did he need half this stuff anyway?
Didn't he know he was the most beautiful person on the planet?
I went through a few more things, learning more about the man I love, soaking it up like a dry sponge.
Before I knew it, I found myself outside his room, looking through his living room—or I should say our living room.
I'd already had some of my guys unpack my belongings.
It was placed around the apartment like I'd lived there for years.
Butterflies erupted in the pit of my stomach as I looked around.
Our lives were blending together perfectly.
The happiness I felt was incomparable to anything I'd ever felt before. The only thing that outshined it was my wedding day. I still vividly remembered how stunning Onyx had looked in the dress, standing next to me as we promised each other forever.
A soft click was all the warning I got as the front door opened. I turned just in time to see my husband walk through the door, gun in hand. His platinum hair was wind blown, only a few strands obscuring his face, and the rest tousled about on top of his head.
Beautiful.
I closed the gap between us in four easy strides. I grabbed hold of the gun and moved the barrel over my left peck. "Aim true, bella."
Onyx stared up at me with his soft elegant features that even a doll would envy. "The hell are you doing here, Lucero?" His hold on the gun loosened.
He threatened to kill me all the time, but the truth was, he wouldn't.
My smile was genuine as it stretched my lips. "I made lunch. Figured I'd shower before you got back home."
"How did you get in?" He looked behind him and the security guards were still there. Their weapons were drawn, but I ignored them. If anyone was going to kill me, it would be my love.
"A key of course."
"Of course?" Onyx repeated. He shook his head and put his weapon away. "I'd like to point out the obvious that I didn't give you a key but what's the point?"
I smiled. He was getting me already. "What are they still doing around?" I asked, indicating the guards.
"Fuck all apparently," Onyx grumbled.
His gaze swept over me until it landed on my chest. His mouth opened, and in the next second, all my dreams came true. Onyx was in my personal space, hands on my flesh. A fire lit up at the point of contact before warming my entire body. My cock was hard, tenting the towel around my waist.
Electricity danced across my flesh as Onyx's fingers skirted over the tattoo.
I'd made the poor choice of getting a hand-sized tattoo of his calling card.
I should have gotten it to cover my entire body only to feel Onyx touch every inch of me.
I wanted more. Blood rushed down south faster than it ever had.
"You're insane."
Laughter bubbled free. "We've established that." I gripped his chin and tilted his head just so I could see those cloudy blue eyes that reminded me of a stormy day. "But only for you."
Onyx's eyes widened slightly as his lips parted as if inviting me in for another kiss. The one the other day had been too short and only fed my desire for more of him. I wanted to fall to my knees and beg for more.
"Mr. Auclair?—"
Both Onyx and I turned to the guards. "What?"
My sweet, loving husband turned back to look at me in confusion. The guards both cocked a brow my way, but I paid little attention to them.
"Are you going to say what was so important that you had to interrupt such a magical moment?"
"Magical?" Onyx asked. He squirmed in my hold until he was free. "Big oaf. They clearly called me."
"They said Mr. Auclair," I said proudly, standing up straighter crossing my arms. I didn't miss the way Onyx's eyes went right to my chest or the way his tongue swept out over his lips.
If you want me, just say it and I'm yours. However you'll have me.
Onyx cleared his throat. His cheeks were a bit red. "Yeah, I know, that's my last name."
"And mine."
The entire room went eerily silent.
"Espèce de taré. De quoi parlez-vous?"
Onyx took a step back, and I closed the distance until we were touching. He stopped trying to move away from me by the fourth step back. Instead, he glared up at me, his arms crossed over his chest.
"No, it's not. Mariachi or Alfredo or something very Italian like that.”
I lifted a single brow. We both knew he knew my family name. There was no way he took the job to kill me and hadn't done extensive research. I knew my husband all too well. "It was Marino."
I begrudgingly stepped away from him and went to the coffee table. I couldn't get back to him fast enough. My bare feet slapped against the marble flooring as I made quick work of grabbing the paperwork.
"I planned on surprising you at dinner but now works too." I handed over the paperwork along with my license and passport.
I might have had a few things made beforehand but no one needed to know. I went with whatever Onyx chose, and he said he wasn’t willing to take the Marino last name.
"How?" Onyx asked, snatching it away from me. The more he looked, the wider his eyes got. "Have you lost your mind?"
"I have my ways."
"Undo it."
"No."
"What happened?" one of the security guards asked. I'd forgotten they were there for a second.
"I am now Lucero Auclair."
"Don't tell people that," Onyx growled. "You two are dismissed. Let your boss know that I will be contacting him to talk about everything."
They nodded, but one of them grumbled under his breath. "No one mentioned there was a fucking lunatic involved."
The moment the front door closed, Onyx slammed the papers down on the coffee table. "I need a drink."
"What kind do you want? A dirty martini or red wine?"
He glared at me. "Martini, and you do know you're the reason I need a drink, right?"
I nodded. "I have that effect on some people." I twisted around and went to the wet bar in the corner of the living room, grabbing what I needed.
"Why am I not shocked to see you know where everything is?"
"The answer is love."
"Je suis condamné."
I made the martini, not too strong, and with five olives since I knew how much Onyx liked them. I handed it over and he took it tentatively.
"It's not poisoned."
"Didn't think it was. As crazy as you are, you aren't a danger to me in that way." He took a huge gulp before pulling the glass away from his lips. "Shit, that's good."
"You like it?"
Onyx blinked a few times before looking at me. I wanted to hear more about how he liked it.
"I can make you one whenever you want. I can make other drinks too."
He took another sip before popping an olive into his mouth. I was starting to get jealous of the drink. The way Onyx pressed his lips against the rim left me wanting to be the thing he sipped from.
"I never said you could move in," Onyx said.
"What married couple doesn't live together?"
Onyx jammed a finger in the middle of my chest. He was now giving me cute love taps.
"I only agreed to stay married to you until we found out who set you up to be killed."
I took his hand and kissed the tip of his finger. I'd planned on stopping there but it was as if my mouth had a will of its own.
A single taste.
My lips parted and I took the tip of Onyx's finger into my mouth. I swirled my tongue over the slender digit. The bitter taste of alcohol was unpleasant to my taste buds, but was overwritten the moment I got to the taste of Onyx.
"Want lunch?"
Onyx snatched his fingers back. "Lucero, I'm serious."
"I made risotto and steamed halibut."
My husband looked toward the kitchen with want in his eyes. "Okay, but once we're done eating, you're leaving."
"Come on, so I can make you a plate.” I intertwined our fingers. Onyx pulled away, leaving me wanting more. If I couldn't hold his hand, that was okay. I stepped back and picked him up princess style instead. He let out an adorable squeak.
"Fuck, Lucero."
"Any time you want, bella," I promised.
If there was one thing about my husband I knew for certain was he couldn't give up on a challenge. I had every plan to make our marriage a task he never wanted to quit.