Chapter 41
Chapter
Forty-One
Isabella
I t was only a little after eight p.m. when Emiliano and I made our way up the stairs. While most of the guests were gone, there was an informal meeting occurring in Andrés’s office. Something big had happened, but I knew I wouldn’t get details until we were alone. Em closed the bedroom door and turned the lock in the knob. He was handsome with his suit coat gone, his tie loosened, and the sleeves of his white button-down rolled to near his elbows.
I spun toward him and smiled. “I couldn’t be happier.”
He stalked toward me and reached for my shoulders. “Do you have any idea how fucking stunning you are in that dress?”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I’ve wanted to get you out of it since you appeared with your father.”
I took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“For not killing him? You’re welcome.”
“For giving him another chance. He apologized to me. And when he gave me away, he said it was with great pride.” I wiped a tear from my cheek. “Yesterday, he told me I was an embarrassment.”
A vein in Em’s forehead throbbed. “I heard.”
“No, don’t be mad. Dario told me that you told him not to insist on my family’s presence.”
“Well, damn. He wasn’t supposed to tell you.”
I ran my palm over his cheek. “We tell the truth.”
“We tell the truth. I was just going to leave that part out.”
“I’m glad I knew because when Papà walked in here?—”
“Your father was in our bedroom?” Em grinned. “Where I fucked his daughter?”
I slapped his chest. “Where you’re not going to do it again if you don’t let me tell you what he said.”
He inhaled. “Then by all means, Mrs. Ruiz, tell me what your father said feet away from the bed where I took his daughter’s virginity.”
“You’re awful.”
“I’m not. What did he say?”
“He said that Dario and Dante have told him that he’s been wrong about the cartel, but he refused to believe them. He said he believes me, and he’ll try.”
Em nodded.
“He also said that I’m always welcome in their home and so is anyone that I love.”
“That’s me, right?”
“Yes.” My cheeks rose as my lips curled. “I thought about it. I think he means others too.”
“What others?”
“Well, if we try part two again tonight and it’s better, we might want to try it again and again.”
“I like the way you’re talking.”
“If we do that, in a year or two when we visit Kansas City, there could be more than two of us.”
His gaze turned sultry. “Are you sure you want children?”
I shrugged. “I’ve always imagined having them. I guess before you, I didn’t realize how dangerous the world can be.”
“It’s less dangerous than it was yesterday.”
“Why is that?”
Em took my hand and led me to the bed. We both sat on the edge. “This is one of those times I’m being truthful, but for now, it is only between the two of us. Don’t tell your father.”
“Why would I tell him?”
“I don’t know. If he would ask, pretend you don’t know.”
“What don’t I know?”
“Not long after we completed the ceremony, Jano received a message from our men in Mexico.”
“You have men in Mexico?”
“He received an important message. Elizondro Herrera was captured.”
I sucked in a breath. “He’s the one el Patr?n wanted.”
Em nodded. “Jano believed that Herrera was responsible for many horrible things. He believed he called the hit on his father.” Em took a breath. “When we found Volkov, Jano’s only condition was that he be the one to take his life. He wanted the same thing with Herrera. He told our men to keep him detained, and that he’d be down to Saint Martin tomorrow.”
“Is he going?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Dario thought something was suspicious. He and Rei followed Jano to the other room. They heard enough of the conversation to figure out what was happening. Rei and Dario talked Jano out of traveling out of the country. While you and I were cutting cake, the three of them were strategizing. According to Rei, Dario laid it on the line. Leaving the country would be dangerous for Jano. He’s right. Dario said that Jano could pick up the phone and tell his men to execute Herrera, just as Herrera had done to Jorge. Jano would be the reason Herrera was finally dead.”
It was like listening to a movie plot. “Did el Patr?n do it? Did he call for Herrera’s death?”
“He did. He has photos to verify that Herrera is finally gone.”
“And this is good, right?”
“Yes, my love, it is very good. The Roríguez cartel is stronger than ever.”
Our lips collided. I lifted my arms to his shoulder and ran my fingers through his styled hair. Keeping our hips together, I leaned back and smiled. “I’ve wanted to do that all night. I think the messy look is sexy.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Messy hair, the scent of tobacco. What other aphrodisiacs turn you on, Mrs. Ruiz?”
“Just being in your presence.” I looked down at my left hand. Above Em’s great-grandmother’s band was a sparkling, gorgeous round diamond.
Em reached for my hand. “You like it?”
“I do. We need to get you a ring.”
“Lockdown is over. We can go do whatever you want to do.”
I spun around and peered at him over my shoulder. “I’d rather stay here tonight.” I batted my eyelashes. “Could you maybe help me out of this dress?”
“Fuck yeah.”
I expected him to reach for the line of pearl buttons. Instead, Em pulled a knife from a leg holster. I spun back around. “You are not cutting this dress.”
“Isn’t that what would happen if you married in the Mafia?”
My smile quirked. “I didn’t marry into the Mafia. I married into the cartel.”
“Yes, you did.” Em encouraged me to turn until he had access to the line of buttons. With each button, he kissed my back, lower and lower. By the time I removed my arms from the cap sleeves, the dress pooled around my feet, leaving me in the new white high-heeled sandals and new lace lingerie. “You’re too fucking good for me.”
“I’m not. I was raised in a dangerous world without knowing it. I prefer knowing what’s happening, no matter how dangerous.” I took a step toward my husband. “My turn.” I started with the top button that was secured on Em’s shirt. One by one, I released them, adding my kisses to his chest until I reached the waist of his pants.
Kneeling, I reached for his belt.
Em laid his hand over mine. “Stand up, Izzy.”
I looked up at him. “You don’t want…?”
“A fucking blow job? Yes. But not tonight. You’re a fucking princess, and tonight we’re going to make part two pleasurable. Tonight, I want to come in that tight pink pussy of yours.” He ran his thumb over my lip. “I can wait to feel those lips around me.” He lifted his eyebrows. “Because I know it will be worth the wait.”
I nodded.
Pleasurable.
I wanted that.
Together we continued to undress. He helped me. I helped him. It was a mating dance. By the time we were nude, our hands were a frenzy of movement. Me touching him and him touching me.
I did what I hadn’t done the first night, looking closer at what would soon be inside me. While I didn’t suck, I kissed and licked. Em’s intense reaction twisted my core and was enough to make me want to do more.
Soon the roles reversed. It was Em’s face buried between my legs. The sparks that had come to life as I kissed and licked were fanned by the fervor of his actions. My hips bucked as his tongue, lips, and teeth worked in an alliance to bring me pleasure. It was as he added his hands, circling my clit, that I came unwound.
Nerve endings sparked, sending a trail of explosions through my body. I reached for his head, pushing him away to no avail. The orgasms were overpowering. When I didn’t think I could possibly take any more, Em moved over me.
My body was too worn out to notice the pressure at my entrance. By the time my mind and body came together, I felt full. No pain. I opened my eyes meeting Em’s concerned gaze, nodded, and smiled.
“Are you good?”
I shook my head. “Not good. I’m better than good.”
“Not sore?”
“No. I feel full, and it feels wonderful.”
“I’ll make it better.”
I wasn’t sure there was a better.
I was wrong. Better came as we moved together, the push and pull, the arching of my back, and the movement of his torso. Each position felt different in the best of ways. Then all of a sudden, without warning, my body seized, sending detonations throughout my nervous system. From the top of my head to the curling of my toes, I was alive like I’d never known.
Our room filled with noises from me and curses from Em as he pushed my knees back and pounded harder. Soon, his expression morphed as he filled me to overflowing. When Em collapsed at my side, he reached for my chin, turning it toward him.
“Better?”
“The best.”
He kissed my nose. “What if I told you it will keep getting better?”
“I’d say you’re setting a high bar.”
He pulled me into his arms. I listened to the sound of his heartbeat as he stroked my hair. “I love you, Isabella. I want to have and hold you forever.”
I rolled in his arms. “I like the sound of that.” I lifted my left hand and wiggled my finger. You didn’t need to get me a diamond.”
“I did.”
“Does it have a story?”
“I bought it yesterday. That means this is just the first chapter.” He kissed me. “We have a lifetime to write the rest of the story.”
Rolling toward him, I lifted my lips to his. “As long as it ends with ‘They lived happily ever after.’”
And they did.
Thank you for reading TO HAVE AND TO HOLD. I hope you’ve enjoyed the Brutal Vows series. If you missed any of the individual stories, you could start with NOW AND FOREVER, Dario and Catalina’s story. Then, TILL DEATH DO US PART, Alejandro and Mia’s story. BOUND BY A PROMISE, Dante and Camila’s story. Next, QUEENS AND MONSTERS, Reinaldo and Jasmine’s story. The final book of the series is TO HAVE AND TO HOLD.