Nero (Made Men #1) (25 page)

Chapter Thirty-Five

A Work of Art

Nero sat on the hood of his car
, surrounded by trees and a dirt road. The sun had gone down, and Nero knew it should be any minute now.

Twenty minutes passed before headlights lit up his surroundings. He heard the door open and slam with a loud noise.

Nero walked over to the car and another sound greeted him. The sound sang to his soul.
Finally.

“Ready
, brother?” Lucca appeared beside him.

Nero looked down at his hands and made two fists
. “I can’t use my hands.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” Lucca opened
the car’s back door then reached in his backseat and tossed a wooden bat to Nero.

Nero walked toward the trunk and the sound grew louder
. He gripped the bat in his hands. “Now, I’m ready.”

Lucca opened the trunk and a crying Sebastian wailed for forgiveness.

Nero grabbed Sebastian’s shirt and pulled him out of the trunk before he pushed him to the ground.

Nero stared into Sebastian’s crying
, pleading eyes. He had waited three weeks for this moment, planning for this all to be perfect. He had started getting even with the kids at school who had made Elle’s life miserable, then the ones who had touched her. And, finally, the ones who had tortured her.

That
had caused everyone who had ever hurt Elle to start to shit their pants, waiting and wondering if he was going to come for them. Sebastian had waited the longest, scared every fucking day for the last three weeks. This time, he’d told Amo and Vincent he needed to get even on his own.

“You fucking lied to me
, Sebastian.”

Sebastian had blackmailed the quarterback to throw the milk carton at Elle
. He had felt bad afterwards and that was why he had offered to get his team to guard Elle’s table. He confessed when Nero had sent out his first round of paybacks.

Sebastian went to his knees
. “P-P-Please d-don—”

Nero
swung the bat, crashing it against his arm. He didn’t fucking care how much he begged.
He didn’t give a shit when Elle begged.

Nero took his time
, slamming the bat against Sebastian’s body and keeping in mind every place he had ever touched Elle. The sound of sobbing combined with the sounds of bones breaking calmed his soul.

Nero leaned down and grabbed an almost
-unconscious Sebastian’s face. He made sure he had broken every inch of his body but left his face untouched.

“I made you a fucking promise that you would be unrecognizable
, and I keep my promises.”

Nero pushed back the mass of hair from his face
. As he stood, he looked over at Lucca, leaning against the car, smoking a cigarette.

“Do I finally get a turn?”

Nero walked over to him. “What are you going to do with him when you’re done?”

Lucca flicked his cigarette toward Sebastian’s body
. “I thought I’d give him a ride to the hospital.”

Nero strode back to his car
, satisfied at giving him over to Lucca. Nero had just created a work of art, but Lucca, he made masterpieces.

Nero got in the car and pulled out his phone
. Now that he had gotten even with everyone who’d ever hurt Elle, he could finally claim the prize he now felt deserving of.

Nero drove out onto the dirt road
, smiling into the flicker of light off in the distance.

*
* *

Elle watched Maria hold up a dress.

Maria shook her head. “Nope, I don’t like it.”

Elle laughed
. “Are you planning on going somewhere?”

Nero had called and asked if she would spend the night with Maria
, saying she looked like she needed some girl time. Elle, of course, had agreed and told her parents she was staying over at Chloe’s since her dad wouldn’t appreciate that she was going to stay at Nero’s house. Since it was a school night, too, she told them they had another project due—after all, it had worked well the first time.

Maria held up another one
. “What do you think?”

Elle squished up her nose
. “It’s awfully pink…”

Maria put it back
. “You’re right.”

Elle shook her head
, laughing. She watched Maria flip through some more before she stopped.

Maria sighed and mumbled something under her breath
, then she went to the very back of her closet and pulled out a white dress.

Elle’s mouth dropped
. “You own that?” The dress was plain white yet made from expensive-looking fabric. The thing that shocked Elle was it was extremely short and tight-looking.

Maria walked up to her
. “Try it on.”

Elle shook her head
no.
There’s no way I could fit into that
.

“Come on
, Elle. I just want to see what it looks like on you. Please?” Maria gave Elle puppy eyes.

Ugh
.
“Fine, I’ll attempt to fit in it.” Elle snatched the dress from her.

Maria laughed and walked out of the closet to shut the door
. “Oh, you can’t wear your bra and panties with that dress.”

What? I thought I was just trying it on.
Elle threw off her clothes and, to appease Maria, she stripped all the way down. Elle stuck her legs in the dress and shimmied it up then put her arms through the straps.

She
smoothed the dress down, noticing it wasn’t too short.
Short enough
. However, on Maria, it would have been lucky to cover her ass. Elle wondered how in the world she’d managed to keep the dress hidden from her brothers.

“Okay, come in.”

Maria opened the door a second later. “Oh, my God. It’s perfect!”

Maria ran over and took Elle’s hand
then dragged her over to her vanity and sat her down.

Elle saw the glint in her eyes
.
Oh, Lord
.

“What are you doing now?”

“Elle, I have been dying to dress a girl up. Just let me have my fun.”

Elle looked at Maria’s puppy
-dog eyes again. There was no way she could say no, and as a result, Elle decided to be a life-size Barbie for Maria to play with.

She
sat in the chair for what seemed like hours while Maria curled her hair and did her makeup. When that was finished, Maria made her put on some white, strappy heels. Elle then stood up so Maria could see her creation.

Maria clapped her hands
, giggling. “He is going to love me for this.”

“What?”
Who’s he?

Maria took Elle’s hand and pushed her in front of the mirror for the first time
—she had been careful not to let Elle see—so she could appreciate the final product.

Elle gasped at her reflection
. Her hair was curled in almost-messy waves, giving her hair a lift. Her makeup was perfectly done with a bold, winged eye and pink lip gloss.
Maria couldn’t resist.
The dress was it, though.

Seeing it now for the first time
, the scoop neck revealed the tops of her breasts, held up nicely with the thick straps. Elle understood now why she couldn’t wear anything underneath; the dress was a second skin. Although the material wasn’t see-through, you could see the outlines to anything underneath it. Elle had never looked or felt this beautiful in her whole life.

“You look gorgeous
, Elle,” Maria complimented.

“Thanks to you and the time you spent to do so. Well
, time to pull it off—”

“Wait
, what time is it?” Maria looked over at the clock. “Eleven forty-five!” Maria grabbed Elle’s hand and dragged her to stand in the middle of her bedroom. “Wait right here.” Then Maria disappeared.

Um
, okay…

*
* *

Nero opened his bedroom door
. “What the fuck, Maria?”

“Sorry
, Nero. I needed her for something,” Maria tried to calm him.

“I told you to distract her for thirty fucking minutes, not the whole damn night. We just told her you wanted her here to fucking get her here.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, you can thank me later.”

“For what? Fucking stealing her from me?”

Maria started laughing, “All right, I’m leaving with Lucca. Elle’s in my room.” Maria started walking down the hall. “Oh, don’t be mad at me for the dress. I never actually got to wear it.”

What?

Chapter Thirty-Six

How Does It Taste?

Eleven
forty-five?
Elle hadn’t even realized how late it was, though she had known it was late when she had come over.
Yeah, but dang, time flew
.

Elle looked around Maria’s bedroom
, wondering how long she was going to take. She tried waiting right where she’d told her to, but she spun around the room, bored, until she heard the bedroom door fly open.

Elle turned back around to face the door
. “Final—” Her mouth stopped forming the words when she saw Nero standing in the doorway. She thought he looked just as stunned to see her as she did him.

Nero slowly started covering the distance between them
, and Elle tried to move back. She thought Nero looked too much like a wolf trying to stalk his prey right now, and she started to feel uncomfortable with the way she was dressed.

I’m going to kill Maria
.
“Uh-uh, what are you doing here?”

Nero stood right in front of her
. “I live here, remember?”

Right.
Elle wondered where Nero had gone to tonight. He looked a bit sexier than he usually did with his buttoned up shirt that was a dark gray this time. It made his emerald eyes dance and gave him a more deadly and sexy appearance. Elle licked her lips from them suddenly starting to feel dry.

Nero reached out and took her hand
, pulling her toward him. “You look fucking beautiful.”

Elle’s heart started beating as Nero leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips. When he pulled away
, he started pulling her out of the bedroom.

“Um
, where’s Maria?”

“She left. Remind me later to thank her and kill her for that dress.”

Left?
Elle’s heart began to race as he headed toward his bedroom. She suddenly felt like this whole thing might have been planned.

Nero smiled as he opened his bedroom door for her.

Elle looked into his room and saw a small table and two chairs had been placed by his balcony door.
He did this for me?

Nero’s hand came to the small of her back and he
gently pushed her into the bedroom before shutting the door. Then he guided her toward the table and pulled out a seat for her. Elle stared at the pink cupcake and strawberries on the plate in front of her as Nero sat down beside her.

He
reached into his pocket and grabbed the two items he had been hiding. He placed a white candle on top of the cupcake and lit the end with a lighter.

“Happy Birthday
, Elle.”

Elle looked over at Nero
, shocked. “How did you know?”

Nero shrugged
. “Josh told me.”

Should
have known.
The two had spent some time together and Nero had started rubbing off on Josh, who hadn’t been picked on since Nero had scared those bullies that day at the bus stop.

Elle smiled as she gave Nero a quick kiss on the lips
. “Thank you.”

Nero smiled back at her
. “You’re welcome, baby.”

Elle looked back at the burning candle and quickly blew it out.

“Did you make a wish?”

Elle thought about how drastically her life had changed in a matter of a month
. “Yes, but I’m not going to tell, or it won’t come true.”

Nero picked up a strawberry off the plate
. “I plan on making all your wishes come true.”

“I have a lot of wishes,” Elle teased.

“I think you’re worth it.” His expression was serious.

Elle’s heart melted
. She never would have thought Nero could have been the sweet type.

As s
he watched him put the strawberry up to his mouth and take a bite, Elle went to pick up her own strawberry, but Nero swatted her hand away. He then picked another strawberry up and put it to Elle’s lips.

Elle slowly opened her mouth and took a bite
. The taste was sweet and slightly sour, and she didn’t know if it was the best strawberry she had ever eaten because of the taste or because Nero was feeding it to her.

He then
pinched off a piece of the cupcake and put it up to her lips. Elle started to get butterflies as she opened her mouth and placed her lips over the cupcake and the tips of his fingers as she slid the morsel into her mouth.

“How does it taste
, baby?”

Elle saw the heat start to rise in his body
, as well. She licked her lips. “Delicious.”

While
Nero pinched off another piece and brought it to her, Elle looked him in his eyes as she opened her mouth for the cake. This time, she slid her lips farther down his fingers and sucked the tasty cupcake off. She watched Nero pull his fingers out and then suck a tiny piece of icing off that she hadn’t caught. Elle wanted to return the favor.

“
May I feed you?”

Nero smiled
, pleased with her question. “Yes.”

Elle’s heart started to race as she pinched
off her own piece. She put it to Nero’s mouth, her body waiting in anticipation. She watched him grab her hand and take her whole fingers into his mouth and suck. She got chills at the sensation of his mouth over her fingers.

“How does it taste?”
she asked breathlessly.

Nero held onto her hand and sucked the remaining icing off her finger greedily
. “Delicious.”

She felt the wetness start between her thighs as he scooped up icing onto his finger and
held it to her lips. Elle couldn’t pull her eyes away from him as she slid her mouth over his finger and sucked once more. She was pleased with herself when they came out clean.

As
Nero scooped up another bit of icing, swiping it on her neck, Elle froze. He wrapped his hand in her hair and pulled Elle to him before he bent down and licked up the trail of icing, sucking a tiny piece of her neck into his mouth.

Elle bent her head more to the side so Nero could take more. She felt him start to kiss up her neck and to her mouth. When Nero kissed her this time
, it was not light and quick; it was rough and greedy. He sucked her tongue into his mouth as his other hand went to her waist and pulled her onto his lap. Elle found herself straddling Nero and gripping his shoulders. She was just as hungry as he was. He hadn’t kissed her like this in three weeks.

She felt Nero’s hands move to cup her ass as he rose from the table
, making Elle wrap her legs around him tighter to hold her up.

Nero placed her to stand at the foot of the bed
, his hands trailing from her waist up her body slowly until he stopped at her shoulders, pulling the dress’s straps down to hang off her now-bare shoulders.

Elle’s stomach grew nervous
, and she pulled back to stop kissing him. “Nero—”

Nero rested his head on Elle’s forehead.
“Elle, I have fucking waited for you. Please, baby, I can’t wait any longer.”

Elle could feel Nero’s need and pain,
aware he couldn’t hold out any longer. She thought about how Nero had clearly had this all planned.
He wanted this to be special
. Elle just wanted to hear him say three words to her. Three words that she had felt the moment he bumped into her in the hallway one month ago. It just took her time to realize it.

She
simply didn’t want to be the one to tell him first because she was scared he would run away. Elle knew Nero didn’t treat her like all the other ones in the past, and something in her just knew he loved her, too. Nero had come a long way, but saying it would be hard for him to do. Her heart loved him and her body needed him just as badly. Elle wanted to give Nero something in return for everything he had done for her.

Elle kissed his neck as she went for his shirt buttons; she had missed the feel of his chest. She kissed and licked as she kept unbuttoning his shirt. Elle
glanced up into Nero’s lust-filled eyes as she pushed his shirt off and onto the floor.

Nero pulled her hair
back to claim her mouth again, his hands returning to her dress. Elle thought her heart was going to explode as he kissed her while pulling down her dress to expose her naked breasts, abdomen, and mound. She could see his surprise.

Nero spoke harsh
ly, “Fuck, I didn’t think there wasn’t anything underneath.”

When he returned to kissing her
, he swiftly went to his pants and dropped them to the floor.

Elle saw how huge Nero was right before he picked her back up to lay her in the middle of the bed.
No way.

S
he tried to push Nero back, her nerves returning.

Nero grabbed her hands and held them to the bed beside her head
. “Do you trust me?”

Elle stared
into Nero’s eyes and knew she couldn’t lie as much as she wanted to right now. “Yes,” she whispered.

Elle tried her best not to tremble as Nero leaned his head down to her neck. He lightly kissed it
, going lower and lower until she felt his breath over her right nipple, gasping when his tongue went out to lick the hard, pink tip. She arched her back to lean in closer as he laved and sucked it into his mouth. Elle squeezed Nero’s hands tightly when he gently bit the tortured flesh, causing a rush of wetness to seep past her folds.

“I have waited so long to taste these pretty
, pink nipples.” Nero moved over to the right nipple, giving it the same attention as the other one.

He
pulled his hands from hers, taking her breasts in his hands as he ventured lower to her belly, slowly and lightly kissing down while his fingers teased her nipples.

When Nero parted her thighs
, her pussy glistened before him.

Elle’s head fell back when his tongue thrust deep inside her
, starting a rhythm over her sensitive bud. Then her hands went to his hair when he sucked her clit into his mouth.

“You even taste like fucking strawberries.”

Nero slid a finger into her tight sheathe, and Elle started to feel a small wince of pain before Nero sucked her tiny bud harder. She felt another finger enter her a moment later before he started a motion inside her, steadily pumping.

Nero’s thumb moved to her clit
. “Baby, I’m going to try my best not to hurt you for your first time. You’re so fucking tight, though.”

Elle didn’t understand him
, the pleasure inside of her burning every inch of her body. She needed release. Her hips bucked upwards, following his rhythm, but Nero stopped and kissed back up her body, not giving her what she needed.

Elle desperately whimpered beneath him as he went to his nightstand and hu
rriedly slid on a condom; her body needed him to return.

She felt the tip of his length brush her entrance as he held her thighs
apart and tightly to the bed, not wanting her to move.

Elle spoke between harsh breaths, “Nero, please
. I need you.” She tried to raise her hips up.

When he slowly started to enter her
, going an inch at a time, it wasn’t fast enough for her. Elle cried out, wiggling her hips, “Now, Nero!”

“Fuck
, baby.” Nero slid his length deeper and pushed at the thin membrane.

Elle screamed out as he tore through.

Nero quickly took her mouth with his, and his thumb went back to her pussy to find her clit, beginning to stroke.

Elle felt the pain ease away
as her desire came back. She wrapped her legs around his hips and gripped his back, feeling Nero slowly start to move his hips above her, cautiously going in and out, driving her mad all over again.

She lost all sense of the world around her as Nero increased the speed and started taking his cock out more and more
, only to shove deeper inside her. Elle felt the tension build in her body, growing. Her hips matched his, following his speed. She squeezed her legs tighter around his hips, wanting him to go higher inside her.

Nero pushed harder on her clit
. “Do you want to come, baby?”

Elle nodded furiously and dug her nails into his back
. “Yes, please.”

Nero slammed his mouth
down on hers, rubbing the tiny bud expertly. His hips thrust upwards at a high speed, making his balls smack at her ass.

Elle dug her nails harder into Nero
when he reached a spot high within her, making her moan out in ecstasy. She held onto him tightly as she came, reaching her climax.

Nero pumped hard into her a few more times before she heard him grumble
. Holding her still, she felt the jolts making her soar with his own release before Nero fell on her, exhausted but careful not to give her all his weight.