REMEDY: A Mafia Romance (Return to Us Trilogy Book 3) (6 page)

"Why not?"

"You…" Shit. What can I tell her? "I have nothing to offer you."

"I don't need anyone to take care of me. I'm strong. I can handle myself on the street."

"I believe you, but we still shouldn't."

She drops her head and pulls away again. I let her go this time. She spins and stares into my eyes, her brow furrowed.

"What?" I ask her with a laugh.

Her lips twist into a devilish smile, and she looks around us. She jumps me, wrapping her arms over my shoulders and her legs behind my back. Her tits bump my chin.

"Ahh! What the hell?" I support her with my palms on her spine, squeezing my fingers to her skin through the fabric of her hoodie.

She giggles, pressing her hands on my shoulders to push me to my back. Her hair falls forward, concealing us in a private teepee. I stare at her stunning smile.

My hands grope the curves of her backside. Man, her ass is as lush as I thought it would be.

I roll us so she's lying flat on her back and hover my body above hers. I stay like that for a long time, memorizing the rounds of her cheeks, the shape of her eyebrows, the shadow of her thick lashes.

"You're beautiful," I say to her, running my hands through her hair.

Gravity slowly pulls my hips to hers. She arches her neck and purses her lips with her eyes closed. "Kiss me."

I should resist, but the pull of this girl is irresistible. I have to kiss her or I'll die. I press a hint of my lips to hers and taste her. So soft and warm. She grasps my head and tugs me closer.

"I can't," I squeak out. "We shouldn't."

"It's just a kiss."

She pokes the tip of her tongue out and licks my lips. Our tongues meet, and I taste strawberry and chocolate.

"Mmm, you taste good," I say against her lips.

The thick fabric of my jeans makes a scratching sound as I mash my hips to hers. I slide the length of my rock-hard cock up and down against the juncture of her legs once and stop.

"Do that again." She spreads her legs, and my hips fall deeper between them.

I dry hump her like a dog in heat. She plants her feet, grinding her mound against my cock. Thank fuck I jacked off in the john earlier or I'd come in my pants. I grasp her head and forge deeper into her mouth. She makes little whimpering noises that drive me crazy. The cold night disappears, and her hot body writhing under mine becomes the nucleus of my universe.

I work my hands under her hoodie and lift the fabric, maneuvering down to kiss the soft, warm skin of her flat stomach. My nose nudges the swell of her tit.

"Are you a virgin?" I ask, raising my head to watch her response. She stills and looks to the side. "It's fine. It's okay. I just need to know."

She peers down at me. "Yes. I've never even had an orgasm with a boy before."

"Ungh!" I scrape my hands through my hair. Damn. She's a virgin. Her fucking tits and breathy sighs are begging me to take her, but I can't.

I bury my face in her neck and hair. "You're driving me insane." I talk softly in her ear as my body ruts against her.

Her toes pull at my jeans at the backs of my thighs. She works them down to the top of my ass.

Shit. I gasp as my dick pokes the strung-tight fabric of my boxers above the waistband of my jeans.

I grind closer and harder, trying to burrow into her pussy through her skintight cotton pants. I hook the tip of my boxer-covered cock precisely into the groove of her opening. She goes wild trying to force my dick in through our clothes.

Please, god, let this fabric stretch one centimeter more, so I can get deeper.

My frantic humping forces the tip of my dick through the flap in the front of my boxers. I freeze and squeeze my eyes shut. She reaches down and caresses my rubbed-raw head with her soft, gentle fingers.

"Please," she begs. "I want it to be you." She pinches the tip of my dick and tugs on it.

"No." My breaths are heavy on her lips. "No, no, no, no, no." I need my brain to get the fuck out of my dick.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes."

"We can't. I have nothing."

"I don't need anything. Just you." Her pleading shoots straight to my cock.

"No. I have to leave you. I can't take that from you and leave."

"Take it. And stay."

"I can't. I have to go."

She kicks off her shoes and reaches down to slide her pants off along with underwear. She tosses her clothes beside us on the blanket. The sight of her sweet, virgin cunt glistening and waiting for me boggles my mind.

"Christ," I mutter.

Fuck it! I want this girl, and she's offering herself to me. I'm taking it. No fucking deal can stop me.

I press my back to the blanket and raise my hips to grab a condom from my wallet in my back pocket. My jeans and boxers slide off easily, and I kick them to the side. I roll back onto her and nestle my dick in the heat between her thighs.

"God. Fuck." My gloved cock teases her opening.

She wraps her legs around my back and nudges the backs of my thighs with her feet, urging me to continue the rutting we did with our clothes on.

"I don't wanna hurt you." I jab her with enough pressure to grant my head access to her entrance.

She grunts and tilts her hips. Her tight heat grips my tip and begs to suck me in. I push against her resistance until the head of my dick slips inside her. She gasps and scrunches her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Yes. Keep going."

I work my cock to the base, trying not to hurt her. "Fuck. So tight. So wet."

I'm inside her. She's mine.

My Ivy.

I withdraw my length to the tip and glide back in slowly. Her hot wetness coats me in heaven.

Magnificent.

She groans and grabs my ass, pulling me into her again.

"You still okay?"

"Yes. It feels good. More."

I pump faster into her, and she makes low, rasping sounds with each thrust. Balancing my weight on my left arm, I lift her hoodie higher and grab her boob, pinching her nipple through her thin bra. She arches her back, forcing more of her tit in my hand. I should touch her clit, but I can't fucking concentrate. I bury myself inside her and stay planted, reaching my right hand between us to find the top of her mound.

She holds her breath and stiffens beneath me as my fingertips circle her clit. Her breathing grows ragged and she opens her mouth, grunting out a silent moan. Her walls clench around my dick. I bite my lower lip, fighting the urge to slam into her.

"Oh… my…" She pants hot breaths on my neck.

That's right, Ivy. Your first climax during your first fuck, and I gave it to you. Never forget it.

I wait until her muscles relax and her orgasm wanes. I piston into her, trying to go slow, but it feels so goddamn good. Her hips meet mine with a slap.

Shit. I'm not going to last. Please. Not so soon.

But it's unstoppable. A powerful cyclone rises up from deep in my balls and blasts through me. I come inside her with a long, deep groan. My hips keep pumping to prolong it as long as possible. I lower my head to her chest and listen to her heart pitter-patter like a hummingbird in a cage.

My sweet Ivy gave herself to me. I was her first. No one else will ever have that with her.

I raise my head to take in the serenity on her face. Her closed eyes, her partially open mouth, her hair an array of spun silk on the blanket. I breathe against her lips. "I'll always remember you like this."

She whimpers as she squeezes me tight with her arms and legs and her tight pussy.

I pull out and toss the tied condom. We arrange our bodies so her head is on my chest and she's draped over my side. I wrap us up inside the blanket and caress her arm.

"You're beautiful, you know," I whisper in her ear.

"Thank you. You are too." She smiles up at me.

"Let's get some sleep."

"Okay."

***

Jacade

The drone of a plane overhead wakes us before dawn. I kiss her until her eyes flutter open, rubbing my naked legs against hers for warmth.

"Where are we?" she asks me with sleepy eyes.

"This is a landing zone for parachuters. We'd better get out of here before someone drops in on us and sees a part of you I don't want anyone else to see."

We don't talk as I drive her back to the police station. I park in front of the bench she waited on hours before.

She glances from the bench to me, but I can't look at her. She pulls her feet up to the seat and crawls toward me. I stop her by gripping her shoulders. She pushes against my hold until I give in and her mouth reaches mine.

She peppers my face with kisses. "Please. Please. Please."

I mash my lips together and hold my breath. Tears drip from her eyes and make our kisses wet like we are standing in the rain kissing goodbye.

"Please. Take me with you," she begs.

God. I wish I could give you what you want, baby. More than anything. "I can't," I say with my jaw clenched. "Just go. For now."

"For now?"

"I'll be back." I stare out at the darkness before the dawn.

"Men don't come back."

I turn my gaze to hers. "I will. As soon as it's possible, I'll come for you." I try to keep my voice strong to reassure her.

"How will you find me?"

"I'll find you." Through Heldman.

She lowers her head to my shoulder and sniffles. She doesn't believe me, and why would she? I was a stranger to her less than twelve hours ago.

"When I'm worthy of you, I'll come back." I pet her hair as I speak into her ear. "Keep the jacket. Don't ever lose it, Ivy."

Her head pops up and her red, swollen eyes widen.

That's right, sweetheart. I know your name and you don't know mine.

I slide my gaze from her face to the police station. Viktor strides into the dusky morning and glares at us from the top of the steps.

I drop my arms and stare at the steering wheel. "Go to him. He'll protect you. Until I can."

With a sob that punches me in the gut, she opens the door and steps out.

I don't look up. I can't watch her walk up those steps to him. I put the car in gear and pull away from the curb. But damn if my head turns back—just once—to see him snake his arm over her shoulders and walk her to the parking lot behind the building.

Fuck.

I'll be back, Ivy.

I have a plan.

We just need time.

Ivy

Through the majestic windows in Jacade's bedroom, I stare at the rotating glow of the giant, new Navy Pier Ferris wheel. Riders get a thrill circling two hundred feet above Lake Michigan. Jacade's vivid version of our story has fooled my heart into thinking it's riding on one of those state-of-the-art gondolas, the centrifugal force setting me off my axis.

"You didn't come back," I say, dazed as I return to the present.

"I did. Here I am."

I touch his cheek and scrutinize his noble face. Sometimes, when I watch the sunset over the water, I'll wait a while after the sun drops below the horizon. My favorite moment is when the surface of the water turns into a frosty ice-blue blanket. Jacade's eyes are that same cool, calm blue, and there's something so captivating about it, I can't look away.

"How could I not recognize you? Your eyes. I should have known your eyes."

"The clouds blocked any light from the moon. We sat under the stars and talked in shadows. I dropped you off before the sun rose. I've changed a lot too. Broke my nose and my jaw a few times each. Put on at least a hundred pounds."

"And you're nothing like him. He was so timid and insecure."

"I'm still that boy sometimes, but yes, I have more confidence now."

I shake my head slowly. He was the incredibly hot guy in the backseat. I took his car, but he stole my heart and my virginity that night. "Why? Why did you wait so long?"

"I made a deal with Bernard. In the first week, I'd boosted fifteen cars. Within a year, I'd made my first kill. The guilt consumed me. Even if Bernard permitted it—which he didn't—I couldn't bring that shame to your life. Two years later, when you ended it with Viktor, I talked about it with Bernard. I still wasn't in any position to support you, so he and Helen took you in. He commanded me to wait until I finished my schooling. Said we would self-destruct because I wouldn't follow orders if I were with you. You went away to college, and I went to medical school. I focused on my studies and my training. I follow orders at all costs, Ivy. It's how I made it to where I am."

He finishes his sentence and gazes at me with a raw darkness in his eyes. He's exposing his vulnerability to me by telling me truths he's held top secret for eighteen years. "Was Uncle Bernie at the police station that night?"

"Yes, Jude called Bernard in to help when I got arrested. Bernard and I watched you from the other side of a one-way mirror as he made his pitch and warned me to stay away from you. Bernard worked out a deal with Boothby—he was commissioner back then—to let us get off without any charges and make the paperwork disappear."

"I don't remember meeting him, but he gave me the creeps when I saw him at the hospital."

"Yeah, he's a creeper." He continues, "I've only disobeyed orders twice. That night when I came to pick you up off the bench and the day I saved your life when Viktor tried to kill you three years ago. Viktor was trying to get Bernard's attention. Bernard didn't want me to confront him, but I knew he would take it too far. You coded on the table, and I resuscitated you. I've already told you how that moment affected me."

I nod to let him know I remember his words at the surgery center.

These two hands were meant to worship your body
.
You opened your eyes and I was salvaged
.

"After I saved you, I endured three long years watching you with that Kevin asswipe. I channeled my frustration into building my businesses, jumping out of planes, and kicking ass in the cage. I'm still the only undefeated fighter in my weight class. As soon as you got rid of Kevin"—he drags out his name in a taunting tone—"I approached Bernard for the umpteenth time and convinced him my rank in the organization would be enough to protect you in case Viktor or anyone else decided to go at you again. He saw the misery Kevin had caused you, and I'd proven myself time and again. He knew I would love you to the moon and back, so he declared it was time and brought me into the practice."

He smiles, and I stare at his dimple. "I can only imagine how expectant you must have felt the day I returned to work."

"I admit I was a coward and took my chance in the elevator before you saw me. The connection was so immediate, I tried to hold back, but the energy crackled between us like it had eighteen years before. The first time we came face-to-face, you were flustered after your pornographic activities on my desk, and I was relieved you didn't recognize me. I wanted you to get to know me as the man I am now."

"You were my first," I say in shocked awe.

"I was." He's still smiling. He's proud of this.

"You've loved me all this time?"

"I have."

"My body remembered you," I say. "I just couldn't place you with that night."

"We were only together for a few hours during a dark, stressful night. The two weeks you've known me as an adult have been tumultuous too. You would've put it together on your own eventually. I was going to wait till you were fully recovered, but you need to hear it now."

"I waited for you." He's trusting me with this, and I should be careful not to say anything to compound his guilt, but we are sharing honestly. "I thought you were a jerk for not keeping your word."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He presses his forehead to mine. "If I could change it, I would. I was young and stupid. I never should've agreed to let you go. Looking back, I should've told Bernard to fuck off, and we could've been runaways together. We could've slept at Frank's hangar. But Bernard also threatened to throw you in jail for stealing the car. I couldn't let that happen to you. I thought I'd be able to come for you in a few years, and we could start a life together. That obviously didn't happen."

He climbs on the bed and hovers over me, his strong arms like pillars on either side of my shoulders. He doesn't let his hips touch me though.

"My body memorized yours," he says. "The wait was excruciating, but I claimed you here in this bed, and my restless soul found purchase in this world. When I made love to you, I returned to the house that built me."

He lowers his head to press a gentle kiss to my lips. A whimper escapes my mouth as the impact hits me. He's made monumental sacrifices for me. All because of a moment two teenagers shared on a blanket in a field under a starlit sky. The kiss tastes bittersweet as the lost opportunity pierces my heart. A blossoming love squashed by circumstance. What alternate life could we have lived if he didn't leave that night?

How could the reality he's described be so different from what I remember? He wasn't just another man who disappointed me. A pivotal event in my life was something I thought didn't happen. I forced myself to believe he didn't mean his words, but I forced myself to believe a lie.

I open my mouth to deepen the kiss and grab his shoulder, digging my fingers in to pull him closer. I need him inside me. We have to rekindle this seed that's been dormant under the snow for almost two decades. He gives in to the kiss for a blissful moment and forces his tongue against mine. His body screams at me to reconnect. Just when I think I'll get my way, he withdraws with a frustrated sigh, removing my hand from his shoulder and pushing me back against the pillow.

He maneuvers to a spooning position behind me, and his erection pokes my spine. I wiggle my ass to tease him.

His firm hand squeezes my hip and holds me in place. "We can't, Ivy. Stop torturing me. Sleep."

"You're torturing me too with that story, that kiss, that delicious cock against my backside."

He groans and nuzzles his nose into the hair at the back of my neck. "Your pain meds should be kicking in. We'll talk more in the morning."

I close my eyes, and the eighteen-year-old images trickle to my cortex in rivulets.

Driving scary fast in that Mustang and the shock when he popped up from the backseat.

The pink pastry box.

Feeling a boy inside me for the first time.

The disappointment when he didn't come back.

One thing before I drift off. "For the record, I did not jump you. You totally jumped me."

He chuckles. "Yeah, right. You wanted me bad."

I did want him badly. Still do.