I pop my head into my parents’ bedroom to see Matthias, Tomás and my father lying on my parents’ huge bed watching cartoons. Tomás’ eyes are fluttering closed so I walk quietly over to the bed and sit on the edge.
“You sure you want to sleep over, munchkin?” I whisper to my son.
“Yes,” he says and cuddles against my father’s chest.
“Okay.” I bend and give him a kiss on the forehead. “Night, little guy.”
“Night, Momma,” he smiles.
“Night, Tomás.” I reach over and brush my younger brother’s hair.
“Night, Luch-ee,” he mumbles.
“Goodnight, Papi,” I say softly.
He grunts in response—actually grunts instead of speaking. I roll my eyes and stand up before walking out of the room.
After I’ve looked in on Dario and said goodbye to my mom, I grab my purse and the keys to my car which are now on the table near the front door. I smile at the sight of them, knowing that Jax had someone drop off my car like he promised he would. The thought of seeing him soon makes my insides warm and tingly.
“Lucia!” My father’s voice cuts through the silent hallway.
I draw in a deep breath and turn to face him. So now he wants to speak to me. I had hoped to get out of here without having this conversation, but who am I kidding, right?
He walks toward me and I wait for him to speak first. “Are you going to see him?”
“Yes, Papi,” I reply with a sigh.
“No.” He shakes his head, anger darkening his features. “I forbid you to have anything to do with him.”
“What?” I frown at him. “You can’t forbid me to see anyone. This is not 1920.”
He glances down to the car keys in my hand and I can almost hear what he’s thinking. He bought me that car. He owns my apartment too. I plan on getting a place of my own as soon as I save enough from my paychecks. I’m not used to being so looked after and it took me a long time to accept that he and my mom would pay for things like that for me. I know that most people aren’t as lucky as I am, but it was him who persuaded me to swallow my pride. It would have been hard for me to get my degree and work part-time while being a single mom too, so I accepted their generosity. As he told me time and time again, that is what parents do for their children. I suppose I spent so much of my life without a decent parent that I forgot what that looked like.
I wonder now if he’s going to make me regret my decision and use any of that against me. I know he must want to. He is a man who gets what he wants by any means necessary and he’s used to being the one in control of every situation he finds himself in.
It makes my heart almost burst with love and respect for him when he doesn’t. He chooses another tactic instead though. “The gates are locked. Nobody is getting through them until the morning,” he snaps.
“Fine!” I pop my keys into my purse. “I’ll walk.”
“Over my dead body,” he snarls.
“Dad,” I shout and the word seems to stop him mid-rant. I have never once called him dad before. The twins call him dad or daddy, but not me. I always call him Papi and even though it means the same thing, somehow this word feels more.
Tears fill his eyes and I wonder if he is going to relent. But he is Alejandro Montoya—backing down is not in his DNA. “You are not leaving this house,” he snarls.
I suck in a breath and hold my head high, just like he taught me to. “I am. I know that you’re upset, but this is my life. Be mad at me all you want to but it’s not going to change how I feel about Jax.”
He scowls at the mention of Jax’s name.
“I love you, Papi, but I love him too and he’s the man I want to be with.”
“He’s taking advantage of you, mija.”
“You really think that? The man who you trust more than any other person in the world?”
He glares at me. He has no real comeback for that. “He’s so very wrong for you,” he finally snaps.
“He’s completely right for me.”
“You are not leaving this house,” he insists.
I sigh in frustration but then suddenly my mom appears out of nowhere—the only person in the world he will bend for. “Alex.” She places a hand on his arm. “Lucia is a grown woman. As her parents, we allow her to make her own choices, even if we don’t agree with them,” she says softly, reminding him of what he told her when I decided to join the family business.
I see the moment he gives in. The slightest drop in his shoulders is the only outward sign as he continues to glare at me, but how can he argue with his own words? My mom steps closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Go to bed and I’ll join you shortly,” she says before pressing a soft kiss on his cheek.
He looks between us both now then rolls his eyes. He kisses my mom and she releases him from her embrace. Then as I think he’s about to walk away, he wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Goodnight, mija,” he says softly before planting a kiss on the top of my head.
“Night, Dad,” I whisper.
I watch him walk away, cursing under his breath in Spanish as he does.
“I’m sorry I made him so mad, Mom,” I say quietly.
“I told you he’s not angry with you, sweetheart. He’s mad at Jax.”
“I wish he wouldn’t be. It’s not like that is all Jax’s fault and I had no part in it,” I say, shaking my head in exasperation.
“I know that. He just needs some time is all.”
“I hope so,” I say because the thought of him always being mad at Jax breaks my heart. I would never forgive myself if I came between the two of them.
“I know so. And in the meantime, I’m always here. No matter what. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper and she pulls me into a fierce hug.
“Love you, kiddo,” she says into my hair.
“I love you too, Mom.”
Once I’m in my car, I call Jax. I am so eager to see him. I need to talk about what happened tonight and how we are going to deal with my father’s disapproval. There is so much to discuss, but more than that, I just want him to hug me and tell me everything is going to okay.
“Hey, Luce,” he says when he answers his cell. “How are you?”
“Hey. I’ve just left. I’m okay. Are you at home?”
“Umm. No,” he replies, sounding a little awkward.
My stomach drops and I feel a huge crushing wave of disappointment. “Oh? I thought—” I start to say but maybe I misheard him earlier when he said he would see me later. Maybe he isn’t as bothered as I am about what happened at my parents’ house, or maybe he has a different way of dealing with it. “Where are you?”
“Sitting in my truck outside your apartment waiting for you to get home,” he replies.
“Oh?” I smile widely and warmth floods my entire body. He’s waiting for me. “I’ll be there soon.”
“See you soon then, Angel,” he says in that soft drawl that makes my heart skip a beat.
When I pull up outside my apartment a short time later, I feel a familiar fluttering in my stomach at the sight of his truck parked outside. Even though I knew he was there, it still hits me like a sledgehammer. By the time I park up and get out of my car, he is out of his truck, leaning against it with his arms folded. He’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt that shows off his huge tattooed forearms and it takes every ounce of restraint I have not to mount him in the street.
I walk toward him and as soon as I’m within touching distance, he pulls me into his arms.
“Have you been here all night?” I ask.
“Not all night.” He winks at me. “But for over an hour.” He bends his head low and kisses that spot on my neck that makes my thighs tremble. When he lifts his head again, his face is full of concern. “Are you okay?”
“I am now,” I whisper as I rest my head against his hard chest.
“I’m sorry that I left, but we would have just kept fighting if I’d have stayed. I don’t want to come between you and your parents, Luce. I can handle him being mad at me, but not you.”
I don’t answer, I simply wrap my arms tighter around him and bury my head closer against his chest.
“Was it that bad?” he asks softly, brushing his hands over my hair.
“Not really. It could have been worse, I suppose. I mean my papi is pissed as hell. Mostly at you, though,” I chuckle. “I’m still his sweet little girl.”
“Don’t,” he groans as his hands slide over my back. “I already feel bad about defiling you.” A soft chuckle rumbles in his chest.
I laugh too. I love how easy he makes it to be around him. Even after everything that happened tonight, he is here making me laugh. “I know you’re only kind of joking, but you’ve done nothing wrong, Jax,” I remind him. “I’m an adult.”
His hands drop to my ass and he presses my body against his. “Can we talk about this in the morning?” he growls. “Because now that I know you’re okay, all I want to do is take you to bed and defile you even more.”
Wet heat floods my core at his words. “Yes, please,” I whimper shamelessly.
“That’s my girl,” he whispers as he lifts me, wrapping my legs around his waist as he carries me into my apartment building.
As soon as we’re inside, he sets me down on my feet but before I can move, I am pressed against my front door. He wraps one of his huge hands around my throat while the other slides beneath my dress and up between my thighs.
“Jax,” I breathe as he tugs my panties to the side and rubs a finger over my clit.
“I’m not usually such a patient man when it comes to what I want, Lucia,” he groans as he dusts his lips over mine. “But I’ve been very patient with you.”
“I know,” I say, thinking he’s talking about waiting outside for me.
“I want to claim every single part of you, baby. I’m tired of waiting.”
Oh, shit! That’s not what he’s talking about.
“Jax,” I murmur against his mouth. Perhaps there is something I should tell him? He deserves to know, doesn’t he? No. Not yet. It would spoil everything.
“Hmm?” he mumbles as his hand slides down my body and he peppers soft kisses over my throat, focusing on that one point on my neck that he knows would make me agree to anything.
“Will it hurt?” I whisper.
“I would never hurt you, baby,” he growls as he starts to pull my dress up until it’s bunched at my waist. “I’ll make sure you’re ready. My cock will be soaked in your cum before it gets anywhere near your ass. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging me to fuck you.”
I suck in a breath as a rush of intense wet heat almost knocks the wind from me. My knees buckle but I’m held up by the weight of Jax’s body against mine. When he starts to peel my panties off, I can hardly control the trembling in my thighs. As his fingers brush my skin, they leave trails of electricity and fire behind. Then his hand is between my legs again and he nudges them further open with his knee as he slides two thick fingers deep into my pussy.
My walls squeeze around him as the pleasure rockets through me. He knows my body so damn well. I know that he’ll make this good, and then maybe I can forget.
“Jax,” I groan. “I need you. Please?”
“Soon, baby,” he soothes in my ear. “You’re always soaking for me, but I need you wetter. Your pussy was made for me. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I hiss as he pushes against the spot deep inside me that I hadn’t even known was there until I met him.
“That’s my good girl,” he growls as he presses the pad of his thumb over my clit and my orgasm crashes into me like a freight train. I come so hard that I almost pass out.
When I finally stop shaking, he carries me to the bed and lays me down on it.
I reach up and stroke his hair.
“You still with me, baby?”
“Barely,” I whisper. “I have no idea where that came from.”
“Oh, I do.” He chuckles and I make a note to ask him what he meant by that when I regain my ability to think and talk, but right now all I can focus on is him peeling off my dress and then the feeling of his lips as they trail kisses over my skin. Over my breasts and my stomach. He spreads my thighs wide apart with his powerful hands and when his head dips between them and he gets that magical mouth on my pussy, I almost come apart again.
“Jax,” I moan loudly.
“Your pussy is so fucking good, Luce,” he growls as he sucks and licks and nibbles me to another earth shattering orgasm.
