Jasmine
"We all are monsters," Rei replied. "It’s how we live another day and how we can live with ourselves when we finally sleep. You’re not unaccustomed to monsters. You’ve lived with one for most of your life.” Reinaldo laid his arm on the top of the booth behind me. “I’ve been thinking about last night.”
Warmth filled my cheeks as I released the stem of my glass. “Me too.”
“Now that we’ve been formally introduced, I’d like to get to know you better.”
My breathing hitched as I found myself lost in his black orbs. They pulled me in, such as a black hole in space. I was powerless to back away. He reached for my hand, sending electrical current through my circulation. I found it difficult to take a full breath as his warm lips brushed my knuckles.
Silence ensued despite the busy lounge around us. Rei and I were in a bubble of our own. Rei’s gape continued. It was as if he looked away for even a millisecond, I might disappear. There was more than black to his eyes. Swirls of emotions lightened the darkness within.
“How much better?” I asked.
“Do you remember my question last night?”
“Not verbatim.”
“I asked if any man has ever touched you before, brought you pleasure.”
I sucked in a breath. “I remember that.”
“You didn’t answer me.”
“No man has touched me before you last night.”
His almost-smile reappeared. “That’s what I want, to be the man who touches you, kisses you, and brings you pleasure like you’ve never dared to imagine.”
“I don’t know you.”
“You know Emiliano?” There was something in his tone that made me uneasy.
“Not well, but I’ve known him since the wedding. I just met you.”
Rei shook his head. “We met at the wedding too. Jano introduced me. I’m apparently not memorable.”
A scoff escaped my lips. “That’s not true at all. You’re very memorable. The wedding was a bit stressful. I wasn’t supposed to be there. It’s more of a blur.”
“I remember you.” Again, he reached for a strand of my hair and ran it through his fingers. “You’re not easy to forget. But back then, the alliance was just beginning. As you know, it’s grown. And there are problems.”
It was the most I’d heard him say. “Problems?”
“Sí, another cartel wants to take over our outfit.” He sat taller. “It won’t happen. We’re stronger as an alliance.” He cupped my cheek.
I leaned toward his warm touch.
“I want to kiss you.”
Words were beyond me as I nodded.
Our lips met, stealing my breath. Unlike Em, Rei wasn’t soft and tentative. He wasn’t testing the waters. No, just like his personality, Rei’s kiss was powerful, a race car going from zero to two hundred in the blink of an eye.
I didn’t know how he did it. The sensation of his lips wasn’t confined to my lips. I felt him everywhere. From the tingling in my toes to awareness in my scalp. Heat flooded my circulation.
His hands left a ghost of a touch over my arms until he cupped the back of my neck. Sparks smoldering within the ashes of last night’s encounter ignited within me. I leaned closer, pressing my breasts against his solid chest until I remembered we weren’t alone. Pulling away, my lips felt swollen. I looked down, concentrating on the gold chain around his neck.
Rei lifted my chin, bringing our gazes together. “That is how I want to know you better. Only me, Jasmine.”
Only him.
My thoughts went to Em.
I pressed my lips together. “I’m certain Dario wouldn’t approve.”
“He will. I’ve made up my mind.”
Straightening my neck, I met his gaze. “You’ve made up your mind? What about me?”
A smug smile lifted his cheeks. “Your nipples are hard beneath this top. They were last night too.” He lowered his face to my neck and inhaled. “I’d place money that your panties are damp. You smell like the sweetest arousal.” He lifted his brow. “That is, if you’re wearing them. Tell me if you’re wearing panties.”
I blinked. “I can’t— No one has ever spoken to me—”
“If anyone does, I’ll kill them. Only me.”
That was the second time he’d said that.
“Your body has told me what your words haven’t. Jasmine, you’re meant to be mine.”
This was moving too fast. “The thing is…I’m not a Luciano, but that doesn’t mean I’m easy or I’m less. Dario’s rules still apply.” Before he could respond, I let my anger be known. “I’m not a Luciano. You’re the son of the drug lord. What are you offering, Rei? Maybe I could be your mistress? I know, a piece on the side but not one you bring home to Mom and Dad?”
Reinaldo’s phone vibrated and his eyes opened wide as he released my hand. “Fuck no. I didn’t intend to insinuate...” He pulled his phone from his pocket and read the screen. His attention came back to me. “I don’t give a fuck about your last name, only that because of your relationship with the capo, mí padre has agreed to talk to Dario.”
“About me?”
His jaw clenched as he disconnected the incoming call and tossed his phone on the table. “Sí. He has spoken with the capo. My intentions should be made public before anyone else thinks they have a chance.”
This was insane. “I’m not a hot commodity. I’m not Mia, the daughter of the capo. Vincent, Dario’s father, wouldn’t even speak to me.”
“He was an ass. Mí padre was leery of him. Dario, he trusts. The current capo dei capi knows your worth. That’s why currently, Piero is having his ass chewed.”
I scrunched my nose. “I don’t want Piero in trouble.”
“Those calls were from Jano. We’re probably screwed.”
Before I could reply, the music stopped, and the patrons clapped. Once the applause quieted, I turned back to Rei. “I don’t want to think about what will happen when we get back, but I do think you’re wrong about me.”
“I’m not.”
“Catalina says that Dario wants me to finish my bachelor’s degree before I consider marriage.”
“Forgive me,” he said, “but that was what was said about Camila.” Rei took a drink of his bourbon. “And she’s married.”
“You missed out on her, so you want to put your name on me?” I began to scoot away from him and toward the end of the booth.
Reinaldo reached again for my hand. “Stop.”
I looked at his hand and back up to his dark gaze. A moment ago, I wanted to continue our kiss. Now, I wanted to leave. His phone vibrated again on the table.
“Great night, Rei. I’m ready to go home. Maybe I am second class—or second choice.”
He shook his head, bringing his face to mine. His words came out as more of a growl. “If we were alone, I’d place you over my knee. Do not put words in my mouth.”
Over his knee.
Is he serious?
“I’m not a child to be punished.”
“You’re not a child. You’re being unreasonable.”
“Me?” My voice was louder than I intended. “I think you’re refusing to face facts. Dario won’t let me marry and even if he would, I’m not good enough for you.”
Rei closed his eyes and exhaled, his nostrils flaring. “Listen to me. You are neither second class nor second choice. Mí padre wanted me to marry Camila. She wasn’t my choice. You are.”
A cascade of thoughts avalanched through my mind.
“What exactly are you asking?”
“Mí padre is currently in negotiations for your hand.”
His phone vibrated again on the table.
Rei reached for his phone and turned it off.
Before I could respond, Em appeared before our table. If I didn’t know him, his expression and the way his jaw was clenched and tendons pulled tight in his neck would frighten me.
I knew him, and they did.
“Qué pasό?” Rei asked.
Emiliano’s gaze narrowed. “Is something going on between you two?” He pulled his money clip from his jean pocket, peeled off a hundred-dollar bill, and slapped it on the table. “Tell me in the car. Vamonos. We’re going.”
The next part of the conversation occurred in Spanish as I scrambled for my sweatshirt and hurried from the booth. Em was the one to place his hand in the small of my back. Tension emanated from both men as they led me through the tables toward the front door.
Out on the street, large snowflakes landed on my hair and eyelashes. I wrapped my sweatshirt around me and asked, “What is it?”
“Myshkin’s men,” Rei answered.
Myshkin. I’d heard that name, but I didn’t know where or when.
“Kansas City bratva,” Em said as he rushed me toward the car.
I was almost inside the back seat when the gunshots echoed like firecrackers, and the windows shattered at our side.
Three months laterReinaldo“I’m not going to lie, having you naked in my arms in your childhood bedroom with the capo in the next room is a bit…unnerving.”Jasmine wiggled under the blankets, her petite hand moving down my torso, finding my hard cock. As one hand moved up and down the shaft, she peppered my chest with kisses, her lips moving lower.“You’re trying to get me killed. Is that it?”She shook her head, her flowing long red hair tickling my skin as her kisses went lower still. All at once I rolled us, me landing on top as I lowered myself, my mouth landing right at the height of her perky round breasts. She shrieked when I sucked one nipple. As it hardened and she squirmed, I took a playful nip.Jasmine’s laughter filled the room.“I sure as fuck hope these walls are soundproof.”My wife cupped my cheeks. “I never heard Dario through the wall.”“Because he’s an old man.”“We’re here to celebrate Ariadna Gia’s first birthday,” she reminded me. “I’d say he can still get it up
Four days laterJasmineWe’d spent the last few nights at Aléjandro and Mia’s house. Now, with Arianna on her way from Kansas City to meet her grandson, Jorge, it was time for us to move up to Sacramento. We had no way of knowing if Jorge had been the planned name all along, but the way Josefina’s face lit up when she first held the perfect seven-pound, thirteen-ounce bundle of joy confirmed that it was the perfect name.The first night in our home, just as I settled under the covers of our bed and began reading a new book, the door to our bedroom opened inward, and Rei entered, looking tired and oh so handsome.“How is your mom doing?” I asked.“She’s settled. I think she wanted to stay with baby Jorge longer.”“She’ll have more chances after Mrs. Luciano leaves.”Rei began to remove his shirt. “Madre has an entire wing for her and her guards, but I have the feeling she’s going to want to spend time with us.”“That’s good.”“It is?” he asked.“Out on Bella” —I sighed— “before everyth
ReinaldoBurying my nose in Jasmine’s hair and inhaling her honeysuckle scent calmed the raging beast within me. It was as if I could physically feel my blood pressure dropping to a healthy reading. Her arms wrapped around my torso as she laid her face against my chest. It took a moment for me to realize she was crying. Loosening my grip, I palmed her cheeks and tilted her face toward mine. “Why are you crying?”She blinked, her blue eyes staring up at me. “I’ve been so scared. I was afraid something terrible happened.” She shook her head. “It was a feeling I couldn’t shake.”“Sí, something did.” Ignoring the others in the room, I turned to mí madre. “Jano and I need to talk to you.”“If this is about Herrera’s yacht, su padre already told me.”My brother inhaled. “There’s more.”Madre visibly paled as she sat on the sofa and reached for Viviana’s hand. Her lips began to tremble. “Not su padre.” She shook her head. “No. No. No.” Each word was louder than the one before.Jano and I wen
Seven hours earlierJasmineAléjandro and Mia’s stateroom was next door to ours. I hadn’t determined if they could have heard Rei and me through the walls, but I didn’t doubt it was a possibility. Since Rei left, there wasn’t anything to hear except music or a podcast.During a few of my late-night sleepless hours, I’d tried unsuccessfully to recreate the orgasms Rei had wrung from me. I tried pretending they were his fingers and not mine. I even imagined his tongue and whatever he did with his teeth. My imagination could get me wound up, but the coming down was anti-climactic in all senses of the term.It seemed impossible to be bored on a superyacht, but I was. I’d completed all the assignments for my classes, read two books, and spent more time than ever in my life resting in the sun. I was a newlywed and what I really wanted was time with my husband.With dinner not being served until eight at night, I was showered and dressed, with over an hour to kill. Going out onto the balcony
ReinaldoThe fucking car smelled like fast-food and body odor. It wasn’t a good combination. I tried to remember Jasmine’s honeysuckle scent as I stared through the windshield of the inconspicuous sedan. This was the fifth night of surveillance outside Myshkin’s club in the bratva territory. At nearly two in the morning, we were no closer to going back to Bella than we’d been when we stepped off the fucking boat deck.“I need to piss,” Diego said, opening the car door.Laying my head against the seat, I dreamed of less time undercover and more time under the covers with my wife.I would call Jasmine if I could. Jano worried about our phones being tracked. So, they’re now locked in a lead-lined box at the capo’s place. The box was specifically designed to block phone signals. Instead, I was carrying a cheap burner that connected me to Jano, Felipe, Diego, and the members of the Luciano famiglia involved in our operation.We’d been on the lookout for Kostya Myshkin and Herrera. The only
JasmineWhen I entered the dining room for breakfast, the somber mood was palpable. I took the seat across from Mia, Josefina to my side at one end where she always sat.“Any word?” I asked, pulling out my chair.Mia shook her head.It had been three days since we’d said goodbye to our husbands on the boat ramp. Three days since we stood next to one another and watched the long cigarette boat soar out of sight.Immediately, members of the staff were present, filling my coffee cup and serving me fresh fruit.“Your omelet, Señora, will be a few minutes.”“No, thank you,” I said. “Maybe just an English muffin.”When the staff member walked away, Josefina reached toward me. “Jasmine, not eating won’t bring Rei back any sooner. I don’t want him upset with me if you lose weight.”“I’m really not hungry, and I don’t want to waste your food.”“It is our food. You need protein.”Mia watched our conversation with an amused expression. “Jasmine, you might as well give in. I promise you won’t win