For Better or Worse (14 page)

“Don’t say that.” She reached for him
again, but he recoiled, too angry to tolerate her touch. “Antonio . . .” Misery
coated the inflection of her voice.

“Take that shit off my phone.”

He tossed it onto the bed and stalked
into the bathroom, slamming the door and shutting her out. She’d taken snooping
to a whole new level, using her computer skills to keep track of him in a way
that turned his stomach. To think he’d assumed they’d resolved the issue last
week, but the entire time she’d had another application lying dormant on his
phone, waiting for the opportunity to activate it and find incriminating
evidence on him. If he hadn’t confronted her, she would have left it on there,
able to retrieve information on him at her own convenience. The idea of it only
infuriated him more.

He tore off his filthy clothes, the
stench of food and alcoholic beverages reminding him of the altercation
earlier. He stepped into the shower stall and turned on the water. He was
exhausted—mentally and physically. The knuckles on his right hand stung from
the tiny cuts he’d received when he attacked the man in the VIP. 

The thought of such loss of control
sickened him. Not only had he assaulted a complete stranger, he’d dragged Cassidy
out of the club like the place was on fire. He cringed at the behavior he’d
exhibited and the way he’d treated his wife. He’d been raised to be a protector
and a provider, not an angry, out-of-control idiot. Of course, no one had ever
warned him of the danger of falling in love with a woman with a penchant for
histrionics.

Pressing his palms against the cool
tile, he bowed his head under the spray and let it wash the stress of a long
day and even longer night down the drain. The water poured on his head and
swept down his skin in rivulets.

In a distant part of his brain, he heard
the bathroom door creak open, but he didn’t look up, keeping his eyes trained
on the swirl of water racing away at his feet. He assumed Cassidy would enter
and leave and remained so lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice her coming to
the shower stall until the door slid open. She’d pinned her thick hair in a bun
on top of her head.

She watched him uncertainly, as if she
expected him to tell her to get out. He probably should, but he didn’t. He
wanted to be stoic, but she was naked. She stepped in and slid the door shut.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I came to take a shower.”

“I’m in here.”

She shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to
share.”

He pushed away from the
wall, and Cassidy stepped between him and the water. He watched her calmly
squirt strawberry-scented gel onto a bath sponge, and the glass enclosure
filled with the fruity smell. Turning sideways, she lifted her hands above her
head to get the underside of her arms and rubbed the sponge over her breasts
and stomach. Her movements were purposely slow and provocative, and he couldn’t
stop watching.

Irritated by his reaction to
her, he took a step back to put distance between them and then froze,
transfixed when she squeezed the sponge and let the soapy water slide down her
flat stomach to the hairless cleft between her thighs. She’d come in there to
tempt him, not allowing him to brood in solitude about what she’d done. Mission
accomplished.

He wished he hadn’t seen her
small, perfectly formed breasts and the plump fullness of their chocolate
nipples covered in suds. The sight had a strong effect on him. He needed to get
out, but his feet wouldn’t cooperate. What she’d done was inexcusable, and he
didn’t want to let her off the hook, but if his body had anything to say about
it, she might be pinned against the wall in a very few seconds.

Cassidy glanced over her
shoulder and held out the sudsy sponge to him. Water pummeled her body and washed
the soap from her skin.

“Would you do my back,
please?” She sounded all innocent, but there was nothing innocent about what
she was doing. He tried to remain detached, but he couldn’t, because this was
his wife, and when had he ever been able to resist her?

Right now he was really
hard. Really aroused. Really angry. A dangerous trio that fogged his brain and
filled it with steamy thoughts. 

He took the sponge and set
it on one of the shelves. He pushed up against her and forced her into the
wall, his hard flesh straining against her backside, wanting entry. She turned
around to face him.

Bracing his hand above her
head, he said, “What you did is not okay.”

She looked steadily into his
eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry about?”

“I’m sorry I downloaded
software to your phone.”

“What about the Purple Rain
Lounge?”

“I’m sorry for that, too.”

“You know I lost business
tonight?”

She nodded.

His gaze lowered to her
tempting mouth. Then he trailed a finger over the curve of her breast and
watched the nipple harden. When he lifted his gaze to her half-closed eyes, the
slumberous sensuality in them was the final straw.

“This doesn’t change
anything. I’m still mad at you.”

He caught her face in his
hands and crushed her lush mouth beneath his. Hot. Hard. Taking its sweetness,
plundering its softness. The little moan she let out sent a tremor down his
spine. The kiss was ravenous, devouring. She shivered, arms lifting around his
neck to pull him closer. She fed his hunger, kissing back with the same
eagerness and molding her body to his. He felt every inch of her silky skin,
the cushiony softness of her breasts and the pebbled heat of her puckered
nipples.

 Angling his head, he found
her tongue and caressed it, plunging deeper to sweep the softness of her mouth.
She tasted good, sweet, better than any other woman—
anything
—he’d ever
tasted. He pried her thighs apart with one knee and cupped her bottom, smoothly
lifting her slight frame to anchor her between his body and the wall. Slender
legs wound around him, and blood thundered in his veins as he drove into her, his
need unruly, unmanageable.

She made him this way. She
made him lose control. “One of these days you’re gonna make me catch a case . .
. make me kill somebody over you,” he groaned.

Water rained down on them,
spattering their shoulders, sides, and legs, slickening their skin with a thin
film that made their union even more explosive, even more erotic. Biting his
bottom lip, Antonio watched his erection disappear inside her tender flesh
every time he pulled her close and burrowed deep between her legs.

Cassidy answered each thrust
with a countering movement of her own. She couldn’t get enough of his beautiful
body—the light brown skin, the hard muscles. Legs locked around him, she
pressed bruised lips to his hard jaw and flicked her tongue along his ear.
Fingers trailed into his wet hair.

He felt so good, and he was
getting so deep. “Baby.” Her whisper was a plea.

“You like it when I fuck you
like this, don’t you?” His voice was gruff, and he didn’t miss a beat. He was
thick and long, and the pulsing rhythm of his steady strokes unleashed
sensations that made her feel helpless and vulnerable.

She nodded in response to
the question, flattening her cheek against his, her nails digging into his
broad shoulders. “Yes . . . yes, baby, I do. I love it.”

Her reply opened the
floodgates, and his hips exploded with rapid-fire motion. His grip on her
tightened, and the silky steel of his arousal slid in and out of her so fast
all she could do was cry out and hang on for dear life. He swallowed her cries
with his mouth, and when she came, the explosion was unbearable, ecstasy
imploding inside her womb. She tightened around him like a clamp and rode the
waves of pleasure.

He muttered in Spanish, his
voice low and raw. Bending his head to her breast, he sucked, licked, and
tortured the sensitive tip. She clawed his back, tilting back her head against
the wall as she surrendered to the intensity of the climax. Somehow he managed
to hold her upright, even as spasms tore through him under the brutal force of
his own orgasm. 

When they finally caught
their breaths, Antonio rested his forehead against hers. “You drive me crazy,
but I love you so damn much.”

Cassidy rubbed her nose
against his. She lovingly caressed his face, wondering what her life would be
like without him, and knowing she never wanted to find out. She pressed her
face to his damp neck. “I love you more.”

She felt his smile against
her cheek and knew he’d forgiven her. “I love you to infinity.”

“I love you to infinity plus
one.”

Chapter Thirteen

Antonio stood in a pair of boxers, eyeing the
clock on the pristine stove he and Cassidy seldom used. It was almost one
o’clock on Saturday afternoon, and he’d slept the morning away. To silence his
growling stomach, he slathered mayonnaise and mustard on three slices of rye
bread in preparation for a sandwich.

He looked up when Cassidy’s slippered feet
dragged across the tile, her hair bound in a blue and gold headscarf. She wore
one of her clingy tank tops and a pair of silk panties that had caught between
her butt and provided a tempting view of half a cheek.

She yawned and stretched. “Why didn’t you wake
me?”

“I figured you needed your rest.” He piled
lettuce, tomato slices, and chunks of roast beef and turkey onto one slice of
bread.

“Are you making one of your triple-decker
sandwiches?”

“Yeah, you want one?”

“No, I’ll take a bite of yours.”

“I want my whole sandwich for myself, thank you
very much.” She had a habit of mooching off his meals.

“It’s only one little bite because I don’t want
a whole one. No big deal.” She smiled sweetly and blew him a kiss, confident
she’d have her way. She was right. She poured juice in a glass and took a sip,
watching him construct the sandwich. 

“You have anything planned for today?” Antonio
asked.

“No. Do you have to work?” She kept her voice
even, but he could tell she hoped he didn’t have to.

“No. We could lie around the house and watch
movies if you want.”

“I’d like that.” Her face brightened, which
warmed his insides.

It brought home again how much he’d neglected
her needs lately, and that he should have paid more attention to her requests
to spend time together. He’d already attained his goal of running a prosperous
business,
beating his own timeline by doing it before
he turned thirty
. He could slow down. He was able to provide for his
wife, and she worked because she wanted to, not because she had to. A sense of
pride filled him.

He bit into his sandwich, watching Cassidy
reach up into the cupboard to get a plate. His gaze slid along the length of
her body. Yeah, they’d be staying in today.

“What’s that smile about?” she asked.

“I’m thinking about how I’m going to tear that
ass up.”

She turned so he could see her partially bare
bottom. “This one?”

“Mhmm. You can’t show it off like that and not
expect me to take a bite.” He bent and nipped her partially exposed cheek with
his teeth.

Cassidy squealed and pulled the material to
fully cover her bottom. “Eat your sandwich, not me.”

He pulled her back against him so she could
feel his hard-on and kissed the side of her neck. “You’re right. I’m saving you
for dessert.” She giggled and rubbed against him. “Keep playing.”

She turned in his arms. “Give me a bite,” she
said, indicating the sandwich.

He held it out, and she struggled to fit her
mouth around the three pieces of bread stuffed with meat and vegetables. “I
know you can get your mouth wider than that.” He chuckled when she raised an
eyebrow and shot him a dirty look. “Good?”

Nodding as she chewed, she poured another glass
of juice for him. He set the sandwich on the plate, grabbed a bag of chips from
the cupboard, and followed her into the living room to watch a movie.

After he finished his meal, he pulled her feet
onto his lap.

“You’re going to rub my feet?” she asked. “You
haven’t done that in a long time.”

“I know. I need to handle my business and make
sure all the things I did to get you I continue to do so I can keep you.” He
winked at her. “Besides, it’s the least I can do since I love seeing you in
stilettos.”

She harrumphed. “So your motives are purely
selfish.”

“Not purely. I want to take care of my baby,
too.” He walked his thumbs over the sole of her right foot and then gently
rotated it at the ankle.

Nestled against the arm of the sofa with the
throw pillows at her back, Cassidy purred. “I’ll put up with painful feet if
you promise to do this for the rest of our lives together.”

“I promise.”

With her eyes closed, she looked content, but
her words triggered a memory from their argument last night.

“What were you referring to last night when you
said consequences can last a lifetime?” He started tugging gently on each toe.