Loving a Bad Boy (27 page)

“
That’s good. Feel
better?”

She shrugged. “I suppose. He kinda accepted
the blame, didn’t even try and defend himself. That hurt even more,
knowing he had no reason to kick me to the curb.”

“
But you did what you
could to get your answer, that’s all you can do. The rest is on
him. Just as you missed being with him, he missed out on watching
you grow into a phenomenal woman.”

Her chest expanded as she owned the truth in
his words. “Yeah, you’re right. At any rate. We’re going to get
together later this week.”

“
You okay?”

Talking about her neglectful parent was a
waste of energy. “Yeah, just tired. I’ve been going through some
boxes and found some of my mom’s personal things. Some are broken,
but others are in decent shape.” She lifted the journal and turned
it in her hand.

“
That’s right, you wanted
to do a family tree thing on your mom. That going okay?”

She smothered a chuckle at his attempts to
act interested. “Yeah, it is, thanks. I appreciate you asking.”

“
No problem. Listen, I
wanted to ask how my boy is healing up. He claims he’s good, but I
want your take.”

Pam closed her eyes. She’d known this was
coming. Tex kept pushing his boundaries with his exercise routines.
“It’s only been what? A l’il over two and a half weeks since he was
shot. He’ll feel the pull of his muscles for a while. As he heals,
he’ll have better mobility. But let me stress this, it takes time.
Rushing doesn’t make him heal faster, in some instances; it can
delay the healing process.”

“
He’s not supposed to
rush. He’s supposed to follow the doc’s instructions. No more, no
less.”

The anger in his tone made hers pacifying.
“He’s just bored and wants to be more active. You know that, I’m
sure he’s told you. Otherwise, he’s a good patient.”

“
Seriously? I mean he’s
doing okay?”

Pam marveled at the depth of concern in his
voice. Julio was a good friend. “He’s healing fine. Don’t worry
about him.”

“
I’m not.”

Sure you’re
not
. She smiled at his offended tone.
“Sorry. Sooooo…when are you coming to the Bahamas?”

“
Is that an invitation?”
His voice dropped an octave, sending tingles through her. Lord, she
had it bad. How could he get her juices flowing while he was all
the way in Miami?

“
Do you need an
invitation?” She placed the book down on the bed beside her and
looked out the window. Just because she couldn’t see outside,
didn’t mean someone couldn’t see in. She rolled off the bed and
shut the curtains. The room fell into darkness. She turned on the
bedside lamp and returned to the bed just as Julio was
talking.

“
No, not really. But it
would be nice. Do you want me on your cat?”

Her stomach clenched at the double meaning.
“That sounds good. The island could use some Latin flavor.” She bit
her lip, surprised that she was actually teasing and playing with
him.

“
Latin flavor?” he
chuckled. Her thighs quivered at the huskiness of his words. “You
and the island need some Latin flavor, is that right?”

Damn, he had trapped her. She wasn’t sure
she could admit her desire for him without knowing how he felt
about her first. “Hmmm, maybe.”

“
Just maybe? Well, let me
see what I can do about getting Miguel over there first thing in
the morning. That should take care of the Latino flavoring,
si?”

“
I suppose.” She tried to
sound upbeat, but it came out as a growl.

He laughed. “No worries. I will come myself
this week to check on things. I will give you all the Latin
flavoring you can handle. That’ll make you happy, right?”

“
How long will you stay?”
she asked rather than feed his ego.

“
Not long. A day, maybe
two. It will be a quick visit, but I won’t leave without seeing
you. We have unfinished business.”

Her heart thumped in a mad dance in her
chest. She squeezed her thighs tight. “We do? What?” She managed to
ask as a deep throb pulsed low in her belly.

“
The last time we had sex,
you only came, what? Two or three times. That is not enough. Not
even close. I need to make your pussy sing praises to my cock, and
for that you gotta come more.” His voice had dropped to a decadent
whisper.

“
How much more?” Her body
vibrated with need as she clutched the phone tight in one
hand.

“
Take your other hand,
place it between your legs.” The fact that he didn’t ask made her
act without hesitation. “It’s there?”

“
Yes.” She closed her eyes
as the weight of her hand settled her mind. Without thinking, her
fingertips stroked her soaked panties. Goodness, when had that
happened? She widened her legs further.

“
Good. Take off your
panties.”

“
How do you know I have
some on?” She lifted her ass and pulled them off.

“
Do you?” There was
laughter in his voice.

She shook her head, the man was hopeless.
“Not anymore,” she said smugly.

He laughed. “I thought so. I know my woman.
Now, stroke yourself for me, soft, long strokes. Remember how good
it felt the last time I touched you.”

Pam’s world had stopped
the moment he said
he knew his
woman
. Was he serious? He didn’t need to
say that to get the nookie, they had already crossed that bridge.
How could he say that like it was nothing?

“
Pam…Pam?”

She heard him, but was too stunned to speak
at first. “Yeah?”

“
You okay?” He sounded
genuinely concerned.

“
Just tired. Got a lot on
my mind.” That was the understatement of the day. First daddy, then
mama’s journal, now Julio talking relationship stuff, it was too
much.

“
Okay, get some rest then.
I’ll get back with you when you’re feeling better.” The
disappointment in his voice resonated within her. She shared it.
Her body had tightened in preparation for some relief. But she
couldn’t get back into the mind-set.

“
Call me later so we can
talk, maybe finish this?” She threw a hopeful note into her
request.

He grabbed it. “Yeah, later tonight.”

Chapter 17

Julio hung up and cursed
his tongue. “
His woman
?” Where the hell did that come from? Granted, for the first
time he enjoyed a woman’s company other than his mom or his
friends’ back in Michigan. Those women were a hoot. But Pam fell
into a separate category. She didn’t whine about his long work
hours, or hold back her point of view. If she wanted to know
something she asked and it never felt intrusive. Probably because
she had a strong sense of what she needed to know and stayed inside
those boundaries. But was that any reason for what he’d just
said?

In the solitude of his room, he admitted
he’d been curious about her since he'd first seen her in the
parking garage a few months ago. The visual of her walking off the
elevator, swaying hips in perfect sync, was emblazoned on his
brain. Still, he hadn’t been ready to make any declarations; in
fact, he’d never claimed a woman as his before.

Walking the length of the room, he swore at
the snug discomfort in his pants. That was part of the problem. She
was so damn responsive during sex. Their time together constantly
lurked in the back of his mind and manifested in color whenever he
had a free moment.

He smiled in remembrance of the tiny moans
that'd escaped her sweet lips when he'd pinched her tight nipples.
And the way her head fell back as he'd pumped hard into her. She
took everything he gave, and urged him to give her more. She’d
released an animalistic side of him that he’d been unaware of. The
tremors that had ran through her at her release made him hard as a
nail. He was constantly on the edge needing a repeat.

He sat down, elbows on his knees, his hands
pressed together at his forehead as if in prayer, eyes closed. What
was it about this woman that derailed his thoughts in the middle of
critical negotiations? He needed to get a grip, things were moving
fast with the new shipment. He was launching a new munitions deal
and there was no room for error.

Julio’s cell rang. Hoping
it was Pam, he pulled it out quickly and glanced at the ID.
Francisco
. They hadn’t
talked since the confrontation about Ghost. The man hated being
challenged and words had been spoken in anger. Disappointed, but
realistic, he answered. “Hello.”

“
Julio!...How is Tex? My
physician tells me the shot was clean and there is no permanent
damage. He is recuperating, yes?” Considering Tex had been shot
over two weeks ago, Julio recognized the question for what it
was.

Taking the olive branch offered, he
answered. “He seems good. Bored, but that’s about it.”

“
I see. Where is
he?”

Julio hesitated, and was unsure why. Chances
were good his godfather already knew. “Cat Island.”

“
I see. Why have you sent
him there?” There was a hint of surprise in Francisco’s tone that
grabbed Julio’s attention.

“
Seemed a good idea at the
time.” Since he hadn’t mentioned the break in at Pam’s he wondered
what had he missed. “There a problem?” Julio asked wondering if
there was something else that had been withheld from him. Francisco
had been adamant that Ghost had no bearing on this assignment. But
Francisco also operated on shades of truth. Perhaps things had
changed.

After a few beats of silence, Francisco
spoke. “There could be. It depends on why you chose that island and
what Tex is doing.”

Julio froze. “Tex? Did Ghost have anything
to do with the shooting?” He tightened his grip on his phone.

“
What? No? No… He had
nothing to do with that. He doesn’t know Tex. What are you
thinking?”

Julio relaxed his grip.
“What are
you
talking about?” he countered.

“
That’s his turf, the
Caribbean. You have sent someone from the Cartel without an
invitation or his approval. It might be seen as a sign of
aggression or disrespect.”

“
What? The entire
Caribbean? All those islands? How?” Stunned at the magnitude of
keeping such an operation so tightly held, Julio clamped his mouth
shut.

“
Si. Also, you did not
inform me of this move, so I could not have told you of the
implications. You must be more careful, Hijo. There is still much
for you to learn.”

Pissed at the recurring theme of his
inexperience, Julio growled. “What the… no one told me someone
owned the Islands. When was I gonna be informed? I should’a been
told that before I came to Miami.”

“
You were told what you
needed to know at the time. No one could’ve predicted these events.
Don’t blow this out of proportion, it won’t help
matters.”

“
Do you hear yourself? Do
you?” Julio lashed out as his voice dropped an octave. A vein
pulsed wildly in his forehead as he struggled to rein in his rage.
“You sent me here to solve a problem for you, yet you withheld
vital information from me. And now you are blaming me for causing
problems, which would have been avoided if you had come clean with
me.”

“
Julio—”

“
No. You’re playing a
strange gray hand. Obviously that has worked for you in the past,
but not now. I should’a been told about this Ghost person and how
important he is to this deal. Now my men are in jeopardy because
you clamped down. With all due respect, I call bullshit.” His chest
heaved as he struggled for control. Francisco must be bi-polar or
something, it seemed he wouldn’t stop with these games until
someone got needlessly hurt.

“
You do not understand.”
His tone turned soothing, as though he were talking to a child.
Julio gritted his teeth while he listened.

“
Ghost is a valued asset.
He runs his enterprise and we run ours. Things are easier and work
better that way. There are times when we use one another’s
services, it makes good business sense not to reinvent the wheel
and use his havens when necessary. It has always benefited us in
the past.”

“
He doesn’t work for
you?”

Francisco scoffed. “Ghost works for no one
but himself. I have never met him. No one has as far as I know. We
have tried to pin him down, but have not been successful. He didn’t
appreciate it and we agreed to back off.”