Mr. Mysterious In Black (43 page)

I daggered his steely grays with my cognac browns. “Perceptive you are, Mr. Nelson.
Heavy
balls. And at the moment, they are itching.”

A stifled laugh came from across the table and I needn’t look to know it was Lovello.

Marcello narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you deliberately trying to exacerbate my psyche, Miss Francé?”

“I wouldn’t dare at an attempt of rattling your indecipherable oddity of a psyche, your grace,” I said, adding a reverential nod for emphasis.

The corners of his lips seemed to twitch, but it was hard to tell, for one’s eyes tend to play tricks when they stare for too long. Marcello failed at another utterance. He just stared deathly at me, not blinking, neither did I.

Who the hell did he think he was? I’d been abused from ear to ear by a father who was just as dominant. Came face-to-face with death on numerous occasions. Had my life threatened innumerable times. Had guns pressed to my scull and all things similar. I wouldn’t back down from his stare, he didn’t scare me one bit and so I held his gaze, neither of us backing down. My eyes threatened to water and I hoped he’d give in sometime soon.

Then he blinked. But he didn’t break the gaze and I assume he blinked thinking it would galvanize me into blinking, too, but I didn’t. He blinked again. I didn’t, even though my eyes started to water. With a third blink he targeted his gaze to the eldest son. “Trevillo, tell me about this new project of yours.”

For a moment, the entire room was quiescent, as if no one could believe what they’d just witnessed. Then, like the snap of a hypnotist’s fingers, everyone started chattering at once. I dared not glance at Natalio, because his fury was tangible. Of him I
was
afraid.

A lone grape rolled across the table towards me, prompting me to look up and I caught Lovello’s eyes. He grinned at me and mouthed, “I love you. Marry
me
.”

Natalio tugged my fingers and hissed, “Eat up,” all the while glowering at Lovello who didn’t seem the least affected by his brother’s anger.

Dinner continued in tedium with the occasional gonging to introduce ensuing courses. Marcello neither looked nor spoke in my direction again, in pretense I wasn’t at the table, I guess.

Soon, the dishes of the last course were cleared and the rotund middle aged man appeared announcing that it was time for entertainment.

Entertainment?! When will this be over?

We entered another sumptuous and extravagant room where there was a cellist, a violinist, a jazz band and a group of ballets dancers. And I realized that I’d be stuck here until all these performances were finished. Natalio was right, this was punishment. I couldn’t help the thought that the first gate we drove through was a time machine to an earlier century. The cellist began his performance and Natalio took two glasses of champaign and handed one to me, staring down at me phlegmatically. What’s he thinking? Was he still mad?

Just as I was about to ask him, Lovello joined us with mock seriousness. “Natalio brother, Sadie was quite audacious. And her behavior to father is unacceptable. Please, do
not
pardon her. Break up with her so I can take her for myself and marry her at midnight. Please.”

Natalio glared at his younger brother. “How would you like to die, Love? Asphyxiation of decapitation? Choose.”

Lovello held his hands up in defense with a grin. “I’m just saying, brother. I wished Nicole had balls like her and hadn’t allowed Father to scare her away. I adore your brazenness, Sadie. Whenever this asshole screws up—because we both know he will—I’ll have a ring waiting for you.” He winked a slate-gray eye at me, disregarding Natalio’s glare.

We were a minute later joined by Trevillo and a tall, broad-shouldered, dark-blond guy, Paul, who I was earlier informed was Princessa’s husband. His lips were perpetually pursed and his cleft chin tilted upwards. Maybe he thought that gave him an intimidating look? It didn’t. It rather made him look constipated.

“Father hasn’t chased you away, Sadie,” said Trevillo. “Which means he’s either intrigued by you and plans on toying with you further to see if you’ll crack under pressure, or he’s in love with you—which he’ll
never
admit to.”

Not knowing how to reply, I just smiled at him.

“How’s that frog experiment of yours coming along?” Lovello asked Paul.

“Well, it’s in its embryonic—”

“So are you enjoying the evening, Sadie?” Trevillo continued, as if Paul didn’t exist.

Natalio and Lovello choked on stifled laughs and I immediately noted that they weren’t fond of Paul.

Paul flattened his lips and excused himself, then all three brothers broke into laughter. There were so…childish.

“Look at him,” Lovello chuckled. “Not even God can convince me that that dude isn’t queer.”

“Walks like he’s got a dick up his ass,” Trevillo commented. “Or wearing a diaper loaded with shit.”

“And that’s the man Father approved of for Princess,” Natalio added.

“Serves the witch right,” said Lovello.

A short, corpulent woman, with trimmed black hair and sunken eyes, walked up to us with a curvaceous brunette next to her. She gave me a curt nod then turned to the brothers. “My, my, I can bet you three are up to no good.”

Trevillo answered. “Oh, you know that’s a rather a loose comment, Aunt Lina. You know how productive we are. Never idlers. In fact, we were just discussing the process of coitus, when the priapus enters the…um, sheath. We were also commenting on the male species’ elation of fellation during copulation.”

My mouth fell open and gaped at Trevillo. This was his aunt! I sooner realized that this was more jesting when the woman smiled adoringly at the trio and said, “Oh, Marcello raised you boys so well. I could never understand your big words and you boys always talk like that just to show off.”

Or to humor you…

She turned to the brunette. “See, I told you they were intelligent braniacs. They make us proud.”

In order not to laugh, I sucked in my cheeks.

The curvaceous brunette—who clearly didn’t understand the smuttiness of Trevillo’s words either—fluttered her eyes at Lovello as he took her hand and kissed it.

“Aunt Lina,
how
related are Suzie and I again?” asked Lovello, his eyes never leaving the brunette’s copious bosom.

“She’s a fourth cousin of yours. The relation is obscure.” The woman looked between the two and snatched the brunette’s hand from Lovello. “But you
are
related. So no, you can’t sleep with her. This is not the fourteenth century.” With that, she bounced off with Suzie.

Natalio laughed hard, tossing his head back. “Aunt Lina knows damn well she’s lying through her teeth.”

“I know right,” dipped Trevillo. “That girl is not related to us in any way, shape or form.”

“Family or not, I’m squeezing that curvy derriere tonight,” averred Lovello as he winked at Suzie who gave him a coquettish glance over her shoulder.

“Typical you, Love,” muttered Trevillo. “Just don’t get her pregnant in case she really
is
family, for your child might be born with two noses and one eye.

They all laughed.

“Damn, did you see Aunt Lina’s triple stomach…?”

All the while I stood there staring in disbelief at the three—smoking hot—miscreants as they commented and jeered mercilessly at their family members like a bunch of college students. They made me laugh until my eyes watered and I allowed myself the indulgence, for their crudeness was much more entertaining than the lusterless entertainment of violinists and cellists provided.

I’ve survived in the house of the Nelsons.

W
e drove home from the dinner in complete silence. I’d slump with exaggerated exhaustion once we’d exited the second gate of the Nelson residence. Natalio had emitted an ephemeral chuckle and then heavy, uncomfortable silence ensued. He hadn’t mentioned anything about the tense bicker between his father and me, and I couldn’t gauge just how angry he was with me. He’d laughed and talked animatedly with his brothers, but never with me.

What was the depth of trouble I was in? What was he thinking? Would he leave me because I showed no respect to his father, his idol? If so, then I was now beginning to suffer deep remorse. I didn’t want to lose him. My apprehension grew onerous as we neared his home.

Natalio pulled into his garage, parked, pulled up the handbrake, and then turned to look at me. His expression was unrevealing and I tried to brace myself for his imminent explosion. Peculiar, that hours ago I’d stared down the one man he, Natalio, was afraid of, yet I was so intimidated by
him
. What was it about him that made me so unnerved?

Natalio didn’t speak, he just gazed at me with stolidity. I tried to hold his gaze, I really tried, but my eyes fell to my fingers that restlessly ruffled the edges of my purse.

“Look at me, Sadie,” he commanded. “You just stared down one of the most domineering blood I’ve ever known. A man who has intimidated some the most powerful business men to have his way. Why can’t you look at
me
?”

I didn’t look up at him when I asked, “Are you still mad at me?”

No sound came from him, and the silence extended. When I risked a peek up at him, the apathy remained in the depth of his blues. And even then, he was still irresistible. My tongue flicked out and wet my lips, for they were dry—and because my libido was awakened by the sensuality he oozed. My body was instantaneously and inexplicably warm. Because of the confinement of the jeep, maybe—even though the air conditioner was on full blast?

Natalio’s lids lowered and his eyes darkened, emotion danced in his optics now,
that
emotion called lust. We gazed at each other, my breath hastening as did his, and I could see in his tempestuous eyes that if he took me at this very minute, it would be fast and hard and…
hot
.

Taking pre-emptive action, I unlocked my seat belt and leaped at him, wrapping my arms his neck while his hands clasped my hips and pulled me onto his lap. His tongue dipped into my mouth, exploring, as we ravaged each other with hard, hungry thrust for thrust. Lips biting, tongues tangling, saliva mixing, moans digesting. Natalio dragged up my dress, freeing my legs so I could straddle him, our lips never parting. His hands squeezed my buttocks hard as he flexed his hips forward, allowing me to feel his hard erection.

Oh god, I wanted him so bad. I
needed
him. Now.

His thoughts must have mirrored mine, because he spared no time in freeing himself from the constraints of his trousers and made quick work of shifting my panties and entering me.

“Ah,” I moaned, closing my eyes and tipping my head back.

Natalio attacked my neck, sucking and nipping as he thrust up into my strides. “Harder,” he breathed. “Faster.”

I clung to his shoulders and did as he commanded, reveling in the feeling of him swelling inside me. No latex between, just us, hard against soft. The feeling was exquisite, and I felt the wave building at my impending orgasm. Natalio’s breathing grew harsher, more ragged as I rode him, taking all of him, our juices mixing. My legs trembled and my strides accelerated, harder, faster, possessed. This wave was going to be a big one. Vibration rocked me as the wave rose up in the sea. I surfed on the edge before the wave swallowed whole me and crashed me onto the shore. I shattered around my lover, contracting at my release.

Natalio hissed air through his teeth, gripped my waist and slammed me down onto him, meeting his last hard thrust with a feral “Damn you, Sadieee!”

He pulsated inside me, flooding me with latent Nelsons as he buried his face into my cleavage, his arms wrapped tightly around me. Then we sagged, spent. We stayed that way for… who knows how long.

“Where did…where did you learn to speak like that?” Natalio asked my breasts.

It took me a minute to realize he was referring to my bickering at the dinner. “I told you, I read a lot.” Though I haven’t been doing much of that lately.

He raised his head from my bosom and kissed my lips. “You surprised me. I was so confused because I wasn’t sure if I should be angry with you or kiss you senseless. And so turned on I couldn’t even see straight. But then, that was my
father
. So for the whole time I was unsure of how I should deal with you on the matter.” He kissed me again and smirked. “This was a really nice way of dealing with the matter.” Kiss. Kiss. “As for my father, I can’t say. He either loves you or hates you for it. We’ll know within a month or so. If he’s fond of you, he’ll surreptitiously inquire about your well-being. Financial-wise, health-wise and every other wise.” Another kiss. “But the possibility that he hates you is highly unlikely, because he wouldn’t have allowed you stay at the dinner table after your brazen words. Chances are, he’ll deem your unshrinking as potential and thrust you a palatable business proposal that will be hard to turn down.” Kiss again. “My advice to you if such a gesture is made, do not accept. Because then your life will be automated by him. And you belong to
me.
No one else.”

“I’ve been on my own for basically all my life, Natalio. I’m like an adjustable wrench. I can adjust myself to whatever situation I’m thrown into. I allow virtually nothing to rile me. That’s how I survive. And that’s why I was upset when you were trying to change me. You don’t know this because you’ve skipped seven years of my life and this is the reason I suggested we wait before getting married.”