Twisted Desire (15 page)

“Ready, baby?”

“Always.”

On a growl, he thrust into me again, making me cry out at how good he felt. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him to me as he pumped, wanting him deeper, harder.
 

“More, Tag,”
I cried out. “Harder.”

He cursed at my words as he gave me what I wanted. Slamming into me, driving his hard cock to where I needed it most, he hissed out, “You are so hot, querida. I can’t get enough of you.”
 

Twisting his hips, he slammed hard into me again, making me arch my back at the pure pleasure it gave me. “More,”
I demanded, gritting my teeth at the amazing bliss that was building inside of me.

He plunged in me again, hitting that beautiful sweet spot inside, and I exploded, completely coming apart in his arms.

I screamed his name, my body convulsing in unadulterated pleasure. I held on to him tight, throwing my head back as the intense pleasure rocketed through me. He was kissing my neck, whispering endearing words as I slowly came back down to reality.

Once my body had stilled, he wrapped me up in his arms and turned us on our sides so he was spooning me. As we lay there, he ran his fingers up and down the small of my back. The worry roared its ugly head again, making me wonder what he was thinking about.
 

Now that we’d both had our releases, was he regretting it? Was he going to tell me he was bad news again, that this was all a mistake? Just the thought made me shudder, and I was horrified when tears pooled in my eyes.

“What is it, Penny?”

Refusing to tell him my fear, I shrugged and stayed facing away from him. “Nothing.”

His hand stilled on my back, making it feel like by doing that, he’d just put up a wall between us. “Don’t lie to me, querida,”
he whispered, his hot breath fanning my ear.

How could I tell him the truth? The last thing I wanted was for it to be awkward between us. I’d just had the best sex of my life with him; I had no desire to ruin it.
 

“Really, Tag, I’m fine.”
Nothing would ruin this time with him. Just knowing we had to get up soon to go to dinner with Roman was more than enough to make me realize how fleeting this moment was.
 

He turned me to face him, shock coming over his eyes when he saw the tears in my eyes.

Dammit.

His hand framed my face, his thumb catching a tear that had dropped on my cheek. The look on his face was pained, making me devastated. “Are you…”
he started, then dropped his gaze down.
 

What was he going to say? I had to know. “What, Tag?”

Looking back up at me, uncertainty painted all over his face, he spoke. “Are you regretting what just happened, querida?”

Wrapping my arms around him, I shook my head back and forth. “No Tag, no, not at all. I was worried you might be, and the thought about killed me.”

He leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine, his eyes staring straight into mine. “Listen to me,”
he started. “No matter what happens from here on out, you need to know that I don’t, and won’t ever, regret what just happened between us.”

Elation soared through me, making more tears fall down my cheeks. He lowered his head and pressed his lips to them, his tongue reaching out to take them away, one by one. “Penny Santoro,”
he said as he kissed each one. “Whether you believe it or not, you’re a gift to me, one that I’ll always cherish, one I’ll never regret.”

I love you, Tag
, I said to myself, not ready to tell him. Instead of saying anything, I framed his face with my hands and pulled his lips to mine. I told him everything I felt with my kiss, whether he realized it or not.
 

Two hours later we were up and ready for dinner. I chose a soft pink cocktail dress with black heels. My makeup was soft, with just dark eyeliner and mascara and a hint of pink on my lips. Small diamond studs were in my ears, the only jewelry I wore. I kept my hair simple, choosing to leave it down, waves cascading down my back.

Tag turned to face me, looking devastatingly handsome in charcoal gray slacks, white button-down shirt, charcoal gray tie, and black jacket. He left his face unshaven, which I secretly loved, and he smelled amazing with his pine and basil scent.
 

Now that we were out of bed and about to go to dinner with my captor, my nerves were at an all-time high. My palms wouldn’t stop sweating, and I felt it also beading on my forehead. When he smiled at me, I did my best to pretend I was fine, and smiled back. He walked over to me, cupped my neck, and placed his warm lips on my forehead.

“Stop worrying, querida,”
he whispered. “I’m here.”

Relaxing a bit at his words, I nodded.

“It’s just dinner, baby,”
he continued. “I’ll be by your side the whole time. Roman is still my boss, we need to play his game, but I won’t let him touch you. No one but me touches you, sweet girl.”

My heart jolted, and the smile I showed him this time was one hundred percent genuine. “Thank you.”

He reached an arm around my waist, pulling me roughly to him. He lowered his head so his face was in my hair, his nose running along the shell of my ear. “I mean it, baby,”
he breathed into my ear, “only I touch you.”

More than happy to agree, I nodded again. He raised his head and shot me a dazzling smile. “Now that we’ve got that straight, are you ready to go?”
He reached for my hand, clasping his own around it.

Letting out a sigh, I replied, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Chapter 15

We reached Roman’s quarters, and Theo was there to let us in. I had absolutely no idea what to expect and was indeed surprised as we walked in. There in Roman’s living area sat a beautiful, white-blonde woman sitting on his sofa sectional with a drink in her hand. When she saw us, she smiled.

Penny stopped next to me, obviously not sure how to react. I couldn’t blame her because I was in the same boat, no pun intended. What was Roman up to exposing this stranger to Penny’s situation?

“Hello,”
the stranger said. “I’m Fiona. You must be Tag and Penny.”
 

More surprise ran through me that she knew our names. I gathered myself and put a hand on Penny’s back, not missing the way she softened at my touch. Putting on my dutiful cartel employee mask, I greeted the woman. “Yes, we are. It’s nice to meet you, Fiona. Where is Roman?”

“Do I hear my name?”
Roman asked as he sauntered into the room, a glass in his hand as well. He immediately went to Fiona and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I see you’ve met the lovely Fiona,”
he added.

Staying where we were, I replied. “Yes we did, just now.”

Roman turned to Penny, his eyes turning very soft when he looked at her, which made my alarm bells go off.
 
Was this what she was talking about earlier? “You look lovely tonight, Ms. Santoro. Come,”
he said, patting the cushion next to him, “sit down.”

Penny started to turn her head toward me, but when I gave her a gentle pat on her back, she walked forward and sat down. Without being asked, I followed and sat down next to her. I took the glass of wine offered to me by one of Roman’s men, as did Penny when he passed by her.
 

I listened as Roman smooth talked both of the women, seeming to pretend that one of them was not his hostage. Penny just nodded and smiled at the appropriate times, casually glancing my way from time to time, as if to make sure I was still there. Fiona ran her long red manicured nails through Roman’s hair, messing up his stiff comb lines, but I never missed the lustful glances she sent my way every now and again.

I didn’t return them as I had absolutely no interest in pursuing anything with her, plus I wasn’t suicidal, even if I did. She was Roman’s girl, or one of the many I should say. Roman had a wife at home in New York City, but he was not short on his many women at different ports, although this was the first time I had met this Fiona.

Our wine glasses were continually being refilled.
I put a stop to mine a while ago. I needed to stay sober and on top of my game. Roman inviting Penny to dinner had all of my warning bells going off in my head.
 

“Excuse us, ladies,”
Roman told them with his most charming smile, making my head jerk his way. “Tag and I need to discuss some business for a few minutes. Please continue to enjoy your drinks…we won’t be long.”

What the hell was going on? He never mentioned needing to discuss business.
 

Penny looked up at me with fear in her eyes. Not expecting this new development, I gave her my best comforting look and squeezed her shoulder as I stood. Leaning over, I told her in a low voice, “Don’t worry, querida, I’ll be in the next room.”
She nodded, and I could feel her eyes on my back as I walked away with Roman.
 

Roman shut the door behind us, and I saw Theo already sitting on the sofa. Roman pointed to sit next to him, so I did, being the ever devoted cartel employee I was. He remained standing as he lit a cigar.

“Okay. A job has come up I need both you and Theo to attend to, Tag. There is a shipment of cocaine that is being dropped off in an abandoned warehouse in town. Theo knows where it is. I am sending a few more men with you because this shipment is worth millions. I can’t afford to lose it like with what happened with Penny’s father.”

Penny’s father? What the hell did that mean?

Roman must have seen the look of confusion on my face. “Oh, that’s right, my boy. I never told you the reason I took Penny, did I?”

Was he mocking me? I hid my anger and just shook my head. My hatred for this man grew more in that moment.

“Well, it’s time to enlighten you, I guess. You see, Mr. Santoro and I have been bitter enemies for years now. Bitter. I hate him with all of my heart and soul. Anyway, it seems he got word a few days before his daughter went missing that I had a lucrative shipment being delivered in New York. Well, Mr. Santoro got greedy and wanted it for himself, and I assume he was sending me a message of some sort. Needless to say, his men intercepted the shipment and I lost two men because of it, trying to protect what was mine.”

His face contorted in anger as he puffed on his cigar and paced back and forth. He was still livid. But now, finally, things were beginning to make more sense. He took Penny in retaliation for what her father did to him. I sensed there was still more to the story, but it was a start.

Roman ran a hand through his Fiona-mussed-up hair, making it stick out even more. “Anyway, I cannot have anything go wrong tonight, and that’s why I need two of my best men,”
he said, nodding to me and Theo, “to take care of this job. Tag, you don’t have to worry about the girl. I will have her stay here with me and Fiona while you are gone. You shouldn’t be more than a few hours at most.”

I nodded, inwardly cringing at leaving Penny but knowing if I tried to get out of this, it would set me too far back with Roman and all I’d worked for. But, I couldn’t shake the feeling there was more of a reason than me being one of his best men to send me out on the job, and it had everything to do with Penny. Roman had something up his sleeve with her, that much was obvious, and it frustrated me to no end not knowing what it was.