Guns and Roses (29 page)

As soon as Big Mike finished, he disappeared through the adjoining door. A door that Martinez locked.

A door that was never locked from our side.

Oh, this was not a good sign.

I had the overwhelming urge to run.

Then I heard the sliding glass door open and close behind me. I didn’t turn around.

“You calmed down?” he asked.

“Don’t try to placate me, Martinez. I have a right to be pissed.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.” I looked at my bandaged knuckles.

Martinez moved in front of me and tossed something at my feet. “Lulu was right. I bought flowers. For you. Wanna see them? Go ahead,” he said. “They’re pretty, aren’t they? Pretty fucking dead.”

I saw a blackish-green stems sticking out from the end of dull green wax paper. If I used my imagination I could see that the brown, crinkled heads had been white blooms at one time. I’d never been so happy to see dead flowers in my life. I finally glanced at him.

Tony was in his usual defiant posture. Arms crossed. Jaw rigid. His face, his beautiful, masculine face, held a look I’d never seen.

“What happened?”

“Evidently, I wasn’t supposed to leave them on the seat of my car for eighteen hours when it’s below zero.” He threw up his hands. “How was I supposed to know that? I’ve never bought goddamn flowers for a woman in my life. And when I do? I kill them and then you think I’ve been...”

Cheating. Showering another woman with flowers that should’ve been mine.

Some of the doubts plaguing me lessened. Some, not all. I picked up the bouquet. Frozen solid.

“I didn’t notice they looked like that until it was too late. I was too... fucking embarrassed to show you that night. Christ. I couldn’t even laugh about it. So I hid them on the deck.”

You sweet, stupid, prideful man.

Of course, I couldn’t say that. But I probably shouldn’t have said, “Tony, are you cheating on me?” either.

A heartbeat or two passed.

“That’s the second time you’ve asked me that.”

“And that’s the second time you haven’t answered a direct question from me.”

He sighed.

I’d had it. I got up and walked out.

Halfway up the stairs I heard him say, “Where are you going?”

“To get my snow boots because it’s getting deep in here.”

I figured he’d follow me. I returned to the workout room for my tequila. I’d taken a couple of healthy sips and looky there. Mr. Bad Boy himself lounged in the doorway, every muscled, tattooed inch a feast for my senses.

“You shouldn’t be drinking while you’re working out,” he said.

“You shouldn’t be in here giving me shitty advice when I’m pissed off at you and drinking,” I retorted.

Martinez smiled. “I’ll take my chances.” Then he stalked me.

I didn’t offer him any Don Julio before I set it on the floor. We faced each other on the sparring mat. Circling, crouching, about to change the parameters of this fight.

“You wanna go a couple rounds with me?” Martinez asked. “Shadow boxing? No contact?”

I snorted. “Dude. Weren’t you like Colorado’s Golden Gloves Boxing champion or something?”

“National Champion in my weight class. Three years running.” He did some fancy footwork, a fast-jabbing set of moves that showcased his skill, his power and his highlighted his lean, muscular physique. “It’s what paid my way through college.”

This is what I missed. Us together, talking, hanging out, discovering new little things about each other, like any other normal couple. But Martinez was a master at distracting me. And I’d started to fall for it again without getting the answers I deserved.

I planned to tackle him, using my new self-defense skills—third time was a charm—but before I made my move the sneaky fucker was all up in my face.

“So that’s a
no
to shadow boxing? Fine. Then we’ll grapple.”

I’d barely opened my mouth to protest, when I found myself spun around, flipped flat on my back on the mat and Tony hanging on all fours above me.

I laid there like a log.

“Come on, blondie. Fight back.”

“I’m tired of fighting with you, Martinez.”

His eyes searched my face. “You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He lowered his mouth to mine. His kiss wasn’t passionate. Wasn’t sweet. It was thorough. Very, very thorough in the way that heated my blood, fuzzed my brain and damn near liquefied my bones.

He pulled back from the kiss with great reluctance. His gaze bored into mine. “Julie.”

“Tony.”

We stared at each other, breathing hard, eyes guarded.

“Last chance,” I said softly. “Tell me the truth. Either way. I have to know.”

“You really gonna make me say it to you?”

I nodded, hating how fast my heart beat in those four seconds before his mouth moved.

“I am not cheating on you. I’d
never
cheat on you.”

I waited, watching his facial expression change from wariness to fierceness.

“I love you. I love you like a fuckin’ mad man. How can you not know that? How could you believe, even for a split second, that I’d ever look at another woman, touch another woman, when I have you in my life and in my bed?” He twined a section of my long hair around his finger and pulled hard enough to get my attention. “Jesus, blondie. What will it take to convince you that I’m not fucking around when we’ve got this between us? You’re it for me. You always will be.”

In that moment, I felt the truth of his words lodge deep within me, in a place where doubt couldn’t get a foothold. This life-hardened man, who never showed anyone weakness, reminded me that I was his safe haven. I gave him something he couldn’t get from anyone else. He did the same for me. I reached up and curled my hand around his face. “I miss you.”

“Same.” Tony kissed the crook of my elbow. “I gotta admit as shitty as these last two months have been, I seriously got off on you storming into my office today and showing that tough-girl side I haven’t seen in a while.”

“You did?”

Martinez flashed the devilish grin that usually made me start stripping. “Yeah. Would you really have fought for me?”

“In a heartbeat. First, I would’ve kicked her ass. Then yours.” I pulled him down for another kiss. A hotter kiss. The kind of deep soul kiss that brought forth his primitive growl. I trailed my lips up the strong line of his jaw, to his ear. “I love you. The thought of you leaving me for someone else…”

“Blondie,” he murmured in my hair, “that ain’t ever gonna happen.”

He eased back when I sat up.

“You say that… but I’m just supposed to ignore the signs of you pulling away? You prefer sleeping at Fat Bob’s or Bare Assets to sleeping with me. We moved in together to be together. And then I find out you’ve been turning your private office spaces into personal living spaces? Like you needed a place to get away from me.”

“That’s what you think?”

“I don’t know what to think.”

“I think your nosiness, Miz PI”—he lightly touched the tip of my nose—“has ruined my big surprise for you.”

“Yeah, right. So explain the bimbo in your office. And why you had coffee with her today.”

He sighed at my skeptical look and grabbed the tequila, taking a swig. “You don’t give an inch, do you?”

I shrugged and snatched the bottle from him.

“I hired Gina, the interior design specialist that you so charmingly threatened tonight, to upgrade office interiors while we shored up external security issues. As we were talking, I mentioned hating the place that you and I moved into, and I hated being bound to those same security precautions outside of the clubs.”

“Still confused about why you couldn’t tell me any of this.”

Martinez rested on his haunches. “Guilt. You’ve given up a lot to be with me. And right before Thanksgiving, I realized I haven’t met you halfway on anything.”

“You sort of are the ‘my way or the highway’ guy, El Presidente.”

“True. It’s not fair to you. Not fair to tell you that your friends aren’t allowed at our place. Anyway, Gina’s been a go-getter since the Hombres, ah,
handled
her brother’s problem last fall. She made the spaces at both Bare Assets and Fat Bob’s less of an embarrassment for someone in my position. I thought maybe you’d be willing to crash there with me on nights I can’t get home.”

“I’d live in a milk crate with you,” I murmured. “It’s never been about atmosphere for us.”

“I know, but you deserve a nice place. Anyway, Gina found two houses, side by side, in town, not way the fuck out in the middle of cow county like this place. Houses I purchased that are being retro-fitted to my security specs.”

“Meaning bulletproof glass on the windows, steel doors, state-of-the-art security system,” I said jokingly… and yet not.

“And an underground tunnel that links them.” He flashed that wicked bad boy grin again. “A secret concrete room that could have some pretty interesting uses.”

“Maybe Kevin was right about the biker kink and me investing in fetish wear.”

His eyes lit up. “Would you really wear leather, latex and chains for me?”

“Hah! Nice try, pervert.”

“But you didn’t say
no
,” he pointed out with another panty-melting grin.

“Back to the issue… why the secrecy?”

“It’s something we haven’t tried since I took over as president of the Hombres and we didn’t want word getting out ahead of time that my security team will live in one house. We’ll live in the other. By ourselves.”

That was a huge concession for him. “Seriously?”

“Yes.” Martinez trapped my face in his hands. “The reason I haven’t been coming home? This place is too far to drive when I’m tired and I don’t get done with business until three o’clock in the morning. This move in together was supposed to fix that. It hasn’t.”

“When did you plan on telling me about the new house?”

His thumbs stroked the hollow of my cheeks.

Then I knew. “Shit. Please tell me you weren’t planning it as a Valentine’s Day surprise?”

“Give me a little credit. I know how much you hate Valentine’s Day. That’s why I bought the damn flowers two days
before
Valentine’s Day. The contractor told me the changes would be done by next week. Then you could start picking all the inside stuff.”

“You’re letting me pick? You’re not having Little Miss Interior Designer choose like she’s done with everything else?” Wow. That’d come out a little snarky.

“Big Mike called that one,” he muttered.

“What’s that mean?”

“Big Mike said you’d be pissed that I was keeping you in the dark about everything. From the interior changes in the offices, to buying a new place without your input, to hiring Gina. He also said he couldn’t wait to see you blow your top because it’s always so damn entertaining.” Martinez shook his head. “I get that I should’ve told you, okay? The only reason we met Gina in public today was because her car died right at Dunn Brothers and I needed a damn cup of coffee.”

“Riding in your Escalade to rescue the damsel in distress?”

He looked annoyed for about five seconds and then he smiled. “Makes me a Neanderthal, but I love seeing that jealous spark, blondie.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Besides. I prefer damsels who don’t need rescuing. Like you.”

“Such sweet bullshit. But I’ll take it.”

“And?” he prompted.

“And I’m sorry I didn’t jump your shit before tonight.”

He gave me that exasperated noise that was half snort/half sigh.

That’s when I knew we’d be okay. I grabbed the bottle of tequila, but Tony snatched it first. Keeping his eyes on mine, he lifted the bottle and drank. When I held my hand out for my turn, he shook his head. “Let me.”

He pressed the opening to my lips and tipped the bottle. The amount of liquid he poured in was more than a quick sip and some spilled out the corner of my mouth. It started to drip down my neck and I reached up to swipe it away, but Tony stayed my hand. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and tilted my head back. His hot breath teased the wet section of my skin as he lowered his mouth and his tongue slowly followed the tequila trail up the side of my neck to my lips.

My entire body vibrated with want.

“That’s the way to drink tequila. Warmed by your body with your skin as my salt lick.” He nibbled my mouth, those dark hungry eyes burned into mine. “Clothes off.”

Didn’t have to tell me twice.

Didn’t have to tell him either.

Naked, we stood and faced each other.

Tony reached out and trailed one finger from my lips, down my throat, between my breasts, stopping at my navel.

I shivered from his touch. I started to step forward, step into him, and he shook his head.