His Four Poster Bed (Bedroom Secrets Series Book 2) (15 page)

“I love him Shea,” I said, my voice high and thin. “I love him so much it scares me. He’s like oxygen in my world. I am not sure how I can live without him, but I’m not sure how I can leave either.” I bit my lip and looked skyward waving my hands in front of my eyes trying to keep the tears under control.

The gravity of my choice felt so heavy to me right then. It was as if I’d swallowed a cold, hard stone. I was sick with the weight of it pressing against my heart and lungs.

Shea’s eyes bugged and she leaned forward and grasped my hand again with greasy fingers. “This is wonderful!” She practically squealed. “I mean it’s fucking terrible, but it’s so wonderful. You are in love Odessa. You are crazy in love with Marco.”

“No, it’s not wonderful,” I said, still fanning my eyes. “I’m in love with a man who has connections to a violent and terrifying criminal element.”

“But he’s doing what’s right, he’s taking a stand,” Shea said, sounding almost wistful.

“He is trying,” I said, smiling. “I think it takes a lot of courage to face your family. I think I love him more now that I understand what he is facing. I hate the situation but I love him even more.”

“Do you trust him?” Shea said, staring into my eyes.

“Yes,” I said, without hesitation. A few weeks ago I would have found it impossible to trust any man. I hadn’t trusted a man with my heart since my dad betrayed our family. Marco Amador seduced me and showed me how to be vulnerable with my body and my heart.

“Is he in love with you?” Shea said. “Who am I kidding of course he is.” She laughed.

I managed a half smile through my tears. “Yes, he loves me. He loves me with all his heart and I believe him. Can you believe this is me talking?”

“No, I mean yes,” Shea said. “I always knew that you would meet a man strong enough to break down those walls someday.”

“Figures the guy who does it would ask me to walk away from my life, right?”

“Love is complicated sometimes,” Shea said.

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the cracked green vinyl of the booth. Our greasy pizza sat untouched in front of us but we’d both managed to drain our beers. On the wall above us an aged poster for Husky Football proclaiming the old coach the “Dawgfather.” I tried to focus on the joke and ignore the mafia undertones of the photo.

“How can I help you my friend,” Shea said, her voice warm and her smile trying to reach me.

“I don’t know. I just needed to talk.”

“You want my opinion?”

“Yes?” I said, weakly. “I just want someone to tell me what to do. Can you believe that? I’m so used to having a plan, to calling the shots and right now I just want someone to decide for me.”

“Well, I won’t decide for you. Only you can do that,” Shea said. “But I can tell you that a life without love is nothing.”

“But my job, my research.”

“If you choose a life with Marco Amador, you will find your way together. I have no doubt that you will find a way to channel that brilliant mind of yours and continue your career.”

“The study is going well,” I sniffed. “Dr. Mike is actually doing a wonderful job leading. It wouldn’t be impossible for me to step away. I could leave and the research could continue.”

Shea nodded. “If you choose to leave I would miss you terribly and if you choose to stay I will support you until your heart stops hurting.”

“Which would be forever.”

“Maybe.” Shea smiled at me. “I do have one question. It’s pretty serious.”

“Yeah,” I said, blowing my nose in one of those scratchy napkins. I supposed if I was used to crying more in public I would have one of those handy tissue packs, no such luck.

“If you go, can I have your parking place?” Shea wrinkled her nose.

I laughed and threw the napkin towards her.

“That’s disgusting,” she said, batting the make shift tissue across the table. “Does Marco know the kind of manners you have?”

I looked at my smiling friend and my heart ballooned with warmth for her and the years we had spent together walking the halls of The Holiday apartment building. Shea loved me enough to tell me to leave, she was such a generous and giving soul. I felt a little bad about not telling her everything. I’d kept out the part about Marco’s suspicions that his mother had been killed. I also neglected to tell her I had a short amount of time to choose.

I glanced at the Husky clock at the back of the restaurant. It was already 1:00 p.m. I was about twelve hours into my forty-eight hour countdown. I felt as though my life had been poured into an hourglass, time was running out.

I needed to make a decision and I wanted to make it out of love, not fear, fear of losing, fear of being hurt. I wanted to choose out of love for myself and Marco.

I sensed that whatever I chose would shape the rest of my life.

I have been wrong about a lot of things in my life but I was right about that. Marco had already changed my life; I had just been too slow to know it.

I made it through the rest of the day on auto pilot. Marco had told me he would be in touch and not to worry; I believed him. Whenever I caught a glimpse of a clock, or a watch or heard an alarm that horrible sense of time would overwhelm me. Time, we had so very little of it.

The buzzer in my apartment rang at 9:00 p.m. I jumped to my feet to answer it and pressed the button on the call box. “Marco?” I glanced at my phone. I hadn’t missed a call or a text.

“Mr. Amador has sent a car for you miss,” a man’s voice said.

“Right, thanks,” I said. “Be right down.” I wasn’t totally surprised that Marco had sent a driver. I supposed it was safer than having me drive myself across town. If he wanted to keep me secret, it probably wasn’t the best idea to park my car overnight in his private parking space.

I felt a rush of energy as I grabbed my sweater and locked up my apartment. As I walked down the hall I tried to ignore the ticking clock in my mind.

Every hour mattered.

I now had twenty-four hours remaining to make a choice.

Outside the building a long black limo sat parked in the rain. I dashed outside, rain pelting my face. A tall thing man wearing a black suit opened the back door for me shielding me with a black umbrella.

“Ms. Starr,” he said, nodding as I slipped into the darkened back seat. Inside there was a bottle of water in a beverage holder and classical music played. I closed my eyes and relaxed as the car headed downtown the repetitive swoosh of the windshield wipers sounding like a meditation.

The driver pulled into the hotel’s underground parking lot near the back staircase where Todd usually met me to help with my bags.

“Where’s Todd?” I asked, as the man opened the back door.

“Who?” he said.

“Todd, he works for Mr. Amador,” I said.

“Good night miss,” the driver said, nodding at me and ignoring my question he left me alone by the back stairs.

The elevator doors to the condo opened to silence.

“Marco?” I called, stepping into the stone entry way. A feeling of dread formed in my belly. Where was Todd? Why hadn’t Marco met me at the door? “Hello?” I said, walking across the living room toward the bedroom.

I looked inside, the room was empty. I glanced at my phone and sent a text. “Car arrived,” I wrote. “I’m here. Where are you?”

I turned to leave the bedroom when I heard a clicking noise and turned to see Marco behind me.

“Thank God,” he said, wrapping his arms around me. His phone beeped in his pocket.

“I just texted you,” I said. “Where were you? I was freaking out a bit.”

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, taking my hand and leading me beside the bed. There was a small door in the wall that I had never noticed before mainly because it had no doorknob that I could see and was painted to match the walls.

“Is that a panic room?” I asked, pointing to the darkened space.

“Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to scare you. I’ve never used the damn thing before, but Veronica wanted me to access it, make sure I could get inside if necessary.”

“This is getting really scary isn’t it,” I said, leaning into him.

“It is,” he kissed my forehead. “But we have tonight and if we need to, we can jump inside this soundproof fallout shelter until the troops arrive to save us.”

“You are serious about protecting me, aren’t you,” I whispered looking up into his dark brown eyes.

“If the zombie apocalypse starts, I mean
when
the zombie apocalypse starts, you and I will have a place to hide out. We can live like royalty in a ten by ten foot space.”

“Can I see it?” I asked, smiling and taking his hand. We had so much to discuss, I had a decision to make, but there was only one thing I wanted to do with the hours I had left and it didn’t include keeping my clothes on. “You did say it was sound proof?” I grinned.

Marco looked at me, a crooked half smile crossing his face. He wore his trademark black cashmere turtle neck, and slim fitted jeans. “I suppose we could find out,” he said, taking both my hands in his and backing through the panic room door.

He hit a key pad on the wall and the door closed behind us with a whooshing sound. We stood in a small square room with concrete floors, a cot, and racks of storage along one wall.

“How long do you think we would survive in here,” I whispered my hands sliding up under his shirt, my fingertips tingled as I brushed against his bare skin.

“Forever, as long as we are together.” He dropped his forehead against mine and backed me up slowly towards the cot. The room was dark with a soft yellow light overhead and a faint blue glow from the keypad.

“I want you,” I whispered, pulling him towards me. I could feel the hardness of him pushing against me as I brushed my hand against his pants.

He answered me with a kiss, his mouth against mine with a hunger that made me moan. I fumbled with his belt as he pushed my skirt up and pushed me down on the cot.

I unsheathed him from his pants and brushed against his throbbing hardness with my fingertips. I loved feeling him bare against me.

I scooted back on the bed as he climbed over me. My panties still on, he ran his hand along the inside of my thigh plunging his fingers inside my wetness. I clenched my thighs together locking him inside.

“Protection,” I gasped, fumbling for my purse which I’d dropped to the ground. I pulled out a condom and unrolled it my mouth never leaving his lips, my pussy clenched tightly around his fingers. He sheathed himself and parted my legs teasing me with his enormous cock through the thin silk of my underwear.

“Now, please,” I gasped, reaching for my underwear. He gripped my hand and instead grasped the fabric of my panties.

“You need to be fucked Ms. Starr,” he whispered, his eyes locking with mine.

“Yes, Mr. Amador,” I said.

He smiled and with one hand tore my panties off and then plunged deep inside me. I screamed with pleasure and rocked backward wanting to ride his hardness.

My back was against the soft blanket on the cot. I wrapped my legs around him as he pushed into me again and again. I tilted myself up as high as I could while still riding him up and down, driving him between my legs. He was in control but I could feel how he let me direct our energy at times.

The climax came hard and fast. My body released and I felt nothing but him inside of me, nothing but the sensation of our bodies connecting as one and the raw need that we felt for each other.

I needed this. I wanted this. I wanted to be fucked by this man forever no matter what the cost.

Marco pushed deep inside me with a moan, shaking and shuddering. He collapsed beside me and rolled over kissing my cheek and reaching for his clothes.

I stood and picked up my torn panties twirling them in the air. “You owe me a new pair, you know. First a blouse and now . . .”

Marco looked at me his face ashen, eyes wide. “What car?” he asked.

“What do you mean what car?”

He held his phone in his hand. “You said, I sent a car. I didn’t send a fucking car Odessa. How did you get here?”

I felt a rush of fear and anxiety. “A driver came, I thought it was you.”

“What did he say?”

“He said . . .” My mind was spinning. “I don’t know he said Marco sent a car, no, he said Mr. Amador.” I stopped and closed my eyes feeling stupid. “He said Mr. Amador sent a car. It wasn’t you, was it. It was your father.”