Vinny: Alvarez Security Series (22 page)

“I’m sure that someone she knows is using her,” Vinny bit out, as they sifted through the suspects. “But which one?”

“Don’t know yet, but we’ll just keep working the problem,” Tony replied. “Jack’s DEA contact said that there were no fingerprints on the bags of drugs, the case, or the harp.”

“I think it’s been done before and would have worked this time if we hadn’t had to miss our flight,” Vinny said. “So you’re right. We keep looking and in the meantime, I intend to keep her watched.”

Tony grinned. “Already got a rotation set up to be with her.”

Nodding, Vinny settled back.
Now to convince Annalissa to stay with him. Not only for her safety…but for as long as she would have him.

T
he next day,
Annalissa caught a cab to her teacher’s studio after Vinny left for work. Walking up the steps of the old brownstone with her harp case in her hand, she knocked on the door. As it opened, she saw the look of surprise on his face. As he threw his arms out wide, she rushed into them, feeling the comfort he offered.

“Oh, my dear, what a time you’ve had. Come in, come in and tell me all about it.”

She picked up her case and followed him down the hall to his studio in the back.

“Mrs. Baxter, some tea for us, if you please,” he called out to his housekeeper. By the time they had settled into chairs, she was already bustling in with a tray of steaming tea and a platter of cookies.

Placing it on the table in front of them, she hurried over to give Annalissa a hug. Pulling her into her bosomy embrace, she effused, “Oh dearie, you gave poor Mr. Feinstein such a fright.” Making herself right at home with her employer, she settled her girth on the settee and poured the tea.

Annalissa had to laugh; Mr. Feinstein and his housekeeper had been together for so long they seemed more like an old married couple, even though they had never been interested in each other that way.

The next hour passed with her regaling them with tales of her trip. She told in great detail the plight of the man having the heart attack and how Vinny saved him. She followed that with the harrowing landing in Kansas City and once again how Vinny took charge. “I just couldn’t fly again so soon,” she lied, feeling horrible at the necessity of keeping the truth hidden. “So Vinny suggested that we book Easnadh on the next flight and we drove instead.”

“But why not just keep Easnadh with you?” Maurice asked, his brow furrowed.

Remembering her practiced explanation, she said, “It would be too crowded in our little rental car. And it was much safer for us to ship it and have one of the Alvarez Security men pick it up at the Richland Airport.”

“So it came directly to Richland and not through Dulles?” he asked.

“Yes, we could get a direct flight from Kansas City to Richland for it.”

He nodded thoughtfully, while Mrs. Baxter’s head bobbed enthusiastically.

“It sounds like you not only had an adventure, but perhaps had some fun as well?” she said, desperately wanting more gossip.

“Yes,” Annalissa grinned. “I did have fun since I never get to travel by land and Mr. Malloy was perfect company.”

As they finished their tea, Mrs. Baxter hustled the dishes away after giving Annalissa a kiss and another hug.

Annalissa opened her case and removed her harp. “I thought instead of just practicing at home to relax, I’d come over and practice with you.”

Smiling, the older man nodded as he moved to his instruments in the corner of the studio. Choosing another Celtic harp, they sat and played companionably for another hour. The music filled the room, allowing her to finally and completely relax. With a few of his windows opened, the tones drifted outside.

Jobe sat in his SUV, the windows down, listening to the music. He had already called in her location to Vinny since it was his time to follow her.
Not a hard duty
, he thought as he allowed the music to settle over him.
I can see what she has done to Vinny. Her music is bewitching. And for a man like him…
he smiled thinking of his friend. Leaning his head back, he maintained his vigilance while his mind rolled to what Lily had said earlier.

They’ve all found it…the forever kind of love. His friends Shane and Annie, Lily and Matt, BJ and Suzanne. And now his brothers-in-arms, Gabe and Jennifer, Tony and Sherrie, and now Vinny. The last of the professed bachelors was fully, completely in love with Annalissa.

Sucking in a huge sigh as the haunting melody floated out to him.
I had it. And I goddamn threw it away. Thought I was being noble. God, what a prick.
Giving himself a shake, he forced his mind back to the case and off of the past.

As Annalissa came out of Maurice’s house, she was walking down the steps when suddenly Jobe loomed before her. Taking the harp case from her hands, he nodded toward his vehicle.

“Did Vinny send you to spy on me?”

“No ma’am,” he replied with a wink. “You have the protection of Alvarez Security. One of us will be with you when you aren’t with Vinny.”

“Oh,” she said, a concerned look on her face. “I don’t mean to be a problem,” she admitted.

He placed her harp in the back of the SUV before rounding to her side to open the door. “No problem. It wouldn’t matter if we were working on your case or not. You’re one of us now. We protect our own,” he said simply.

As she settled in for the ride back to Vinny’s, she smiled. Belonging. Friends.
Just what I’ve been looking for.

*

That evening, she
slipped easily into the pool, holding on to Vinny’s hands as he led her around, and kicked her legs.

“Feel how the movement of your legs propels you along?” he asked, trying to keep his eyes off of her ass as it wiggled just above the waterline.

“Yes, but that’s only my bottom half. What am I supposed to do with my arms?”

“You don’t want to keep holding my hands?” he joked.

“I’d love to but I don’t think that will help me swim on my own,” she sputtered trying to keep her head above the water.

Moving back to the shallow end, he let go as she stood on the bottom of the pool. “Okay, let’s work on the arm movement.” He spent the next fifteen minutes teaching her how to circle her arms in a paddling motion. After she was comfortable with that, he supported her with his hands on her tummy as she kicked while moving her arms.

“You promise not to let go?” she asked as they moved toward deeper water.

“I promise, baby. I’ll never let you go.”

Once again, she wondered if there was a double meaning in his words. After several minutes of working to get the rhythm correct, he pulled her in close to his body. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, luxuriating in the feel of floating in the water holding on to him.

With her breasts pressed tightly to his chest and her core firmly nestled against his throbbing cock, he kissed her as they continued to move through the water. Her back finally landed against the side of the pool and he pressed even closer. The kiss became desperate. Needy. Just like his desire for her.

“Princess,” he growled. “We’ve gotta get upstairs. I fuckin’ want to take you here and now, but I’m not about to chance someone coming in.”

Panting into his mouth, she nodded. “I need you now,” she cried.

With an easy lift, he set her on the side of the pool and pulled himself out effortlessly. Reaching down, he plucked her up, carrying her in his arms. Bending as they rounded the side, he grabbed their towels as he carried her to the elevator. Once inside, he continued the kiss that had been interrupted in the pool. As the elevator doors opened, he set her down and grabbed her hand as they quickly walked to his apartment.

Another man came out of a door, his eyes noticeably appreciating the view. Vinny looked down, seeing Annalissa’s nipples clearly poking through the worn bathing suit material. Throwing a towel around her chilled body, he growled at the neighbor who quickly paled at the sight of the large, muscular, and obviously pissed-off man.

Giggling, she felt herself gently pushed inside his apartment as Vinny kicked the door closed behind them.

“I can’t believe I let you walk around in that bathing suit on our way up here,” he exploded. “I must be crazy.”

“Vinny, really?” she asked, tapping her foot on the floor. “Are you telling me that you’ve never been at a pool party or beach with other women in skimpy bikinis?”

He stopped and looked at her, his eyes still flashing irritation.

“Well?” she prodded. “You’ve never ogled a woman in a bathing suit? You’ve never been with another woman at a pool who was wearing a lot less than this old one-piece?”

“That’s different,” he spluttered.

“How, for crying out loud? Please tell me how you and your friends hanging around a pool trying to pick up girls in skimpy bikinis is any different than that man catching a glimpse of me in this outfit? Which, by the way, covers most of me?”

He stood there, perplexed as to how to answer her. She was right. He had spent a lot of time hooking up with skimpily clad women and not caring what his own dates were wearing. If his friends got a glimpse of the tits or ass of a hookup of his, he never cared.

Running his hand through his dark blond hair, making it stand up on end, he looked down at the beauty in front of him.
But this was different. He had wanted to gouge his neighbor’s eyes out.
Sighing, he knew he could not lie to her.

“Because I never cared about anyone before you. Because I’ve fallen in love with you. And because the thought of anyone else seeing a part of you that’s only for me, makes me crazy,” he confessed nervously.

“You…you love me?” she whispered, forgetting to breath.

“Yeah, but I know a man like me doesn’t deserve someone like you,” he said, his eyes gazing deeply into hers.
Give me a chance, baby. Please.
He watched her own eyes tear up. Stepping closer, he reached his hand out to touch her cheek. “Breathe, baby,” he reminded.

She gasped as she leaned her face into his hand. The warmth of his touch melted into her.

“Tell me I’ve got a chance. I know I’ve live wild and rough, but please tell me that you might feel something for me too.”

Her smile lit up his world. Dark, wet hair tangled behind her, still dripping water off of the ends. An old, faded, red bathing suit designed for practicality instead of sex appeal. No makeup.
And the most fuckin’ beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.

“I think I fell in love with you somewhere between Indiana and Kentucky,” she said, still smiling.

Struck speechless, Vinny stared at the woman who had stolen his heart. And was handing it back to him along with hers.

Suddenly, the two reached for each other, hands grasping as they quickly pulled off their swimming attire. He scooped her up in his arms, her naked body inflaming his, as his aching cock swelled.

Making it to the bedroom in record time, he lay her on the bed reverently.
She loves me. Jesus, fuck, she loves me!
Determined to worship her body slowly, he lay next to her as his lips sealed over hers. Moving his hand down, he felt every curve, from her breasts that just filled his hands to her flat stomach all the way to the gentle swell of her hips.

She turned on her side to face him and his hand slipped between her legs. Tangling in the strip of curls, he moved through them to her drenched folds. Sliding two fingers in, he reached a place and a rhythm that had her writhing on the bed.

His tongue danced with hers as he captured her moans. His dick was painfully pressing against her stomach, eagerly seeking entrance.
Down boy. This one’s for her.

Her body felt as tight as a bow ready to snap but could not quite reach the breaking point. He sucked her tongue into his mouth and the sensations zinged from her throat to her nipples down to her aching core.

He reached the spot that finally threw her over the edge, the explosion causing her pussy walls to contract and weep over his fingers. Eyes closed tight, she saw colored lights sparkling behind her eyelids as she floated gently back toward earth.

He kissed his way down her body paying special attention to each breast as he sucked one nipple deeply into his mouth before moving over and nipping the other. Continuing his downward path, he slid between her legs, lowering his mouth to replace his fingers. Her juices were like nectar as he feasted on her drenched folds before plunging his tongue into her pussy.

Absolutely fuckin’ nectar.
He loved her innocence. No pretense. No faking. Every movement, every sound from her was real. True. Heartfelt.

Moving from between her legs, he kissed his way back up her body, displayed for him. For his eyes alone. He closed his eyes for a moment in silent reverie, thanking God that he was lucky enough to have found her. When he opened them again, her green eyes were gazing intently into his.

“Are you all right?” she asked, gently reaching up to caress his cheek. His strong jaw filled her hand as her eyes moved over his muscular chest and thick arms, with the Malloy Celtic tattoo on them. Her gaze lifted back to his, pleased to see him now smiling.