“Okay, but we have to do a background check and--”
When I pull a roll of bills from my pocket, he quiets, his eyes widening.
“That could buy litter for the whole place for a year,” he half-whispers.
“Best get to it, then.”
“Of course. Right. Yes. We can hook you up with all the things you need.” He hurries behind the desk, and I turn to look at the black fluff, who eyes me warily. “You’re coming with me. Deal with it.”
When I return home, I have Anderson bring the kitten supplies into the house, but I carry the black fluff along what I call the Cruz wing of the house.
“What is that?” Maria asks from behind me.
“A kitten.” I stop and turn to her.
“You got a kitten?” She eyes the angry, fluffy beast.
“Yes.”
Maria puts her hands on her hips. “You got it for Valentina.”
I don’t admit or deny, simply look at her, the warm eyes the same as I remember from my childhood. Protecting the Cruz women has been the one good thing I’ve done in my life, though it won’t be enough to save me from my myriad sins.
“Twenty-one will be here soon.” She meets my gaze again. “I received your note about the lawyer coming in the morning.” She sighs. “I knew this day would come, but it’s here so soon. She’s still young, and the weight of all this is a heavy burden for anyone to bear. I wish Hector hadn’t been so …” She shakes her head. “I wish he’d been better to her, to me, to everyone. But we’re trapped. Valentina won’t understand.” Her eyes water. “And then men who will try to claim her, the things they’ll do to get to her and to her fortune.”
“I know.” I sit the cage down and open the grate. “But there’s nothing for it. We can’t change what Hector put in motion.” I reach out and take Maria’s hand. “No matter what, I swore to protect you and Valentina, and I will keep that oath until I leave this world.”
She squeezes my fingers, her grip soft. “Thank you, Cesar. For everything.” She takes a deeper breath, and the tears abate.
Maria hasn’t cried since the day I took her husband’s life, and she only cried then from relief. She’s had a hard life, one she doesn’t speak about with her daughter, but I know her past. I know the monster she was forced to marry, and the one beautiful thing that came of it--Valentina.
She pulls back and refocuses on the black fluff. “Valentina will be over the moon when she sees this.” Her brows draw together. “After I saw your note, I expected Valentina to come and ask me questions, ones I can finally answer. But I don’t know where she’s gone.” She drops to her knees and peers at the hissing fluffy ball inside the carrier.
I don’t like the sound of it. Valentina usually doesn’t venture off the grounds in the day. Where is she? Backing down the hall, I point at the fluff. “Come out when you’re ready. But behave.”
Maria laughs and stands. “I don’t think she’s much for behaving. Just like my Valentina.”
I turn and hurry up the stairs, worry gnawing at me about my little mouse. Where is she? I’ll find her. Either on my screens or with my other trackers.
Pushing into my bedroom, I take a few steps then stop. My breath leaves me as I find my little mouse in my bed, her breaths slow, her body lax. Her dark brown hair is splayed along my bedspread, and her lips are slightly parted as she slumbers.
She’s here, right where I’ve wanted her for so long. But why? She’s ventured here before, stealing from me and snooping, but never staying.
The wolf surges to the fore as I let the door close softly behind me. I ease to her and stare down, and that’s when I lose myself. Because she’s not wearing any bottoms. No shorts, no panties. I get a full view of her soft pink flesh and the small tuft of dark hair that marks her as a woman. My woman.
My cock surges against my pants as I gently get onto the bed, then run my hands up her legs, spreading them more, getting an even better view of the cherry I intend to devour.
“Cesar,” she whimpers in her sleep.
I’m more animal than man in this moment, because I’m salivating for her, for the wetness I see on her cunt, for the glimpse of her ripe clit.
And when I give in and lick up her wet slit, I know I’ve finally tasted heaven.
8
Valentina
A whimper leaves my lips as the most sensual dream that I’ve ever had plays out. One that has me wishing I were awake and it was real. Cesar is here with his mouth between my legs. His very talented tongue licks and sucks as his teeth nip at me.
The greatest pleasure I’ve ever felt flows through my body. The sensation of his warm breath on me has me spreading my legs wider to accommodate him. I reach down and tangle my fingers in his short hair as the orgasm starts to take over.
“Come for me, little mouse.” He doesn’t have to tell me twice. His words are my undoing as the pleasure breaks free of my body. I cry out his name as my back arches off the bed. I wish I could stay in this dream forever.
My eyes fly open as the delicious feelings consume me. When I look down, my hands are still gripping his hair tight. It’s then I realize I’m not dreaming at all. I’m still too caught up in the orgasm to care. I watch as Cesar's tongue circles my clit. He looks up, his eyes meeting mine as he gives me one last lick, making my body jerk. I try and close my legs because I’m so sensitive, but his broad shoulders stop me.
“It’s too much,” I breathe.
He kisses my clit, making my body jerk again. Every part of me feels alive. He turns his head and begins to kiss my thighs next. Realization finally dawns on me of where I am and what is happening.
“Cesar?” My mind is still a little foggy from sleep and pleasure, so I feel the need to double check. I look down at him. Yup, I’m definitely in his bed and he’s definitely between my legs.
“Who else would it be?” He gives me a dark look.
I let his hair go as I push my heels into the bed to scoot up and away from him. His hand snakes around me, grabbing my ankle. “You’re in my bed.”
“I was bored and got lost,” I lie. It’s only half a lie. I had been bored, but I was far from lost. I bet I know this place better than he does.
He sits up, his tongue coming out to lick his lips. “Lying doesn’t become you, little mouse. Besides, when you lie you bite your lip.”
I release my lip that I had no idea I was biting.
“Where did you go?” I look around for my shorts.
Did he take them off me or had I passed out with them off? How do I even begin to explain why I was half naked in his bed? I’ll skirt around that and continue asking my own questions.
“I had things that I needed to see about.” He licks his lips again as his gaze travels down my body.
I close my legs, suddenly feeling a little shy, not wanting him to see how turned on I’m getting once again.
I roll my eyes to pretend I don’t really care. “Well I had things to see to also. With there not being many men around, I thought you could help, but you were gone. I must have passed out before I could find someone else.”