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Her eyes were burning she was so tired, and she looked at Torq who was playing with blocks on the floor with Antero and saw the deep purple bruises under his eyes and knew he was faring no better. They’d been ready to head back to bed after their discussion in his office when Antesa came bounding out of the room excited to start a new day.
“Babe,” Torq called out to her, and she blinked at him. “Go take a nap.”
“What?”
“You’ve been staring at me for like five minutes but I’m pretty sure you haven’t seen me at all, and Mama has asked you three times if you want tea and you haven’t heard her. You’re zoned out. Go to bed.”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Actually, Torq,” Brunella called out, “why don’t you both go. Antero and I can do something together while you rest. Lorita will back in a few minutes with the things from the shop I asked for. Your father will be awake soon.”
“Antero are you comfortable sitting alone with Nonna?” Torq asked him seriously.
“What are we going to do?”
“Well, we could do your puzzles or color or,” she smiled, “I know how to make play dough. I used to make it with Lorita when she was younger. We could make the dough and use cookie cutters. Or we could make cookies and use cookie cutters. Whichever you like.”
Antero nodded excitedly. “I would like to make the dough.”
“Excellent. Come to the kitchen. Your mama and papa need some rest. They were up all night with their friends, and they need a little bit of sleep.”
“Brunella, are you sure?”
“A hundred percent, Alcee. Go get some sleep.”
“Thank you.” She moved to get off the sofa and stumbled backwards.
Torq laughed at her as he got off the floor and he scooped her up.
Antero grunted, “there you go picking her up again.”
“I don’t mind, Ant.” Alcee laughed, “I’m too tired to walk. Your dad can carry me to bed and tuck me in, and I’m not even bothered about it.”
“Is he going to help you put on your pajamas?”
“Yes please,” Torq whispered in her ear.
“No. He’s not.” She made eyes at Torq who smiled sleepily at her. “Take me to bed, Torq.”
“Gladly,” he carried her down the hall while Antero mumbled about his mom and dad being weird.
Torq dropped her into the bed, and she bounced. She glared at him. “That was not a gentle placement in the bed.”
*Too tired for gentle. You’re lucky I made it down the hall with you in my arms.” He collapsed over her and groaned loudly as he crushed her
into the mattress.
“Get off me,” she pushed at his chest weakly.
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“I can get you off,” he whispered wickedly.
“No, you can’t. I’m too tired. It’s impossible.”
“Think how much better we’ll both sleep if we come.”
Torq, you cannot be serious.”
“I really am.” His hands were reaching to pull her t–shirt off as he rolled off her. “I’ve been sitting out in the living room looking at you in this t–shirt knowing you don’t have a bra on and all I can think of is touching them.”
She closed her eyes as his lips wrapped around her exposed flesh. “Fine but make it fast because I’m tired.” She made it sound as if she were giving in but damned if her own body wasn’t lighting up like a Christmas tree at his touch. She wanted him, despite how tired she was. She also couldn’t deny how well she slept after orgasm. She was doing this for the better sleep. It was what she told herself as she wriggled out of her shorts and kicked them away.
“Aw, yes, I guessed there were no panties, but I wasn’t sure.” He released her nipple from his mouth and quickly making his way pressing hot kisses down her body. His own shorts went flying past her face as he tossed them away. He sat up and then smiled at her. “This is nice.
“Torq, I’m going to fall asleep before you’re done.” She moaned as he flung her legs over his shoulders and buried his face in her. “Or not,” she sighed contentedly as he lazily dragged his tongue through her folds. His movements slow and deliberate while he took his time to bring her pleasure.
His lips and tongue worked in sync sliding along the seam of her body, the tip of his tongue twirling over the bud and then back down to poke inside her and then back again. He slipped a finger inside her and began slowly massaging her with his fingers while her body began to warm up under his attention. The squelching sound of her body sucking his finger deep was echoed by the slurping, moaning noises escaping Torq’s mouth.
Her hands skimmed her tummy and her breasts, touching herself as he tended to her needs. Her head was growing increasingly light as he brought her closer and closer to the pinnacle. He added a second finger and increased the pumping of his hand.
It wasn’t long before the white–hot flash of light crossed behind her squeezed shut eyelids and the rush of pleasure ran from her core to her extremities.
“You taste so good, Alcee,” he said when she unraveled under his tongue, her body shaking, her legs squeezing his head. He lapped her she was panting and his chin was drenched with her juice. He pushed her legs apart and kneeled between her shaking thighs.
“My turn.”
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Alcee lifted her head to look at him, her eyes glazed, and her mouth parted as she emerged from the fog of her orgasm.
“How are you so hard? I haven’t touched you and I know where your hands have been.”
“Baby, the little sounds you make and the way you gush into my mouth when you come makes me hard and desperate to get into you.” He nudged her entrance with the cock he was stroking in his hand. He watched with narrowed eyes as he inched into her, “look at your pretty pussy taking my cock, Alcee. It’s like it’s welcoming me home.”
She felt her body stretching to accommodate him, the increasingly familiar feel of him exactly as he said. It felt like he was sliding home, and she was drawing him in. She tensed her muscles, clenching around him as he pulled out slightly to press back in. Everything he was doing this morning was slow, meticulous and pointed. There was no rush, no frantic need for finishing. Instead, he was loving her with care and deliberation, and she was hyper aware of everything about him.
His eyes were on her body, watching every ripple of her skin as it bounced with each movement. His hands were on her hips pulling her up to meet him thrust for thrust. His tongue was resting on his bottom lip, his nostrils flared and wide, his forehead beaded with sweat as he moved. His eyes drifted from her face, her breasts to where he disappeared into her body and back again as if he couldn’t figure out where he wanted to focus his attention.
She watched his muscles in his chest bunch and his abdomen curl with every plunge and pull. He was big and powerful and yet he was delicately stroking himself in and out of her body. He looked as good as he felt.
She reached her hand out to stroke his forearms as he held her hips. He was strong, mighty and powerful as he rocked over her and his arms bunched in her hands.
She wriggled her hips, and his eyes met hers and she held her arms out as if asking him to hold her.
He gave her a crooked smile as he pulled her upward.
“Oh,” she gasped as he nestled her atop him. He was overfilling her now. “Oh shit, Torq, too much.”
“Take your time beautiful.” He whispered in her ear.
“I just wanted to touch you. You were so far away from me and,” she wrapped her arms around his neck as she felt his hands slide down her back, pressing her chest to his. Their lips connected and he kissed her deeply, the taste of her on his tongue, musky and sweet. His lips sweeping over hers as his hands moved down to her buttocks and slowly lifted her up and settled her back down.
Her chest crushed against his, her nipples scraping against his hair covered pecs. It was setting off a slurry of sensation, rough, soft, hot, wet as she felt connected to him from head to toe. Her feet pressed against his backside, her thighs to his thighs as he lifted and lowered her with undeniable strength.
She was soon dizzy with the pleasure he was pulling from her body. Her arms limply held onto his shoulders, their bodies sliding, slick with sweat, exhaustion teasing them both and she pressed her lips to his neck, tasting the salty texture of him.
“Baby, need you to come. I’m almost there.”
She pushed her hand between them and teased her clit as he kissed her mouth again. She was soaring, circling r and higher, drifting up beyond the clouds in her head to the equivalent of racing towards the sun. The blistering heat of her orgasm sweltered around her, and she let her head fall backwards, a wild moan pulled from deep in her chest. Torq was grinding her hips against his, deeply embedded in her body and then he was stilling, rooted in her womb, spilling into her with a muffled grunt. His mouth flat and his nostrils wide he came hard and then they were falling backwards into the bed.
Again, he crushed her into the bed, his arms around her tight, their bodies still connected.
“Fuck woman, if I could find a way to slice myself open and just keep you tucked into me forever, I would sign up easily.”
She giggled at his words, “imagine me peeking out of your chest cavity during a meeting or interrogation. Don’t mind me boys, just using my
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grizzly don as a bearskin.”
Her words struck hi funny and she felt him shaking inside and out as he laughed. He squeezed her and rolled to his side.
“I never want you to leave me, Alcee. I waited six years for you, six years too long.”
“I have no intention of leaving you Torq.” She kissed his chin. “We need to sleep though because I am worried our son is going to wear your mother out in less than an hour. One of us will need to get up with him. We’re supposed to be napping.”
“Lorita will help when she’s back.” He kissed her nose. “Though I agree we need to sleep.” He wrapped his arms around her, “this is all I wanted last night. I’m sorry I didn’t respond better to your worries.”
“I’m sorry I brought them to you the way I did.”
“We’re learning about each other Alcee and it’s going to take time. We’ve lost a lot of time, but we’ll make up for it. One conversation at a time.”
“I like your outlook, Torq.”
“I like you, Alcee. I like you very much, as a person, as a woman and as my partner.” He sighed “Goodnight, Alcee.”
as his blink turned into his eyes staying closed.
“Goodnight, Torq.” She snuggled against his chest and in the protective embrace of her lover, she fell deep asleep.
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I love these two together, they’re perfect for each other
yvette pineda
Loving this story…..hopefully we get to find out about their friends and their situationsships/relationships. I am vested in knowing about them too.
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Chapter 115
The next day, Alcee was back at work, Antero was back in school, and Torquato Lozano was head of the family and there was a steady stream of people showing up to the offices to pay their respects to the reconfirmed Don
Alcee was finding it odd however that Tank was following her around job to job until she realized he’d been assigned to watch her.
“What are you doing?” she hissed at him angrily.
“Making sure you don’t need help.”
“Liar. He told you to be my guard, didn’t he?”
“Until he can get someone else, yes. There is still the possibility of blowback from the shit which went down. The feds are breathing down everyone’s necks because they know people are missing but nobody is saying anything. There was an explosion at the airfield. They want answers. You need protection. You won’t work strictly out of his office on the top floor, so you’re stuck with a bodyguard for now.”
“I’m in a secure building.”
“Yes, you are but there are more people than normal in and out today and as a result, you have protection.”
“This is dumb.”
“Is it?”
She knew Tank was right. Part of the reason she’d avoided the top floor altogether was because Genevra was on a power trip enjoying telling security who could and could not make the trip to the top floor to pledge allegiance to Torq.
Alcee held no curiosity at all about who was being permitted up and who was being denied access. It was cool Torq was being hailed as the coldest motherfucker on the planet for allegedly murdering his father, all of his father’s affiliates and allies and doing it in the house of the family he fucked over years ago by denying his marriage agreement.
Rumors ran fast and wild through the streets of New York and it was even in the news.
What was interesting to her however was how desperate people were to find a photo of Torq and there was none.
“How does he do it?” she asked randomly of Tank as she updated security software in the finance office.
“Do what?”
“Keeps his face and identity completely hidden? Corrado was photographed all the time. There are photos of his grandfather. How does he keep his identity so closely guarded?”
“Fear, money, more fear,” Tank laughed. “It’s not hard to convince someone to hand over all the photographic evidence of you when you’re seven feet tall with more zeroes in your bank account than ninety–nine percent of the world. It’s also a good dose of respect from the families. Even his enemies protect his identity because in this business, you never know when you may need your enemy’s help. A bridge with Torquato Lozano on the other side is not one you wish to burn down.”
“Otherwise, the shit from the other night might happen,” she agreed. Her phone buzzed and she looked at it again and
down.
“Who is that?” Tank asked curiously. “You look like you want to throw the phone.”
“Mercurio.”
“What does he want?” Tank frowned worriedly.
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“He went to Torq to try to arrange a visit with me and my mother. Torq told him I was a big girl who could make her own decisions to whether I wanted to entertain such a meeting. Since then, Mercurio has been blowing up my phone. It seems she is quite desperate to
reconnect.”
“You’re not keen?”
“I’m suspicious.“.
“Of?”
“Her motives. She had six years to reach out. It makes no sense to me she’s only doing it now.”
“Maybe she wasn’t permitted before.”
“I agree. She wasn’t permitted before. Dad barred her from contacting me, but I will tell you what I told Torq and Mercurio in the past. Nobody and I mean nobody could keep me away from my son. If she wanted to, she would have found a way to communicate with me. She chose not to. She was content to get the quarterly updates from when Mercurio would reach out to me. I see no reason to meet with her now.”
“Maybe she could explain herself.”
“Maybe she could. Doesn’t mean I must accept her explanation or offer her forgiveness for something I don’t genuinely believe she’s apologetic over.”
“What if your father was hurting her?”
“What if he was?” She shrugged carelessly. “I have four brothers, Tank.” She held his gaze, “four big, strong, made men who all killed before they were driving. If he were hurting her, they could have stepped up to stop it. She could have gone to any one of them and told them. I don’t believe she was being hurt. I think she was a coward. I think she still is a coward.”
“What about Ant?”
“What about him? Is this where you question whether or not my son should meet his grandmother? She’s had plenty of time to come forward to be part of his life. I don’t owe her anything. Antero is a happy kid and frankly, he’s liking the nonna he already has. She is good to him. He made crafts with her. Lorita brought paint and the biggest pack of crayons I’ve ever seen in my life to him yesterday so Torq and I could sleep, and Antero was stoked to be spending time with his tia and his nonna. He came to wake us up for dinner and couldn’t stop talking about how much fun it is to be with his new family. I know they are enough for him. He isn’t going to need someone like her, someone who would sacrifice her own flesh and blood for cash.”
“You’re still pretty angry.”
“I am.”
“It’s fair.”
“I am aware my feelings are valid.” She mocked him with
“He’s not giving up?”
“Nope.”
“Maybe we should ask Torq to intervene?”
wide eyes and then grunted when her phone buzzed a
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The thought of having her fiancé fight her battles felt icky.
She shook her head at Tank and then dialed out.
“Mercurio, what do you want?”
“We want to see you. Our family wants to see you and Antero.”
“No.”
“Why not?” he seemed genuinely perplexed.
“Why?”
“To reconnect and fix the issues we have.”
“There is no fixing the issues we have, Mercurio. You and the boys made your choices when you blindly followed Dad’s lead and made me an
outcast of your family.”
“You are a Mariani.”
“Not for long. By the weekend, Torq and I will be married, and my name will be changed.”
“So soon?”
“Yes.”
“What is the rush?”
“The burning desire to rid myself the name of Mariani is a big motivator.”
“It is a good name.”
“It is tainted by a man who called me a whore.”
“Alcee, you’re being difficult.”
“I am not. Here is the thing, Mercurio, I don’t trust any of you. You do not want to do right by me. You want to put a blanket over the bruises of our relationship in order to secure a better standing with Torq. I’m not letting you use me.”
“This isn’t true, Alcee.”
“Isn’t it? If it weren’t for you wanting an alliance, a treaty with Torq since Dad made it clear to the entire world he was siding against him, you I wouldn’t even reach out to me.”
“You’re wrong, little sister. We love you. We always loved you.”
“No. You saw me as a tool to make money for the family.”
“What makes you special you didn’t need to?” Mercurio asked bluntly. “I needed to whore myself out to my wife’s family for cash. Michelo and Falco both did as well. We made it work. You would have made it work with Torq.”
“And there it is.” She saw Tank’s look of disgust and knew it mirrored her own. “Let me guess, you want Torq to pay you the bride fee?”
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“No. I don’t want his money. I want my sister in my life.”
“Why?”
“Because we were wrong. I admit, in the past we were all in agreement that you should be held to the same standards and requirements we were in marriage. We all had arrangements which brought money into the family, and we all felt you should have done the same.”
“You married your cousin.”
“A distant cousin and I love my wife very much. My marriage was a blessing, and I have no regrets.”
“Good for you.”
“I love my sister as well.”
“If what you’ve done to me over the years constitutes your love, Mercurio, I’m not interested. Dad put a hit on me. A hit! If I wasn’t with Torq right now. If I weren’t his fiancée, would we even be having this conversation or would Antero and I be dead?”
“You would not be dead. The minute he took the intel on the hit, we walked. The four of us walked. Mama walked. We all knew he’d gone too far. It was one thing for you to be stubborn and refusing to comply with the family rules. It was another for him to order me to execute you and my nephew. Never, in a million years would I do such a thing.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Which is why I think it is terribly important for us to meet, hash things out, begin to repair the damages done. Over time, we can be a family again.”
“A family? I was never part of the family. I was the girl who was a commodity, the mistake Dad never wanted, and the embarrassment Mama never acknowledged. I was smart, not pretty. I talked too much and was too opinionated.”
“I admit we made mistakes. You forget, we were boys too when you were born. We loved you from the moment Mama brought you home.”
“Your love comes with a cost I will not pay.”
“Mama is sick.”
“You said this before.”
“She drinks too much,” Mercurio said quietly. “She complains of headaches, but we know it’s guilt and heartache from losing you. If something happens to her and you don’t get to make amends before she is gone, you will regret it.”
“Will I?” she said sharply. “Emotional manipulation doesn’t look good on you Don Mariani.”
“Don’t call me that, Alcee. You never have to call me that. You are my sister, the principessa of our family. Please. Come. Sit with me and Mama. I will tell the boys to stay away, though Michelo is anxious to see you.”
“I think I’ll pass.”
“Why are you so insistent on keeping this going?”
“Why are you so blind to the truth?” She quipped back. “You, Michelo, Falco, Alfio, and Mama all turned your backs on me. Yes, it was at his bidding, but you did it. You were grown men, capable of standing up to him. You had Panfilo at your side. All of you could have put a stop to his reign of terror years ago and instead you didn’t. I find it suspicious of you and convenient for you that you would be so desperate to reconnect with me now when I suddenly have the Don of the Lozano family backing me.”
“The timing is suspicious to you, but you must know the hit likely wouldn’t have come out if not for your relationship. It was the straw which broke the camel’s back.”
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“I don’t believe you, Mercurio. If you wish to conduct business with Torq, you’ll need to arrange it with him through the proper channels. I am not invested in my fiancé’s business and will not counsel him one way or the other.”
“I don’t want to use you to get to Torq.”
“Good, because it wouldn’t happen.” She gave a sigh, “I am at work. My guard is telling me it’s time to wrap up this call. I wish you enormous success in your new role, Don Mariani.”
“Alcee,” he protested. “Please let us sit down and talk.”
“Goodbye,” she hung up the phone frustratedly.
“I think it might be best to meet with him.” Tank said quietly.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t think they’ll give up so easily. You’re right. You are an into the Lozano family.”
“Can you find out what is going with my mother? Find her medical charts. I’m curious if her illness is real or self–inflicted.”
“I can do that for you.”
As Tank gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, Alcee found herself wondering if things weren’t going to get much worse before they were better.
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Chapter 117
Alcee entered Torq’s office and saw he was leaned back in his seat, relaxed and unbothered.
“You called me to come up?”
“Yes,” he patted his knee. “Come sit.”
“If this is going to be about Mercurio and my mother,” she trailed off as he frowned at her in confusion. “He didn’t call you to complain?”
“He called me this morning, and I told him I would keep business and my family separate. If he wants to sit down and discuss a peace agreement I will do so but I will not be forcing you to be part of the conversation. I made it clear to him your family is who you designate it to be. Why? What did he do?”
She walked to him and sat on his lap. “Told me he wants me to see Mama because she’s sick. As if he could try to guilt me into it.”
“You don’t want to see her?”
“Why would I want to see her? She hasn’t wanted to see me in years.”
“Oh, I don’t believe she didn’t want to see you. I do believe she’s a fucking coward who could have fought harder for you.”
“That’s what I said!” she slapped his chest excitedly. “I mean who the fuck lets their husband do the things he’s done to their daughter? I swear if you ever hurt Antero like he did me, you best sleep with one eye open.”
“We’ll add this to your list.”
She grinned in spite of herself and then sighed, “I just don’t get them, Torq. For six years I was the reason why the entire family fell apart. I shouldered the blame all of them heaped on me. None of them came to see me once. If they passed my son in the street, they wouldn’t know his face. Now suddenly because Edgardo is dead and Mercurio is named head of the Mariani family, I’m supposed to return like I’m some prodigal daughter? I didn’t leave, Torq. I was forced out. I was thrown out. They turned me into a pariah. All of them. They talk as if it was all Dad’s doing but it’s not true. Yes, he was the head of the family, but they were grown men. They could have said no. They could have rebelled. It’s not as if Dad was going to kill any of them.”
“You’re very worked up over this.”
“I am. I’m sorry. This isn’t why you called me up here?”
“No but we can talk this out some more if you wish. I don’t mind.”
“There is really nothing more to discuss on the matter. I don’t want to see them. End of story.”
“Then you don’t see them. I’m good with this. I will be meeting with Mercurio to go over a peace treaty, mostly because his little operation of loan shark and money laundering is on the edge of my territory. I don’t want to be fighting when I know he’s desperate for peace. When I meet him, you’ll be elsewhere. No need for you to be present.”
“You would do that?”
“It is no different than if I was meeting with any other family. I am your family. They are not: You do not need we here for them. I don’t typically need my woman to help me with business matters so there is no reason for you to be here when Mariani is here.”
“Thank you.”
“It does leave me to ask though, are you/denying them presence at our wedding?”
“Uh, yeah? 1 don’t want them there, Torq. Why would I want them there? Also, how big is this wedding? I heard Tank and Kylen arguing over a security issue because you booked a damn cathedral and it might be packed.”
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He shrugged, “I want the world to know you’re mine. Also, the Bianchi family insists they want to be there. My entire Lozano family is going to be there. People are flying in from all over the world from my family and our affiliates. Then the Barrone family in Florida are all going to be here. They are really hoping Susana gets the feels during your ceremony and agrees to be with Jesus. He told me a short time ago on the phone she was the one.”
“Men actually confess this shit to one another?”
“Not usually. He is a particularly good friend, and 1 once helped him with a situation involving a jellyfish and his penis, so he tends to overshare with me now.”
“I’m sorry, did you say a jellyfish and his penis.”
“Mm, off the coast of Cuba. He has incredible abilities for holding his breath and he did a free dive to grab something, he made eyes at the word, “from the bottom of a shallow area near a reef. The weight of what he was carrying pulled his swim trunks down and a jellyfish mistook his dick for a fish, is my only guess.”
“No!”
“Yes. He was left with a scar. You can ask Susana about it. I believe she inspected it up close and personal earlier.”
“She did not! She would have told me.”
“If she was awake. I believe his words were to the effect, she almost outlasted him, and it messed with his pride so he made sure she would sleep now until tomorrow.”
“Get it, Susana.” She whispered. “So, his entire family is coming for this wedding on Saturday in the hopes they can convince her to marry their son?”
“Yup.”
“Talk about pressure.”
“Yes. I also know there are families coming from Boston, Washington and Vegas for the wedding. It will be a huge affair.”
“Isn’t this dangerous? Isn’t this why Kylen and Tank are on edge right now? Why can’t we simply do a justice of the peace thing?”
“Because on Saturday, when we are married, my face is going to be made public to the world for the first time.”
She stared at him incredulous, “but why?”
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