This Is Me, Baby (War & Peace #5) Read online

  “You.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Me?”

  “Yep. You.” Chuckling, he pulls out of me and his seed runs down my inner thigh. Uncaring that we’re in a house that doesn’t belong to us, he yanks a hand towel off the rack and sets to cleaning me up. We’re just pulling on the last of our clothes when someone beats on the door.

  Ren smirks at me before sauntering over to the door, his T-shirt still in hand. When he slings it open, Conrad glares at us.

  “You need to leave,” he snaps.

  The couple behind him gapes at us. The woman’s neck turns bright red when she sees Ren with no shirt on. It’s obvious what we’ve been up to.

  “No,” I tell him. “How much?”

  Conrad frowns. “I’m sorry but Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez here are putting in an offer. We’re about to work up the paperwork as soon as you leave.”

  Ren lets out a menacing growl, and I flash him a smile letting him know I’ve got this.

  “Conrad. How much are they offering?” I ask again, my voice calm.

  He lifts his chin in a snotty way. “Six hundred.”

  Turning to the couple, I smile. “Is that as high as you can go?”

  Mr. Sanchez puffs out his chest. “We have room to negotiate if you’re insinuating a bidding war. I assure you, we’ll outbid you. We want this townhouse.”

  I laugh and shake my head. “You may want this townhouse, but I need this townhouse. I have two little cubs on the way, am obsessed with the beach, and my best friend lives on this street. I also have more money than I know what to do with. So, make your best offer so I can outbid you and we can all move along with our day.” Turning toward Conrad, I give him a shrug of my shoulders. “Did I mention I can pay cash?”

  Four hours later and a seven hundred grand wire transfer, I’m the proud owner of my first home.

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE I bought a house,” Brie murmurs to herself in the dark.

  I’m glad she wanted to spend one more night at my house before moving in to hers. I am selfish and like her in my bed. Having her down the street will be nice, but I don’t know where that leaves us.

  “Conrad sure changed his tune. Ran that poor couple right out of the house once he realized you were serious.” I chuckle just thinking about the greedy sleezeball. My palm finds her bare breast under the sheet and I give her nipple a little pinch. “It was nice getting to see you while we fucked.”

  She stiffens, but I don’t regret my words. It was nice. I won’t forget the look on her face when I made her come. All stress and worry and sadness was gone as she succumbed to the bliss. I made her feel good.

  “Ren.” A pause. “I’m sorry.”

  I chuckle and playfully bite her tit. “You weren’t sorry when you were coming all over my dick.”

  She pulls away and then light from the bedside lamp floods the room. When she looks at me, her gaze is sad. “I don’t want to use you. I just…” she trails off. “I don’t understand how to feel or what to do right now. I’m doing it all wrong, I know. But…”

  “It feels so fucking right?”

  Her eyes snap to mine and she nods. I grin at her and press soft kisses to her breast that’s closest to me. My palm splays out over her stomach that’s not as tight as I remember. I’m looking forward to watching it swell. When I look back up at her, a storm brews in her eyes.

  “What?” My palm stills on her stomach. “Am I hurting you?”

  Her nostrils flare and she shakes her head. “No. You’re just…”

  “Perfect? Sexy? Amazing?” I tease and nip at her flesh.

  She lets out a gasp. “You’re just…”

  “I could go all night. Funny? Have a beautiful cock? Smart? Hot as fuck?”

  A giggle escapes her and it makes my heart rate speed up. “Thank you.”

  “For being all of the above?” I quirk up a playful eyebrow.

  She nods. “Thanks for always being here for me. Through all of my storms, you’ve been there. Steadying me. Holding me. Assuring me everything would be okay. I feel thankful is all.”

  I slide back up the bed so I can kiss her. She lets me pull her into my arms and seems just as eager for my mouth. Her fingers thread into my hair as I kiss her deep enough to steal her breath. After a hot, wet kiss, I pull away to look at her. Her plump lips are swollen and red from my facial hair. I love making her flesh turn crimson.

  “Am I a bad person?” she questions, tears welling in her chocolate eyes.

  I shake my head as I push her onto her back. She parts her legs willingly and lets me slide inside of her. Her breath hitches. I cup her cheek and stare into her glimmering orbs. Neither of us moves, we just remain connected—both physically and emotionally.

  “You’re one of the best people I know,” I tell her firmly. “You’ve always been strong and resilient. Like a dandelion in a hurricane. The wind rips away parts of you, but you’re still left standing after the storm. Sure, you’re weathered and changed, but you’re still there.”

  She laughs. “This is me, baby. A hairless dandelion.”

  I smirk at her and then steal her smile with a kiss. “You’re a smartass too.”

  “Are you going to just sit there with your dick inside me or are you going to fuck me?” she sasses.

  I let a growl escape as I snatch both her wrists and press them into the bed. She squirms as she waits for me to fuck her. I’ll tease her a bit first. Locking eyes with her, I slowly thrust into her in a teasing manner. Then, I drag my gaze down to watch how my thick cock stretches her with each slide inside her body. My dick is coated with her wetness, which is a total turn on. Lately, in the dark, we’ve missed some of the small details that mean so much.

  Seeing her arousal on my cock is most definitely a detail I never want to miss again.

  “Faster, Ren,” she grumbles. Very much a growly tigress.

  I shake my head and continue teasing her in a torturous way. She resists at first but then begins to learn this rhythm. Her body quakes and trembles as it anticipates each of my movements.

  “You’re so fucking wet, baby,” I murmur.

  She bites on her bottom lip and desire flickers in her eyes.

  “I want you to come just like this. Think you can orgasm without me touching your needy clit?” I question, my voice husky.

  Panic flashes in her eyes. “I don’t know. I want to come so badly.”

  “You’re going to come that way,” I tell her in a matter-of-fact tone. “In fact, I have an idea to help make that happen.”

  She lets out a squeal when I roll us over to where I’m on my back. I release her wrists while she settles herself over my hips. A gasp rushes from her when my cock hits her in the right spot.

  “Do more of that,” I instruct as I slide my finger along the place where my cock is pushed into her opening, now dripping with arousal. She gasps when I slip it inside along with my dick. I make sure to coat it well before pulling it back out. “Twist around so I can see your sexy ass.”

  Her eyes widen with fear, but when I grin at her she obeys. Once she’s settled with her round ass facing me, I grab her hip to urge her to move. She begins rocking her body and rolling her hips. It feels so fucking good but this is about her. I want her to come without any clitoral stimulation.

  “Relax a minute, Brie,” I murmur as I tease the tight hole of her ass with my wet finger.

  “Ren…”

  “Shhh,” I urge.

  Her dark hair hangs down her back as she looks up at the ceiling. I notice the moment her rigid body seems to relax. Slowly, I push my thick finger into her tight ass.

  “Ohhhh….” she moans.

  God, she’s so fucking tight.

  “That’s it, beautiful. Now ride that cock. Make it feel good. I want your hands all over those perfect fucking tits. That clit is off limits, understand? If you’re a good girl and come like this, I’ll suck on it until you see stars.”

  She lets out another sound of bliss and begins riding both my dick
and my finger. Her ass clenches with each movement. I want to come so fucking badly but I don’t dare do it until she’s screaming my name.

  “You’re doing such a good job,” I praise. “I love seeing your body. Fuck this bullshit darkness. I only ever want to see you in the light from here on out. Got it, baby?”

  She nods and quickens her pace. Her breaths come out quick and ragged with each passing second. “Oh God!” Her body clenches around me for a second before she lets out a roar. A motherfucking roar. Like a woman possessed, she shudders wildly as pleasure takes over. It steals her away from me for a moment, and I allow her the brief, torrid affair with bliss because I know she’ll be back with me soon. As she crashes back to reality, I release my own climax into her. I’ll never grow tired of fucking this beautiful, broken woman.

  When we both still, I slip my finger slowly out of her body. Then, she eases herself off my cock. Before she gets too far away, I give her sexy ass a thwap.

  “Hey!” she screeches and scrambles away from me. Her smile is so fucking pretty.

  “You liked it,” I tell her smugly as I sit up on my elbows. “Seems like you’re into a lot of kinky shit these days. I’d be an asshole if I didn’t deliver what you secretly want.”

  She arches a brow at me. “Who says it’s a secret?”

  “So it’s public knowledge that you want my cock in your ass?” I retort back.

  “Ren!” she scoffs. Heat colors her chest and throat.

  “I guess you do still have some secrets,” I tell her with a big-ass grin. “I won’t tell anyone. But you’ll have to be quiet when I’m fucking that pretty little ass because they’re going to hear you otherwise. You’re the loud one, not me.”

  “Oh my God,” she grumbles. Despite her tone, her smile gives her away. “You’re impossible.” She bounces off toward the bathroom, her butt jiggling at me as if to fucking tease me.

  I scramble off the bed, trailing after her. “Don’t deny it, baby. The heart wants what the heart wants.”

  My words—meant to tease—seem to strike a chord with her because her smile falls in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes well with tears and she drops her gaze to the sink. Coming up behind her, I wrap my arms around her and bury my nose in her hair.

  “Don’t feel guilty for being happy, Gabriella Rojas,” I murmur to her. “He would have hated that.”

  Her eyes snap back up to mine, understanding flashing in them. She doesn’t have to say a word. I’ve always been able to read my girl.

  And she’s always been my girl…even when she wasn’t.

  I slide both palms to her stomach and smile at her. “Are you happy?”

  Her smile is shy and she nods. “I am.”

  “Good,” I tell her firmly. “Harness that feeling and don’t ever fucking let it go. You deserve it, baby. You’ve always deserved it.”

  “You’re seriously not wearing that,” Calder says, barely holding in a chuckle.

  I look down at my carefully put together costume and shrug before I start bouncing my tennis ball at the wall again. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “You look like a douchebag. An 80s one at that.” He shakes his head as if he’s embarrassed of me.

  “And your costume is any better? What the hell are you supposed to be, anyway?” I question as I toss the tennis ball at him.

  He catches it and flashes me a wicked Calder grin. “A puppeteer.”

  “Like Geppetto?”

  The ball gets launched back at me. “You’ll see.” He whistles and soon my bedroom door opens. Luciana waltzes in wearing a grin that matches his. Those two are up to something. Two partners in a crime I haven’t figured out just yet. If Brie were here, she’d be calling her friend out right about now, demanding to know what’s going on. But she wanted to get ready at her house. I’m supposed to pick her up in half an hour.

  “Luci,” Calder says, and beckons for her to come to him. Her makeup has been done up artfully so that she looks kind of like a doll. Dark hair pulled into pigtails. Rosy red cheeks. Two black lines drawn down her chin from each corner of her mouth to her jaw. I put it together and I’m already shaking my head.

  “Don’t you think this is a little insensitive,” I mutter through clenched teeth.

  Calder stiffens as if the thought just now occurred to him. He snaps his wide-eyed gaze to Luciana. “I thought it would be funny—” He runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Not insulting. Jesus! Am I insulting you, Luci?”

  She shakes her head in vehemence and steps closer to him. Her brown eyes sparkle with delight. He raises his palm to her cheek for a brief moment as if he’s caught up in her gaze. But then, as if cold water has been splashed on him, he jerks his hand away. Disappointment mars her pretty features for just a moment before she forces it away with a smile.

  Calder clears his throat before sliding his hand up under the back of her shirt. Her white T-shirt tightens around her breasts and her midriff shows.

  “Hey Teev,” Calder chirps in a cheesy girl voice through clenched teeth. “The 80s called, they want that abomination you call an outfit back.” As he speaks, Luciana animatedly moves her mouth as if the words are coming from her.

  “A ventriloquist and a dummy,” I grumble. “Unbelievable.”

  Calder once again talks in his stupid voice as Luciana acts out, as if she’s speaking. “I only see one dummy here and I’m staring right at him.” Luciana leans forward and waggles her eyebrows at me. I can’t help but laugh because they are so damn stupid.

  “Go away,” I groan. “Don’t you have some Martha Stewart shit in the oven for your lame Halloween party?”

  “Fuuuuck,” Calder grumbles and runs out of the room.

  Luciana starts giggling, and I flip her off. “Laugh it up.” But then I grow serious and sit up on my bed. “You two seem fast friends,” I probe.

  The blush that creeps up her neck immediately gives her away. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and starts tapping away like mad before handing it to me.

  He’s not into me or anything. Not like you’re thinking. He just likes me as friend.

  I lift an eyebrow up. “I’ve known Calder for nearly two decades. That’s more than just friendship.”

  Hope flashes in her eyes as she steals her phone back. She taps out a response.

  The Beebs is not into me. He can’t even kiss me. I have no tongue, remember?

  Tears well in her eyes and she looks down at her feet. I grab her wrist and pull her to sit down beside me. Wrapping an arm around her, I hug her to me.

  “Luciana,” I tell her firmly, “you can kiss without tongue.”

  She types on her phone and holds it up for me.

  I’ve never been kissed at all. I’m afraid I’ll disgust anyone who tries…

  At this I laugh. “Calder is pretty fucking disgusting. He’d be lucky to get to kiss you.”

  She giggles and it’s like little bells ringing on Christmas day.

  “Now tell me about this Beebs nickname,” I urge and flash her a grin.

  She bites on her bottom lip and her neck turns bright red again. Finally, she lets out a resigned sigh and taps out a message.

  He looks like Justin Bieber. Soooo hot. Don’t tell him I said that!

  I start laughing so hard tears roll down my cheeks. She slaps me and then flips me off. I’m still rolling when Calder comes sauntering back in. His gaze snaps between Luciana and me sitting next to each other on the bed. Then, he stalks over to her. “Is he making fun of you?” he demands as he hauls her to her feet and into his protective arms.

  “N-No,” I laugh. “I’m making fun of you, dumbass.”

  She shoots me a warning glare, and I wink at her. “Don’t worry,” I assure her, “your secret is safe with me.”

  Calder growls at me before escorting her out of my room. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard. The Beebs. I guess he sort of looks like him. They both have stupid tattoos. But does Justin Bieber know how to make pigs-in-a-blanket and put
on a party that Martha Stewart would be proud of? I think not.

  I’m just getting ready to go pick up Brie when my phone rings.

  Without looking at the caller ID, I answer it.

  “Yeah?”

  “Let me talk to my daughter.”

  Gabe.

  Rolling my eyes, I start gathering what I need before I leave the house. “She’s not here. What do you want?”

  He lets out a frustrated sigh. “Rafe called me. He’s a friend of Duvan’s. Was there with us when she made that deal with Diego.” He growls and anger ripples from him. “I’m going to fuck him up one day.”

  I scowl. “Who the hell is Diego?”

  “An asshole who’s going to get what’s coming to him. I still don’t know what he said or did to Brie, but she was pretty shaken up after we left. If I find out he touched her—”

  Red blurs my vision and my hand fists. I’m seconds from sending it through the sheetrock. “She didn’t say anything about this Diego shit. What would she make a deal with him about?”

  He grumbles. “Sold the crack factory.”

  I don’t correct him even though it was coke.

  “Made a cool twelve mil for it too,” he continues, pride in his voice. “My baby is a master negotiator.”

  And rich, I think.

  I’d assumed Gabe gave her money or that she’d had some leftover from when she’d sold the house. I didn’t know she sold the coke plant too. And to a cartel king, no less.

  “Why did Rafe call?”

  “He said trouble is on the horizon. He thinks Diego might be in cahoots with that Esteban fuck. Another bastard I’m going to murder. I wanted her to be on the lookout. The last thing we need is some drug trafficker hurting my daughter. It happened once before but it won’t happen again,” he snarls.

  “Right. I’ll keep a close watch on her.” I’m already gathering my shit and walking out the door after her.

  “Ren,” he grunts. “I’m coming to your party tonight. Your dad told me about it. If I were some criminal cocksucker, a costume party would be the perfect place to find someone. I’ll stay out of sight but I’m going to be there in case any shady shit goes down.”