Page 45 of His Broken Queen

“This is where I got my start,” he said. “There’s a strong organized crime presence. I have more allies here than I do in the states at the moment. Some would say these men are more brutal than what I deal with at home.”

“Would you say that?”

“I learned plenty from them.”

“I don’t understand how you do this every day, especially after what happened to Stella.” I didn’t think I would ever be able to go back to our house. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“Does what happened to Stella bother me? How could you ask me that? You know it does.” The tone in his voice changed, and now I’d put him in a defensive mood. “She was my friend for a long time. I asked her to come into my home and work for me. If I had believed for a second that someone would murder her in cold-blood, do you think I would have put her in that situation?”

“I don’t believe you would have put her in danger, but she was in danger.”

“In all of the years you spent with your uncle, did you ever feel threatened by outside forces?”

“No, but we had guards and no one could get near the house if they weren’t supposed to be there.”I thought for a moment. “But, we have that too. How did Stella become a target?”

“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He tightened his hold on me. “The point is, there is supposed to be a code. We don’t go after innocent people. At least, we never did before. We have guards for protection, but honorable men don’t go after innocent women. That’s why I’m here. I need to find out what’s going on and I need the people who run this territory to help me.”

“But at what cost to you?”

“You let me worry about my business.” He kissed the top of my head. “You have enough on your plate with school and dealing with your grief.”

“I worry about you.” I sat up and faced him. “I worry something will happen to you.”

“Baby, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I’m reckless and impulsive, but I’m smart.” He cupped the side of my face. “Now that you’re my wife, I have more reason to be careful. I’m not leaving you, and I promise, whoever tried to kill me is going to pay in ways they never imagined.”

That’s what worries me.

“Hey, you’re too beautiful for this conversation. You don’t need to know the details of my business.” He guided me onto his lap and positioned my legs on either side of his hips. “I can think of other ways to spend our time.” He slipped his hands up my thighs and under my dress, grasping my waist and moving me up and down over his erection.

“Mmm…” I lowered my lips to his as I trailed my hands down his chest.

The more he moved meagainst him, the wetter I became. There was never a time when I didn’t want my husband, and tonight was no exception, but I had to be responsible. I slipped my hands down his stomach and to his belt buckle. He tugged on my panties, indicating he wanted them off, but I ignored his silent request, and continued my mission. I shimmied down his body, and unbuttoned his pants, looking up at him through the hair that had fallen in my face as I drew down his zipper.

“You’re so fucking sexy.” He glided his fingers through my hair as I took his length in my hand.

“Lu…” he moaned when I swirled my tongue around his tip, tasting the salty liquid that had beaded there.

He tugged on my hair as he rested his head on the back of the chair, shifting his hips forward, allowing me to take more of him. I fit as much as I could into my mouth, relaxing my throat when he pushed forward. I gripped the base, squeezing and pumping him in my palm.

His leg muscles tensed beneath me and the veins in his neck and chest stretched under his skin. When I cradled his balls in my other hand and continued to suck him off, he let go of my hair and tugged on my upper arm.

“What?” I licked my lips. “I’m not done.”

“No.” He pulled me up the length of his body. “We aren’t done.” As he kissed me, he reached under my dress and tugged on my panties. “Take them off.”

“I want to but…” I kissed his mouth, rubbing my hand over his shaft. “Let me do this for you.”

“We can do it to one another.” He shoved his tongue inside my mouth, kissing me so hard the stubble on his jaw scraped against my chin. “I want to get inside you.” He gripped the side of my panties and yanked at them, ripping them from me. “Right now.”

“No.” I pushed against his chest, but he continued to kiss me.

“You know I don’t care if you have your period.” He ran his hand along my backside. “Do you need a minute to use the bathroom?”

“No, that’s the thing.” I kissed him back because I didn’t want to resist him, but I had to tell him. “I’ve been lax with my pill with all that’s going on, and I need to get that sorted out before we…well…you know.”

When we had sex two nights ago, I wasn’t ovulating, but now it was getting too close to that time, and I shouldn’t be so careless. After Stella died, there were days when I had skipped doses. I tried to remember, but my head wasn’t in the right place.

“What if we don’t get it sorted out?” He caressed my face. “Would that be such a bad thing?”

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