She gasped as he felt his crushed heart nearly go through his chest. Lorenzo didn’t even attempt to lower his voice anymore. The longer he looked at her, even with her pained expression, the more disgust far outweighed the pain, and he was glad for that. He needed it.
“How long?” he asked as his chest heaved.
Thoughts of her having been doing this behind his back for weeks, maybe months, and he’d been completely oblivious to it infuriated him.
“How long, damn it!”
Not even seeing the obvious pain she was in from just shaking her head as she squeezed her eyes shut, gave him any satisfaction. “We’ve been talking again for weeks, but it was only last night that we—”
“I’ll have all your shit in a box on your porch by tomorrow.” He rushed to the door, pissed at himself that he’d almost made her say it. “Mail me my key. I don’t wanna hear from your ass ever again.”
He’d felt sick to his stomach before many times, especially while in boot camp. But it’d never felt this brutal—revolting.
“Enzo,” she said as he reached the door. “I’m so—”
“Fuck you!” he said, turning back to glare at her one last time.
Never in his life would he have believed he’d ever speak to her so disrespectfully, but at that moment, respect was the last thing he was feeling for her.
“You’re not allowed to say another word to me ever again.”
He heard her sob as he stormed out the door. As infuriated and disgusted as he felt, the pain was still there, and it pissed him off.
As promised, Vincent stood outside the door, waiting, but didn’t say a word. His brother knew him better than anyone. He knew better than to ask anything, especially with the way Lorenzo was feeling.
He’d been seeing Linda for almost a fucking year. He’d fallen in love with her and Nikki almost instantly, and she’d been ecstatic when he proposed just a few months ago. In spite of his mother’s reservations about him getting involved with a single mom, he didn’t care. Even Vince had voiced his concern that Lorenzo had moved too fast, but he’d been so sure he’d felt from her what he’d been feeling for her. Nikki it’d turned out had been just a bonus. There was no way he couldn’t fall in love with a sweet little girl like that, and he’d been so ready to take on the role of her stepdad. He wasn’t even sure what hurt more, losing Linda or no longer being a part of Nikki’s life.
His mother and Vince had tried in vain to warn him about getting too attached, but their warnings had come too late. He already was. The ache in his heart was so brutal he could hardly stand it, so he tried to focus on the anger—the disgust he felt for Linda now. She’d slept with the guy. Slept with the guy the same night she’d fucked Lorenzo just that morning.
It was an incredible feat, but he managed to not punch his fist through one of the glass windows on the doors along the corridor they walked through.
It wasn’t until they were out in the parking lot and Lorenzo exhaled harshly that Vince finally spoke up. “You gonna be okay?”
Lorenzo didn’t want his brother to know just how profoundly he was hurting. He shrugged, swallowing hard. “This is probably for the best. Who was I kidding thinking I was ready for marriage—an insta-family?”
He tried to laugh, at least chuckle to make light of it, but he couldn’t. In the next instant, he rushed to the bushes and threw up his entire lunch and then some. He’d always known falling in love—allowing himself to be that vulnerable for any girl—was just asking for heartache. But he’d mistakenly thought Linda was worth taking that risk for.
Never again.
One
Lorenzo
Since the night at the emergency room with Linda over six months ago, Lorenzo had lost track of all the meaningless romps he’d had to try and numb the anger. It worked well enough, but the numbness was always only temporary. He was past the pain finally, but he’d since accepted he’d never get over the rage he still felt over Linda’s betrayal. He was actually angrier with himself now for getting so caught up with Linda and ignoring the signs of betrayal.
It had been annoying to hear her on the phone with her ex so often—watch her slink out of the room for more privacy. Lorenzo always thought it was because the guy was being an asshole or something and she didn’t want Lorenzo getting worked up. She insisted she had to be amicable because she didn’t want Patrick challenging the arrangement they had with Nikki. She didn’t want to risk his asking for joint custody. Lorenzo had been doing what he thought was the right thing: being the understanding and supportive boyfriend—fiancé. And what did it get him? The thought always had him gnashing his teeth. It was beyond infuriating even after all these months.
Tonight had started off as just another night he’d be numbing the rage. He knew the moment he saw her wander into the bar—alone—she’d do just fine. But it was highly unlikely that a girl with an ass that would put Kim Kardashian to shame and the swagger to match it would be alone for too long. So he waited curiously for her man to arrive. When it became obvious none would, he made his move. He’d struck up a generic but obvious “I’m only looking for one thing tonight” conversation, and she’d been all for it. Now he was about to fuck her senseless and he’d since forgotten her name.
Exactly how he liked it.
It was better if she remained nameless—kept things all the more impersonal. The only way he wanted things to be with any woman he hung out with now was impersonal and meaningless.
Ripping her panties off as he lifted her up against the door, he wondered if he’d be doing her right there or if they’d be moving to the bed. As hot as she was and as into this as she seemed to be, her quivering was of a different kind than what he’d become accustomed to from most girls so eager for meaningless sex. She was different from what he’d expected a girl with the swagger she’d displayed earlier to be. In fact, he’d gotten the distinct feeling this wasn’t a common thing for her, even before she told him it wasn’t.
“I don’t usually bring men I just met home with me.”
As jaded as he was about women, he actually believed her. Something about those big sparkling yet unsure golden eyes made her statement believable. The same eyes he’d gotten caught up in too many times when talking to her at the bar seemed to mask her unease with what was happening between them. He’d begun to feel the same unease the longer he’d talked to her.
“Tonight’s different,” she’d added as she’d glanced away poignantly. “It’s what I want tonight. I need this.”
As curious as that had made him, Lorenzo hadn’t asked for more. He didn’t need to get into anything about her personal life. Her background. All he needed to know was that she was willing and all in for an insignificant night of unabashed rage-numbing sex.
“Is this what you need?” he whispered against her lips as his fingers caressed her wet slit, making her quiver all over.
He watched her lashes tremble as she closed her eyes and nodded. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, and then a gasp escaped from those lips as he slipped two fingers in her. As wet as she was, she was tighter than he expected. Feeling even more aroused, he squeezed her abundant but rock solid ass even harder. Leaving his two fingers inside her, he placed his thumb upward on that spot he knew would make her quiver again.
For a moment he thought about just taking her on the bed and fucking her. Getting it over with. Forget all the foreplay. It was all he wanted anyway. But he couldn’t stop staring at the expression on her face. He knew now that was one of his weaknesses. A weakness he’d enjoyed at the time. A risky weakness.
Normally, watching as he got a girl off was such a harmless turn on, but getting caught up in eyes like this girl’s was dangerous, especially because this weakness was only second to his all-time weakness: her glorious extra-plush ass. He’d noticed it about her first thing, and it had his cock instantly going erect.
She stared deeply into his eyes now as he worked her into a frenzy with his fingers. Noticing things such as how d
eeply the cute little crease between her eyes went and wondering why she needed this tonight as she began to pant, were setting off alarms. He had no business wondering about her personal life. It didn’t matter.
He dove into her neck, sucking harder as he felt her undeniable climax build. Pulling upward slightly, he sucked her earlobe, bringing the tiny diamond stud into his mouth. A small moan escaped her as he continued to work her other pulsating bud down below, the one he wanted his mouth on now too. “You like that?” he whispered against her ear. “You want me to make you scream before I fuck you hard? Is that what you need?”
“Yes!” she said breathlessly. “Oh my God, yes!”
Unable to take it anymore, he pulled away and kissed her deeply as she came, her body quivering uncontrollably. Her mouth was impossibly delectable. He could kiss her all night, but something about the way she kissed him back so profoundly didn’t feel right. Kissing wasn’t supposed to feel this intimate. It was supposed to be a turn on—period—something he did just to get her and himself going.
Lorenzo lifted her and rushed to the bed just a few feet away. The moment he let her go he tore his shirt off and started to reach for his wallet, but she pulled him down onto her. He’d been right. Kissing her was unbelievable, and apparently she’d thought so too because, despite the fact that she’d just had what sounded and felt like an incredible climax, she wanted him to keep kissing her. And damn it if he wasn’t tempted to devour her mouth all night too.
He did, at first, bringing his hands around her face almost as frantically as she’d pulled him down. Her hands ran all over his tense arm, chest, and shoulder muscles feverishly. Cradling her mouth as his ravenous tongue explored every inch of it, he nipped at her bottom lip then sucked it. He couldn’t get enough. His heart had never beaten so hard over just a kiss. It was insanity. His attempts to stop and move on with what he’d come there to do only ended with him staring deeply into her eyes before diving in again, unwilling—unable—to stop himself. The kissing went on for far too long. Finally, he forced himself to pull away breathlessly and stared into those beautiful eyes once again. Why the fuck had he ignored what looking into her eyes did to him and come back to her place anyway?
She flinched when he jerked back and pulled the wallet out of his back pocket. Almost in a panic, he pulled his pants off and climbed back on her, spreading her legs. He had to get this over with, bag her and leave as he always did.
“I need to get my cock in you already,” he said, wanting to sound anything but sweet because this wasn’t supposed to be sweet, damn it. “Spread nice and wide for me,” he ordered brusquely.
Slipping both hands into hers, he brought her hands over her head, holding them there as he swayed his hips against her and began to slide in. His heart nearly gave out when he felt just how tight she was, and he froze.
“This isn’t your first—?”
“No!” she said too quickly, and he stared at her for a moment, afraid to move on.
What the hell was wrong with him? Even if she were a virgin, this wouldn’t be his first time with one. But there was something about those eyes. He could only think of one way to explain it. But it was too sweet—too romantic—cheesy even. It was almost is if her eyes spoke to him. The faint but undeniable ache in them felt all too familiar.
Ignoring it, he did what he should’ve done from the moment they walked into her place. He slammed deep into her with a purpose, doing his best to not think about how incredibly tight she felt, which was nearly impossible because it felt so damn good. But he refused to get caught up in those eyes anymore, especially not as the incredible sensation began to increase. The anger he felt now for allowing himself to even wonder for moment about this girl helped move things along faster.
Normally he’d take his time, enjoy the act, and draw it out as long as possible for maximum pleasure. Now he thrust into her roughly, faster and deeper, because he needed to get there—needed to numb the rage he’d begun to feel once again. The way her body reacted to his was also new to him. Their rhythm was perfect, and despite his earlier suspicions that this might be her first time, she knew exactly how to move, and it was making her moan. Giving into the temptation, he glanced down at her face, and their eyes nearly locked, but he tore his gaze away quickly.
Why hadn’t he taken her from behind instead? Damn it! It would’ve eliminated any possible eye contact. But then he would’ve been staring at something else that might’ve driven him even crazier. Groaning through his teeth, he focused on their hands above her head. Even as her body began to tremble uncontrollably and she cried out, he would not look into those sweet eyes again. With one final grunt, he buried himself deep inside her and collapsed over her, purposely facing away.
The moment he was able to catch his breath and his heart calmed a little, he was off the bed. This was another thing that alarmed him. Normally he couldn’t care less what his one-nighters thought of him. His intentions were always made clear before he even left with a girl back to her place, his place, or even just his car. “I’m just looking to have a little fun tonight. I won’t even need your number.”
He’d said the same thing to this girl tonight. Now he felt like a dick. But as tempted as he was to ask her name again, he forced himself not to.
No fucking way.
“Thanks,” he said, pulling his pants on. “That was . . . very nice.”
It was way more than nice, and already he could tell it wouldn’t be nearly as forgettable as all the other trysts he’d had lately. That scared the hell out of him. It was why he wouldn’t even allow himself to eye her for longer than a few seconds. And despite the incredible urge to kiss her goodbye before he left, he refrained. His exit was one of the quickest and dirtiest he’d ever made, and while it made him feel like a total dirt bag, he stepped on the gas, skidded out of there, and never looked back.
~~~
Sal’s oldest two kids stood outside in the front yard, each holding on to a leash with a fur ball at the end—their twin Chow Chow pups. Hearing about how adorable the pups were from his brother Vince was one thing, but seeing them was something else. It was months ago when Vince first told him about the puppies their cousin had bought for his kids, and because they usually met on the fairway, it’d been even longer since Lorenzo had been over to Sal’s house. Lorenzo could only imagine how much cuter they’d been back then since they weren’t tiny puppies anymore, but they were still a sight to see.
The kids ran to him when they saw him and hugged him.
“Look at owe puppies, Uncle Enzo!” Vivianna said, holding up the leash, and happily ignoring the fact that her R’s were still nonexistent in her speech. “Yogi and Baloo. Auntie Wosie named Baloo aftah huh favowit teddy bah.”
Vivianna was the younger of the two but despite her slight speech impediment usually did most of the talking.
“Yogi and Baloo? Those are very cool names,” Lorenzo said, squatting down to pet the two little guys. “You guys taking them for a walk?”
“No,” Vivi said as Chavita shook his head and waited for his little sister to explain. “We’ah waiting fo da gwoomuh.”
As usual, it took a few seconds for Lorenzo to completely understand what she was saying. “The groomer? These guys getting a haircut?”
“Ah huh,” she nodded, smiling big. “It’s theuh fust time.”
Lorenzo kissed his niece on the forehead, willing away the still painful memories of Linda’s daughter Nikki. He was over Linda now, but he hated how much he missed Nikki, and being around Sal’s kids, especially Vivianna, always reminded him of her.
Sal and his good friend Romero walked out the front door. As usual, Romero was in the middle of laughing until he was distracted by something out in the street.
“There she is,” Romero said, and they all turned in the direction where he motioned.
A big white-and-pink van with the words “Wagg’n Wheels,” with photos of dogs and cats and a trail of pink paws painted all over it, pulled up in fron
t of Sal’s house.
“Cool!” Both kids said in unison as they all took in the van.
“Is she gonna need to pull into the driveway?” Sal asked Romero. “I can pull my car out.”
“I don’t know,” Romero said, walking away toward the van. “Let me ask her.”
The kids started to follow Romero until Sal told them to wait. He then turned to Lorenzo. “We’ll go as soon as I get this taken care of. Grace is busy feeding the baby, and I want to make sure I get the payment taken care of and next appointment set.”
Lorenzo nodded. “Is Romero going too?”
“Nah.” Sal turned back to the van where the young girl wearing pink scrubs stepped out. “He can’t today. He’s just here because that’s his cousin. I’ve only met her a handful of times. Romero set this up, so he thought it might be best if he was here for her first visit.”
Lorenzo turned back to the girl curiously. Both she and Romero were turned away from them now as she began opening up the side of the van. He’d seen some of these mobile pet-grooming vans on the road, but he was curious now what one looked like inside. He’d personally never had a pet that needed to be groomed, but it didn’t surprise him that his cousin Sal not only would have his expensive dogs groomed but he’d have a groomer who made house calls.
“That’s cool that you don’t even have to take your dogs in these days,” he said, still studying the Wagg’n Wheel’s van. “They come to you.”
Before Sal could respond to that, Romero waved them over. The kids and the pups were instantly off and running. The girl had already stepped inside, and Romero stood just outside, looking in.
“Oh my goodness!” Lorenzo heard the young woman say as the puppies made their way up the small ramp she’d put out. “They’re adorable!”
Vivianna made the introductions, giving their new groomer their puppies’ names. Lorenzo stretched his neck out curiously to peek inside the van. Even as the girl came to the door, he was still trying to catch a glimpse of the inside of the van behind her. It looked very state-of-the-art.