Cartel B!tch: Almanza Crime Family Duet Page 5

  Married. One month from her birthday.

  My stomach churned and a rage built inside me from my belly. How dare he threaten to give Mari away like property! I would kill Miguel Silvia before someone else was given my Mari.

  He ordered an arranged marriage between Mari Belle and me. No one seemed surprised. My heart beat sped up in my chest. Everything was splintering around us. They were separating Maricio and I physically, but tying us together permanently through family ties.

  “Does Mari have a choice in this?” I allowed the words to topple from my mouth.

  Silvia smirked as an evil grin built across his face. “It is my understanding the girl has a fondness for you, Almanza. Word on the street is you know how to keep the ladies happy so I am sure you can make it all very nice for Dominguez’s hermanita.”

  My stomach churned while Maricio sat beside me with the envelope in his hand. He turned to me like a proud peacock with his feathers out. “We’re just making shit official. Mari will do as she’s told.”

  The room slowly closed in on me. I chose this life for mi familia, but to force her to marry me—it didn’t sit right.

  The rest of the meeting went on without me paying attention. No one could tell because behind my glasses my eyes twitched as my mind went over the many ways I had to fix this. I wouldn’t force Mari to marry me and I wouldn’t short change her dreams because of a decision her brother and I made.

  After we were dismissed, Maricio and I made our exit. Once we got beyond the gate, I stopped him.

  “Don’t tell Mari,” I ordered and he laughed at me which only pissed me off.

  “Gonna give it good, Javi. You’re gonna make shit good. Just take what’s yours. I know you care for Mari. Honestly, look around us, brother. This is the best thing to happen to her. If you don’t take her, someone surely will in a trade.”

  He was calm. He was okay with this. I had his permission. My fist balled, my hand raised, and I came at him with the right hook before he ever saw it coming.

  Blood splattered from his nose as he jerked back to look at me.

  “What the fuck! Don’t tell me you don’t want to marry her! The way you hold her close night after night. Since my mother died, you haven’t spent a night without her in your bed. Fuck, we bought a house big enough for all of us. You have a room, she has a room, but where the fuck do you two end up—together. Just because you haven’t fucked her doesn’t mean that pussy isn’t yours. Javi, you might fuck other chicks because you’re a man, but dude, my sister has you wrapped and has since she was little. She’s my sister, but I’m far from blind, Javi. I know what you two talk about and how she sees you. I know you haven’t crossed a line. It’s the kind of man you are, the good kind. The kind that don’t fucking exist anymore, especially not in the world we live in. I’m giving you my damn blessing before someone fucks her up that we can’t protect her from. You will give my sister the best life possible. I think this is our chance, Javi. Let me get to America, build a life, a business. I’ll get the pull to bring you guys up behind me. Just do this and we take our time before we’re all together again.”

  The truth of his words stung more than my hand after punching him.

  “Get with it, Javi. Stop trying to protect her virtue and give her safety in a way we couldn’t before. Silvia is taking me away no matter what. That leaves you to keep her and Mamá safe all on your own. Give her your name and let that mark her untouchable from both my name and yours, dammit.”

  Fuck, he was right.

  “Don’t tell her. She comes to me on her own choice. I don’t take shit from women, especially not their future.”

  “Fine,” he ground out not happy with me.

  I didn’t give a shit. I wouldn’t force Mari. No matter what I was ordered to do, this would be something she wanted or it wouldn’t happen at all. I would protect Mari Belle, even from me.

  Miguel Silvia and the cartel be damned.

  Chapter Six

  Mari Belle

  Three Weeks Later

  Things were a whirlwind. Maricio was all packed up to leave for New Mexico in the morning. He had a passport and work card so he could make a life in America. It was all going to be on the up and up—well, on paper anyway. Javi and Maricio had a plan. Maricio said we would all be back together soon and I knew it was true. Once Maricio got set up, Juarez would just be the place we came from.

  “Feliz cumpleaños, mi cielo,” Javi greeted from my bedroom doorway with his damn sunglasses on. I craved his eyes. When he wore the glasses I felt like he was shutting out the world. When you looked at them, all you got was your reflection looking back from the mirrored lenses. If I needed a reflection, I could do that without Javi. What I wanted stood six feet tall and leaning into my room. I wanted the man. He stood with that casual confidence he always had. It was sexy. His dress pants weren’t baggy and loose but they weren’t tight either. Everything about Javier Almanza was just right.

  While we spent a lot of time together, he kept a different schedule from me in that he was always coming and going early in the morning and sometimes late at night. There really wasn’t a formal schedule for Javi or my brother. This was not uncommon for him to wake before me and go about his day. At night, we always ended up together, either in his room or mine. Truth was I didn’t know how to sleep without Javi anymore and I didn’t want to. If anything, I wanted more.

  I knew there were a few women Javi had hooked up with. I also knew he was very up front about not bringing them home and not giving them more than one night of sex. The word on the street was always in my face. He was known as untouchable and untamable. No man could touch him in the cartel world because he was fearless. And the women craved him, but everyone knew they could contain him or hold onto him.

  Everyone but me.

  I knew we had this connection. I knew we had something he wouldn’t get with anyone else and neither would I.

  Since my mother died, occasionally he would give me a small kiss, but Javi always held back. I was tired of him holding back. I could see the desire in his eyes. I could see the emotions he kept tucked away from the world. Late at night, when it was just the two of us, I knew Javi cared as deeply for me as I did for him.

  It killed me because he always said I had to be older. I had to be eighteen and I had to know what I wanted because once I went for him, he wouldn’t hold back.

  Well, today I turned eighteen and I had known for three years what I wanted. It happened to be standing in my doorway greeting me.

  Tonight, though, I knew it was my party, but afterward I planned to show Javi exactly what I wanted.

  He moved into my room, straight to my bed. The butterflies filled my belly as he lifted his sunglasses. Inhaling, I let his cologne and all things Javi invade my senses. It was a high better than any drug.

  “It’s your day, mi cielo,” he said as he extended his hand to me. I took it allowing him to guide me from my bed.

  “That it is,” I smiled.

  Surprisingly, he pulled me to him. He eyes burned into mine. Our souls connected. “Enjoy these moments. Never lose focus on what you want in this life. Mi cielo, the sky is your limit, chase the stars.” He dropped his head, his lips came to mine and I opened willingly, taking what he finally gave.

  My nipples perked behind the cotton of his t-shirt that I slept in as my panties dampened with desire.

  When he pulled away, I whimpered at the loss. “It’s a special day. You must get ready, mi cielo.”

  His sky, he always called me that and I still didn’t know why. Maybe tonight I would ask him.

  After a quick kiss to my temple, he left me to ready for the day. I flopped back on my bed with an ache between my legs and a heart full of anticipation.

  Estella made me breakfast before sharing that Maricio was taking her for a day of pampering. My brother popped in for a quick birthday greeting before taking off with Estella. I was home alone and so excited for my party.

  I went my bathroom in the
master suite, Estella said I needed more bathroom space than anyone else, so I got the master. I filled the oversized tub with water and bubbles. Once the bath was full, I undressed, threw my hair up in a messy bun and slid in. With my eyes closed, I relaxed into the water.

  “Mi cielo.” His voice made me jump sloshing water everywhere. “Not a more beautiful sight,” he muttered removing his glasses and throwing them to the floor as he made the strides to where I was with my chest out of the water. My nipples were erect in the cool air and I covered myself when I realized my exposure.

  “Javi.” My voice was raspy with need.

  “Are you getting ready for your party?” He asked as he sat on the side of the tub and reached into the water to find my loofah.

  “Yes, just relaxing.” I tried for casual confidence and failed.

  He moved the loofah to my neck where he let the spongy material graze my skin before moving so he could massage my neck with his hands. The loofah dropped in front of my breasts. My breaths became pants as he touched me and my body came alive.

  His thumbs worked up and down the back of my neck, easing all my tensions. After a few moments, he pushed me gently down into the water. He moved to the end of the tub reaching down to grab my foot.

  “No!” I shrieked. “I have to shave my legs,” I panicked and Javi smiled.

  It wasn’t often he gave me this side of him and I wasn’t about to miss a beat of it. The way his teeth sparkled and his eyes softened, I drank it in. Instead of releasing my foot, he lifted it and reached for my razor and shaving cream.

  “I will shave you,” he stated. While I wanted to argue, I found my voice gone and the words unable to form.

  He kneaded my legs before picking up the shaving cream and squirting some into his palm. “Mi cielo, so perfect,” he muttered as he lathered my leg to just above my knee.

  “Why do you call me your sky?” I asked trying not to moan with every touch he gave me.

  “The sky is something I can see but I can’t touch.”

  Carefully, delicately, slowly, and torturously he began to shave my leg. One row up at a time, he cleaned the shaving foam off my skin with the blade, rinsing it between each stroke.

  “You see me, and you’re touching me,” I countered trying not to combust from the way his hands were teasing my legs with each movement.

  I found myself parting my thighs more and more hoping he would accidently move his hand lower under the water.

  “If you told me to stop, I would. You would return to the sky where I would once again not be able to touch you, but Mari, you should know I would continue to admire you. Like the clouds passing over, I would watch you, crave you, and find my peace within you. Mi cielo, you are what I look up to, ahead for, and seek out day in and day out. That never changes with or without touching you.” He continued to shave me, moving onto the other leg.

  A hum escaped me as he finished and rubbed both legs down to remove left over foam. Javi stood and I was ready to beg him not to leave me. He began unbuttoning the blue short sleeve shirt he wore before he tossed it to the side. Lifting the edge of his white t-shirt I bit my bottom lip in appreciation of his sculpted abs. Javier Almanza was built and cut in all the right places.

  “The question is, mi cielo, do you want me to touch you?” he asked as he stepped out of his shoes.

  I nodded as my mouth dried.

  “Words, mi cielo, you say it.”

  “I want you to touch me, Javi.”

  His pants dropped to the floor revealing a long, thick, hard shaft protruding out from between his muscular legs.

  “Like what you see?” he asked confidently.

  “Yes,” I croaked out as he moved behind me.

  Leaning forward, Javi slid into the tub behind me. The water sloshed out all over the floor and I didn’t care one bit. He leaned forward grabbing the razor. He wrapped his arm around me pulling my back against his chest. “Relax into me, I have to finish my task,” he whispered.

  His legs were on the outside of mine as he used his feet to wrap under and to the inside of my ankles spreading my legs for him. Slowly, he dragged the razor up my thigh to my hip as I lay snug against him feeling his dick throb between us.

  After he was satisfied with shaving my legs, I thought I would die from desire. With my legs held apart, every time he brushed against my pussy lips, my craving for his touch grew.

  “Would you like me to shave here?” he asked with his breath coming down hot on my neck as his fingers found the patch of hair covering my pussy. A finger slid in between my lips, my hips dropped of their own accord giving me more pressure. I arched against him wanting more.

  “Javi,” I panted.

  He dipped his digit inside me and my walls clamped around the invasion.

  “Oh,” I moaned.

  “Give me you, mi cielo, give me you. Take what you want, take what you need, mi cielo. I am yours, Mari,” Javi told me before kissing my neck.

  I rocked on his fingers as he moved them in and out of me. The water sloshed as I shamelessly rose up and down wanting more. My body climbed higher and higher as his other hand caressed my breasts and his teeth grazed and nipped at my neck and ears.

  “Take what you need, Mari.” Javi encouraged.

  I was burning with need, and yet, lost to the sensations. As I felt myself on the cusp of going over, I pulled away so that I could turn to him. Straddling him, I ran my hands over his chest. Cupping his chin, I dropped my mouth to his and kissed him.

  I dragged the kiss out and rocked against his erection feeling him slick between my folds. The tip slid in with the water aiding the lubrication. My body stretched as he filled me slowly. I groaned biting back the little bit of pain I felt.

  Javi jerked his mouth from mine, grabbing my face and making me look him in the eye. Together we sealed as one, my eyes locked to his as I slid down over him taking all of him as far as I could. It took a moment for my body to adjust to our joining.

  “Mi cielo,” he moaned. I read the emotions in his eyes. “You are my gift in life. My treasure.”

  “Javi.” I couldn’t think clearly. I couldn’t think of anything but him as he filled me completely. “I love you, Javier Almanza.”

  My words were his undoing as his hands moved to my hips. Harshly, wildly, he lifted me and slammed me back down on him. The pain was almost too much to bare.

  Almost.

  In a matter of seconds, though, I was climbing again and this time I couldn’t be stopped. My ample breasts slapped against the skin of my belly as they bounced each time he lifted me and brought me back down on his shaft. His mouth clamped onto my nipple where he sucked and I soared.

  All the pain of his invasion of my body left as the orgasm took over. My entire body shook, my mind blanked, and Javi kept thrusting until he pulled from me and I felt his hot liquid shoot onto my thigh under the now lukewarm bath water.

  This was more than sex. This was more than my virginity.

  I had been claimed on my eighteenth birthday in a bath by Javier Almanza. Nothing would ever be the same again.

  Chapter Seven

  Javier

  Mari Belle spent her birthday party with a smile on her face and an ache between her legs. An ache I gave her. I was fucking proud of it.

  Maricio left a few days ago for America. He was high when he left so I had to sit back and wait impatiently for confirmation of his safe arrival. Maricio was always the wild card. Unpredictable at best, he was never someone you could be certain would stick to a plan. The last thing any of us needed was him drawing any attention to himself. He doesn’t think before he acts and one day I just knew it was going to bite us both in the ass.

  Walking in the house, the pressure was on. I needed to talk to Mari. I needed to tell her we had to make some decisions. I wouldn’t force her to marry me. If this wasn’t what she wanted, then I would leave everything behind for her. I had enough money hidden away to get her and my mother set up in the States. Maricio would take care
of them.

  Defying Miguel by not marrying her would result in punishment. Then when he picked her next suitor, only to find her gone, a death order would be put on my head. There would be no escaping it.

  When I got inside, the house was quiet. I found a note from my mom on the fridge saying she had run to town for groceries. This wasn’t unusual. Now that she didn’t have to stretch her money, she would sometimes go to the store just to get out of the house. It didn’t bother me. I was happy she was comfortable. Her timing today was perfect. Mari Belle had graduated from high school and was home waiting to start college next semester. With my mom gone Mari should be home and we could talk about our relationship. Things had moved fast and so very slow at the same time. From that first kiss I gave her when she was fifteen to laying with her night after night not touching her, I had fantasized for far too long about what it would be to make her mine. The time was here, but life didn’t have it in the cards for me to take things slow. The times we shared night after night talking, falling in love, that would have to make due in her memory bank for whatever courtship she might have wanted in life. Even though, I wouldn’t force her to marry me, if she didn’t I would have to send her away. So if we were to have any future together at all this was it for the two of us.

  Making my way to the back of the house, I found Mari standing in her closet door way.

  My breath caught in my throat.

  All thoughts and plans of talking went out the door as my cock hardened in my pants. She stood in front of her mirror in nothing but my white t-shirt and a pair of red lace panties. The colors popped against the tan of her skin. The curves of her ass sloped into the firmness of her thighs and tone legs. Travelling up, her flat stomach showed as she twisted the shirt up like she was judging herself.

  “Nothing more fucking beautiful.”

  She turned to me, her eyes blazing. “Javi,” she greeted and rushed into my arms.