The Tyrant (Banker Book 3) Read online

  She poked her head out of the bathroom, hiding most of her body from view. “Thanks for shopping with me today.”

  I sat up in bed, naked under the sheets and ready for sex. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

  “You had fun and you know it.” She continued to keep her body out of my line of sight. “I got something for you today. Picked it up when you were paying for the ornaments.”

  “An early Christmas gift?”

  “You could say that.” She stepped out in red lingerie—a push-up bra, a thong, and red stockings to match. Her pregnant belly was unobstructed, round and sexy like the clothing she wore. To top it off, she wore a Santa hat.

  All the air left my lungs, and I lost my ability to speak. It was so unexpected, and that made it a million times better. My cock had already been hard because I knew sex was coming, but now he was so thick it hurt. My balls tightened like they wanted to release my seed already. “Fuck, I love Christmas.”

  She crawled onto the bed then moved on top of me, her pregnant belly beautiful. When she sat on my lap, she removed the Santa hat and placed it on my head instead.

  I was too aroused to care about anything sitting on my head. My hands gripped her hips, and I felt the lacy lingerie against my fingertips. Her tits were getting bigger and bigger every day, and now they spilled over her bra. When she ground against me, I could feel the slit in her panties that led directly to her pussy.

  I moaned.

  She raised herself so she could slide down my length. Slowly, she moved until every inch of my dick was deep inside her—exactly where it belonged. She wiggled her hips and got comfortable on my lap, as if she was adjusting my dick to exactly where she wanted it to be. Her hands planted against my chest, and she slowly started to move up and down, her sexy belly moving with her.

  Fuck, this was hot.

  My hands cupped her stomach as I felt her lift herself up and drag down again. She sheathed me with all of her arousal, all of her cream. I felt it coat my dick everywhere, making me so slick and wet.

  Her pussy was amazing.

  She gripped my wrists for balance and tilted her head back, moaning as she enjoyed how hard I got for her. I knew she could feel my dick, feel how much it thickened just for her. She was the only woman who could get me this hard, who could make me so thick I might rip in half.

  She kept her movements slow, taking her time as she enjoyed me. She did all the work, her pussy grabbing my dick and holding on with possession. Her green eyes were as beautiful as the ornaments downstairs, and they glowed with a special warmth. She tilted her body forward and arched her back differently, dragging her pussy down my length as her mouth moved to mine.

  Fuck, I wanted to come so bad.

  She was so wet for me.

  Wetter than she’d ever been.

  My hands palmed her tits, but that just made it worse. It made me want to come harder, come deeper.

  She gripped my shoulders and rested her forehead against mine as her hips continued to do their magical work. “I love you…” Her nails dug into me as she confessed her deepest feelings.

  Like last time, my cock twitched inside her, barely restraining itself. I did better than last time, but barely. It was such an erotic moment, and to top it off, this gorgeous woman confessed her love for me. She didn’t care if I didn’t say it back. Lost in the moment, the words slipped from her lips. Her passion took over, and her logic died away. She opened her legs and her heart to me, giving me everything she had.

  “You’re the only man I’ve ever loved. The only man I want to love as long as I live.” She spoke the words against my mouth, her whispers so sultry and sexy.

  Fuck, that was the hottest thing I’d ever heard. On my lap and pregnant with my child, she was so gorgeous. She wanted me so much, wanted me for me. She didn’t want me to go to work and make more money. She wanted me to spend time with her, to get hot chocolate and just be together. “Baby…” I tried to restrain myself, but it was impossible. I was an asshole most hours of the day, but I was a gentleman in the sack. I always let a woman come first before I released. But for a second time, I couldn’t. I couldn’t fight the urge that started in my balls. With a moan, I released inside her, pumping her with my seed while the pleasure stimulated all of my nerves. Like the last time she’d said those words, my climax was good. So raw.

  “I love the way your come feels inside me.” Her fingers moved into my hair, and she kissed me softly on the mouth. “So heavy.” She didn’t make me feel like shit for coming so soon. It seemed to arouse her, to know her sexy words were the ultimate turn-on for me. “You’re the only man I’ve ever felt like this…”

  Instantly, she got me hard again. My cock had just released a load deep inside her, but he was ready again within a minute. With other women, I usually needed fifteen minutes before I wanted another round, and most of the time, I didn’t even want to have sex again. I’d been sleeping with the same woman for months, and instead of getting tired of her, I craved her more. Even when I did get my fill of her, it was never truly enough.

  “God, he’s so hard again…” She started to bounce on me once more.

  If she kept this up, I was going to blow my load too soon again. I rolled her onto her back and then ground between her legs, rubbing right against her clit. I needed to make her come before I slipped up again. “Baby.” I held my face above her and watched her enjoy me. I moved hard and fast the second we began, wanting to drive her into the kind of climax that made her toes curl.

  It didn’t take long. She cupped my face as she moaned. “Cato…I love you. God, I love you.”

  Fuck. Just as I pushed her into an orgasm, she forced me to have another. I joined her in the climax, both of us moaning with pleasure. I gave her more come, and she took it deep. I kept thrusting until we were both completely finished, our bodies softening together.

  She slid her hands up my chest then cupped my face. The look of love in her eyes said everything her lips didn’t utter. Her soft fingertips stroked my jawline, and then she brought my mouth to hers for another kiss.

  Even though we were both satisfied and I had an early morning tomorrow, I matched her kisses. I kissed her slowly, my mouth moving with hers like there was nothing else I’d rather be doing. Even if sex was off the table, this intimacy was more than enough. I could kiss her forever, enjoy her for a lifetime.

  2

  Siena

  I ordered Cato a holiday sweater online and got myself one too. Mine had Santas on it, and his had reindeer. I knew he would never want to wear something like that, so I would definitely have to talk him into it.

  Giovanni watched me open everything at the kitchen counter. “I’ve got to be honest, Miss Siena. I don’t think Mr. Marino is going to wear that.”

  “I’ll have to talk him into it, I know.”

  “You’ve changed that man a lot, but I’m not sure if you can make miracles.”

  “You never know.” I held up the sweater against my body. “Cute, huh?”

  “Very.”

  “Once I talk him into this, I want you to take a picture of us in front of the tree.”

  Giovanni laughed like I’d made a joke. “Mr. Marino would fire me.”

  “He would not. Come on, please? It’s his Christmas gift.”

  “Torturing him?”

  “No, I’m making him something for Christmas. I think he’ll like it.” He liked my sonogram picture, so he should like this too. “But I need to get this picture first.”

  “Good luck with that, Miss Siena.”

  I folded up the boxes and placed them in the recycling bin. “What are your plans for Christmas?”

  “I’ll make Christmas dinner for Mr. Marino then see my children at their mother’s house.”

  “He didn’t give you the whole day off?” I asked incredulously. “It’s Christmas.”

  “It’s fine,” he said, always smiling. “Mr. Marino doesn’t know how to cook.”

  “But I do.�
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  “You’re pregnant, Miss Siena. You should rest.”

  “I’m not disabled. I can put a bird in the oven and make stuffing.”

  Giovanni dropped the subject. “It’s interesting to think there will be a baby here this time next year.”

  “Yes…a little girl.” I still had a long way to go, but I was very excited about getting my daughter at the end. “Martina Marino.”

  “Very cute name.”

  “Yes. Cato loves it.” I rubbed my hand across my stomach. “You’ve known Cato for a long time. Anything interesting you can tell me about him?”

  “I don’t know him as well as I thought I did.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well…” He finished placing the sugar cookies on the baking sheet before he carried them to the oven. They were cut out into candy canes, sleighs, and reindeer. He took off the oven mitts and returned to me. “If someone had asked me if Mr. Marino would settle down with a woman, I would have said no. If someone had asked me if Mr. Marino would have a family, I would have said no too. He’s turned into a man I never thought I would meet. So, in the end…I think you know him better than I do.”

  I smiled. “He’s turned into a big sweetheart, hasn’t he?”

  Giovanni shrugged. “He’s not trying to hide it as much.”

  “Sometimes I wonder if we would be here right now if I weren’t pregnant. But with our connection, I think it would have happened anyway. I think Cato took advantage of my pregnancy to spare my life…just so he had an excuse to do it.”

  Giovanni grabbed his alarm and set the timer for the cookies. “I think everything would have been exactly the same. Mr. Marino is a very paranoid man. The fact that he stopped wearing protection with anyone is an indicator of how he felt about you. He wouldn’t have done that with anyone else. He’s met the right woman, but I think he’s still resisting the truth. He’ll come around when he’s ready.”

  “Yes…I just hope that’s sooner rather than later.” When we made love, I couldn’t resist the urge to tell him how I felt. I couldn’t hold back the passion, the love inside my heart. Even if he didn’t say it back, I wanted to say it anyway. I wanted to share that moment with the special man I adored. He could deny how he felt about me, but every time I said it, he couldn’t control his releases; it turned him on to hear those pretty words.

  “He’s a complicated man. I suspect it’ll take a bit of time. I’ve seen the other women he’s been with.” He shook his head. “Maybe it was fun at the time, but they don’t care about him at all. He could drop dead, and they would pick his pockets and steal whatever they could find. They pretend to be exactly what he wants in the hope they’ll get a diamond ring and access to his wealth. You’re the only woman I’ve met who seems to appreciate him for who he is…so he’d better not do something stupid and lose you.”

  Cato stepped through the door, dressed in his navy suit and black tie. Spots of water were on his clothes because it’d been raining all day. “Who better not do something stupid and lose you?” He joined me at the kitchen counter and wrapped his arm around my waist.

  Giovanni was saved when the timer went off. “Better get the cookies…” He opened the oven and pulled out the tray.

  Cato looked down at me, suspicion in his eyes.

  “Giovanni said I’m the only woman who’s ever liked you for you…and you’d be stupid to let me go.” My fingers walked up his tie before I rose onto my tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth.

  He kissed me back.

  Giovanni set the tray of cookies on the counter. “They came out nice.”

  Cato broke our kiss and examined the cookies the two of us had made together. “What are these?”

  “You can make billions of dollars but not figure out these are cookies?” I asked incredulously. I grabbed a candy cane and broke off a piece for him to try.

  He pushed my hand away. “No thank you.”

  “You’ll stay at six percent even with a bite.” I pressed it against his lips again.

  He finally ate out of my hand, his eyes locked to mine.

  “Good. You need to live a little.” I ate the other half of the candy cane. “Yum…those are amazing.”

  Even Giovanni ate one.

  “I don’t know how much I like the two of you spending all day together,” Cato said. “Plotting against me…”

  “We talk about you all the time,” I said honestly. “But we don’t plot against you. And no, we never say anything negative.”

  “Sure.” Cato stripped off his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. He pulled his tie off next.

  “By the way, Giovanni is getting Christmas off,” I said. “And I will make Christmas dinner.”

  Giovanni dropped the cookie dough he was scooping. “Sir, I didn’t agree to that. I’m more than happy to make Christmas dinner. It’s absolutely no trouble—”

  “He’s taking the day off. He gets to sleep in and spend the day with his kids. They’ll both be home for the holidays.” Giovanni worked seven days a week, and it was inhumane that he ever had to work on Christmas. “I’ll make dinner. You’ve had my cooking. You know it’s good.”

  Cato stared at me coldly, like he didn’t approve of that at all. “I’m the master of this house, not you. If I want to give my employees a day off, I will. You don’t call the shots around here. I do.”

  My eyebrow rose so high at the cold way he’d just spoken to me. Everything eventually came back to his ego, his need for power. If I ever crossed the line, he always put me in my place. “You tell me to make myself at home here, and then the second I do, you act like an asshole again. You say you want to take care of me, but then I do something nice for your most loyal employee and offer to cook for your family, and that somehow offends you? Take your ego and shove it up your ass, Cato. If I didn’t love you so much, I would shove my foot up your ass myself.” I stormed off and left the Christmas sweaters behind.

  Cato came up behind me and grabbed me by the elbow. “Baby, hold on.”

  I twisted out of his grasp. “Don’t baby me.”

  He grabbed me again. “I’m sorry, alright? I don’t know why I do that sometimes.”

  I turned back to him. “Because you’re an egotistical asshole. Is this my home too? Or am I still a guest here? Because I thought after everything we’ve been through, having a baby together, being in love with each other, that I would have more rights than what you’re giving me. I signed that paperwork excluding me from ever getting a dime from you. If that’s not the ultimate declaration of love, then what is?”

  For the first time, Cato was speechless. He stared at me with a pained expression, like he wished he had something good to say.

  “I just wanted to do something nice for Giovanni. Didn’t realize that was so fucking terrible.” I marched out the door and left him behind, wanting him to think about his behavior and know that I wouldn’t put up with it. Not now. Not ever.

  Thirty minutes later, he came upstairs.

  I sat on the couch and watched TV, expecting to ignore him for the rest of the night. He would probably apologize and we would have make-up sex, but for right now, I was still pissed. We’d been having such a good week, spending time in front of the fire talking, decorating the Christmas tree, and making love in Christmas lingerie. Just when things got really good, he fucked them up. It was like he sabotaged himself on purpose.

  He stepped inside the doorway. “Baby?”

  I kept my eyes on the TV and didn’t look at him. “I’m not done ignoring you.”

  He moved into the room then stood in front of the TV, blocking the screen and forcing me to look at him.

  That was when I noticed the Christmas sweater. The reindeer pattern covered the green sweater, all of them with red noses. It fit him perfectly, but it also looked comical because it was something he would never, ever wear.

  My mouth dropped open.

  “Giovanni encouraged me to put this on. Said it might help you forgive me.”<
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  I still couldn’t believe he was wearing it. And I couldn’t believe how handsome he looked either. The guy could literally wear anything and still look like the sexiest man in the world. “You have to apologize first.”

  “I did—”

  “Then do it again.”

  In his hand was my sweater. He tossed it on the couch beside me and slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I know I acted like an asshole. I’m sorry.”

  “And?”

  “And what? What else do you want me to say?”

  “Why did you act like that in the first place? The week has been magical, and then you switch on me.”

  He shifted his gaze to the floor as he considered his answer. He pressed his lips tightly together, his jaw clenching as that big brain of his worked. He pulled his left hand out of his pocket then ran it through his hair. “I think that was the problem.”

  My eyes softened.

  “I never wanted this. Now it feels like I’ve got a wife and a kid…”

  “But you’re happy—”

  “I’m really fucking happy.” His powerful voice came out strong, filling the air with his innate power. “Doesn’t alter the fact that everything’s changing. I’m not the man with you as the prisoner. Now, I feel like the damn prisoner. I can’t escape your beauty, the way you make me feel, and I can’t stop thinking about you all day at work. On top of that, I never wanted a family, and now I’m having a daughter…and I fucking love her more than anything. It’s like…my heart lives outside my body. Everything has changed so drastically, and I fucking hate it.” He moved his hand back into his hair and looked at me.

  Hot tears burned under my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. I couldn’t care less that he wouldn’t say he loved me. He’d just admitted it in his own way.