Guilty by Blood (Santiago Family) Read online

  Fuck him. Even if some dumb part of her still longed for him and what they’d had—or what she’d thought they had—she wasn’t going to give into it and let the bastard humiliate her a second time. Sanchez was right; cheaters cheat. If she let him come back, he’d just cheat on her again. She wasn’t that desperate to be in a relationship. She was fucking hot. She could’ve cheated with Armand’s own friends if she’d wanted—she sure as hell had gotten enough discreet offers—but unlike her asshole boyfriend, she was faithful.

  But tonight, the gloves were off. And her panties, too, if she had any luck.

  •

  Flynn was coming out of the mini-mart on the corner when he saw the woman of his dreams. Or maybe just his fantasies. Whatever the case, she had his attention. Across the street, she passed by a sidewalk lamp, illuminated like an angel before she passed beyond the light and continued through the shadows. Flynn walked to the edge of the street and tore open the pack of cigarettes he’d just purchased, then shook out one of the cancer sticks and plucked it from the package with his lips.

  His eyes never left the woman as he dug out his lighter, shielded the cigarette with his hands and lit it. Flynn took a long drag and leaned against a nearby lamppost, lazily watching his fantasy woman walk down the sidewalk, a sexy sway to her slender hips. Her black pants hugged her perfect ass and Flynn got lost in his imagination as he envisioned dragging those slacks off her hips and biting into that luscious rump.

  He shifted his feet as his crotch began to throb. He hadn’t fucked in almost a week, and hadn’t had a good fuck in over a month. The walking fantasy across the street would be a good fuck. A great fuck. He could determine that simply by the sway of her body as she moved. She wouldn’t be one of those women who made him do all the work. In fact, he suspected she might even dominate him in bed.

  “Fuck,” he groaned and sucked hard on the cigarette, eyes squinting as an unbearable ache assaulted his groin.

  What you doing out all alone, you sexy thing?

  He watched her until she disappeared inside a pub at the far end of the block. A sexy woman going to a bar after dark? Meeting friends there? Unlikely. On the prowl? God, he hoped so.

  Flynn pushed away from the lamppost and crossed the street with a jog, followed the woman’s path and entered the pub. He stood among the shadows just inside the entrance door for a moment, puffing on his cigarette and casually surveying the smoky interior. He knew this place and the kind of men who frequented the establishment. It wasn’t often he discovered a woman of this caliber in such a place. Was she aware of the kind of men who came in here? They sure as shit weren’t the type to play with.

  At the end of the bar, he spotted his fantasy ordering a drink and playfully bantering with the bartender. Men were beginning to circle and stalk, eyeing her up and down as she leaned sexily against the bar, her tight little leather-wrapped ass arched a bit and swaying lightly—an invitation if Flynn ever saw one. She knew what she was doing—and what she wanted.

  Oh hell, baby, Flynn shuddered. You want that lovely ass tapped and tapped hard.

  His cock jumped and stretched in acceptance of the invitation. The other jackals were moving in, though. He didn’t have much time.

  Flynn moved deeper into the room, making his way toward his fantasy woman. He moved casually, not wishing for it to appear that she was his destination; desperate, obvious men sickened him. His cock might be desperate to fuck her, but she didn’t need to know that until seconds before he impaled her.

  Just stay right there, my lovely, swinging that sweet ass. I got your invitation and I accept.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Mr. Wrong & Mr. Right Now”

  ______________________________________________

  Caterina was aware of the man as soon as he entered the pub. His focus had been on her since he walked in; had he followed her in here? She didn’t know how she felt about that, but it showed initiative on his part; he knew what he wanted and intended to go after it.

  It was easy to flirt and tease, but the moment of truth would come when she had to put up or shut up. She’d been in the pub before, though only once or twice, and accompanied by Cruz and Sanchez. No one dared make advances on her when she was with them. She doubted that any of the men circling her now even remembered her from her previous visits, it had been a while.

  She ignored the other men and focused on that one who was casually making his way in her direction. He was on a mission and didn’t mean to walk out of here empty-handed. Was she really prepared to do this? Armand remained strong on her mind, though she tried to forget about him, at least for tonight. Recalling his callous betrayal amped up her courage and willingness to frivolously screw another man tonight.

  A hand brushed her arm and she smiled, ready for the night to truly begin. Caterina slowly twisted around—and froze. “Armand?” She swallowed, her heart suddenly racing out of control. Where had he come from? His fragrant cologne slipped up her nostrils, tantalizing her senses, rushing her back to their many sexual forays. Whatever else he was or wasn’t—Armand was an incredible lover. Her body was already revved up to fuck and it instantly responded to Armand’s virility and the heat burning through his deep green eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, as if he deserved an answer.

  Regaining a smidge of composure, Caterina nonchalantly flipped her hair over her shoulder. “It’s none of your business.”

  “It’s none of my business that my woman is waving her ass around, practically begging to be mounted?”

  “Your woman?” Caterina’s Italian fire sparked. “I am not your woman anymore. You cheated on me, in case you forgot. We’re through.” She started turn away when he grabbed her arm.

  “It was a minor slipup,” he said low and stiff. “I was half drunk. She had her face in my crotch and blowing me before I even knew what was happening. Once a man gets going, he can’t stop, even if he wants to.”

  She stared at him; was he fucking serious? That was his excuse? “So, you wanted to stop, is that what you’re saying? But just weren’t able to do so? Your heart was in the right place but your body had a mind of its own?”

  Armand nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”

  Caterina rolled her eyes. “Fuck off.” She yanked against his hand but he held firm. She glowered at him. “Let go.”

  “I was hoping we could be adult about this,” Armand said. “You’re not in high school anymore, Cat. In the adult world, shit like this happens. It’s just a reality. It’s childish to throw away an entire relationship over one indiscretion.”

  “And if that indiscretion had been mine?” she asked tight-lipped. “Would you be so willing to forget it and move on?”

  Sighing as if she were being adolescent, Armand looked at her dryly. “It isn’t the same. Women don’t have a point of no return like men do. Once we cross that line, there’s no turning back. That doesn’t hold true for women. If a woman cheats, she’s doing it because she wants to, in every aspect. She isn’t a slave to her body.”

  Caterina was speechless, though she supposed she shouldn’t be; this was typical Armand logic. What had she ever saw in this man? Sure, he was gorgeous as hell and could fuck like a champion…okay, now she remembered. But even so, his bullshit, Neanderthal persona ruined all that. No romp in the sheets was worth this, regardless how mind-blowing it was. It didn’t matter that Armand was the best fuck she’d ever had, his attitude was intolerable.

  The best fuck you’ve ever had? That isn’t saying much—since you’ve only been with one other guy. It was true; Caterina really wasn’t all that experienced as far as how many lovers she’d taken. Maybe she just thought Armand was fantastic in bed because she had no one else to compare him to, except that one sweet boy who took her to prom. Poor guy. He’d tried his best to pleasure her and make her first time special, but the experience had fallen way short of all she had imagined it would be. She had been nice, though, and assured him he’d done well. Let the nex
t girl be brutally honest with him, Caterina couldn’t do it.

  With this new reality dawning, Caterina was suddenly eager to fuck a new guy and find out if her past impressions of Armand were overstated. What had happened to the mystery man who’d been moving in on her when Armand abruptly showed up? Had he assumed they were together and aborted his mission?

  Caterina wrenched her arm free. “Go to hell,” she snapped at Armand. “That’s the most ridiculous, bullshit thing I’ve ever heard. It’s just a free pass for a man to fuck around all he wants and not feel guilty about it. If you’re that fucking weak-willed, you’re not worth my time.”

  “Listen, Cat.” Armand grabbed her again, squeezing harder, fingers gouging the flesh of her arm. She could already feel the bruise forming. “I fucked up. Get over it. We’re not breaking up. Do you understand?”

  Caterina trembled with a mixture of fear and anger. “Get your fucking hands off me,” she hissed low. “Or I will crush your balls. If I can find them.”

  The man shoved her against the bar, pinning her with his strong body, preventing leverage for her knee to hike up and cripple him. “You’re fucking sexy when you try to be tough,” he rasped close to her mouth, his hot breath smelling of cheap liquor.

  “You know who my boys are,” she whispered unsteadily. “If you do anything to me, they’ll kill you.”

  Armand smiled and brushed his lips on her mouth. “Only if they find out. But who’s going to tell them?” He pushed his crotch against her; it was hard as a rock. “Not you. Not if you know what’s good for you. Now, how about we blow this joint and go back to my place and forget all this recent ugliness and…” He pushed a little harder, grinding his stiff cock between her thighs. “…kiss and make up?”

  Armand had always scared her a little, but there had been something kind of exciting about that, too. It wasn’t exciting anymore. Cruz and Sanchez, and all the other guys in her ‘family’, had warned her against dating Armand. They knew his type and didn’t trust him. She had taken their concern to be simple overprotectiveness. She was young and wanted to live her own life, not be told what to do or who to date.

  Are you going to listen to them after this? Maybe they know what the fuck they’re talking about?

  She was ready to listen.

  A little too late.

  •

  Flynn paused when the other man approached the woman. If he’d been some random guy hitting on her, Flynn would have continued to make a play for her. But this was no random man. They clearly knew each other. Though he had to admit, the woman didn’t look all that pleased to see the guy. An ex-boyfriend?

  Detouring to the bar, Flynn ordered a drink and watched their interaction from a short distance, observing the body language of both parties and catching clips of their conversation. It took all of a couple minutes to figure out that the woman wanted him to fuck off and the man had no intentions of doing so.

  When the man pinned her against the bar and practically drilled her right there, Flynn glanced around the pub. The other men were watching as well, but no one stepped in. The woman clearly wasn’t free game as they’d first believed, and they weren’t going to try to come between her and her boyfriend. No one wanted that kind of hassle.

  Except Flynn. He didn’t mind. Sometimes he went looking for trouble simply because he was bored. What he was witnessing, though, wasn’t just some opportunity to cause a ruckus; the woman was in real trouble. How grateful would she be if he rescued her? She’d clearly been out looking to get nailed. If a knight in shining armor rode in and saved her from an asshole ex…would she fuck him senseless to show her gratitude? It was worth a shot. And besides, Flynn wasn’t presented with many opportunities to be the hero. It could be interesting to see where it took him. Might even be fun.

  Flynn downed his drink and set the glass on the bar. He wiped his mouth and stepped off the stool about time the other man was forcibly ushering the woman toward the rear of the pub and the back door. Flynn followed, absently fingering the handgun nestled beneath his jacket. One could never be too prepared.

  •

  “Armand, what’re you doing?” Caterina could hardly catch her balance on her high-heeled boots as Armand dragged her out of the pub through the rear door. He was scaring her more than usual. On occasions, while they’d been dating, he’d popped her in the face—just light slaps—to let her know he was serious, but he’d never actually hurt her. She realized now, that even those little slaps should have been warning signs and she should have told the boys about it. They would have dealt with Armand immediately. But she’d known they would, which was why she hadn’t told them. Now, she deeply regretted her decision to keep quiet about his treatment of her.

  So, you’re just going to let him control you? Fight back, bitch! If he gets you to his apartment—you’re fucked. In more ways than one.

  Armand’s midnight-blue old model Camaro was parked in the alleyway. The only reason he’d park it back here was if he’d wanted it concealed from view. He had been following her.

  “Armand, stop!” Caterina managed to free herself and stumbled back. She rubbed her arm and glared at him. “What the hell are you doing? You can’t just force me to go with you—that’s kidnapping.”

  “Hardly.” He moved at her. “Do you know how many men have to literally drag their hysterical girlfriends home? They’re not breaking the law. Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “I’m not hysterical,” she fumed. “And it’s my right as a fucking American to break up with you if I want. We’re not living in the fucking middle east.”

  “You may not be hysterical,” he said. “But you are certainly being unreasonable. Now, get in the car, we’ll go back to my place, and fix this little hitch in our relationship.”

  “Hitch?” Caterina stared at him incredulously. “You fucked another woman! Maybe a lot of them. That’s not a hitch.”

  Armand was exasperated. “And I explained it. Can we move on?”

  “Saying a man cheats because he just can’t help it is not an explanation. It’s bullshit.”

  “I agree with the lady.”

  The two of them jumped at the sudden third voice. A man stood in the open rear door of the pub, leaning casually against the doorframe, arms loosely crossed.

  The mystery man.

  He hadn’t aborted his mission.

  Caterina looked him over, quickly taking in his average lean build, fair skin, short dark hair with blond highlights and longish bangs, denim jeans that hugged his thighs and crotch rather scrumptiously, black jacket, black button shirt, and thin tasteful gold chain around his neck. An appealing light scruff sprinkled his chin and jaw. It was hard to tell his eye color in the shadow of the alley, but who cared?

  This was the man she wanted to fuck tonight—without a doubt.

  CHAPTER 3

  “Hot & Ready”

  ______________________________________________

  Flynn had sized the guy up back in the bar. He was built solid but also sported a ‘bully’ complex, which typically meant that he would try to dominate and manipulate those he thought he could physically overpower, but would hesitate to go up against someone who could possibly kick his ass. Flynn was slightly smaller than him, yet had no doubt he could take the bastard down without ever drawing his weapon.

  “Who the fuck are you?” The man eyed him coldly.

  Flynn shrugged. “Nobody.”

  “Get out of here,” the man growled. “This is a private matter.”

  Looking at the woman—who appeared genuinely glad to see him—Flynn asked, “Would you like me to leave?”

  There was no stark fear in the woman as she glanced at the man, but she was clearly anxious and uneasy; the man did scare her to some degree. She turned her eyes on Flynn and what he saw there turned him rock-hard in an instant. “Yes, I would,” she said, startling Flynn with her answer. “And take me with you.”

  A slow smile quirked Flynn’s lips. “My thoughts exactly.”

 
“What?” the man looked sharply at the woman. “What the hell are you talking about, Cat? You’re not going anywhere with this guy. You don’t even know him.”

  “True,” the woman spoke low, stiff. “But I do know you. And I’m sure as hell not going with you.” She nodded at Flynn. “I think I’d rather take my chances with him.”

  When she took a step in Flynn’s direction, the man grabbed her arm. “Are you out of your fucking mind? He just wants to get his cock in you.”

  She smiled coolly. “Then he and I are Sympatico.”

  Flynn groaned as a hard shiver swept through him. Her bold statement hit him in the crotch and stretched his cock, a low forceful throb settling into the member, pulsing up and down the shaft.

  “You are not screwing this guy,” the man hissed, squeezing her arm. “You are my girlfriend.”

  “No…” she wrenched loose. “I’m not your girlfriend. And even if I were…turnabout is fair play. You fucked another woman, that would give me a free pass to fuck another man. But we’re not together anymore, so I can fuck whoever I want, anyway.”

  Flynn remained in the doorway. The woman seemed capable of handling herself with this guy. Though Flynn suspected the man would have gotten considerably more forceful, possibly even violent, had Flynn not made an appearance and she had resisted him.

  “I’m warning you, Caterina,” the man threated tight-lipped. “Come home with me now or pay the consequences. I am not fucking kidding.”

  Uncertainty flickered in the woman’s eyes, but she held her ground. “Don’t threaten me,” she whispered. “You know what will happen if you ever touch me against my will.”

  It was the man’s turn to suffer doubt. Flynn was curious what exactly she had meant and hoped she would elaborate. She didn’t.