The Ultimate Merger Read online

  “We both are.”

  They stripped in the near-darkness and tossed their clothing and shoes aside, unconcerned about where each item landed.

  Renaldo slipped on a condom and then bent his head to her breasts, sucking her nipples and gently biting them until she cried out, digging her short nails into his broad shoulders. He smoothed his hand down her buttocks and between her thighs, letting his fingers slide through the slickness to test her readiness.

  “Turn around.” He took her by the shoulders and twisted her to face away from him. Her heart raced, unsure of what to expect next.

  “Bend over,” he said, his voice a dark rumble.

  “Wh-what?” Sabrina cast a glance of alarm over her shoulder at him.

  He pressed his lips to her ear. “Relax. Trust me. You’re going to love it. Place your hands on the floor.”

  One muscular arm curved around her waist, and he grasped the back of her neck. Easing her forward, he forced her to bend at the hip. His foot shoved her feet apart, spreading her legs wider for him. Her breath stuttered in her chest and her body trembled in the vulnerable position in which he’d placed her. With her hips elevated against his groin, he found the wet entrance to her body and pushed in all the way—uttering a low groan—lodging deep inside of her.

  Sabrina’s eyes squeezed shut as she savored the sensation of his deep penetration. He eased out slowly and then shoved back in again.

  “Oh,” she moaned, her legs shaking as pleasure soared through her, her palms pressing down onto the floor to help maintain her balance.

  Holding her in place, he pulled back and plunged downward repeatedly, skin slapping against skin with each thrust.

  He muttered in Portuguese. She had no idea what he said, but it didn’t matter. His beautiful voice made her sex convulse while he drove into her, stirring the flames of passion into a frenzied flash-fire that burned hotter than she’d ever experienced.

  This was exactly what she needed. This intensity. This release.

  Inside, she tightened, nearing an internal explosion. A sob fled her lips. Pressure mounted, and his continued whispers in his own language urged her closer to the edge.

  Then she lost control.

  Waves of sensation crashed over her. She cried out, the room spinning as her body convulsed. He held her upright against him, his fingers pressing into the flesh of her hips.

  Then he lost control.

  She heard the broken groan when he could no longer hold back.

  He pushed in with more urgency, tightening his grip on her. He pumped faster, grunting, and then, just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, he began to grind his hips against her. The coarse hair of his genitals chafed the sensitive skin of her buttocks as he erupted.

  Weakened, Sabrina collapsed to her knees, and he came down behind her. They remained in that position for a while with a film of sweat on their skin, their breaths coming short and hard. His naked flesh warmed hers, and his chest hairs tickled her back.

  He rose to his feet, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to his bed.

  Later, lying comfortably beneath the sheets, Sabrina turned her face into his neck and inhaled deeply of his manly scent. Her fingers caressed the silken threads of hair on his head. She was so comfortable she never wanted to leave the circle of his arms.

  As quickly as the thought came, it disappeared again, pushed away by common sense. She couldn’t let good sex cloud her thinking, and what she’d just experienced was better than good. It was amazing.

  “Feeling better now?” Renaldo asked, his breath brushing her forehead. His fingertips stroked down her spine, leaving tiny shivers in their wake.

  “Mhmm.” Sabrina slid her leg along the length of his calf. “I’m not tense anymore.”

  After a little chuckle, he kissed her forehead. “Glad to hear it.”

  Drifting into sleep, Sabrina wondered what the hell she’d gotten herself into.

  Chapter Seven

  Sabrina hadn’t expected to meet the man of her dreams a month ago, but life had a way of throwing curve balls. Never in her wildest dreams as a young girl growing up on the mean streets of Englewood—on the South Side of Chicago—had she ever thought she’d be lying in a king bed in a posh suite at The Drake Hotel.

  The enormous room was the size of a small apartment, with a separate living room, dining room, and bedroom. Decorated in warm colors, fine linens, and heavy drapes, it had become her home away from home. Nowadays, she spent more time here than she did in her own apartment.

  Because of him.

  She’d fallen hopelessly in love in such a short time, and it scared her. She dreaded the end of the relationship, but the end loomed near. Once he concluded the deal he’d been working on, Renaldo would return to his country. Lucky for her, he’d hit a few snags and the real estate closing had been delayed.

  Sabrina rolled over and stared at her lover’s back as he stood looking out one of the windows at the breathtaking view of Lake Michigan. With one arm braced on the window frame, he spoke in a low tone into the phone so as not to disturb her, not knowing she was still awake. Her eyes drifted over his bare back and the solid beams of his long legs in a pair of black boxer briefs that clung to his firm buttocks.

  Renaldo da Silva was every woman’s dream. Muscles covered each inch of tanned flesh, and every night they spent together she received such pleasure that she closed her eyes momentarily as warm sensations filled her.

  When she lifted her lids, she saw he’d turned toward her. His onyx-colored eyes swept over the imprint of her body beneath the covers. Heat swelled within her, and she welcomed his attention, even though they’d already made love this morning.

  He said something into the mouthpiece of the phone. Then she heard him say, “Adeus,” never taking his eyes from her, before he hung up and placed the phone on a table against the wall.

  She smiled. “Are you coming back to bed now?”

  One corner of his mouth slanted upward. “You were not satisfied earlier? I’m not doing my job very well.” He walked with confidence toward the bed, and Sabrina dragged the sheet down her skin to unveil her body and invite him onto the mattress with her.

  He growled low in his throat, eyes darkening as his gaze swept her nakedness. The creep of moisture between her thighs readied her for him. She wanted him in the worst way.

  “I guess you’ll have to work harder,” she whispered breathlessly.

  He lowered onto the bed and slipped his hand between her open legs. He tenderly kissed the corner of her mouth while his fingers stroked with skill.

  “Sim,” he whispered. He lifted his head and looked down at her beneath half-lowered lids. “I will work very, very hard this time, meu amor.”

  With a wicked grin, he covered her body and went to work.

  ****

  Two days later, Sabrina arrived at her job with a smile on her face, all because she’d spent another satisfying night with Renaldo—or Renny, as she teasingly called him. She was enjoying this little affair too much. She should thank her employer for getting on her nerves or she would never have gone out that Friday night, and then she never would have met Renaldo.

  When she considered the men she’d been involved with in the past, no one else compared. She’d dropped her friend-with-benefits, Samuel. All because Renaldo had become absolutely addictive.

  They had so much in common. They were both driven, with a strong work ethic. Because of that, he treated her as an equal and didn’t try to put her in a box. Several times he’d bounced ideas off of her and asked her opinion about aspects of the hotel purchase. She’d been flattered he valued her opinion so much and wished she could garner the same respect at her place of employment.

  On the weekends, she took him around the city. At one of her favorite pizza joints, they ate authentic Chicago-style pizza, a deep-dish pie filled with cheese, chunky tomato sauce, and meat and vegetable toppings. One weekend she joined him on a bus tour of the city. She’d learned some
things herself as she listened to the guide. They also set sail on a one-hour architectural cruise and listened as the young woman explained how the city bounced back from the Great Fire of 1871 to become a show piece of modern American architecture.

  One of her favorite things was learning his language. She knew how to count to twenty in Portuguese now, and he’d gotten into the habit of teaching her two new expressions every day.

  Bom dia. Good morning.

  Boa tarde. Good afternoon.

  De onde você é? Where are you from?

  Desculpe. I’m sorry.

  And her favorite words: Até amanhã. See you tomorrow.

  Sabrina entered the tall, glass-covered building on Michigan Avenue and rode the elevator up to the floor where she worked. On the way to her office, Ernestine’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

  “Sabrina, you have a visitor.”

  The look in the other woman’s eyes made her uneasy. Her fingers curled tighter around the covered cup of coffee in her hand, and she hitched her leather business bag higher on her shoulder. She started to lose the buzz from her morning high.

  “Who is it?”

  “She didn’t give her name, but she said she’s your cousin…?” The feeling of dread increased exponentially. Ernestine lifted one brow higher, her tone and expression suggesting either she doubted they were family, or she didn’t comprehend how they could be. “She’s in the restroom right now.”

  Taking a deep breath, Sabrina forced what she hoped looked like a genuine smile onto her face. “When she comes out, please send her back to my office.”

  Ernestine nodded and Sabrina stepped quickly down the hall, not bothering to pause and say “Good morning” to her officemates like she usually did. She couldn’t, because her mind reeled at the thought that Jewel was here, at her workplace.

  It had to be Jewel, because she was the only family Sabrina kept in contact with in Chicago. She’d walked away from the old neighborhood years ago—the crime, the filth, the drugs, the dysfunction. She wanted no part of the old life to connect with her career.

  But Jewel was here.

  Chapter Eight

  Oh my God.

  Sabrina’s mouth fell open as she stared at her cousin’s bedraggled appearance from behind her desk.

  Her cousin’s eyes filled with embarrassment. “Hi, Brina.”

  Jewel Porter looked like she’d been dragged through a sewer once, and dragged through it again for good measure. Her skin, the same buttery color as Sabrina’s, was covered in dirt and had an unhealthy pallor to it. Her long hair was disheveled and clumped together in several places. And the smell…

  “Jewel,” she whispered, her heart hurting. She raced around the desk.

  “No.” Jewel stepped back, lowered her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t want to get you dirty. I-I just…” Her face crumbled.

  “What happened to you?” This was the worst she’d ever seen her.

  Three months had passed since they last saw each other, and Sabrina had begun to wonder if her cousin had died. She’d never stayed away this long before. She hadn’t even called once the entire time. Sabrina called the police and checked at hospitals, each time sagging with relief when no one fitting her cousin’s description was in either location.

  Her gaunt appearance terrified Sabrina. When had she last eaten? Other than drugs, what else was she putting into her body?

  Jewel kept her eyes trained on the floor. “I’m sorry, Brina. I need your help. I don’t know where else to go. I tried to reach you at home, but…but you were never there. I didn’t know how else to get in touch with you.”

  Sabrina had been having a good time, spending every possible moment with Renaldo, when her cousin had needed her. The weight of guilt came down on her conscience.

  “I’m here for you. You know that.”

  Jewel covered her face and cried. She barely made a sound, which made it even more heart-wrenching. Sabrina gripped her cousin’s arms. She was so stick-thin that Sabrina’s fingers touched her thumb.

  “Look at me. Look at me, Jewel.” Her voice shook, because she was scared. She knew what could happen. They’d been raised together and were practically sisters. They’d both lost their mothers to drugs. She couldn’t lose Jewel, too. She wouldn’t let it happen.

  Jewel’s empty, tear-filled eyes finally lifted.

  “We’ll beat this, okay? We’ll do it together. You and me, just like always.”

  Jewel nodded like a child, looking needy and trusting.

  Sabrina rushed around her desk and grabbed her bag. She picked up the phone and told Ernestine she had a family emergency and was leaving for the day.

  “Come on,” she said, pulling Jewel behind her. First, she had to get her cousin cleaned up and give her clothes to wear. Then they’d go to a doctor.

  She didn’t even want to know what Jewel had been up to. She already knew what happened when women ran out of money because she’d seen her mother do it. They used their bodies as currency.

  ****

  Renaldo stared at his phone on the desk in his suite. He rubbed his fingers across his jaw. He tried not to succumb to the need to call Sabrina again. He’d already texted and called her this morning. It was now mid-afternoon and he still hadn’t heard from her. Very unusual.

  He didn’t like not having answers. He picked up the phone and examined it, checking his list of texts to make sure he hadn’t missed any. No missed voicemails, either.

  Where was she?

  Should he be worried? Was she busy today? Or was she blowing him off?

  ****

  Thursday morning, Renaldo sat in the real estate closing signing documents. The deal was done, yet he had unfinished business.

  He hadn’t seen Sabrina in three days, the longest period since they’d started their affair. A short text from her didn’t explain much except that she was very busy with a family issue. Her explanation surprised him because he could count on one hand the number of times she’d provided any information about her family. When he offered to help, she’d turned him down, stating she could take care of it on her own.

  Whatever “it” was took up a lot of her time. Not only had she cut off contact with him, but when he showed up at her job unannounced, he discovered she’d taken leave from work. What was going on that caused someone like her to leave work?

  With a flight booked to leave for Brazil tomorrow, he wanted to see her before he left. Maybe he was being selfish, but he needed to see her. Needed. Not wanted. Needed. She’d become as important to him as breathing.

  “Last one,” the attorney said, pushing another piece of paper at him to sign.

  He scribbled his signature in blue ink and then rose from the chair.

  “Congratulations.”

  Renaldo didn’t return the man’s smile. “Let’s wrap this up,” he said, casting an impatient glance at his watch.

  “Certainly, sir. I’ll put together your packet of documents. As a reminder, if we find any errors later, you’re required to…”

  Renaldo tuned out the attorney. All he could think about was Sabrina. He didn’t want to leave without saying a proper goodbye. And he wanted to talk to her about their relationship. He’d be back and forth to the United States now, and he intended to continue seeing her. Did she want to continue seeing him?

  Chapter Nine

  Sabrina stepped out of the shower and rubbed lotion all over her skin. She sprayed on a light fragrance and finger-combed her hair, loosening the curls and forcing them into a position that framed her face.

  Now she had Jewel settled in a treatment facility, she felt more at ease and planned to return to work on Monday.

  She donned her green silk robe and stepped out of the bathroom into the master bedroom of her two-bedroom apartment. She didn’t need the two bedrooms, but she kept them because of Jewel. Her cousin had come and gone out of her life over the years. Whenever Jewel cleaned up, she always stayed with Sabrina.

  When they were younger,
safety and cleanliness were a luxury they couldn’t afford. As two parentless teens, they’d struggled to make ends meet.

  Jewel’s downward slide started slowly. First, underage drinking. Then weed. Then the dreaded crack. During Sabrina’s freshman year in college, Jewel, two years younger than she, had fallen prey to the same drug that had taken the life of Sabrina’s mother.

  Only in recent years had Sabrina herself started drinking. Drugs had never been an option after seeing how it destroyed her family and the people around her. Jewel had always been a daredevil and rebellious. Her rebellious spirit had been her downfall.

  Sabrina had no intention of ever turning her back on her, though. As far as she was concerned, Jewel was her sister, just like their mothers had been sisters. She would always look out for her and make sure she was safe. Maybe this stint in rehab would work. It had to. Her cousin’s appearance had scared her so much this time, she worried Jewel would end up dead.

  She walked into the living room with a black dress in hand, pulled the ironing board from the closet, and set it up. Now she had to talk to Renaldo. She’d avoided him long enough. He was leaving the country tomorrow, and she couldn’t let him leave without seeing him one more time.

  She loved him, and she wanted to say a proper goodbye. At this point, she didn’t even know if he wanted to see her, but she had to try.

  A knock sounded on the door. She wasn’t expecting anyone. She set the dress on the ironing board.

  “Who is it?”

  No answer, but the knock came again, louder this time, sounding like a sledgehammer.

  She stood in the hallway for a moment, and then she tiptoed to the door and peered through the peep hole.

  Renaldo! Her heart skipped a beat.

  She undid the safety latch and swung open the door. “Renny!” The smile on her face died a quick death when he stared back at her with an angry scowl.

  “Where have you been?”

  Her charming Brazilian looked like he wanted to wring her neck.