For Better or Worse Read online

  When he dragged her underwear down her legs, a helpless sound slipped from her throat. He kissed his way down her stomach and tossed one slender leg over his shoulder. With a rough groan, he lowered his head to the juncture between her legs. He kissed her, then used his tongue to stroke her swollen labia, extra sensitive because it was bare and smooth.

  “You taste so good, mami.”

  Cassidy clutched his head. His hair was too long, but she loved it. Loved to tangle her fingers in the soft, curly strands. She curled her spine, offering moans of encouragement, her head tossed back as she gave herself over to the heat he created with the intimate caresses of his tongue. He was a master at the art of oral sex, and she was his ever-willing slave.

  His hand moved along the length of her thigh, and her mind emptied of all other thoughts except what he was doing between her legs. His mouth coaxed cream from her as he licked in earnest. The sounds he made in his throat only served to turn her on more, forcing her to pump her hips against his mouth.

  She called on the names of the deities, taking short, uneven breaths because of the relentless caress of his lips and tongue. His mouth moved with urgency, driving her crazy as he continued to feast on her wet flesh, spreading the lips apart to get at the sticky wetness.

  He circled her drenched clit, and Cassidy rolled her hips upward, chasing his skilled tongue, writhing in desperation for the exquisite release. She tossed her head from side to side, thigh muscles and nipples quivering from the excruciating pleasure.

  Her loins tightened right before the climax exploded within her, rolling like a mighty wave that hammered her with body-wrenching force. She tightened her butt to intensify the effect and cried out, gasping aloud as her small fingers tightened in his hair. Every muscle in her body contracted. Ecstasy twisted through her and wrung out loud, hoarse cries until her throat felt sore, until the sounds finally became soft whimpers when she drifted back to earth from her orgasmic high.

  Antonio removed his boxers and tossed them to the floor. Catching her pointy chin in between his fingers, he gave her a tender kiss so she tasted the blend of his sweet flavor and her own desire on his lips.

  “I told you before we were married that I don’t tolerate sleeping in separate beds, didn’t I?” His eyes glittered with anger and passion in the darkness.

  Cassidy bit her lower lip and nodded.

  Antonio dragged one leg of her nubile body over his right forearm. “I can’t hear you.”

  She liked getting her own way, but she also liked the authoritative way he spoke to her. He had a way of giving her what she wanted and still keeping control. She didn’t know how he managed such a fine balancing act.

  “Yes.”

  “So what made you think you’d get away with it?”

  Cassidy shook her head, unable to respond to the question as she anticipated him filling her and taking her high again.

  “And then you come to bed and act like I’m not even lying here next to you while you touch yourself?” he asked, incredulity filling his voice. “What made you think you’d get away with that? Because you’re mad at me? That’s not the way it works, mami.”

  He pushed the tank up over her breasts, forcing the material to make way for his mouth. A mouth that covered her breasts with torturous kisses and suctioned one of her nipples. His mouth was heavenly, a pleasure giver, a defense batterer, and she was helpless to resist it. She arched and twisted like a spring as torrents of pleasure exploded across her breast from the rough suckling, while his hand wreaked havoc on the other with firm squeezes, rolling the nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

  “You’re not keeping your pretty little tetas from me again, are you?”

  “No, I promise,” she panted in a pained voice.

  The smooth head of his shaft pressed to the entrance of her body, and with a determined thrust, he filled her. She inhaled sharply and then let the breath out with a shuddering moan. No matter how angry she was at him, sex between them was never a clinical joining of the bodies. With Antonio, it was all passion and heat, and she felt it now, circulating around them.

  Even in anger they were attuned to each other. She held him snug inside of her body, tilting her hips up so he could slide deeper. The soft sounds she made were occasionally joined by his low groans, their need raw and desperate now that it was unleashed. Cassidy whimpered as he rode her hard with the furious pumping motion of his hips. She enjoyed it so much she lifted her other leg over his shoulder. Oh God, it was the perfect angle, allowing him to go deeper still and inciting a passionate madness that had her blinking back tears.

  The headboard rapped the wall each time he lunged forward.

  “You don’t get to go solo in this bed unless I’m watching,” he whispered, his breath ragged and hot. He poured the words between her parted lips, his eyes almost closed, thick lashes that no man had the right to own shadowing his cheeks.

  Each time she reeled back, she tightened her feminine muscles as she dragged down his hard length.

  “Oh yeah,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “Dámelo. Dámelo, mami.”

  Finally, her body tightened to an unbearable point. “Baby, I’m coming . . .Yes . . .” Her words ended on a high-pitched scream, stars bursting behind her closed lids as waves of dizzying pleasure washed over her. She arched her back and cried out, sinking her nails into his hard biceps.

  His lips caressed the damp skin of her neck as he increased the tempo of his thrusts. She trembled and wound her arms around him. The pumping of his hips accelerated even more, and within seconds, he ejaculated and crumbled on top of her like dead weight.

  Their damp skin seared together as they basked in the warm aftermath of lovemaking. She enjoyed the moments right afterward, when he lay on top of her like this, trying to catch his breath, and they held on to each other as if they were the only two people in the world.

  Antonio stirred, lifting onto his elbows. With gentle kisses on her neck and collarbone, he slowly brought the embers of desire back to life.

  “Baby . . .” she whispered, tired, but unable to stop the instinctive response to his touch.

  “I’m not done with you,” he whispered in her ear. “You wanted my attention, and now you’ve got it. No rest for you tonight.”

  Ripples of anticipation traversed her skin at the softly spoken words.

  His lips covered her nipples, and she recoiled from him, still too sensitive, but he refused to let go, sucking harder as he slipped one hand behind her back and pulled her tight against him. With little prodding, her thighs fell open when he slipped his hand between her legs. He gently tapped her slick flesh a few times, and she let out a cry for more when he stopped. Cream oozed from the heart of her as she readied for him again.

  Tap, tap.

  Cassidy shivered like she was out in a snowstorm. “Please,” she begged.

  He inserted his fingers inside her wet channel, and she came dangerously close to coming again, but at the last moment, he withdrew his hand and lifted his head from her aching breasts. She groaned in frustration and reached for his hand again, but Antonio nudged her over onto her side so that her back faced him.

  “Aren’t you glad you didn’t sleep in the guest bedroom?” he asked as he inserted himself between her legs.

  Cassidy couldn’t even reply. She tossed back her hips with renewed vigor when he slid home, her body greedily sucking him in.

  His lips brushed the tight curls at the nape of her neck, his breath warm, his tongue further moistening her damp skin. One hand curved under her body to hold her tight, while his hand on her hip held her in the position he wanted.

  She reveled in the power of his body as he took her from behind, edging her toward ecstasy. She wanted this. Needed this. It made her feel close to him even in the midst of her discontent.

  He spoke to her half in Spanish, half in English. He cursed, the only time she tolerated it because it turned her on. He whispered vulgarities that made her insides tremble as he reminded her tha
t their bodies belonged to each other and told her she was never allowed to withhold hers from him again.

  He didn’t allow her to come, stopping short each time she came close, using the thick muscle between his legs to beat her into submission and force her to finally agree to his terms. She would’ve agreed to anything at that point—to jumping off the nearest bridge—just so she could get what was so close, almost within reach.

  Antonio rolled her onto her stomach and pulled her to her knees. This was the position she preferred, that he preferred. Looking down at her from this position was such a turn-on. What an incredibly sexy image she presented, with his hand at the back of her neck, her moaning into the pillow, and her backside lifted up to him as an erotic offering.

  Sliding in, he used long, slow strokes, groaning and sucking air in between his teeth. She moved her hips in a circle, taking every ounce of pleasure he offered into her trembling body.

  “I love fucking you, mami. Damn . . . I love . . . fucking . . . you.”

  In a complete turnabout, he went from slow motion to slamming into her with a loss of control that took her by surprise. He drew out another orgasm with hard, deep beats of his hips that had her clawing at the sheets and shouting his name.

  This time, they climaxed simultaneously. He tightened his hold on her slender hips and lifted her knees off the bed, pushing and pushing until neither of them had any energy left and they fell onto the bed, exhausted.

  Antonio rolled onto his back behind her, panting heavily. For her part, she couldn’t move. She felt as limp and boneless as a jellyfish, half her face in the pillow, struggling to take air into her lungs.

  He dragged her into his arms, their bodies curved into a semicircle against each other.

  “We can’t keep doing this, Cass,” Antonio said quietly after a time.

  She knew he referred to the constant arguing and nodded. Staring into the dark room, she whispered, “I love you.” She waited for his usual response, which meant everything was fine between them and he’d forgiven her.

  “I love you more,” he whispered back.

  A slow smile spread across her lips. “I love you to infinity.”

  “I love you to infinity plus one.”

  Antonio was a good man, and she was a good woman. She deserved to be happy.

  If only she could remember that.

  Chapter Four

  Cassidy inserted a pair of small hoop earrings in her ears and put another dab of gel to her hairline to smooth down the edges. An elastic band secured her hair at the crown and nape, leaving it as a huge, wavy puff in the back.

  She applied a thin layer of lipstick to her lips and then popped them to evenly distribute the glossy red tone. She turned her back to the mirror to check out the view from behind in the black skirt and smoothed her hands down her hips. Pleased with what she saw, she wiggled her butt and smiled to herself.

  “That’s my job,” Antonio said with a yawn, walking into the bathroom naked. He rubbed his hand over his morning stubble.

  Their makeup session had taken place days ago, and since then, they’d been acting like true newlyweds again.

  “What’s your job?” Her gaze ran the length of his lean, muscular body, and she couldn’t help the smile that played around her lips. “Looking at my butt?”

  “Yep.” He stepped up to the double vanity and patted her on the behind. “Looking good.”

  “You’re kind of late this morning, aren’t you?” She worked a flex schedule, which allowed her to work ten-hour days and have Fridays off. Because of the new contracts her company had won, she had to work today, even though it was usually her day off. Most of the time she left for work before he did because she went in at seven to beat traffic, but today he seemed to be running later than usual.

  “I’m going to a meeting downtown this morning before I go to work, and I need to go pick up my car from the repair shop.” He’d finally taken his car in to have the starter replaced.

  “Do you need me to take you to the meeting?”

  “Nah, I’ll catch a cab.”

  Cassidy watched him in the mirror.

  “What?” He put toothpaste on his brush and started brushing his teeth.

  “I was thinking . . . maybe we could go out one night. We haven’t gone out in a while.”

  Antonio spit into the sink. “What do you want to do?”

  “I don’t know.” She sidled up to him and slipped her arms around his waist. His skin felt warm and smooth. She rubbed a hand lingeringly over his bare chest. “Earlier this week, Janice asked me to go out with her, but I’d much rather go out with you—dinner or dancing or something.”

  “I’d much rather you go out with me, too,” Antonio said, his voice garbled because of the toothbrush. He finished up and turned off the water. “Especially if the alternative is Janice. She’s single.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Single girlfriends often give bad advice.”

  “You’ve only met her a couple of times.”

  “And almost every time she opens her mouth, she’s male bashing. She’s a bad influence.”

  “Don’t be silly. She’s not a bad influence.”

  “I don’t care for her. Anyway, the point is, I don’t spend time with my single male friends in the same environments I used to before we got married. I don’t want to get into trouble with my jealous wife.”

  “I’m jealous?” Cassidy huffed, placing her hand on her hip. She knew she was but didn’t like being called on it. “What about you? The last time we played the pickup game, you got into a fight.” Antonio seldom lost his temper, but that night, his anger had exploded in an uncharacteristic way.

  To spice up their relationship, they’d played a game a few times where they went out and pretended to be strangers, and she let Antonio pick her up. She had a collection of wigs she used to change her look from time to time, but they’d served the dual purpose of spicing up their sex life by allowing her to become different characters as part of the game.

  “First of all,” Antonio said, “he shouldn’t have put his hands on you.”

  “He didn’t know we were together.”

  “When I told him we were, that should have been the end of it. Anyway, the reason I hit him is because he called you out your name when we started walking away. I couldn’t allow that.”

  Cassidy preened with pleasure and rubbed his back. “Thank you, baby, for defending my honor.”

  Antonio’s thoughtful gaze scoured her face. “What have we here?”

  “What?”

  “You’re horny, aren’t you?”

  Cassidy playfully sighed. “I can be affectionate without wanting to jump your bones, Antonio.”

  “No, the way you’re rubbing on me this morning . . . I think you want some more loving.” A lazy smile lifted the corner of his mouth, and he reached around to cup her bottom in his big hands. “I didn’t give you enough last night?”

  Cassidy laughed and pushed against his chest, feeling the insistent prodding of the appendage between his legs against her stomach. He’d gone from flaccid to hard in seconds. “You know good and well we don’t have time for this.”

  Antonio bent his head to her ear and drew her closer. “It won’t take long, I promise,” he said in that low, sexy voice of his. His warm breath wafted against her sensitive ear and neck, making her insides quiver with longing. “I’m already hard. I’ll just lift your skirt like this . . .”

  She shoved away his hand. “If you wrinkle my skirt, I’ll—”

  Her tirade broke off when the other hand popped the button at the back and started to lower the zipper. She’d forgotten how fast her husband moved. She swatted away his hand and took several steps out of reach. With trembling fingers, she refastened her clothes. It was difficult to keep her frown in place because she did want to stay and make love, but she had to go to work.

  “You’re the one who’s horny, and I’m leaving.”

  “So you’re just
going to leave me here like this—in this condition?”

  Antonio spread his arms wide. Tufts of curly hair stood out at odd angles on his head, making him look adorably sexy. He stood there in his birthday suit with a shadow of a beard on his face, a mischievous grin, and his erection pointing toward the ceiling. She almost wanted to take a picture because he looked so gorgeous. Moments like this made her realize that her silly overreacting created unnecessary friction between them.

  “I didn’t do that,” she said.

  “Well, I sure didn’t do it.”

  She giggled and hurried from the bathroom before he came after her.

  “I’m gonna make you pay for this. You know that, don’t you?” he called out.

  Cassidy smiled, picking up her satchel and phone.

  She hoped so.

  In the kitchen, she set the timer on the coffee machine so Antonio would have a fresh pot waiting for him when he came downstairs. She set his daily dose of vitamins on the counter—because he never remembered to take them if she didn’t—and left the house with a little extra pep in her step.

  ****

  “Want to go grab some lunch?” Janice asked through the partition between her desk and Cassidy’s.

  Cassidy logged off her computer. “I can’t. I’m eating fast food today because I have errands to run.”

  Janice harrumphed on her side of the wall.

  Cassidy’s eyebrow lifted. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked, picking up her bag and standing. She leaned over the separator to look down at Janice, who was in the process of shutting down her computer, too.

  “Nothing. It’s just that every time I talk to you, you’re doing something for your husband.”

  “I didn’t say—”

  “Oh, honey, I know it’s for him. You don’t have to deny it.” Janice had a way of making her feel ashamed of the things she did for Antonio.

  She took a deep breath, knowing she was about to get unsolicited advice. Ever since Janice found out Cassidy’s parents died when she was seven, she’d been treating her like a daughter—albeit one she went partying with every now and again. At random times, she was prone to offer her counsel whether Cassidy wanted it or not.