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Finally, I found the strength to push up onto my arms. Julian winced when my cock slipped from his body, and I realized how rough I’d been with him. “You’re going to be sore.”
He shook his head. “No… Yes. I don’t care. I want that. I want to remember.”
I wanted to tell him there was no need for that kind of reminder because I was going to do this to him every night, every day, every chance I got. What would it take to make him believe this wasn’t temporary?
I met his gaze, but the mix of intense emotions in his eyes was too much for me. I slipped from the bed and stumbled to the bathroom. “Be right back.”
I cleaned myself up, then brought a washcloth out for him. He was lying there staring at the ceiling. He looked lost.
“Are you okay?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“I meant what I said.” Fuck. I wasn’t supposed to talk about it now. I kissed him instead. He held himself back for a moment before melting into me.
“Stay with me. Please.” His voice was soft, barely audible.
“I’m not going anywhere unless there’s an emergency no one else can handle.”
I pulled him into my arms and cradled him against me. “How about a bedtime story?”
Julian frowned. “I shouldn’t go to sleep now.”
“Yes, you should. Relax and listen to the story of how I got Tony.” The monkey raced into the room, obviously having heard his name.
Julian turned to face me as Tony jumped onto the bed. “You’re really going to tell me?”
“Yes. You deserve to know.”
“Thank you.” Julian’s smile was filled with the love I longed for from him.
Tony settled between us, and I started my story. “We used to partner with some Columbian businessmen helping to move their products into the country.”
“You were running drugs?”
“We were also importing coffee.”
“As a cover?”
“At first, then Remy got a taste of the coffee, and it was just as important to us. More so eventually.”
Julian frowned. “How so?”
“The Garcias, the family that harvests and sells the coffee beans, are amazing, some of the kindest people you’ll ever meet, but they’d needed ready cash to get their business off the ground, so they’d partnered with our other associates, hiding the product in some of their coffee tins. However, when we found out the Garcias were being mistreated by our other associates, we intervened.”
“You intervened? How?”
“Remington was in Boston visiting some family friends, the Marchesis. Pop didn’t like my suggestion that I go to Columbia and settle things in person, but eventually, I wore him down.”
Julian gaped at me. “You went to Columbia by yourself to take down a drug cartel?”
“It probably wasn’t as dramatic as you’re imagining it, but yes. I basically showed up and told them to leave the Garcias alone.”
“And what? They just did as you said?”
I smiled. “Would you believe that?”
“No.”
“The head of the operation admired my take-charge attitude. He even told his son he should be more like me.”
“Yikes.”
I nodded. “It was painful to watch. The son then proposed a deal. We would have a shooting contest. If I won, they would do as I asked, and if he won, they would kill me.”
“Oh my God.” Julian’s eyes were enormous. He took my hand and squeezed it. “What did you do?”
“I agreed to his terms.”
Julian shook his head. “I’m scared just thinking about it.”
Tony hopped up and down as if he agreed.
“I knew I was a better shot than him. This wasn’t the first time we’d met. I also knew it would be easy to distract him. On my first visit to Columbia, he’d been… especially hospitable and accommodating.”
“Holy shit. You’d slept with him.”
Lance just grinned. “He suggested we shoot squirrel monkeys out of the trees.”
Julian shuddered. “That’s horrible.”
“I didn’t want to go along with it, but I didn’t think I had a choice. I laid a hand on the son’s shoulder and wished him luck. His first shot went wild. He took a second, and despite me shifting into his line of sight, he hit his target.”
Julian grimaced. “Obviously you won, but still.”
I caressed his cheek. “It could have been a lot worse. The guy pointed to a smaller monkey, one not yet old enough to be on his own. He obviously wanted me to have a smaller target.”
“Please tell me you didn’t—”
I held up a hand. “The little monkey stared right at me. I aimed and shot the longhorn beetle on the branch next to him.”
“Oh my God. What did they say?”
“They didn’t believe me at first, but once I showed them the evidence, the leader declared me the winner over his son’s protests. Then he aimed his gun at the little monkey, saying it couldn’t survive without its mother. The monkey jumped before the shot came. I caught him, said I was keeping him as a reminder of my victory, and the rest is history.”
