Art of War (A Stern Family Saga Book 3) Read online

  “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

  “Okay, Zander, we’ll play it your way. The redhead, the one with the hell of a body.”

  I turn to him and show him how his words just pissed me off. “Gabriel, remove your eyes from her, or I will remove them for you.”

  Gabriel backs up and says, “Wow, okay, big guy. I’m not looking anymore.”

  Right then, Vin and Liam walk up. Liam says, “Who the hell is the body?”

  And then Vin pipes in, “Man, that’s not just a body; that’s a brick house. Maybe I’ll make a move.”

  I turn and grab Vin by the throat. Growling, I say, “Try it!”

  Liam pats my shoulder. “Zander, we were just joking around. Put him down.”

  I look down and realize I have indeed lifted him off the ground by his throat. I slowly put him back on his feet and say in his face, “Mine!”

  Vin rubs his throat and says, “No problem, man, I was just looking. I didn’t know, okay?”

  I ignore him and the others as I walk away. I continue to follow her to the side of the dance floor, gaining a little of my cool back. Then I feel Avery’s hand land on my shoulder. “I told you, big guy, she could be just around the corner.”

  I look at her and smile. She automatically brings me back to my normal self. I’m so thankful because I would never have introduced myself to the redhead when I was in working mode. That’s what I call it when I have to be badass Zander, the most feared man in New Orleans, but when I’m not working, I’m a big teddy bear, at least that’s what they say.

  “Thanks, kid.”

  “For what?”

  “For bringing me back.”

  I kiss the top of her head and make my move towards my future.

  “Hello, Red.”

  She turns, and when recognition hits her, she says, “Hello, stranger.”

  I tell her I plan to change that; I won’t remain a stranger for much longer. I lift her glass and pass it off to Avery. Then I lead her to the dance floor, where I get my first feel of her in my arms. Her curves are driving me insane. I’m having such a hard time keeping her from noticing my growing erection. But I soon find out that I’m failing at it.

  After a little banter, she calls me out for being cocky; if she only knew how cocky I could be. But then something strange happens, she turns the tables and starts to seduce me. She turns, wiggling her luscious body all over mine. I even get a chance to run my hands over her sides, feeling all her curves. Shit, I can’t take it much longer. I’m about to throw her down on this dance floor and have my way with her, right here, right now.

  I even warn her she’s playing with danger. But she continues, so I do the only thing I can. I stop her by grabbing her hand and pushing our way through the crowd past all the partygoers. She hesitates to ask where I’m taking her, and I ask, “Are you here with someone? Are you married?” She tells me no, and that’s the answer to my prayers. I open the door to the first room I find and push her in. It happens to be my mom’s office, but I don’t give a fuck.

  I pull her to me and unleash my kiss upon her. She melts, but then she straightens as she pushes me off and slaps me hard. My Red has some spunk, I like that. “Game on.”

  I grab her again, but this time I’m gentler and patient as I wait for her to open her mouth, and when she does, I know I have her. After the kiss, I ask, “What’s your name?”

  She answers me, “Red.”

  Fine. She wants to play it that way, she has no clue I’ll find out; I’ll find everything out about her. Starting with her body.

  But I tell her my name. I want her to know who I am and who will be giving her the best night of her life. I just need to get her permission because I am not a man to force any woman. I see her hesitation, and she’s about to tell me she never does this kind of thing. But I don’t care about her past, I only care about here and now. So, I tell her I would never hurt her, and I never will. When she gives me the green light, it’s on.

  I lift her on the desk and start to remove my clothing, and she starts to help with my buttons. I want to see her, all of her, so I lift and turn her, looking for a zipper, anything to remove this dress from her and from what belongs to me. I can’t find any way to get her out of this fucking dress. She tells me she’s sewn in. Fuck, I’ll have to find another way to have her. I kiss my way down her back and slide my hands from her ankles back up, bringing her dress with me. Her ass is in my face now, and she has no panties on, shit. It’s the best ass I have ever seen, big and round, and all I want to do is suffocate myself between her cheeks. I push her down onto the desk, splitting her cheeks, and dive in. Her taste and smell are my undoing. I can’t stop now, even if she begged me to. I devour her until I feel all her juices dripping down my face. I don’t think one taste will ever satisfy me. I need to feel her now with nothing on. I’ve never been with a woman without protection, but for some reason I can’t stand the idea of having her and not feeling her naturally. So, I do the gentlemanly thing and ask her permission. I let her know that I’m clean, and she tells me she’s on the pill. But it wouldn’t stop me even if she weren’t. I’ve never felt this much desire or need for a woman in my life. I could honestly say I would risk anything to have her bare.

  She looks down at my hard cock, and I can tell she is taken aback. I tell her to trust me, but I know I have to show her that she can, so before she can doubt anymore if it will fit, I thrust into her. Damn, this woman feels like home. Shit, where has she been all my life? I tell her to relax, and she does, which gives me all the encouragement I need.

  I keep kissing her, I can’t stop, I love the way she kisses me back. It’s like she has this power over me I can’t control. I need to slow down, so I halt my movements and rest my head on hers, telling her I need time. It’s going too fast; I’m not ready for it to be over. I want to stay inside her as long as I can. But she decides she needs more. She takes up the movements, and fuck, can she move. When she squeezes my dick, I almost lose it. I lift her up and pull out. Flipping her over onto the desk, and enter her from behind.

  With her ass in my hands, I feel like a man starving. I pound into her over and over. I’m squeezing her ass so hard, I know I’m probably going to leave bruises, but it’s too late to worry about it. She yells out God’s name, and I become jealous, if that’s possible. I want to hear my name come from her mouth, no one else’s, not even God. So, I tell her and continue my thrusts. I feel her start to contract on my cock, and I know she’s cumming. All I want and need now is to hear my name come from her mouth. And there it is, my name, that's all it takes. I cum so hard, I could pass out. Holding onto her hips I slowly lean my body over hers, panting and breathing hard. I start kissing her back because I don’t want to remove myself from her, not yet. I’ve never felt this way after having sex with any woman. Even though my erection has softened, I still feel her warmth, and it’s not something I’m willing to give up.

  When I finally do slip out of her, I kiss her again. I’m not ready for the night to be over. I can’t let go yet, I need her again quick. And it’s a done deal when I notice her staring at me while I’m dressing; my dick gets hard all over again, that fast. I tell her to stay, I’m not done with her, and I’m not; I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever be. When I told her my name I also told her I have been waiting for her and for some reason it’s true I have been waiting for this woman my whole life.

  I leave her to search for my mom. I need to tell her I’m leaving. Fuck Murphy Larussa Jr., I have more important things to do.

  When I finally see my mom, I walk straight to her and say, “Mom, hey, I need to leave. Something came up, and well, I just need to leave.”

  “Zander, who was that woman with you?”

  My lips become tight because I’m getting frustrated. How am I supposed to explain it to my mom?

  “She’s someone I think I like very much, so much that I would like to continue our night.”

  There, I did it. Without telling her, I�
�m dying standing here talking to her instead of drowning in-between Red’s legs.

  “What about Murphy Larussa Jr.?”

  “Mom, I don’t think he’s here. I told you, I still can’t find out any more about him. But I know I’m not wasting anymore time waiting for him. I hear the new boss of the casino will be there Monday, and I plan on being there.”

  “Fine, Zander, go, but if this woman is so important, don’t you want to introduce her to me?”

  Taken aback, I think about it. I’ve never introduced my mom to any women, but something in me wants to do just that.

  “You know what, Mom? I think I do.”

  Her face turns to shock. It’s priceless. I start to laugh, then Theo Trahan, a close family friend and boss in most of the surrounding parishes, walks up to us. “Hello, Catherine. Zander, what’s so funny?”

  Mom speaks up, “Zander has a woman he would like me to meet.”

  Theo looks just as shocked but says, “Well, if you don’t mind, I would like to meet her, too.”

  Surprised at his request, I tell them both I’ll return with her in a minute. I leave to retrieve Red, and I wonder why Theo would want to meet a woman I’m interested in. I stop because I didn’t even think to ask if she would be interested in meeting my mom. Shit, I don’t know how to do something like this. Whatever. I just need to get Red back in my arms.

  I return to my mom’s office to find it empty. I look around and notice my jacket is missing, too. Where did she go? Why would she leave? I told her I would be right back.

  I run out of the office and head to the foyer to ask if anyone saw her leave. I stop abruptly once I get there. I see my mom; she’s looking through the basket of invitations.

  “Mom, what are you doing?”

  She holds up an invitation and says, “He’s here.”

  “What?”

  “Mr. Larussa, I put a special marking on the back of his invitation. See, right here, he was the only one with that mark. So, that means he is here, or was.”

  I hold the invitation in my hands and then look around the party.

  “I’ll stay and search the house.”

  “Where’s your friend, Zander?”

  I look at the doors and say, “She left.”

  I turn with the invitation in my hand and leave my mom without saying anything else. I feel dumped. For the first time, someone dumped me.

  16

  Murphy

  I make it back to my hotel room and plop down on the sofa. I need a bath, I feel sticky and gross. I didn’t have anything to wipe myself with, and Zander’s still between my legs. I get up and head towards the bedroom. The lamp is on, and I see a sleeping Kyle in my bed. I take Zander’s jacket off, laying it over a chair.

  As I’m trying to figure out how to get the dress off, Kyle wakes up and shouts, “What the hell happened to your dress!?”

  I look down at the rip and bite my lip. Kyle jumps up, grabbing my arms. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

  Oh, shit, he’s worried. Seeing the rip, he thinks someone did that to hurt me.

  “No, Kyle, I’m fine. No one hurt me. I didn’t even talk to them.”

  “Well, then what happened to your dress?”

  I blush, and then I see it in his facial expression, he knows what happened. He releases my arms, backing up, crossing his arms across his chest as he begins to interrogate me.

  “My, my, little Murphy, did you get laid?” I smile, and he swings his arms. “I knew it, I just knew it.”

  He rips the rest of the dress off me and pushes me to the bathroom. “So, who is he, and was it worth it? Wait, was it Mark?”

  I laugh and start running the water. “No, it wasn’t Mark.”

  “You slut!”

  “Hey, I’m not a slut. I’ve never done anything like this before.” I look down in shame. “I just wanted to forget for a little while, and besides, you told me I needed to get laid.”

  “Okay, fine, so I did. I’m sorry. I know you’re not like that.”

  “Apology accepted. How do you feel? Any better?”

  I get into the tub and sit, soaking my sore muscles. Damn, if I’m this sore now, how the hell will I feel tomorrow? I wince, and Kyle gasps. “Don’t you dare try to change the subject. You just winced. Are you sore already?” I blush again, nodding my head. “Damn, that means it’s been a really long time, or he was really big.”

  My blushing continues, and he puts his hand over his mouth as he gushes like a little girl.

  “All right, all right. It has been a long time, but you knew that.”

  “But I want to know, how big are we talking about?”

  I laugh and say, “Big.” Then I raise my hands, clenched together, and then pull them apart. As they get further and further apart, Kyle’s mouth drops lower and lower.

  “Wow! That big?”

  “Yes, it’s wide, too.”

  He lays his hand on his chest and says, “Does this dick have just as impressive an owner to go with it?”

  I nod my head, then I decide to tell him, “Remember the guy in the lobby? The one that helped me from not falling flat on my face? It was him.”

  Kyle puts his arm over his face and fakes passing out. “That man was gorgeous.”

  “Yep, everywhere.”

  “I can’t take it. Stop, you’re hurting my heart. Murph, that man can tear any dress he wants.”

  “I didn’t mean for it to happen. He just…I don’t know, he was just the right mixture of sexy, domineering with a touch of tenderness. I’ve never met anyone like him before.”

  “Murph, we need to check your temperature.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you have never responded or talked about a man like that before. You must have a fever.”

  “Funny, asshole. I’m over it, okay? It was just a minor slip of judgment. I’ll probably never see him again, that’s more than likely why I did it. I don’t know I felt safe to be just Red and not Murphy for a night.”

  “Red?”

  “Yep, I didn’t even tell him my real name. Remember he called me Red in the lobby because of my hair color? I just let him keep calling me that.”

  “Well, did you get his name?”

  “Zander.”

  “Zander, that’s hot.”

  I nod my head again. “That’s why I didn’t meet with the Sterns. I was having the best sex of my life, and my dress was torn. I couldn’t meet them like that. So, I left. Zander wanted me to wait for him. He wanted us to continue our night, but I was so embarrassed with how I acted that when he left the room, I stole his jacket and ran for the door.”

  “You’re making a habit of stealing things, Murph. Maybe you should slow down before you land yourself in jail.”

  I throw my loofah at him, and he catches it, but not till he’s covered with bubbles.

  He stands to leave but then turns to ask, “You’re okay, right?”

  “I’m fine, just embarrassed.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Murph. You needed to let loose. You’re always so in control of everything, it’s nice to hear that someone took some of that away from you. You need to relax and just enjoy more.”

  With that, he leaves the room and leaves me with my thoughts. I did give up control. Who was I? I never let someone take the lead. What was it about him that I trusted? Because I did, I trusted him. I didn’t even make him wear a condom. That never happens. Whatever it was or whoever I was, it can’t ever happen again.

  17

  Murphy

  Monday morning comes quick. I barely eat breakfast because my nerves have my stomach in knots. I dress in a tight hunter green dress and fix my hair to look as professional as I can. Kyle wears a nice button-down shirt with grey slacks and suspenders, and for flare he ties on a quirky patterned bow tie. I’m so thankful he feels well enough that he can come with me. I feel so alone in this; at least with him by my side, I won’t feel physically alone.

  This time, we do take a car service; t
here’s no reason not to. From today on, everyone will know where I am, and that is at the casino. I’m a workaholic. I’m sure the casino will take up all my time in the foreseeable future. Just like it did with my dad. Whoever wants me gone won’t have a hard time finding me. Let them come, let them threaten me. Unless they kill me, I don’t plan on going anywhere.

  We arrive at the casino at seven in the morning. The parking lot has a good number of cars. It’s not packed, but it’s early. I can’t imagine gambling at this hour, but hey, it’s money in my pocket now. Making an entrance into the casino gets me a few looks, but everyone really pays me no mind. Kyle follows me as I walk straight for the offices. As soon as I make it to my new office, a balding man stops me from entering.

  “Excuse me, ma’am, I don’t know how you got back here, but this area is off limits to guests.”

  I pass by him and open my door, leaving him shocked at my boldness. I throw my purse on the leather sofa as I take a seat behind my new desk.

  “Ma’am, ma’am, I have to demand you leave. I told you, guests are not permitted entry back here.”

  Kyle starts giggling, and I throw my feet on top of the desk.

  “Excellent. I, however, am not a guest. I’m the new owner.”

  His mouth drops, he looks at Kyle, then me. “Ma’am, I don’t know who you are, but Mrs. Judith told me she is handling the casino from now on.”

  “Really, Judith? Huh?” I stand and walk over to Kyle. He hands me a document stating that I am the new owner. I take the envelope and walk to this pesky man.

  “I am the new owner, not Judith, and this document will prove my standing. We haven’t been properly introduced. My name is Murphy Larussa.”

  I hold my hand out for him to shake, but this asshole ignores it and tears the envelope open. I put my hand down and walk back. Sitting on the corner of my desk, I cross my arms and count down in my head how long it will take him to read and know that it’s true, I am his new boss. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four…oh yeah, there it is, his face looks priceless.