Free Secrets & Surrender 3 by L.G. Castillo Page B

hair and, and he moaned, opening to me, and I couldn’t resist the temptation of deepening the kiss, of showing him how much he meant to me. I slipped my tongue into his mouth, swirling it with his, pouring every ounce of love and emotion I had for him into the kiss. I never wanted Nic to go another moment without knowing how I felt about him or what he meant to me. It was the first kiss of the many kisses I planned to give him for the rest of our lives.
    “Wow, if I’d known you’d kiss me like that, I would’ve gotten shot a lot sooner.”
    I scowled. “That’s not funny.”
    He chuckled. “You still look cute when you’re pissed.”
    I rolled my eyes. Man, it felt good having him tease me again. I took it as a sign that he was getting better.
    “Juan? Is he—”
    “Don’t worry about that little chicken—er, Juan’s fine. You should be resting.”
    “Mandi, there’s something I need to tell you.” He struggled to sit up. “It’s about your mother—”
    “She’s out, Nic.”
    “That’s good.” He let out a breath, falling back into his pillow. “At least Father kept his end of the bargain.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Mandi, I’m probably going to have to leave for Princeton after I recover. You see, I made a deal with Father that I’d go to Princeton and that I’d,” he gulped, “stay away from you in exchange for him helping your mother get out.”
    “You did that for me?”
    “I’m sorry, Mandi. There was no other way. But I’ll figure something out. We’ll be together somehow. I promise.”
    “No.”
    “What?” His face paled.
    I busied myself with fluffing his pillows. “You’re not going anywhere.”
    “But it’s already done. My father—”
    “Your father did squat. It was your mother who got my mom out.” I chuckled, thinking about the look on Mr. Marcelli’s face when she told him off. “Actually, your mother handled your father pretty well. It was so cool. Sorry you had to miss it.”
    “What did she say?”
    “Well, let’s put it this way. She made it quite clear where her foot was going if he didn’t knock off his shit and stop trying to keep us apart. She’s Team Ruiz all the way now.”
    “She did?” His face beamed. “And my father actually gave in? No way.”
    “Way.”
    “Whoa! How much morphine did they put in this thing?” He tugged on the tube dangling from the stand.
    I laughed. My Nic was back, my family was back, and no one was ever going to get in the way of our love again.
    “You know what? If she wasn’t so bougie, I could see us being really good friends. I guess I’ll just have to settle for her being my mother-in-law.”
    His lips curled into that sexy smile of his. Then he pulled me to him, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. “Are you trying to give me a hint?”
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I gave him another deep kiss and then pulled back when I heard voices coming from down the hall. “Just in case you were wondering, the paramedics found a little velvet box in your pocket. I have it in my purse whenever you’re ready to use it.”

FOURTEEN: Nic
    “I can’t believe you sold the Porsche.”
    Smiling, I watched Mandi as she checked her makeup in the car mirror. Not that she needed any. She was so beautiful with her dark hair slicked back away from her face and pulled into a high ponytail, showing off a kissable, slender neck. If she didn’t stop looking so damn sexy, I was going to have to pull over and ravish her...again...for the third time today.
    “It was totally worth it seeing Bianca throw a hissy fit when she had to give the beamer back to me. Besides, I want us to have a fresh start. That car had strings attached to it that I don’t ever want to remember.”
    “Okay. I get it. Still, I have to admit, I miss watching you make sharp turns on the back roads. Your face scrunches up so serious. You looked so cute.”
    She puckered her full lips in the mirror, sensuously