Heavenly Angel (45 page)

“My dear, we had no idea you would be so…
maternal,
” Mrs. Ferraro replied disdainfully. “We merely sought to provide a proper upbringing for our grandson, provided that he’s actually
ours,
of course, rather than relegating the young innocent to a substandard future.”

Angel could feel the anger radiating from the men who surrounded her, not just from Joaquin. Teresa’s hand had tremored slightly when Mrs. Ferraro intimated that Michael might not be Ranulfo’s son. Teresa blushed at her insinuation, but she answered the woman confidently. His respect for Teresa skyrocketed.

“I can assure you that I was not entertaining any other boyfriends while your son
assaulted
me,” Teresa responded quietly but clearly. This was a revelation to Angel’s fathers, and he clearly heard a growling sound come from his father, Eleazar, who stood behind Teresa. “And as far as providing a proper upbringing, I believe my husband and I are more capable of providing that than you. Thank you for reminding me that you had made a
cash offer
to
buy
my child from me still stands, but I must decline.”

Allen spoke up then, acting in his official capacity as Sheriff. “Mr. and Mrs. Ferraro, I need to speak with you privately. Mr. Webster here has some information he’d like to share with you
and me.
This way, please,” he said, gesturing to the front entrance through the curious crowd. His words and tone gave them no options as they arrogantly moved through the crowd.

The men all looked at Teresa with pride shining in their eyes. Even Allen looked back at her and grinned, giving her a thumbs-up as he escorted the Ferraros out. Teresa turned back to thank the men standing around her, so she missed the look of love and regret on Allen’s face, although Angel saw it. Allen didn’t try to hide it but instead nodded at him. Angel hoped he never knew the regret of letting down the woman he adored. It looked painful, judging by Allen’s eyes. He nodded back before turning to her and giving her a hug and a tender kiss. She sighed like the world’s weight had fallen off her shoulders.

“Well done, sweetheart,” Angel said. “This seems to be your week for confrontations.”

“Next person who messes with me gets a black eye and a fist in the mouth,” she said, balling up her delicate little hand. “Thank you for standing with me and for letting me get that said. I’m sure that was probably more information than any of you wanted,” Teresa added, a blush staining her cheeks.

Jack smiled at her reassuringly and said, “Trust me, Teresa, when I say that we take care of our own, and you are definitely one of our own. If we could get to that rotten bastard in jail, we would.”

“We still might be able to,” Adam muttered. “I’ve got duct tape in the truck, and Ace has connections.”

Angel and Teresa both looked at Adam, and Teresa tilted her head in confusion. Jack said, “You really don’t want to know, honey. Let’s just say we avenge our own and leave it at that.”

Chapter Thirty-five

Teresa took the color snapshot Ace handed her and looked at it then squinted her eyes and looked closer at the photograph. She glanced at Ace and tilted the photograph so Angel and Joaquin could see it as they leaned over to get a peek.

She glanced at Ace in confusion and pointed at something in the face in the photo. “Ace, is that…?”

Ace nodded and handed her another photograph. “Mr. Ferraro? Yes, Teresa, it is.”

“And that—Is that a Halloween costume he’s—” Looking closely at the second photograph, she gasped and averted her eyes from it. “Oh! Angel is that his—?” Teresa felt her cheeks go red hot.

Angel took the second photograph and groaned then handed it to his brother. Teresa looked at her men and surprised herself by giggling when Joaquin gave a full-body shudder.

Teresa asked, “Why is he dressed like a dog? And why are his…privates exposed? Is Mrs. Ferraro doing…what I think she’s doing to him?”

Do I really want the answer to that question rattling around in my head?

Ace took the photographs they handed back to him. As he placed them in the manila envelope, he answered her question. “It’s called puppy play. There are people who get turned on by the thought of being someone’s puppy. For some, it can be very erotic, even. That must be the case for Mr. Ferraro and Mrs. Ferraro. Now, what grown adults want to do in their private time is nobody’s business. A lot of people get enjoyment from this sort of play, and I say more power to them,” he said, holding up his hands in a nonjudgmental gesture. “You needed leverage and, speaking for my own self, a little revenge on them. These pictures provide that leverage. My guy found the stash in their hiding place and brought these to me. I showed the Ferraros last night. Besides the fraud charges they are now dealing with, thanks to Kemp’s efforts, they have this little information leak to worry about. I have a video, as well. Knowing these were in our hands provided just the right amount of motivation.” Ace smiled and handed her an envelope. “It gives me tremendous pleasure to hand these over to you, Teresa.”

Removing the papers from the envelope, she looked at them, at Ace, and at her men. The papers were signed documents relinquishing any and all rights to Michael, signed by the Ferraros
and
their son.

Teresa burst into tears and hugged the big private investigator.

* * * *

Teresa spent the mild March morning in the backyard, pruning shrubs. Trimming dead branches from a rosebush with a pair of shears, she was startled when strong hands slid around her hips, pulling her back against a hard body. A cool breeze blew through the yard, and she shivered slightly. Angel’s warmth shielded her as he wrapped those big arms around her and pressed his erection against her ass.

His hands slid up over her abdomen and ribs to gently cup her breasts. Her pussy clenched and pooled with hot moisture as she heaved a sigh of longing and chuckled. “Angel, it’s not even lunchtime yet.” She ground her hips back against him, and a shudder went down her spine when she heard him growl invitingly in her ear.

He chuckled deeply and said, “Close enough. I even know what I want to eat.” He slowly slid a hand into the waistband of her jeans, making her press her hips back against him. He allowed his fingers to wander clear down to her bare, newly waxed mound. A sense of power swept over her when she heard his breathing increase, and he groaned. “Since you told us you were going to Madeleine’s first thing this morning,
this right here
,” he whispered sexily, his fingers sliding into her quickly liquefying slit, “is all I’ve been able to think about.” Teresa groaned when his callused fingertip stroked over her clit. “You’re soft and smooth. And so wet,” he murmured, nuzzling her cheekbone with his lips.

“I thought maybe you’d like to know what I was up to on my day off,” she whispered teasingly, panting when his finger slid over her clit again.

“I like that you enjoy taking care of yourself like this.”

Teresa huffed and said, “Let’s set you up with an appointment to get the hair on your privates ripped off and see how much you
enjoy
it.”

“Do you need me to kiss it and make it better?”

“Mmm. I think I might like that.” He slid a finger deep into her pussy.

Flexing her hips against him, she moved on the finger currently fucking her. His cock was a rigid length in the cleft of her ass, and she wanted it inside her in the worst way.

After kissing her, he asked, “Would you like to take a little break with me? Inside?”

“Where is Michael?” Having a toddler around limited any “alone time” they had during the day.

“Grace claimed him from me a few minutes ago. She wants to feed him lunch, and then they’re going to watch a movie and take a nap.”

That girl is worth her weight in chocolate.

Angel continued to play with her body, and Teresa was grateful that the perimeter of the fenced in yard was solid with thick shrubbery. He allowed her to turn in his embrace then his hands slid back into her jeans over her bare ass, his fingers straying into the cleft.

She smiled when he chuckled and said, “Well, well. What do we have here?”

He pressed on the anal plug lodged in her ass, and she nearly purred. “You know what you have there. Now you know the reason I went to get waxed this morning. I wanted to be nice and neat for you, all over.”

“Using your plugs like a good girl.”

“That’s not all. Something that Summer ordered for me came in. I’m going to model it for you tonight,” Teresa said as she led Angel by the hand to the back porch. “Right now, I have an ache.”

“An ache?” Angel replied sympathetically. “Can I help you with this ache?”

“Yes, since you’re the one who caused it.” She giggled and led him in the backdoor, the pruning all but forgotten.

* * * *

Teresa’s body was still humming as she set the table for supper. Michael sat at his little activity table in the living room, drawing on a pad of white paper. She tossed a romaine and tomato salad then returned to the oven to check the garlic bread. Joaquin startled her when he snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I heard you had a nice time this afternoon,” he murmured before kissing her lips hungrily. “I wish I could have gotten away to join you.”

“I’m sorry, too, but there’s plenty more love where that came from,” she whispered, kissing him again. “I have a surprise for you tonight. Something you’ll like.”

“That’s what Angel tells me. He told me you had your plug in earlier. He can’t wait for tonight.”

“You think
he’s
excited? I’m all aquiver.” She giggled quietly, resting her head on his chest. “The anticipation has been half of the thrill.” She trembled against him a little as she hugged him.

“For us, too, sugar.” He tipped her chin up for another kiss. “Promise me that you’ll stop us if it’s too much?”

Speaking in a whisper, she said, “Yes, if you’ll promise we can move to the next step sooner when this turns out to be wonderful tonight. I don’t want to wait.”

“We’ll see how it goes. Maybe tonight?”

She groaned when Joaquin squeezed her ass cheeks firmly. Her pussy practically vibrated with need. “Yes, yes! Tonight, please,” she whispered excitedly, just about done with waiting.

“Supper is all ready. Where is Angel?”

“He was just finishing up. Should be in soon,” Joaquin said as he released her and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Michael brought his tablet of white paper into the kitchen. “Mommy, look what I drew.”

Teresa took it from him and sat in a chair at the dinner table, drawing him into her lap. “Can you tell me about this picture?”

He pointed to the smallest stick figure in the stick figure family portrait. “This is me. You can tell because I’m the littlest. Here is Angel and Joaquin. You can tell them apart by their hair, and here is you.” He pointed at a little stick figure with lots of squiggly black hair and a red mouth. “I made you extra pretty, Mommy, because you’re extra pretty now.”

“I am?”

“Oh, yeah! Everyone says so.” In a conspiratorial whisper, Michael said, “Angel told Joaquin today that you’re so pretty you make his eyes hurt. Mommy, since we came here, you’re just extra,
extra
pretty. And look,” he went on, pointing to red blobs over the stick figures heads, “you can tell how much Angel and Joaquin love you and me because of all the red hearts I drew. See? I also drew Coraggio and Valiente in the picture, too. This one is for you to keep.” He pulled the paper from the tablet and handed it to her, kissing her on the nose. “Love you, Mommy.”

“Well thank you, baby. We’ll put it on the refrigerator,” she said. Her heart throbbed, and she murmured to herself, “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.” This was why all the pain and hardships she’d endured were somehow redeemed in the end. She felt victorious because she had this wonderful little boy in her life and the love of the two incredible men who would raise him. Her heart felt like it might burst from her chest, so much love for all of them filled it.

“Did you sign it somewhere?”

“Yep, right there.” He pointed to a big, squiggly M on the page. Michael climbed down from her lap to pick a magnet to hang it, and Teresa took a pen from the kitchen counter and quickly wrote down what he’d told her on the back of it, with the date, so she’d never forget this moment.

Chapter Thirty-six

Teresa was in the tub soaking when Joaquin slipped into the bathroom after knocking. “Michael is in bed and sound asleep now. We’ve lit the fireplace and everything is ready. Do you want a glass of wine? It might help you relax.”

The ache in her cunt increased at the thought of what was to come, and she smiled at him. “I’d love a glass of wine.” She slid down into the bank of scented bubbles that surrounded her until her eyes and her hair pinned on top of her head were all that was visible. Closing her eyes, she sighed in contentment.

A sound caught her attention, and she looked up. Joaquin was still standing there, watching her as he leaned against the door. “I love seeing you so happy. It feels good to think I helped to put that smile on your face. You’re always beautiful, Teresa, but tonight your especially gorgeous, sugar. I’ll be back with your wine.”

Smiling at him, she said, “Thank you, Joaquin.”

A minute later, he returned with her wineglass and kissed her on the forehead as he handed it to her. “Take your time.”