Rumba (Sultry Nights 3)

By Melanie Munton

Rumba (n): the dance of love, a tale of passion,
the ultimate romantic connection between two people

Sophie Fuentes is supposed to be getting her family out of Miami. She is not supposed to be falling head over heels in lust—or is it love?—with LA drug boss, Max Ramirez. Especially not when she can’t tell if he’s an angel sent to save her, or the devil sent to destroy her.

Undercover DEA agent Max Romano wants Sophie’s secrets. All of them. And not just for his investigation. The more he knows about her, the better he can protect her from the dangers that threaten her. The passion between them might be wild and all-consuming, but it’s not enough to keep her safe. Max needs more, and he’s not stopping until he gets it.

The only problem is, he’s not ready for her to learn all of his secrets.
And when she finally discovers the truth behind all of his lies, his entire world explodes into chaos.

**This is a SHORT story series. Each volume is a short story serial and is an average of 30,000 words. This is NOT a full-length novel series.**

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melanie Munton
• Release date: Sep 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463826799

Melanie Munton

Traveler. Reader. Beach-goer. St. Louis Cardinals fan. Pasta-obsessed. North Carolina resident. Sarcastic. Bit of a nerd.Author of the Cruz Brothers, Possession and Politics, and Timid Souls series, Melanie loves all things romance, comedies and suspense in particular because it's boring to only stick to one sub-genre! From light-hearted comedies to sexy thrillers, she likes to mix it up, but loves her some strong alpha males and sassy heroines.Go visit Melanie's website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!http://www.melaniemunton.com/You can also follow Melanie on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Goodreads.

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Rumba

Sultry Nights

Volume Three

Melanie Munton

Copyright © 2019 Melanie Munton

Rumba

Sultry Nights, Volume Three

Copyright © 2019 Melanie Munton

All rights reserved

Cover Design by L.J. Anderson at Mayhem Cover Creations

www.mayhemcovercreations.com

eBook Edition

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This is a work of fiction and any similarities to persons, living or dead, or places, actual events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters and names are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Bonus Scene

More Books by Melanie Munton

Acknowledgments

About the Author

More books by Melanie Munton:

Sultry Nights:

Salsa (Sultry Nights 1)

Tango (Sultry Nights 2)

Standalone romance:

King of the Court

The Unforgettable Kind

Slow Seductions series:

Casual Affair (Slow Seductions #1)

Sweet Attraction (Slow Seductions #2)

Cruz Brothers series:

Playing for Kinley (Cruz Brothers #1)

The Art of Sage (Cruz Brothers #2)

Always Mickie (Cruz Brothers #3)

Timid Souls novellas:

Stubborn Hearts

Unexpected Love

Possession and Politics Trilogy:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Chapter 1

Max

Unbelievable.

I’m about to plunge my fingers into Sophie’s dripping wet pussy, and my damn undercover phone rings. And since I’m always on duty with this assignment, I have to pick it up.

Amused by the frustrated frown on her face, I lean forward to place a quick kiss on her supple lips. It’s business. I have to take this outside.

I leave Sophie’s delectable little body lying wantonly on the living room floor of my hotel penthouse and step out onto the balcony to answer the call from the unknown number. Back to being Max Ramirez. Max Romano, on the other hand? He wants to stay inside with Sophie. More specifically, inside Sophie.

Yeah?

"Señor Ramirez."

Diego fucking Suarez. The bastard me and my people at the DEA are working so damn hard to take down. I grit my teeth, fighting against the explosive rage that always accompanies any encounter with the man.

"Buenas noches. What can I help you with this evening?"

In light of the new business partnership we’ve struck, I could use your assistance with something tonight.

My interest piques. And what exactly is that?

Meet me at the port and I’ll show you.

My pulse thunders in my ears. The cocaine shipments. He’s been bringing the drug into the US from Colombia via the Miami port for years. We just haven’t been able to figure out how he’s been hiding it amongst the coffee, sugar, and fruit he imports from the South American country. I might be about to find out.

Tell me where and when.

He provides the exact location of the meeting spot, since the Miami port is huge. Oh, and I assume you understand this is of the highest discretion, he adds. Don’t even tell your little pet where you’re going.

He means Sophie.

Pet, motherfucker? I could end your life in three seconds flat.

"Understand something, Señor, I bite out, a distinctive edge to my voice, you don’t need to tell me how to conduct my business. The details of my affairs are kept private. That’s all you need to know."

He chuckles evilly. I’ll see you soon. The grating sound of his laughter is punctuated with a click as he hangs up.

Asshole.

I pull my burner phone out of my pocket and ring my partner, Ian. I think this is it, man. We’ve got him.

This could be fucking it. If Suarez is getting one of his large cocaine shipments in from Colombia tonight, we could nail the son of a bitch red-handed. What the hell else would he be doing at the port tonight that’s so secretive?

I give Ian the location of the meeting spot, and we discuss our plan. I’ll call in backup and have them standing by, he says.

Don’t move until I give you the go-ahead. I’m going to see how this plays out first. We want as much information from him on record as we can get. We might be able to get his contacts’ names and shipment routes. We take him out too soon and we won’t get jack shit but the drugs. And we need more.

Copy that. Don’t forget to turn on your transmitter. Give me the signal the second you want us to move in.

The gold ring I wear on my right pinkie finger is a transmitter and recording device. Only I can communicate with the person on the other line, usually Ian, but I can’t receive transmissions from him. Wearing an ear piece, even the smallest, highest-tech ones on the market, would be too dangerous to wear while undercover.

Got it, I reply. I’ll be out of here in less than five.

After hanging up, I resist the urge to crush the burner phone in my hands. Adrenaline surges through my veins at the prospect of finally hauling Suarez’s ass to jail tonight. But the end of his freedom comes in tandem with the end of my undercover identity, Maximus Ramirez. And if Maximus disappears, where the hell does that leave Sophie? Where does that leave me and Sophie?

I can’t lose her. I won’t.

Not when I just found her.

I chance a peek through the window and see her cleaning up our takeout containers scattered over the coffee table. The last thing in the world I want to do right now is walk away from her. Especially after what happened earlier at the club with Suarez.

The son of a bitch hit her.

She still has the goddamn handprint on her cheek.

As pussy-whipped as it might sound, I was planning on pampering her tonight. Taking care of her, since I haven’t made enough efforts to do so up to this point. Between wanting to kill Suarez for deigning to lay a finger on her and then bending her over the hood of my Ferrari and fucking her with a ruthless kind of savagery that should have scared the hell out of her, my emotions have run the gamut today. The only way I’m going to be able to sleep soundly tonight is if I have her wrapped securely in my arms. Where I know she’ll be safe.

And now I have to leave her.

So not how the night was supposed to go.

Everything okay? she asks cautiously when I step back into the room.

I crane my neck from side-to-side, stretching the already tense muscles. Ah, yeah. I just have to go take care of some business.

She pauses her movements, looking at me with hooded eyes. You’re leaving?

I slip on my suit jacket, avoiding the wounded expression on her face. She usually tries to act unaffected by my words or actions, responding instead with indifference or blatant disgust. I don’t know how to handle her looking hurt.

All I do know is that I don’t like seeing it.

Yes, I answer, focusing on fastening my cufflinks. I hate that I sound so monotone. I tell myself it’s necessary, though, if I’m going to have a clear head for this meeting with Suarez. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I want you to stay here until I get back.

I glance up in time to see her swallow, her gaze darting to the floor, which is good because she doesn’t see me flinch. I’m fucking this all up. I can’t afford to lose any ground with her. I’ve finally made some progress. She’s opening up to me, confiding in me. I can’t go backward now. I close the distance between us, forcing her to look at me.

I don’t have a choice here, Sophie. I have to handle this. I’ll be back as soon as I can.

She smiles sadly, as if she can read my every thought and knows I’m feeding her bullshit. I don’t like that look at all. It communicates distrust, a lack of faith. So much for all that progress I made.

But why should she trust me? I’ve never given her a reason to. I haven’t had to prove myself. The only thing I have done is essentially taken her hostage and fucked her in the bathtub. Oh, and lied to her about almost every detail of my life. Bravo, Romano. Hell, she should hate and fear me. The woman doesn’t have a tight grasp on her own self-preservation.

I get it, she says softly.

I don’t think she does. And I certainly don’t want her thinking I’d choose Suarez over her, which is exactly what’s written all over her face.

I tighten my grip on her arm. "Promise me you’ll