Page 84 of Forever Mine

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing her say that. I feel my heart skip a beat as my hand cups her head, my fingers sliding into her hair. “I love you too,anjinho. So much.”

I kiss her before grabbing my keys and unlocking the door. I haven’t been up here in a couple months. I’m hoping everything is still working and that nothing, animals or humans, has broken in. Opening the door, I scan the perimeter and see everything looks just as I left it. I find the light switch and turn it on, relieved to see the power is still working. There’s a well on site for water, so we should be good there. I foresee a lot of showers this week because I fully intend to make the two of us sweat. A lot.

The cabin isn’t much. It’s basically one large studio with a separate bathroom, but I’ve never needed much. I’ve thought about adding on to the cabin so I could have guests, maybe adding two or three bedrooms. Right now, I have a king-size bed, a couch, and a table with four chairs, and that’s about it. Monica is the first person to step foot in here other than me.

The two of us make quick work out of unloading the car before Monica begins unpacking the groceries. I have some canned goods and non-perishables here, but I never leave anything that can go bad and attract animal attention. Unfortunately, I’m so far into the forest that I have to drive my trash into the closest town.

Once everything is unpacked, I pull Monica onto my lap on the couch. She lets out a blissful sigh as I kiss her neck.

“It’s supposed to be a beautiful night,” I comment. “I can get a fire going, and we can cook the steaks that way. Then you can make your s’mores.”

“Okay,” she whispers against my shoulder.

“You okay?” I ask, and she nods.

“Very content right now.”

“Me too. Most content I’ve ever felt, I think.”

Monica pops her head up to look at me. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

We stare at each other for a moment, basking in the feeling.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Gabriel, but I’m not letting you go,” she blurts out. I feel a wide grin spread across my face.

“I’m not letting you let me go. You’re mine.”

“I’m yours.”

“Good.”

Monica throws back her head with a bark of laughter. “And are you mine?”

“Fuck yes, I’m yours,querida. All yours. Now kiss me and show me how much I’m yours.”

She giggles as she straddles me before leaning forward to kiss me. Our kiss turns ravenous quickly as Monica reflexively begins to grind against me. I didn’t intend for us to have sex as soon as we got here, but I’m not turning it down. Obviously, we both want it. With Monica wrapped around me, I stand and take a few steps over to the bed before launching us in the middle. Monica lets out a small shriek as we land, then giggles with glee. I spend the rest of the afternoon seeing how many different adorable noises I can get to come out of her mouth.

My ‘backyard’ at the cabin consists of a small concrete patio and a fire pit. I’ve been meaning to buy a grill to leave up here, but I figure it’ll just get stolen unless I drag it into the cabin every time I leave. Because I’m not up here often enough, I know people will figure it out sooner or later. My closest neighbor is a couple football fields away, and I’ve never met them. I don’t have fences on my property, so anyone can roam through here. With everything going on with Monica, I realize I need to get more security up here, too.

Cooking steaks over a fire pit as the sun sets is incredibly romantic, especially with Monica sitting next to me on my small patio loveseat. I brought some outdoor lights that I’ve strung up, giving the entire patio an ethereal glow. Monica sits against my side, her feet tucked under her, with a glass of wine in her hand. Every now and again, she sighs with a blissful expression as she watches the sunset.

“I don’t want to ever leave,” she says quietly as I flip the steaks.

“We can come up here whenever you want.”

“It’s because I can act like the real world doesn’t exist, like my family isn’t a problem. Up here, I can just be me. With you. No worries.” Her voice has become subdued and flat. I turn to face her and grab her chin, forcing her to look at me.

“Nothing is going to happen to you,querida. I won’t let it,” I say deeply. Monica gives me a sad smile.

“I love that you feel that way, Gabriel. Really, I do. I understand the sentiment. And I appreciate it. But I know my family and the mafia life. I know what they can do. I watched my father kill a man right in front of me. They’ll do whatever it takes …” she trails off.

“As will I. You will not be taken away from me,amor. I will lay down my life before anything happens to you,” I vow. Her eyes snap to mine.

“That won’t make anything better! If something happens to you, it would be like me dying. I won’t survive that, Gabriel. You have to promise me you won’t do anything stupid,” she says as her voice trembles.

I sigh as I close my eyes and think of how to respond. I already know I would absolutely die protecting Monica. If anything happened toher, it would destroy me. But I can’t tell her that without heightening her anxiety. She’s worrying enough as it is.

“I promise I won’t do anything stupid,” I say. I’m not technically lying, as stupidity is subjective. And clearly, we disagree on what’s allowed in the realm of keeping her safe.

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