Page 83 of Keeping My Captive

A deep moan rumbles from inside his chest as he captures my mouth with his again. He fucks me slow and deep then, sending me closer to the edge. “Come for me,mi pequeña cautiva.”

His words are my undoing, and I break apart, shuddering underneath him as he holds me through my bliss. He whispers terms of endearment in his native tongue while I cry out his name. And then he finds his release, his body trembling against mine.

Then, he gently pulls out of me and lays down on the bed, motioning for me to join him. I eagerly go to him, placing my head on his chest as I listen to his racing heartbeat. Just hearing his beating heart has my own soaring. I thought I lost him forever. And just having him here, having him a free man who can be with me and our baby is almost too good to be true. It’s almost like a dream.

Wanting to be absolutely sure, I reach over and pinch my arm. “Ouch.”

“Did you just…pinch yourself?” Mateo asks me.

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

A deep chuckle rumbles through his chest. “Maybe I should pinch myself too.” I watch with a smile on my face when he does it. “Nope. This is real, baby,” he says with a satisfied grin.

We lay there in silence for a while until our breathing and racing heartbeats return to their normal rhythm. And then Mateo tells me, “I’m never leaving you again.”

Sitting up, I stare down at him. “Promise me,” I say in all seriousness.

He reaches up and gently pushes a stray hair behind my ear. “I promise. I’m all yours.”

“Forever.”

“Forever and always,” he swears.

EPILOGUE

Aria

Seven months later…

IWALK INTO the backyard of my parents’ compound. It’s beautifully decorated with earthy tones, tulle, lights and a wooden wedding arch right in the middle of the butterfly garden. When my brother told me about wanting to get married in my parents’ backyard, the pessimistic side of me never thought it would work. But now, after seeing everything put together, it’s absolutely perfect. This is the place where he and Selina met and fell in love, after all.

A familiar cry has me turning my head and looking in that direction. Mateo is holding our daughter, bouncing her and cooing, trying to get her to settle. She’ll be three months tomorrow, and she’s brought nothing but love and light into our lives.

After Mateo was legally declared dead, for all intents and purposes, we moved to the suburbs in Eastern Pennsylvania where life has been calm and quiet — the complete opposite of what we’d both been accustomed to.

And while I don’t see Mateo buying a minivan anytime soon, he’s taken to the suburban life better than I thought he would. We regularly visit my family, and Mateo even works remotely for my father as part of his team that helps women and children escape human trafficking. I know he’s not used to being on the other side of the law, but he doesn’t complain. In fact, I would even venture to say he actually loves his work and enjoys the slower pace of things most days. I know he definitely likes not having to look over his shoulder all the time.

“I think Little Lucy misses her mommy,” Mateo says as I approach. He’s dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and matching tie. I swear he’ll never own any other color, but I definitely don’t mind and never want him to change. The tall, dark and handsome look suits him so damn well.

I happily open my arms and take our daughter. I hold her close to me and stare down at her adorable face. She has my eyes and her daddy’s smile — a perfect mixture of the both of us. We named her Lucita after Mateo’s youngest sister, and I think the name suits her perfectly. And considering her name meanslittle lightin Spanish, it’s even more fitting.

I calm our baby down, having learned a few tricks over the past month or so thanks to some parenting forums I’ve become obsessed with; and soon she’s back to smiling and being the little angel she normally is.

“I thought I heard Lucy crying,” my brother says as he approaches us with Selina following close behind.

Selina looks absolutely radiant in her ivory, full-length vintage gown. And my brother looks as handsome as ever in his dark brown tux.

“Lucy is so adorable in her little purple dress,” Selina says with a huge smile before putting her hands out to hold her.

“What if she spits up on your wedding dress?” I worry.

“So what’s a little vomit from my niece? Hey, maybe it will be good luck,” she quips.

“We don’t need luck,” Nico reminds his bride to be. He looks upon Selina so adoringly that I would be jealous if I didn’t, in fact, get that same look from Mateo every time I see him glancing in my direction. It’s a look of pure, undiluted love. The kind of love I only ever read about in romance novels or saw in the movies before I met Mateo.

I hand Lucy over to Selina, and she’s a natural. I don’t know if the two of them are planning on having children or not, but they would make great parents. And even if they don’t have any of their own, they’re going to be an amazing aunt and uncle to their niece. I’m so lucky to have them in our daughter’s life.

Just then, a flash of navy blue catches my eye, and I see Renato walking into the backyard with a blonde on his arm. She’s tall and insanely gorgeous. And I can see the diamond on her ring finger glistening in the sunlight from here.

---