Page 64 of Keeping My Captive

Out of breath, I slowly pull out of her and collapse onto the bed beside her. I gather her into my arms, her head resting on my heaving chest. “Mine. You’re mine,” I murmur. Swallowing hard, I then confess, “And I’m yours.”

She lifts her head and stares at me, an indecipherable expression on her face. “You’re mine,” she agrees.

A smile graces her lips then, and she suddenly looks ethereal to me. Too beautiful to be real. And I realize in that moment what a lucky bastard I am to have found her in this fucked-up world. Our meeting wasn’t conventional by any means, but we still managed to find each other. Call it fate, call it whatever, but I’m never going to let her go. We belong together. In this life and the next. I’d gladly follow her into the afterlife and make her mine all over again until the end of time.

CHAPTER48

Aria

THE NEXT MORNING, I wake up to the sound of voices shouting in the hallway outside of the door. I blink, taking in my surroundings; confused at first but then quickly remembering last night. Mateo and I stayed in a spare bedroom, because his bedroom… Well, let’s just say things got a little messy.

The voices get louder, drawing my attention, and I can hear Mateo arguing in Spanish with a woman. Covering myself modestly with a sheet, I wrap it around myself and get out of bed. I need to find out what’s going on.

Just then, the door opens and Mateo peeks in. When he sees that I’m decent, he swings open the door wide and says with a dramatic wave of his hand, “See, I told you. Aria is alive and well.”

Esmeralda peers into the room and sighs dramatically with relief when her eyes land on me. She makes the sign of the cross against her chest and says something in Spanish while looking up towards the heavens.

“When Esmeralda changed the bedsheets in our room this morning, she got it in her head that I murdered you last night. You know, because of all the blood,” Mateo says with a roguish grin. “She didn’t believe me when I said you were all right.” He turns to her. “But now you see that she’s fine.”

Esmeralda glares at Mateo before looking at me with a much softer but worried look. “Hungry?” she asks.

I give her an emphatic nod.

She says something quickly in Spanish to Mateo and then disappears down the hall. Mateo walks into the room and closes the door behind him. “She’s going to make us a big breakfast.”

“So, we’re celebrating the fact that you didn’t murder me in my sleep last night?” I ask him sarcastically.

“Basically,” he answers with a chuckle.

I stare at his shoulder. It looks way better than it did last night with a fresh bandage. “The doctor stitched it back up?” I ask.

He nods. “A few minutes ago. Told me to take it easy this time.”

“Are you going to listen to him?” I question with a cocked brow.

“Of course not,” he answers before stalking towards me like a lion would with its prey. He’s the ultimate predator, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. He tackles me onto the bed, making me yelp in surprise.

“Mateo, your shoulder!” I protest as he places kisses down my neck and over my chest.

“I pay him a lot of money. The bastard can sew it up again later,” he says gruffly before he trails his hot, wet mouth down my stomach. And when his tongue sweeps over my slit, all former protests quickly die in my throat.

CHAPTER49

Mateo

AFTER ANOTHER ROMP in the sack and a nice, long, hot shower, we finally made our way down to breakfast. And Esmeralda wasn’t kidding when she said she was making us a big breakfast. The spread is immaculate, including all of our favorites and then some.

We eat, talk and laugh over the meal, and for a minute, I forget who I am. Aria always makes me feel…normal. Like we could be just a normal couple doing mundane things like having breakfast together without a care in the world.

But that feeling is short-lived, however, when my cell phone suddenly rings. When I see my uncle’s name come up on the caller ID, I frown. “Give me two minutes,” I tell Aria before disappearing outside.

It’s early afternoon, and the sun is beaming down. It hits me full force as I answer the call. “Domingo.”

“Mateo, how are you this morning?”

“Fine,” I grumble. I hate when he tries to make small talk. He knows I like to get straight to the point and not beat around the fucking bush.

“There’s a deal here in Cali that needs your attention.”

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