Page 19 of Seductive Desires

I felt tears dripping down my face but I didn’t care. He was alive. Relief flooded through me and seemed to break the dam because I couldn’t stop sobbing, holding his hand against my face. He tried to reach over with his free hand but he gasped and flinched so I shoved him back down.

“Don’t move! You need to rest!”

“How can I rest when you are so sad, mariposa? Everything is okay.”

I frowned at him. “Everything is not okay! You were stabbed! How is that okay, Mateo?”

He shrugged one shoulder and flinched again. “It was nothing, just a scratch.”

Oh my god. He did not just quote Monty Python at me. I tried not to smile, I didn’t want to encourage him. I rubbed my cheek across his knuckles.

“I’m so sorry, Mateo. You got hurt because of me…”

“Aye, mariposa, you have no reason to apologize. You did not ask for this to happen.”

He moved the hand I was holding until I released him so he could cup my face. He brushed the tears away with his thumb.

“Were you hurt?”

I shook my head. I was a little sore, sure. After coming down from the adrenaline, my ribs ached from where the attacker punched me and I’m pretty sure my ass was one giant bruise. But Mateo didn’t need to know that. He needed to focus on healing.

He pulled me gently until he could press his lips against mine. It was soft and sweet and I almost started crying again. I pressed my forehead against his.

“Mariana.”

“Hmm?”

“I win.”

That broke the sadness and tension in the room instantly and I burst out laughing. He gave me a mischievous grin.

“You did not!”

“Did so. I don’t remember touching you before I was injured. So you were the one who broke the rules.”

My shoulders shook as I tried to suppress my laughter. “I call party foul. Extenuating circumstances.”

His brows knitted together. “What’s a party foul?”

I eventually was usheredfrom the room by the nurse. Mateo needed his rest so I headed home, exhausted. Amari was nice enough to give me a ride, standing beside me until I was safely inside my apartment. I was grateful because I was super jumpy, jerking my attention around like someone might appear out of the shadows any second. I only heard her leave once my door was locked.

It was well past midnight at this point, and the night was certainly catching up with my body. I barely had enough energy to drag myself over to the couch and collapse onto it. But my brain was still wired and I couldn’t seem to close my eyes. Every time I did, memories from the attack played like a movie on repeat. I had just given up when my phone rang. Panic seized me when I saw who it was.

“Mateo?”

“Hola, mariposa.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I am finding it difficult to rest when you aren’t here. I had to hear your voice.”

I sighed, kicking off my shoes and curling farther onto the couch. “Me too.”

“So tell me, what are you wearing?”

I snorted and he laughed. I heard him suck in a breath.

“You should be resting, you know.”

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