Keeping his bride

Mateo

THE DOCTORS WERE amazed with my progress. I should have been bedridden from the bullet wounds I suffered for weeks. But with the promise of revenge coursing through my veins, leading me to my end goal – being with Aria again – it gave me the strength I needed to strive toward a fast recovery. I only laid in bed for four days before I began grueling physical therapy to get me back into shape. If I was going to accomplish what I wanted, I would need to be in top form.

And two weeks later, I’m finally ready. I’m making my last stance as Mateo Navarro. And then, after today, he will no longer exist.

When I stroll into Domingo’s house on a beautiful, sunny morning, I have a smile on my face. I’m not smiling because I’m happy. No, I’m smiling because vengeance has finally been able to rear its ugly head after all these years and the day for retribution is upon us.

My uncle is sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast. I’m sure his morning went as normal as possible. He probably woke up a couple of hours ago, brushed his teeth, maybe took a shit, read the newspaper and then came downstairs for a meal consisting of over-easy eggs, bacon and fresh squeezed orange juice.

When his gaze rises and rests upon me, I watch in amusement as his face grows pale like he’s just seen a fucking ghost. “M-Mateo,” he stutters in disbelief. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Oh, Uncle. You’re not happy to see me alive and well?”

Domingo clears his throat, wipes his mouth with a napkin before tossing it down on the table beside his now forgotten meal. “Of course I’m happy.” I can see him reaching for his phone to alert his guards, and I don’t stop him. “Listen, Mateo, you have to understand that I only did it for the money.”

“You only did what exactly for the money, Uncle? You only had my entire family slaughtered in front of my eyes for money? Or you had my only reason for living taken from me and thus almost killing me in the process for the second time?” I shrug nonchalantly. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Money is the root of all evil, and people will do almost anything for it,” he tells me, as if I didn’t already know that.

“No shit,” I tell him with a smirk.

I can see his eyes shifting, glancing around the room as beads of sweat gather on his forehead. I’m not telepathic, by any means, but I can read his precise thoughts in this moment.

“Your guards are not coming,” I inform him. “You were right about people doing almost anything for money. Pay your guards enough and offer them asylum back in Mexico, and they will leave their master in a heartbeat.”

He swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Mateo, please. I’m the only family you have left.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” I pull out the Glock behind my back and point it at him.

“Please! Don’t kill me, Mateo!” he begs, groveling and sniveling like the pathetic, little weasel he is.

The coward.

“My mother, my father, my sisters. Little Lucita,” I say, my voice breaking with her name. I close my eyes briefly, trying to block out the memory of her screams. “Lucy was only eight years old,” I tell him through gritted teeth. “She was the most innocent.”

“It was wrong!” he says, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I know what I did was wrong, but I can’t take it back, Mateo. And none of this will bring them back.”

“You’re right. None of this will bring them back. But maybe their souls can finally rest knowing the man who betrayed them is finally six feet under.”

I squeeze the trigger and shoot him right between the eyes.

He slumps forward, his cheek landing in his plate of food. I watch the life drain from his dark eyes before I breathe a sigh of relief. After all these years, the retribution I was seeking is finally finished.

I tuck the Glock behind my back and leave the house. My mind is laser focused on one thing and one thing only – finding my little captive.

Aria

I’M PACING THE floor, waiting for my father to return from California. His flight landed an hour ago, and he still isn’t home. He’s been across the country for months, trying to work out a deal between Mateo and the FBI. Nothing was even set in stone before he left. He simply told me he would try.

He used his connections in the agency to try to set Mateo free from his crimes, but even my father has his limitations. What if they backed out of the deal and sent Mateo to prison?

Tears stream down my cheeks as I think of the worst possible outcome. Damn these pregnancy hormones. My hands drift down to my baby bump. I’ve really started showing over the past several weeks. And thinking about Mateo not being here with me during the birth of our son or daughter has a wave of fresh tears cascading down my face, and I furiously try to wipe them away.

“Don’t cry, Aria. You know what your tears do to me,” says a deep voice from the doorway.

Gasping, I turn and see him. He’s wearing his normal attire of a dark suit and dark shirt – black on black. His hair is shorter, and he has a thicker beard, but he’s still as brutally handsome and intimidating as ever.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

My tears blur his face as he approaches and scoops me up in his arms. He buries his face in my neck and says, “Dios mio, I missed you.”

I sob against his chest. “I thought I would never see you again,” I confess.

“It almost didn’t happen,” he tells me. He pulls back and stares into my eyes. “Choosing you was the easy part. Working everything else out is what took forever.”

Slowly, I climb down out of his arms. There’s so much we need to discuss. But first thing’s first. Grabbing his hand, I pull it towards me and place his palm over my swollen belly.

Mateo’s eyes widen before narrowing. “What…” And then he surprises me by getting on his knees. He lifts my shirt and stares at my stomach.

We never discussed having children…or having a future together, really. So, I’m not sure if he even wants this baby. “Mateo,” I start.

“Do you have any idea how happy I am right now?” he asks, interrupting me. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before,” he tells me before gently placing a kiss above my belly button. “I’ve dreamed of this moment with you, mi corazon.”

My shoulders sag in overwhelming relief, and I wipe away a stray tear as I stare down at the man I love adoring our baby that’s currently growing in my belly.

“Your father never told me,” he whispers in disbelief with a slight shake of his head.

“Knowing my dad, he probably wanted to make sure you were making the choice you wanted to make and not the one you thought you had to make.”

Mateo nods in agreement, nuzzling his thick beard against my sensitive skin. “He’s a smart man. I know now where you get your intelligence from.” His big hands wrap around my baby bump. “Pregnancy suits you, mi corazon.” And then one of his hands drifts lower under the waistband of my pants and thong. “I’ve missed you so fucking much. Your face. Your smile. Your body.” The moment his fingers touch my clit, I can’t help but groan out loud. “It’s been so long since I’ve heard those noises coming from your throat.”

I stare at the door and wonder out loud, “Someone could come in.”

“Let them come in. Nothing will stop me from tasting you right now, Aria.”

And with those words spoken, he pulls my pants down and moves my thong to the side before his tongue delves in between my folds. I ground myself by digging my fingers into his hair, and he growls from the sharp bite of my nails into his scalp.

He eats me like a man starving for my taste, and it turns me on even more. I can feel my wetness coating my thighs. I’ve been so desperate for his touch over the past few months.

“Tell me I’m the only one who’s ever tasted you.”

I can’t help but smile at his possessiveness. “You’re the only one. No one touched me while we were apart.” And then I confess, “I didn’t want anyone else. Only you.”

My words seem to spur him on, and he flicks his tongue rapidly over my clit, sending me soaring.