8. Alejandro
Alejandro
Years ago, I left her without so much as a goodbye, letting her finish her senior year without me.
I was supposed to take her to prom, which I obviously didn't, and in an attempt to make up for that, I orchestrated all this, borrowing the house of one of my father's former clients.
They're a sweet, elderly couple away on vacation who know and trust me well enough to allow me to do this.
It doesn't hurt that they're hopeless romantics, married for fifty years.
She looks stunning in the dress I chose for her. There's so much I need to make up for, so much I want to tell her and explain. But there's no way of doing so without telling her what her father did, or promised to do, if I didn't leave her.
My father passed a few years ago now, and I miss him every day. I won't be the reason that Beatriz loses hers. She doesn't need to hate him like that, and I'll make sure she doesn't.
“So, about that key…” I whisper in her ear, knowing her feet are tiring and her stomach will be growling soon.
She giggles, the sound carrying in the wind like a beautiful melody. “What about it, hot shot? Are you trying to make me leave early?”
“Definitely. But I do so with a promise of food.” I wink at her as her eyes light up. She's always loved food the best.
“Those are winning words.” She nods her head with a smile. “Lead the way.”
We collect the clothes she came in from the changing room and head to my Corvette outside. I open her door, making sure her dress doesn't snag, and close it, racing to the other side. My heart is hammering, needing her more than anything.
She doesn't understand what she does to me. Not just when she looks at me and my body reacts like it’s been waiting my whole life for her touch—but deeper than that.
She gets under my skin, into my chest, into every thought I can’t shut off.
Physically, she ruins me. Emotionally, she owns me.
And mentally? She drives me out of my damn mind.
I can’t think straight when it comes to her.
Doesn’t matter how much time has passed, or how many walls I’ve tried to build—she tears through them without even knowing she’s doing it.
I can't help but reach over and place my hand firmly on her thigh, giving it one tight squeeze before releasing it and resting my hand there.
She doesn't push it away, nor does she look uncomfortable about it. I dare say she likes it by the way her breathing deepens. I smirk at the knowledge that I drive her just as wild as she drives me.
I get us to the hotel in ten minutes, letting the valet get the door as I hand him the keys and swing around to take Beatriz's hand. Interlocking our fingers, I casually stroll us inside, gaining stares from the other hotel guests.
I guess we are pretty dressed up.
It doesn't bother me, probably because I've gotten used to the limelight thanks to my soccer career. But Bee is another story. She lowers her head, keeping her gaze low as we walk, but her eyes should never be on the floor.
“Keep your head up high, Killer. Let them see how beautiful you are.” I lift her chin toward me, placing a deep kiss on her puffy pink lips.
She blushes, a faint pink tinging those tan cheeks. Her head is higher than before, but not quite to where I'd like it.
I'll work on it with her.
I have us take the golden elevator to the right, hitting floor number sixty-two before I turn to her. Instantly I have her pinned against the wall, hand gripping her thigh hard as I lift it against me. Our mouths are open but not quite kissing, only breathing each other in as I edge her.
When my lips finally meet hers, crazed and hungry, she moans in satisfaction. Her tongue explores my mouth way before I attempt to do the same. My fingers bunch the skirt of her dress up until they're brushing against her skin.
The chime of a singular bell has me pulling away from her faster than I would like as someone steps in.
No longer alone, we have to endure ten more floors before we reach ours.
The need to feel her, to be in her, is so damn consuming that I kiss her again like a depraved animal in front of this stranger, unable to contain myself.
The stranger clears his throat, glancing anywhere but at us. I catch the amused smirk Beatriz tries to hide as she tilts her head down, cheeks flushed but eyes daring.
The elevator finally reaches our floor with a soft chime, and I take her hand, leading her quickly down the hall, adrenaline firing through me like it did when I first saw her tonight, only magnified now.
As soon as we reach the room, I swipe the key card and push the door open, letting her step in first.
The room is dimly lit, shadows casting warmth across the walls.
The soft light glints off the champagne and strawberries I’d arranged on the table near the window.
Beatriz stops in the doorway as she takes it all in, her fingers still intertwined with mine.
I can feel her pulse quicken. Her breath comes in soft gasps that only spur me on.
She turns, looking at me with a smile that says she knows exactly where this is going. Her fingers skim down my chest, lingering at the hem of my shirt. "You’re really trying hard tonight."
“Only for you.” I pull her close, hands traveling down her back to the curves I’ve missed so much, the sensation almost grounding me. "Tonight, I’m making up for every moment I missed."
I brush my lips against hers, barely a whisper, savoring the softness, the heat.
Her hands move up, tangling in my hair as I press her firmly against me.
I let the need I’ve been holding back pour out in every touch.
Her body melts into mine, and I feel her shiver as I kiss her deeper, slower, memorizing the taste of her.
“Alejandro…” Her voice is a murmur against my lips, but it holds a vulnerability that makes my chest tighten.
I pull back just enough to look into her eyes, my thumb brushing her cheek. “Tonight’s yours, Bee. Tell me what you want.”
For a second, her eyes flicker with hesitation, but then she closes the gap between us. Her lips capture mine with a fierce urgency that answers every question I could ask.
Her fingers tug at my shirt, unbuttoning it and sliding it off my shoulders as my hands work to free her of the dress I’ve been dying to see her out of. When the fabric slips down, pooling at her feet, I pull her close, savoring the warmth of her skin against me.
I lift her up, carrying her to the bed, and she wraps her legs around me, her breath catching as I press my lips to the hollow of her throat, trailing kisses over her collarbone, her shoulders.
Her skin is impossibly soft and warm under my hands. Every inch I touch only pulls me deeper. She’s intoxicating—every sigh, every moan a new kind of bliss.
Her hands grip my back, pulling me closer, and the heat between us is enough to burn. She’s all I can feel, all I want to feel, her warmth and softness drawing me in until nothing else matters.
I press my lips to her neck, savoring the taste of her skin, the way she shivers under my touch. She’s everything I need in this moment, and I’m lost in her completely.
Her nails drag across my back, each scrape sending a shiver through me. She presses against me, her body so soft and willing, driving every rational thought from my mind.
I move down, grazing her collarbone, tasting her skin as my fingers trail up her thigh, feeling the way she trembles under my touch.
She wraps her legs around me, pulling me closer, pressing us together until I can feel her heart racing against my chest. Every little sound she makes pushes me harder, until all I know is her and this impossible heat between us.
I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. I savor the taste of her, the way her chest rises and falls with ragged breaths. Her face is flushed, her eyes bright, and I brush a strand of hair away from her brow.
"This time, we'll both be there in the morning. I'm not going anywhere." I promise her what should have happened years ago.
I shift us both further up the bed, wrapping my arms around her, laying her on her back. The warmth of her skin is calming as I hook my fingers into the waistband of her panties, slowly dragging them off.
I begin to touch her between her legs. My fingers explore her, sliding into her as she writhes against me. I press my lips to her neck, feeling her heartbeat racing under her skin, and her breathing grows faster as I find her spot.
She gasps as I move my fingers inside her. Her fingers tighten in the sheets, gripping the pillow as she moans.
"Tell me, Bee. How long do you want me to make this last?" I whisper, brushing my lips against the shell of her ear, feeling her writhe under me.
"A while," she whispers, her voice cracking as she clings to me.
I keep moving, savoring the way her body tightens around my finger.
Her hands are everywhere, in my hair, on my back.
Her nails scrape down my chest as I bring her to the edge, and she cries out as her body stiffens, her muscles trembling.
Before she finds that release, I remove my finger, sliding my pants off.
She gasps, her fingers digging into the mattress, and her hips arch up, searching for me, desperate for more.
"What do you want, Bee? Do you want me inside you? Or should I just keep touching you until you come? What's the best way for me to make you scream?"
"Fuck, I need you," she whispers. "Dame más!"
She asks for more, and it's all I can do to contain myself, to not lose control.
"Condom?" I ask her, because I wasn't careful last time.
"I have an implant," she replies, and it's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.
I don't hesitate, pushing inside her slowly, relishing the feeling of her heat, her wetness.
I thrust into her, my fingers digging into the sheets beside her head as she arches beneath me, taking all of me. Her fingers dig into my shoulders in return.
She gasps when I press my lips to her neck, tracing my tongue along her jaw, nibbling her earlobe. She groans as she tightens around me, her muscles flexing and squeezing as she takes me deeper.
My lips find hers. Our tongues dance together, and I let her set the pace. She wraps her arms around me, clinging to me as I move inside her. Her breath is hot on my ear. Her hips rising and falling with each thrust.
My breathing quickens as I feel her building up, and I kiss her again, deeper, longer. She pulls me closer, her nails dragging across my back.
Her legs wrap around my waist, pulling me in, and I can't help the moan that escapes my lips, the way I bury my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent. I love this spot, where the scent of her is strongest.
I love the way she smells. The way she feels. The way her hips meet mine. The way she cries out, her voice breaking as she reaches her climax, her muscles clenching around me.
She tightens around me, and I can't hold back any longer, burying myself inside her, letting go.
She clings to me and I kiss her again, slower, more gently, letting her catch her breath.
"Te amo," I whisper.
"I love you, too."
"Tú y yo para siempre," I tell her, meaning it. It's her and me forever.
"Do you swear? Forever is a long time," she says, and her voice is shaky, her breath uneven. "You left me before."
"I promise. No matter what, hermosa, I will always come back to you."
"Good," she says, and her voice is low and husky. "Because I want you forever."
Her words make my heart leap, and I press my lips to her neck, smiling against her skin. "Then you shall have me," I murmur. "Para siempre."
We stay like that until I grow hard again, and then I’m back at it, needing to make up for lost time, needing to hear her cry my name out through the night.
We don’t stop. Not when her legs shake. Not when her voice breaks.
Not even when her nails leave scratches down my back and her thighs tremble around my waist.
We take and give, over and over again, until neither of us can move without wincing.
And when it’s all said and done, I hold her. Just hold her. Her breath soft against my chest. Her leg draped across mine. Her fingers twitch every so often, like even in her sleep, she can’t stop reaching for me.
I bury my face in her hair and let my eyes fall shut, not caring if the morning comes or if the bed swallows me whole. If this is how I go out, I’m good with it.
Because she’s in my arms again.
The morning light creeps in through the gap in the blackout curtains, slipping soft and gold across her shoulder. Her skin glows under it, bare and warm, her dark curls fanned out on the pillow.
She looks peaceful. Like maybe all the pieces we shattered managed to stitch themselves back together in the middle of the night.
My hand finds the small of her back, trailing slowly up her spine, just to feel her breathe. She stirs, a soft hum escaping her lips, her face burrowing into the crook of my neck like she belongs there.
She does.
"You're staring," she mumbles, her voice still coated in sleep.
"You drool a little when you sleep," I say, deadpan, even though I’m absolutely lying.
She snorts, one eye cracking open. “You’re lucky I’m too sore to throw a pillow at you.”
My grin spreads across my face before I can stop it. "That's fine. I’ll take the abuse. I like when you’re violent in bed."
She groans, burying her face deeper into my chest. “You’re disgusting.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“Mm. I bet.”
We fall quiet again. The good kind of quiet. My fingers tangle in her hair, brushing it away from her face as she yawns into my skin.
"Do you want breakfast?" I ask eventually, voice soft.
She nods without lifting her head. "Only if there’s bacon. And pancakes. And one of those mini orange juices in the glass bottles that cost way too much."
I kiss the top of her head. “All of the above.”
She sighs, squeezing my waist with one arm. “I like you better like this. Soft. Obedient.”
I chuckle low against her temple. “Careful. I can be very obedient. Until you tell me not to be.”
She pulls back just enough to meet my gaze, sleepy-eyed but smiling. “That’s new.”
"Just keeping you on your toes, Bee."
And when she leans in to kiss me again—slow, lazy, tender—I realize this is what I missed most. Not the heat. Not the sex. Not the way she tastes when she moans my name.
But this.
Her in my arms. Her in my bed. Her in my life.
Again.
And this time, I’m not letting her go.