10
We walk up the spiraling staircase hand in hand, without saying a word. When we approach my door he turns back to me and cups my face. I wrap my hand around him as he holds my gaze. As he kisses me slow and deep I begin to feel a throb in between legs. A persistent ache for the need of Xavier Almasi. I haven’t felt anything this intense before if I’m being honest.
“Goodnight Lina.” He finally pulls away and shoots me a quick smirk. I watch as a flush creeps up his face which makes my heart pound even harder.
“Goodnight Xavier,” I say softly. Something inside of me was awakened tonight and I’m not sure how much longer I can keep her tamed.
────
I wake to the sun shining through the windows. After taking a man’s life, I wish I could say that I had trouble sleeping last night. However, the truth is I slept like a baby knowing that the bastard won’t ever be able to hurt another girl again. Who am I? Who has Xavier turned me into? Who have they turned me into?
A faint knock on my door startles me as I sit up straight. When the door opens slowly I see Farrah’s warm smile. “Breakfast is ready, Miss. Lina,” she says, giving me a quick wink then shuts the door behind her.
Once I make my way into the bathroom, I can’t help but smile as I flashback to Xavier and me last night in the kitchen. I have a feeling he knows exactly how to please a woman. I make my way into the walk-in closet that is the size of my room back in Chicago. I put on the black body-hugging lounge dress as I make my way downstairs. I tie my waves in a messy-bun as I approach the kitchen.
I see Xavier sitting at the table wearing cream pajama pants and no shirt. My eyes trail over every inch of his body as he reads the newspaper. His deeply tanned skin and dark chest hair scattered across his broad, muscular chest. I notice the stubble on his face, something I didn’t notice before last night. I only notice it now because parts of my neck still sting from his scruff. I flashback to us panting on the very counter that Farrah is preparing our breakfast on.
“Miss. Lina,” Farrah’s voice interrupts my nasty thoughts. Xavier’s eyes quickly turn to me as I make my way further into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” he says, clearing his throat. He folds the newspaper and places it on the table.
“Morning,” I say, taking a sip of the coffee that’s in front of me. I smile as I watch his eyes trail up and down my body.
“Any plans today?” I ask and he shoots me a quick smirk.
“Unfortunately, no.” He brings the coffee to his lips.
“Good,” I say.
“That’s good?”
“Yes,” I bite my bottom lip softly. Xavier’s eyes go straight to Farrah.
“Farrah, would you please go and see if my documents have arrived?” He sips his coffee quickly as she walks out of the room. Within seconds I feel him standing behind me. I feel his lips barely graze my ear. My heart beats fast as the throbbing in between my legs intensifies significantly just by his touch.
“I’m going to need you to stop doing that,” he says, brushing his finger over my bare shoulder.
“Doing what?” I turn slightly holding his stare. I watch as his eyes drop straight to my breasts.
“Being so damn irresistible,” he says, and before I know it his mouth is pressed against mine. Our tongues caressing gently. Why in the world does this feel so natural? I know it should feel weird, but it doesn’t. We kiss for what feels like eternity and for the life of me I can’t stop. I don’t want to pull away, but Farrah’s footsteps snap us back into reality and we both jump back. I watch as she comes into view. She hands him a stack of papers and he makes his way back to his seat, attentively skimming through them.
“Mm.” His eyes quickly look up into mine and then back at the papers in between his fingers.
“Mm, what?” I say curiously sipping my coffee, wondering what on earth he’s reading.
“You up for a quick trip to Mexico?” He asks as his eyes stay glued on me.
“A few more people have been located and are presently awaiting—us,” he hesitates and my face falls. The thought of killing another person for some reason excites me now. Maybe because the people we are killing aren’t good people, I don’t know—but what I do know is I’m ready. Ready to potentially save more women from these monsters.
“Let’s go,” I say as I sip the coffee with a devious smirk smeared all across my face.
────
A short while later, Farrah and I stand in my room as she helps me pack my suitcase. I watch as she stacks my clothes neatly together. She’s been quiet all morning, not her normal cheerful-self.
“Farrah, is everything okay?” I ask, folding my clothes. Her eyes meet mine and she forces out a smile and nods.
“Of course, Miss. Lina,” she says, breaking my gaze. I watch as she goes back to retrieve my clothes hanging in the closet. Maybe she knows something happened between Xavier and I. Or maybe Carl told her about how I killed a man last night. My mind starts to go on overdrive. The old Lina would go about folding her clothes while anxiously overthinking about Farrah, but something inside of me refused to do that. I can’t.
I close the suitcase and Farrah’s eyes take mine. Neither of us say anything. My heart pounds as I try to muster up the courage to say something, anything.
“Farrah, something is bothering you,” I say sitting on the edge of the bed. “Please tell me what it is,” I add with my eyes glued onto hers. She tilts her head to the side and then lets out a deep breath.
“I like you—Lina,” she says, shooting me a sympathetic smile. “I just—” I watch her hesitate. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt is all,” she softly murmurs as she sits next to me.
“Xavier would never—” I try to say, but she interrupts me. “It’s not him I’m worried about, it’s this entire situation,” she exhales hard.
“At the end of the day, what is going to come of this? Someone is bound to get hurt.” I watch as her mouth sets into a hard line.
“Not necessarily,” I say, zipping my suitcase.
“And once you two kill all of the guys involved in this operation then what? You go back to your life and pretend that none of this ever happened?” Her eyes hold mine and I swallow hard because that’s exactly what happens. Sadness rushes up my body as I try to ignore it slowly taking me over.
“I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time. He’s had so much life happen these past few years, I can’t watch him go through any more devastating events,” she says brushing her index finger over my cheek.
“And what are you suggesting that I do, Farrah?” I ask with a confused expression.
“The funny thing is—I don’t know,” she scoffs while shrugging her shoulders up.
“For now just be careful in Mexico and try to have a little fun I guess,” she winks at me before making her way out of the room. I plop onto the bed as my eyes slowly close.
I flashback to that night for the millionth time; Alex and Grace laughing in my room as we all got ready, not knowing that this would be the night that our lives would be forever changed. I try to hold back the tears, but they stroll down my face uncontrollably. With my eyes still closed my flashback changes to the three of us dancing at the club together. The music was loud and we were shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the sweaty crowd. Nothing out of the ordinary. How can being on the dance floor be the last thing I remember? It just doesn’t make sense. It was the three of us the entire night. I’m pulled back into reality as I hear a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I sniffled trying to pull myself together. The door opens and I see Xavier standing there. His tan-skin glistens as the morning sun peers through the windows. He runs his hands through his dark hair as he walks through the door.
“You ready?” he asks, looking around the room. When his eyes finally make their way into mine, his face falls.
“Lina, what’s wrong?” he asks, stepping closer to me. I shake my head trying to hold everything in, but I can’t. All of my emotions from the last several weeks come full-force ahead. I burst out into tears and before I knew it I felt his warm and safe arms pull me close into his body. For the first time since everything has happened, I don’t hold back any longer. I cry and I cry hard. I don’t justify my tears and he doesn’t ask me to, he just holds me tightly as my storm slowly passes.
────
Xavier
Our plane skids onto the runway as both of us look out of the windows. We didn’t talk much during the flight, but I still have the drool stain on my shirt from her. I tried to cover it when she woke up, I didn’t want her to be embarrassed.
She slept on my chest for almost two hours. She needed it. I know she did. I can’t begin to imagine the pain she’s going through. My eyes bounce over to her staring out of the window, her dark hair clipped back as she gazes out at the trees that line the runway. She adjusts her cream dress then her brown eyes trail up into mine.
“I’ve never been to Mexico before,” she puffs her lips out.
“Well I’m sorry this has to be your first experience,” I reply back and she nervously chuckles under her breath. Truth is I’m not sorry she’s here with me. I suppose under these exact circumstances I should be, but being with her has been nice. She’s got this warm feeling that radiates joy in my soul, I can’t explain it. How can someone you barely know make you this happy?
“I’m not,” her eyes hold mine. Our little heated moment in the kitchen has been going nonstop in the back of my brain since my lips left hers.
“You're not — what?” I hesitate as I watch her smile slowly crook.
“I’m not sorry this is my first experience,” her gaze breaks mine as she focuses back outside.
────
A few hours later, rain slams against the limo’s windows. A tropical monsoon is brewing fiercely outside as we pull up to the resort. This definitely wasn’t what I had in mind. Carl opens our door slightly and it flies open as the wind practically dismantles the limo.
“Quick, inside,” Carl tries to yell over the loud storm. I get out quickly and reach my hand back to Lina whose eyes are squinting up towards the sky. I watch as the rain beats down on her smiling face. The palm trees sway back and forth and I swear by the looks of it they could snap at any given moment. I take her hand in mine and lead us towards the double-glass doors. The rain thrashes hard against the building as our dripping wet bodies make their way towards the marble desks.
“Reservation for Almasi,” I say to the man behind the desk. He nods his head and begins typing away on the computer in front of him. I look back at Lina who is soaking wet. Her cream dress conforms even more to her wet body.
“Oh —” The man says looking up at Lina then bounces his beady eyes into mine.
“I apologize, sir,” he says in a thick Spanish accent.
“Unfortunately we now only have two of the suites available. We will most definitely refund your account accordingly but—”
“Excuse me?” I say as my brows furrow and my jaw tightens.
“I said we —”
“I know what you said, but see this is going to be a problem for me now. How am I going to house my guards and my—” I pause as Lina interrupts me.
“Oh, honey we’ll be fine,” she says, role-playing taking my arm in hers. She smiles warmly at the man behind the counter as he continues typing away.
“Suite 600 and 602.” He hands me two key cards and I snatch them away. I booked three rooms. One for each of us. I feel Lina’s arm drop from mine as the elevator doors close. The three of us stand in the quiet elevator as we make our way up towards the sixth floor.
“Sir I could—” Carl tries to say something, but I cut him off.
“It’s fine, Carl. Lina and I will figure it out,” I say as the doors ding open to our floor. I hand Carl his card as the three of us step off of the elevator. We walk down the quiet halls as Lina’s sandals echo against the marble floors.
“This is me, sir. If you need anything—” Carl says, but I cut him off with a nod.
“Thank you,” I say as I watch him disappear beyond the door of 602. Lina’s eyes glance up towards mine as we walk further down the hall. We approach two wooden double-doors and I slide the key-card over the sensor before hearing the slight beeping granting us access. I watch as Lina’s mouth parts taking in the beautiful room. The decor is bright blue and the walls bright-white. Her eyes bounce to mine and I smile softly at her.
“You were going to have this room all to yourself?” She beams looking around inside.
“Actually I booked this particular suite for you ,” I say, putting our bags down in the living area. Silence fills the air as she circles back towards me.
“And why would you do that?”
“Because after everything you’ve been through, you deserve it,” I say with my back now turned to her. I wish I could see her expression as she took my words in, but I smile with my back still turned towards her. When I do eventually turn around; her head is tilted slightly as a warm smile appears on her face. She walks straight to me and I feel her hands cup my face gently. Her touch sends a rush of peace through my body, I swear I melt a little in her possession.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she says as her eyes stay glued on mine. I don’t know why my mind drifts to this thought, but I would gladly kill anyone for her. I’m still not entirely sure what it is about her. But I’m beyond ready to try and explore why this woman has me so damn intrigued.