Chapter Forty-Four #2
“From past examples? She either breaks your bones or kicks you off her team.” He chews on his stick.
“Between the two, getting our bones broken is preferable. ‘Cause being on Ray’s team? Best gig there is. But no one wants broken bones either, you know? She’s fast. You never see her coming. Why risk it?”
My girl sounds like a badass. “How long does she usually spar for?”
“Depends on how upset she is. And Ray’s been real upset these days.
Could be hours.” He eyes me with a little more focus now.
“Look…they won’t admit it, but everyone will be stoked to see you here in one piece.
Your presence will change the atmosphere, no doubt ‘bout that. But no one is going to risk her wrath for you.”
He pats the grass next to him. “Come on, relax. Take a siesta. Enjoy the fresh air while the weather is still good. Your time with Pavlov couldna’ been anything but a stressful mindfuck.”
Hard as it is to let go of the tension clawing at me, it’s clear there’s no other option. Hell, I waited six months. What’s another hour or two?
I throw one more glance toward the mountain, then tug up my sleeves and sink into the grass beside him. “What’s your name?”
“Manuel.”
“You guys always this chill in the middle of the day, Manuel?”
“When we are at ThreeFours, yes,” he replies. “This is where we cool down. Recover.”
“And other times?”
He lets out a chuckle devoid of humor. “Other times...life is fucking loco, man. We don’t always all come back alive.” He glances sideways at me. “You should know, eh?”
Yeah.
~
SOMETHING’S FLUTTERING AROUND my face.
I rouse from a light nap to the blur of fast-beating wings, two tiny birds darting back and forth over my head. And I can’t help but smile, because fuck if this isn’t some Utopian shit.
They chirp then zip away into the sky, as if their dalliance right above my face isn’t as fun if I’m conscious.
Scratching my jaw, I glance to my left to check if Manuel’s still there, but instead of the Latino’s friendly brown eyes, I’m met with green. Soft, bright, beautiful fucking green.
My heart lurches against its cage, then settles into something deeper. Something steady. Because I see it now…
The thick black veil of desolate nothingness that I couldn’t see past a few years ago rips open, and suddenly…there’s light. A picture of a future. Years and years of it. Filled with her. As my wife. As the mother of my kids. As my obsession. As the very reason I breathe.
It’s her. She’s it. My reason. My future.
“Hey you,” she whispers.
Fuck. That voice. There’s no sweeter sound.
Disheveled. Damp tendrils clinging to her cheeks. Splotches of mud streaked across her face. A reddened scratch on her neck. She looks like she’s returning from a battlefield…
And she’s still the most flawless fucking thing I’ve ever seen.
A sigh escapes me, unprompted, reverent. “There you are...”
I’m in love with you.
She smiles. And it’s real. Genuine. True. This is her. The girl I’ve been desperate to know. “Here I am.”
I shift onto my side, prop myself on one forearm, and reach for her, fingers sliding to cup the side of her face. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
Her lips part. Her breath hitches. Her pulse flutters visibly between her collarbones. But I don’t give her a chance to take another breath, I move in and take what’s mine.
She lets me in.
And fuck, I’ve wanted this.
Needed this.
I kiss her like I’ll never get another chance. Because hell, maybe I never will. Her fingers curl in my hair as she moans into the kiss, and it shoots straight to my cock.
I want her. She’s all I’ve wanted since I met her.
A starved grunt lodges in my throat, and I kiss her deeper, until my lungs burn for air. Even then, I can’t pull away. I’ll never get enough. Never get enough.
We break apart only because she nips my tongue and tugs my hair, forcing me to pause.
“What?” I ask, breathless. “What?”
When I go in for the kill again, she laughs and dodges me, slips out from under me and springs to her feet.
“Not here.” She clears her throat, scratches her neck. “Too many, uh…curious cats.”
Huh?
Needing to touch her again, I get up and reach for her, snaking my arm around her waist. That’s when I notice them. All the onlookers scattered about. Blatantly staring. Some craning their necks.
“What am I missing?” I ask her.
“There’s probably a bet or something.”
“On?”
“Whether I kill you or kiss you.” She shakes her head, smirking. “Most are indifferent about you. Some are big fans. And some just don’t like you. The latter wagered against you, for sure.”
That drags a gut laugh out of me. “Why would they think you’d kill me?”
Her shoulders lift and fall with a shrug. “Because I can be moody.”
“Oh, what a pair we’re going to make.”
I pull her flush against me and claim her mouth again. She doesn’t fight it. And while I’m deep in devouring her, I thrust a fist in the air, then flick up my middle finger for the fuckers who bet against me.
Soraya must sense something, because she breaks the kiss and narrows those pretty eyes up at me. “What did you just do?”
“Kiss you.”
She tilts her head. “You know there are cameras everywhere, right?”
“Let’s kiss some more, then.”
She bites her lip, shaking her head. “Let’s go up to my house.”
“Hmm. Now, that’s what I’m talking about.”
A burst of giggles spills out of her. “What’s wrong with you?”
I’m in love with you.
Her giggling… It’s the prettiest sound I’ve ever heard.
This is all I’ve wanted—to touch her, breathe her in, feel her against me. I could die right now, and it would be with a smile. I need nothing more. Just her.
All of her.