13. Kate
13
Kate
Sunshine peeks through the blue curtains covering the window when I open my eyes. God, I had the best dream ever. My body, floating—somewhat used, but completely fulfilled, unlike those other nights when I dreamed about Raul Rojas. Stretching my limbs, I kick off the thin sheet covering my nakedness.
I gasp as the sleep fog dissipates and quickly look around the room and finding no sign of Raul except for the rumple of the sheet next to me. My heart drops. Quickly, I jump off the bed, wrapping the sheet around me and walk to the outer room. The front door is open and I sigh in relief when I see his bare back as he stands leaning against the porch column. The sight of his tattooed back in the bright light of day takes my breath away. As I get close, the raised edges of his scars seem more visible under his tattoos.
Sensing me, Raul turns around and smiles. “ Buenos dias .”
“Good morning.” I return the smile and let him engulf me into his embrace. “I thought you left.”
He drops a kiss on my hair. “You think I’d leave without saying goodbye?” he asks, sounding offended.
Shrugging, I honestly answer, “I don’t know what to think.”
“Last night was…” he pauses to find the word. “ Increíble, Amante .”
“It was incredible.” I smile, reliving the night in my head. “But…?”
Raul puts a finger under my chin and tilts my face, so I meet his eyes. “No buts. Just what’s next.”
“So, what’s next? You go home to Madrid. And I go home to New York.”
“Or I go home with you and sometimes you come home with me,” he easily suggests. “In between, we can converge anywhere else in the world.”
I scoff. “As fuck buddies?”
“ Amante , don’t be so crude,” he reprimands me with a frown. “You might not believe what I said last night, but I’m yours, Kate. I’ll worship you at your feet whenever and wherever you’ll have me. But I’m hoping we’ll find a way to have adventures together. Whatever comes next, let the stars write it in the sky.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “I didn’t know you believe in the stars and all.”
“I believe there are moments in life that make you who you are. That night with you in Club Wonderland was one of those moments that unlocked something for me. Then last night, the door completely opened. I’d like to explore this new path with you. If you’re willing.”
I lift an arm to round his shoulder and trace the scars on his back. “Is what caused these scars one of those moments?” I ask gently.
Raul’s muscles tense before he visibly relaxes as I continue my caress.
“Did you know I was captured by the Taliban during my last year of deployment in Afghanistan? That was years before we met.”
“No.”
I shake my head, shocked. I know he was part of the Spanish Foreign Legion under NATO peacekeeping missions and that’s how he and their mutual friend, Lina Cheung, met. But my knowledge of his military background is limited. I’d have to break a lot of international laws to get my hands on Raul’s service records.
“I was separated from my unit on a mission. I can’t divulge the details, but I was blasted unconscious, and I woke up in a dark room.” He looks out to the sea, his eyes troubled. “They held me for about thirty hours before I managed to escape in time for my unit to rescue me. During that time, they tortured me to reveal information about the allied troops.”
I can’t imagine what he went through.
“They whipped you?”
“Among other things. But whatever they threw at me, they never broke me.”
I believe that.
“My captivity was less than two days, but it always stays with me,” he says. “I covered the scars with tattoos, masked the trauma with defiance, and I jumped from one dangerous mission to another. As if to prove to myself they never broke me.”
Wrapping my arms around him, I tell him, “They didn’t, Raul.”
“Still, it haunts me in my dreams.” He continues, “That scene at Club Wonderland would’ve been one of my worst nightmares, Kate. I never wanted to feel hopeless or lose control ever again.”
Oh god.
“I’m sorry, Raul.”
He shakes his head. “No, don’t be. That experience triggered something in me. I had no control of myself, my body, or the outcome that night. My instinct is always to fight when I’m cornered, but I knew I could put my fate in your hands. As you put your trust in me last night.” He takes my hands in his.
Locking my arms around his neck, I kiss him firmly on the mouth. I forget about the sheet I was holding on to, and it slips to the floor, leaving me naked.
“There are only a few people I trust completely, Raul. And somehow I know you’re one of them. Crazy, huh?”
Raul runs his hands down my sides to my hips and pulls me against him. “That kind of bond is worth exploring, I think.”
“How do you propose we explore it?” I ask.
He chuckles as he hauls me up by my bottom and carries me inside. “Let me show you.”
Thank you for reading Raul & Kate's story. If you want to read where Raul and Kate first appeared in my world, please check out Dangerous Rhythm in the Echo series.
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