Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 149338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“Why are you smiling, cariño?” A grin spread across his handsome face. Knowing damn well why.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I smiled again, sitting up.
He chuckled. “I see you haven’t lost that saucy little mouth.”
We ate breakfast in his bed together, not bringing up the events of the previous day. Spending the entire Sunday there, talking about nothing important but it still seemed like everything. We ended up spending every Sunday this way. Sometimes we would watch a movie. Sometimes he would let me watch reality TV, while he worked on his laptop in bed. It didn’t matter what we were doing as long as it was together. Falling asleep in his arms every night, only to wake alone every morning. I was convinced the man never slept.
I headed to my room to get dressed like I did every morning, ready to start my day a few weeks after we got back. I opened my closet only to find empty hangers, walking over to my armoire next, opening each drawer, nothing. My bathroom was even empty. I stormed down the hall to his office, barging in without knocking.
He wasn’t fazed, like he was expecting me.
“What the hell, Martinez? Where did all my stuff go?” I asked, cocking my hip to the side, hands placed on my waist.
“Good morning to you to, Lexi.” He grinned.
“That smile is not going to work on me, buddy. Answer my question.”
“They are where they belong, cariño. Where you belong, in my bedroom. In my life.”
I hadn’t left his room since.
It had been over a year since he brought me back to live with him, seeing a different side to the man I still loved with all my heart. He’d bring me breakfast in bed almost every morning, and was home to eat dinner with me every night. Spending more and more of our time together, making up for our time apart. He took me all over New York City, shopping, visiting art galleries, and going to fancy restaurants I’d never frequented before. We did almost everything together.
He kissed me, touched me, and held me without reservations. Out in public and behind closed doors, whenever the mood struck him, he would just act on it.
We behaved as a couple.
Him and I.
The cold, dark, soulless eyes replaced with a serene, calm, tantalizing gaze. I found myself thinking about him all the time. I wholeheartedly believed him when he said there were days he thought about ending it all. Sometimes I would watch him from afar, and I could see his struggle. His decisions were not without regard any more. See, my demons were laid to rest in the fire. His… were alive and thriving all around him every day. But at the same time, it was a new beginning for us. Starting a new chapter of our lives, together. I often wondered if they would ever truly go away. Quickly realizing that El Diablo would always be a part of him, it’s who he was. Call me crazy, but I loved that man just as much. Every side of him consumed me. Every part of him engulfed me.
He was mine.
No matter what.
Life was finally looking up after years and years of heartbreak and disappointment. He had been there for everything, taking care of me, supporting me, making me feel wanted for the first time ever, with him. He held my hand through the countless surgeries for my leg, and attended my physical therapy sessions with me. Motivating me to keep going, when my body wanted to give up. I just teased him saying he liked the view when I stretched. I always made sure I wore tight leggings that hugged my ass just right.
Martinez even recruited one of the top orthopedic surgeons on the East Coast to take my case. I could finally walk on my own without any pain. Even had been given the okay to begin dancing again. All my injuries had subsided but I had yet to put on my ballet flats since the accident. After months of avoiding the corridor that housed my dance studio, I finally got up the nerve to go see if it was still there one morning. Closing my eyes, I slowly walked in, only opening them to find the room just like I’d left it. I hurried into his office, tackling him in his chair.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Kissing him all over his face. Able to finally say thank you. Just like I wanted to the first time I found it.
“To what do I owe this pleasure, cariño?” He stroked my cheek, a grin playing on his lips.
“You kept it. After all these years, you kept my studio, my sanitary. Why?”
“I wanted to keep apart of you here, hoping you’d find your way home again. And here you are.” He kissed my forehead, wiping away the tears I didn’t realize were falling.