“Are you sure this is what you want?” I can’t help but ask, although it’s pretty bad timing with Daniel still beneath me.
And inside me.
Daniel frowns, eyes still half-slanted in lust. He can’t keep up with my unpredictable mental leaps being all sexed up, and I fucking love it knowing it makes him even crazier for me.
With a yank, he sits up cradling me to him and going deeper with the motion. God, I wish he could take root in there.
“Depends,” he murmurs in a voice so deep, it vibrates through his cock and right into me.
“On what?” I whisper, his answer scaring me a little.
It was only hours ago he told me he made the decision to quit his business in favor for another one—a decision I hope he considered thoroughly.
Daniel yanks up my knees to hook them over his shoulders, and I topple over from the sudden movement, Daniel burying me beneath him. The position allows him to go so deep, the breath snags in my throat.
“How loud you can moan for me,” is his answer before he starts loving me with the passion of a wild beast. And moan I do—so loud, in fact, Daniel clamps a hand over my mouth to keep my scream from traveling all the way to the cockpit.
Anyway, this is our great plan. I’ll stay with Sam and the girls for the time being while Daniel looks for a property nearby, switching his business from drug to art dealing, which, he assures me, will work with what he wants to accomplish for Valentina. He already bought the museum my mother owned, eager to fill it with my creations.
He wants to make my dreams come true. He wants to give up everything for me. Until now, I didn’t know how love felt, but now that I do, I can’t live without it. Without him. Ever.
“How did you know that Victoria would deceive you?” I ask afterward, enjoying the Mochaccino the flight attendant hands me.
Daniel drags a hand through his hair. “A few years ago, Ramos and I made a deal. I would turn a blind eye to his business in exchange for him helping me find my father. We kept our collaboration a secret. Victoria thought Ramos was my enemy. When she came with the story that Ramos killed Piero, I knew she was lying.”
“Wait…” I mutter when it hits me. “You knew? You knew Victoria was behind all this the entire time, and you let her—”
His hand grips my chin, suddenly startling me, his gaze steely. “You were never in danger. Javier knew and played along when I sent you off.”
“She had a gun!” I counter.
“One that wasn’t loaded. Emilio made sure of that. It was all planned through.” His eyes are pleading. “I’m sorry. I never wanted to drag you into this.”
“You kidnapped me,” I remind him with a playful smile. “You dragged me into this, literally.”
Daniel gives me a breathtaking smile. “The best decision I ever made.”
“True,” I agree, and we sit in silence for a while. “Did Ramos find him? Your father?” He nods. “Is he still alive?” I ask tentatively when I notice Daniel’s hand forming a fist. The hate he feels for his father equals mine. I can only guess what happened to him, given Daniel’s power…
Daniel sidesteps the question and kisses me instead.
~~~
“This is weird,” I mumble when Daniel stops the rental in front of Sam’s house. Everything looks the same—Sam’s car, the glittering curtains in Kendra’s room, the cactus on Ruby’s window sill, and Skyla’s surfboards lined up against one wall.
Daniel plants a kiss on my forehead before I step out to reunite with the girls.
“Oh my God, oh my God…” I smile at Kendra’s voice resonating from somewhere.
“She’s here!” Ruby.
“No way!” Sam.
“Really?” Skyla.
I lift my arms to shield myself as four girls bounce out of the house, ready to tackle me. Kendra hits me first, crushing me in a bone-tight hug.
“What happened?” Skyla.
“Are you okay?” Ruby.
“What the fuck is this?” Kendra. Grasping my chin, she yanks my head up to have a better look.
“A spider tattoo on your neck? Seriously?” Sam.
“WTF? I thought you were kidnapped! When did you get a tattoo?” Skyla.
“It’s a… long story,” I say with a smile. After the incident with the tarantula, I decided it was worth getting a tattoo of it, so we stopped by at Zach’s on our way here. Now, an image of the spider adorns on my neck.
“You’re happy,” Kendra mumbles in disbelief. The girls frown at her.
“Of course, she’s happy. She’s home again,” Sam throws in.
Kendra shakes her head. “No, that’s not it. She’s—” Her voice falters, and I can guess what stopped her mid-speech when a car door shuts behind me.
“Who the hell is that?” Ruby whisper-shouts, shocked.
“Are you the asshole who took her?” Kendra yells all of a sudden, super pissed and ready to blow like a timebomb. “Are you the motherfucker who—”
“Yes. Daniel DeLuca.” Calm and sexy as ever, he extends a hand, and Kendra’s jaw drops to the ground. “By the way, I’m also Leonara’s future husband.”
This puts everyone short. Most of all me. “I’d definitely remember me getting engaged with you.”
“Will you say no?” he counters with a cocky grin.
“I hope this is not the official proposal.”
“Come on. Don’t tell me you’re the girl who needs me to drop to my knees and put twelve carats on her finger.”
I feign to ponder over this. “Too risky. I’d swallow it next time I suck my fingers after eating burger and fries.”
“Oh my God, he is her future husband,” Skyla gushes, whereas Kendra is still fossilized.
“They are… perfect,” Sam mutters in astonishment.
I shut them out as my gaze continues to bore into Daniel’s. This was a proposal, or at least a teaser of what’s about to come, and if the grin on his face is anything to go by, he knows I’d answer his question with a three-letter word.
“I need a drink. Or five,” Kendra mumbles, completely befuddled, and we all go inside.
While I let the girls rave about me coming home with my kidnapper slash lover in tow, Daniel and I retreat to my room. Taking the painting from my backpack, I unwrap it carefully before hanging it on the wall and stepping back to examine it.
“You don’t wanna sell it?” Daniel asks.
I shrug. “My boyfriend is a billionaire, so who needs a measly million dollars?” Daniel chuckles knowing I’m joking and circles his arms around me. The painting is all I’ve left of my mother. To me, it’s worth more than money can buy.
I turn around to face Daniel. His expressive eyes tell me he knows what I’m going to say. “Did you mean what you said out there?”
“Hmm?” He feigns nonchalance just to keep me in suspense.
I wiggle a finger between us. “The me-you-forever-until-death-do-us-part thing.”
A mischievous smile tugs at his lips. “Did I take you off guard?”
“You can say that.” I wind my arms around his neck inhaling his spicy scent.
“Now you know how you make me feel all the time.”
I grin, liking the idea of him fighting me with my own weapons. “You’ll never see me striding down the altar in a white dress, DeLuca.”
“We could dye it aquamarine if you want.” I laugh but choke when Daniel conjures a ring adorned with a real, shiny aquamarine—the kind I only ever saw locked in a jeweler’s glass showcase. Not waiting for my voice to return, he slides it on my finger.
“I’ve never had a ring that didn’t pierce my skin,” is my stupid remark.
“No, but now you have one that will pierce your heart.”
~~~The End~~~
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