Keeping his bride

Mateo

ARIA REMAINS UNCONSCIOUS for two days. The doctor eventually figured out she was suffering from a kidney infection. Most likely occurred when she was laid up in bed while healing from the whipping. Aria’s been on an antibiotics treatment for the past forty-eight hours, and the doctor is sure that she’ll be just fine.

After a quick shower, I get dressed for the day and go to the room that Aria has been staying in. It felt weird not having her in my bed at night. And I hate to say it, but I’ve fucking missed her. More than I thought I would. More than I would ever admit out loud.

Aria somehow wormed her way into my dark heart, and I didn’t even realize it. It happened so quickly, like some kind of cruel magic trick.

When I enter the room, Aria is sitting up in a cot in the corner of the room, wide awake and alert as she tries to communicate with the doctor as best she can with the language barrier. The man knows some English, so that should make it a little easier at least.

As Aria turns to me, all the air in my lungs leaves in a rush. I have a strong urge to run to her side, to plant kisses along her beautiful face and tell her that I’m glad she’s okay. But I abruptly suppress that urge and slow my walk. I can practically feel the mask slipping down over my face as I school my features. I can’t let this obsession, and that’s exactly what it is and nothing more, take ahold of me.

“Nice to see you awake, Aria,” I tell her coolly.

“Nice to be awake,” she counters.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

I force my attention to the doctor. I ask him in Spanish about her condition and what needs to be done from this point forward.

“Lots of rest and liquids. Need to keep her hydrated,” he informs me.

“Considerelo hecho.” Consider it done.

“The doctor told me you barely left my side the last couple of days,” Aria says, a slow, mischievous grin spreading across her face.

My lips thin, and I glare at the man beside me. That bastard ratted me out.

I can see the amused sparkle in Aria’s eyes as she continues. “I didn’t take you as the Florence Nightingale type, Mateo.”

She’s testing my limits. “I think I liked you better when you were unconscious,” I snap.

That earns me a smile, and fuck, it causes my mask to slip a little. A couple of days ago, I would have done anything to see that smile. And to see her awake and happy now…it makes me feel things. Things I have absolutely no business feeling.

“I have some matters I need to take care of,” I inform her before turning to leave. When I learned that Aria was going to be okay, I purposely scheduled meetings outside of the compound today so that I could get some fresh air and have time to think about all these new emotions I’ve been trying to deal with. I need to get away from Aria and see if the real world wakes me the fuck up without her in my constant presence.

That’s what I’m chalking this all up to. Taking care of her, having her by my side almost twenty-four-fucking-seven for the past week or so. Anyone would think they’re developing some sort of attachment towards another person in that case. That’s all this is. Pure and simple.

“Thank you!” Aria calls after me before I make it out the door.

When I turn to face her, I cock a brow in question. She’s thanking me?

“For staying with me, making sure I was safe, and for calling the doctor,” she says in a rush. Then, she stops, takes a breath and says, “For…everything.”

I nod and walk out of the room before my mouth gets me in trouble once again. Fuck, I need to get away from her before I do something stupid, like tell her that I’ve missed her…or, God forbid, try to kiss her.

Mateo

THE STRIPPER GYRATES her hips in front of me, trying desperately to entice me. Gritting my teeth, I snag my drink from the table and take a long swig of the dark liquid, doing my best to completely ignore the woman.

“Maybe blondes aren’t your thing?” Vidal, my business associate, surmises. “I can bring in some brunettes or maybe a redhead,” he offers.

“Not in the mood for any variety today,” I tell him, barely able to contain my irritation. We’re at Vidal’s strip joint, just one of the many businesses he owns that we launder our money through. He insists on conducting meetings here; and any other time, I wouldn’t really mind. But today, I’m not in the mood.

Vidal nods in understanding and waves his hand, dismissing the girl. The blonde walks away with a backwards glance at me, pouting. Any other day, I would have taken her to one of the back rooms and fucked that pout right off of her face. But now that Aria is in my life, it would feel wrong somehow.

When did I suddenly get so fucking righteous?

Groaning, I rub a hand down my face while I desperately try to block Aria from my thoughts. The whole reason for me getting out today was to forget about her; and so far, it’s not working. In fact, her not being with me is making my thoughts drift to her even more often. “Fuck,” I grit out before finishing off my drink.

“Another?” Vidal suggests.

When I nod, he gestures for one of his men to bring forward the bottle of expensive liquor, and I watch as he carefully refills my glass. Vidal is dressed casually today with a Hawaiian-looking shirt and khaki shorts. He’s short and skinny with a pencil thin mustache and warm, brown eyes. He doesn’t seem like much to look at him, but I’ve seen him take down three men much bigger than him in a fight before. He’s scrappy and gets shit done when it matters the most. Maybe that’s why I chose to work with him several years ago. There’s something profound that can be said about a man, who is an underdog, with the odds stacked against him and the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he still ends up coming out on top when it counts.

“Something wrong, Mateo? I’ve never known you to drink so much or turn down pussy,” he says, leaning back and stroking his mustache.

My eyes flash towards him, narrowing as a warning.

Vidal puts his hands up in a placating gesture. “Alright, alright, no need to talk about it,” he says with a smirk.

“I just want to talk about business,” I inform him. And forget about a certain pretty brunette with a smart mouth, I add internally.

“Good enough.”

“Why is my shipment not here yet?” I inquire. The materials I need from California never arrived, and it’s been a thorn in my side. Production has halted at several of my warehouses. And if they’re not making the product to sell, then that means I’m not making any money.

“Our usual dockworker wound up dead last week,” Vidal explains. “We’re still working on trying to bribe another man to take his place.”

“Any progress?”

“I found a man with a family – a wife and kids. I have no doubt he’d be willing to do it if I paid them a visit, gave them a little scare. Hell, he might even do it for free if I take his family for a few days and rough them up to help convince him.”

I hold up my hand to silence him. “Your words should suffice. We don’t need to go to extremes unless it becomes absolutely necessary.” Children are innocent. They don’t choose what their fathers end up becoming. “Pay him the same rate,” I add on. It’s worth the money if I can get my shipments docked safely.

“If everything goes well with our new rat, the rest of our deliveries should be a breeze.”

I nod. “Good. Make sure there are no further problems,” I tell him sternly before standing and buttoning my suit jacket. “I need to head home.”

“So early? It’s not even five o’clock,” Vidal says incredulously.

I move my head from side to side, cracking my neck. The tension I feel there is almost excruciating. I’ve been trying to handle business as usual just to get away from her. But even my associates are noticing a deviation in my behavior. Maybe I just need to fuck Aria to get her out of my system. If only she would give in to me. I’m sure one good romp in the sack would make everything better. I could quickly get over her and move on with my life.

“I have a woman tied up in my bed waiting for me,” I lie through my teeth.

He smiles wickedly. “Nice.” He stands and shakes my hand. “Well, I won’t keep you from your little captive.”

My little captive.

Yes, that’s exactly what she is. And tied up in my bed is exactly where she should be right now. Just the idea of seeing Aria’s big doe eyes wide and helpless as she struggles against her bonds has my cock hardening in my slacks.

“I’ll be in touch,” I tell Vidal before departing.

Once I’m in the back of the car, I pull out my cell phone. I read over my texts, hoping for an update on Aria, but there is nothing. Frowning, I tell the driver, “Hurry home.” I have an almost overwhelming need to see her. And an even stronger need to touch her and make her mine.