Chapter 42

The next morning, all I wanted to do was sleep. Dolores kept trying to convince me to eat, but even that seemed like a chore. Once I felt up to showering, I went through the motions and then returned to my bed. Everything hurt a lot less when I was in the comfort of my safe space.

My mind kept going back to the fight with Alejandro. How I finally realized just how far I'd fallen for him. And just the thought that I would never see him again made it hard to breathe. Now that I knew what it felt like to have someone else's life matter more than my own, I knew I would never be able to be happy with George. And now, because of events I had initiated, I wouldn't be with Alejandro anymore either.

Dolores had told me that Alejandro wasn't home. He was probably trying to find a solution to what I had done, but even if part of me hoped that he did, my plan was bulletproof. Now that I couldn't deny that I was in love with him, there was nothing I wouldn't do to help him, even if it meant losing him.

It was late in the evening when Alejandro came back. I was sitting on my patio, trying to let the beautiful sunset distract me from my sorrows. I had decided to wear a very flattering but comfortable long, green dress with a very low back. Alejandro simply sat next to me, not saying a word, staring at the ocean.

He was avoiding my gaze, but I couldn't stop staring at him, admiring his gray suit and dark-blue shirt, paying attention to every detail of him, burning him in my memory.

We remained like that in silence as Dolores walked in. She could feel the tension in the air as she set various fish dishes, tapas-style, on the coffee table between us. I wasn't very hungry, but I ate anyway, just to have something to distract me from the nervous knot in my back. Alejandro had been tortuously silent, and it was getting to me.

"Where were you all day?" Not only had I broken the silence, but I couldn't even pretend not to care anymore, annoyed at myself.

"Trying to fix this mess," he answered coldly, slowly turning toward me. "But you won, Amelia. Tomorrow, I am taking you to Richard."

Alejandro got up, his back turned to me. I stood up to go to him, but stayed frozen.

"What do you mean?"

"Your plan worked. There is no convincing Mathias now. He wants you to go back home and get him the diamonds. So tomorrow evening, I will drive you to an abandoned factory by the border. Richard will meet us there."

"But is this safe? What if things turn out wrong?"

"They won"t. I will have backup. I will make sure you are okay and that he doesn't try to hurt you again."

"Isn't tomorrow a little soon? I thought—"

"You thought what?" he asked brusquely, turning around to face me. "You got what you wanted, didn't you?"

Alejandro closed the distance between us, standing in front of me with his jaw clenched. I didn't know what to say. It was all becoming too real.

Yes, I had gotten what I wanted, but it was far off from what I needed. He shook his head and stared at the floor. I couldn't talk, my heart was bleeding, I wanted him to hold me, but I was stuck in place. He started heading towards the door but changed his mind and walked back to me.

"You didn't leave."

"What?"

He looked up at me, the intensity in his eyes threatening to consume me.

"When we came here. You didn't leave. You had my phone, you had my keys, hell, you even had cash. You could have left, but you didn't. You stayed with me. You took care of me, nursed me back to life. Why did you? Why didn't you leave me here?"

"I…I don't know."

I felt my throat burn with the tears I was fighting too hard to keep from showing.

"You don't know?" he pushed, as he grabbed my arm. "You had your freedom at the tip of your fingers, Amelia. But you chose to stay. You chose us. You. Chose. Me."

"Alejandro, please, don't. It's too late."

I felt defeated. He wanted me to look inwards, to admit something to him. To admit what shouldn't be. I couldn't bring myself to do it. It would ruin everything.

He brusquely let go my arm and took a step back, and shook his head to himself.

"Be ready by 5 p.m.," he said as he quickly left the room.

I sat down. I couldn't believe it all had happened so fast. I had hoped I would have had a few more days to savor every last minute with Alejandro before this had to end. I wiped the tears off my face. I was conflicted.

Part of me regretted what I had done, and I felt guilty, like I had betrayed Alejandro. But I was doing this for him. He was caught in an impossible situation, a sort of limbo state, and I was caught in it with him. This had to end somehow so we could both move on with our lives. I also did it for my own good.

The longer I stayed with him, the more I would love him and not want to leave him. The harder my heart would break when we eventually went our separate ways. There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

I got up, knowing what I wanted to do, not caring about any consequences. We had one last night together after all. I was going to make the best of it.

I went to Alejandro's room. I didn't knock. He was standing by his bed, wearing his dark-blue silk pajamas, shirt open. He was staring at me, confused and frowning. I walked straight to him, put my hands on each side of his face, and pulled him to me for a kiss.

Alejandro kissed me but removed my hands from his face, holding me at a distance while he took a good look at me. My cheeks flushed, feeling the weight of what felt like rejection, but he was not letting me go, still holding my hands, an inquisitive look on his face.

"Tell me what you need," he asked between shallow breaths, showing me he needed me as much as I needed him.

So I bit my lip and took a risk.

"I want you to make love to me tonight."

Alejandro muttered something under his breath and pulled me back to him, kissing me, while his hands pulled my dress above my head, leading me to the bed.

I could not get enough of his lips, his hands roaming every inch of my body, my fingers exploring his hair and every muscle in his back. I had a dire need to at least show him how I felt. He removed my bra and grabbed my nipples between his lips, as my hand formed a fist around the sheets.

He licked and sucked my body all the way down to between my legs.

"Alejandro…"

"I need to taste you" he said as he removed my underwear.

I was trembling in anticipation. Alejandro parted my lips and dived right in. My body arched as he deliciously twirled my clit with his tongue. The sensation was so intense I tried to pull back, but his hands held my legs in place around his head.

"Oh god!" I screamed, panting, my fingers lost in his hair.

But Alejandro had no mercy and continued to run his tongue in circles. He groaned against my pussy, and I felt the vibrations inside of me.

Alejandro licked and sucked over and over again. I had never felt anything more delicious in my entire life.

He moved his hands to my breasts, rubbing my nipples between his fingers, multiplying the intensity of what I felt ten folds.

"Alejandro!" My toes curled and my legs shook as I writhed in delicious torture.

I didn't know what to do with myself, I felt so good, so unbelievably high. I had lost all notion of time and space.

I was lost to the world until a high pitch left my throat as every single nerve in my body vibrated, and I came for what felt like an eternity.

Alejandro continued to lick me lazily, driving me down back to earth. I slowly opened my eyes, as he got up.

"You're so beautiful when you come for me" he said as he took his pants off, his dark gaze drawing every inch of my body.

I still wanted more. I still needed him inside of me with urgency.

As he got back on the bed, I climbed on top of him.

"I want to feel you, I don't want anything between us" he stated, his voice hoarse.

I shook my head, I also wanted to feel him and only him, skin to skin.

Alejandro seemed surprised, but he groaned and grabbed my hips to move me against him. He slid inside of me as I let out a sigh.

"Fuck!" he growled under his breath as my movements accelerated.

He grazed my breast with his hand, bringing my nipple to his hungry mouth. I moaned a plea, pleasure coursing through me, a prickling sensation running down my body as he licked and sucked. He brought his thumb between us, rubbing my sore clit, as he moved to sucking on my other breast at the same rhythm he rubbed me.

"Oh, Alejandro!"

"I know, mi ni?a."

He grabbed my hips, pulling me closer, his other hand wrapping around my head, bringing my forehead to his, both of our mouths open, panting.

I reveled in seeing all his muscles contracted, his face contorted, the silence between us louder than words.

I didn't know how long I rode him like that in silence for. There was nothing else in the world that mattered other than the two of us in that moment.

I felt a current rise in me again, taking me closer to the edge.

I could tell he was as close as I was, his fingers digging further into my skin.

"I am not giving up on this, you hear me? I am not giving up on us. I am NOT losing you. I know you feel the same way."

His words shattered my heart into a million little pieces, tears escaping and rolling down my face as Alejandro kissed the trails away. My heart exploded, wanting to tell him those words. But as he started pushing me down on him more aggressively, penetrating me deeper, I rode him until he drove me to madness.

I woke up to Alejandro facing me on the bed and carefully removing my hair from my face. After the night we spent together and the stark contrast with what was to come, I wanted to tell him so many things, but nothing really felt right.

"I am going to have to leave today," Alejandro said. "And I will be back when it's time to go."

My throat started closing again as I restrained my tears.

"Are you sure it's safe for you?"

"Yes, I won't be alone. In any event, I want to be there. I don't trust Richard. I want you to be safe."

"What do we do after that?"

"Well, you will have my phone. You let me know when you have the diamonds, and we will meet for you to give them to me. Mathias insists on meeting with us as well."

"So…I will see you again?"

"I am not letting you do this by yourself, Amelia. And as far as Richard is concerned, I am Rick Hernández, a man with a lot of money to invest, so he won't mind seeing me around as I feign interest in his company. He already invited me to a private event at your house soon."

"I can't believe he is organizing parties while I am technically kidnapped."

"Oh, he played his cards right. He said you wouldn't want him to act any differently and cancel, and he needed to continue living and be strong—for you, of course. Fucker."

I shook my head in disdain. I would feel no regret taking those diamonds away from Richard.

"Once you hand me the diamonds, all of this will end, and you can go back to living the life I took you away from," said Alejandro, jaw tightened, his voice deeper than usual. "If that's what you really want." His eyes darkened, searching mine.

"I didn't do this to get away from you," I explained in an impulse to let him know. "This is just the only way Mathias will give you the video you need against Richard. We both know our…situation could not continue as it was forever."

"You should have let me handle it. I could have found a different way."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," he said, frustrated as he got up. "But this arrangement puts you in danger, and I would have preferred to avoid that at all costs, even if that meant…It doesn't matter anymore."

I got off the bed and went to my room as Alejandro went to the bathroom. I desperately wanted him to finish his thought, as I could tell he had taken my decision quite personally. I wanted to explain, but that would mean admitting to him that I loved him, putting myself at risk of getting hurt. I didn't know if he was, or would ever be, ready for that.