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  “Muñequita, I’m not that guy anymore.” I said, trying to bring her back to me.

  “I know.”

  Chapter Nine

  Lalia

  “Shouldn’t we tell Jorge and Ethan we are going?” I asked Aiden, as we traveled down the elevator.

  “I already have. Ethan is fast asleep and Jorge will stay with him.”

  The ride was slow even though it wasn’t stopping at any other floor and that awkward silent descended upon us again, or perhaps it was just me.

  “Shouldn’t we just go to the police now that we are over the border?” Aiden’s shoulders stiffened at the mention of the authorities and I knew he was hiding something. He turned to face me, his arms resting on the chrome bar behind him.

  “Laila, I know it would make sense to go straight to them, but you are now in a world where you cannot trust anyone even when on the other side of the border.”

  “Does that include you?”

  “No”

  Silence again.

  His eyes had been locked to mine and were filled with so much intensity I almost shrank away.

  The elevator came to a shuddering stop on the ground floor and, after a few seconds, the aluminum doors slid open. Aiden stood just behind me, a hand resting on the small of my back to usher me out. His lips grazed my ear and I shivered.

  “You have always been able to trust me.”

  ***

  Around the corner from our hotel, colorful market stalls lined the streets as people filtering through enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

  As soon as we set foot on the pavement outside the hotel, Aiden had grabbed my hand lacing his fingers with mine. The simple action caught me off-guard and sent my heart and mind racing.

  Aiden appeared unaffected by his gesture as he scanned the street ahead. “The closer you are to me the safer you will be.” He said, as if sensing my uncertainty.

  Of course.

  So why is there electricity flowing between us? Surely he felt it too. For some reason, though I sensed it was anxiety fuelled, I broke out in a cold sweat, my palms damp, heat flushing my cheeks.

  Eyeing me curiously, Aiden swung me gently around to face him, a reassuring look on his face. “Relax, enjoy the fresh air.” He was right. This was a luxury I should be relishing, not misreading by becoming paranoid. “Are you cool with this?” he asked.

  “Of course I am.” I smiled encouragingly. I wasn’t prepared to confess the real reason I was breathy and turning red. “Let’s go.”

  The sounds of lively chatter, crying babies, conversing couples and eager stall owners washed around us as we strolled through the markets. There was an array of items being sold, clothing, organic soaps and beauty products, leather goods, lanterns, jams and condiments, artists drawing caricatures and an assortment of jewelry.

  “I’ve missed this,” I said, lost in thought.

  “Markets?”

  “No, freedom.”

  Chapter Ten

  Aiden

  Bringing Laila out for some fresh air was long overdue. It wasn’t her first time outdoors, but since leaving the mansion, every step we took had been overshadowed by a threat that just refused to relent. Now with some distance between us and them, we could afford some luxury even it was just for a short time. Jorge had been dead against it, and was vocal in his thoughts. I could understand his concern, it wasn’t unwarranted. However, seeing the look on her face now as the sun shone on her porcelain skin, I knew this was the right move. For a moment I waited. I watched as she closed her eyes, tilted her face to the sun and took a deep breath.

  She was beautiful.

  Over the course of a month, I had discovered a woman who was unaware of her own beauty, who could challenge the strongest of men and who still possessed enough naivety to not become jaded with the world.

  Then and there, I knew I never wanted this girl out of my sight.

  She turned to me, a curious smile playing on her lips.

  “You look concerned.”

  I shook my head, knowing I had most likely been wearing a frown but not for the reasons she was thinking. “In this very moment, babe, I’m not concerned.”

  Her smile faltered a little, blue eyes locked to mine. I could see her heart pounding against her chest causing a slight movement of her breast. Was it me causing this reaction?

  Turning away to hide the blush in her cheeks, Laila ushered me forward, her eagerness to avoid the truth making me smile on the inside. I let her lead me to the various stalls, unsure if she were absorbing what was on sale or just happy to be doing something so… normal. I hadn’t let go of her hand and Laila made no effort to release mine either. It was only a partial truth when I said it was for her protection. Regaining her trust was on my agenda, even it were just small step at a time.

  After thirty minutes of browsing and weaving through the crowds, Laila had shown no particular interest in anything, until she stopped in front of a small jewelry stall.

  “It’s exquisite,” she exclaimed, admiring a thin silver chain with a small round pendant of marbled Mexican glass.

  “Why that one?” I asked, curious. There were at least fifty others surrounding the one piece she was focused on.

  She picked up the pendant and held it to the light before studying my face. “The coloring. It’s like a sea green on a sunny day. Like your eyes.”

  Taking the necklace in one hand, I threw some bills on the counter with the other. “We’ll take it,” I said, hoping Laila wouldn’t argue. She opened her mouth to protest, but the lady cut her off just in time.

  “You’re a lucky girl, your husband spoils you,” effused the friendly saleswoman. I noted with some amusement the way Laila’s body stiffened at the off-hand remark. She stood straight and rigid and I barely resisted the smile that pulled my lips.

  “We’re not— ”

  “I try my best,” I cut in, wrapping an arm around her small shoulders. “She deserves to be spoiled,” I could hardly keep the amusement from my voice as I flirted with danger.

  Before I had a chance to usher her away from further embarrassment, the saleswoman reached out and placed her hand on Laila’s arm. Her gentle brown motherly eyes were alight with joy as she stage whispered loud enough for me to hear.

  “He’s gorgeous,” she laughed good naturedly. “Please tell me, does he have a brother?”

  Shit!

  Next to me, Laila let out a strangled cough and reached for my free hand. She gripped tight, her message loud and clear.

  Leading her back into the crowd and away from the innocently unaware woman, I attempted to lighten the mood. “Let’s get a drink.”

  She looked at me with wide, pleading eyes. “Not tequila, please.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh out loud knowing full well she had never acquired a taste for the stuff. Laila flushed a little as she took in my smile and a strange and unfamiliar warmth spread through me.

  “No, sweetheart, not tequila.”

  We found a small but intimate bar overlooking the street and I ordered two Sauvignons at Laila’s suggestion. Not a huge wine drinker, I went with her recommendation and soon we settled into easy conversation about nothing in particular. When our drinks were placed in front of us, we clinked glasses and sipped the chilled liquid, our eyes never breaking their hold on each other.

  “Turn around,” I instructed gently as she swallowed another sip. She swiveled on her bar stool, turning her back to me. Pulling the necklace from my pocket, I opened the clasp and circled it around her slender neck. My fingers grazed her skin, which in an instant became covered in goose bumps.

  I wanted to believe her reaction was a positive one. That she still felt something.

  Chapter Eleven

  Laila

  My skin tingled all over with pleasure at just the slightest brush of Aiden’s knuckles. My cheeks flushed as I fingered the beautiful glass pendant that sat in the cavity of my neck. The seat of my stool spun until I once again came face to face with Aiden.
With his arms resting on either side of me, he trapped my knees with his. I had nowhere to look but straight into his glassy vermillion eyes.

  “Thank you, it’s beautiful,” I said in a whisper. He was so devastatingly handsome I could melt. With just one glance, Aiden could make me feel I was the only woman in the world. When he held my gaze so intimately, I was truly captured with nowhere to run.

  He licked his lips before speaking and I had to squeeze my eyes closed for a second to quell my raging urge to shamelessly throw myself at him.

  “It’s no diamond, but it does insane things with your blue eyes.”

  I’m not sure what it was, but something similar to a whimper escaped my lips.

  He stifled a smile at my response and I shook my head slightly to gather my senses.

  “I, um, I haven’t said it before, but thank you for everything. For getting me out of there. For not leaving us.”

  Aiden took a deep breath, his jaw set firm.

  “Laila, you don’t need— ”

  “Please just let me say this. You have sacrificed so much for people you don’t even know. You have given up your family for us and I have behaved like an ungrateful bitch to you because I was still hurting from… from everything.”

  “It will take time, Laila. I don’t even try to pretend to understand what you have experienced, but I do know this. I am not about to abandon you. I can’t. And I won’t.”

  He may have done it as a general gesture, but I was swooning with the touch of his hand against my cheek, his thumb moving in a rhythmic motion.

  “I don’t want you to,” I said, and again my voice was a trembling whisper. Aiden leant forward, his forehead resting against mine, our noses touching. I wanted to drink in his warm breath as he spoke.

  Closing the space between us, Aiden’s lips touched mine and he mouthed: “Babe, I’ve got you.”

  He waited until I applied my own pressure, giving permission for this new line of our relationship to be crossed. Aiden, wasting no time, circled the nape of my neck with his hand, bringing me even closer into him, his teeth biting and sucking my bottom lip as I groaned into his mouth. Our tongues met in a slow dance, the roughness of his skin against mine arousing tingles all over my body.

  Reluctantly, our lips fell away, our noses and foreheads toughing again.

  The power of such a simple, intimate act could never be lost on us.

  Chapter Twelve

  Aiden

  Fuck it all to hell and back again. I knew this woman would be the death of me and, to make it even worse, I can’t get enough of her. Normalcy is what she needs. It’s what everyone needs.

  It’s something I’ve never had and the one thing Laila depends on.

  It’s the one thing I can’t give her. I thought she understood that.

  That’s why what she said next surprised me.

  “Let’s go.”

  The look in her eyes after I kissed her told me all I needed to know. Laila was happy to travel down this path with me despite all that had transpired and the possible dangers ahead. It was one thing to get her through this drama unscathed, and another to encourage this intimacy we found so easy each other. But I had crossed that line. Willingly.

  Cupping her cheek, I drew her in close, my lips grazing her ear. A sudden tremor ran through her and I knew then she was in and with no regrets. “Are you sure?” I needed to hear the words from her mouth.

  “I am sure, Aiden. Please.”

  Grabbing her small hand in mine, I helped Laila off the stool, out through the bar and onto the streets. After scanning the thinning crowd, we weaved through the markets and dodged determined sellers to find our way back at the hotel. We hadn’t spoken in the short trip, but we didn’t have to. We had already said what we needed. Once inside the room we stood facing each other our bodies touching at various points.

  Her eyes were just… fuck… perfect! Brilliant sapphires staring back at me.

  Cupping her cheeks with both hands, I held her close, inhaling her the sweet aromas.

  “Kiss me,” she whispered.

  “I will.”

  “Why are you waiting?”

  “Just taking you in, babe.”

  Another few seconds, her eyes pleading, and I could no longer resist. I claimed her mouth like the world depended on it. Like I depended on it. She moaned gently and her body relaxed against mine, my arm circling her small waist, drawing her even closer. Laila’s hands rested on my biceps and she deepened the kiss, her tongue meeting mine, her body responding to my hardened groin.

  “I’ve missed the taste of you, muñequita,” I mouthed against her panting lips. “The way you feel, I can’t get enough.” Laila responded by pulling my shirt over my head, her eyes settling on my chest. I walked forward and she fell into step until her legs hit the mattress, forcing her to sit down.

  A look of sheer determination crossed Laila’s gorgeous face, an expression I had never seen before but could quite happily get used to. Unbuckling my belt, she dropped my jeans and stroked my cock through the boxers.

  I caught her hand mid-roam and she looked up at me with concern. I didn’t want to make this about me. Don’t get me wrong, I never turn down the offer of a woman who wants to take the lead every now and then, but with Laila it was different. I wanted this about her.

  Kneeling in front, the look of reproach still in her eyes, I placed a hand on each knee and spread her legs open, sliding the dress all the way up her thighs to reveal her panties. I heard her breath hitch as I pulled the material to the side, my mouth connected with her delicious pussy, my tongue stroking, lips sucking at all her tender spots. Laila’s hips rocked back and forth to my mouth, her sweet groans only spurring me on. Her small hands fisted through my hair, gripping tight every few seconds as my tongue thrust inside her. I knew what was about to happen so I stopped.

  “Not yet, baby.”

  “Please,” she begged.

  “Not yet.”

  Standing up, I watched Laila move back onto the mattress, her eyes pleading with me, begging for that connection we shared that felt like a lifetime ago. On her knees, she slipped a strap of her dress over one shoulder allowing it to fall over her milky white breast.

  A fucking beautiful tease.

  The most beautiful I had ever seen.

  Licking her lips, Laila’s gaze met mine again as she slipped the second strap off her shoulder to reveal the other plump breast, nipples erect with need. I dropped my boxers to the floor and watched her expression glaze over with lust. She responded by pulling her dress up to her waist and hooking her thumbs through her panties.

  I knew what she was doing and I loved and hated it all at the same time.

  I wanted to ravage the woman in front of me, to claim her as my own.

  I wanted to pull her legs out from underneath and make her scream my name.

  I wanted her to come over and over again, to feel her nails digging into my back.

  I wanted to leave her exhausted but wanting more.

  She was teasing me and I fucking loved it.

  With a small, playful smile, she lowered the lacy material over her thighs leaving me totally transfixed. While I craved every inch of her, something else was happening. This gentle, free-spirited woman was doing something to my heart I knew wasn’t healthy for me or her.

  “Muñequita, you are gorgeous.”

  Reaching out to grab her hand, I pulled her forward until she fell against my chest. Cupping both of her ass cheeks, I lifted her off the bed while she wrapped her legs around my waist. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, she straddled me, her wetness mounted against my throbbing cock.

  Laila rolled her hips forward, gyrating against me as I sucked her bottom lip into my mouth.

  “I need you, Aiden. Please I… I need to feel you.”

  “I know, baby.” Fuck, did I know!

  Her hands snaked around my neck as I lifted her off my lap and positioned her just above my cock. She was all but panting in my ear, ant
icipation hitching her breath. Lowering her onto me, Laila slid all the way down my length, a pained mewling sound escaping her mouth. I thrust deeper inside and she gasped for more, groaning with each movement.

  “My god, you feel fucking amazing.”

  “Keep doing that… please, don’t stop,” she begged.

  Gripping Laila’s waist, I rocked her back her forth, driving in deeper. She pressed her body closer to mine, rubbing her clit against me with every movement.

  “Aiden, I think…” she began, then through her panting cried out as her pussy gripped my cock. She released around me, shuddering with each wave of orgasm.

  As Laila’s body relaxed, I kissed her sweet mouth, tenderly stroking her tongue.

  “You feel so good around me, babe.” I said, my voice husky. She whimpered as I continued gently moving inside of her, our rhythm never once out of sync.

  Standing, I lowered Laila to the bed and relished in hearing her gasp as I slid out.

  I wasn’t done yet.

  She turned onto her hands and knees, silently begging for more. The delicious view alone was an image that would forever be embedded in my mind. Driving my cock deep into her pussy, she groaned, pressing her ass against me with each thrust.

  “Don’t stop what you’re doing, babe, you’re perfect,” I said, snaking my hand around to her swollen clit. Laila turned her head to the side so I could claim her mouth, my movements picking up pace, her panting signaled that she was close.

  Moments later, she cried out in desperation against my lips. Hearing and feeling Laila’s pleasure was just too much. She was intoxicating and as long as she had this effect on me, I knew I was doomed. Gripping her tiny waist, I released into her as she continued to move up and down my length, stroking my cock with her tight pussy.

  Pulling out, I turned Laila onto her back and lowered myself on top, my arms to the sides of her body holding my weight. Post sex, she was every bit the ravishing beauty. With swollen lips, and glistening eyes, she was the woman I craved. It was then I came to a realization I both welcomed and feared.