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)
He was lying shirtless under the dark canopy, on his back with one defined, toned arm underneath the pillow behind his head. Accentuating his chiseled abs and bare chest. The other arm, placed at his side, pulling the sheet that was resting on his lower abdomen, taut. Leaving very little to the imagination.
I stood there for a few minutes, just admiring him, taking in every last inch of this man’s muscular body. He was a work of art. Being this handsome had to be a sin. As his chest moved, my eyes caught a glimpse of something shiny on his torso. Stepping closer, I noticed a silver cross hanging from the chain he always wore. The bulky, huge, silver expensive watch he normally wore too was gone, but the black, beaded bracelet remained secure around his right wrist. My eyes continued down his length.
Even in his sleep, he exuded dominance.
I couldn’t take my mesmerized gaze off of him.
Now that I knew he was home, sleeping safely in his bed, I could go back to my room and get some sleep. I should have never intruded in the first place. But I didn’t want to go. The empty space beside him called my name, my desires were winning the battle over sensibility.
I wanted to lay next to him, I wanted him to take me in his arms and protect me from all the ugliness of our world. I knew his decision to take me to the cemetery and give me a peek into his past, a glimpse of the life he led was meant to scare me away but the truth was it only made me want to get closer to him, I wanted to be with him now more than ever. It was as if his dark side was luring me in, the pull he had on me was palpable, I could no longer resist. The closer I got to the mattress, the more I realized this is where I belonged. In his bed, falling asleep next to him every night, and waking up to him every morning…
With him.
I didn’t want to be alone anymore.
My fingers glided along the silk sheets, feeling the soft fabric under my touch. Gently sitting down on the bed, careful not to wake him. Scooting my body up to lay next to him. Peering at the side of his devilishly handsome face, watching him sleep, exactly the way I imagined he watched me for months. Never understanding why, until that very moment.
Peace.
My transfixed gaze went back to the cross, hanging low on his chest. His lull breathing causing it to rise and fall, calling for me to reach out and touch it.
It all happened so fast, exactly the way everything had since the first moment I saw him.
One minute my hand was in the air, reaching to touch him. Next, my fingers grazed his cross as I was roughly flipped onto my back, shuddering, gasping for breath as he sadistically gripped me around my throat. Suffocating in pain from the brutal grasp around my windpipe.
I couldn’t breathe.
My legs kicked, my feet sliding on the silk sheet as I fought for my life. My fingers tearing into his, clawing and ripping at his hands. Opening my mouth, gasping, silently pleading with him to release me. I continued to struggle, becoming weak and losing my fight. He straddled my waist, his heavy weight lying directly on top of my small frame, hovering above me. One hand wrapped around my throat the other pointing a gun directly at the center of my forehead. His face inches away from mine, he opened his dark, dilated eyes, they were vacant of any life. Black pools stared down at me as I finally realized, I just met…
El Diablo.
I watched her from the mausoleum, up on the hill. The worried expression on her face was as transparent as the emotions pouring out of me. Which was why I had to walk away, leaving her alone with her fate. Standing next to the gravestones of the only family I’d ever have. I thought bringing her here, showing her there was no life for us together and the reasons behind it, would have made her run away from me. Leaving the darkness behind, never looking back. I thought this would be the end of us, coming full circle with nowhere else to turn. Seeing my past and present colliding with such a force, brought on only by me. Nothing of what I thought would happen, did.
Not one fucking thing.
If anything it backfired on my ass, I gave her exactly what she wanted. The truth that laid beneath the fiction she created in her mind. The pieces of my fucked up puzzle that held so many unanswered questions, still loomed in the distance between us. I watched her walk back to the limo with her head bowed low, her arms wrapped around her. Rick ran over to her with an umbrella, guiding her to the car. She peered around one last time, as if she knew I wouldn’t be sitting in the limo waiting for her. Not feeling my presence. I saw her staring unknowingly up the hill as the limo faded in the distance.