Chapter 18

Mia

Leaving the dining room, I headed toward our suite. Walking around to the outside, I chose to follow the catwalk along the deck. I lifted my face, feeling the salty sea breeze. The black sky high above was filled with stars. Our peaceful bubble was a contrast to my thoughts.

“Mia.”

I stopped and turned toward the voice. Josefina, Aléjandro and Rei’s mother, was headed in my direction. Her orange outfit billowed around her slender body, and her gold jewelry reflected the lights within, a lovely contrast to her golden-brown complexion. In that second, I realized who she looked like to me—Salma Hayek. She was equally as beautiful and dressed as elegantly. Despite her youthful appearance, Josefina held herself in a welcoming, motherly way that also said she was in control. No doubt it took a strong woman to care for a dangerous husband and two equally dangerous sons.

Closing my eyes, I tried unsuccessfully to block out the vision of Rei holding the knife to the man’s throat. ‘Danger is what we do’—Aléjandro’s words. Inhaling, I held on to the rail and waited as my mother-in-law approached. “Dinner was delicious, Señora Roríguez.”

She smiled. “I didn’t cook it. And in case you were wondering, my name is Josefina or Mamá, whichever makes you more comfortable.”

I smiled.

“Do you have a few minutes to talk?” she asked.

With her heavily accented English, I wished I could speak back to her in her native language. “I don’t know how long Aléjandro will be.”

Josefina waved her hand. “The men. They can talk for hours. There’s always a crisis.”

My cheeks rose in a smile. “I’m used to it.”

“Come.” She led me toward the back of the yacht. Turning the corner, we were shielded from the wind. There was a lovely couch surrounding a firepit. As soon as we arrived, a man in white came forward and lit the firepit. “Would you like an after-dinner drink?” she asked me.

“No, thank you.”

Josefina dismissed the man. I was taken with her willowy blouse as we sat on the couch near one another. This woman who was married to an infamous drug lord could easily be a model. Maybe she had been.

Her voice rolled gently through the air. “I’m sure this isn’t easy for you.”

I exhaled and feigned a smile. “It’s been a lot for two days.”

Clasping her hands on her lap, she leaned forward. “If you ever have questions or would like to talk, I’d like to be there to help where I can.” Her eyes opened wide. “It’s strange how sometimes marriage can be lonely.”

Keeping my lips together, I nodded. The ache was real. During my first marriage, I had my friends and family.

Josefina went on, “I know you’ve been married before, but each marriage is its own unique entity. Roríguez men can be” —she hesitated— “a lot to handle.” When I didn’t respond, she continued, “They’re passionate. I’ve heard the same about Italians.” Her smile broadened. “I don’t know about them firsthand. Our family. The men we trust. They’re a different breed. My Jorge is a complicated man to those on the outside. Not to me.”

A smile curled my lips. “It gives me hope that you love him.”

“I didn’t say that.” She winked. “I do. Together we’ve built a world I’m proud to call ours. I know it’s dangerous. That’s why when Jorge told me about today’s events, I insisted that the three of you join us. I know my sons. Given the choice, I know they would want to be back in San Diego, in the thick of the action.”

It made me think of how Aléjandro had purposely gone after the Russians who shot at them.

I could blame it on the long day as a tear silently slid down my cheek. I wiped it with the back of my hand. “I think I became immune to the danger that the famiglia dealt with on a regular basis until that danger took my husband. Now, I’m extra-sensitive to the fear of losing another.”

Josefina shook her head. “No. It won’t happen. I won’t bury a child.”

“No mother should.”

After pressing her lips together, she spoke, her voice reflecting sadness. “However, it does happen. It seems that death happens in both our worlds.” She leaned closer and patted my hand, her more joyful cadence returning. “I wanted to tell you personally that I’m glad you’re here. I mean you. My son chose well. You’re a strong woman. I sense that.”

“Thank you.”

“Mia, we’re now family and your safety and well-being are important to me. Please make yourself at home on the Bella. If I know my husband and sons, they will come and go over the next few days. I hope you’re comfortable, knowing you are welcome to stay put.”

I tugged on my lower lip. “I don’t know what Aléjandro will want me to do.”

“He will want you to stay safe. When my sons do what they do, they need to concentrate. Having you here, safe, is what’s best for Jano until your new home can be made secure.” She pursed her lips and sat taller. “I could be upset that Jano stole Silas and Viviana from me, but I won’t be. I know in my heart that they will have your and Jano’s best interest at heart. They’ve had a special place within our family.” Her eyes opened wide. “Perhaps Jano didn’t tell you, but Silas and Viviana have a daughter and two grandsons living in the States. The opportunity Jano offered with the assistance of your family’s connections is an answer to their prayers.”

“I didn’t know that. It makes me feel better about their move. I was afraid they might not be happy here in California.”

“Oh, child” —she gestured about— “here is México. Our home.”

I turned to the flag on the flagpole. “Aléjandro told me how laws work in international waters.”

She laughed. “And you didn’t even need your passport.”

Lifting my hand to my lips, I unsuccessfully tried to hide a yawn. “I’m sorry.”

Josefina shook her head. “You have had a long day.” She stood. “Go and get ready for sleep. I’m sure Jano will do his best to keep their meeting short. After all, he has his beautiful bride waiting.”

I stood. “Thank you again, Señora” —I smiled— “Josefina. After our home was broken into, I would be too frightened to spend the night there.”

“You are welcome as long as you want even if you go back to México with us.”

“I’m here.”

“Sí, you are. Do you need help finding your suite?”

I was tired, but my sense of direction was still strong. “I hope I’ll be all right.”

“Sleep as late as you want. Consider this your honeymoon.” She grinned. “And when things quiet down, make Jano take you on another.”

Make Jano.

Does anyone besides Jorge make Aléjandro do anything?

“Good night.”

Going back the way I came, I found myself again taking the catwalk along the edge of the yacht. The blue lights I saw from the air illuminated the water around the Bella, making an eerie glow as if the boat was suspended on a blue cloud in the middle of black nothingness. Once down a deck below, I faltered as I came upon multiple doors. For a moment I stood staring and hoping the correct door would make itself known. Nibbling my lip, I looked up and down the hallway, wondering where all the people in white had gone. Surely, one of them could help me find my room.

Then it hit me.

Who would these rooms be used by except for Aléjandro and Rei?

And if they’re both in their meeting with Jorge, the worst that could happen was that I opened the wrong door. The length of the day was getting to me as I reached for a doorknob with a trembling hand.

The door opened inward. The suite was exactly like ours, without our dirty clothes lying on the floor where we left them. It appeared unused. Next, I went to the door on the left. Once the door was opened, I let out a breath.

This was our suite.

Our dirty clothes were missing, and the bed was turned down, but I recognized my purse on a shelf and the decanter with tequila was still sitting where Aléjandro left it. I walked into the bathroom, seeing that it too had been tidied.

This was even better than living at my mother’s.

It was then I noticed that our suitcases that we’d laid on the bed were also missing. I went to the closet and found many of our clothes hanging. Opening a few drawers I found other items, such as my lingerie and underclothes. It seemed that Josefina ran a full-service yacht.

After washing my face, I let my hair down, unbraiding it to a wavy mess. As I chose the nightgown for tonight, I marveled that I’d only been married for one full day. It didn’t matter that the day lasted weeks and weeks long—it was still only a day. When I stepped from the bathroom, I was met with my husband’s dark stare.

“How was your meeting?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.” My core clenched as he came closer, each step controlled with the grace and finesse of a predator with its eyes on his prey. “I have other things to do.”

Desire burned within his eyes, melting his orbs from chestnut to pitch black. My nipples hardened, tenting the satin of my nightgown.

“Turn around.”

I sucked my lip between my teeth. “Remember—”

His finger came to my lips. “Turn around.”

Swallowing, I complied, turning a full circle. When our gazes again met, Aléjandro lifted a finger and spun it. Again, I turned, a ballerina moving to his command. After two complete turns, he captured my waist as I faced away.

His lips came to the nook in my neck as his warm breath skirted over my flesh. “I remember my promise, Mia.”

Each word reverberated through me, prickling my skin with goose bumps.

“I won’t fuck you.”

My breathing stopped at his crass vocabulary. Despite my appearance of strength, there was a frightened eighteen-year-old buried deep inside me that was scared he would do what he said he wouldn’t.

He gathered my hair, murmuring words. While I couldn’t understand their meaning, their rhythm and timbre calmed me. I tilted my head, giving him access as his kisses cascaded from behind my ear down my neck and onto my shoulder.

“You’re so fucking beautiful and brave. Having you like this makes me hard, painfully so. Having your lips around my cock earlier was heaven. Feeling how warm and wet your mouth was… I can only imagine how fucking great it would feel to be inside your warm, wet cunt. My cock is so damn ready, I’m not sure how many times it would take for it to stop being hard.” He pressed his hips against my lower back, emphasizing his point with his probing erection. He grasped my ass through my nightgown. “What about this hole? Where does it fall in the definition of sex?”

I shook my head.

Aléjandro laughed. “I want you to remember last night and tonight. I want you to remember every damn time we’re alone and I don’t do what I want to do to you.”

Garnering my strength, I spun until I was facing him.

“Stop.”

Aléjandro lifted my chin. “These are only words, Mia.” He nodded toward me. “I know what you’re thinking. I feel your trembling. You’re worried about what happened to you before. When I fuck you, I want every last thought of your asshole first husband out of your mind. I want you to be so feverish with desire that mine is the only name on your tongue.” He held me tighter as I tried to push away. “No, you’re my wife, and if I want to tell you all the things I can do to you, I will.” His lips curled into a grin, and he lifted his chin, inhaling. “You don’t hate this, Mia. I smell how turned on you are right now, and soon my tongue is going to delve between your swollen folds to discover how fucking sweet you taste. And you can bet that I won’t stop until you’ve come apart, over and over.”

My breathing grew ragged as his words zapped through me, igniting synapse after synapse. “Aléjandro. I’ll remember.”

He reached for the hem of my nightgown and lifted it, inch by inch revealing my only other clothing, a pair of lace panties. The front of his jeans strained with the pressure of his erection as he scanned me from my hair to my toes. “Push those down. Show me my dessert.”

Latching my fingers under the waistband, I pushed the panties lower, until they fell to the floor. I stepped out of the lace.

I expected that tonight would be like it was earlier with the shower, but this was different. More intense. More palpable. I felt his gaze as his eyes traced my body, every dip, curve, and crevice. I fought the trembling his predatory gaze elicited.

“You know I want to fuck you?”