God, I miss him.
She stretched up, the sun dress shifting and clinging to her curves as the air drifted around her. She watched the turtle’s approach, and her heart thudded with awe. Then a voice interrupted her.
“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”
Her head snapped, and then she saw him. Dark-clad and statuesque, her heart was a staccato of emotions that seemed to fill her entire chest with a tightening grip. “Mateo?” Her voice cracked on his name, fragile and disbelieving.
He smiled, perfectly white teeth flashing. “Hey there,tica. I’ve missed you.”
Her body moved before her mind could catch up, crashing into him with enough force to stagger them both. A year’s worth of tears drenching their clothes.
“I thought you were gone,” she choked out, her face buried against his chest.
He hugged her tighter. “Not gone,” he murmured, his voice rougher now, pressing into her hair. He took a deep breath in. “Never gone.”
“What took you so long?” she whispered, the tears hot down her cheeks.Is this real?
“I had to finish it,” he continued quietly. “The mission … everything I started. I couldn’t come back until it was done.” His hand slid up her back, steadying her as she swayed against him. “And I needed you safe,” he added. “Away from me. Away from all of it.”
She drew back enough to look at him, and her vision blurred with more tears.
“You don’t get to decide that for me,” she whispered, her brows dipped together, forming a divot between them though there was no real anger in her tone. “And Sally? Is she safe?” She watched an array of emotions cross his features before he spoke. “She is where she wants to be. I can’t tell you more than that.”
But he had cared for her. That much was apparent. Despite how much she had disliked Sally, it was difficult to admit she had hoped somethinghadhappened to her which she knew wasn’t right of her. All year, when Gabriella had analyzed the past events, she had come to a few conclusions: Sally had been a byproduct of her situation. Some things were not her fault.
But with Mateo? He had made a deal, for her safety. Did he include Sally’s? Had they spent more time together? Did hisfeelings for Sally go away? They had to, otherwise, why would he be here?
“Did you love her?” she asked, unable to hide the vulnerability behind the question. Shehadto know. With a year of desolate thoughts, the only logical conclusion she had was Mateo once cared for her. Afterall, like with Justin, it was hardnot towhen they had been in your life for so long.
His expression softened, something vulnerable flickering through the control he wore like armor.
“No Gabriella. The only woman I have ever loved has been you.,” he said. “I know that now.”
An overwhelming sense of relief coursed through her body.He loved only her.Her hands came up to his face, as if she needed to confirm he was real—thumb brushing along his stubbled jaw, fingertips tracing the familiar lines she had memorized under entirely different circumstances. “You really are here, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and I’ve thought of you every day.” He pulled her towards him and kissed the top of her head then her nose. “But that’s over. I’m on a new team, and I don’t have to do undercover work if I don’t want to anymore.”
The revelation was surprising. She wiggled back, wiping her face as a sense of hope fluttered through her. “Really? What new team?”
He hesitated long enough to make her suspicious before his eyes crinkled. “It’s classified, but I’ll tell you if you promise not to say anything. But you already met Gil …” He trailed off.
Her mouth dropped open. “Gil? That bastard? And you know I would never …” She started, then realized when his smile widened that he was messing with her. Her emerald eyes narrowed and her spine straightened. “Don’t you dare, Mateo. I waited this long for you, and now you do this?”
She was all spitfire now, her body both pushing him away and pulling him close. “You are lucky I’m not asking you to crawl on your hands and knees?—”
He kissed her then, hot and heady as both their bodies melted into each other.Oh god, yes.With an urgency she felt to her very core, her hands threaded through his hair, pulling him down to her, and she felt his groan vibrating between them as their tongues danced.
Heat and longing collided instantly, the kiss deepening until they were breathing life into one another. This is what she had been missing. He was her other half, every missing piece snapping back into place all at once. She washome.
By the time they both pulled away, she was trembling and soaked. If they weren’t on a beach with endangered sea turtles, she might have contemplated a tryst outside. She looked up, meeting Mateo’s own lust filled gaze. His eyes had darkened, pupils expanded to show her flushed reflection before he dropped to his knees.
Oh my god.Her brain struggled to keep up. “Mateo, what are you doing?”
“Getting on my knees to ask for your forgiveness.” His arms banded around her, putting his head on her chest. “I didn’t forget that promise.”
A year ago, she might have used it against him; thought of a snarky response but today… today, she only felt relief. To spend nearly every night wondering if he was alive or dead would do that.
“You were forgiven the night you helped me escape. Gil told me you were shot and made a deal for my safety. God Mateo, and then I never heard from you …” She trailed off, her voice thick with unsaid emotions.