The reception ended late, which resulted in Ximena and Adriano postponing their flight to their honeymoon until the next day. It had been a really enjoyable party, save for the predatory looks she received from Humberto and his hollow eyes. He had been acting weird, well, weirder than usual and had flashed smiles at her whenever she looked at him. He was definitely up to something and a feeling in the bottom of her stomach told her it was big and had something to do with him.

Her family and friends had been so elated about the wedding that they kept gushing about how the two looked so good together. Dolores kept winking at her, which caused Ximena to blush profusely because of the confession she had made to her mother earlier that day. Andrea seemed to have cozied up to Omar, which Ximena did not like at all and she made a mental note to talk to her little sister about it.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Salvador had invited his girlfriend as his date. For starters, nobody even knew he had a girlfriend and she was really beautiful and intelligent. He barely paid attention to anyone or anything for that made, keeping his attention trained on his dark-skinned date. Ximena was genuinely happy for him, but sad at the same time because nobody really knew much about Salvador and his mysterious ways. What more could he be hiding?

And who could forget about Santiago and his continuous pursuit of her best friend, Chelsea? By the looks of it, she was barely acknowledging his advances and he was getting more desperate each passing second. Heck, he was even close to begging her for him to take her out at least once. Chelsea was just playing hard to get and really wanted to see how far he was willing to go. She had heard of his womanizing and it left a bitter flavor in her mouth. If he was willing to put up with her constant rejection, then one of these days she might be inclined to say yes to him…at least once.

Laying her head on the couch in the living room of the hotel room they had booked for the night, Ximena closed her eyes and exhaled deeply after reminiscing about the day. Adriano was taking a shower and she had left the bedroom to give him some privacy. Although she had just come to terms with her feelings for him, she wasn’t quite ready to take their relationship to the next level. She still wanted the barriers left in place for the time being Beside her, her phone began to ring and she answered it without even looking at the caller id.

“Hello?”

“Hi Ximena.” It didn’t take long for her to recognize who it was.

“Dom!” she squealed in delight and sat upright. “Hey, you didn’t come to my wedding! Did you not get my invited?” she pouted even though he couldn’t see her.

He sighed loudly. “I did get your invite and I’m sorry…but I couldn’t come. Uh, something came up,” he replied, his voice sounding a bit strained. Was he in pain?

“It’s okay. So, how are you anyway? I can’t wait to get back to the office and work together again.”

He paused. “About that…I was thinking about leaving,” he said lowly and she frowned immediately.

“Leaving? You can’t leave, Dom. You’re like the best assistant I have ever had!”

“I’m the only assistant you have ever had,” he added lightly but she didn’t laugh at his quip.

"I will not let you quit. In fact, you’re not allowed to quit. Dom, you’re my friend and I need you. I can’t imagine going to the office without you! Please don’t do this to me, Dom. I can’t lose you,” she trailed off, sniffling in the process.

Sensing that she was about to cry, he said, “Okay, okay. I won’t quit. Just don’t cry. I never want to make you cry. I can’t live with myself knowing I made you cry.” She then burst out into a fit of giggles. He then tsked. “Should have known you’d trick me. Why do you always do this! You always manipulate and black mail me…”

She began to examine her well-manicured nails. “You’ve always been one to fall for my feminine whiles. Not my fault you’re so damn gullible, Dominic. But I love that about you,” she remarked with a smile.

“Ah, wicked boss. Anyways, I’m off to bed. Congratulations to you Ximena. I wish you and your new husband nothing but bliss. I hope he still isn’t angry at me for what happened at your party.”

Just then Ximena looked back and there stood Adriano by the doorway leading to the bedroom, shirtless and looking quite pissed. Ximena was so stunned by his bare toned chest on full display that she forgot how to function for a few seconds. Damn, those abs…

“Uh, I’ve got to go. Talk to you later Dom,” and then she cut the call. Standing up, she averted her gaze to the floor and walked towards the room in order to get ready for bed, but Adriano grabbed her elbow before she could go any further.

“Who was the you were on the phone with?” he asked, his piercing green orbs looking directly at her. He smelled so good and his pecs were right in her face. But she knew that his tone held a bit of anger and it she could feel it.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Just a friend,” she replied smoothly but he still did not let her elbow go. She continued to stare at his bare upper half; rock hard abs, bulging biceps and deep v-line…Holy Moly! “Do you mind, I need to get ready for bed,” she added but her voice came out breathless. Darn it!

His face hardened. “From the way you were giggling and smiling like a damn teengaer, I know for a fact that it was not just a friend. Was it your lover by any chance?” he asked again, but this time curtly. Her eyes flew to his and they held disbelief? Seriously, he still thought she had a lover…wait, was he jealous?"

She rolled her eyes at him. “Really, Adriano. I thought I told you I don’t have a lover.”

His eyebrows rose. “Oh, did you now. Because back at your party I distinctly remember you implying you had one. Hell, I thought you had feelings for me but I guess I misinterpreted things.”

Shrugging his hand away, she pointed at him. “You brute! Dom is just my friend, FYI and yes, he is a guy. He.Is.Not.My.Lover! I don’t even have a lover. You always jump to conclusions. Am I not allowed to talk to the opposite gender anymore?”

“Not at this hour, you’re not.”

She scoffed and crossed her arms. “Let me remind you that you don’t own me. We may be married but that does not mean you can just tell me what I can or can’t do, idiot! Get over yourself. If I want to talk to Dom, I will and at any hour!” she fired back angrily. Great, they hadn’t even been married for a full day and they were already having issues.

He chuckled humorlessly. “It seems you still have that spoiled brat persona since you seem to think you can always have your way. Well, not anymore sweetheart. You are a married woman and you will behave as such. You’re my wife and I will not tolerate this kind of disrespect,” he deadpanned curtly.

Not bothering to dignify him with a response, she stomped her foot childishly and stormed off into the bedroom, making sure to slam the door behind her. Proceeding to her suitcase, which was in the closet, she took out her night wear and proceeded to the bathroom. Good thing she had long discarded her wedding dress back at the reception. It might have been a beautiful dress but she felt constricted in it. Turning on the shower, she stripped out of her current clothes until she was left in her underwear.

So much for holy matrimony, she thought with a huff. She just couldn’t understand why Adriano was back to being the brute he had been weeks ago. Was he always going to be like that? Despite his blatant display of rudeness, domineeringness and stupidity… she just couldn’t be too mad at him because deep down she knew that was just his way of showing that he had feelings for her.

“Estupido celoso corto (Stupid jealous brute),” she huffed under her breath before removing the remainder of her garments and stepping into the hot shower. After about thirty minutes, she stepped out and dried herself of before putting on some new underwear and her night dress, which had been especially chosen by Chelsea. Looking in the mirror, she blushed at the sight.

The baby pink nightie really did leave little to the imagination. It ended just above mid-thigh and was kind of see through. Hell, what was her best friend thinking selecting such a flimsy little piece of fabric?

It’s for your special night with your new husband, Chelsea had teased whilst they were packing her clothes for the trip. Damn, how could she have gotten about that! The wedding night, as in the night newly weds consummate their marriage! Oh no, she was nowhere near being ready for that. Panic rose in her chest and made her heart hammer furiously against her ribcage. What would she do now? Could she just walk out of the bathroom, and into his presence in that little piece of cloth she was wearing?

Damn you Chelsea, she cursed her friend mentally and began to do breathing exercises. This was no reason to have a panic attack…over something so trivial. All she had to do was go in there and hopefully he was still too angry to do anything or even say anything to her for that matter. And we are even sharing the bed…why had no one prepared her for this?

After her breathing returned to normal, she grabbed a new tooth brush and tooth paste, compliments of the hotel, and brushed her teeth. Mustering up enough courage, she willed herself to open the door and came out of the bathroom. Much to her dismay, he was already in the bed and he was fixed on whatever it is he was doing on his phone. Stealthily, she went back to the closet and put her previous clothes in her suitcase and took her phone.

So far so good. He hasn’t even acknowledged my presence.

Back in the room, she went over to the unoccupied side of the bed and slid in, making sure to keep a huge gap between the two of them. It was really awkward for her, sharing a bed with someone…her husband no less. All this was very new to her. Taking a quick glance at him, his face was emotionless as he continued to use his phone.

“You can’t seriously expect me to not notice your presence, especially not in that little number you’re wearing,” he trailed off huskily and heat creeped up her neck. So, he had noticed. Gosh, this was so embarrassing for her. She took a glance at him, only to find his hypnotic eyes scanning her visible upper half with an indescribable emotion running in them. When their eyes locked, he bit his lip and she couldn’t help but look away. Oh-oh.

Gulping softly, she tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear. “I wasn’t sure if you were still angry or not,” she replied timidly. It felt like the room had suddenly morphed into a sauna. She did not like the way things were going at all.

“Ximena, look at me,” he commanded gently. With hesitation, she looked back at him and unexpectedly, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his bare chest. And then he was all up in her face and in her space, breaking every single physical and mental barrier she had set up against this type of situation.

“I couldn’t imagine staying mad at you for too long. It was silly of me to even start that argument over something so petty. I was jealous, I’ll admit but that’s only because I can’t stand the thought of another guy making you smile, or laugh when the only man who should have that kind of effect on you is me,” he breathed, and placed her kiss on her jawline. Multiple butterflies erupted in her belly and her chest threatened to explode just from merely hearing his sweet words. Her hands were on his bare chest and it felt like porcelain. “I hope you can forgive me for my misconduct earlier,” he added in his velvety voice, continuing to assault her jawline with feathery kisses.

But no words came out of her mouth. It was like speech had left her archive of motor functions so all she managed was a weak nod. Something stirred inside of her, something that she never felt before in her life. Was it a fever? Was she falling ill? It’s called desire, you inexperienced girl, her inner voice chided sarcastically. Well, if that is what it was…hell, it was an intense feeling.

She felt like she was going to combust as he kept teasing her with his kisses. What she wanted was for him to kiss her square on the lips. The urge for it driving her almost to the point of insanity, she cupped his face and directed his lips onto hers. And that marked the first time she had ever initiated a kiss between them. Just as quickly as it had started, into soon got more passionate and wilder. Before she knew it, she was now laying on the bed with him hovering above her.

If she wanted him to stop, then she would have hinted towards it by now but the thing was…she didn’t want him to stop. Her hands were entangled in his coffee-colored curls, whilst one of his was in her hair and the other on her thigh. When they both needed some air, he retracted and rested his forehead on hers. They were both breathing erratically. Through her slightly blurred vision, she could see his hooded eyes.

“That was some kiss,” he commented with a smirk and she smiled in return.

“Then why did you stop?” she asked boldly, tracing the contours of his chest with her index finger.

He laughed. “Because if I hadn’t stopped, I would have gone all the way and I don’t think you’re ready for that. I don’t want to scare you, or force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with,” he said and then proceeded to lay down beside her. Snaking his arm around her waist, he pulled her into his chest once again but in a soft embrace. “I’d like to take things slow with you, Ximena. But when the time comes, and you give me your consent… there will be no stopping me,” he whispered in her ear and she blushed profusely.

“Okay,” she squeaked shyly. Yep, I’m definitely in love with this man.

“Good night, my spoiled little brat,” he said affectionately and kissed her cheek. Smiling contently, she melted into the embrace of his muscular yet gentle arms and somehow drifted off to sleep.

_____________________

Until next time,

~Deetronite 😘