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Chapter Three

Luciana

“If that’s what you want.”

I have no idea what Domingo just asked me.

I couldn’t care less. He’s been going on about the wedding for the past two days.

I swear he’s a fucking bridezilla. Ever since papá reassured Domingo and his parents that the wedding would be before the end of the summer, Domingo’s had a one-track mind.

He’s been calling and texting, asking me about this arrangement or that.

I feel like telling him to just do whatever he wants since he gives a damn, and I don’t.

I sat there through Sunday dinner, waiting for papá to announce what I assumed he would.

But I still struggled not to flinch when he declared the wedding would be within the next three months.

It melted the high I was on from Luis’s surprise visit— mamá ’ s reason to arrive early.

It eradicated all the happiness of getting to spend an hour with my big brother.

He gets how much I’m dreading an arranged marriage since he has one.

But he also gets how different our situations are and that I’ll never love Domingo the way he does Margherita. They’re fucking soulmates.

Papá ’ s never said it, but I’m certain he knew Luis and Margherita were destined for each other.

The alliance to get Margherita’s father to stop challenging him was just the excuse.

I know mamá researched everything there was to ever know about the woman.

Then she agreed to papá suggesting the marriage to Margherita’s father.

I believe they knew my brother and sister-in-law were perfect from the moment mamá heard about her at a cocktail party Margherita’s parents threw.

I know papá dug into Domingo’s background just as thoroughly, but neither he nor mamá seem as excited as they were for Luis.

They pretend well, but I see through it.

“ Ana .”

Mierda .

Shit.

“Sorry. I was just remembering Luis and Margherita’s wedding. I loved the flowers she carried. I was trying to remember everything that was in her bouquet.”

I lie like it’s my job. Considering I’m getting into commercial real estate, I’d say I’m well prepared.

“How many men will your tío bring with him?”

That question rattles me.

“Uh…”

I’m certain I saw Esteban earlier today.

I thought I saw him yesterday. I was thinking about him before my mind wandered to Luis and Margherita.

He’s why I didn’t hear half of what Domingo’s said so far and why I just keep smiling and nodding.

I dreamed about him Sunday night and last night.

They were the most Rated X dreams I’ve ever had.

I woke up during both nights on the edge of coming.

I’m a stomach sleeper, so I ground my pussy against my mattress, hoping to get myself off while keeping the dream going.

It didn’t work, so I wound up rolling over and getting myself off with my vibrator I keep under my bed.

Easy to reach. Domingo travels for work, so sometimes I feel like getting off, and he’s not in town.

Sometimes I don’t want to deal with him, but I want an orgasm.

Sometimes he just doesn’t do the trick, so I slip into my living room to do it once he’s asleep.

I keep the damn thing on the charger twenty-four seven.

“Can you at least name some of the men he’ll bring?” Domingo sounds annoyed, like I should know who works for my tío .

“No. He has men in New York I’ve never heard of or met. He has men down here, but they’re mostly my dad’s and on loan to tío . Anyone working directly for him isn’t someone I want to know.” Except for Esteban .

Domingo watches me before shooting me a smile that’s probably supposed to be understanding, but it always makes me feel belittled.

Like he’s tolerating a child, not a man agreeing with his future wife.

Ever since Sunday night, Domingo’s flaws stand out more.

Things that’ve bothered me, but I’ve pushed aside.

Things that now make me question what life would be like with him.

Doubts are reverberating in my head, and it’s almost deafening.

The only time I’m not thinking them is when I’m thinking about that man .

The one I’m certain just entered the restaurant with three other guys I’ve seen around my tío .

I dart my gaze to the door, judging how many steps it would take to get me outside.

Looking for anything that can keep me out of their sight.

It’s not Esteban I want to hide from. It’s the other men.

They’re guys who’ve always made me nervous.

I don’t like the way they look at Catalina and me.

“Domingo, can we get the check and go?”

“Ready to go home? My place or yours?”

His gaze slides over me, and I know he thinks I want to leave so we can go to bed.

It would be a distraction, but it does nothing to excite me.

When my gaze locks with Esteban’s, the thought pops into my head that I could picture him while I fuck Domingo.

The dreams flood back to me, and that excites me.

But the moment I look back at Domingo, the flame’s extinguished. Completely snuffed out.

“I’m exhausted. I didn’t sleep well, so I started my swim early. I doubled the distance I usually do, so I’m wiped now. I really just want to pass out till morning.”

My response displeases him, but he hides it—a moment too late because I saw the flash of anger.

I turned him down Sunday night and last night.

I’m going to have to relent to avoid an argument, and that blows.

I don’t want to be in a relationship where I have to put out to pacify or placate my husband.

It feels like giving in to keep the peace.

He signals the waitress and reaches for his wallet.

We got into our first argument when I offered to pay for our fifth date.

We were pretty much already engaged, but we were doing our best to get to know each other like a normal couple.

I felt bad that he was always spending, and I was always taking.

I tried to explain that, but I insulted him.

He claimed I believed he wasn’t wealthy enough to support us.

That I believed he couldn’t afford nice things for me.

He refused to believe I did it because I was trying to be nice and show that I was into him.

“I’m going to run to the restroom.”

I push back my chair before he can say anything and grab my purse. If this were a regular shitty date, it might tempt me to slip out the backdoor and go to my sister’s. But I know Matáis is already over there, and I can’t bolt from my fiancé.

“You aren’t having fun, chiquita .”

I freeze as the voice behind me reaches my ears. Hands grip my waist and propel me forward.

“We can’t talk here. Someone—namely your fiancé—will see us.”

“Then you shouldn’t be touching me.”

“But I am, and you aren’t trying to stop me. And don’t lie and say you’re scared. I might infuriate you, but I don’t intimidate you.”

I don’t fight him as he steers me into a storage room the next door down from the ladies’ room. He leaves the door ajar, showing me he’s not trapping me in here. If I scream, someone will hear me. If I get to the door, I can open it wide enough to leave.

“What do you want?”

“Tell me what you see in him.”

“What?”

“Tell me why you agreed to the marriage. Your father might have arranged it, but he doesn’t strike me as a man who’d force you to be miserable for the rest of your life. You consented at some point. What do you see in Domingo Aguilar that makes you want to spend your life with him?”

I stare at Esteban and blink. He must think I look like a beached trout. Eyes and mouth wide open while struggling to breathe.

“He’s charming, intelligent, determined, hardworking, polite.”

“You described a labrador not a future husband.”

“You just don’t recognize those words because no one’s used them to describe you.”

“You lie better than most, Lucy. But you don’t lie well to me. You weren’t describing him.”

“Who was I describing? One of my brothers?”

He laughs. “Hardly. They are those things, but you wouldn’t be looking at me the way you are if you were thinking about them.”

“How am I looking at you?”

“Like you want me to do this.”

His arm wraps around my waist and pulls me against him. I wait for the kiss, but it doesn’t come. I lift my gaze to his and realize he’s waiting for permission. I part my lips and tilt my head back. He accepts the offer.

His kiss is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s like I’m floating toward the ceiling, watching what’s happening below me. I feel his lips and taste his tongue. It’s so unbelievable he’s kissing me that I almost can’t accept it’s reality.

I’m kissing him back as I lean into him. I know I should push away from him. I should scream. I should run. I should knee him in the dick. That’s the last thing I want to do to his cock. Instead, I press against him, relishing the feel of how hard he is for me.

“One day, chiquita , we won’t be in a storeroom, and your fiancé won’t be sitting at a table waiting for you.

Your fiancé’ll have your legs wrapped around his waist while he fucks you.

I’ll be deep inside that tight, wet cunt as I make you come.

When I finally let you stand, you’ll feel my cum dripping along your thigh.

I won’t insist you keep all of it inside your pretty little pussy because you’ll already be carrying our child. ”

“Fuck.”

He takes that as a cue to kiss me again. I’ve lost my fucking mind. I’m cheating on my fiancé who thinks I’m in the restroom. I’m kissing a man who works for my tío , who’s probably at his house plotting to kill my father.

That jolts me back to reality right snappy.