Chapter 166 - Bet - Feddos
Luisa
I was about ready to kill Simón. Where had his maturity gone? We arrived in Blanco yesterday, we were with family, and my so-called boyfriend decided to turn into a jealous maniac. I've been working at the agency surrounded by men since I was twenty-two. Didn’t he understand that he was the only one who had managed to break through my walls? No! The man had the nerve to demand that I quit my job. In his dreams!
"I figured you’d hide here." It was Roland. I hugged him tightly, and he kissed my forehead. "What's up, Freckles?"
"Nothing, just practicing."
I had taken refuge in the shooting range my brother built for me when he discovered how much I loved target practice, whether with a gun or a bow. It was a beautiful gift from him, and it had become my sanctuary.
"Sure, Luisa. Do you have my permits? You know I can't leave Blanco without Any's permission."
"Yeah, you have them. Besides, she knew about the bet. You have permission to stay in Brazil for a week, not a day more." He lifted me up, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Put me down, you crazy!"
"We leave tomorrow," he said.
"We? Are you leaving your father-in-law?"
"Don Fausto will stay for a month. He’s happy here, loves the countryside. He’ll take care of the four ranches with the help of each farm's foreman. It’s just for a week. He’ll join my mother, Inés, and the baby to Las Vegas, then they’ll come back, and we’ll head to Brazil."
"We?"
"Stop being a prude. The three couples are going. The rest of the guys will stay to manage various businesses. Yesterday's meeting with them was gratifying. It was great to see them."
"I'm not going anywhere with that jealous maniac!"
"See, you did have something to say! Rata is not jealous, and certainly not a maniac. I’ve never seen him act that way, not even when he was married. He’s quite liberal, by the way." I fell silent. What did that mean? "Pack up. We’re going to have fun."
"I’m going back with my mother. I'll only be at your quickie wedding in Las Vegas."
"Freckles, put yourself in his shoes. From his perspective, analyze what he’s asking of you. In our mundane existence, wanting a woman just for ourselves means she’s gotten deep under our skin."
He kissed my forehead, leaving me more confused than before. I pressed the button to bring the target closer and change it. I also reloaded the gun and sent the target back out to continue practicing. I hadn’t hit the desired spots on the previous silhouette. I needed to focus. But my brother’s words kept echoing in my head.
Yesterday, when we arrived, we went straight to the central department of the agency. As we entered, they congratulated us on the success of the operation. The meeting was with several colleagues who kept congratulating me… looking back, three colleagues overdid it with hugs, handshakes, and one even brushed my hair aside…
Yeah, I can see Simón receiving that kind of attention… I fired the entire cartridge, hitting three shots. From this distance, I couldn’t confirm the accuracy. I was reloading when hands grabbed my waist. I shivered.
"Still mad, Blackie?"
"What are you doing here?" I imagined Roland had sent him to find me. I sighed. He pressed the button, and the target with the silhouette came closer. "Can’t you see I’m practicing?"
"Darling, as I told you yesterday…"
"I’m not quitting my job! The only thing that would make me resign is having kids, nothing else, and no one else."
"That can be arranged very quickly."
He wasn’t looking at me. He was examining the three shots I had hit on the target—one in the neck, one on the side of the torso, and one outside the silhouette. He picked up the bow and three arrows.
"Three wishes."
"What?" I didn’t understand. He pressed the button, and the target moved back.
"Blackie, if I can hit an arrow in the same spots where you hit your shots, you grant me three wishes." Seriously? Was he that cocky? He thinks…
"You really have confidence in yourself."
There was nothing that caught my attention more than a challenge. No matter how good Simón was, what he was suggesting was impossible. He didn’t stop looking at me. Oh, Lord! But this mature man was perfect, dressed in cowboy clothes… Stop those thoughts, Luisa! His butt looked amazing. I felt like pinching it.
"Let your hair down, beautiful."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
Blessed commanding voice, I didn't move a muscle. He came closer, let my hair down, and gently combed it with his fingers.
"I won't apologize because I haven't wronged you. You've already given a reason why you would resign, and I will work on it until I achieve it. If I fail in what I do, will you grant me three wishes?"
"Do you think you're all-powerful?"
I had to admit, he was very good at his job, a master from whom I would love to learn. Regarding the operation, if that fool Tommy hadn't changed the plan, the casualties would have been minimal. Simon saved the operation and my position as well.
"I'm not, but I like the bow."
"You won't hit."
That was impossible. Maybe he could get close, but hitting the exact same spots from this distance? That was impossible.
"If you hit the same spots as my shots, I'll grant you the wishes."
"We're negotiating."
His nose brushed against mine, sending millions of butterflies fluttering in my stomach and elsewhere. He stepped back, looked at the target for a few minutes, took a deep breath, stood firm, and when his hand drew the bowstring, his muscles tensed. Despite his shirt, those muscles were noticeable, and like a hypnotic image, I was mesmerized by his masculine stance.
He was a man of such virility, a pure and worthy alpha, his masculinity oozing from his pores. In fact, they all were, my brother no less. I was enchanted, or maybe I was sick with a desire to know more of his caresses and lose my sanity.
"You'll grant me a date today, formal attire, okay?" It was nothing out of the ordinary, except for the formal dress, the date was entirely to my liking.
"If you hit."
I said, from the distance we were at, it wasn't clear. Simon needed to be knocked down a peg. He concentrated, breathed, and analyzing his posture, his breathing, I realized he had trained with the bow. He released the arrow; from this distance, I couldn't tell if he hit, but it was embedded in the target. He took another arrow, without looking at me, he focused again.
"You'll marry me in Las Vegas." I couldn't speak, my mouth opened. "If I don't hit, we'll still get married, but on another day."
"You're very confident that you'll hit."
"I expect an answer before I release the arrow. Do you accept?" I responded the same way.
"If you hit."
After feeling confident, he released the second arrow. He looked at me from the side, winking. This man made me melt very quickly. He took the third and final arrow.
"You resign today, so we can travel to Las Vegas tomorrow and then to our honeymoon in Brazil."
I opened my mouth again; he had a victorious smile. I had no idea if he had hit any, only that the arrows were in the target. I breathed.
"You're not perfect," I said.
"That's true, but I believe in my abilities. Confirm it," he said firmly.
"If you hit."
He took more time with this one. The arrow flew towards its target. He set the bow aside, took my gun with which I had been practicing, and, looking at me, shot at the target. Three shots rang out, then he pressed the button, and the result was on its way. He had an air of superiority. I rolled my eyes and went to check the result.
My heart raced. They were impeccable shots; three arrows had hit the same spots I had previously, and now the three shots he had fired, one was in the forehead, another in the neck, and the third in the heart. A lump formed in my throat. I looked at him; he stood with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, so damn superior.
"A dinner, we get married tomorrow, and you resign today."
"And the three shots? What should I call you from now on? Hawkeye?"
He let out a hearty laugh. His arms wrapped around my waist, my head rested on his chest, his breath reaching my ear.
"Raven-haired, those three shots will be the minimum number of children you'll give me."
My skin tingled. He turned me around and lifted me. My legs wrapped around his waist like so many times before.
"If we get married tomorrow, I want to be a virgin on our wedding night."
"Wish granted, but today I want to taste you."