Chapter 67

The meal Casey had asked the chef to prepare was indeed a feast worthy of their wedding day and seeing the pleased look on Gina's face as they lifted their glasses to toast the bride and groom, Alejandro was glad that he hadn't just dragged her back to his home. She deserved every happiness possible, even if it meant he had to wait a little longer to bury himself in the woman he'd spent a year pining over. Hell, it had been a year since he'd touched any woman, period. It was like the moment he met Gina, his dick was no longer interested in anyone else. And Alejandro was old enough, experienced enough to get the message. Gina was forever material. The type of woman a man waited for. Did not take for granted by fucking around on. Even if she never knew the depth of his feelings until he was ready to declare himself.

So, he lifted his glass, toasted, smiled and laughed alongside his bride and the rest of the family. He spent two hours accepting congratulations, talking, eating and listening to Spanish music. Finally, he was able to wait no longer; he wanted Gina to himself. He sent their host a meaningful look and was rewarded with a nod for his patience. Alejandro took Gina's hand in a firm grip and stood, drawing her up with him. She gave him a startled look but didn't protest.

"Though the evening is not late, it has been a long day and I am eager to have my bride to myself," Alejandro told the table. "Excuse us, por favor."

Casey stood. "But we haven't had cake yet." Alejandro was certain she would have run to her cousin if Reyes hadn't captured her wrist and tugged her back down into her seat.

"Let them go," he said in an authoritative drawl. "You have seen for yourself that she is well, mi reina. Now you must relinquish her to the care of another." When it looked as though Casey would argue, he lifted a brow and said, "Let her go. I insist." Casey bit her lip and fell silent, though she frowned at her husband, clearly torn.

Alejandro and Gina said their goodbyes. He allowed Casey to give her cousin a tight hug and promised that the two women would meet the following day before pulling his bride away. Though he would rather keep her to himself for longer than a day he knew he would have to work. The problem of whomever had been targeting him still existed. Alejandro would not rest until that particular threat was entirely extinguished.

After making sure that his madre would be taken care of at the mansion, he strode through the hall with Gina and out into the crisp mountain air. She looked around confused as he escorted her toward his car, brought around as requested. "You didn't think we'd be staying here, did you?" he asked, opening the passenger door for her and arranging the skirt of her wedding gown before closing the door.

After he took the driver's seat she answered. "I guess not. But we aren't staying in the barracks with the men, are we?"

"Certainly not," Alejandro assured her, but abstained from clarifying their whereabouts until they approached the home he'd had built on the far side of the compound. He watched her face as they drove up to the house, set away from the rest of the buildings. It wasn't like anything else on the property. It was much smaller than the mansion, but still large and beautifully designed. He knew that Gina's family was originally from Georgia, so he asked the architect to go with an older southern US style home with a wraparound balcony. Of course, he'd had the structure reinforced to withstand potential conflicts as well as Andean weather.

"Oh!" she gasped, her hand going to her mouth. Her grey eyes widened as they took the entire white and blue structure in. Then she turned to look at him, speechless.

"I began plans for it a few months after you arrived and had it started a few months ago. I moved my things in on Tuesday. Your things were moved yesterday while we were in La Paz," he told her. "There are brand new furnishings. And of course, I expect you to pick out whatever you want, or make any changes that will make you happy." When she continued to stare as if she couldn't believe her eyes, he took her hand and then turned her chin so she would look at him. "If it doesn't make you happy, mi amor, we can burn it and start over. Hell, we can build a mansion bigger than the main house. Though I am not sure your cousin will like that. She can be a competitive little thing."

Gina half-choked, half-laughed and reached for the door. "Don't you dare burn it!" She jumped out of the car and began walking fast toward the front doors. "I want to see inside. Do you have the key?"

"Door code," he growled following quickly behind her and scooping her up in his arms before she could reach the front steps. She squealed and gripped his shoulders laughing up at him while he strode with her to the door.

"101290," he told her, punching in the code.

"My birthday," she murmured and then rolled her eyes. "Not very stealthy, Alejandro."

He shrugged and gently set her back on her feet once they were over the threshold. He held her tight against him, allowing her no room to wriggle out of his grip. "We live in a very secluded place. Anyone of importance already has this code. Anyone else foolish enough to seek entrance uninvited will meet with a very bad end."

She nodded, peeking around him and smiling delightedly. "Just so long as I don't have to stab anyone. I'm not very good at it yet." She tried to step away from him toward the kitchen, but he tugged her back into the shelter of his arms.

It was beautiful like the main house, but different, understated, like her. She showed her appreciation in the delighted smiles she gifted him and the soft touches she ran over the furnishings as they explored together. Of course, he'd already inspected every detail of their new home, ensuring perfection for his new wife, but seeing everything through her eyes was like seeing it for the first time. Only this time without judgement or prejudice. Just the simple pleasure of knowing he had made good choices.

They made their way to the top floor, toward the master bedroom. His breathing became somewhat erratic with each step, as though he were a fumbling teenager instead of a full-grown man in his late thirties. It had been more than a year since he'd touched a woman sexually, but the skills should still all be there. He shouldn't be this damn nervous. Except every time he glanced down at Gina's lovely face and curvy body, every thought fled. He was left trembling with the need to grab her, throw her down on the nearest surface and fuck her senseless. He was thinking about doing just that to take the edge off, hell he could do finesse after, when she let out a huge yawn that she didn't quite have enough time to smother.

He took a good look at her, absorbing the still bloody gown she wore and the delicate shadows of fatigue beneath her eyes. He felt like a pig. "Let's get you into the bath," he said gruffly. At least wash the blood and grime from her kidnapping away before he attacked her.

She smiled happily. "I would love a bath, thank you."

"It's through here," he showed her through the bedroom and into their ensuite. It was bright and roomy with a shower, separated bath tub and a vanity stacked high with fluffy white towels. He opened a white cabinet next to the tub and showed her a selection of products. Gina squeezed in next to him and ran her finger over the labels.

"These are all mine," she murmured, then clarified, "I mean, the brands that I prefer."

"I know," he said, tilting her chin up so he could steal a kiss before stepping away from her.

"Stalker," she said accusingly, but the smile on her lips took the sting from the word.

He grinned. "From the day you moved into the main house, mi amor. Now I will go and pour a glass of wine to go with your bath."

Her face softened, and he could swear his heart melted a little more. "If you're not careful you'll spoil me. I'll start to expect this sort of treatment all the time and then where will you be?"

He shrugged and backed away, leaving her to her bath. "Apology chicken, I suppose."

"You can cook too?" she yelled after him and giggled. "If I wasn't already in love you with you, this would be it."

He chuckled and strolled down the stairs toward their new kitchen, feeling lighter than he had in years. While his madre had taught him the ways of assassination, his padre had, in fact, taught him the art of food. He was confident in his abilities to please his woman in the kitchen. He unbuttoned his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair before reaching for a bottle of Champagne, aiming it away from him and popping the cork. He spotted a couple drops of blood on the white sleeve of his dress shirt and shook his head. The priest had been stubborn, hadn't given up his employer before Alejandro's patience had run out. His death had been quick, but violent.

He unbuttoned his shirt down the front until he reached the vest and stopped. He ran a hand over his chest and thought he could probably use a shower before he took his bride to bed, wondered if he had the patience to wait that long. He could fuck her first, then shower, then make slow, leisurely love to her when his cock had been satiated at least once. He'd been patient for a year, now he wanted to sink into the woman that had obsessed him to the point of madness. Somehow, he knew it would be like coming home after being away forever.

He grabbed the Champagne bottle by the neck, along with two glasses and took the stairs two at a time, eager to catch a glimpse of his new wife naked and wet in her bath. He came to an abrupt halt, a growl of frustration leaving his lips when he found her. She was indeed naked and wet. She was also sound asleep, snoring softly.

He set the bottle and glasses down on the vanity, careful not to make any sound that could wake her. He poured himself a large glass of the bubbly, amber liquid and knelt next to the tub. Selfish bastard that he was, if he couldn't fuck her on their wedding night, he would at least look his fill. He allowed his eyes to trail from her pretty, rounded face, down her chest, bobbing evenly against the bubbles as she slumbered. Even her flawless knees, turned up against the side of the tub were a gorgeous turn on. Her face was relaxed into the curve of her arm against the side of the tub, while her other arm floated lazily in the water.

Alejandro carefully slid his finger through the bubbles. When she continued to sleep undisturbed, he touched his finger to the clean wet strands of her hair and moved them gently away from her beautifully rounded breasts, revealing the rosy tips. He touched the pad of his thumb against her nipple and watched as it grew plumper, rosier, dipping in and out of the heated bath water in concert with the rise and fall of her chest. His dick thanked him by pressing urgently against the zip of his tuxedo trousers. The goddamn single shred of decency he had did not thank him. It called him every kind of fool as he tilted the wineglass against his mouth and drank deeply. He wished for something stronger to take the edge off his lust.

He would remove his woman from her bath, tuck her into bed and take a shower himself, find some release from the damn hard-on he'd been sporting since the moment he saw his bride that morning. Then he would find a real drink and see if there was any intel on the men who had hit his wedding weekend. Perhaps if he killed someone he would be less likely to ravish an unconscious woman. Looking down at the beautiful, sleeping blond, he forced himself to stand and step away from the tub.