Page 79 of Emerald

“I’m not?”

I shake my head. “You have gotten under my skin from the moment you arrived. And once I got a taste, I realized what was missing in my life.”

“What’s that?”

“You,” I confess as I bend down and kiss her ever so gently.

“It’s only been a couple of weeks …” she murmurs as she continues to kiss me.

“I know.”

“You might get sick of me.”

“I probably will. You can be annoying.” I grin as I continue to pepper her lips with kisses. “And you’ll probably attempt to kill me a couple more times,” I add.

She smirks. “Yeah, probably.”

“Seems like a match to me.” I grin.

“Does that mean you will come back to Ibiza with me?” she asks. I can see the hope in her eyes, and it makes my stomach flip flop.Who the hell am I?

“Until the dust settles, yeah, it might be for the best.”

“What about your bar?”

I’ve been thinking about it since all this started. “Jose can have it, run it.”

“Won’t they come for him?” she asks with concern.

“No.” A frown forms on her face. “Pedro owes him, and he won’t allow anyone to touch Jose.”

“What did he do?” she asks in a hushed tone.

“Saved his life. And from that moment on, Jose and his family have been safe,” I explain.

“Wouldn’t that include you?” she asks.

“No. I’m not direct family.” Elena nods. “For the welfare of the bar, it’s his. He will keep it safe.”

“But you said you used your life savings to put that bar together.” I shrug. I did. “You can’t give that up for me.”

“Don’t worry about that. Come, let’s have a nice day just the two of us.” I don’t think she is going to relent but she does.

“Okay.”

I lean down and kiss her one last time before turning her around and smacking her ass, making her yelp. “Good, now get ready while I finish packing us a picnic.” She gives me a smile over her shoulder, does as she is told, and skips off happily. I hate how much I have the urge to make her happy. What the hell is wrong with me?You’re fucking lonely that’s what it is. This goddess walks into your life and turns it upside down, and you couldn’t be happier.True. As hard as that is to admit, she’s made me feel things for the first time in a long time. I have no idea how this is going to end, probably not well, but I don’t know if I give a fuck anymore. I thought running away from the world was what I needed to do, but instead, I just put myself into a self-imposed prison. Ellie has broken me out, and now, for the first time I see the world again, and it seems all right.

We’ve loaded up the Jeep and I start heading down the coast.

“Where are we going?” she asks, her blonde hair whipping around her as we bounce along the sandy road.

“There are beaches down here that tourists hardly ever go to,” I tell her.

“Does that mean the cartel doesn’t either?” she questions.

I shake my head. “No business down here,” I explain.

It’s a truly beautiful day, there’s nothing but blue skies, white sandy beaches, jungle, and aquamarine ocean. It’s not a longjourney to where we are going, less than an hour, but I know she is going to enjoy this. I slow down as we reach our destination, press a button on my key fob, and a wooden door opens along the bumpy road, exposing an entrance for us. Elena’s jaw drops as I pull into the open garage.

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