Chapter 139
(MIA)
“Mia! Stop! You’re drunk!” Alex’s voice reverberated through his spacious living room.
“No,” I called back, and before I could change my mind, I found myself in the outdoor pool area of his house. I wasn’t drunk; I was tipsy, at best.
Alex sighed, following me. He leaned against the open glass doors, watching me throw myself onto one of the lounge chairs. “You were hospitalized just a little over a month ago. Alcohol isn’t good for you right now,” he said, frowning.
“Ex-husbands aren’t supposed to care.”
Alex shook his head, sitting on the adjacent lounge chair, facing me. I looked away.
“Mia, look at me.”
“No!”
He let out an exasperated breath. “You’re an annoying drunk, you know?”
“Men usually find their wives adorable. Of course you’ll find me annoying. I’m your ex-wife,” I huffed.
“You’re not my ex-wife.”
My voice shook. “I will be after we sign the divorce papers.”
“You’ve made up your mind? You want a divorce?” The audacity of this man to sound hurt!
I glared at him. “If you haven’t noticed, I don’t really get a choice around here. It’s always ‘Mia this, and Mia that,’” I mimicked his heavy voice.
“I asked you to choose, baby.”
“Why don’t you get it?” I reached out to hit his chest. “I wanted a choice to marry you, not to leave you!”
A small smile curved his lips. “So you don’t want to leave me?”
“Are you dumb?” I blinked. “For a mafia strategist, you really can be thick-skulled.”
Alex grasped my hand and pulled me. Tipsy and unbalanced, I fell onto him. He caged his hands around me, settling me in his lap.
“Let me go, you monster!”
He sighed, a little dazed. “You’re my wife.”
“No, I’m going to divorce you just because you gave me the choice.” I wriggled, trying to get away.
Chapter 139 (continued)
“Choice taken away,” he nestled his face in the crook of my neck. I ignored the goosebumps and pushed him away.
“No! No!” I continued struggling, to no avail. “You can let me go like I never meant anything to you, right? Then let me go! Let me go!”
“Never.”
I shook my head, my attempts to wriggle free dying down, tears filling my eyes. “How can you not let me go?”
“I never let you go,” he snaked his fingers around mine; his wedding band shone brightly.
“But you did,” I sniffed. “You were gone for two weeks and only came back to be a caveman.”
“No, I was already on my way to see you from the airport when Stephen called me,” he said genuinely.
“I don’t trust you.”
“I’ll make you trust me,” he kissed my jaw chastely. It took everything not to close my eyes and enjoy his touch.
“Alex,” I whispered.
“Yes, baby?”
“We’re dysfunctional,” I muttered.
“I will make us functional, then,” he promised. “I gave you an out, baby. One out. And just once. If you would have chosen the divorce, it was your only out. You didn’t choose it.”
“Except I did. I keep calling you ex-husband.”
“You’re still my wife,” he kissed my chin. “And that crazy stunt you pulled for my attention? Hardly a cry for divorce.”
I blinked.
“I will make us work,” Alex looked into my eyes, our faces inches apart. “You’re my happiness, Mia. Everything in the world fades in comparison. If it’s not you, it’s nobody for me, baby. I’ve been a fool before, many times in fact, when it comes to you. I know I have made decisions that hurt you. But never again.”
I blinked again; the lump in my throat was prominent.
“I missed you,” he whispered, kissing my nose. “Do you want a divorce, Mia?”
I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. “Am I crazy for still only wanting you despite everything?” I mumbled. “You’re it for me too, Alex Whitlock.” Our noses brushed together. “If it’s not you, there’s nobody for me.”
“I love you, wife.”
I froze as the words escaped his lips, my lips parting in a gasp.
“Say it again,” I grinned, pulling my face away to look at him properly.
“I love you.” He bit his lower lip. “You’re my wife, and I’m never letting you go.”
“You promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die, baby.”
I nodded, tears slipping out. “I love you too, husband.”
Chapter 139 (continued)
Before he could say anything, I cupped his cheeks and pressed my lips to his. Alex groaned into the kiss, parting my legs to place one on each side of his. One of his hands gripped my hair, pulling my face down so he could kiss me thoroughly, his touch reverberating through every cell of my being.
“F**king,” he kissed my jaw. “Missed.” I angled my face upwards, letting his lips slide down my jaw. “You.”
I gasped; his feather-light kisses made me throb.
“Alex,” I pulled away, grinding my hips against his.
“Yes, baby?”
“I—I don’t want you to fuck me.”
“Okay, my love,” he agreed without hesitation. “Whenever you’re ready for it. You’re here with me; that’s all that matters.”
“No. I—I mean,” my cheeks heated. “I don’t want you to fuck me. I want you to make love to me today.” My voice dropped low. “I—I want—I need you to erase all the bad touches. I want to just remember you.”
He smiled, and I gasped when he suddenly lifted me. “I promise, when I’m done with you, you’ll only remember me.”
I snaked my hands around him, looking only at him until he leaned me down onto his bed, hovered over me, removed his shirt, and then kissed me again.
“It took so much from me to stop kissing you all this while,” he muttered against my lips. “Why did I never do it before?”
“You can do it every day now,” I coyly suggested.
“I sure as f**k plan to,” he agreed, and then proceeded to kiss my neck, my clavicle, my chest.
The dress soon slipped from my body, and he made love to me just as he promised he would, erasing all the bad memories, bad touches until he was the only name and touch that consumed me. He satiated me and then held me to sleep in his arms, telling me how much he loved me—which was all I wanted, and then some more.
Please note: I have cleaned up the grammar and punctuation, but I have left the expletives as they were originally written, as it seems to be part of the character's voice. If you would prefer them removed or replaced, please let me know.