Mia was in her own world, though she could still hear his voice over the speaker as he groaned from the 200 kg dumbbell he was lifting. His deep, masculine, broken voice, which always made her succumb to his control, repeated over and over again.
It was his recent video upload, and no, she wasn't stalking him. She just happened to receive notifications of his every Instagram post.
Funny. Isn't it? To Mia, it's nothing close to stalking.
His voice was her weakness. It was her trigger. Electric waves jolted through her just when he groaned even louder, and she knew she wanted more of him. More of it.
She aggressively pulled the showerhead from where it hung, sliding the long, thick handle through her.
The hell? She was already dripping wet.
"Shit! I can't continue doing this to myself." She mumbled under her breath.
Nothing new. It's been a routine for her to masturbate to anything that has this man's name attached to it. Even his cough seems sexual to her.
"He's my fucking ex." She mumbled even louder. But that's not enough to stop her from what she's doing. Instead, she took it all in.
It was cold, and it had some texture on the sides. She pulled it out and pushed it back in. She did it again. And again, getting faster with every thrust.
She screamed. She had never felt this much pleasure since the last time.
Fuck… Yes!
Then it all stopped!
Everything faded at the sound of the doorbell.
"Coming!"
Her scream came mostly from the frustration over the incomplete moment she was experiencing and the disgust over who was surely at the door. Rushing to put off the repeating groans of his gym video upload, she covered her nakedness with a towel and rushed to open the door for her husband.
"Mia. How many times have I told you? No towels at the door. What if it wasn't me?" Rick walked in, shoving his suitcase at Mia, who was still fluttering from the tingles in her body.
She shut the door, and before she could respond, Rick went again. "I got us groceries for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. I also got you cucumbers, which you love. Tell me I am the best husband in the world."
Mia muttered inaudible words under her breath and disappeared into the bedroom. But Rick didn't stop there, as he sat back into the furniture in the living room.
"Did I tell you about my case? The one about the bad guy... I know I never really told you much. But you'd want to know that I won. The bad guy's in the cage, baby."
When he got no response from the busy Mia in the bedroom, he continued straining his voice to be heard through the walls. "So it came in yesterday. Matt told me, but I didn't believe him. The court ruled on the final verdict. He's going to prison. El Patricio is finally going to prison. After months of…."
"Who's going to prison?" Mia shot out of the room, now properly dressed in jeans and a top.
"What do you mean by 'who?"
"I mean the bad guy that you said…"
"El Patricio? And I mean, you shouldn't be that surprised he's going to prison. He's the bad guy."
"Yes, him!" Mia ignored the rest of his words. "Isn't he part of a gang named, er, Blood Brotherhood…"
"Yeah. That's right. How do you know about them?"
Quickly flashing a fake smile to cover something up, she inserted, "From the news."
"Come on, Mia, you don't have to be ashamed. I know that you have been listening to me even though you act like you don't. And you even follow up on the case when I'm not there. It's not so bad to agree that you're madly in love with me, you know."
"If that makes you sleep at night." Mia rolled her eyes and turned on the TV and left for the kitchen.
"Where are you going now?"
"To begin making dinner for your potatoes, which apparently makes you feel Irish." She said from the kitchen.
"Are you teasing me now?"
"Why would you ever think that?"
Rick got up from the living room and came to Mia, wrapping his hands around her waist and kissing her neck.
Mia moaned lightly at his kiss. "What are you doing, Rick?"
"Exactly what I'm obligated to do as your husband." He spoke into her right ear.
"Stop!"
He didn't say a word to Mia. Instead, he kept nibbling on her ear and neck. Then his phone rang. And he stopped.
Mia felt disappointed as he left her to get his phone. After he was done with his phone call, Mia expected that he'd return. And he did, just for a different reason.
"Hey baby. Matt just called. He's asked me to take a look at some documents. There's a possibility that El Patricio might be moved to a federal prison. Some documents…"
"I… don't…" Mia cut in with a confused look as she turned to face him.
"Yes, I'm sorry. I know you don't understand what I am saying."
Mia smiled.
"What I am saying is that I will be extra busy from now until sometime later in the evening. So when dinner's ready, you can just bring it to the study. I'll be eating there tonight."
"You mean every night?" She returned to what she was doing
"Don't make it sound like I never eat at the table."
"But you never do." A scoff was audible in her tone while she kept a straight face.
"Mia…"
"I understand. You are busy. It's a big case. It's important. More important than me…"
"Baby…"
Mia dropped the knife sharply, leaving no doubts about her anger, and then she walked out on him.
Rick let out a sigh before he called out to her. "I'll be gone then. I love you."
Mia stormed out to the balcony, letting the cool night air slap against her heated skin.
"Arrghhhhh!"
She let out a loud exclamation as she gripped the rail so tightly that her knuckles whitened. Her breath was ragged as though she had just run a marathon.
Anger! It pulsed in her veins, yet again. It's not just at Rick, but at herself. At the way she kept circling back to the same hollow disappointment.
She feels stuck. She hated how familiar it felt.
Her chest tightened as an old memory slipped in, uninvited but vivid. She could see him again, hunched over his desk, papers scattered, his pen moving furiously. She had hovered by the doorway, biting her lip.
"Are you even listening to me?" she had asked.
"I'm listening, Cariño." His eyes never left the page.
"No, you're not," she pushed. "You care more about these stupid papers than me. Sometimes I wonder if you even love me anymore."
That finally made him look up. His gaze softened, the pen falling from his hand.
"Don't ever say that," he said gently. "You know there's nothing in this world I love more than you."
"This," she described what he's doing with her hands. "Doesn't prove that."
He leaned back in his chair, exhaling. "You know I meant every word I just said."
"Maybe I will when you prove it." She whispered, half daring, half desperate.
"Come on, pumpkin… If I stop now, there'll be consequences. You know that."
"Then let there be consequences," she shot back, her lower lip trembling. "Because I need you more than they need those papers."
"You don't know that." He tried to convince her, but she's not having it.
"Really?"
For a moment, silence stretched between them.
"Fine!"
He pushed the files aside, stood, and walked over to her. He pulled her into his arms, pressing his forehead to hers.
"My mind may be with work," he murmured, brushing his lips against hers, "but my heart is always with you. Always."
She chuckled.
"Why were you angry again?" He mumbled as he kissed her all over her face.
"Was I?" Mia shied away from the question.
"Is that it? Do you think I love you now?" He continued to kiss her.
"Just a tiny little bit." Mia teased.
"Oh, really? Then I'm going to make you pay for getting me off that chair."
Mia chuckled even more.
And then he kissed her on her lips, deeper, until the sting of loneliness melted away. "El Patricio is going to have our heads." He muttered softly.
El Patricio!
Another thought cut through. El Patricio? Rick's words echoed in her mind, snapping her back to the present.
El Patricio? Going to prison?
She hurried back inside and snatched up her phone, her fingers trembling as she searched the latest headlines.
Breaking: El Patricio Sentenced—Gang Leader Faces Prison Time.
Federal Authorities Confirm Blood Brotherhood Crackdown.
The words were there, clear as day, splashed across every news outlet. She scrolled furiously, refreshing again and again as if one article might tell a different story. But they all said the same thing.
Still, something in her refused to accept it. Men like him didn't just disappear into prisons. Men like him found ways out.
Mia sank into the couch. "This can't be real. It's not the end but surely the beginning of a disaster."