Claiming My Sweet Captive

“You are,” I agreed.

She shifted toward me, then stopped on a wince. “I got shot, huh? So, what’s the damage?”

“They had to remove one of your ovaries, but you’ll make a full recovery.”

“Oh.” Her face fell. “Does that mean I can’t… Can I still get pregnant?”

I smoothed her hair back from her forehead. “Yes, cosita. You’ll be able to have children.”

Her features softened with relief before her quick mind moved on. “Where are we, anyway? Please don’t say a hospital in Chicago, because it’s going to be really hard to get away from my friends a second time if they find me.”

“We’re in Cancún. I took you out of the country.”

She nodded. “Smart. Where are we going next?”

A small smile curved my lips. “I thought we could figure that out together.”

She beamed at me. “Cool. Well, I was thinking like, a private island or something would be good. As long as I have an internet connection, I don’t mind being isolated. I mean, I’m not exactly a people person, and neither are you. I can move some of your money to an offshore account, so we have e

nough to live. And I’ll move my money, too, but I’ll be honest, that’s not going to buy the private island. I figured we can donate the rest, you know? Do some good with it.” She barely drew breath as she laid out her plan, her clever brain working in overtime. By the time she finished, a wide grin split my face. Samantha really was adorable.

“A private island sounds perfect. I’ll have you all to myself.”

She poked my chest playfully. “And I’ll have you all to myself. This goes both ways. You’re mine, Andrés.”

I took her hand and placed it on my heart. “Yours,” I promised.

Epilogue

Two Months Later

“I have something for you, gatita.” I leaned over Samantha from behind, wrapping my arms around her. She jolted, shocked out of her focused state. Then, she shivered and sighed as I kissed her neck.

“Put your work away,” I commanded.

“But I’m super busy,” she protested.

We might have made our home on our little slice of paradise over the last two months, but my clever Samantha hadn’t been wasting her time lounging on the beach. She’d insisted on shifting back into hero mode, taking down bad guys from the safety of her ergonomic chair.

After sending all the information on my laptop to the FBI, she’d ensured that her friends at the Bureau cleaned up what was left of my former criminal organization.

That hadn’t been enough for her. She attained a sense of purpose and satisfaction out of helping others, and she insisted on continuing to fight crime. I allowed it, as long as she did it under my watchful eye.

Her hacking skills really had been wasted in her brief time serving as a field agent. My Samantha was brilliant and as fierce as ever. She could do far more damage from behind her screen than she could with her fists.

I also allowed her to keep in touch with her former co-workers, even though I didn’t care for her continued interaction with her male friends. Knowing that she’d safeguarded our location and it was untraceable eased some of my worry. And knowing that an ocean separated the men from my pretty pet helped suppress my violent impulses when it came to asserting my ownership.

I nipped at the shell of her ear. “You can go back to your work tomorrow. I have plans for you tonight.”

She drew in a shuddering breath, but she didn’t put her laptop away. “I thought you were working on a project today.”

“I was,” I allowed.

She thought I’d been working on our new home. I derived calm satisfaction from making custom additions to the house that had already existed on our private island. I was crafting kinky furniture for one particular room in our own personal, depraved haven. I’d never had the opportunity to build something with my own hands. Although my efforts were slow as I learned, it felt good to create rather than destroy.

“Close the laptop,” I ordered, dropping my tone with warning. “Now, cosita.”

She huffed out an exasperated breath, but her little tremor let me know she was as responsive to my dominance as ever. She saved her work and closed the laptop.