A/N: I was going to draw this out, but I figured...no. So, finally, the conclusion to our saga...
Chapter Fourteen
My eyes fluttered open as a felt a light tingle trace down my cheek. A pair of laughing brown eyes stared back at me. I bolted upright, clutching his wrist and his fingers curled into my hair.
"I thought you'd gone," I said breathlessly. He only smiled and met my lips gently. I made the kiss persistent, remembering the paranoia that had haunted me when I had found the house empty.
"You know, it has always been so easy to get you in bed," Javier said as we pulled away. I pretended to be appalled and pushed at him. He laughed and leaned over me again with kisses tender and free. I leaned back, feeling my nerves explode in fireworks all up and down my spine. I draped my arms over his neck and invited him.
"I have good news," he said, pulling away and stroking the hair from my face.
"This news is good enough," I said, pulling him down for another kiss. He laughed.
"No, better. Well, better, I guess, if you want a family," he said, cocking his head to the side.
"What?"
"Isabel left me. She never loved me, but she was a jealous woman. She saw how I miss you, and thought she would show me a lesson by leaving," Javier said, still laughing. I glanced over his shoulder at the vanity table. That's what had seemed off—there were no feminine trinkets gracing the polished wood.
"That is why the house was empty?" I asked.
"Si," he answered, kissing my neck.
"But Hector—"
"Is sleeping in his room now. I leave him with a neighbor when I go to work. But I thought, maybe now you would like to take care of him instead?"
"I don't believe this," I said, trying to process it all. I leave for a week and all my dreams come true. Javier and I could be together now…really together. That look of desperation no longer hid behind his gaze. Instead, it was the look of a man finally free.
"You don't believe me?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.
"It's all so perfect. It's amazing how simple things seem now," I said in amazement. I felt tears of joy smarting behind my eyes.
"If you want, I could make things complicated. Perhaps see other women, lose my job…" Javier said thoughtfully. Instead of arguing, I pulled him down into a sultry kiss, arching my back and pressing myself against him. I saw the smoke in his eyes as I pulled away.
"Or maybe not," he said, a wide grin breaking across his tanned features. One day we would have to leave, I knew. One day we would have to find a way to America, for Hector and our children to come. But that wasn't today. For now, we danced.
A/N: To my faithful readers—it's been wonderfully encouraging to receive comments that expressed satisfaction with this story. I think some of you may have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. (well, except for that file deletion mishap) Thanks for sticking with me! I would have loved to have Javier & Katey back in the States. But, for now, Cuba is where they belong. I almost hate closing a story because…well, it's nice to have something to keep me company, so to speak. Perhaps I'll sit down and write another fic that's been begging to be set free, if you will. For now, thank you for your time!