Keeping My Girl (Keeping What's Mine, #2)

by Angela Snyder

I deepen the kiss, pulling her closer, and stroking my thumb over the small heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. She hates that damn mark, but I think it’s cute as hell.

“We can text, email, write letters. Whatever you want.” “I want all of that and more,” she says before wrapping her arms around me in a hug. I hold her tightly, inhaling her strawberry-scented shampoo and memorizing the way she feels in my arms.

“I feel safe with you,” she whispers against my chest.

I vowed to always help people like Selina.

There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think about Selina McCall at least once.

The black hair and silver eyes. Even though he was wearing a mask, I’ll never forget those eyes.

She’s beautiful. No, more than beautiful. She’s perfection. Prettier than I ever could have imagined.

“You remembered that too, huh?” she whispers. “I remember everything about you, Lina.”

If anyone could find her again, it would be Nico.

When her breathing evens out, I slowly reach down and run my fingers through her long, silky hair. “Go to sleep, cuore mio. I’ll be here to slay all the monsters that try to get into your dreams,” I promise her.

And while I love that about Nico, how he never pressures me into anything and how he always puts my feelings first, I just want to feel normal for once in my life. And a movie night with him alone in his room sounds great…and normal to me.

That’s my girl.

This isn’t a race when it comes to Selina. This is a fucking marathon. And I’m in it for the long haul. I’m here for her whenever she needs me and for whatever the reason.

hating that I don’t get to spend any more time with her right now and that I have to share her with someone else again. I watch her walk away, not blinking until she disappears around the corner and out of my sight.

When she turns back to face me, all the breath leaves my lungs. She looks so fucking pretty like this.

Every second without her feels like a fucking eternity, and I’m beside myself, wading in the water and crying out her name.

He’s lucky we’re on a public beach with witnesses. He might be losing a limb…or two if we were somewhere private. Hell, if I had my gun right now, I’d shoot the bastard right between the eyes.

I stare into her blue and green eyes as my anger slowly begins to recede. “That guy would be dead right now if you were hurt,” I confess to her fervently.

She’s beautiful, but the paintings don’t hold a candle to the real thing. Lina is so much more stunning in real life.

“When you disappeared, I wanted your memory to live on, not only with me but with everyone who saw my art. I never wanted the world to forget how wonderful you were and how special you were to me.”

“You’ve got this,” he tells me, his lips tilting up.

“That’s my girl,” he says with a smile.

“You can do this,” he tells me confidently before pulling me close and placing a kiss on my forehead, his hands flexing at my waist as he holds me.

He’s so close, but I want to pull him impossibly closer, crawl inside of him and never leave.

Selina is the strongest woman I know, by far, and today definitely proved it.

“You’re beautiful, Lina,” he murmurs. “This is how I see you. And this is how the entire world sees you.”

He’s asking for permission instead of just taking what he wants, and my heart soars with his words. He knows exactly what I need. And right now all I need is him. “Kiss me, Nico,” I beg.

“You’re the only person I’ve ever kissed. I refused to kiss anyone else. I wanted that to be a piece of me that no one else could ever have. I wanted you to own that part of me.”

Gripping my thighs, he stands with me in his arms. I quickly wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me to his bed. My back hits the soft pile of sheets and comforters as he gently lays me down and stands at the edge, looking at me like I’m something delicious he wants to feast upon.

“You taste so good, baby,” he whispers between my thighs.

“That’s my girl,” Nico murmurs against my thigh before placing a kiss on my skin.

“There hasn’t been a day in the past ten years when I haven’t thought about you, Lina. And ever since you’ve gotten back, there hasn’t been a minute or even a fucking second that has passed when you haven’t been on my mind.”

“I want you with every single fiber of my being. I want you more than I want to fucking breathe most days. I want to be with you more than I’ve ever wanted anything else in this entire world!” he shouts, exasperated.

“You’re not broken, Lina. You’re fucking beautiful and smart and funny and…perfect for me. I just didn’t want to push you into doing something you weren’t ready for.”

He’s asking for permission. Not just taking what he wants. And he has no idea how much that means to me.

I realize I’m crying, but it’s not because I’m in pain or uncomfortable. “I never knew it could feel like this,” I confess in a rush. His expression instantly relaxes, and his mouth comes down to capture mine in a soul-searing kiss.

Standing up, I reach my hand down and pull her up and into my arms. Grazing my fingertips along her cheek, I study her beautiful face in the moonlight before placing a tender kiss against her lips. Ever since we’ve crossed the line from friends to lovers, I haven’t been able to keep my hands off of her.

God, I’m such a goner for that girl.

I thought I needed drugs to get that ultimate high to sustain life. But, in reality, all I needed was Nico. He’s my newest addiction — a drug so sweet and perfect that I’ll never be able to rid him of my system.

I’m tired of living in the past. I’m tired of being afraid. I want to have a normal relationship with a man that I trust with my whole heart, body and soul.

And as we make love under the cascade of water, I realize I never want to live in a world without Nico by my side. I want him to be my forever.

I won’t let her disappear again. She’s my girl. I won’t stop until I find her. And once I do, Constantine will pay for what he’s done to her with his life.

My heart belongs to Nicholas Vitale. And I will love him until my last dying breath.

Nico holds me the whole way home. Home.

“You’re my home,” I tell him. Wherever he is, I will be too. And I will be happy.

“I wouldn’t have let him take you again, Lina. I would have spent the rest of my days on earth searching for you until I found you. I would have scoured heaven and hell for you. There is no way I would have just let you go. You’re my girl,” he tells me heatedly.

“I love you, too. I’ve always loved you, Lina, even from the first time I laid eyes on you. Probably before I even knew what love was. I have loved you for every second, every minute, every hour for the past ten goddamn years.”

“I’m never letting you go,” he utters before sealing his vow with a kiss.

All the air leaves my lungs in a rush. “You made me PB and J with the crusts cut off,” I whisper, my voice breaking. It’s the picnic date we never got to go on because my mother took me away. “You remembered,” I tell him, my voice full of emotion. “I remember everything about you, Lina,” he says softly.

“That sounds perfect,” Nico says, humming in approval while kissing the top of my head. “I love you, Lina,” he whispers into my hair. “And I love you, Nico,” I whisper back. “Forever.” “Forever,” he agrees.