“You have to,” she said urgently, her attention dropping to my dick. I was still hard for her. “Go to your room. Get dressed. Hurry.”
I ran a hand through my hair, indecision ripping at my insides. I didn’t want to leave her unprotected, but I couldn’t stay here, nearly naked. Even if I managed to get the last of my arousal under control, the evidence of my state of undress was damning.
“I’ll get us out of this,” I promised. “I’ll keep you safe. I love you.” The words were new, but I didn’t want to stop saying them, now that we’d admitted our feelings.
“I love you, too,” she swore, even as she made a little shooing motion. “Go!”
I bolted out of her room, darting into my own bedroom to tug on my clothes. I’d barely managed to get into my jeans before my door crashed open.
“What the fuck have you done?” Vicente raged.
But it wasn’t my father who came barreling at me. Hugo’s weight slammed into me, taking me to the floor. His fist smashed into my jaw, and stars burst across my vision. He’d hit me plenty of times, but I understood in that moment that he’d always held back the full force of his brutality. My world spun, my stomach lurching as nausea spiked.
I shook my head hard to clear it, but Hugo’s weight kept me pinned.
“I love her,” I snarled, struggling to breathe when Hugo was crushing my chest.
His fist smashed into my face again. I tasted blood in my mouth, and the world flickered around me. Meaty hands jerked me upright before slamming me back against the wall. Dizziness washed over me, my nausea coming in waves.
I blinked hard, and my father’s face came into focus. He loomed beside Hugo, who held me fast. I tried to shove him away, and his hands closed around my throat, squeezing hard enough to cut off my air supply. I grabbed at his arms, struggling to break his iron hold. But I was disoriented by his blows to my head, and my fingers started to go numb as I clawed at him.
“You are no longer welcome in this house,” Vicente seethed. “You’re going to America. You’re a man now. It’s time you started acting like it.”
I jerked my head to the side, my refusal catching in my trapped throat.
“You’re going to run my business in California,” he continued. “If you ever try to come back to Colombia, I’ll kill her. Do you hear me? Valentina dies if you step foot on this estate.”
Black spots danced across my vision, blotting out his enraged face. My arms stopped working, dropping to my sides as my limbs turned to lead.
Fear for Valentina followed me down into darkness, but there was nothing I could do to resist oblivion.Chapter 6Valentina“Where’s Adrián?” I demanded as soon as Vicente stormed into my bedroom. Mariana had locked me in and left me alone. It felt like hours has passed since I’d heard the sounds of a physical struggle coming from Adrián’s bedroom. The silence that followed had stretched on and on, driving me to the edge of madness. I couldn’t hear him moving around in his bedroom next door. I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t touch him, feeling his heartbeat beneath my hand to know he was with me and I was safe.
“He’s gone,” Vicente replied coldly. He cocked his head at me, stroking his beard as his black eyes roved over my body. I realized I was still wearing my silky nightgown, and it barely concealed my nakedness.
I wrapped my arms around my chest in a vain attempt to hide from his assessing gaze.
His lips curved in a contemptuous sneer. “I don’t want something my son has touched,” he announced.
Even though he talked about me as though I was an object rather than a person, relief slammed through my system. Vicente didn’t want me anymore. I was free to be with Adrián.
“Gone where?” I demanded. Wherever Adrián had been sent, I would follow.
“To America,” Vicente told me, his lips peeled back with rage.
I lifted my chin. “Then I’m going, too.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Vicente seethed.
“Why?” I demanded, desperate to get packed and go to Adrián. “I’m not yours.”
He studied me in silence for a few long seconds. “You love him,” he said coldly.
“I do,” I replied fiercely. “You can’t keep us apart.”
His black eyes glinted with malice. “I can and I will. Hugo!” he barked out for his friend.
I took an involuntary step back when Hugo’s bulky body appeared behind Vicente’s.
“She’s yours now, Hugo,” Vicente announced, never taking his eyes off me.
Ice crystalized in my veins, and I took another step back. “No.”
Hugo’s thin lips split in a leer, and he advanced on me. I tried to dodge away, but his big hands wrapped around my arms, yanking me against his rounded belly. I shrieked and twisted against his grip. I felt his hard arousal pressing into my belly.