I turned my stare down to her, kissing her temple as we entered the lobby and made our way to the elevator that would take us to the Penthouse. Ten days to convince Isa to abandon everything she knew. Ten days to bring her to life and show her everything she never knew she needed.
I had to hope it would be enough. We stepped into the elevator as Isa looked around her surroundings, her nerves increasing as I pressed the button for the penthouse. She turned her eyes up to mine, nibbling at the corner of her mouth as her doubts crept back in. Curling her into me, I tipped her head up and licked the seam of her mouth until she parted for me and invited me inside.
I'd spend the entire time inside her if it kept her from over-analyzing our contrasting financial lives. They would be the least of her concerns.
She melted into me, her body like liquid in my arms as she let me maneuver her until her back touched the rear wall of the elevator. Firm strokes of my tongue against hers, and I took everything she gave. When the elevator doors opened, I pulled away so suddenly that she swayed with the loss of my touch and let me take her hand to guide her to the penthouse doors. I shoved them open as quickly as I could, dropping my keycard on the entryway table and guiding her through the living room of my suite to the master bedroom. The room glowed with the soft light of the moon filtering in through the massive sliding glass doors that offered stunning views of the ocean. I hated to leave her, but had to in order to rinse the sand from my feet in the bathroom. Her eyes lit as she walked over to the doors, watching the waves crash against the barely illuminated sand as she slid one of the doors open and stepped onto the private balcony.
I followed when I was able, stepping up behind her and pulling her chocolate hair over one of her shoulders to give me access to her neck. Trailing my lips over her skin and trailing them down to her shoulder, I bit the flesh there while she sucked in a breath. As soon as my teeth released her, she spun to me suddenly with her lips pursed in indecision. "If we're going to do this, then there's something you should know."
I touched the rope that held together the sides of her dress, slowly untying the knot as my hands brushed against her breasts with every movement. "What's that,mi princesa?"
"I've never..." She paused, swallowing as the tie released finally and the sides of fabric loosened to show more of her bikini-clad breasts. I touched the gauzy fabric on her shoulders, sliding it out on either side until it was only a second from slipping off her body. "I'm a virgin," she blurted, her eyes disappointed as she waited for the rejection she thought might come.
If she'd been anyone else, I wouldn't have had any interest in going further, so I couldn't say the fear was unwarranted. But with Isa, her virginity was far less complicated.
It meant I didn't need to hunt new victims and murder the men who'd touched what was mine.
With a secret smile, I brushed the fabric off her shoulders despite her words. The dress slipped from her body, gliding down her smooth skin like liquid torment. It puddled at her feet, leaving her in nothing but an emerald green string bikini that hugged her curves tightly. The color brought out her eyes, and there could be no denying that she'd somehow chosen to wear my favorite color. It shone in the moonlight against her fawn-like skin as I touched the first of her freckles on her chest.
I'd count them when she slept, just as I'd counted the freckles on her face when I stared at her photo over the past sixteen months.
Stepping out of her shoes, she dropped her hands to the waistband of my swim trunks and the laces that confined me, but I leaned forward and snagged her lip with my teeth. As much as Isa may put on a brave face, and as much as I needed the release after the necessity of my celibacy while I waited for her, Isa needed to know what pleasure was.
To lose her virginity to me was not a kindness, and I'd need to work to make it less painful for her. Taking her hands in mine, I placed them on my chest. They brushed the raised flesh of my marks. The seven tallies tingled under her fingers, unsurprising, given I'd never been able to tolerate being touched there in the past. As I walked backwards into the master bedroom and encouraged her to follow me with a firm grip on her waist, her gaze wandered to the marks beneath her hands.
"What are these?" she asked as I sat her on the edge of the bed next to me.
"Penitencia," I replied. "Penance. It is a family thing."
"Does it hurt?" she asked, leaning forward to brush her innocent mouth against the scars. The void inside me swelled, threatening to explode with the knowledge that she would offer such a touch so innocently. Isa didn't do physical affection easily, and the care in the movement seemed to shock even her as she pulled back.
"Not anymore," I murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and kissing her mouth.
I freed her from the confines of her cage, preparing to show her all the places she was too afraid to go on her own. As I laid her out beneath me, leaning over her and entwining my tongue with hers in a dance designed to drive her mad with lust, I slid a hand beneath her neck and untied the knot for her bikini. The one at her spine came next, and finally the flimsy fabric entrapping her breasts and hiding my woman from me came loose. I slid it off her slowly, baring her breasts to my view for the first time. I took my weight off her, letting her settle herself in the center of the bed and get comfortable.
Isa's nerves betrayed her as she squirmed when my eyes strayed down to take her in. Her body was an hourglass, soft and ripe for the taking. My rough hands looked so filthy against her smooth and lightly freckled skin. There wasn't a tan line in sight, and I loved knowing that she was entirely unmarked when she came to me.
It would mean that every tan line, every mark, every stain on her skin came from me.
I took one of her breasts in my hand, rubbing my thumb over the peak as she stared up at me. With nothing more than the thin scrap of material between her thighs to shield her from my view, I moved slowly out of fear that I would rush her.
That I'd take her too quickly in my urgency to possess her.
Instead, I tormented her nipple with my finger, leaning in to coax her to relax with my mouth on hers. When her tense body relaxed into the mattress, I shifted my weight and moved to crawl between her legs. Touching my hands to her thighs and moving to spread them, my fingers brushed over a slightly raised portion of skin. Withdrawing from her mouth, I glanced down at her leg as I moved closer to her. The scar glowed white in the moonlight, wrapping around her thigh twice and crossing over the inner corner. I brushed my hands over it, feeling Isa's eyes on me.
Filled with the need to avenge whatever had harmed my princess, I knew from one glance to her hardening features that she would be as forthcoming about her scars as I'd been with mine.
I'd wait, and then I'd know.
Then I'dkillwhatever was responsible for her pain.