She’d become my secret weapon. The tool I’d use to fuck when my mind starts to fail me and the war within me threatens defeat.
Shane rushes over to my side, his eyes scanning my blood-soaked shirt and the make-shift tourniquet. “Christ, Tommy. It looks bad. The Doc will be here any minute.” His eyes flick to Carina, knowing she’s the only one who could have tied the shirt around my arm, and then his serious green gaze jumps back to me just as quickly. I’m numb all over, except for the throbbing erection trapped behind my zipper. “Here... let me help you.” He adds without touching me.
He expects my world to implode with violence as it would have before. But now—now all I can think of is cold-blooded revenge and fucking Carina Ferreira until she can’t breathe anymore.
“It’s my own blood, Shane. It’s fine. Meet me inside.”
His jaw slackens, and he narrows his eyes at me. “You gonna take a shower first?” he quizzes, trying to figure out my altered persona. “And let Luciano check you over?”
“Of course.” I nod, then stalk past him.
I hear his sigh and biting order to the men around us to get indoors.
Carina’s lashes flick up on my approach, our gazes locked tight.
“I have a job for you.” I muster the strength to gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear without smashing her lips with mine.
Those beautiful amber eyes flash with fire, but her head involuntarily tips to the sensation of my touch. “I have a job already.”
I ignore her sassy tone, because this needs to be said. “I’ll only make this offer once. Employment, under me... and only me. As soon as the terms are honored, you’ll never see me again. You will be free.”
“I don’t understand. What could you possibly want from me?”
10
TOMÁS
I capture her chin and dig my bloody fingers into her skin. “I want four days. And your body to do with as I please. Whenever I want, however I want... And at the end, you will leave as a wealthy woman.”
She doesn’t answer straight away. Her expression turns stone cold. Ebony lashes blink to block any chance of tears. I note the trickery of light in her amber eyes, how embers of misplaced lust twirl with unfaltering abhorrence.
“I’ll give you time to think it over.”
Her brows snap together. “I don’t need to think about it.” She scowls up at me, shoulders drawn back in defiance. “It’s a no. A big fat no. I’m not your whore. We fucked because I wanted to do it. Purely out of curiosity and my own reasons. Not for payment, and certainly not for your personal gratification. I’m not an object you can buy and sell. Find another woman willing to suck your dick and let you fuck them like you own them. It won’t be me.”
It’s baffling how I let her talk to me like this. Truth be told, it’s both a miracle and frustrating. Somehow, she thinks I won’t hurt her—or kill her.
Would I?
I’m mulling over the question when her eyes settle on the blood still seeping from my bicep. There’s a subtle shimmer of concern behind her stony contemplation. This woman challenges me to roll the dice, and every time they land, she wins.
“I’m offering a truce between us, a simple arrangement with a termination date and a substantial payout on completion.” I let those words hang for a second. “After I’m done with you, you’ll have your freedom again, and enough money to live off for the rest of your life. However, if you’d rather, I’ll make it happen without any benefits.”
“Get over yourself,” she spits, clutching the jacket tighter. I watch her transcend from the ill-fatedlittle liarto a staunch queen who isn’t afraid to lose her head in this war she finds herself in. “I don’t need your dirty money. And you’re crazy if you think I’d actually choose to be your sex slave…” She inhales quickly. “I’m worth more than that.”
My lips curl into a smile before I can stop them. “But you would do it if I didn’t pay you?”
Her stormy gaze cuts to the men traipsing onto the property behind us. “What happened in that vehicle willneverhappen again.Never. It was a mistake to think there might be a scrap of compassion lurking inside that cold heart of yours.”
A throbbing ache spreads across my brow. I’m lightheaded and sweating under this grimy shirt I desperately need to burn. This argument isn’t going anywhere and it’s not worth using the last reserves of my energy to debate it. Besides, she’s not leaving the property until I let her go.
“We’ll talk later. I have a bullet wound that needs attention. Get inside and clean yourself up.”
I reach for her arm and flinch as the tendons in mine scream. Excruciating pain darts through shredded muscle like a missile.
My arm drops, the fingers tingling from loss of blood. I drag the opposite hand through my hair, fully aware my bulletproof crown is slipping and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. The fine cracks in my composure have fractured and she’s treading on the destructive surface.
“We don’t need to talk. I’m not interested in your proposition.” Her hostile countenance is beautifully sincere.