In one stride, I’m opposite her naked body where visible chills rain over her silky skin. My hands ball, something unidentified bubbling behind my deadened exterior. I take a beat to drink her in, wondering what the fuck is happening to me. Fluttery lashes lift, so her eyes lock with mine.
I lower to my haunches and gently swipe the fine scar lining her lip with the pad of my thumb. “I own this too.” A dark chuckle disguises my unhinged temperament.
This isn’t any normal response searing my veins—it’s beyond reasonable logic. There isn’t a justifiable explanation for the possessiveness polluting my brain. She shivers when my knuckles skim her jawline.
“Your old scar is barely visible. Not everyone sees it, but I do. I see all of you.” Her face tilts into my hand. “But you don’t know me, Carina. You wouldn’t want a man like me to keep you.” Her fiery gaze clashes with my black stare. “Now go upstairs, clean yourself up, pack some clothes for our trip... and when you’re ready, I’ll give you the phone to contact your brother.”
Carina’s forehead furrows when my hand leaves her face. “No!” she blurts out.
When I pull away and straighten, she bounces to her feet. My towering height forces her to lift to her dainty tiptoes. Yet the extra inch she creates doesn’t match my looming posture.
“That’s not how this works. I want my phone. Now.” She prods my chest with a vigorous forefinger, completely slaughtering me with the unintentional lick of her lips that follows. “I did what you asked. We had a deal, Tomás. Or is your word not worth shit?”
Her warlike suggestion riles up my temper. Above all else, I’m true to my word. If I say I’m going to destroy someone, I’ll fucking do it. I asked her to behave while I was out and she did. I’ll honor my end, but only when it suits me. Handing over the one thing that tethers her to her old life, amplifies this temporary status and makes me uncertain I can trust her not to scream for help.
She glowers at me, her attitude brazen and unacceptable for a man of my authority. Luckily, there’s no one around to witness her risky show of disrespect, or how I snatch her forearm, slam her close so our bodies collide, and cage her torso in my merciless arms.
“Be careful how you speak to me,” I growl, low and menacing into the shell of her ear. “Talk to me like that in front of my family, or my men, and I won’t hesitate to punish you... without pleasure.” I add with a snap of annoyance.
Feathery hot puffs settle on my chest as she returns my gaze with her own anger fueled scowl. She grits her teeth, projecting a festering rage that stabs between my ribs with a knife-like ache.
“You know how much it means to me to contact Salvador. He’sfamilia. He’s my big brother. Surely you understand that.”
“Fine,” I say bluntly. She breathes hard when I release her, the breeze dancing through the cavernous space now separating us. “One phone call. That’s it.”
I rotate away from her and march indoors, knowing perfectly well she’s struggling to keep up with my long strides. The fact she’s full of my cum and still bare-ass naked does freakish things to my heart rate. It stirs a primitive desire I’ve never known before, aside from the unnatural high of taking a man's life with my bare hands.
Men born into the cartel never change. I’ll never be the law-abiding character she deserves, but I sure as fuck enjoy the high that comes from corrupting her. Of becoming the one man she’ll never forget. As that notion plagues me, a strange sense of dread dulls the thrill. I recoil under the knowledge of her being a first for me, too.
Something I’ve never experienced before.
She’s scorching red when I’m frozen blue. No matter how hard I try, I can’t refuse the temptation, even briefly wishing I could keep her. The cruel inevitability of loss rages through the pathetic daydream in a deluge of gunshots.
Reaching my office, I move behind the desk and open the top drawer. “Here.” I offer her the cell phone; aware I’ve relented to her demand. “Make the call on loudspeaker.”
She snatches the phone. Her movements are sharp like a spirited kitten with eyes smoldering, almost afraid that I’m baiting her with it. Quick fingers curl around the glittery casing.
Her forehead furrows before she does a one-eighty and scrolls the unanswered messages. I watch her closely, drinking in the sleek curve of her feminine hips, glorious firm buttocks slapped red, and long slender legs.
Fuck!
“Hey…” Her voice hitches a decibel higher, pretending to be chirpy. She holds the phone before her face and sits on the buttery leather couch, thighs held tight together, and spine arched so her elbows rest on her knees. “What’s happening, Sal?”
“Where the hell are you, Cari?” Her lashes lower at the sound of her brother's crossness. “I told you to keep in touch. That was the deal.”
I rise up from the chair behind my desk and prowl to the couch across from her, sitting slowly with my semi-solid dick shamelessly on display. Her eyes cut to the movement of my ankle flipping to rest on my opposite knee. Her lungs rise in bursts, her nostrils flaring as she breathes.
“Cari?” Salvador persists. “Where the hell are you?”
Her gaze travels from my legs to my face, snaring me with an indecipherable look. “I’ve met someone.” She straightens, grabs a cushion, and hugs it close to her abdomen. The line goes quiet. “It's nothing serious, so don’t get all big brother weird about it.”
“What’s his name?”
She swallows, locking her ardent eyes with mine. “Tommy. His name is Tommy. A random nobody I met at the jazz bar.” She concludes, dropping her gaze to the top of the glossy coffee table separating us.
“Tommy who?” Sal's voice snarls through the airwaves.
“Sal,” she scolds. “Stop it. I’ve already told you it’s not serious. I’ll be twenty soon, you know? Not some silly teen you need to protect from the wind. Every girl needs to kiss a few mean toads.”