by Julia Sykes
My mother had taken a gentler approach, wrapping me in lavender-scented, fierce hugs as she quietly told me Papá was just being hard on me because he wanted me to succeed in life.
They both loved me—and my little sister and brother—more than anything. Their love was unconditional, and it filled our tiny house to bursting. Love was the rich smells of my mother’s cooking, the fussy wails of my baby brother in his crib, and my sister’s incessant pop music.
And I’d given it all up for a boy. I’d ignored my parents’ warnings and fell headlong into what I’d thought was real love: whirlwind romance.
That wasn’t love; it was a trap. The thrilling, wild pleasure I’d found with Gehovany twisted into pain and abuse. And when I’d tried to leave, my family had paid the price. Despite my stupidity and disrespect, they’d tried to protect me.
But Gehovany refused to give me up. He wouldn’t stop coming for me, not ever. The only way to get him to leave my family in peace was for me to disappear. He wouldn’t storm my home in a drunken rage if I wasn’t there for him to rip me from my parents’ arms.
Mamá, I’m so sorry…
The tingling caress of Raúl’s thumb tracing the line of my lips compelled my attention. His touch was achingly gentle, but his eyes were fierce on mine. “No one can hurt you here, corderita. I won’t let them.”
He continued to brush my lips. The sensation was almost hypnotically soothing, quieting my mind even as he awakened my sensitive nerve endings. My head tipped back, and my body swayed toward his. Grief had weakened my defenses, and the intimacy I shared with this strong man drew me to him like a magnet. After enduring so much agony, the release from fear that I found in his arms was transcendent bliss.
As my emotional barriers melted away, the pleasure he elicited surged into a physical force. Suddenly, my hands locked around the back of his neck, pulling his face to mine, so his mouth could replace the tingling stimulation of this thumb. The contrasting stimulation of soft lips in the wake of rough callouses drew a groan from deep in my chest, and I opened for him like a flower, welcoming more. Needing more.
The heady rush of Raúl’s kiss was the sweetest drug.
My surrender unleashed his hungry aggression, and his thick fingers tangled in my hair. One brawny arm locked around my waist, crushing my breasts against his hard chest as he pulled sharply on my wavy black locks. His wrist rotated, wrapping my thick hair around his fist to anchor me in place.
His tongue stroked deep, claiming my mouth. The firm, domineering thrusts mirrored the rhythm of how his hard cock would penetrate me; merciless and possessive. Heat gathered at my core like a molten sun, radiating lust that flashed through my entire body in a blinding burst. My clit throbbed, and my nipples tingled against the structured bodice of my cotton dress. I rubbed my chest on his with wanton abandon, craving more stimulation.
His cock pressed into my belly, long and thick. I gasped into his mouth, shifting away from his shocking size. He growled, and his arm tightened to an iron band around my waist. Trapped in his unyielding hold, I had no choice but to surrender.
My budding fear flowered to erotic trepidation, the little thrill of my helplessness racing through my body in a shudder. Raúl utterly commanded me. His refusal to tolerate any resistance left me powerless to do anything but submit. I had no choice but to accept the pleasure he drew from the deepest parts of my body, reaching all the secret places I’d hidden away and battering his way in. I could hide nothing from him, and I reveled into his ruthless victory.
My knees sagged, and he finally eased back to allow me to breathe. His merciless, triumphant grin was the center of my world, and I clung to his powerful frame; the only solid thing in existence.
Light filtered through his verdant green eyes, bathing my upturned face in the warmth of the sun. His sharp smile remained firmly fixed in place, but his fingers were gentle as he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear with careful reverence.
“Mine.” His possessive declaration rumbled through my chest, vibrating all the way down to fuel the aching throb between my legs.
Cold flashed through my heated flesh, rolling beneath the surface of my skin in nauseating waves.
Mine. The single, irrevocable word echoed through my mind, reverberating against my skull.
Raúl thought he owned me. I will not let you go.
My stomach churned, and I stiffened in his arms. It seemed I couldn’t resist my dark nature. Lust was my ruin, my curse.
I was clinging to a dangerous drug lord, pressing my hips into his erection like his cock was what I craved most in the entire world. While I’d been mindlessly swept up in his kiss, I’d craved for his darkness to tangle with mine.
The price I’d paid for my past indulgence had almost broken me. If I didn’t escape from Raúl’s strong arms, I’d shatter. And this time, I wouldn’t survive the damage.
Eventually, his possessive affection would twist into jealous rage. His meaty fists would be painted red with my blood. And the blood of the people I loved.
Never again.
I had to get away from Raúl before I lost all control. He’d warned me that my plan to cross the US border was doomed. But I wasn’t entirely on my own anymore.
He’d made the mistake of revealing that I still had an ally, one who was powerful enough to stand up to him. Carmen wants to make sure you’re okay. But she won’t like that I’m keeping you. She’ll try to take you away from me.
If I could get back to Carmen Ronaldo, I could make a new plan. She was the smartest person I’d ever met. She would help me figure out how to find a safe place, away from Raúl’s dangerous allure. And she understood cartel politics well enough to make sure that there wouldn’t be any violent fallout.
There was still time for me to forge my own path to freedom, and no one else would be put at risk. No one else would die because of me.
I just had to get out of here before the dark force inside me overwhelmed reason. If I surrendered to Raúl, my fate would be sealed.
Chapter 12
Raúl
Fuck.
Marisol’s body went rigid, and her lashes lowered to shutter her rich, chocolate eyes.
My own muscles tensed. My first instinct was to trap her more tightly against me until her soft curves molded to the hard planes of my body once again.
I gritted my teeth and released her with a grunt, forcing my arms to my sides. I didn’t like when she reacted to me like this. I liked when she looked at me like I was her savior; when her eyes darkened with lust, and she shuddered beneath my rough hands as though she craved me more than she needed air.
I flexed my fingers to fists and then released them, trying and failing to purge the aggression that coiled my body tight. Marisol was still traumatized, and she wasn’t ready to fully accept the darker nature of our chemistry.
Although I would always be careful with her, I couldn’t be gentle. I’d become obsessed with keeping my fragile, pretty hostage safe from harm, but when I claimed her, I would be harsh and demanding. She would surrender everything to me. I would accept nothing less.
And her responses to my kiss told me she’d love every second of her forced submission.
But it had only been a couple days since Daniel had assaulted her. She’d been attacked by the thief in Juárez shortly after. It was becoming clear to me that other men had made her suffer, long before I’d met her and taken on my role as her protector.
If you want things to be the same as they were with Daniel, just go ahead. Take what you want. I won’t fight you. It’s not worth the extra pain. Her acidic challenge needled my mind, stirring an echo of the rage and disgust that’d flooded me on the night she’d thought I would rape her.
Before I’d kissed her just now, she’d been opening up to me about losing her family, making herself vulnerable. Marisol had been through hell, and it was no wonder her emotions were swinging wildly. Once she settled in my home, she would stop resisting our connection.
Her resi
stance only tempted the monster in me, fueling my savage urge to conquer and claim. My fists flexed once again in a futile attempt to work out the sexual aggression that simmered just beneath my skin.
Her gaze landed on my clenched fists, and she shrank back.
I ran a hand through my hair, raking my nails over my scalp. I was an impatient, greedy bastard, and my restraint was tenuous at the best of times. Denying myself when Marisol’s petite, trembling body was within easy reach was self-imposed torture.
“I’m going to my workshop,” I half-growled at her. Pounding a sledgehammer against glowing hot iron until it bent to my will would help me redirect my savage impulses. I could spare Marisol from my most beastly urges. “You’re free to do whatever you want. You know the layout of the house now.”
I turned sharply and stalked away from her before my control could snap.
There were plenty of options around my property to occupy her time. I didn’t have to keep watch over her every minute of the day. It wasn’t as though my house was a prison.
Her wide, doe eyes as I’d shown her around my home had warmed my insides. I’d bled and scraped for every penny that’d afforded me this luxury. I’d liked seeing her awed reaction to what I’d achieved. She understood that I could provide for her.
I much preferred her slack-jawed wonder to her fearful cringe at my touch. For her, I would try to be patient. I didn’t want to destroy the trust that I coveted so much; the utterly unfamiliar sense that someone saw something good in me. Marisol fulfilled my newfound obsession with that addictive feeling. I would make sure to keep it that way.
For now, that meant beating the shit out of something, forcing rigid metal to soften and bend into the shape I desired. A few hours in my workshop always calmed me. For most men, iron was unyielding, but I could fashion it into anything that pleased me.
My muscles burned by the time I finally dropped my hammer, but the physical labor had barely taken the edge off. My desire for Marisol persisted like an itch beneath my skin, an irritant that I couldn’t scratch away.
I swiped the back of my hand across my brow, wiping away thick beads of sweat before they could fall into my eyes. With a grunt of frustration, I started putting my tools back into their orderly places. I wouldn’t neglect my usual care for my possessions, no matter how frustrated I was.
Once everything was organized, I washed the grime from my hands and went to retrieve my watch and phone from their protective box, which kept them from getting sooty while I worked. The old watch was so battered that more damage would hardly be noticeable, but I always kept it in the exact condition it’d been in on the day I’d obtained it.
My palm itched at the reminder that sweet little Marisol had dared to steal my stepfather’s watch. Luckily, I’d found it at the pawn shop within half an hour of discovering that it was missing; it’d been my lead to follow the path of her flight to the bus stop.
If I hadn’t managed to recover it, Marisol wouldn’t have avoided a punishment for her escape attempt. Some things were irreplaceable, and my pretty captive would’ve paid a heavy price for my loss.
As it was, her genuine distress at the thought that I might’ve been killed in the coup had softened me enough to spare her. Her concern for my life appeased me far more effectively than any plea for mercy ever could’ve managed.
I powered on my phone, and all notions of mercy were utterly obliterated.
My security system had been triggered along the defensive wall that bordered my property to the north. Motion sensors indicated interference at half a dozen points along the perimeter. This wasn’t an external attack; the motion was detected on the interior side of the wall. A quick check of the CCTV feed revealed Marisol pacing, clearly searching for a way out.
A feral roar ripped through the workshop, and a red haze descended over my mind. I was barely aware that my feet were sprinting toward her, closing the distance between me and my prey. My blood boiled in my veins, and a harsh, purely animal bellow boomed from my chest when I hit the tree line. Grasping branches whipped at my arms as I ran, and the dozens of stinging cuts only sharpened my fury, honing it to one clear objective: subjugate my devious captive.
She’d lied to me. She didn’t give a fuck about my life, and she’d never been worried about me. Just like when she’d kissed me on the day of her betrayal, she’d manipulated me with her softness and false sweetness. She would do anything to escape me.
With a vicious snarl, I increased my pace, closing in on my quarry. Whether she liked it or not, Marisol was mine.
And she would suffer for her defiance.
Quick footsteps pounded the damp earth several yards ahead of me, but petite Marisol would have to take two strides to match each of mine. The sound of fleeing prey heightened my most savage instincts, and I put on a renewed burst of speed.
Her bright, coral dress was a beacon through the trees, impossible to hide. She shot a fearful glance over her shoulder, and her eyes widened when she caught sight of me hunting her down. Her soft, panting cry shuddered along my spine, adding an erotic dimension to my predatory pursuit.
I lunged, and my arms closed around her chest. She shrieked as my momentum took us both down, but I twisted just in time to take most of the impact on my shoulders when we hit the ground. Before she could draw breath for another scream, I rolled, pinning her beneath me. She thrashed, but I caught her wrists and shackled them both in one hand, pressing them tight against the small of her back. I shifted onto my knees, hooking my other arm around her waist to drag her where I wanted her.
I pulled her over my thigh, keeping her torso trapped against the ground with the pressure of my hand around her wrists. The position forced her to arch, pushing her ass up into the vulnerable position I desired.
She twisted, but she only managed to grind her breasts into the dirt and flail her legs uselessly.
“Please!” she gasped, breathless from her flight. “Raúl, I’m sorry. I—”
My hand cracked over the backs of her thighs, one after the other. “Don’t apologize,” I commanded on a guttural snarl. “It won’t save you this time.”
My fingers grabbed the hem of her dress, and I jerked the bright material up over her ass, trapping the gathered fabric beneath her shackled wrists at her lower back. Savage pleasure flooded my system when I revealed the burning red imprints of my hand on her smooth thighs. The marks contrasted beautifully with the lace-trimmed, white panties I’d bought for her.
She wriggled, so I smacked her twice more in sharp rebuke.
“I warned you there would be consequences if you tried to run from me. You’re about to learn exactly what that means.” My voice dropped to a deeper register as the vortex of rage battering my insides slowed. Having her like this—subjugated and utterly helpless—calmed me somewhat. A semblance of rational thought returned, and I settled into grim purpose. “I don’t care if you hate me. Your hatred changes nothing. I will not let you go.” I punctuated the last promise with six harsh swats, making sure she felt each word branded deep in her flesh.
“I don’t hate you. Raúl, please—”
“Don’t lie!” I bellowed, my tenuous calm ripped to shreds by her continued attempts to deceive me. “No more lies. Not one more fucking word.”
A broken sob wracked her body, triggering an answering pang in my chest.
No mercy. I wouldn’t be fooled again. I wouldn’t fall for her pretty lies.
She’d betrayed me, deciding that my death was an acceptable trade for her freedom. I’d been an idiot to forgive that. I’d been stupid to convince myself that she wasn’t a deceptive little snake.
All because she’d made me feel like she cared, like she saw something good in me.
My fury was sharpened by an edge of pain.
No mercy.
“Do not run from me.” My snarled edict was nearly drowned out by the merciless crack of my hand on her ass, followed by her ragged cry.
Every time my hand connected with her soft fl
esh, her lush body jolted over my lap, stimulating my dick. Her soft curves rubbing against me heightened my most savage instincts. I craved to free my cock, rip away her panties, and drive into her wet heat.
The power behind my blows softened, and my palm lingered against her enflamed skin after each slap, pressing the brand of my touch deeper into her tender flesh. My maddened rage at her escape attempt developed into perverse, possessive hunger. The feel of her squirming and shaking in my iron hold overtook my mind; my entire world centered on the perfect bounce of her curvy ass beneath my hand and the cruel pleasure of her thrashing hips teasing over my throbbing cock.
As my blows slowed, her harsh cries roughened to deeper, gasping moans. Between slaps, my fingers began to explore her burning flesh, caressing the curve of her ass. Her overheated skin pebbled beneath my callouses, and her thrashing regulated to a steady, undulating motion of her hips.
When she pressed into my erection, I grabbed her cunt, anchoring my fingers just above her clit. I ground my palm against her labia, and she arched to press deeper into my hand.
“I knew you’d be like this,” I rasped, barely aware I was speaking the words aloud.
Testing her, I rotated my palm against her pussy. I groaned at the wash of desire that soaked the cotton barrier between us.
My cock strained against my jeans, aching to get inside her.
I gritted my teeth and denied my most primal urges. Marisol had deceived me. She’d tried to run from me.
“You won’t get to come for a long time, corderita,” I promised darkly, continuing to stimulate her cunt. A soft, broken sound shuddered from her chest, and she rocked her hips into my harsh grip. “That’s it. Suffer for me.”
“Raúl…” My name was a low, anguished moan.
