by Julia Sykes
“What’s your passcode?” he asked.
“I’m not telling you.” My defiance came out more breathlessly than I would have liked. I swallowed and tried again. “Give me my phone.”
“I don’t think so, florecita. You’re in my house, and you’ll play by my rules.” His voice dropped deeper with the ring of command, but there was no menace in his tone. Nothing he’d said to me so far had been issued as a threat, but his unyielding authority was clear.
I wasn’t truly scared of him—not like I probably should be—but I was undeniably intimidated.
“Your passcode,” he prompted.
“I don’t want to tell you,” I protested weakly. “That’s private.”
“Not from me,” he countered. “You don’t have automatic phone privileges anymore. You’ll have to earn them.”
“What?” I should have sounded more indignant, but I couldn’t seem to eliminate that breathless quality to my query.
“You want to go back to your classes? You want to return to your normal routine? I’ll allow it, but only after you’ve proven that I can trust you to behave. I have to know that you will obey me unquestioningly.”
“Obey you?” This time, I did sound indignant.
He simply nodded, ignoring my outburst. “I can’t have you running back to Daddy at the first opportunity. Until you convince me that you’ll be my good girl, you’re not leaving this house.” His words turned rougher, his eyes taking on that strange, almost drugged appearance again. His countenance made a light tremor race through my body, but the reaction wasn’t entirely one of fear.
“And you don’t get your phone privileges back until you promise not to try to call anyone for help. I will know if your promise is insincere. You don’t get to lie to me, Sofia. If you try, there will be consequences.”
My breaths turned shallower with each calmly-spoken sentence that left his lips.
“Consequences?” I couldn’t seem to manage more than stilted questions; just a word or two leaving me on a little puff of air.
A single black brow lifted, and the dark promise hung between us. He didn’t give me any details, and that set me even more off-balance. If I didn’t know what he might have in store for me, I couldn’t mentally prepare for it. That made the idea of challenging him all the more unnerving.
“Your passcode,” he drawled. It wasn’t a question; it was an edict.
The four digits slipped from me on a meek whisper.
One corner of his lips tilted in a lopsided, arrogant smile. His eyes remained locked on mine for the space of several heartbeats.
“Good girl.” The two words were issued slowly, as though he was savoring them on his tongue. His deep, rumbling voice made them settle over me and weigh on me like a heavy blanket.
He’d told me that I would have to learn to behave as his good girl. That I would learn to obey him. The words of praise were both positive reinforcement for my acquiescence and a statement of his first, small victory. As though he was taming me, training me like he would a new pet.
I didn’t like it.
I shouldn’t like it.
But something stirred low in my belly, warming my insides.
Before I could sort through the confusing sensations, he found my father’s number in my contact list and connected the call, ensuring it was on speaker. It seemed I wouldn’t be allowed a private conversation.
The phone barely finished its first ring before my father’s voice rasped across the line. “Sofia?”
“Daddy!” His name hitched in my throat.
“Where are you?” he asked, frantic. “What has he done to you, princesa? If that animal touched you—”
“I haven’t,” Mateo said coldly, letting my father know he was listening to every word. “Much,” he added with menace.
I stared up at him with alarm. He’d never used that tone with me, and I felt a jolt of true fear for the first time.
He placed the phone in my hand and rubbed his thumb over my chilled skin. He held one finger up to his lips, warning me not to contradict him. A tiny bit of my fear ebbed. I didn’t like that he was scaring my father, but he was silently communicating that the menace wasn’t directed at me.
I responded with a shaky nod, quick to demonstrate my compliance. He might be stroking me gently, but I became keenly aware of just how big he was. His huge muscles surrounded me, his corded arm around my shoulders and his granite chest pressed against my side. A firm flex could bruise me.
“Please,” Daddy begged. “Don’t hurt her. Give her back to me.”
“No,” Mateo said, a clipped refusal. “Sofia’s staying right here with me. She’s not coming home. You betrayed Adrián. You caused the woman he loved to be hurt and terrorized. You don’t want me to hurt your innocent daughter? Why don’t you tell her what you did to Valentina? She’s innocent, too. Why don’t you tell Sofia what kind of monster her husband, Hugo, was? He beat and raped his wife, and you were going to send her back to that hell just to gain power.” Barely-suppressed rage roughened the nauseating accusations.
Shock made my fingers go numb around my phone. Despite the renewed tension in his body, Mateo gently cupped his hand around mine, helping me maintain my grip.
“That’s not true,” I whispered. “Daddy, tell me that’s not true!” The desperate demand issued from my constricted throat on a horrified squeak.
“Mi niña…” The pleading edge to the endearment was nearly as damning as a detailed admission.
My eyes began to burn, my chest tightening. My head swung back and forth, physically denying the awful revelations about my father, even as the truth began to sink into my mind.
“Sofia, please,” he begged, beseeching me to instantly forgive and forget his terrible sin. “Princesa, I—”
I abruptly hung up on him and tossed my phone across the bed, as though flinging away a poisonous snake. I couldn’t hear any more. I couldn’t bear to hear my sweet Daddy’s voice after all I’d just learned about his capacity for ruthless cruelty.
I buried my face in my hands, pressing my palms against my eyes in an effort to hold in my tears. How could I have been so blind?
You knew, an insidious little voice whispered in my mind. Some part of you always suspected.
I began to shake, my limbs trembling violently.
Oh, god. I’d willfully kept myself in blissful ignorance for my entire life. Of course I realized my father’s associates were dangerous. Of course I understood that Daddy wouldn’t have been so vague about his business if it hadn’t been distasteful.
But I’d been so starved for love. My mother had always been cold and distant, a true narcissist incapable of caring about anyone else. Not even her own daughter. I was simply a way to keep Daddy tied to her, a tool to ensure her own financial security and cushy lifestyle.
I couldn’t believe how pathetic I’d been, clinging to a little girl’s naivete because I was too desperate for affection from at least one parent.
Cold seeped into my bones, and my teeth began to chatter. My entire falsely cheery world was crumbling around me.
Daddy was a vicious drug lord.
The man holding me so tenderly was, too.
How could I have secretly pined for Mateo all these years, indulging in girlish fantasies about his bad boy vibe?
What did I think? That he was some brooding hottie that I could redeem with my love?
God, I was so stupid.
My criminal captor ran his big hands all over my body. I wanted to resist him, but his steady warmth seeped into me despite my desire to pretend that he didn’t have an effect on my body.
So fucking stupid. Years of idealized longing had obviously warped me, rendering me helpless to control my physical responses to him.
I should hate Mateo. I should fear him.
“Please,” I begged. “Leave me alone.”
His only response was to gently shush me. His warm grip and persistent stroking silently communicated that he wasn’t going anywh
ere.
I didn’t have any control over my life anymore. My entire reality had been shattered in the course of a day.
I was a hostage, a pawn in a dangerous game between brutal men.
And yet, as exhaustion rolled over me, I couldn’t help relaxing in Mateo’s arms. His long fingers slid into my hair, applying gentle pressure to direct my face against him. I stiffened for the space of a second, but he began to massage my scalp in little soothing circles. I turned my cheek into his chest, seeking more reassuring contact. My tears wet his shirt, but he didn’t seem to mind.
When his fingers rubbed lightly against little pressure points behind my ear and at the base of my jaw, I slid deeper into relaxation. I melted against him, sinking into his heat.
“Good girl.” His murmured praise followed me down into mercifully peaceful sleep.
Chapter 3
Mateo
I stirred toward wakefulness, enjoying the soft warmth of my bed for a few minutes longer. My alarm hadn’t gone off yet, so I had time to rest.
And deal with my morning wood.
I skimmed my palm over my abs, pausing when I registered the worn cotton of my t-shirt.
I didn’t usually sleep in my shirt.
Or my jeans, for that matter.
Fuck, they were way too tight against my erection. Acting on instinct, I shifted to ease the discomfort.
A sleepy little grumble accompanied a huff of warm air across my neck.
My eyes snapped open, my brain jolting to full awareness. I wasn’t in my own bed.
The last thing I remembered was settling down beside Sofia in my guest bedroom. I’d indulged myself for too long, and I must have fallen asleep while I was petting her.
She nuzzled her cheek into my chest, her irritation at my movement melting away as she slipped back into a deeper sleep.
My breath stuck in my lungs, and for a moment, I was scared to breathe. What if I woke her? She might have cuddled up to me in her sleep, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t scream and scramble away if she opened her eyes to see the evidence of my arousal.
I’d resolved that I would coax out her willing surrender, but the thought of her trembling and staring wide-eyed at my cock made perverse lust pulse through me.
I bit back a curse and ran my hand over my face.
Fantasizing about her looking at me with an intoxicating mixture of fear and desire was dangerously tempting. My brain chose to fixate on that image, and my erection throbbed, straining against my jeans.
If I’d come hard in the past just imagining fucking her, having her soft body pressed up against me while these wicked images ran through my mind threatened to make me lose control.
I gritted my teeth, mustering my resolve. I wouldn’t come in my pants like some horny teenager.
I pressed my palm against my eyes, as though I could push the filthy thoughts out of my brain.
But I’d obsessed over her too often over the last five years. I must have conditioned my body to associate Sofia with this surge of arousal.
What would it be like if she opened her pretty emerald eyes and gave me a sleepy smile before sliding down my body? What if she wanted to help ease my discomfort? What would it feel like to have those lush lips caressing my dick, worshipping me?
Jesus fucking Christ!
When Adrián had given her to me yesterday, I’d worried that having her in my home but waiting to fuck her would be torture. I never would have imagined that blue balls could be more agonizing than taking a beating.
Right now, I’d welcome a fist to the face. That might knock some sense into me. Because there was no way the sweet, innocent woman tucked against my side would enjoy the prospect of giving me a morning blowjob on her first day in captivity.
She’s my fucking hostage, not my girlfriend.
Unfortunately, my dick didn’t care about the differentiation. If anything, the idea of having her completely under my power, obeying my every command, intensified my desire.
Instinct urged me to tear my body away from hers to escape her painful allure. But that would definitely rouse her. Instead, I took a breath and slowly extricated myself from her loose embrace.
Her cheek slid from my chest as I shifted, and I moved with care until she rested on the pillow instead. I placed my feet on the carpeted floor and eased off the mattress, wincing when it jostled slightly.
I blew out a small sigh of relief when she didn’t stir.
A flash of shame heated my cheeks. As the biggest motherfucker in almost every room I walked into, I wasn’t accustomed to tiptoeing around anyone. And if I wanted something—a flashy car, a rough fuck—I procured it for myself without hesitation or compunction.
My caution when it came to Sofia suddenly grated on my pride a little. Why should I have to sneak around my own home for the sake of not alarming my captive?
I stared down at her, uncertain if I clenched my fists at my sides out of irritation or to prevent myself from succumbing to the urge to touch her.
With her high cheekbones, long lashes, and lush lips, Sofia had always appeared sensual. The wide-eyed innocence that belied her sinful beauty only made me crave her all the more. Her effervescent personality was so at odds with the way I functioned. Sofia was quick to share her bright smile, and she wanted to be friends with everyone she met.
As Adrián’s personal bodyguard, it was my job to scare the shit out of everyone close to him. No grins or giggles for me.
I might get off on the idea of Sofia trembling under my hands, but I didn’t want her to truly fear me. I didn’t want to be the one to erase her smile.
Which meant I had to deal with my hard-on before she woke up and freaked the fuck out.
I softly padded across the guest room on bare feet, all concerns over my bruised pride gone. It was my job to intimidate the men who might threaten my boss, but scaring Sofia wasn’t one of my assigned duties. There was no shame in protecting the fragile beauty who had snuggled up to me as she slept, trusting me even though I didn’t deserve it.
I wanted her to feel safe around me. No matter how I taunted her father with threats to her wellbeing, I would never allow any harm to come to Sofia.
I would shelter her from any threat, and that included suppressing my own twisted desires until she was ready to accept them. Because if I treated her the way I’d imagined obsessively for years, I would mark her perfect skin with my hands, my teeth, my ropes…
I slipped out into the hallway, my footsteps falling faster as I rushed into my own bedroom. By the time I reached the shower, I’d hastily stripped out of my clothes. I stepped directly under the cold spray before the water had time to heat. The chill on my skin made me suck in a sharp breath through my teeth, but it didn’t do much to alleviate my erection. As the water warmed, I gripped my shaft and thought about all the depraved things I wanted to do to my helpless hostage.
If I hadn’t been so desperate for release, I might have been embarrassed at how quickly I finished. As it was, I moved on and rushed through my morning routine. I had to get back to Sofia. She might wake up at any moment, and I wasn’t there to guard her.
I didn’t intend to allow her enough time to find her way outside my house and escape, but if she tried, I would have to enforce some consequences. I didn’t think she’d like the punishment I had in mind for her if she misbehaved.
I would definitely like punishing her far too much. I’d managed to rein in my more savage instincts so far, but I’d only had her in my possession for a few hours. And she’d been asleep for most of them.
I wasn’t at all certain if I could continue to leash those instincts if she defied me.
Best not give her a chance to try.
As soon as I finished my quick shower and brushed my teeth, I tugged on the first clean clothes I could find and hastened back to the guest room.
The slight tension that had gripped my muscles eased. Sofia hadn’t moved an inch from where I’d left her tucked under the covers. She was still soundly
asleep, so I wouldn’t have to worry about punishing her for any naughty behavior this morning.
Just thinking about it made my dick stiffen, even though I’d come only a few minutes ago.
I cleared my throat to distract myself as much as to wake her.
She grumbled and pulled the covers over her head.
One corner of my lips twitched. It seemed Sofia wasn’t a morning person. She’d reacted like this last night when the drugs I’d given her had finally worn off. I’d thought her grogginess was a symptom of what I’d dosed her with, but it was becoming apparent that she was simply a heavy sleeper.
“Sofia.” I smiled around her name, remembering how she’d huffed at me this morning when I’d shifted beneath her.
She burrowed deeper under the duvet, as though she could block me out. I’d never realized a little growl could sound so cute.
I considered leaving her to sleep in, but she needed to get up and eat breakfast. I’d abducted her early yesterday evening, and it had been too long since she’d had a proper meal.
Sofia might be my hostage, but that didn’t mean she would be mistreated. Quite the opposite. I would never condition her devotion if I was cruel to her.
Casual cruelty wasn’t part of my nature, anyway. I might do terrible things for Adrián, but that was just business. I took care of the people who mattered to me.
Although there were only two people in the world that I really gave a shit about—my mom and Adrián—protecting them was my top priority. Now, Sofia had been added to that very short list. She was my responsibility, so it was my job to see to her wellbeing. Regardless of how grumpy she might be.
Besides, she was cute when she was like this. Her grumbling and hiding under the covers reminded me of how innocent she was. Her life had been untainted by worry or fear, and she had the luxury of stubbornly sleeping the day away in peace.
At this point, she should have woken up on instinct. Even if she was a heavy sleeper, the fact that a man was looming over her bed and calling her name should have set off alarm bells in her mind. And yet, she seemed mildly irritated rather than terrified.