Pretty Hostage
Page 26
She was silent for a moment, absorbing the information. “That’s good,” she finally said. “I know Adrián didn’t have to do that. And I…I don’t want to see Daddy anytime soon, anyway.”
“You never have to see him again, if you don’t want to,” I promised her.
I would prefer it that way, but she would have to work through this in her own time. It might take a few years for her to fully accept that Caesar was a fuck up of a father, but I wouldn’t force that realization on her. My delicate little flower had suffered enough anguish on that motherfucker’s account. I wouldn’t allow him to inflict any more pain on her life, directly or indirectly.
We arrived in our master bathroom, and I carefully set her down onto her feet, holding her steady while I turned on the shower with one hand. As the water warmed, I gave her hip a little squeeze before releasing her.
“I’m getting rid of these clothes,” I told her. “I’ll burn them later, but for now, they’re going in the laundry hamper. Don’t look in there under any circumstances until I tell you it’s been handled. Are we clear?”
“Clear,” she agreed easily.
Sofia didn’t want to see the evidence of her bloody ordeal, either. She’d chosen to be mine, and that meant she knew she was choosing a life in which the man she loved hurt people.
Sofia understood where I came from and why I lived this life. Even though she didn’t like it, she accepted me for who I was.
That didn’t mean she wanted to see all the gory evidence.
I quickly stripped out of my ruined clothes, tossing them in the laundry hamper to hide them from Sofia’s sight.
Once I was naked, I unwound the white sheet I’d wrapped her in when I’d taken her from Ronaldo’s estate. She still wore her white lace bra and panty set underneath. The lingerie was pure, completely untouched by a single drop of blood.
I removed the garments carefully, setting them on the sink counter. Later, I would fuck her while she wore them, re-staking my claim over what Ronaldo had tried to take from me.
Steam billowed from the shower stall by the time we were both bare. I grasped her waist and guided her into the spray, which cascaded from four separate showerheads. The cloth around her eyes soaked up water, but she didn’t try to remove it. My good girl waited for me to finish a quick scrub-down of my body.
The soap suds on my hands turned pink, and I didn’t stop scrubbing until the water circling the drain ran clear.
“I’m going to take off the blindfold now,” I told her as I tugged at the knot.
I peeled the sodden cloth from her face and tossed it aside, so I could capture her face in both my hands and look into her eyes when she finally opened them.
She squinted and blinked, taking time to adjust to the light. When her emerald eyes focused on me, my lungs started working properly for the first time since I’d realized she’d been taken from me.
“Florecita,” I sighed, rubbing my thumb over her petal-soft lips. “I was so worried about you.”
Her lower lip quivered beneath my touch. “I was too,” she whispered. “Is Ronaldo…”
“You don’t have to worry about Ronaldo ever again,” I promised, stroking her trembling body. “All of that is over now. Adrián still controls the Rodríguez Cartel’s American territory, and your father is in exile. No one will ever threaten you again, Sofia. I’ll protect you.”
“I know you will.” She leaned into me. “Does this mean I’m not your hostage anymore?”
I tucked a wet curl behind her ear. “You’re still not allowed to try to run away,” I replied, not at all joking.
I’d warned Sofia that there was no going back once she promised that she was mine, and I meant it. I couldn’t let her go now any more than I could survive a bullet to the brain.
“I don’t want to run away,” she reassured me. “But I figure this means you’ll have to go back to guarding Adrián now. I can go to my classes on my own.”
She pouted slightly around the words. Sofia didn’t want to be free of me at all.
I smiled down at her. “I’ll see if I can negotiate cutting my hours back for Adrián. He was already threatening to withhold pay, so I’ll play hardball.”
“Good. I know you can’t be with me all the time, but I don’t want you to be with Adrián every day, either.”
She wrapped her small hand around the back of my neck, pulling me toward her to whisper low in my ear. “You’re mine, Mateo.”
She sealed her claim with a fierce, possessive kiss. Sofia owned me, body and soul, and I reveled in my captivity.
The End
* * *
Stefano Duarte and Carmen Ronaldo will be back in Kingpin’s Property…
* * *
I came. I conquered. I claimed her.
* * *
Carmen Ronaldo and I have a long, hateful history. She’s my enemy, an influential player in a rival cartel. She’s also been the object of my twisted obsession for years.
* * *
When I decimate her organization, I’m not merciful enough to let her die. She’s my trophy, my prize of war.
* * *
I intend to cage her and tame her; a symbol of my absolute victory and dominion over my newly-conquered territory.
* * *
Haughty, ice-cold Carmen is no longer my enemy. She’s my pet, my plaything.
* * *
She’s just mine.
* * *
Want more dark romance? Valentina and Adrián’s story, Stealing Beauty, is now available…
* * *
Valentina was brought into my home when we were teenagers, her virgin body sold to my father to pay a debt. She was meant to be his plaything, but I claimed her innocence for myself.
* * *
My father discovered us together, and he exiled me from Colombia to America, where I was commanded to run his cocaine empire on the west coast. I bided my time, consolidating power until the day I was strong enough to take my Valentina.
* * *
I'd been consumed with plans to rescue her, but she didn't wait for me. She fell in love with another man, and I loathe her for that.
* * *
My hatred doesn't stop me from stealing her back for myself. Valentina will fight me, but she doesn't realize that the cruelly possessive boy she used to love has grown into a sadistic man. Her cries for mercy will only feed my obsession and my burning desire to punish her for daring to love someone else.
* * *
Valentina has always belonged to me. I will make her mine, whether she wants it or not. I will own her forever, body and soul.
* * *
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