As she started to go limp in his arms he pulled his finger from her ass, reached between their bodies and unbuckled and unzipped himself. He shoved his trousers and underwear down just enough to free his erection. Then he lifted her once more and slammed her down, sliding her soaked pussy easily over his engorged cock. She let out a scream as she was filled up with hot, demanding flesh, stretching her completely. He didn’t give her a chance to adjust or get used to the fullness of his entry. He wrapped his hands around her waist, lifted her up and began slamming her down with savage intent. He gritted his teeth and let his head drop back, planting his legs apart as the intense pleasure he could only find in the body, mind and soul of this woman wrapped itself around him and refused to let go.
“Casey,” he breathed, then again, louder. “Casey.”
She gripped his arms, hanging on as best she could while he pounded into her, allowing no release and giving no inch. She had no choice but to take what he gave as her body helplessly built back toward another, more powerful orgasm. As though he could feel the tightening within her pussy, he tipped her back against the wall, tilting his cock within her passage so he was hitting her silken walls at just the right angle to send her skyrocketing over the edge of her orgasm with a screaming bang. She reached back over her head and gripped the towel rack so hard she spared a brain cell to wonder how it didn’t pull off the wall and send her tumbling to the floor.
Casey’s legs shook as the orgasm crashed over her in waves and still Reyes was slamming himself into her. She opened her eyes to watch him, to see the beautiful strain on his face as he reached for his own release. She uncurled the fingers of one clenched hand from the wooden towel bar and reached desperately for the man that stole her heart a little more with each day, each fuck and each word he spoke.
He lifted his eyes and met hers, watched her as she watched him fuck her. He shifted his body, bringing himself in closer until he was hugging her against him. The look on his face was both tender and savage. It was so… him. Reyes wasn’t much of a poet. He was a cartel boss, a dictator and brutal killer. But damned if he didn’t hold the key to Casey.
And if he was going to give her the gift of understanding then she could give him a gift in return.
“I… will give you your vow,” she panted. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You release me from my vow in the event of your death,” she whispered, eyes serious on his. “You bleed, I bleed. You die, I die. If you want a queen, Reyes, then you take me for all that I am.”
“Done,” he snarled thrusting into her one last time, spilling his seed. He gripped her so tight she thought she might break apart. But she trusted him not to reach that point with her; she knew he would protect her with his life and beyond. “When it’s our time, we go together, mi reina.”
Part Two
Rise Up, Mi Reina
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Fix her or die,” Reyes shouted, pacing their bedroom liked a caged lion. Seeing Casey flinch made him immediately regret raising his voice, so he settled for glaring death at the doctor he’d flown in from Las Pas the moment she started showing symptoms of a migraine.
Casey lay curled on the bed like a broken doll where he had placed her after she’d finished her last bout of violent sickness. She’d tried to turn away from him, push his hands from her body and beg him to leave, but he refused. He would not allow her to sink into this darkness alone. How she’d survived so many years in the hell of her own head he could not possibly imagine. This was the most gut-wrenching pain he’d ever seen another human being go through, and he’d inflicted a lot of pain on others in his lifetime. Hell, if he could somehow bottle migraines and use them for torture he suspected they would be more effective than most methods.
The doctor, a thin man in his late thirties or early forties who specialized in neurological medicine eyed Reyes apprehensively while Casey moaned from between the fingers that were covering her face, “Leave the man alone. He can’t treat me if you bully him, Reyes.”
“He can,” Reyes contradicted her, but he lowered his voice so his tone wouldn’t cause more damage. He was terrified by the change in her pallor. Her already pale features had gone stark white and there was a blue tinge to her lips and fingernails indicating lack of blood flow. He turned to the doctor and said in a deadly quiet voice, “Fix her immediately.”
The doctor sighed and moved toward the bed, his hands surprisingly steady considering he was decidedly nervous. He clearly knew exactly who he was dealing with, the Reyes cartel having built a ruthless but fair reputation among the locals. His voice was shaky as he spoke, betraying his nerves. “I can’t ‘fix’ your girlfriend…”
“Wife,” Reyes cut him off.
Casey whimpered and they both looked down at her, the doctor with pity and Reyes with feral desperation. He continued to pace, every muscle in his body taut as he was forced to watch helplessly while his woman suffered. He could do nothing, torture no one, burn no cities to the ground to make her better.
“Right,” the doctor continued. “I can’t make your wife better, just more comfortable. Hopefully take some of this pain away.”
Reyes nearly reached for the man, but he restrained himself, knowing if he lost his temper he might end up murdering the man in their bedroom while Casey lay there suffering. She still needed a doctor and if he killed this one she would have to wait another forty-five minutes until Alejandro could fetch another one. Plus, word might get out that he was disposing of doctors and they could become reluctant to come to his compound. Not that he would allow their reluctance to stop him from collecting a physician, but he didn’t enjoy complications when it came to Casey’s health.
He took a deep, calming breath, gritted his teeth and said in a polite voice, “Knock her the fuck out so she can’t feel anything.”
The doctor shook his head and pulled items out of his bag including an intravenous setup and vials of medication. “Can’t do it. She needs to remain conscious or in a natural sleep.”
Reyes unholstered his gun and though he didn’t point it directly at the other man, the doctor froze and lifted his hands from where he was gently maneuvering Casey’s arm away from where she’d wrapped it tightly around her head. “Explain,” Reyes growled, his eyes filled with death.
“I’m not your wife’s regular doctor, I’ve never seen a case file and I’m not sure why she suffers from these debilitating migraines,” the doctor spoke quickly, self-preservation uppermost in his smart little mind. “I can’t administer anything that will render her unconscious. I need to make sure there won’t be swelling in the brain that might cause bleeding, or worst-case scenario a stroke.” He held up the IV and a vial of medication for Reyes to inspect. Reyes snatched the bottle from him and read the label. “I can make her far more comfortable, Señor Reyes, administer something that should take the pain away and reduce any swelling. She’ll be able to rest comfortably.”
Reyes reholstered his gun, pulled his phone out and began researching the medications the doctor was proposing to use on his beloved. He immediately found the one he was looking for and skidded to a halt on the side effects. A vein throbbed in his forehead and the scars on his face became rigid when he read the word ‘death’ and he gave the doctor a look that told the man exactly what he was reading. The man held his hands up again and backed into the side of the bed, likely correctly guessing his only ally was the woman curled on her side crying silent tears of agony.
“Worst case scenario,” the doctor mumbled hastily, “never happens!”
“Must’ve happened some time, somewhere for them to list it as a potential side effect, doc,” Reyes snarled, tossing the vial on the bed and pulling his gun again.
“For fucks sake, Reyes,” Casey gasped from the bed, surging up on her arms, surprising both men with the sudden movement. “Let the man work before I die just to escape this goddamn conversation!”
She collapsed back onto the bed with a pitiful
moan. Reyes dropped his gun onto the side table and crouched over her in an instant, both contrite to have caused her pain and delay in relief while simultaneously still glaring at the doctor over her bent body. The doctor did his best to ignore Reyes while he set up his equipment and went to work on Casey, reaching out to take her limp hand in his and press a needle into the back.
Reyes growled low in his throat as he watched the large steel tip enter the tender skin. She looked too small and delicate in that moment to handle this treatment, but he knew he needed to shut up and just let the doctor work. He tried not to jostle her as he watched over her like a wary lion watching his injured mate. It destroyed him to allow another touch her while she was weak. Everything within him wanted to tear the doctor apart limb from limb. He satisfied the dark urges within by telling himself that if this fire continued to rage in his veins once the doctor completed his treatment, depending on the outcome, Reyes may give in to his baser instincts.
He bent over Casey and brushed his lips against the edge of her ear as the doctor hooked up a saline bag and two medication vials. Reyes listened without interruption this time when the doctor explained that he was administering a pain medication as well as an anti-nauseate. When he finished hooking her up he explained that she would get another dose in an hour. Reyes nodded and dismissed the doctor, telling him to come back when he was needed.
The doctor didn’t even look back, he turned around and left, relief clear in every step that took him closer to the door and away from the psychotic Bolivian cartel boss holding him hostage. Reyes held Casey, stroking her back and neck gently when she permitted his touch and backing off when she reached over to push his hand away as even those soft caresses were occasionally unbearable.
Gradually she began to relax as the saline bag emptied and the medications dripped into her system. He felt her muscles loosen and agony began to release its grip on her. She sighed and unfurled a little from her tight ball. He stroked a hand experimentally down her thigh and was pleased when she didn’t flinch away from him.
“Better?” he murmured.
“Yeah…” she moaned, relief ringing clear in her voice. “Much.”
The doctor stuck his head around the door and asked hesitantly if he could see the patient. Reyes waved the man in. “She seems to be doing better,” he said quietly, unable to tear his eyes away from her face where colour was beginning to seep back into her cheeks, staining them with a healthier pink glow. “Check on her,” he demanded. “Give her more medication.”
The doctor nodded. “Of course. I think she can take another dose and then she should sleep. This was a stressful event and her body needs rest. Her blood pressure was extremely high when I checked it.”
Reyes looked up sharply. “Check it again.”
“Of course,” the doctor agreed quickly and immediately complied. Casey made a murmur of protest when the doctor wrapped the cuff around her arm, but Reyes held her still. “A little high, but within the normal range,” the doctor confirmed.
He switched out the saline bag and gave her another dose of each medication. Casey happily drifted off to sleep under their watchful supervision now that her head wasn’t at risk of exploding. Reyes nodded his head sharply toward the door. “Walk with me.”
The doctor glanced at Casey as though she might wake up and save him from whatever horrors Reyes was about to inflict on him. Reyes almost laughed out loud. He’d become so enamored of her that he probably would allow her to have the doctor for a pet if she asked. But she was asleep so the good doctor was on his own. As soon as the door was firmly closed behind them he began speaking.
“I’m in touch with one of the best neurologists in South America and he’s going to make time to see Casey and myself in a few weeks,” Reyes said. “I understand that you have no family in La Paz. So, between now and when we fly to her appointment you will remain here and become her personal physician. Make sure she has everything she needs and does not suffer if she has another episode. Understand?”
To his credit, the doctor only gaped for about three seconds before responding in the only way he could. “Of course, señor.”
“Good man,” Reyes said and reached for the door, not wanting to leave Casey alone any longer than he had to. “Go see Alejandro, he’ll get you set up with a room. I want you nearby my wife in case of emergency.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Despite the rocky start to their relationship, Casey grew progressively closer to her new doctor, Miguel Garrido over the following days. She learned far more about neurology and her condition in just a few conversations than she had in almost a decade of unbearable headaches. At first Reyes had hovered over their meetings, relentlessly watching over Casey, pacing and demanding more answers than Dr. Garrido could give.
Finally, Casey turned to her lover with irritation while they were eating breakfast and snapped, “You need to leave us alone, Reyes. He can’t work when he’s under constant threat of death and I’m sick of your never-ending mothering.”
The look Reyes settled on her promised retribution for her emasculating comment, though his dark eyes caressed her features with amusement and he raised a thick eyebrow. He bent over her chair from behind as she chewed on a piece of melon and bit her ear. He held her still with a hand on her neck when she tried to flinch away from his teeth and whispered in her ear, “Can I trust you alone with this man, cariña?”
Shivers ran all down her spine at the way he licked the tiny bite mark he’d inflicted. She kept her eyes on her plate, her cheeks heating from the knowledge that they had an audience. She gave her head a tiny nod ‘yes’ and played with her fork wondering what he would do if she stabbed him with it; just a little. Well, she knew what he would do. Retribution as foreplay before fucking her as punishment. A better question was, how fast could she run?
Reyes lifted his eyes from Casey to the doctor, giving him one of those dead stares that made the recipients desperately wish they’d never heard his name or agreed to whatever ultimately landed them in his presence. No amount of money was worth earning that glare. “But can I trust him alone with you, nena?” he growled in her ear, his eyes unwavering from his prey.
“O-of course you can,” Dr. Garrido hastily assured him, spilling a little of his coffee as he put his cup down hard on the table. “I have no designs on your wife!”
Reyes’ nostrils flared and his body hardened against Casey’s back. He removed his gun from the holster at his side and placed it on the table with his hand casually over the top. She rolled her eyes, careful to keep them averted from his sharp gaze and picked up her own cup of coffee to take a sip as Reyes snarled, “Didn’t ask you the question, now did I?”
The doctor opened his mouth to respond, then closed it, his eyes glued to the gun. Then thought about it and opened his mouth again, clearly very unsure of what to do. Once again, as he frequently was in Reyes presence, Miguel was utterly terrified that he was about to be executed. Casey sighed and reached over her head to pet Reyes on the shoulder in an attempt to sooth her beast once more. She turned her face to his and gave him a sunny smile.
“We’ll be fine, darling,” she murmured, rubbing her lips whisper soft against his unshaven cheek.
She felt the instant easing in his muscles and marveled once more at how quickly this hard, intense man had fallen under her spell. God, he knew how to make a woman feel special, as though she were the only person that existed in his world. He absolutely adored it when she touched him, stroked him, smiled at him and called him endearments. At one time in her life she would have shrugged off such things as manipulations. But over her weeks spent with this man she was seeing these things as just… feeling good. Necessary to existing.
When Reyes didn’t move to put his gun away she turned in her seat, took his jaw in both of her hands and turned his face to hers. He allowed her presumption. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his, darting her tongue against the seam until he allowed her entrance. She gave him a quick heat
ed kiss, drawing his attention away from the doctor, allowing the other man a hasty escape from the room. Which, of course, a man with multiple medical degrees was smart enough to take advantage of.
By the time Reyes looked up, he realized he’d been duped by his sexy but conniving woman. He grunted, took her blond braid in his fist, jerked her head back, careful not to strain her neck, and gave her a long, stinging kiss as punishment until she was moaning and begging for release. She touched her swollen lips with trembling fingers, her breath coming out in short, panting bursts while he looked down at her with dark satisfaction. When he finally allowed her up, she clutched the edge of the table for support and glared at him, “You’re such a barbarian!”
“Finish your breakfast,” he told her as he picked up his gun and turned to leave. “You may have Dr. Garrido and you may have your privacy to speak with the man. Keep to the mansion and the immediate grounds around the house.”
She nodded and smiled, her fingers still lingering on her lips. Now that the pain was receding, pleasure was beginning to blossom. She licked the taste of him from her skin, enjoying the way his velvet eyes darkened as he followed the movement. “Thank you, Reyes,” she purred huskily.
He froze in the process of moving away from her. Then he groaned and lunged for her, tearing her out of her chair by an arm and slamming her ass back against the table. “Then thank me,” he growled, his lips hovering over hers.
Her eyes lit with excitement. The enduring embers that constantly simmered within her flamed instantly to life flooding her pussy with slick heat. She moaned against his mouth and bared her teeth at him, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth, calling to the savage, begging him to come out and play with her. She knew what she was doing, knew it wouldn’t take long to snap his control. In fact, she’d spent the past weeks learning him. Learning exactly what it would take to force her dark, exquisite lover. Right. Over. The. Edge.
Scarred Queen (The Queens Book 1) Page 16