Entrusted: A Drug of Desire Novel

by Sidney Bristol

  “Oh?” She turned, one hand on her hip, and peered at him.

  “Yes. You’re going to make a flogger today, and later, I’m going to use it on you.”

  Raven knelt over the sheet of leather, focused on the pale lines drawn into the hide. The box cutter slid through it easily enough, but it wouldn’t last. She’d barely done six strips and already she could tell the blade was losing its edge.

  Níłch’i lay in the shade of the patio, content to chew on the salvage pieces and watch her. It wasn’t his gaze that made it hard to breathe.

  A man-sized shadow fell across her workspace.

  “You’re doing good. We need about nine more.”

  “Nine? Really?” She paused to glance up at Matías. He’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt, completing her pretend reality of a world where they were just two people in lust.

  “Don’t complain or I’ll make you cut enough for two.” Matías dragged the wicker chair closer and settled in to observe.

  Her stomach fluttered, a sensation she wasn’t used to. Usually she simply liked a guy, they got on well enough and she felt at least inclined to want to be with him. Matías—he took over her thoughts. He was the first thing in her mind when she woke up and everything she did connected back to him. Before she’d taken her infatuation with him as a youthful throwback. Now, he was her obsession.

  “Do you think your family is worried about you?” he asked.

  She paused in the act of cutting.

  All at once those happy, fuzzy feelings withered and died.

  She hadn’t exactly forgotten them. It was more like, willful ignorance. In her euphoria of all that Matías had introduced her to—she’d shoved the knowledge of what her grandfather and uncle were doing out of her mind. She sat up and turned toward the ocean.

  “Here, I’ll cut a few.”

  Matías sat down next to her and plucked the box cutter from her hand. He slid the blade through the leather, keeping the strip nice and thin, like he’d directed her to cut. She watched him cut three strips in a row, focusing on the way he handled the blade, remembering how he’d shaved the wax from her body without a single scratch.

  “Matías?” A lump threatened to block out her ability to breathe.

  “Hm?” He gathered the strips up and laid them to the side.

  Oh God, how did she tell him?

  It wasn’t like she was the guilty one here, but she’d covered for them and that made her guilty by association. Then, she’d gone and covered up for Hokee.

  One of Matías’ cell phones rang. He sighed and reached for the one he’d begun the trip with.

  “Shit,” he muttered before tapping the screen. “Bueno.”

  She could hear a fast, clipped voice on the other end of the phone. Matías grimaced and pushed to his feet, striding back into the condo.

  Raven leaned against the railing at her back and watched him pace back and forth inside.

  Hey, Matías, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this, but Hokee flies drugs in from Mexico. Mostly just pot. Good thing it’s on its way to being legal maybe, huh? Every now and then some coke. I should have told you.

  That wasn’t going to go over well.

  She scrubbed a hand over her face.

  Fuck.

  She’d known the man for years. She should be able to talk to him. Be honest.

  Raven gathered her hair over her shoulder and braided it. With that task done, she bent once more to the task at hand, cutting the strips of leather, while trying to not listen to Matías’ side of the phone call.

  “No, it’s not a good idea,” he said again before pacing out of hearing range.

  She said a silent prayer that he wouldn’t need to leave, that she could keep him there with her. By the time Matías emerged onto the patio, she was cutting the last strip. She sat back on her heels and glanced up at him.

  “You have to leave,” she said.

  The grimace on his face said it all.

  “Yeah.” His voice was clipped and his gaze hard. “Not for a while though. I’ll squeeze in this meet before we go tonight.”

  “Did something happen?”

  “Nothing really.” He sighed. “Just bureaucratic bullshit. I’ll handle it tonight. Here, let me show you what to do next.”

  He sat down in the chair and she scooted closer, bringing the leather strips with her.

  Matías bundled the strips and folded them in half. “You’re going to want to braid these a little, just enough so they’re interlocking. Then get that thick thread and weave in-between these. Once you have it locked, I’ll come in and sew some of it together so it really stays. Think you can do that?”

  “I think so.” She wrapped her hand around his and tilted the bundle toward her. “What’s it going to feel like?”

  “I can show you. Stand up against the railing.”

  “What? Now?” She gaped at him, a little shocked and a little turned on.

  “Yeah. Unless you’d rather not.” He gripped the leather where it bent over the ring and swung it a few times in a figure eight pattern. There was an easy grace to his movements, as if he’d done this a hundred times before.

  Was she scared?

  Her pulse was raised, her heart pounded and her skin tingled.

  Raven got to her feet and dusted her hands off. Matías watched her, neither encouraging nor discouraging. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and tugged it up, over her head, and tossed the garment onto a chair, leaving her in the yellow striped bikini top. She smiled at Matías as she turned to the rail and grasped it, much as she had the desk that first night.

  If she’d learned anything so far, it was that clothes just got in the way.

  This far up, it wasn’t as if anyone could actually see them, and the privacy walls on either side of the curved patio prevented any lookie-lous from taking a peek. Besides, it gave her a thrill to imagine what sinful things he might do to her out here—where anyone might see.

  “Pull your hair over your shoulder, or at least try to,” Matías said.

  The sound of the flogger swinging through the air made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and invisible fingers dance down her arms. She shivered and finished off the braid in a simple knot.

  “Hold onto the railing,” he said.

  She grasped the warm metal and stared out at the ocean. Gulls circled the beach, while people sunbathed and played in the surf. Out on the water, boats went back and forth. She could feel little bits of sand under her toes on the concrete patio. The sun beat down on her shoulders, and the humidity made it harder to breathe, almost as if she were underwater. Her mind went in a hundred directions, refusing to focus on the man and the toy behind her.

  A lower pitched whoosh than the belt was all the warning she got before a firm force smacked her across the shoulders. It rocked her forward on the balls of her feet, but only because she hadn’t been ready.

  Again he struck her back, and she arched into it.

  It didn’t sting, in fact, it sort of thudded against her like a hard massage. The tie of her halter top bikini dug into her neck, and a strand of hair tickled her nose. Below, some children started playing with a Frisbee and a large dog.

  “Nice, isn’t it?” Matías asked.

  “Mm, yeah.”

  Raven wanted to enjoy this moment, but her thoughts were like marbles, rolling in a hundred different directions, refusing to stay put. She closed her eyes, shifting as he changed his aim, going across her shoulders, and up and down her back.

  At first, it wasn’t so bad, but the more he worked her over, the more sensitive her skin became. She tightened her grip and closed her eyes. Last night, she’d been able to enjoy the sensations of the wax on her skin—today, she was analyzing every lick of leather.

  The breeze picked up, brushing over her face and whipping the lose locks around her face. The salt air brought back memories of chips and salsa next to a pool.

  The flogger snapped against her left shoulder blade so hard she yelp
ed at the sting.

  “What? Weren’t expecting that?” Matías asked. His voice rang with laughter, as if he were enjoying himself.

  “No!” She smiled and resisted the urge to look behind her. The last thing she wanted was to catch the next blow with her face.

  He gently flicked the leather over her skin, and she relaxed. Just as she let her shoulders drop, she heard him grunt and the flogger fell across her shoulders hard enough that she rocked forward. A girlish squeal escaped her lips.

  “Ouch,” she said.

  “What? That hurt?”

  “Yes.” She squeezed the railing tighter as he continued to vary the strength of his blows. They were getting stronger, driving out the competing thoughts, blanketing her awareness in this shared moment.

  Matías pressed his body to her back, covering her hands with his and speaking into her ear. “We’re barely getting started.”

  His stubble scraped across her neck. She let her head tip back to rest on his shoulder. Her entire body was under his spell now. The world around them ceased to exist. All that mattered was him. He slid his hands up her arms and down her sides. How was it that one man could master her body like this?

  Matías’ hands shook as he placed them against Raven’s stomach. He pressed his face into her hair and inhaled. She made him want things he had no business wanting. Not while he was still eyes deep in the DEA and part of an undercover mission that could blow his retirement plans to pieces. And yet, when he held her like this, and she moaned like that, rational thought fled him.

  He wanted her, and she’d been pretty clear about wanting him.

  “I’m going to flog you.” He slid his hands up her ribs, pushed them under the stretchy bikini top and covered her breasts with his palms. “I’m going to flog you right here.”

  There was a voyeuristic appeal to playing on the patio. He’d had visions of exactly this when he’d seen it. From below, they were nothing but stick figures, so no one would actually see them, but the idea of being seen spiked his adrenaline levels.

  Raven whimpered, her head tossing back and forth on his shoulder as he rolled her nipples between his fingers, pinching them and toying with the hard peaks.

  “Do you want me to do that? Do you care if people see how turned on I make you?”

  “Uh-uh.” She panted, her eyes still closed and lips parted.

  Fuck, if he didn’t want to do her right here and now.

  He pulled his hands out of her bikini top and backed away, adjusting his erection.

  Matías gathered the makeshift flogger back in his hand. It took a little finagling to hold it in a way the tails remained in place, but when it was done, it would be a handy little toy. He’d really lucked out finding the tanner stall. He swung it a few times, experimenting with the new hold, but his gaze kept going back to Raven’s legs.

  She had the longest legs of any woman he’d ever met. They went on for days, long, lean and perfect for wrapping around his waist. She wore these shorts that weren’t anything special, except they were on her, cupping her firm, round ass just how he wanted to.

  He swung the flogger underhanded, flicking the tails up between her legs.

  Raven jumped and made this sound, something between a squeal and a growl. He grinned and delivered a sharp slap across her bottom. She danced from foot to foot, wiggling her hips.

  “Didn’t think you could be spanked with a flogger?” he taunted and swung the flogger with both hands. It popped against the full curve of her ass loudly.

  She cried out, going up on the balls of her feet and pushing her hips back.

  That was not the position of someone in pain.

  He dropped the flogger into the patio chair.

  Matías grasped her hips, just above the waistband of her shorts, and slid his fingers under the material. She sucked in her stomach as he pushed past the bikini bottoms and cupped her mound, pressing his finger to her clit. Moisture coated his digit.

  He dropped his head into the crook of her neck, his mouth to her skin. He wanted to bite her, like some animal, marking her as his. She already bore several colorful badges of their passion, but they weren’t enough. She wasn’t his, at least not of her admission. In his mind, she belonged to him, as no other woman had. Because they didn’t know all sides of him like she did.

  “Matías,” she whispered.

  “You’re such a good girl.”

  “Matías.” Her voice rose in pitch, straining. If he looked at her eyes, they’d be dilated. She was flying.

  “What is it?” He flicked the button on her shorts and the zipper lowered on its own. He pushed his middle finger deep inside of her, biting back a curse word at how hot and wet she was.

  She groaned and moved her hips, urging him on.

  It was too much.

  “I’m going to fuck you right here,” he said, watching her face.

  She gasped, and goose bumps broke out along her arms. She didn’t utter a single protest, further confirming his assumption. Besides, the thick netting would hide their lower bodies from anyone who wanted to watch.

  He pushed her shorts and bottoms down her legs and she kicked out of them, widening her stance and glancing back at him, her eyes narrow slits. There was nothing but lust there.

  Matías dug his wallet out of his pocket and grabbed the condom he’d stashed there from the box he’d purchased. How long had it been since he went anywhere prepared? He felt ten years younger and just as foolish as he unhooked his jeans and pushed his clothes down.

  He tore the condom wrapper open and rolled the latex on. She bent forward, treating him to a glimpse of her pussy, damp and ready for him.

  What would it be like to look into her face when he pushed into her? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex with a woman face to face.

  He pushed the desire aside.

  Matías grasped his cock and placed it at her entrance. She groaned and leaned forward. He sank into her, easing in bit by bit. She pushed against him, taking him in deeper and squeezing him with her inner muscles.

  He pulled his hand back and slapped her across her right cheek. She yelped and her whole body tensed, trapping his dick in a velvet vice, so perfectly. He closed his eyes and rocked forward onto the balls of his feet. She moved before he did, undulating her hips, fucking him with little helpless moans. He wanted to eat her up, make her scream and come, over and over again.

  “Mm, do it again,” she said over her shoulder.

  He chuckled around the knot in his throat. If that was what she wanted…

  Matías spanked her left cheek a little harder and his eyes nearly crossed when she tensed. He could feel the impact in his balls, already drawing up, ready to come.

  Oh hell no. He was not about to come without her.

  He circled his arm around her, cupping her mound once more and rubbing his fingers over her clit. Back and forth while he thrust.

  “Oh, oh, oh!” She lowered until her upper body draped over the rails, her knuckles were pale and her knees buckled.

  “Come on, come on,” he said under his breath.

  He heard the hitch in her breath the second before her body tensed. He delivered two hard swats to her ass and she screamed. Her orgasm spurred his onward and for a moment, they were both flying, sharing the moment of sweet relief.

  Matías bent, covering her with his body and kissed the back of her neck.

  Mine.

  chapter Ten

  Matías ducked into a doorway and pressed his back to the brick wall, holding his breath to save himself from the stench in the alley.

  This was a bad idea.

  Victor’s goons in Panama were harder to lose. These guys had skill and experience.

  There was no way he would make it to the embassy without blowing his cover.

  He pulled out his cell phone and texted the head of the Panama office. It was one thing to play with his life; it was another to put both him and an innocent in harm’s way.

  An answering text
chimed and he glanced at the screen. The address wasn’t anywhere he recognized, but that was what taxi drivers were for.

  He peered up and down the alley once more, but the coast was clear.

  A few minutes later, he hailed a cab and crawled into the back seat, holding his breath. There was a well-known story of an agent getting into a hired car—just like this one—and getting his head blown off. It was a hit, but it served as a reminder that it could all too easily be him, next.

  The cab cut through the city traffic with only half a dozen death defying moments.

  His destination was a small, run down café. This late in the afternoon, there wasn’t much traffic, and the lone Caucasian man stuck out like an eyesore.

  Would suits never learn?

  Matías’ Hispanic heritage helped him blend in, on the surface. At least until he opened his mouth, and then anyone within hearing distance would peg him as being from Mexico.

  He grabbed a magazine off a rack and flipped through the pages, turning casually toward the street to check his tail. The goons were still nowhere to be seen. A major blessing at this point.

  A foot scuffed to his right. “You M—”

  Matías whipped his head around, scowling. “Who you talkin’ to, man?” He gave the suit a hostile once-over. Was the idiot really going to address him here, on the street, by his given name? Wouldn’t be the first time.

  The man held up his hands.

  “Sorry, thought you were someone else.” He turned back to the bartender and laid out a bill before turning and heading out one of the open doors.

  This was the most ridiculous meet, second only to having to slip into a women’s restroom at a crowded night club to get to a female agent so he could give her a damn gun.

  Matías gave the street one last visual sweep before heading after the suit. They kept up the pretense of Matías following the suit for two blocks before he ducked into a building with no sign out front. When Matías entered, he found it to be just an empty hallway and a few empty offices.

  The suit stood to the side of a window, watching the street.

  “Matías Govea. Nice of you to visit.”