A livid flush spread up her neck. She flexed her hands, pivoted, and raced out of the room.
He didn’t have to signal Tomas. His friend was already moving, hot on her heels.
She did it. Exactly what he’d told her, she pulled it off. Pride filled his chest. Whether she liked it or not, she was on his team now.
She was his.
Vera, Alejandro, and all the girls had vacated the room, leaving him alone with the cartel capo.
Nervousness set in, but he didn’t let it show.
“Women.” With a sigh, he removed the condom and stashed it, along with her discarded panties, in his pocket. Then he straightened his clothes and zipped up.
“You can’t live with them, so just fuck them and kill them. Si?” With a chuckle, Marco stood and set a drink in Luke’s hand. “Congratulations, my friend. Now tell me how you did it.”
She sat in John’s bathtub, hugging her knees to her chest as unanswered questions pounded in her head.
When the water cooled, she let it out and refilled it again. With each passing minute, her hands turned pruney, her heart numb.
After leaving Alejandro’s quarters an hour ago, she’d headed straight here. Not because John had commanded it. But because she needed to talk to him, to find out what was real and what was an act.
He’d put his hands and mouth all over that hateful bitch. Was he with her now? Kissing her? Thrusting between her legs?
Gah! She yanked at her hair. Why did she care who he was with?
More importantly, why had she willingly swallowed his cock and fucked his damn brains out? What made him so different than the others?
I give her things.
Orgasms.
Yeah, he doled those out like party favors.
If it was only that, she could work with it. She’d already accepted her attraction and given into the lust. How could she not? The sex was…
Her thighs squeezed together. Her nipples hardened, and a fluttery sensation lit up her belly.
Yeah, he knew how to fuck. And kiss. And touch all the right places. He was turning her into an addict.
Point for him.
It would be no hardship to spend the rest of the week in bed with him. As dangerous as he was, he’d given her more blissful moments in twenty-four hours than she’d experienced in the past three years.
But this wasn’t just sex. There was a rare, deep-reaching, unstoppable force blooming between them. A magnetism that jacked up her blood pressure and consumed her mind. A supernatural connection that she’d never shared with any other person.
She desperately wanted to believe in that connection, trust it, and fight for it. Damn her, but she felt outrageously possessive of it. The thought of another woman touching him sent her into a homicidal rage.
That was why she’d gone down on him after dinner. Watching anyone else do it would’ve gutted her. Which was maddening. She didn’t even know him.
What was his name? Where did he grow up? How did he earn a living? What were his crimes?
What did he want with her?
She secretly harbored wishes about him. Recklessly whimsical hopes. The kind that only came true in fairy tales. Because there were no white knights in Casa de La Rocha. He couldn’t rescue her. Not even if he tried.
Sinking into the water, she let her face float just above the surface and stared at the hole in the ceiling.
This morning, he’d said La Rocha hadn’t replaced the camera because he made them believe he was discussing confidential business details in here with Tomas and threatened to take down the cartel if they invaded his privacy.
He would be gone soon anyway. After they squeezed all the money they could get out of him, he would leave.
What would happen to her? Would they keep her alive? Continue to use her as bait? Or put her in another fight, one she didn’t have a chance at winning?
She needed to get out of this bathtub.
Rising to her knees, her gaze landed on the doorway, and her breath abandoned her.
John stood on the threshold, his tie hanging loose around his neck. Red hair tousled from raking fingers, suit jacket dangling from a finger, he looked tired and pensive.
She rested her hands on the edge of the tub, holding his gaze. With his chin dipped downward, he watched her from beneath dark brows. Just watching. Breathing. After too many inhales and exhales, he stepped in and shut the door.
“My parents were drug addicts. When they were sober, they beat me. When they weren’t…” He toed off his shoes and removed the tie. “They forgot they had bills and…a child.”
She closed her eyes, instantly regretting the mean things she’d said about his father leaving bruises. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You were right about that.” He unbuttoned his shirt and dropped it. “But you were wrong about me bullying kids in school.” His lips quirked. “I only bully women who know how to bully right back.”
A smile tickled her lips and faded quickly. “What happened? With your parents?”
“Dead. Overdosed.” He ambled to the tub and stripped the rest of his clothes. “I ran away before that happened. Finished my last year of high school while living on the streets.”
“How did you do it?” She touched her chin to her shoulder, meeting his eyes. “I mean, you’re clearly successful and wealthy. How?”
“A single, horrifying, unfortunate event.” He stepped in, sliding into the water behind her.
She stared at his legs, so hard and powerful as they wedged in around her, dwarfing her body. “An unfortunate event led to…a fortune?”
“A fortune in things that matter.” His arms glided around her waist, pulling her back to his chest. “I’ll tell you about it some other time.”
“You’re leaving in a few days.”
“Not without you.”
She melted. Every muscle, sinew, and bone dissolved before she could stifle the reaction. No matter what he promised, she couldn’t leave. Was he an idiot? Or maybe he thought she was.
Pushing herself upright, she refused to let any man, including this one, make her feel weak and manipulated.
He held onto her hips, and she yanked at his hands. When he finally released her, she spun away, splashing water over the edge.
The tub wasn’t big enough for the two of them, but she wasn’t leaving it until she had answers.
“Where have you been for the past hour?” She inched back against the opposite end, facing him.
“With Marco. Instructing him on how to bring a woman to orgasm.”
“What?” Her jaw dropped. “Why?”
“He wanted to know my technique.” He pulled her feet onto his lap beneath the water and stroked a hand along her ankle. “Giving him a few pointers seemed less painful than pissing him off.”
“Did you…?” Her face flamed. She really didn’t want to ask this, but she needed to know. “Did you demonstrate on someone?”
“No.” His voice lacked insistence or any emotion. He didn’t seem to care if she believed him or not.
“Marco doesn’t do things without causing discomfort or pain to someone else. He was probably fucking with you.”
“I don’t disagree.”
“And you associate with him. What does that say about you?” She yanked her legs away from his touch.