She shrugged. “Not personally. Leo had a full wallet. You’d be surprised what a few street thugs will do for a couple hundred.”
“Why not just get rid of him?”
“Did you know my mother…?” She sighed. “…I mean Josefina. Did you know she shot herself?” When I shook my head, she glanced down at her feet, her voice losing its edge. “Right in front of me. Esteban was so shamed by it, he didn’t give her a funeral. He just cremated her and tossed her away like garbage. I couldn’t do that to him.”
Her confession was like a punch in the gut, and I couldn’t stop myself from curving my palm around her jaw. “Adriana…”
But the floodgates had opened, and words came spilling out in an avalanche of truth. “Do you know why I was in Leo’s office that day?”
“I have an idea.”
“No, you don’t,” she countered, pulling away. “There was a price on my head for something I didn’t do, so I came to Leo for information. When I heard him on the phone with you, I knew I could get him to tell me anything I wanted to know, and he did.” She let out a dry laugh, a rare breeze blowing her hair across her face. “Sang like the piece of shit canary he’d always been. When he told me you ruined my life just for Eden, that was when I knew I had you. I’d won.”
The weight of her words sank in. “You were going to tell Val regardless of whether I helped you or not.” It wasn’t a question. “You were going to ruin me, and you didn’t even know me.”
“You didn’t know me either. That didn’t stop you.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“To let you off the hook. I still think what you did was shitty, but you can stop pretending to like me. No matter what happens, your secret dies with me.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Is this where I’m supposed to thank you? To be grateful that you’re so selfless to deny me what I want?”
Chuckling, she brushed past me while walking into the house. “You don’t want me, Brody. What you want is redemption.”
I stopped her and turned her around. “Redemption for what?"
I saw the wall coming down moments before it slammed into place. “You think you failed Eden,” she hissed. “You’re convinced you failed Leighton and your niece because you couldn’t protect them from your batshit crazy mother. You have a damaged hero complex, and you think saving me will absolve you of your sins.” Anger tore through her as she shoved both hands against my chest. “News flash, counselor, I can’t be saved.”
“Jesus Christ, I’m not trying to save you, Adriana! I’m beating my head against the wall trying to help you, but you keep fighting me for no damn reason!”
“I’m fighting you because you won’t admit I’m exploiting your insatiable need to punish yourself, and you’re using me to make yourself feel better about it!”
Her words burrowed deep into a decayed part of my mind and detonated, severing the last thread of my self-control. My smile was not a gentle one as I stalked toward her. “Well, if you’re going to convict me without a fair trial, I might as well make good on what I’m being accused of.”
Adriana parted her lips, stumbling as she backed up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, if that’s all you think I’m doing, then I should use you to make myself feel better. Right here. Right now. Because I’ll feel good, Adriana. I’ll feel so fucking good.”
“Go fuck yourself!” she yelled, stepping back until there was nowhere left to go. She was trapped, her back pressed against a bookcase as tall as the ceiling. Her gaze lowered, and I wasn’t sure if she knew whether it was out of fear or anticipation.
“Look at me.”
She pushed her hand out in a weak attempt at stopping me. “Don’t.”
“I said, look at me.” She did, those damn gold flecks in her eyes as electric as the sun. “No one decides what I want for me, Adriana. If I want these,” I pulled down the top of her shirt along with her bra and exposed her breasts, cupping them in my hands. “I’ll have them.” I ran my thumbs over her puckered nipples. She was so damn tempting. Leaning down, I took one in between my teeth, biting down gently as I sucked.
“Ah, shit!” Adriana went off like a firework, grabbing handfuls of my hair as she moaned.
But I wasn’t done. Dislodging her hold, I shifted her wrists into one hand and held them over her head. “If I want this,” I said, daring her to look away as I released the button on her shorts and dove a hand inside. “I’ll have it.” As soon as my finger slipped in between her wet folds, her mouth dropped open in a wordless whimper. I allowed a cruel smile just before sinking it deep inside her.
Jesus fuck, I was getting off just on the sounds she was making. She was up on her toes, grasping for purchase onto books and then tossing them off the shelf as her moans became more frantic. She begged for mercy, but I wasn’t letting up for shit. Her pleasure was mine, and I was taking it.
The minute she cried out my name, it was like a symphony in my ear. Tired of not seeing all of her, I pulled my hand out and tugged both her shorts and panties down her legs in one hard jerk. Her eyes went a little unfocused, and I watched curiously as she lifted a shaking hand toward my pants. My cock was hard enough to cut steel, but I was trying to prove a point, and coming in her hand didn’t support it.
I grabbed her wrist and held it between us. She blinked in surprise, but I didn’t waver. “Both hands on the shelf and don’t let go.” Once she reached behind her and held on, I soaked in the control I’d commanded, taking my time unzipping my pants. Her eyes followed my every move, so once I had them pushed over my hips along with my boxers, I stroked myself, letting her get a good look at what had already claimed her.
“If I want this inside you,” I growled, stroking harder. “I’ll fucking have it.”
She groaned and licked her lips.
“So don’t fucking tell me what I do or don’t want. I don’t take orders.” She expected me to take her against the bookshelf, but this was my show, and I was the goddamn ringmaster. Turning around slowly, I walked to the oversized chair in the corner and sat down. “I also don’t feel like chasing you tonight. So, if you want me, you’re going to have to come over here and work for it.”
I fully expected her to flip me off and walk away. To my surprise, she released the shelf and stumbled toward me, blinking as if not sure what to do next. The power fucked with my head, and I was half tempted to tell her to get on her knees and wrap those smartass lips around my dick, but that wasn’t what I really wanted.
I wanted her to own this fucked up thing between us.
“Tick tock, Adriana. Are you going to show me you know how to fuck a man, or do I do as you asked, and go fuck myself?”
A fire ignited in her eyes so intense I almost lost control. Adriana braced a hand on the arms of the chair and knelt on either side of my thighs. She didn’t say anything. She just held my gaze and reached between us, wrapping her hands around my cock and circling the head around her entrance until I thought my eyes were going to roll back into my head. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself not to grab her by the hips and impale her.