My heart is numb. She’s just a plaything. “Hold on, Maria.” I roll my shoulders, unsure what the fuck is happening. “You’re right, it’s fun. I thought you were happy with casual sex?”
“Lately it feels different,” she says breathlessly, grabbing wildly at my jeans. “The way you put your hands on my body. It’s more than two people fucking. It’s real.”
My palms fly to her biceps, and I lean back. “Maria. We both knew this wasn’t going anywhere.” Her torso slants as if I slapped her. “I’m sorry if you thought differently.”
“But...” Her voice cracks. “I’m falling for you.” Small palms brush the contours of my chest. The contact isn’t pleasing or seductive anymore, it's unfortunate.
What the fuck have I missed? The heaviness in my dick has completely vanished, and I’m swamped with regret. “I think it's time we put an end to this arrangement. Don’t you?”
“Wait… I don’t want to end it… not yet.” She grabs my wrist.
“You’re a great woman.” I thumb her cheek. “And you deserve a guy who’s all in.” Her cheek blazes under my touch. “But I’m not that guy, Maria. This was...” Fuck, it was purely sex between two consenting adults who both understood it was a temporary fix. The desire was never that intense. Love never entered the equation, nor was it ever implied.
Coated lashes flicker. “I don’t believe you. Why are you lying to me, Dante?”
I’d rather not be a total dick, but she’s pushing this to somewhere it doesn't belong. “I’m not lying. There’s nothing more going on here. I’m sorry you went to all this effort for nothing.”
“Oh, yeah?” She lifts her chin and elevates her cleavage. “I know what you like.” Her hand cups my unamused dick. My spine goes rigid. Before, it was sexy, but now that her unexplained feelings are involved, I’m one hundred percent out. “I’ll let you be rougher, harder, merciless.”
“Stop it.” I snatch her hand away. “This is over, Maria.”
She sucks in, and holds her breath for a split second, then scowls up at me. “Fine.” The tone of her voice sharpens like claws. I release her hand and take a step away. Her neck reddens like raging wildfire. “Whatever happens from here is all on you.” A sinister glare sweeps from my face to her purse sitting on the coffee table.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” This woman is babbling in riddles.
“It means I was prepared to choose you.”
My brows snap together. “Choose me?”
“Now that I know how you really feel, all this will be easier.” She scoops up the dress from the floor and covers herself.
The front door flings open, rattling the entire house.
“DANTE.” Gabriela’s howl sends prickles from my scalp to the base of my spine. “Where are you?” She storms in, eyes darting to the lit candles, to Maria and then settling on me. “We need to get out of here. Now!”
“What’s wrong?” My heart stills.
“It’s Miguel. He’s coming here.” From the corner of my eye, Maria reaches for her purse. “Quickly, Dante. Get your stuff. We need to go.” Gabriela snatches my wrist and tugs. “Everything was a lie. He’s been after you all this time, not me. I heard him on the phone. He was talking about a list of names and money and… you.” She sniffs back a sob. Worried eyes blink rapidly, and she yanks me closer to the doorway. “I’m so sorry. He’s not the man I thought he was.”
“Don’t move.” Slowly, in tandem, Gabriela and I rotate to find a handgun pointed right at us. “Stay where you are until Miguel gets here.”
“Maria, what the fuck are you doing?” I hiss, dragging my sister behind me.
She cuts her glowered gaze from my face to the exit. “I’m stopping you both from leaving. Sit the hell down and don’t try to sweet talk me. He’ll be here soon. You had your chance, and you blew it.”
“You know Miguel?” Gabriela gasps.
“Yeah.” Maria sneers. “Isn’t that a mind fuck?”
2
PRESENT DAY
“Please, Dante. Let me explain,” I gasp, caught in the middle of his brutal carnage. Thunder crashes overhead and a flash of light illuminates his pulsating veins and flaring nostrils. He fluidly crouches before me and seizes my throat. Our eyes meet for the quickest second. Mine wide with terror and his narrowed with madness.
The heel of his palm presses into my windpipe, making it hard to swallow. His torso slants toward the supine body next to me on the floor. The unconscious man who attacked me is exposed from the belly down, revealing a flaccid dick. A blood-spattered toweling robe splays open and bandages from his recent surgery have fallen to the floor. Leather knuckles constrict as Dante snakes the belt free from under the man’s waist.
“Don’t speak,” he grits out. “No more lies. You gave him a note behind my back. You thought I’d never find out, beija flor.” When the hummingbird’s name escapes, he thumps a fist to his temple and blows out hard. “Eyes down. Don’t fucking look at me, Iris, or I swear I’ll kill you right here, right now.”
