Page 12 of Hostile Secret
Her irises sparkle with the untruth. Yet the statement reaches inside of me and creates the worst possible reaction—possessiveness. “Boyfriend? You let a boy fuck you?”
“So, what if I did?” She challenges, pushing her face closer to mine. Quick puffs of warm breath settle on my skin as anger races through my hot veins. “That’s for me to know and for you to never figure out.”
I release her immediately, sit back in my seat, and fight the desire to punish her lying mouth. “Reno would have known about a boyfriend…” Taking a beat to assess her flushed face, I rein in my temper and settle into the familiar dark void that serves me best. “And slaughtered the fucker for daring to touch you. And if he didn’t kill him first, Dré would have done it. So, yeah… I’m certain you’re still a virgin who’s never even kissed a guy.”
“Oh my God. Is this conversation really necessary?” She growls, her serene eyes spellbinding. “Of course, I’ve kissed guys. Quite a lot in fact and now since Reno isn’t around, it won’t be long until I fuck the whole soccer team in my new school.”
Something dark slips over me. “I’m your protector now, niñita. What I say goes. You abide by my rules or face the consequences. If you let a pathetic boy anywhere near you, I’ll kill him. Screwing guys is not an option.”
She makes a face at me. “With your archaic rules, I’ll die of boredom as a lonely virgin before the week is over. You’re not my brother, Gio, so stop pretending like you care whether I have sex or not.”
The flight attendant appears beside us. “Please fasten your seatbelts for landing and hold on to the dog. Perhaps your brother can help you.”
“He’s not my brother.” India glances up at the pretty woman whose looks are nothing in comparison to her own natural beauty. “I’m actually his prisoner.” She deadpans. “He’s taking me home to his dungeon to stop me fucking the guys at my school.”
My low growl makes India’s gaze return to me. “It’s not a dungeon, niñita… but it's close to it.”
“My brother was overprotective too. It’s not a bad thing.” The woman's voice drifts to the back of my mind as this teenage temptress stares at me, her lips pouting and her chin rising in bold defiance.
I clip my belt into place and drag a hand down my face. India’s presence shouldn’t provoke me as much as it does.
“Be a good girl or you won’t see daylight for a long time.”
India has no idea who I really am or what I’d like to do to her.
5
INDIA
We land at Simón Bolívar International Airport and sit in silence as the jet taxies into a massive hangar.
Before disembarking, the flight attendant had tried to establish if Giovanni would be flying again—if he required herservices.
He was his typical evasive self, casually covering his eyes with a pair of sunglasses and shrugging. All he said was, “Most likely.” That’s it.
At that moment, I almost felt like hugging her. She’s a victim of the Souza sex appeal. A magnet drawn to his criminal persona, helplessly stuck to an incendiary device that would blow up in her face if she’d assumed their interaction meant something.
Luckily, I’m nothing like her. And this temporary schoolgirl crush is simply a form of grief taking its toll. I miss having an older sibling to guide me, and certainly don’t crave this man to ruin me.
Daenis sniffs the concrete while Giovanni transfers my duffle bag to the trunk of a sleek black armored Tesla. I watch his fluid movements, how he executes every act like clockwork and intermittently checks over his shoulder as an overly paranoid safety precaution.
When he closes the trunk and rakes sturdy fingers through his thick hair, teasing messy dark strands away from his forehead, my insides flutter. It’s a mortifying reaction, an illogical rush of forbidden lust.
But the second he swivels in his expensive sneakers and catches my eye, the roots on my scalp lift, fully attuned to him. I can’t help it. This senseless fascination I’m battling with is deadlier than a stab wound to the gut.
I’m painfully aware of the buzz running through me, how I’m on high alert and thinking about something I shouldn’t.
His hands… on my body… and his lips…No!
Over the years when he had visited André in Miami, I hadn’t truly appreciated the glorious ghost of a man built with six feet of towering muscle, who wears temptation in his prowl and hides a world of unspoken thoughts behind a jade green gaze.
He’s a mystery. And back then, I wasn’t on his radar. But now, to my utter shock and frustration, the imbalanced chemistry shooting off between us has left me feeling vulnerable.
“Get in.” He opens the passenger door and nods.
Rogue flutters swoop in my belly. This wired reaction to him is out of control.
I whistle for Daenis and hear Giovanni exhale loudly when she jumps in ahead of me, her clipped nails scrabbling over the upholstery on her way to the back seat. He’s not one to reveal his emotions, so the fact it obviously annoys him makes me smile to myself. Getting a rise out of him will be my new favorite thing to do.
