“Jaz, please draw the curtains for us,” he said.
“Claro. Of course,” she said with a nod and returned back inside. A pit formed in my stomach as she shut us off from the rest of the house.
Cristiano opened the water bottle and handed it to me with the pills. I tossed them back quickly.
“Come here,” he said.
“I am here,” I said. We weren’t a half meter apart.
“Closer.” He took my hand and brushed his mouth against the back of it. “It has taken all my effort to keep my hands off you tonight.”
Memories flashed across my mind—him cradling my face at the nightclub, running his roughened palms up my leg in my bathroom, encircling my ankle in the car. His touch so far had been callused but never cruel.
A thread of unwelcome desire tugged inside me at the idea that he’d been anxious to touch me again. What had stopped him earlier? Why did I care when I should just be thankful and let it lie? I didn’t want to respond to his touch. I couldn’t.
“Any closer and I’ll be on your lap,” I said.
“You’ve read my mind.”
“You’ve ignored me tonight.”
“I’m not ignoring you now.” He stared at me expectantly. Now that we were alone, his full attention was back on me. I could see why so many people sought it. First, the boy who’d lost his tooth. Then, throughout the night, many people had approached Cristiano, vying for his time. He hadn’t looked at any of them the way he looked at me now.
He tugged on my hand until I was standing, then pulled me across his lap. “This is where I like you,” he murmured, hugging me against him. “Never question my attraction to you.”
“What am I?” I asked, my heart rate kicking up as hardness pressed against my hip. “Something you stole from Diego? A way to hurt both him and my father?”
“You,” he said, nuzzling my neck, “are my wife.”
“You mocked me in the church, and you’re mocking me now.”
“I’m not.” He slid a hand under my hair. “You’re mine. I wouldn’t give you away, Natalia. I’m not my brother.”
My heart missed a beat. The sting was fresh. Diego was both the person I would’ve called for comfort and the reason I was here. Perhaps Cristiano was right—Diego had given me away, along with my trust. But did a betrayal that deep slice right through my love for him? I didn’t think it was that simple—I wanted to strangle him and then fall into his arms, anger and grief warring in me.
But I couldn’t think of it now. When I had Cristiano’s attention, mine needed to be on him. I had to play my cards close to my chest until I knew what Cristiano planned for me. He required all my energy and left me little to worry about Diego.
“At least Diego never held me against my will.”
“You’re not my prisoner. You can leave when you like, but then the deal is off.”
“You gave us your word that if I married you, we’d all be safe.”
“Not only have we not consummated the marriage, but our arrangement was made in bad faith on Diego’s part. I proceeded anyway, but my protection only extends to your family so long as it is mine. As long as you are mine. Leave me, and my obligations go with you. One phone call to the Maldonados is all it would take.”
He wanted me. Even a dead person would be able to feel his need pressing against me. But it was there in his words, too. Mine. His. Diego had made a risky deal with one of the most powerful cartels in the country to transport their narcotics across the Mexico-US border, and he’d failed, costing them millions of dollars. Now, the only thing keeping them from retaliating against my father, his family, and his cartel, was my new husband. Cristiano. A man who had the means, the connections, and now, a reason, to keep the Maldonados at bay.
I tried not to give in to the feeling of Cristiano’s strong fingers working my tendons. “Why?” I asked. “What do you want with me?”
“I want details.” He put his mouth in my hair. “Tell me, Natalia. How was it with him? Where did you do it?”
I tensed. Surely, he didn’t mean my night with Diego? “That’s sacred,” I hissed.
“Nothing you’ve done before me is sacred. As your husband, your secrets are mine.”
“And let me guess—yours aren’t mine,” I said. “How is that fair?”
“I never said that. Ask what you like. I’ll do my best to answer. But not until I’ve gotten my answers. Where did my brother dishonor you? Your bedroom?”
“Dishonor?” I snapped. “That’s the height of hypocrisy coming from you.”
“Dishonor is a gentle word for what he did.” Cristiano curled a hand on top of my thigh. “He lied to both of us. He broke my terms and stole from you in the most malicious way.”