Stealing Beauty (Stolen 1)

My brain felt strangely slow and fuzzy, and I blinked a few times to regain my focus. I laid on a soft mattress, sprawled out beside Hugo on our bed.

I blinked again, peering past his leering visage.

We weren’t in our bedroom. I didn’t recognize the opulent room, which was an ostentatious study in gold gilding and royal blue.

“Adrián hasn’t arrived yet,” he told me. “But don’t worry, cariña. I’m not going to kill you, even if he doesn’t come.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “I’m far too fond of you to ever let you go. We’re going back home to Bogotá. It doesn’t matter if I kill Adrián today. If he doesn’t come for you, it will mean war. He’ll die eventually.”

I jerked upright with a gasp, reality crashing down on me. I wasn’t trapped in my old life on Hugo’s estate. I belonged to Adrián. He’d come for me. He’d saved me.

Hugo loomed closer, and I shoved him away. I tried to get to my feet, but whatever drugs he’d given me still lingered in my system. The world spun around me, and I swayed. He caught me, trapping me against his rounded stomach.

“Don’t worry,” he cooed. “We’ll go home and put all this unpleasantness behind us.”

I pushed at his chest, and the cage of his arms tightened around me. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I hissed, twisting in his harsh grip.

His cold laugh sent ice racing up my spine. “What happened to my dutiful wife?” he asked, his voice heavy with perverse pleasure. “Am I going to have to tame you all over again?” His erection pressed into my belly, his body responding to my struggles.

I couldn’t stop trying to escape him. “Adrián will kill you,” I seethed, writhing against his cruel hold.

He laughed again. “No, cariña. I’m going to kill him. You’re coming home with me, where you belong.”

“Fuck you,” I spat at him. “I don’t belong to you. I’ll never let you touch me again.”

I couldn’t get enough leverage with my arms to strike him, but I did have a little space to maneuver my legs. I brought my knee up hard against his groin.

He collapsed, his hands dropping away from me as he clutched at his balls. Hatred washed through me in a red wave, tempting me to continue beating him.

Escape was more important. I couldn’t let Adrián come here to save me. I’d heard what Hugo had told him over the phone. If Adrián came to Caesar’s house, Hugo would kill him.

I had to save myself.

I bolted for the bedroom door, flinging myself against it as I turned the knob. I smacked into a wall of muscle. Tobias had been standing guard outside. He grabbed my upper arms, maneuvering my flailing body.

“Let me go!” I demanded on a shriek, earning nothing more than bruises as I twisted against his grip.

“Give her to me,” Hugo ground out.

He glared at me, his dark eyes glinting with malevolence as he pushed up onto his feet. The lines of his face were still drawn with pain, but he managed to stand.

“You’re going to be sorry for that,” he threatened, stalking toward me.

“I won’t,” I flung at him. “And if you try to put your dick in my mouth, I’ll bite it off.” A half-mad laugh bubbled up from my chest. “If you can even get it up.” He might be standing, but the sweat beaded on his brow told me he was still in considerable pain.

He grabbed at me, wrenching me away from Tobias so he could slam me back against the wall. My head cracked against it, making stars burst across my vision. He shook me so hard, my teeth rattled.

“How many bones will I have to shatter this time?” he asked, his voice deadly soft. “You’ll be mine again, Valentina. Even if I have to break every bone in your body.”

“I’ll never be yours,” I hissed. “I never was.”

He slapped me hard, making my head spin. “You’re my little whore,” he ground out. “You always have been.” He groped at my breasts. “Even when you were a child, you teased me, tempted me. I should have fucked you the day Vicente took you into his home. I waited two years before he allowed me to have you. You owe me for that lost time. You owe me everything.”

He gripped my sex, his fingers digging into my labia through my skirt. “It’s a good thing you were still a virgin when we married. If Adrián had claimed you, I would have killed you both a long time ago.” His spittle sprayed my cheeks as he turned purple with possessive rage. “He’s fucked you, hasn’t he?”

I lifted my chin, defiant. “We made love. Something you wouldn’t understand. I love Adrián. I’ll never love you. I’ll never give myself to you again.”