I pull back, my lips hovering just over hers as my chest heaves with ragged breaths. Tentatively, she presses her hand to my cheek, and then tilts her chin up and brushes her lips over mine. I swallow a groan at the small contact. She’s so pure, so broken… a chaste kiss from her feels like she just offered me a priceless gift. The urge to rip her clothes off and fuck her on this desk has me pressing between her legs. She stiffens, and I instantly pull back. Her eyes are closed, and she’s inhaling deep breaths. “Avecita, look at me.” She doesn’t. “Don’t make me ask twice,” I warn. Her eyes snap open, meeting mine. I see the battle raging through her mind, flight warring against innocent curiosity. “Don’t look away from me.”
Her eyes lock with mine, so trusting. I glide my free hand over the curve of her waist, to her hip. “Rafe, I…” she trails off when I lift a brow at her. She’s sprawled on my desk, her golden hair messy and her lips slightly swollen. My cock is pressed against the material of my pants, blood racing through my veins like a stampede. With a concerted effort, I force myself to step back until I’m standing two feet away from her. Little Anna cannot handle the things I want to do to her, and so I must leash the beast.
She sits up on the desk, and her cheeks stain a deep pink before she covers her face with her hands. “Why are you doing this to me?”
I’m not sure I have an answer for her. She slowly lowers her hands from her face, and I see the tears shining in her eyes, waiting to fall.
I ignore her because I have no explanation. “Why did you run?”
“Because I know what you are,” she whispers.
“Oh? And what am I, little warrior?” I ask, barely containing the growl in my voice.
“I saw you.” She glares at me, that anger of hers in full view. “With that girl. You lied to me. That story about your sister…was it all just part of some twisted game? What, you wanted me to trust you so you could break me that much more easily?” Hysteria starts to creep into her voice, and the tears fall, tracking down her pale cheeks in silky lines.
“I have never lied to you.”
“The girl chained in the basement would suggest otherwise.”
Fuck.
She thinks I lied about Violet. Like a red mist, the rage grips me hard, and I rush her, backing her against the edge of the desk. Her rapid breaths blow over my lips as her trembling body is crushed against mine. “Don’t ever call me a fucking liar. I told you I don’t deal in slaves, and I don’t. That girl is a mule.” I think I finally expected her fear because I know I’m so very close to the edge of control, but she doesn’t emit fear. Confusion yes, but not fear. “She’s paid to smuggle drugs. Two of her friends ran with half a million dollars worth of cocaine in their stomachs.”
Her face pales. “That’s…”
“Barbaric? It’s business, Anna. They are paid to do it, and they choose to do it. But they have now stolen from me.” I reach out, wiping away her pretty tears. “I’m not a good man. To steal from me has dire consequences.”
Her brows pull together in a frown. “They smuggle drugs for you?” I nod. “Did you let her go? The girl in the basement?”
I take a deep breath. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to, avecita.” I stroke her blonde hair away from her face, and I expect her to recoil but instead she leans into my touch.
“You’re a bad person,” she breathes.
“Yes.”
“I shouldn’t feel safe with you.” She falls forward, pressing her forehead to my chest.
I stroke a hand through her hair. “I would never hurt you.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” she admits.
“Anna—”
“Dominges said… he said I’m priceless,” she says quietly. “That you don’t know who I am. What does that mean? Who does he think I am?”
“I don’t know. I’m trying to find out.”
She nods and pulls her face from my chest. I watch her as the anguish clears from her features, replaced by a mask of indifference. It’s like she just rids herself of emotion at the flip of a switch.
I tilt her head back until her eyes lock with mine. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” I vow hastily.
“We both know you can’t make that promise.”
I open my mouth to respond when there’s a knock at the door. Clenching my jaw, I stare at her. “Come in.”
The door creaks open at my back. “Boss, I have something for you.” Samuel.
“Give me a second.” The door clicks shut behind him.
I stroke my thumbs over Anna’s jaw, her skin so pale beneath my hands. “No running, avecita.” I tower over her as I bring my lips to her ear. “I’ll only catch you.” And then I let go of her and walk out of the room before I forget about everything else and try to save her. At this point, the only one she needs saving from is me.