Chapter 1
Mateo
“Tie her up,” Adrián ordered, his voice clipped with impatience. My boss hovered on the brink of madness, but I would protect Sofia from him at any cost. If he tried to harm her, I’d attack him, no matter if he was my best friend.
Maneuvering her willowy body with care, I set her down on one of his straight-backed, wooden dining chairs. A length of rope lay on the table, waiting to bind her.
I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that Valentina’s life was on the line. I’d help Adrián put on a little show in order to save the woman he loved.
A show. That’s all this is.
He won’t hurt Sofia.
My friend was ruthless, sadistic. And his obsessive love for Valentina had only exacerbated those qualities rather than soothing them. As long as his love was in danger, Adrián would be volatile. His capacity for brutality eclipsed even my own.
He passed me the rope, pressing it insistently into my hands. Steeling my resolve, I quickly bound Sofia’s wrists behind her back, tying her in place with expert speed. Rope came in handy in my line of work.
And in my darker sexual predilections.
Innocent, sweet Sofia didn’t deserve any of this. I’d shielded her from my crueler impulses for years. I would shield her from Adrián’s cruelty, too.
A low groan left her chest as she stirred back to consciousness. Instantly, I was on my knees before her. She sagged forward, her glossy, mahogany curls falling over her delicate features. I cupped her cheek in my hand, supporting the lolling weight of her head. Her skin was softer than I’d imagined in my fantasies. My fingers stroked her cheekbone before exploring the gently sloping line of her jaw.
“Do it properly,” Adrián snapped.
I shot a glower at him over my shoulder, not breaking contact with Sofia. Now that I was finally touching her after long years of denial, I couldn’t pull away.
My friend’s pale green eyes glowed with fevered desperation that bordered on insanity.
“You do it, or I will,” he threatened softly.
No fucking way. He wouldn’t touch Sofia. Not when I could be the one to bind her.
Fuck.
How many times had I come in my hand thinking about having her at my mercy? I’d sworn I wouldn’t defile her with my deviant desires, but now that I had her trapped and vulnerable…
My perversions were too deeply ingrained to deny. I liked how helpless she was.
My blood heated with a fiery cocktail of desire and anger. I was furious with Adrián for forcing me into this dark scenario that I’d always craved but had firmly suppressed for Sofia’s sake. She was all lightness and purity, and as much as I coveted her, I’d never wanted to despoil that sweet innocence with my depraved urges.
I have to do this, I reasoned. Valentina’s life depended on it.
Sofia’s father, Caesar Hernández, had kidnapped Valentina in a power play to usurp Adrián. For a decade, Caesar had been a reluctant associate, helping my boss expand his cocaine empire throughout the west coast. Now, he’d chosen to ally himself with Adrián’s enemy, Hugo Sánchez, and orchestrate a coup. Caesar planned to ingratiate himself with Hugo by offering Valentina to him as a gift.
Adrián wouldn’t let Hugo have the woman he loved, not even over his dead body. War was brewing in our organization, and we had to end it before it began.
Sofia was the key to our victory. Caesar might be a dirty, oily son of a bitch, but he doted on Sofia, his only child. Once he understood that we had her, I was certain he’d do anything to get her back, including throwing Hugo to the wolves and surrendering Valentina to Adrián.
Caesar was well aware of my brutal nature, as well as my perverted tendencies. The threat of sexual violence against his precious daughter would bring him back in line.
I retrieved a second coil of rope from where it lay on the dining table. When I drew it around her chest, my fingers skimmed beneath her breasts. I could feel her body heat through her thin purple dress, and I wondered if her skin hidden by the cotton garment was as soft as her cheek.
I fell into a methodical headspace, losing myself in the familiar tie as I drew the rope back over her breasts. Her faint, rosy scent permeated my senses, intoxicating me. All my focus honed on her: the unique, feminine way she smelled; her gentle warmth; the smooth bronze skin that peeked above the neckline of her dress.
My touch lingered there, trailing over the tempting swells of her breasts.
Sofia was bound. Completely vulnerable. At my mercy.
And my dick was getting hard.
When I drew the rope taut, her lashes fluttered, and she let out a husky moan that sounded almost like desire.
I swallowed a grunt, struggling to get my own desire under control. I tied the rope off behind her back, binding her breasts in a lewd display. A hungry growl rumbled from my chest, and I caressed her cheek again, utterly entranced.