Stealing Beauty (Stolen 1)

One of the security guards made a show of checking us with a metal detector, even though our bribe had already ensured that we wouldn’t be searched.

Valentina only wore cut-off jeans and a t-shirt, but the detector beeped as it passed over her.

“I have pins in my wrist,” she explained, waving her right hand.

I frowned. She hadn’t injured herself when we were teenagers.

“What happened?” I asked, concerned at the idea of her hurt despite my resolution not to care about her.

She shrugged and cut her eyes away from mine. “It was broken.”

I decided it didn’t matter. If she didn’t want to share with me, that was fine. She was nothing more than my property, my prize. She didn’t seem interested in being more to me, anyway. After her rejection of our kiss yesterday, her feelings toward me were crystal clear. It had been foolish and weak of me to forget that I loathed her equally as much. Our little charade as newlyweds had made me delusional.

I wouldn’t make the mistake of falling into that delusion again.Chapter 11ValentinaI couldn’t stop thinking about our kiss. Nearly two days later, and my lips still tingled with the memory of his hot mouth on mine as he held me in the water. For a few minutes, I’d been sixteen again, making out with the boy I loved.

Then, I’d remembered that he was the cruel man who’d abandoned me, the man who was now my captor. I’d tried to break the kiss, but he’d held me ruthlessly.

And my body had responded. I couldn’t seem to help myself when he touched me with such harsh passion.

Our short time in the tropical paradise of San Blas had warped my thought processes, and the orgasm he’d given me, marking me with his cum as he shattered me, had made me forget his betrayal.

Somehow, the kiss had been more intimate than his burning touch on my sex. That had been a new experience, the shocking pleasure overwhelming me. The kiss had stirred too many bittersweet memories, the familiar feel of his mouth subjugating mine reminding me of everything I’d lost when Adrián had left me.

He’d left me to be abused and tormented. To be trapped with Hugo, who broke me and turned me into nothing more than his pretty, soulless plaything.

Misery weighed heavy on my chest as we waited in the lobby of the airport hotel in Panama City. In a few hours, I’d be on a plane to the U.S. Once we arrived, my chances of escaping Adrián’s home were slim. While we’d been on the run, his position was vulnerable. He was separated from his power base, isolated from the men and money he controlled.

But I didn’t have a hope of evading him now. He held my hand fast, watching Mateo check out from our overnight stay at the lobby desk.

I’d just have to bide my time in America. I’d have to survive the agony of his possessive touch, lulling him into a false sense that I was thoroughly under his control. Then, I’d regroup and find a way to get to my brothers in Chicago.

Suddenly, Mateo braced both hands on the desk, leaning forward to get into the clerk’s face.

Something was wrong. I eased closer to Adrián without thinking. I might not want to belong to him, but I still needed his protection to get me safely to the States.

A manager appeared, making calming gestures with his hands outstretched. The clerk’s gaze darted past Mateo’s imposing form to find my face. His attention immediately snapped back to the threat Mateo posed.

Adrián’s hand briefly tightened around mine before releasing me. “Stay here,” he commanded.

He left me standing by the glass front doors while he went to investigate the situation. Clearly, he didn’t want me near the clerk who’d eyed me for a moment.

“Mrs. Sánchez?”

I jolted at the low, male voice behind me, and I spun to face the perceived threat before I could think better of concealing my identity.

“You’re Valentina Sánchez.” It wasn’t a question. Another man materialized beside the one addressing me. They were both wearing security uniforms, their corded arms straining against their navy, short-sleeved shirts.

I shook my head and attempted a bland smile. “You must have me confused with someone else.”

The man held out a smart phone, pointing at the screen. “This is you,” he declared.

My face stared back at me, the picture set beneath a bold headline.

Missing: Valentina Sánchez

Reward for Safe Return“Come with me,” the man urged. “We’ll make sure you get home.”

I swallowed back my mounting panic. “You’re mistaken.” I couldn’t keep the ragged edge of desperation from my tone. I couldn’t let them take me back to Hugo.

I shot a glance in Adrián’s direction, considering calling for him. Should I scream for one jailor to save me from being returned to the other?