The manager's eyes met mine as he walked past, a subtle and secretive smile curving his lips up. Everyone wanted to know the woman who captivated El Diablo. Everyone wanted to be part of the rise of a queen.
Only a few chosen individuals could know of her existence until I got her home to El Infierno.
Even if I hadn't been watching, I'd have known the minute she walked into the pool area. Her presence sucked all the oxygen from the air, demanding attention in the way that only Isa could.
The pictures I’d seen of her through the years hadn’t done her justice. Nothing could compare to her in the flesh after the months that had separated us.
I waited for her to turn her head away from her friend Chloe. Watched her walk in her wedges as if she wasn't sure how to navigate in them, but still managed it with a delicate grace many couldn't hope to achieve. A tropical printed dress covered her bathing suit, vaguely sheer enough to hint at the curves underneath. I focused on the line of cleavage the cover-up revealed down the center of her torso, dipping low enough to show the string that connected the two sides of her bikini together. Rope wove between the fabric on either side, connecting it over her tight stomach and then flowing down to her feet to cover her legs except for the slit that rode up to reveal her thigh.
I turned my attention to Hugo to glare for a moment, meeting his eyes as they widened. He had the grace to look sheepish as he shrugged. I moved my gaze back to Isa, swallowing down my rage that he'd allowed her to leave the hotel in that dress.
Had she been with me, it would have been fine. She'd have me to keep the wolves at bay, but knowing that other men had seen her before I could prevent them from molesting her with their greedy stares?
It set my blood to flame.
She glanced over at Hugo, following his gaze to the pool. The same shock I’d felt years ago vibrated through me the moment her eyes hit mine. The moment those stunning multi-colored eyes connected with mine, the music stopped. Everything ceased to exist but the way her breath caught and she parted her lips only slightly.
Her right canine snagged her lip, nearly biting it in a move that spoke to just how little Isa wanted to commit to anything.
She lived a life of half-measures, even when expressing her desire for me.
I'd fucking fix that.
5 Isa
"Oh fuck," I whispered, my lips burning with the words. There wasn't an expletive in the world that could begin to describe how screwed I was the moment his eyes touched mine.
Something shifted within me, forbidden desires rising to the surface despite my attempts to shove them down deep where they belonged.
"What?" Chloe asked, moving at my side. I felt the moment she saw him. Her body went rigid; her breathing turned shallow as she studied the panther watching me.
Anyone else, and I would have said I was mistaken. That his eyes could only be on my stunning friend, who wore her sexuality like only a woman who felt free could truly do. But somehow, there was no doubting where those mismatched eyes landed.
I felt them on my skin. Felt them in my soul.
I turned away from him, making my way to the bar while Chloe raced to keep up with me, laughing. "What are you doing? You need to get your ass in that pool."
"No, I need a damn drink. That's what I need."
"You don't drink," Hugo said as he stepped up beside me at the bar.
"I do now," I snapped at him, spinning forward when the other man's eyes met mine once again in my view behind Hugo. A sinful smirk graced his face as his lips tipped up.
"And what exactly are you drinking?" Hugo asked, nodding his head to the bartender.
Groaning, I dropped my head on the bar. "I don't know. What do I start with?"
"Wine," Hugo laughed. "Maybe I won't end up holding your hair back while you puke this way." He turned to the bartender, catching his attention and ordering. “Un vino tinto.” My eyes tracked the bartender's movements, watching as he poured the liquid from the bottle and into the glass.
Even watching the process, anxiety hit me the moment he placed the glass in front of me. Without a seal on the bottle, the memory of being drugged felt closer than ever. I swallowed back the panic attack that hovered at the horizons, threatening to blur my vision, and lifted the glass to my mouth. Forcing down a hard swallow of the liquid, I found it easier to breathe as soon as the first gulp went down despite the bitter flavor.
It was irrational to see drugs in all fluids everywhere I went, but after my sister had played a part in my near date rape, I found it almost impossible not to suspect everyone of such a thing.
"What are you doing?" Chloe asked, taking the wineglass from my hand and setting it on the bar top. "What happened to living?"
"I'm living. I'm drinking and enjoying the music," I argued.
"You're hiding. Let him show you exactly what it is to live, Isa," she said, biting her bottom lip as she looked over her shoulder at him.
"I am not hiding," I whispered, rolling my eyes up to stare at the moon in the sky overhead. "I'm being practical. I wouldn't know what to do with a man like that."
"Honey, nobody knows what to do with a man like that. That doesn't mean you can't lay back and let him take you to heaven," she giggled. Hugo groaned his frustration at our side, drawing a laugh from even me despite my anxiety. "You can't stay a virgin forever."
"Who the hell
