I think about the conversation with Ulrich from the bar about why we do things the way we do. Even if he or the rest of my crew were upset, killing me or doing something that might cause me to end my pirating days, would also mean an end to it for them.
“If what?” Leira presses.
My eyes shift back to her, realizing she’s still there.
“I’m the only one with the information on our targets. Without me, they have no access to account information, numbers, locations…nothing.”
“How did you get that information?”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“Is it?”
“We agreed to tell each other enough to be informed. Don’t act like you aren’t holding something back.”
I see a flash of it in her eyes. That good old Catholic guilt. She is, in fact, holding something back.
But she’s quick to recover.
Leira throws up her hands up in frustration. “Okay, fine. My oldest living sister is a ballerina. The one after her is in rehab once again. The third is a saint, off doing missionary work. The only other one left is probably dead by now. Happy? Now you know everything about the Montoya family.”
“Montoya,” I repeat with a small grin on my lips.
I can see her cursing herself in her head over that one.
“How about you? What’s your last name?” She asks.
I laugh. “Nice try. But that truly is irrelevant.”
“Okay, what about this father of yours you want to kill. Do I at least get to know his name?”
“Again, nice try.”
She punches me in the arm.
“Joder!” I curse, grabbing my arm and glaring at her.
“You already know it’s you these people are after! Now, I’ve been seen all over Ibiza with you, and I’m a target too. You obviously haven’t been as careful as you thought. Hell, despite your assurances, it could be this friend of yours who outed you. Maybe he’s done going through you to rob people and wants a bigger payday? Maybe he got in trouble and used you as his ticket out of it? Maybe he just hates your guts? How can I say safe if I don’t even know who might be after me?”
Everything she utters has a ring of possibility to it. I trust my men, but trust only goes so far when one’s feet are being held to the fire. Maybe Ulrich’s warning early wasn’t about the rest of the men on my team, but about him.
“You’re safe as long as you stay with me.” It’s as much a warning to her as it is a reassurance. Just because I’ve added more danger to our little adventure, doesn’t mean I’m ready to set her free.
“So this is just more leverage?” she spits, looking as though she’d love to punch me again.
“If that’s what it takes for you to stop asking, then yes, consider it leverage.”
Now, she does lash out physically. This time it’s her legs. She unfurls them from beneath her and kicks out, her feet pummeling my thighs, barely making an impact against the hard muscle.
“I’m so sick of everyone keeping me in the dark, forcing me here and there under the premise that it’s for my own good. I hate not having just one fucking ounce of control over my own damn life!”
I just stare at her battering feet and legs with a mixture of angry surprise and wonder. They are so damn sexy, especially now that they are so wild and uninhibited.
My lack of reaction only seems to heighten her anger and frustration. She stops kicking and rises up on her knees to lean over me, so she’s right in my face.
“Does it make you feel powerful? The big, strong man, kidnapping a woman just because he can? Taking photos of her naked to blackmail her? Keeping her in the dark about the danger she’s in?” she seethes right in my face.
I just stare back calmly, waiting for this to blow over. I suppose she’s due a rant considering everything that has happened to her today.
Then, she slaps me. “I don’t care! Throw me out to the wolves to fend for myself. Send that photo to whomever. At least then I’ll know what the danger is!”
I blink in surprise at both the lingering sting of her hand and those words. I can’t help the subtle smile of awe and amusement that comes to my face.
She slaps me again.
The smile remains, maybe even more amused now.
Now she’s just enraged. She curls her hands into fists, attacking my chest and shoulders.
“Go ahead,” she says, practically in a growl now. “Do what you want. You’ve given me nothing to work with. You hold all the cards. You have all the power. I have absolutely nothing, no one.”
I allow it for longer than I should. She has far more energy than I expected. But this needs to stop. Mostly because none of it is true.
I finally lash out to grab both her wrists before they can pummel me any further. She seems surprised by my strength as I easily force her back onto the seat of the couch. The wrists I still hold tightly to are forced up to either side of her head as I hover over her. Her large brown eyes are wide with surprise…and desire. It only stirs the same buzz inside my head and heat throughout my body.
“That’s not true, Leira,” I growl into her face. “You have me.”
Chapter Twenty-Two Leira
I struggle underneath Enrique, which only seems to excite him.
And me.
What the hell is the matter with me? Every bit of sin I commit only seems to make me want more. I only feel something when I’m doing something I shouldn’t. I’m only happy when I’ve delved into the depraved or the full force of my emotions; when I fight back at everything that’s kept me in check.
Including the man whose body now presses into mine.
“Let go of me.” Even I sense the weakness of my voice. I might as well have just encouraged him to go further.
He shifts his body so
