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I lean back and study her. “Absolutely.”
She laughs and brushes a stray hair from her face. “Alright, that’s fair. Thank you for bringing Cruz here and letting him stay. I know it’s going to cost you. I know how important your relationship with my uncle is to your business and helping my brother is only putting yourself in trouble. It really means a lot.”
“You’re welcome.”
She inches closer. “Why did you do it, though? I mean, you didn’t have to pull Cruz out of there. You could’ve done… something else.”
“Honest answer?”
She nods. “Yeah. I want to know.”
“I did it for you.”
She chews her thumbnail. “You did?”
“But I also did it for Cruz. And because I think Ruben’s a piece of shit.”
“We can agree on that.”
“Anyone who uses their family like he used Cruz, or treats them the way he treated Cruz, doesn’t deserve respect.”
“Ruben’s always been like that.”
“Then your cousin needs to be taught how to be a man.” I lean forward, a restrained anger simmering in my stomach. “What did he do to you?” I ask quietly.
She smiles but it doesn’t seem happy. Instead, she looks away toward the windows and leans her hands back, taking some of her weight. I look at the line of her arm, the swell of her chest, the curve of her hips. I could bury my face between her legs and I’d be in heaven. Or maybe if I could slip inside her after firing a bullet into her cousin’s skull.
“Ruben’s always been an asshole,” she says, still not looking at me. “He’s Don Nardo’s son and he thinks that makes him… special, I guess. My older brother Javi’s always been obsessed with him too, which only makes it so much worse. He’s like a pathetic puppy dog. And Ruben… he’s not normal, Bass. There’s something broken in him.”
“Tell me what he did.”
“Nothing and everything. He never touched me if that’s what you’re worried about… but it’s other stuff. He constantly put me down. Told me I was worthless. Told me I was good for nothing but having babies. I’d come downstairs to find him in our living room sneering at me and making ugly comments. Ever since I was young, he was like that. And this one time…” She trails off and shakes her head. “He was needlessly cruel and enjoyed it too much.”
I put a hand on her leg. “I promise, Marisol, he can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I believe you.” Her smile is sad as she shuffles closer to me. “But you already saw it. Ruben doesn’t care about me. He only cares about power. It’s about control and putting me in my place. He’ll use Cruz against me, and if he can’t do that, he’ll use Javi, or my parents, or anything else he can find, all because he enjoys it.”
I shift nearer and slide my hips along hers. She shivers under my touch, eyes sharpening as she meets mine. I lift her up onto the edge of my desk, spreading her knees until I’m sitting between them. I nudge up her blouse and kiss her belly button. She gasps softly and, fuck, it’s the only thing keeping me from melting down.
“You are not owned by anyone,” I whisper, and a part of me can understand her obsessive need to escape now. Her cousin’s been bullying and abusing her for years. “You do not belong to me or to your family. You are your own person.”
“Easy for you to say.” She’s chewing her bottom lip as I kiss down to her hips. “Sure as hell feels like I don’t have many options.”
She’s right and I know it, but I don’t want to admit that to myself. I don’t like the idea that I’m keeping this woman captive. This beautiful, lively, clever, caring woman. When all my life, ever since my brother, I’ve been struggling to take care of my family.
Isn’t Mari my family now too? Doesn’t she deserve the same level of respect?
I kiss lower, reaching her button. I unhook it, pop it open, and tug. She lifts her hips and lets me peel down her jeans, kissing as I go, until I reach the top of her lacy black panties.
“One day, you’ll have all the options in the world.” I kiss and kiss, going lower, until I’m over top her mound. She whimpers softly. “You’ll have whatever you want, Marisol. You’ve lived long enough like a prisoner in your own story.”
“Oh,” she says when I tug at her panties. “I don’t know if you’re right.”
“I am.” I slide them down. “I know I am.” I kiss her inner thigh until I reach her lovely pussy, light and downy, beautiful and delicious. I trace her folds with my tongue.
“I thought… ah… I came here… to thank you.”
“Consider this thanks enough.” I glide my tongue along her clit. “More than thanks enough.” I ease a finger inside. She’s warm and wet already, soaking as I stroke her, working my tongue.
