As I wait for Noelle to meet me at the car, I can’t help but think back to Cisco’s actions and innuendoes and suspect he might have another plan afoot. Otherwise, why invite me to accompany his sister when I am, for lack of a better word, a ticking bomb? With the bounty over my head, even having the protection entourage on which he’d insisted, could prove dangerous. Why risk the safety of his sister like that?
Although the entire thing raises some question marks, I’m not about to pass up a great opportunity. After all, it’s not that easy to find myself alone with Noelle. Certainly, it won’t be now that she knows my intentions and considering the fear in her eyes.
Leaning against the car, I spare a glance to the other black car waiting behind—our protection detail for the day.
I have to wonder if the news that I’m back and under DeVille protection has reached Michele’s ears. A small chuckle escapes me as I imagine just how he’d react—breaking something, no doubt.
But my mirth is quickly dispelled as the object of my disdain makes her appearance. She’s wearing a black blouse that’s fitted to her torso and a pair of high-waisted black jeans, both of which emphasize the contours of her curves. Catching the direction of my errant thoughts, I curse myself as I step aside, motioning for her to get in first.
Her upper lip twitches in displeasure at the sight of me. And as she gets inside the car, she slams the door closed after her, locking it. Catching a glimpse of a cheeky smile, I know this journey won’t be easy.
Shaking my head, I quickly round the car, snatching the other door open before she has time to lock it too.
A scowl on her face as she sees me get in, she moves as far away from me as possible.
Taking a deep breath, I calm myself until the car starts moving, our entourage following close behind. When we’re a safe distance away from the house, I simply roll up the partition and mute the speakers so the driver can’t hear us.
‘What… What are you doing?’ She eyes me warily, crowding herself in that one corner as she fidgets with her hands in her lap.
The tinted windows make it so that the entire interior of the car is swathed in darkness, even though the sun is shining outside. Her face is bathed in shadows, but even so, I can make out the chiseled contours of her features, her small nose tipped upwards and the sharpness of her cheeks. Her mouth, slightly parted as her labored breath makes it through her lips, is small and dainty—like the rest of her.
She looks the epitome of innocence, all of it crowned by her eyes. Sometimes brown, sometimes green, depending how the light hits them, her eyes are round and big, speaking of naïveté and kindness—the exact opposite of her personality. She is the poster child for the old adage that appearances deceive, and my hands ball into fists the more I stare at her.
I’m mad at her for simply existing, but I’m also mad at myself. For noticing her. For noticing more than I ever should.
‘Isn’t it obvious? I’m giving us some privacy,’ I give her a wide smile as I settle comfortably in my seat opposite hers, raising an eyebrow as I dare her to do something about it.
‘Oh, is this the first step in your torture? What were you and my brother calling it,’ she purses her lips, ‘total annihilation of the heart?’
‘Bingo,’ I snap my fingers at her in a mock salute.
‘Well,’ she forces a smile, bending forward. A beam of light hits her face, highlighting that beauty that I’d learned to abhor. ‘Too bad,’ she whispers in a low voice, ‘you chose someone who has nothing to lose, nor a heart to annihilate,’ she adds confidently.
‘Is that so?’ I parry. There’s still quite the distance between us, but I can feel her presence filling the entire space. Her smell, in particular, floods my nostrils the moment she shifts in her seat. A mix of magnolia and bergamot, it leaves a sweet yet spicy taste behind as I feel her flavor on my tongue.
A sliver of annoyance spears through me, my body tense as I barely hold myself back from causing her bodily harm.
Barely.
‘Everyone has something to lose, Noelle.’
I speak from personal experience. I may not value anything currently, but my pending revenge is something I would not like to be taken away from me—after all, it’s the only thing keeping me going. ‘It’s just a matter of hitting the right spot,’ I mention and she blinks, frowning. ‘And you…’ I trail off, enjoying unsettling her, ‘you do have something to lose.’ I smirk.
She looks at me intently before scoffing, bringing her arms over her chest in a way that emphasizes the swell of her breasts, beckoning my eyes to focus there instead on the matter at hand.
I quickly catch myself, my eyes narrowing as I realize what she’s trying to do.
‘Really? Let me guess. The fact that my brother thinks I may have a thing for you?’ She smiles. ‘Why would you even go for that? Out of ideas, golden boy?’
I raise an eyebrow at her.
‘Golden boy?’ I ask, amused, before my expression turns serious.
In one second I have her by the throat as I lean into her, my voice caressing her earlobe. ‘That,’ I start with a dry chuckle, noting the shiver that goes down her body. She’s holding herself still, but I can tell she’s not unaffected. ‘Is just the beginning. By the time I’m done with you, no one is going to believe a word from your mouth.’
‘What…’ she brings her hands up, her palms pushing at my shoulders.
‘But it’s not as if it wasn’t true, now, was it?’ I ask in an arrogant tone. ‘I see how you look at me,’ I purr seductively.
‘What are you talking about?’ She tries to protest, struggling in my hold.
Turning her head to the side, I grip her jaw as I stare into her eyes, our faces millimeters apart. I’m so close, her scent is even stronger as it settles on my tongue, the taste of her counterfeit sweetness nauseating.
‘You like what you see, don’t you? I don’t disgust you now. You’d fuck me now that I’m not a slave anymore, wouldn’t you?’ I ask in a sinister tone, my fingers tightening over her delicate skin.
Ah, but it would be so easy to break it. Just a little more force and…
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ her voice quivers. ‘You’re insane,’ she whispers, trying to turn away so she wouldn’t meet my eyes anymore.
‘Look at me!’ I command. ‘You don’t get to lie to me, Noelle. Not when I can see the truth reflected in your eyes. The lust, the desire,’ I chuckle, ‘the fact that you’re horrified about it…’ I trail off and her eyes flicker in reaction. ‘But most of all I see the guilt. The way you flinch when I talk about the past.’
She moves her head from side to side, slowly shaking her head, her big eyes widening with fear.
‘No,’ she whispers, and her husky voice full of fear does things to my self-control. It makes me want to put it on repeat, make her forever repent for what she’s done.
‘Come on, admit it,’ I laugh derisively. ‘Here, I’ll even let you cop a feel,’ I say as I grab her wrist, bringing her palm to my chest. ‘I’m not trash staining your carpet now, am I?’ I smirk as I take in her expression. Because she might deny it all she wants, but behind all the fear and disgust, there is desire.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she continues with her feeble pretense, still seeking to look away from me.
‘You do,’ I snort. ‘What, now that I’m not just meat and bones waiting to wither away I’m suddenly a human being? A man?’ I taunt her, getting even closer to her and succeeding in making her squirm. ‘Say it, Noelle,’ I brush my mouth across her jaw and her skin reacts immediately, goosebumps appearing all over. ‘Say it. Say what a fucking hypocrite you are!’
‘Let me go,’ she tries to push me, but I easily subdue her. ‘Let me go!’ She yells.
One minute she’s struggling to move past me, the next I have her sprawled on the seat, my hand on her throat as I loom over her.
A maniacal smile erupts on my face as I see her wild eyes and the way terror seeps into them as she realizes there’s no way out.
Her arms are flailing by the side as she hits and scratches, trying to get out of my hold.
‘Yes,’ I purr, her attempts only increasing my enjoyment of the moment, ‘fight me. Fight me, Noelle, because even I feel sorry destroying someone as pathetic as you. So show me all that fight you have in you,’ I laugh at her.
She stops, going completely still as she turns her eyes to me, blinking.
‘Kill me,’ she suddenly says, completely serious. ‘Kill me then. If my existence offends you so much, then kill me. But that’s not going to bring Lucero back.’
My hands tighten instinctively at the mention of Lucero’s name and her breath catches in her throat as I apply more pressure.
‘Don’t you dare say her name!’
‘Why? Didn’t you say I killed her?’ she grits out, her voice harsh.
‘You…’ my nostrils flare in anger at her gall.
My thumb brushes against her pulse point, and I feel the raging storm inside her body. For all the bravado on her face, it’s all a pretense.
‘Tell me why and I might just do it,’ I lie. Because even if she tells me, I won’t go easy on her.
Her brother was right that death is a way out. No, the punishment should be life—hell on earth. The only type of suffering someone like her deserves.
She shakes her head, trying to move out of my hold.
‘I can’t.’
‘Why?’ A sick smile pulls at my lips. ‘Afraid I’d find out how depraved you are, sweetheart?’ Her eyes flash at the mock endearment. ‘Well, newsflash. Nothing about you surprises me.’
A twitch in her eye alerts me that I hit a sore spot.
‘Fuck. You!’ she enunciates right before she spits at me, her saliva hitting my right cheek.
‘Right,’ I chuckle, ‘you wish.’ Holding on to her with one hand, I wipe my cheek with the back of my other hand.
Her lips purse in aggression and her feral look from before is back. She sure has a lot of fight in her for someone who was just asking me to kill her moments ago.
‘Why? Why can’t you tell me?’ I ask, deciding to play her game.
‘You wouldn’t believe me anyway, so go ahead and kill me,’ she simply says, raising her chin a notch to imbue some arrogance into her words—of course, only fitting of la diabla.
‘Tell me anyway,’ I indulge her, curious what she’d cook up.
Those big eyes stare at me as she seems to search for her words, opening her mouth and closing it several times before she says something that has me pinned to the spot.
‘I don’t remember.’
I blink at her, waiting for the joke to come. But she doesn’t seem amused.
‘I don’t remember anything from the fire,’ she repeats, and fuck me…she’s serious.
One second I’m staring at her, the next laughter bubbles in my throat, and I can’t help myself as I simply fall back, holding to my midriff as I let amusement overtake me.
She quickly gets up, taking advantage of my distraction and dragging herself to the other end of the seat.
‘You’re slipping, Raf,‘ she snickers. ‘What will you tell my brother when he sees the marks on my neck?’ She presses her fingers lightly to her neck, massaging the skin I abused.
Even in the poor lighting of the car I can see that I’ve likely left some prints on her, but the prospect only makes me more delighted.
I shrug, completely at ease as I settle comfortably in my seat.
‘Really, Noelle?’ I shake my head at her. ‘I thought you were smarter than that.’
There’s a pause as she frowns at me, clearly not understanding my innuendo.
‘I’m sure your brother will understand that you might be into some kinky shit,’ I smirk. ‘Especially with all that crazy buried inside of you.’
Her face falls in outrage at my words and she scurries even further, her back hitting the door.
‘You’re insane,’ she mutters, her eyes unblinking.
‘I’m not. Not really. Certainly not like you.’
‘I’m not crazy.’
‘Uhum,’ I mockingly agree. ‘If you say so.’
‘I’m not,’ she says more vehemently. ‘And I didn’t kill Lucero either.’
‘I thought you didn’t remember?’ I raise an eyebrow.
‘That…’ her brows pinch together in a frown. ‘I don’t. But I’m sure I didn’t kill her. I couldn’t have. Not when she was my friend.’
‘Do you abuse all your friends?’ I retort, watching her blench. The more she talks the more disgusted I become by the lies she’s spewing and how she’s trying to cover her tracks.
‘I’ve never abused Lucero,’ she whispers, but there’s guilt both in her eyes and in her voice, her tone slightly lower than before, and a bitter flavor coats my tongue at the sound.
‘Liar.’
‘I’m telling the truth,’ she cries out.
‘Liar,’ I continue, slowly advancing towards her.
There’s nowhere to run anymore, so when I grab her arm, bringing her close to me and pinning her to my body, she can only attempt to fight me but without succeeding.
‘You’re such a liar, Noelle,’ the corner of my lip tugs up in a derisive smile. ‘Such a little liar.’ I muse out loud, her fiery eyes shooting daggers at me as she tries to stare me down. It’s all quite entertaining, really.
A slip of a girl who cannot even escape my grasp, but who thinks her aggressive glare will deter me.
‘I’m telling the truth,’ she replies, her tone confident this time. ‘Better yet, ask my therapist. She’ll gladly tell you I have amnesia,’ she quips in satisfaction.
‘Hmm,’ I murmur, leaning even closer and noting the way her body reacts to mine in spite of her fear—in spite of everything. A tremor goes down her spine, and I feel her boneless in my arms—entirely at my mercy.
‘You’re really devious, Noelle. Well played,’ I praise her. ‘You might have everyone else fooled, but I’m on to you.’ I tell her just as the car draws to a halt.
She wastes no time in pushing me off her and unlocking the door, rushing out of the car and into the building.
