Violent Delights by Jessica Hawkins

Author:Jessica Hawkins [Hawkins, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780998815596
Published: 2019-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

12

Natalia

Diego’s hand slipped higher up my dress as the glowing red hand of his speedometer rose. He sped away from the club through deserted roads as if he also knew of the after-dark danger Cristiano had warned me of.

Only the warm lights of the dashboard glowed against its all-black interior. Silence stretched over the smooth hum of his Mercedes once I’d finished relaying most of my conversation with Cristiano. All in all, there wasn’t much to tell.

“Are you okay?” Diego asked for the second time.

“I’m fine.” Because you’re a survivor. Like the monarch. Like me. Cristiano’s words echoed in my mind.

“He kept touching you because he knew I was there.” He released my leg to grip the steering wheel. “I assumed he’d frisk you, but that’s all.”

I wouldn’t even call what he’d done frisking. Cristiano had tested my boundaries as he’d taunted Diego. He’d had his hands everywhere from my ankles to my thighs, my neck and face. He’d touched me in ways only Diego should.

And Diego had let him—or had he not seen well enough the liberties Cristiano had taken with my body? “Cristiano said next time he frisks me, he won’t stop his hands at the gates of heaven, even if you’re watching.”

“Heaven?” Diego’s nostrils flared as he hit the steering wheel. “Let him try. I’ll cut off his devil hands.” He snorted not unlike a Pamplona bull. “Not that you’ll ever be in that position again.”

I wasn’t sure what aroused me more—Diego’s possessiveness or the idea of Cristiano boldly taking what didn’t belong to him. I only knew that what aroused me, also horrified me. What was wrong with me for getting excited Cristiano might want me when his brother already had me? The same Cristiano who, the last decade, I’d vehemently hated? I shifted in the leather seat. “He only said it to scare me,” I said. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“I know. Still . . . I should knock his teeth out.” Diego massaged around his nose. “It wasn’t easy to watch. He knows you’re mine and that you’re the quickest way to get under my skin.”

“He only thinks of me as a weapon against you.” And if anyone knew how to wield a weapon, it was Cristiano. “I’m sorry I didn’t get more information.”

“You were perfect.” He glanced over at me, running a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes. “Cristiano didn’t scare you, did he?”

He’d tried. But had he succeeded? With his comments about Natasha and about how he could have me if he wanted, what unnerved me most was that I wasn’t scared. “No.”

A dog darted into the street. Diego hit the brakes, and I outstretched my arms to catch myself against the glove compartment.

“Shit. Sorry,” he said as he decelerated for a yellow light. “You all right?”

I glanced behind us for the dog, but it was gone. “Yes.”

Diego stopped the car at an intersection and slid his hand in mine. “You look so beautiful tonight. I can’t say I blame him for being so forward.

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