Ruthless Savior - Julia Sykes Page 0,41

a lot, and you’ve been on this reckless journey all alone for a long time. You’ve survived by pushing forward, no matter the cost.”

She would tell me more about what she’d been through later, but now wasn’t the time to delve into her trauma. I needed her full attention on me.

“I’ll understand if it takes you a while to settle in here and to accept that you no longer need to fight for survival every second of every day.” My hand hooked beneath her jaw, anchoring her in my steady gaze. “My possessiveness and refusal to allow you to leave aren’t something you should fear. There’s nothing for you to be afraid of anymore. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe.”

Before she could protest, I continued on in a harder tone. “And no, I’m not giving you a choice until your mind clears from whatever trauma you’ve been through. I’ll protect you from anything that might threaten you, and that includes yourself. I won’t apologize for it. The matter is no longer open for discussion. Do you understand?”

I kept her fixed in my unyielding stare until she swallowed hard and nodded. The nonverbal response satisfied me. I didn’t want to hear another word about her desire for freedom or her fear of my possessiveness.

Marisol would not fear me. I wouldn’t let her.

Chapter 14

Marisol

My hand hovered over the doorknob, but I hesitated to leave Raúl’s bedroom. He’d given me some space to shower and put on a fresh dress—one that he hadn’t ripped apart with his bare hands.

An echo of the fabric tearing teased through my mind, and my nipples pebbled, as though he’d exposed my breasts to his demanding, rough hands once again.

My teeth sank into my lower lip. After his vicious attack in the woods, I should’ve been terrified to face Raúl. He’d spanked me, bound me, stripped me naked, and come on my helpless body.

While I screamed in ecstasy and shamelessly thrust my pussy into his possessive grip.

My cheeks burned, mirroring the lingering burn on the backs of my thighs and my ass. His huge palm had spanked me hard enough to brand my flesh, but my core throbbed in time with my heartbeat.

What we’d done in the dirt—reduced to base, animal lust—had been wrong. Normal, respectable women didn’t orgasm when a man utterly dominated and subjugated them. But when he’d manhandled me into position and punished me, he’d tapped into my darkest desires; the very thing I’d feared most.

I closed my eyes and struggled to draw a deep breath into my tight chest. If Raúl weren’t so good and gentle with me, I could’ve kept my walls up.

But it was hard to remember that he was a bad, dangerous man when his massive hands cradled my face with shocking tenderness. When his luminous eyes glowed as though he was looking upon something beautiful and precious, I forgot to be wary of him. I forgot to be wary of myself, of my deviant nature.

I’d fallen hard for Gehovany, and he’d turned out to be a monster; a criminal, just like Raúl.

But Gehovany had never looked at me with something close to awe. He’d never forced so much harsh pleasure upon me that my mind shattered and my body floated on bliss.

Just as I’d feared, I couldn’t trust myself around Raúl.

There’s nothing for you to be afraid of anymore. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe.

My heart twisted. I yearned to believe him so badly. To be truly safe after living in a constant state terror for so long…

My stomach rumbled, capturing my attention. I needed to eat. I needed to keep meeting my most basic needs, so I could get my head on straight and fortify my strength.

Maybe Raúl was right about my trauma messing with my mind, driving my reckless impulses through force of habit.

He’s a drug lord. He murders people without blinking. He’s dangerous.

I shook my head, throwing off my worries for the moment. Clearly, Raúl wasn’t going to give me an opportunity to run anytime soon, and earning myself another punishment would only allow him another opportunity to devastate me with ruthless pleasure. I’d been living from day to day ever since I’d fled from my home. I could continue doing that, especially when I didn’t have to constantly stay on my guard to protect myself from unknown, lecherous men.

I turned the doorknob with a definitive click and stepped out of the bedroom. As I made my way into the austere lounge, Raúl’s